Cold.
It was the first sensation I felt when I woke up, to find myself lying on the ground of a dark room.
My body ached as I found my wounds to have been just bandaged, and nothing else.
They were not that deep, but still it hurt like a thousand needles stinging my body at the same time.
I imagined I would find myself in a comfortable room at least, but seems like it was too much to ask for.
What the hell is with all these bars anyway?
Is this some kind of jail?
From the looks of this dark and damp room, the bars, and a single hallways stretching endlessly, it did seem like a jail.
But why the fuck would I be in a jail?
My mind was still kind of hazy, but the sensation of this stinging pain all over my body, and the unknown fear of ending up in jail made me completely conscious.
Now, let me analyze the situation.
Both that girl and me collapsed on the ground, after Alicia and some first years arrived on the spot.
Alicia and the others arrived just after everything turned to shit. They saw two students bleeding, unconscious, and Laurel Barriston of all people lying beside me. And that's all they needed to see.
Damn it.
I exhaled sharply.
No wonder I'm here.
From an outsider's perspective, it looks simple: Dorian Valen, the loner with a reputation, found fighting the duke's daughter on the very first day.
With blood everywhere, no witnesses, and no clear threat in sight… they filled the gaps themselves. They always do.
But, what about the testimonies?
That girl had clearly converted to an incomplete vampire, so that would be enough evidence to clear my name, wouldn't it?
How much time has it been anyway?
There were simply too many unanswered questions, but one thing was clear.
I should have just walked away from that scene and let that vampire do his thing.
It was really foolish of me to think I could save her.
At first, I was there just for the rewards from the system.
But deep down, I somehow thought of saving that girl's life.
Indeed, I am assigned the role of a villain, but, honestly, it all still feels too surreal to be true, for which I am trying to follow my intuition for the time being.
The sound of metal scraping against stone jolted me.
Footsteps. Heavy, armored. Drawing closer.
A key rattled in the lock, and the iron door creaked open.
A tall man stepped in — a guard, clad in silver-plated armor bearing the academy's crest, his face half-covered by a helm.
He didn't say a word, only threw a pair of manacles at my feet.
'Seems like it's time for the trial, huh?'
***
The courtroom was not as I expected it to be.
Most probably inside the academy itself.
This was situated inside a small room with a very people, whom, I obviously couldn't recognize.
Well, apart from the student council president, Alicia Rowan, that girl, who was converted to an incomplete vampire was also there.
She sat with a dignified expression on her face, as if nothing had happened.
Yup. I should have left her to die.
It's upto me now, if I want to survive this trial.
There were in total 5 people sitting in front of me, and 10 more laterally.
I was definitely not able to recognize them, but the one who sat at the center was definitely the Principal of this academy, Christopher Paul.
All of their eyes were on me, as the guard who brought me here left the room after bowing.
I stood at the center of the room, in front of them in silence.
Their expression was stern and full of disgust, as if they were looking at an insect.
As I was preparing for my excuses, the Principal spoke up.
"So, Dorian Valen, what do you have to say in your defense?"
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Author's Note :
Please comment down about your thoughts on the story, as it gives me motivation to write more.
I am open to criticisms too, so feel free to comment.
Also, don't forget to drop a review of the story.
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