Upon realizing that all of his crimes were completely known to the Pharaoh, Mekt, amid his panic, began to let his thoughts run wild.
He was desperate to figure out the source of this intelligence, because it directly affected how he should respond.
After all, if the other side did not possess solid evidence, stubbornly denying everything and refusing to confess might be a good strategy. But if the opposite were true, then resisting would simply be seeking death, an act that would only worsen his sentence.
Even at this point, he still had no remorse. Instead, he frantically thought about how to preserve himself to the greatest extent possible.
How had this young Pharaoh accomplished such a thing?
Thinking of this, he could not help but look toward the high platform.
Then he met a pair of cold golden eyes.
Those eyes were terrifying, their pupils blazing like molten gold.
From that gold, he felt an overwhelming pressure, as though a weak beast had encountered its natural predator.
That gaze came from the man standing beside the Pharaoh, the foreign "bard."
Heh, a bard. What a joke.
At this moment, if anyone dared to tell Mekt that this man was merely a pretty-faced entertainer who had seduced the Pharaoh and was otherwise useless, he would shove that person's head into the Nile to make them wake up properly.
How could such a terrifying gaze belong to a mere pretty boy?
That divine-like pressure made Mekt absolutely certain that this man was no mortal.
If it were this person, then accomplishing such an assassination would not be impossible.
At this moment, Mekt's heart was already suffering under the torment of the other party's presence. He desperately wanted to avert his gaze.
But he could not.
Within those golden eyes, there seemed to be an inexplicable force that drew his attention, making it impossible for him to look away. Gradually, under that pressure, his consciousness began to blur.
He felt that he was about to faint completely beneath this overwhelming force.
Darkness filled his vision…
Suddenly, he shuddered and woke up.
Only then did he realize that he was still standing on the public trial platform. At this moment, however, that man was no longer looking at him.
How much time had passed?
Mekt turned his attention once again to the recitation of charges.
Only then did he realize that everything just now seemed to have been his own illusion.
Because since that moment, the clerk in front of him had not even finished reading a single charge. In other words, only a few dozen seconds had passed.
Yet in his awareness, that eye contact had seemed to last a very long time.
Thinking that the terrifying figure had existed only in his illusion, Mekt could not help but sigh in relief.
He refocused on the problem of how his crimes had been exposed.
Then he suddenly thought of a possibility.
Since, given the Pharaoh's situation, it was completely impossible for her to obtain his specific charges through investigation, the remaining possibilities were few.
Could it be that someone had betrayed him? That someone had secretly revealed his crimes to the Pharaoh?
This was entirely possible.
After all, the Pharaoh's assassinations had been so terrifying.
Some cowardly individuals, in their panic, might have betrayed them, hoping to serve as witnesses, or even to gain merit by supporting the Pharaoh's rise.
Otherwise, relying solely on the Pharaoh herself, it would be impossible to obtain such detailed information.
Only those colleagues who had personally participated in corruption alongside him could know everything so precisely, even the exact dates.
The more Mekt thought about it, the more convinced he became.
Damn it! Back then, everyone had agreed to sideline the Pharaoh together and teach her a lesson. Yet now, you all turned around and betrayed me?
Truly despicable!
So who had secretly reported him?
The other financial officer, his colleague Bata? That was possible.
After all, the appointment and dismissal within the financial department could not bypass him. But how would he know about my private bribes?
Then was it Hernon? The general who had bribed him in order to embezzle military funds? Had he confessed?
That was also possible. But he could not possibly know about my interception of tax revenues.
Then was it my clerk, Heras? Every tax payment I handled passed through his hands. He knew full well about my embezzlement, since he took his own share.
That greedy bastard actually dared to expose me? But he should not know about the other matters either.
…
The more Mekt thought, the angrier and more terrified he became.
In the end, he discovered in despair that almost all of the people who had colluded with him had secretly betrayed him.
This was utterly intolerable.
We had agreed to stand together, yet now you all stabbed me in the back?
Although with so many charges, I am doomed anyway, none of you will have an easy time either!
After despair, endless fury ignited within him. He was convinced that everyone had betrayed him, and in his desperation, he became completely reckless.
While he was immersed in his emotions, the fortunate court clerk before him had already finished reading the charges.
From the high platform, Nitocris's voice rang out at just the right moment.
"Mekt, as a senior financial official, your crimes are now conclusive. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"N… no." Mekt's hoarse voice sounded.
The charges were so detailed that even certain minor matters he himself had not paid attention to were described clearly.
This made him firmly believe that the other party knew everything about his actions.
Now, he had no confidence left in defending himself and simply surrendered.
"Then, according to your crimes, in the name of the Pharaoh, I sentence you to become an offering to the god Sobek.
Your property will be confiscated in full. Your family must undergo sufficient forced labor to atone for your sins. Do you have any objections?"
"N… none…" Mekt said in despair. Then he knelt on the ground and looked at Nitocris with pleading eyes.
"Great Pharaoh, your justice is like that of the great Anubis.
But I beg for your mercy. Can you spare my family? In return, I am willing to provide you with information on more criminals."
"Mekt, what are you saying?"
"Have you gone mad?"
Seeing that Mekt intended to expose others, the other officials, especially those who had colluded with him, immediately panicked.
They had never expected that Mekt, the very first to stand trial, would begin to sell them out in hopes of reducing his punishment.