Testimony and Evidence

"Enough! You don’t need to worry about this. Let’s go—time to see the magistrate! I’m not leaving until I get my day in court!" Samuel Saunders declared, strutting with swagger.

Grace grinned, hopped into the carriage, and headed straight for the magistrate’s office with Samuel Saunders.

On the way, Tenner fretted, "Miss, Samuel Saunders is acting so cocky—he must’ve bribed the officials already!"

"He might not be slick enough to bribe every official," Grace replied. "But I bet the clerk who acted as our go-between is already in his pocket."

"He probably moved your stuff too!" Edward Wang chimed in.

"Mm-hmm," Grace said, a mischievous sparkle in her eye.

"So… what do we do now? Won’t we just get talked in circles?" Tenner worried.

"That’s what the contract is for!" Grace waved the paper. "Black and white, signed and stamped by all three parties—how could he possibly wiggle out of this one?"

"True… but I’ve still got a bad feeling about this…" Tenner muttered, looking worried.

Grace’s lips curled into a sly, knowing smile, but she kept quiet.

And just like that, Samuel Saunders turned things around, accusing Grace of forging the contract to blackmail him.

Whether the contract was genuine, and whether Grace was really blackmailing him, all could be settled by checking the fingerprints.

Fingerprints are proof—no way to fake them.

So Judge Johnson ordered a fingerprint verification.

The result? Grace’s fingerprint was, naturally, her own.

But Samuel Saunders and the clerk—on the very finger used for the prints—both had injuries!

Samuel Saunders claimed he’d burned his finger while working with the forge, leaving nothing but a scar where the fingerprint used to be.

The clerk’s injury was even nastier—a whole patch of flesh was missing, supposedly sliced off by accident.

Then Samuel Saunders started shouting again, "Grace must've known my finger was hurt and set me up!"

He demanded, "Judge Johnson, I want justice!"

Judge Johnson eyed their injured fingers—he knew something fishy was going on, but there was no way to prove whose prints they really were.

He could only ask Grace, "Do you have any other evidence?"

Grace flashed a confident grin. "Absolutely! I've got both witnesses and hard evidence. Judge, please see for yourself."

"Then present it!" Judge Johnson commanded.

At that moment, Percy—the clever, sharp-tongued assistant from Lucky Star—stepped forward. "I can testify: the contract is real, and so are the premium spirit iron and Fire Pearl!"

"You?" Judge Johnson was genuinely surprised.

Samuel Saunders’s jaw dropped. "Percy, have you lost your mind?"

Percy shot Samuel Saunders a frosty glare and addressed Judge Johnson, "Judge, when our blacksmith was forging the sword, he ruined Miss Bai’s materials. Not wanting to lose the shop, they bribed the clerk and deliberately injured their own fingers to dodge responsibility. I saw it all with my own eyes!"

Samuel Saunders started shouting again, “Grace must’ve known my finger was hurt and set me up!”

He pleaded, “Judge Johnson, please give me justice!”

Judge Johnson stared at their injured fingers—he knew something was fishy, but there was just no way to prove whose prints were whose.

He turned to Grace. "Any other evidence?"

Grace gave a sly smile. "Of course I do. I’ve got witnesses and physical evidence—Judge, please see for yourself!"

"Then bring it up!" Judge Johnson ordered.

Right then, Percy—the clever, sharp-tongued assistant from Lucky Star—stepped forward. "I can testify: the contract is real, and the premium spirit iron and Fire Pearl are real too!"

"You?" Judge Johnson was stunned.

Samuel Saunders’s eyes widened. "Percy, are you out of your mind?"

Percy shot Samuel Saunders a frosty look and told Judge Johnson, "Judge, when our blacksmith was forging the sword, he ruined Miss Bai’s materials. Not wanting to lose the shop, they bribed the clerk and deliberately injured their own fingers to dodge responsibility. I saw everything myself!"