The rage of the oppressed is never the same as the rage of the privileged.

At the simple mention of Milo, Zane forgot where he was standing and straight out gave a death sentence to Kairon.

The Emberlord asked Kairon to drag Milo out of the room and at that, Zane bellowed with all his might that if Kairon as much as touch even a strand of Milo’s hair...

"Even the First Flame himself would not be able to protect you from the hell I would unleash on your pathetic soul you sold to the lords of this city."

All brows shot up.

Gasps rang out in the Cathedral once more as even some Halocrats didn’t have the courage to speak like that with the Enforcers.

And what scared them the most?

He said all that while under the oath and received no punishment.

It was impossible to lie under the oath which only meant one thing.

Each word in that threat was true.

But when they looked at Zane’s face, they found the threat natural.

The gutterborn had become blind in rage. If rage had a face, it would just like him right now.

But what Zane didn’t expect was this very same rage used against him.

"Your anger, Zane Atlas," The Emberlord spoke. "Your reluctance to let us talk to your sister, all of it is very suspicious. She needs to be here, now more than ever."

Zane jolted his head at Coin, rattling the chains around his neck.

"You want to know the truth? You want to know why I lied about her being my maid? It’s because of you. Because of you all. I lied that she was my maid because I wanted none of you to harm her for being a gutterborn, for a crime she doesn’t even know she committed. I knew I would not be welcomed in the Citadel. I knew you all would try to humiliate me, hurt me, kill me and I also knew none of you would succeed in that."

Zane slammed his hands on the barricade, it started bobbling as he looked straight to the Halocrats in the audience.

"And when you would not be able to succeed in hurting me, you would use something else. I know the nature of hatred. You would try to steal what I cherish to hurt me. And that would be my sister. You would hurt her to hurt me. You will find pleasure with my cries. That is why I showed all of you that she is my maid and I don’t care for her at all."

"So you assumed you would be tormented here, that’s why you called your sister a maid?" Coin spoke.

"Assumed? You don’t assume facts, Emberlord. If I had said I would be welcomed here with love, that would be assuming. In reality, I am hated only because I am a gutterborn. If I was a murderer but a rich bred, I would have been made a worker of a church under the pretense of amending my ways." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Very well. We believe you. You lied about your sister being your maid to protect her. But what about her resting in your room when the prayer is ongoing? This is the Citadel that has the Haloheart. Haloheart that the First Flame gave us to worship and gather strength. So why is she in your room instead of praying to the God that is keeping all of us alive and prosperous?"

"Prosperous?" Zane laughed. "Oh we are so prosperous, aren’t we?"

"Your ancestor tried to steal a piece of the Haloheart, Zane Atlas. Prosperity doesn’t come to thieves."

"Then why do you want a thief to attend the prayer?"

"To ask for forgiveness for the sin your forefathers did!"

Zane gritted his teeth.

"It was me who didn’t bring her to the prayer. She didn’t even know a prayer was happening. I wanted no one to know that I have a sister. I closed the door of the room. She can’t go out even if she wants to. I wanted to keep her safe. I was afraid another Veil Heretic would come here and create a ruckus. She is not well. She is sick. She is ill. She cannot handle stress and tension. Throw everything at me but leave her out of this. She has no idea how cruel the world really is. Don’t snatch her ignorance from her. Do not give her the reality she can’t swallow. Do not tell her what monsters she is living among."

Everyone waited for a few seconds and seeing no punishment yet again, they figured Zane said the truth this time as well.

Kairon had bent the spear he was holding as he was only bound by rules of not interfering with the trial otherwise he would have stabbed Zane the moment he threatened him.

All eyes focused on the Emberlord as Zane had gone silent after practically begging to not involve Milo in the current situation.

Xavier also watched Coin and if not for Tesla holding him, he would have jumped on the stage to stop the trial or stand beside Zane.

Xavier had already said that if he saw someone fighting for himself then he would give all his life to fight for that person as well.

"I heard you, Zane Atlas. I heard all of it." Coin said.

He placed his hands behind his back and walked around the stage.

"You love your sister. She doesn’t have the original relic. She didn’t attend the prayer because she didn’t even know a prayer was happening. You locked the door. She can’t get out even if she wants to. She is ill. You did everything just because you were afraid that something might happen to her or something might happen in this Cathedral. And since you are under the oath, all of this must be the truth."

The Emberlord nodded in understanding.

"However," he added. "Like I said, it is not impossible to lie under the oath. A few play on words can make you not get any punishment. Your sister is ill. Sure, she could have only a normal cold or a terminal disease. And since she wasn’t able to attend the prayer because of your protectiveness. We need to make sure of one thing only."

Coin looked at Zane and revealed what that one thing was.

"Was she even willing to attend the prayer for the First Flame or you locking her is nothing but an excuse for her infidelity to prosper."

Zane’s eyes widened.

"And to find the answer to that, we have no choice but to call her here."

Zane opened his mouth but the Emberlord was faster.

"Kairon, find his room number in the register, ask his sister if she is willing to come with you. And if she isn’t willing..."

Coin sighed.

"I don’t think I need to tell you why you are called an Enforcer."

The Enforcer’s eyes lit up and before Zane could unleash the hell he promised Kairon....

The gates of the Cathedral opened and Kairon stepped outside.

Zane watched the gates closing as Kairon’s eyes stared at Zane as well.

And the last thing Zane saw before the gates went shut, was Kairon’s lips uttering:

"Consider her dead."