Imperial Capital Heavenly Dome Palace, noon.

Although he grew up, Brandon had never felt comfortable in this place - it was too large and spacious, and in order to conform to the "plain" aesthetic of the De Salion family, or the Sacklands, it was square and standard, and wanted everything in every room to be absolutely symmetrical.

Compared with the mausoleum-like Heavenly Dome Palace, the royal palace built by the emperors of previous dynasties is more distinctive, and you can also see the characteristics of each generation and the fashion of the time... For example, the summer twilight courtyard of the 10th Queen Charlotte.

Not only that, but apart from the Chambers, the House of Nobles, and the Imperial Cabinet, there were not even a few truly decent palaces in the entire Celestial Dome, all of which were fortress-like towers perched atop the gentle hills of Golovin.

This includes the "office" of the Lord Chancellor.

"Uncle Victor, are you looking for me?"

With a childlike smile on the corner of his mouth, Brandon, who walked into the room, sat down very unceremoniously and winked at the middle-aged man behind the table.

In the face of the "enthusiasm" of His Royal Highness, Victor Hus did not respond, and still buried his head in the desk, waving his white quill on the parchment that exuded a quaint fragrance, making an extremely comfortable sound.

His Royal Highness, who was ignored, did not have any dissatisfaction, put his hands on his knees, and honestly sat on the chair and waited patiently.

This "good child" face made Victor Hughes's expression distort a little, but the quill in his hand still did not stop, and in a moment he had already finished writing more than five hundred words of the case narrative, and solemnly signed his name.

In the past, judges would stamp a personal seal for approval after writing, but Victor Hughes, who was born as a commoner, had a rare good handwriting, and the knife-and-axe-like handwriting could not be forged by others, even if it was reviewed for a whole day, there would not be the slightest scribble.

"Beautiful!"

Brandon's heartfelt praise - if there is one person in the entire Sakran Empire, then it must be the one in front of him.

Impartial, but not rigid, and consistent and never easily changed, Victor Hughes's handwriting is almost a reflection of his handwriting.

The former Imperial Justice was still expressionless, he looked at His Royal Highness the Prince in front of him who looked like an innocent child, and the corners of his mouth inadvertently twitched slightly again.

He hadn't forgotten how much trouble he had dealt with for Brandon, especially the time when he almost sent an Imperial Count's heir to heaven, and the harmless expression of the man and beast seemed to him to be a devil's smile......

Holy Cross, why does Your Majesty have such a son?!

"Your Highness, I have come to you today for a very important matter. Victor said stiffly, "Do you know that your wizard advisor, Your Excellency Loren Turin, went to the Black Prison to meet with a felon?"

"Oh, of course. Brandon nodded very obediently: "Lussac Corvo, right? I saw Loren when his son came to look for him, what's wrong?"

"Can you tell me what you think?"

"That's too much trouble, let's get to the point. Brandon proposed, "What you really want to know is whether this matter was at my behest, or if Loren Turin decided on his own, am I right?"

"I didn't say that. ”

Victor's expression was still serious: "But you can answer it this way. ”

"I knew about it, but I wasn't involved. Brandon spread his hands, and his face was taken for granted:

That's my answer. ”

"Your answer?" Victor repeated deliberately, shaking his head slightly, "But many people don't think so, they will think that you are behind the command of your wizard advisor to accomplish your ulterior purpose." ”

"Oh, really?"

"Interfering with the administration of justice, provoking the court and even the Imperial Cabinet is an unpardonable felony, even for the royal family!" Victor accentuated:

"Your Highness Brandon de Salion, do you really know what you're doing?"

The Imperial Justice put down the quill pen in his hand and sighed softly.

If he could, he really didn't want to say this to Brandon, but His Royal Highness the Prince had already touched his bottom line - unauthorized investigation, private collusion and even interference in the judiciary were absolutely intolerable to him.

Most importantly, once a royal family like Brandon is directly involved in the murder of Sheathcot, the already chaotic murder case will quickly turn into a struggle between several forces.

Turning cases and tribunals into "gladiatorial arenas" of interests and struggles would inevitably cause damage to the justice of the Empire.

Such a precedent must not be opened!

"In fact, I know exactly what I'm doing. Brandon spoke slowly:

"But Uncle Victor, do you really know what you're doing?"

The Imperial Justice frowned slightly, and his expression was not good.

"I know that you have not started a formal interrogation since the beginning of the case in order to protect the justice of the imperial law, and you know that once it is hastily started, either the Charn family will retaliate or be used by some people. ”

"All in all, there are definitely guys who jump out and interfere with your verdict. ”

Brandon smiled solemnly: "Your emphasis on legal justice is admirable... But don't you care about the truth in the slightest?"

"The truth?" Victor's tone was sarcastic: "What truth?"

"Your Highness Brandon, we are not Holy Crosses, we do not have eyes that can see through everything, we will never know what happened that night, all we can do is to find the right balance in the very limited facts. ”

"That's justice, that's the law of the empire!"

"But if there is no truth, what is the point of so-called 'justice'?" Brandon asked rhetorically, still smiling.

"If it's just looking at what's in front of us, if it's not even the truth, what should we believe... Is it justice and justice that comes from praying to the Holy Cross?"

"Uncle Victor, I have great respect for you—not because of your good handwriting, but because you are able to maintain yourself and never compromise before my ever-bright, great, and correct father, and before the rich nobles, and only a man like you can stand up to the justice and laws of the Sakran Empire under great pressure. ”

"Please don't let law and justice become tools of interest to maintain the stability of the empire. ”

"That will only disappoint the people who once trusted and admired you!"

With a long breath, Brandon stopped talking, and sat down in his chair waiting for the Grand Chancellor in front of him to make his final decision.

Closing his eyes, Victor Hughes seemed to be lost in thought.

After being quiet for a long time, the judge with complicated eyes raised his head: "You just believe that your wizard advisor can find the truth behind this matter and enough evidence to overturn the case for Lussac Corvo?"

A sunny smile appeared on Brandon's boyish face:

"If he can discover the secrets of the vampires in Wimpal, catch evidence of a noble rebellion in the deep forest, dig up the Holy Blood Potion and the conspiracy of the Bellini family in Ebolden......"

"Yes, I'm 100% convinced that Loren Turin can find that truth. ”

"And there is no other person than him who can do this!"

Victor finally frowned, as if he was calculating the pros and cons of the two things, and his thinking eyes were staring at the case narrative on the bookcase, and there were indeed many very obvious points.

Of course, he knew that something was wrong, and it was not that he didn't want to investigate, but he was worried that too much would be implicated and cause a series of fluctuations.

The death of a former minister is dangerous enough.

"A month. Victor said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"From the beginning of the incident, the latest trial time is one month later, and two days and 28 days have passed. The Chief Justice's tone was solemn and resolute:

"After that, I must give an account to Your Majesty and the Empire. ”

"If Loren Turin can find evidence to overturn the existing trial before then... I won't ask again. ”

"But before that, in order to avoid suspicion, you must also take the initiative to ground yourself without leaving the sky for half a step, and cut off all ties with this matter, is it okay?"

"Absolutely, no problem!"

"Would you please do me one more favor?"

"Yes, please speak!"

"Get out!"