"Anke Bayral!"
Amid the chaos, Tales's voice rang out clearly, echoing throughout the hall.
The duke's words clearly carried weight. The entire banquet hall fell silent.
Anke's longsword stopped at Old Doyle's neck, leaving only the baron's frantic, strained breathing.
Tales pushed aside Marius, who had instinctively tried to stop him, and stepped forward. From the seat second only to the king's, he spoke:
"Your words, your story, your ordeal—the entire Mindis Hall has heard them."
His tone was stern.
"Is that not enough?"
Anke raised his head. For the first time, he faced the heir to the kingdom without any interference or obstruction.
"So, Your Highness, are you also going to obstruct the justice I deserve with excuses as righteous as everyone else's?"
"So your past, your reputation, and even your opening speech just now were all lies?"
Marius and Vogel exchanged a glance. All they shared was worry and apprehension.
Tales felt the eyes of everyone present focusing on him without concealment or restraint.
Whether it was the guardian dukes Jann, Kosted, and Val,
or the Radiant Star Seven Attendants and Central Territory dignitaries such as Viscount Adrian and Mrs. Eleanor,
or Royalists and new nobles such as Count Godwin and Viscount Connie,
as well as the various soldiers, officials, guild masters, and other distinguished guests from every walk of life—
their gazes pressed against his vocal cords like mountains weighing ten thousand jun.
As if they meant to wipe away all the respect and deference he had earned throughout the banquet.
Damn it.
"I am not a judge. I have no right to define justice."
Tales looked at those eyes filled with resolve and the will to die, then frowned.
"But what you have done today is already shocking enough."
"And yet you have merely cut off