My Most Precious Human

Sariel snapped his fingers and, in a split of a second, two servants brought in a massive wooden seat and put it in the middle of the courtroom. Then he reached out his hand towards me with a courteous smile beaming on his face. I gulped, but put my hand on his and let him lead me to the witness seat.

Once I sat down, I immediately felt as if I was a dwarf sitting in a giant's seat. The back of the seat ended almost two feet higher than my head. I couldn't touch the chair back even when most of my legs were on the seat. I ended up straightening up without leaning, with my feet swinging in the air. I must have looked ridiculous, yet I did what I could to present myself elegantly. I sat on the edge of the seat with my back straight and my head raised, eyes holding a confident gaze. Sariel smiled briefly at me as if he wanted to give me a little courage. I took a deep breath, trying to concentrate.

"Ms. Lilith Leber is the only survivor from the night of the auction, "Sariel loudly announced, "As you can see, she is a human."

His words caused a commotion again. Previously, I was convinced that every vampire had already sensed that I was a human the second I entered the room. I quickly figured they could either be genuinely unaware, which I doubted, or they could be faking their tremendous outrage.

"Duke Calvet, what is the meaning of this?! You are now bringing a human to a vampire's sacred court?!" One of the auxiliary judges burst out.

It was a fierce-looking man with raven-black hair and deep-brown eyes who started to burn in red when he glared at me. I tried not to flinch under his gaze, but my heart nervously rushed, forcing me to take a deeper breath. Sariel stood between me and him, shielding me from his side.

"My dear Duke Orseolo, how could I not bring a human in front of this court when she is the victim and an important witness? Besides, don't tell me you just noticed now that she isn't a vampire. If so, I am greatly concerned about your weak senses." Sariel mocked while grinning wickedly.

"I was the one who allowed this human's testimony!" the main judge called out while getting up from her seat.

Her voice instantly dispersed the disdainful muttering, filling the room with silence. Duke Orseolo glared at her but apparently didn't dare to go against her. Her gaze, filled with absolute authority, was strong enough to make everyone cower. Well, everyone except for Sariel. He seemed to be unmoved by her severe glare. He smirked at her and slightly nodded his head. When she responded, nodding back, Sariel walked towards me.

"Ms. Leber, can you tell us how you got to the Diamond Crown Casino's special event?" Sariel started his questioning.

I took a deep breath and began to describe everything in detail. I followed Sariel's advice and did everything I could to hide my pain and anger while slowly recalling each second of that dreadful night. I spoke about Carla, and about the so-called banquet, which turned out to be the presentation of the auction items. I told about our imprisonment and the valuation of our blood. Then finally, I told about what happened to the rest of the waitresses. I clenched my teeth and described the shredded body parts, torn flesh, and corpses drowning in their own blood. I don't know how I managed to say it all without shedding tears or making an enraged roar. Perhaps it was all because I focused my eyes on Sariel and imagined I was telling my story solely to him. Somehow, his calm stare kept soothing my heart throughout my testimony.

As soon as I finished answering, a discussion started. The judges sitting in the lodge consulted something, whispering to each other, their expressions agitated. It was a nerve-racking moment. Unknowingly, I glanced at the Adragnas. My eyes met the eyes of the Marquess's sons. He glared at me, fury in his eyes. I gulped, but quickly remembered Sariel's words, telling me that he would protect me. "Calm down, Lilith. You cannot show fear. Don't give them satisfaction," I told myself inside my mind.

Suddenly, another judge spoke, "I get that a human would care about his kind dying, but despite the cruelty of giving those humans to degenerates, I see no crime here. Humans tend to sell their own blood and flesh willingly. How can we trust that this is not a case like that as well?" The man with dark-grey hair sent me a cold, cunning smile.

I gritted my teeth. I could feel the fury flooding my blood at his arrogant manner of speaking. I glanced at Sariel; his face seemed emotionless, then slowly a sly smile appeared. He didn't say a single word. It seemed he was waiting for something.

"Then what do you suggest, Judge Connor?" The leading judge asked the one who had spoken before.

"I am convinced that the Adragna family might like to present some evidence of their own," he said, pointing at the already prepared Adragnas' attorney.

