"Rebellion?" Levy chuckled. "It's not that complicated. It's just about taking someone. If they don't give it to you, rebellion isn't out of the question."
Levy then went to the archives.
The staff member, with a pained expression, reminded him: "Your Highness, you indeed do not have the authority..."
Levi tapped his fingers on the workbench and asked with a smile, "You don't even have permission to view my own files?"
The recent turn of events has truly surprised many people.
First, Qin Chu, the acting marshal who was judged to have betrayed the government by the cabinet, arrived at the capital star with the military. After a meeting, he announced that the empire had entered a state of war and took over the entire empire.
Just when it seemed the cabinet was about to hand over all its power, another twist occurred: the cabinet took Qin Chu to a military court.
Given the special circumstances, with both internal and external troubles piling up, the military court did not delay and chose to hold the trial a day later.
Military courts are internal bodies within the military, used to sentence military personnel for violations and to try certain individuals convicted of specific crimes. However, this trial was not open to the public; apart from certain relevant personnel, no one else was allowed to attend.
Tensions immediately rose again in the government building, as everyone wondered what impact the court's sentencing of Qin Chu would have on the situation.
The trial was rushed, with only a few people scattered around the courtroom.
Apart from the judge sitting in the dock, not even all the jurors were present.
The empire is now facing this predicament, and the cabinet has resorted to this tactic of infighting, so most of the jury members and judges are somewhat resentful.
But their eyes still couldn't help but wander to the person sitting in the defendant's dock.
Someone once joked that even if the entire military came to the military court one day, Qin Chu wouldn't come.
Because military regulations themselves cannot be violated.
But no one expected that General Qin, who had only appeared on juries before, would be sitting in the dock this time.
Moreover...
The judge glanced at Qin Chu, who sat indifferently in the defendant's dock, then looked down at the documents in his hand, and couldn't help but sigh.
Moreover, the rule in question was something quite unusual.
As Qin Chu's former teacher at the military academy, the old judge was deeply moved.
However, in accordance with the usual practice of the military and military courts, he still tried to speak fairly: "The defendant, Qin Chu, is a general with the rank of general and is temporarily acting as marshal. He is accused of violating Article 10 of the 235th revision of the Mission Execution Manual during the mission of 'saving His Highness the Crown Prince' that he received on March 21, 5143, by developing and maintaining a special relationship with the mission target, Levi, during the mission."
"Does Qin Chu admit to violating the rules?"
Even though they had already obtained the information, everyone present still couldn't help but look at Qin Chu in surprise upon hearing the judge's remarks.
When Burke, sitting in the audience, heard Qin Chu violate this rule, his jaw nearly dropped to the floor. He almost stood up and pointed at the judge, shouting, "You're talking nonsense!"
Burke would accept any violation of this rule without hesitation.
Even if he said his wife had fallen in love with someone else and wanted a divorce, Burke felt that it was slightly more realistic than the current absurd scenario.
But to say that Qin Chu is dating someone else, especially someone he's tasked with...
Burke felt that his worldview was a bit shattered.
Not just Burke,
Mullin wrote the lawsuit himself, but at this moment he also felt a little unreal, and even doubted whether the information he had was wrong.
Everyone looked toward the defendant's dock.
Qin Chu was still wearing his white military uniform, and even at this moment, he was as cold as a block of ice that never melts, making it impossible to imagine what it would be like for him to fall in love.
He seemed to be born without any connection to love, as if an artificial intelligence had been reincarnated as a human. Even if he had any connection, it was with the cold and heavy military regulations.
Some analysts have suggested that the rule Qin Chu most likely violated was that he was too harsh on criminals.
The rule that is least likely to be violated is this one: developing a special emotional bond with the person you are tasked with.
But reality is often so comical and absurd that Qin Chu had no intention of making any excuses.
He even glanced down at the court time, and coldly stated as if wanting to end the matter quickly: "I admit..."
Before he could finish speaking, the courtroom doors were suddenly opened from the outside.
"Hey, when you put criminals to trial in your military tribunal, do you not allow witnesses to come up and speak?"
The voice was languid and casual, completely out of place in the somber and heavy courtroom, but for the first time, it elicited a different expression from the person sitting in the defendant's seat.
Qin Chu turned his head to look over, then frowned and pursed his lips.
"It is court time now, and unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter," the judge said in a deep voice.
"Hmm? Aren't you interrogating this General Qin for violating regulations? I just need to corroborate the details of his violation and add another charge against him." Levy had already walked in, followed by the old butler.
The old butler was holding something in his hands, but it was impossible to tell what it was.
The group looked at Levy, then at Qin Chu, and the once quiet courtroom began to descend into chaos.
On the cabinet side, Mullin's expression was rather grim. He couldn't understand what Levi's purpose was in coming here this time. If he was here to rescue Qin Chu, his words and actions seemed to be adding solid evidence to the case.
But if you say no, the atmosphere between the two is somewhat strange.
If he hadn't had the emotional monitoring data of Qin Chu during the mission, and hadn't seen the scene between the two in the training ground, Mu Lin wouldn't have thought of using this method to bring down Qin Chu.
