Chapter 125

A wave of denial washed over me. No! That simply couldn't be true...

Rudolph's expression mirrored my disbelief, his face contorted with outrage. "No,no, Captain De Ross was the first to recognize that what we had been commanded to do was not only barbaric but fundamentally wrong..."

An uncomfortable silence enveloped the courtroom, underscoring the collective realization that had gripped everyone present. Up until that moment, they had all presumed Xavier was guilty of the heinous crimes of which he had been accused, and it became palpable how bewildered they all looked.

"Your Honor," Rudolph asserted, locking eyes with the judge in a display of unwavering conviction. "If it had not been for Captain De Ross, we would have remained out there, blindly following Thorin's orders and unjustly slaughtering innocent lives. Without his courageous decision to defy those orders, we would not have been able to defect and seek refuge without facing capture ourselves. Without