"Excellent, let's hear about the wonderful evidence." Sariel maliciously chuckled, then gracefully glided towards his seat, leaving the stage to the defendants.

While he left the spotlight, I was still sitting on the uncomfortable witness' seat, and at that moment I was completely exposed to the enemy. I gazed at Sariel nervously, but he didn't even look at me. He started indifferently flipping pages of some documents that Mr. Gotha gave him while smirking at the Adragnas' attorney.

"Mr. Baro, you may proceed." The leading judge gestured at the attorney.

"Thank you, Your Honor." He smiled coldly, then stood at the middle of the stage with some documents in his hands.

I couldn't explain it, but something sinister filled the air. My heart started to pound for unknown reason as Mr. Baro cleared his throat right before starting his speech.

"I wish to present you with evidence that each female sold at our auctions agreed to participate willingly!" he called out loud, raising the pile of documents in his hand.

"This is absurd," I muttered under my breath, my eyes widening in shock.

I gazed at Sariel. He sat calmly, presenting his emotionless expression. Unlike him, I was about to explode.

"What I hold in my hand are contracts. Each one is signed by those Duke Calvet kindly described as victims. I would say that they were merely casualties of the transactions that had gone bad," he stated, approaching the lodge of judges and giving them the contracts.

My heart started to pound. There was no way that any of these girls would sign a contract. Who in their right mind would even want to be sold at auction and become a slave?!

Ms. Judge went through all of the documents Mr. Baro handed, her face showing a forced smile.

"How can we tell that those signatures are real?" she asked.

"Well, that is simple, Your Honor. We can ask our lovely witness to sign a piece of paper and we can compare the signatures. After all, her signed contract is among the documents as well, although she used a different name at the time. We even have a scan of her ID to prove it." Mr. Baro snickered wickedly.

"That is impossible! I've never signed any contracts with them!" I burst out.

"Silence this rude human at once!" Judge Connor fumed, pointing at the guards.

Sariel stormed out of his seat and stood right in front of me. He shielded me in a flash while roaring angrily, giving a clear warning that he wouldn't let anyone touch me. The guards stepped back away, respecting the Duke's strength and authority.

"I forgot to tell the members of the Great Council that Ms. Lilith Leber is currently my employee and is under my full protection, and I wouldn't suggest anyone going against the House of Calvet," Sariel hissed.

I looked at him while my heart pounded hectically. He turned my way and sent me a murderous glare. I gulped and lowered my head. I knew this was my fault. I should have shut my mouth and waited, but instead, I proved myself to be some ill-mannered savage unable to control her own emotions.

"Calm down everyone!" The leading judge thundered, then she waited for the commotion to stop and continued the trial, "I would gladly follow Mr. Baro's suggestion. Ms. Leber, give us a sample of your signature," she ordered.

Sariel walked back to his seat. Someone gave me a pen and paper. I took it and glared at Mr. Baro. He responded by viciously smirking at me.

"Please sign the name, Lilith Hawking," he said.

I froze. It was the name I used when I was living in my apartment in New Argent City. Then it hit me. I finally understood where they could find my signature along with the signatures and personal data of any other victim. We all gave it to them when we had to sign a work contract for the event. They insisted that we all receive our payment separately. Now, all they had to do was to forge the signatures. The dead couldn't defend themselves, and as for me, it was merely my word against theirs...

I gritted my teeth. I couldn't believe those hateful vamps could get away with all this. I looked at Sariel just before putting my signature on the piece of paper, but his face still didn't reveal any emotions. I wrote the name. Mr. Baro took my alleged contract from the judges, then grabbed the piece of paper I wrote, and raised both documents high in his hands. He walked around the room, showing both signatures to the members of the Great Council, causing their agitation.

"Your Honor, auxiliary judges, members of the Great Council, here is my proof! You can all see for yourselves that the handwriting in both cases is exactly the same!" Mr. Baro asserted vehemently.

My head started to spin. I went there, hoping for a fair trial. I went there to get justice for my friend and the innocent girls who lost their lives in the most gruesome way I could imagine. I couldn't believe it was all for nothing...

Suddenly, Sariel burst out into malicious laughter. His laughter was so ominous that it instantly made the whole room go quiet.

"Have you had your fun yet?" He glared at the Adragnas' attorney, "Now, it's my turn."