Lucianne sat up and held her breath, as did everyone else. On the side,
Greg seemed like he couldn''t care less what happened to him but it did
concern him that Lucianne looked worried. She shouldn''t be under any
stress given how hard the past few weeks had already been for her. He
was only stealing momentary nces of her before but he was finding
it difficult to look away now, until his cousin threw him a re, 1N?velDrama.Org exclusive content.
Greg rolled his eyes just to annoy his cousin one more time before
reluctantly looking away. Lucianne felt Xandar''s jealousy, so she pecked
a quick kiss on his jawline to calm her beast. Xandar''s face softened,
and he closed his eyes to take a whiff of her hair, indulging in her scent.
Judge Cook cleared his throat and continued reading the judgment, “By
law, the Duke''s act of poisoning the Duchess to render her infertile
justifies invoking the punishment of death or etemal torture. And
conspiring against the King, which enabled the perpetrators to establish
the very corporation to siphon money from the government and for
countless rogue attacks to beunched against our cousin species
should subject him to, at the very least, solitary confinement,
electrocution, whipping, a hefty fine, and even the stripping of his
dukedom with the monarchy’s permission. However..."
His stem voice tumed a little gentle when he continued, “This court
acknowledges that as much as the Duke is culpable for the crimes
perpetrated against the government, monarchy and werewolves, this
court must also acknowledge the fact that the said Duke had been
instrumental in the sessful prosecution of corrupt ministers, the
founders and aplices of Wu Bi Corporation, and also those who
sought to harm and murder the Queen. As much as he is to be med
for the lives that were lost, h e is also credited for the lives that were
saved when he surrendered credible and reliable evidence and himself
to the monarchy.”
Judge Cook was careful to not say that the evidence was surrendered to
Lucianne in particr, being sensitive to the King’s temperament. Greg
rolled his eyes again at the old man’s consideration for his cousin''s
feelings.
The judge continued, “The monarchy''s rmendation for the said
Duke is, in this court''s very humble opinion, too punitive for an used
who has willingly offered more incriminating evidence than any
used person in history without asking for anything in return”
“The said Duke has also fully cooperated throughout the entire legal
process, and had already returned themissions received b y him
from Wu Bi Corporation, which he kept in a separate bank ount
under an alias, as verified. He has also offered to pay the fine with
revenue generated from his long-established stationery export business
which has been verified to be legitimate, the fine of which is double of
the stolen value. Taken together, this bench of judges has unanimously
agreed to mitigate the sentencing imposed by thew.”
“Contrary to the monarchy’s rmendation of imposing two whips
per week for a period of fifty years imprisonment, this bench finds that
it is fair to impose only ten whips. Not ten whips per week but only ten
whips in total. His imprisonment term shall be thirty years. The Duke
may be released earlier, or ced under house arrest for good
behaviour if and when such a timees.”
Judge Cook ced the sheet of paper he held in his hand back on the
bench table and said, “Crimes are taken seriously in the Court of Law.
The vitors shall be punished in order to protect the society atrge.
That being said, those who choose toe to thew by...admitting to
their crimes shall be shown...an appropriate amount of mercy,
depending on the severity of the crimes and the circumstances of each
case. Our job as judges is to find the right bnce, and after much
deliberation, this is our decision.”
Judge Cook stood, and the other judges followed suit, leaving the
courtroom through the side door which they entered from.
Lucianne was relieved that they went easy on Greg. Annie was satisfied,
too. Their mates, on the other hand, were still in the midst of adjusting
that this wasn''t one of Greg''s tricks, and that he helped them, really
helped them, with no strings attached this time,
Xandar unceremoniously buried his face in Lucianne’s neck, greedily
taking in her scent as Greg stole one more nce of Lucianne when he
was being escorted out by a policeman.
Disregarding all the growls being thrown her way, Kelissa was
screaming like a madwoman on her way out, shouting about how
everyone would regret taking those pictures of her and reporting on
the case, that she would e back and make you all pay!". She also
kept repeating that when she returned as their Queen one day, they
would regret prosecuting her.
When she was finally out of sight, Christian muttered, “Psychotic,
delusional b*tch.”
Xandar''s lips trailed up Lucianne’s side profile, and stopped at the top
of her head, where he pecked a kiss and said, “The...podcasts in her
confinement cell ought to help with the craziness.”
Lucianne narrowed her eyes, and questioned, “That''s your choice of
word, Xandar? Podcasts? And what do you mean “help with the
craziness''? She''s going to be driven more insane than she already is,
darling.”
Christian chuckled at her response to his cousin, and Xandar met his
mate''s annoyed gaze before he uttered, “Then the next step would be
to transfer her to a mental asylum, sweetheart. I''d say we''re right on
track.”
Lucianne shook her head and got up because it was time to leave the
courtroom. She then muttered, “Indecent beast.” Her body was
immediately spun around, and before Xandar’s lips crashed on hers, her
fingers came between them and pressed on his lips as she whispered,
“MY indecent beast.” Xandar kissed her fingers and dered, “Always.”
A peck on her forehead, and he continued, “And forever.”