After some deliberation, the judge and jury decided to have Levy sit in the witness stand.
As they stepped onto the dock, Levi and Qin Chu's eyes met for a fleeting moment.
Levi's blue eyes were filled with a smile, tinged with a hint of teasing, and in the end, Qin Chu couldn't help but look away first.
"Please provide testimony from the relevant personnel," the judge said.
Levi didn't care about the rules of this military court. He leaned back in his chair, stared at Qin Chu with his blue eyes, and said, "You only pursue General Qin for violating the rules, but you should also protect the rights of me, the victim."
After a moment of silence, the judge asked, "Witness, what did Qin Chu do to you?"
Levi sighed, a pained expression on his face: "This General Qin actually seduced me and then abandoned me!"
Judge:"……"
The jury: "..."
cabinet:"……"
The exaggerated acting and explosive lines caused the entire courtroom to fall silent for a few seconds.
Qin Chu closed his eyes, instinctively wanting to raise his hand to his forehead, but then realized the electronic handcuffs on his wrists and put them down again.
A few minutes later, the prosecution, stunned by Levy's words, finally spoke: "Does the witness mean to corroborate that Qin Chu and you have an improper relationship?"
Burke snapped out of his shock and couldn't help but curse inwardly, "Is this damn prince going to be a hindrance?"
Unexpectedly, Levy looked up at the prosecutor speaking and asked with a smile, "Was your father and mother also having an improper relationship?"
The prosecution was so angry they nearly fell over.
The old, rigid, and serious judge was probably seeing this kind of scene in a military court for the first time. He choked for two seconds before speaking with veins bulging on his forehead: "Witnesses, please do not discuss irrelevant topics."
Levi smiled and gestured with his chin to the butler behind him.
The old butler understood and quickly placed what he was holding on the table in front of Levi. It turned out to be a thick "Mission Execution Manual", and he had just turned to the tenth article.
Levy slowly read through the tenth rule: "Task executors are strictly prohibited from developing special emotions towards the task target. Unless required by the mission, task executors may not initiate or maintain a special relationship with the task target. Special relationships include, but are not limited to, relatives, lovers, spouses, enemies, etc. For details, please refer to Appendix 2. If a task executor violates this rule, the mission shall be immediately suspended and the executor replaced."
Then he looked up at the judge: "Except for special circumstances. So, may I ask, what constitutes a special circumstance?"
The judge pondered for a moment and replied, "It depends on the specific content of the task."
"Alright." Levy closed the manual. "To achieve the mission objectives, does seducing the target count?"
Seduction...
These words brought the court hearing, which had been proceeding smoothly for just a few minutes, to a standstill once again.
Burke sat blankly in the audience.
The entire jury, including all the prosecutors, turned their attention to Qin Chu.
Why is it that the seemingly unbelievable reason of seduction, when applied to Qin Chu's face, doesn't seem so hard to believe?
After all, he's the man the entire empire is vying to have his babies. Even if he's a bit cold and unromantic, with that face alone, if this General Qin were willing to use seduction, there's probably no mission he couldn't complete.
Although nowadays, there's nothing that can't be accomplished with force.
But precisely because of this person, the reason of seduction becomes incredibly absurd and impossible no matter how you look at it.
Qin Chu's face showed a hint of wanting to punch someone, but he held back out of consideration for the occasion.
Levi continued his steady delivery: "That's right, General Qin's mission was to take me out of the virtual world. To get my cooperation, he even went so far as to seduce me. I still remember that night, we did it..."
He paused, leaned back to look at Qin Chu sitting in the defendant's seat, and asked, "How many times?"
Qin Chu, who had maintained a calm expression, turned and glared at him, a hint of intensity finally appearing in her usually composed dark eyes.
Levi looked at him without fear, a smile still playing in his blue eyes.
That smile seemed to be blatantly saying, "Lying to me? Keep lying to me? Let's see how long you can keep lying."
Things have escalated to this point, and there's no way to keep it a secret any longer.
Qin Chu withdrew his gaze, his breathing becoming more labored with anger.
At this moment, everyone's eyes turned to Qin Chu again.
This Crown Prince is clearly someone who can't keep his mouth shut, but Qin Chu is different; Qin Chu would never lie in a military court.
Mulin clasped his hands together, looking somewhat nervous.
He sneered inwardly. Levi could talk nonsense, but Qin Chu, with his personality, would never go along with his nonsense.
At that moment, Qin Chu let out a cold laugh, his clear, chilling voice echoing in the courtroom: "Several times? You should ask how many days."
"Clang".
Someone knocked over a cup, and water splashed all over the floor.
The judge's single lens was crooked, and when he shakily went to fix it, he accidentally knocked the lens to the ground.
The military personnel who were very familiar with Qin Chu all looked as if they were still in a dream, and some even secretly pinched the thigh of the person next to them.
Hearing his colleague let out a "whoosh," he was still a little incredulous.
Originally, no matter who it was, their face would be extremely somber after entering the military court.
But now that these words have been spoken, everyone's expressions have become extremely strange.