After besieging Ethan's residence for a long time, the reporters finally got what they wanted.

Ethan came out to personally respond to everyone.

His attire remained exquisite and flawless, his smile impeccable, and his tone showed not the slightest hint of panic: "…Ladies and gentlemen, I wonder if you've heard of an ancient saying from the distant East: the brighter and younger one is, the more easily they attract jealousy and targeting, like the tallest tree in the forest is always the first to be hit and destroyed by the wind. Of course, I'm not saying that Director Joseph or anyone else is jealous or targeting me, I just feel that there must be some misunderstanding here, just like those misunderstandings before. As always, no matter what happens, I will return like lightning!"

Finally, he made the same fist-clenching gesture he did at the Judicial Hall entrance earlier.

This gesture and these remarks, of course, quickly made it to the newspaper, spreading throughout Wenster.

Joseph naturally got hold of it, and despite the newspaper containing some attacks on him, he seemed to be in a good mood while reading it.

"Director, we've just received news."

At this moment, Captain Steve walked in and reported to Joseph.

"Two of Ethan's subordinates have left Wenster, both important members of the Bolita family. One is Ethan's second brother Vincent, who appears to be heading to Butan City, and the other is Virel, who seems to be heading east and carrying quite a lot of stuff, possibly to the Royal Capital."

"Hmm." Joseph nodded without saying anything else.

Steve continued, "Should we intercept them?"

"No need, absolutely not. Do you know why I didn't arrest him yesterday? Because…"

Joseph hadn't finished speaking.

A boisterous shout erupted outside.

"Outrageous, just outrageous! Joseph, why don't you just arrest him? All the evidence is clear!"

It was Frank.

He must have seen the newspaper too and came with anger.

As he barged into Joseph's office, he started his tirade again.

Joseph, however, showed no annoyance, and after listening to Frank for a while, he waved at him: "Frank, come here, Frank."

Frank, somewhat bewildered, sat down slowly.

Joseph held his face and gently patted it like a true big brother: "Look at you, Frank, you've grown so much."

"I'm sorry, Joseph, I just..." At this moment, Frank's head seemed to cool down as he remembered something, making him slightly tremble.

"Oh, Frank, you misunderstood me, I'm not blaming you for anything. I just think it's time for you to do something significant. I've always thought you had talent."

Joseph stroked his head, as if petting a small dog.

"Really? Do you really think so, Joseph?" Frank was somewhat surprised.

"Of course." Joseph nodded affirmatively.

"Then what can I do?"

"Listen to me, don't you want Ethan's reputation ruined? That's not enough now. You need to let more people know about this, so you should hurry back to the Royal Capital and spread the news of his tax evasion and money laundering. Don't you have many friends?"

"That's right!" Frank's eyes lit up.

————————

In the blink of an eye, it was already the third day since Ethan was identified by the Kingdom Defense Bureau.

While the outside world speculated why Ethan hadn't been detained yet and if this was all just a farce.

Joseph made an appearance.

As the director of the Kingdom Defense Bureau, Joseph had always been very mysterious.

He had almost never appeared in public before.

Even initially on Beihai Avenue, he only showed half of his face.

But this time, he surprisingly held a press conference to clarify the Ethan incident.

With such good news, reporters from major newspapers naturally flocked to the Kingdom Defense Bureau as if on a stimulant.

Even the protesters sitting outside the Kingdom Defense Bureau were drawn in.

Indeed, there was a faction of extreme supporters who believed in Ethan. After learning that he was accused of tax evasion and money laundering, they gathered in protest at the entrance of the Kingdom Defense Bureau, demanding the bureau clear his name and not slander Ethan.

Joseph naturally ignored this entirely.

However, today he surprisingly made an exception by letting them enter the Kingdom Defense Bureau together to attend the press conference.

This struck them as odd, and they also felt a bit that Director Joseph seemed different from others.

When they actually saw Joseph, this impression grew stronger.

For Joseph looked genuinely kind, not like a bad person at all.

As expected, when he spoke, his tone was gentle and serene: "Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for gathering you today is to clarify some matters. I am well aware that Mr. Ethan holds significant weight in your hearts and hearing news of his involvement in a case suddenly is inevitably hard to accept. But I am a law enforcer, and I never arbitrarily enforce the law; that is my bottom line. What I want to tell everyone is that I judge the matter, not the person, and to ensure justice, and to show you all that we didn't mishandle the case, Ethan's trial will be conducted in front of all the citizens of Wenster. It will be a completely fair and public trial, and we will never wrongly accuse any innocent person!"

After these words, the reporters' cameras began to flash wildly.

Though Director Joseph wasn't the most handsome, his demeanor indeed lived up to being from the Royal Capital—kind yet bearing the dignity of a superior, quite photogenic.

Moreover, his words were invigorating.

This time, they won't go through the Judicial Hall for the trial?

They're actually going to conduct a public trial in front of the entire populace?

This is much more lively than the last four-vessel case in the Judicial Hall.

After all, for these reporters, who is right or wrong doesn't truly matter; what matters is the news being weighty enough.

This public trial will probably become one of the rare grand events in Wenster in recent years.

And for those protesters, Director Joseph's approach was commendable and just, completely dispelling their doubts. If Ethan truly had no issues, could they really frame him before the crowd?

Thus, after the press conference, the protesters dispersed on their own, and in the process, they spread the news of the public trial.

Instantly, the public's anger and dissatisfaction over Ethan's conviction dissipated considerably; people were now more eager for the public trial.

As for the land reclamation issue, it had long been thrown somewhere out of mind.

Meanwhile.

Ethan was at home meeting with a long-lost friend.

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