Circle hall

The crown prince, standing beside his mother's throne, was looking down at Ash with an unreadable expression. His golden hair was neatly tied back, and his sharp gaze pierced through the hall.

"He must be the eldest," Ash muttered, his eyes scanning the faces of those seated above. Among them, he noticed a few familiar ones, individuals he had seen in the memories—those who had treated the previous owner and his mother cruelly. Though he recognized them, he ignored their presence. What caught his attention, however, was the third wife, seated with her head slightly lowered, as if hiding something.There were also others, some clearly of importance and others who seemed to be there merely out of formality. Ash couldn't care less about them. Lastly, his gaze landed on the king himself.

"And that kid must be the father of the boy" he murmured, his gaze steady on the ruler, sarcastically referring to him as "kid."

Ash then raised his voice, breaking the silence.

"Can I talk, please?"

The chatter and gossip among those seated above immediately ceased, their attention shifting to Ash. They looked at him in shock and disdain."A monster like you doesn't even deserve to speak, let alone be alive right now!" one of the lords bellowed, his large frame and prominent mustache making him stand out.

Other nobles, eager to align themselves with the outburst, chimed in:

"Lord Forizo is right! You deserve immediate death!"Their voices grew louder, creating a wave of noise across the circular hall. The tension was palpable, but Ash stood silent, observing them with indifference.

Finally, the king's booming voice echoed across the hall, silencing everyone instantly.

"Silence!"

The command carried an undeniable authority, forcing even the loudest of the nobles, including Lord Forizo, to shrink back. Some began sweating nervously, while others lowered their heads in submission.

The king leaned forward slightly, his stern gaze fixed on Ash, and said,

"You got something to say, kid?"

The word "kid" stung Ash like a dagger. For a brief moment, a nerve in him twitched as he fought the urge to lash out.

"K...k...kid? Surely he doesn't mean me," Ash thought, trying to calm himself down. "Relax. He's referring to the boy, not you..ha-joon."

But the king's next words shattered Ash's composure entirely:

"If you don't have proof to defend yourself, I suggest you remain as silent as you are now, kid."

That was the last straw. Ash clenched his fists, still holding back, but in his mind a whole fight was taking place"Sure, you're old, but not as much as me. Looking at your face, you're just a kid with a few wrinkles under your eyes. If Earth and this world share the same time, then when I was 50, you were 30, and when I was 30, you weren't even born yet. And you have the guts to call me 'kid'?!" he thought furiously, his gaze boring into the king.

Ash exhaled deeply, steadying himself. "Let's just get this over with. Whatever I'm facing now will be heaven compared to what would happen if they were to found out I'm not even the real Ash."

Speaking aloud, he asked calmly,

"Your Highness, I thought you didn't have proof either. So how come I was arrested and accused without any evidence?"

The entire hall fell silent once more, every pair of eyes now fixed on Ash. The nobles were stunned. The Ash they knew had never spoken up before, let alone questioned anyone. Even those who had bullied and tormented him in the past were now dumbfounded.

"Look at your hands. Aren't they clean now, unlike before?" the king said, pointing at Ash's hands.Ash glanced down, staring at his hands bound in chains. His lips twitched, almost breaking into a bitter laugh. "He really doesn't mean that... right?" he thought, slowly realizing what the king was implying.

The mention of his hands was a direct accusation—proof that Ash was guilty of murder. When he was captured, his hands were covered in blood. Now, they were clean, the evidence washed away. But that had happened when he was unconscious.

"Who am I even kidding? These people don't have an ounce of common sense. Just another typical fantasy setting..." Ash muttered under his breath, exhaling deeply in frustration. He was baffled by how something so flimsy could be used as evidence against him.

"What if I was trying to stop my sister's bleeding? What would you say then?" Ash asked, his face calm but his tone sharp.

"If that were the case, you wouldn't be here. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Someone saw you killing them!" came the cold reply.

Ash froze for a moment before suppressing a chuckle, But his mind quickly shifted. If someone had truly seen him, it could be a clue—perhaps a lead to the one framing him. Masking his thoughts, he looked up and asked,

"Who saw me? Who is this person?"

"Soba, my third wife, saw you killing them. That was the report I received," the king said, his tone calm but leaving room for Ash to respond, Ash's eyes shifted toward the third wife, soba. She had kept her gaze down since the beginning of the conversation, avoiding eye contact. But the moment her name was mentioned, and Ash's piercing gaze turned to her, she broke her silence.

"I... I'm sorry! I made a mistake, and that report... it wasn't true!" she blurted out as she stood with her red dress giving a little bow, her voice trembling as tears welled up in her eyes.

Ash didn't even flinch. He wasn't surprised by her sudden confession. In fact, he had expected it. Among the king's three wives, soba was the only one who could even remotely be considered decent. She had never acted maliciously toward him, unlike the others, Without saying a word, Ash's eyes moved from soba to the second wife. Her face betrayed a slight change, a flicker of something—guilt or frustration, perhaps. She seemed to be holding herself back. Meanwhile, the crown prince, standing above her, remained stoic. His expression was unchanged, as if none of this concerned him in the slightest.

The entire hall was stunned into silence. For a moment, and the king, who had been speaking steadily until now, suddenly went quiet, leaving everyone guessing at his thoughts.

Ash couldn't read his expression; it was blank, emotionless, offering no clue as to what the king might be feeling–whether it was shame, anger, or simply indifference. Two men stood close to the king, acting as his trusted guards. One of them, unable to contain his rage, released a wave of aura so intense it made the entire circular hall tremble.

"How dare you toy with His Highness!!" the guard roared, his voice echoing across the chamber.

The other guard, standing to the king's left, drew his sword without hesitation. His eyes burned with fury, completely disregarding the fact that his target was the king's wife, soba. Without a second thought, he aimed his blade at her.

From the man's feet, a crimson haze spiraled upward, engulfing his legs and climbing to his hands, spreading over his body like living flames.

"Sword of Doom, Heaven's Slash!" he shouted as he prepared to strike.

Ash couldn't help but be momentarily captivated. The guard's stance, the way he spread his legs wide, and the slight tilt of his head as he readied himself to decapitate soba–it was all surreal.

Just as the deadly strike was about to be unleashed, the king spoke a single word, his voice calm yet commanding:

"Back to your positions."

The impact of those four words was immediate and absolute. Both guards were forced backward, sliding across the floor as if an invisible force had seized them. They returned to their original places, unable to resist.

Ash watched in awe. For the first time, he saw someone who could wield real power–not just the flashy displays he'd seen in novels, but raw, undeniable authority. Everyone in the hall felt the same. They were frozen in place, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the king's presence. Even the guards who had just been subdued by a single word trembled as they returned to their stances.

Ash remembered something he saw on the memories, it's said that the king had the power to control everything he comes contact with, and it was even said that the king's sword is the most powerful sword in the humans it can cut the sky's with single swing, but Ash wondered how peaple strong Like him dead? And imagined how strong is the demon god, to kill all 8 heroes while wiping out 70 percent of the world's population.

The king took a deep breath and directly asked Ash a question, "So, Ash, could you tell me who was responsible for the death of your mother and sister?" His voice was calm and steady. Ash, puzzled, thought to himself, "He's not even questioning his wife or asking why she lied" and just replied without much care, "It was assassins, four or five—I can't remember the exact number—but they were all men, and their faces were covered." He finished his statement, keeping it concise.

The king, remaining silent for a moment, asked another question, "Ash, you're claiming you didn't do anything, but I've been wondering: how are you still alive? How did they not kill you, but only your mother and sister?"

The question startled Ash, making him tense inside. His eyes started to shift slightly as he tried to process the words. Inside, Ash—who was originally Ha-Joon—was inexperienced in lying, but he was quite skilled at manipulating situations.

The problem was, in his previous world, the humans he dealt with were normal and lacked powers or special senses. Here, people were different; some could even detect lies and manipulate emotions with great skill. So, Ash knew he had to stick to the truth.

"I wasn't aware of what happened because I was the last one entered the room" Ash said, inwardly adding, "That's true since I had no idea what was happening inside at the time"

He continued, "When they cut my mother's and sister's throats, they were going to kill me next. But my mother hid me her back, making them think I was already dead. Once they thought their work was done, they left."

Ash added in his mind, "That's also the truth. When i looked at the kid, he was above them, and rested his head on her back, it's clear to everyone with mind that, the mother tried to save him by blocking the view of the assassins tho' she wasn't successful".

"Your words don't seem like a lie," said the king, resting his hand on his chin, contemplating Ash's response.

Meanwhile, the second wife bit her lip in frustration, her anger visible. "When did this boy get so smart?" she muttered, annoyed at Ash's cleverness."And those assassins just left like that?" she thought bitterly. "I shouldn't have convinced Necdal to come to the Circle Hall, knowing he'd be the sole judge. Now, the boy is slipping away! What should I do?" Panic filled her mind as a bead of sweat rolled down her temple, revealing her growing anxiety.

Her mind racing, she blurted out whatever came to mind, barely realizing it was the first time she had spoken up. "Although Ash does look innocent, and his words seem… uh… truthful… yeah," she said nervously. She quickly added, "Why not give him some light punishment? We can't just let him go… uh, yeah, because the public… right, the public might think the royal family is covering for him because he's a prince. They could say that if he weren't royalty, he'd have been executed by now!"

Her words were as unconvincing as the forced smile on her face. Hearing her, the king replied, "Well, there will be an investigation team this week, and the Circle Hall will make the final decision after that. Until then, Ash is not allowed to leave his room and will remain guarded." He stood, looking down at Ash without another word, and exited through the door behind him.

After the king left, everyone else in the room began to rise. The third wife, nervous and still expecting to be punished for her earlier false report, waited silently. However, the king hadn't said a single word to her—not even a question. She quietly left like everyone else, while all their faces showed the shame and humiliation they faced.

Ash stood in the middle of the hall as one of the guards began unlocking his chains. He asked the guard, "Why did they even put these on me? Tsk."

The guard, continuing his task, surprisingly responded, though Ash hadn't expected an answer. "They're supposed to block your mana. I guess they were worried you might try something. Who knows?" he said as he finished removing the chains.

Ash raised his hands, stretching and grinning. "I feel so light," he remarked with joy. However, the moment he lowered his hands, his expression turned serious.

"System, can I use appraisal on items too?" Ash asked, recalling what had happened earlier before he got out of the underground prison. He had been browsing the shop, checking what it had to offer. To his surprise, it was filled with incredible things that made him curse the author for throwing him into such a chaotic world purely for entertainment, while also thanking him for providing such a useful feature.

The shop offered items that made him feel as though the world would bow beneath his feet if he could obtain them. There were skills, treasures, and mysterious objects, such as the World Scroll, Mermaid's Tear, and Hands of a Perished God. However, all those things were far beyond his reach. With only 30,000 points to his name—gained after exchanging the blood he had—Ash could only dream of acquiring them.

From that exchange, the system had identified the rare tier blood as F-rank, and he unexpectedly received a random skill from it—a fact even the system hadn't anticipated. It was something they both discovered later. The skill, named End Change, seemed valuable, but Ash decided to look into it later.

Instead, he had focused on purchasing a skill called Appraisal from the shop. It had cost him 25,000 points, leaving him with only 5,000 points to spare. Though he was now practically broke, the thought of being able to identify a person's status was more valuable for him, more than everything else.