Judged in the Court of Scumbags

My wife, Charlene Weber, has taken me to the Scumbag Court.

If I'm found guilty, all my assets will be taken from me, and I'll face 10 years of imprisonment. Charlene, on the other hand, will get to marry her ideal man—Joel Quinlan—as she wishes.

If I'm acquitted of all charges, Charlene will be made to divorce me without alimony. She'll also be cursed with bad luck and disfigured so badly she'll be the ugliest woman in the world.

Conversely, I'll be given 10 million dollars in reparations and gain a lifetime's worth of good luck.

Everyone is advising me to admit to my mistakes, but only because Charlene has always been a virtuous, devoted wife in their eyes. They think that there must surely be some complicated grievances between us at the moment.

However, they are unaware that I've been reborn.

This time, I'm going to tear off Charlene's mask of hypocrisy.

I stood in the defendant's seat in Scumbag Court as a bailiff put the memory-retrieval helmet on me.

The judge, Aiden Faire, mechanically informed me of the precautions, "Once the Judgement Helmet has been worn, you'll be deemed guilty if you back out midway. Your life will be forfeit. Are you sure you wish to put on the helmet, Hanson Quill?"

My heart did not waver in the slightest. I nodded firmly.

Charlene Weber looked at me with a trace of guilt in her eyes.

That was right. Charlene, my wife, whom I'd been married to for five years, had taken me to trial in Scumbag Court.

It was for no other reason than to divorce me, leaving me with nothing to my name. She wanted me chained and thrown into prison, after which she would take my money and live happily ever after with her dream man.

However, they had no idea that I'd been reborn.

In my previous life, I didn't wear the Judgement Helmet at all on account of our past affections. I pleaded guilty in the face of public opinion.

If I were found guilty, I'd simply lose my assets and be imprisoned for 10 years. On the other hand, Charlene would be disfigured and plagued with bad luck, and her life would be in danger.

At that time, I didn't know why she did it. I simply assumed she had misunderstood me because she didn't understand my straightforward and sometimes oblivious way of showing affection. I couldn't bear the thought of dooming her to such a terrible fate.

As such, I proved that I was a complete soft-hearted fool. I later learned that Charlene had gotten married to Joel Quinlan almost as soon as I was imprisoned. When I heard the news, the senior inmates were in the middle of banging my head incessantly against the cell's iron bars.

In the end, I was beaten to death in prison before I even finished my sentence.

"In that case, let us begin!" ordered Aiden.

There was a large screen above my head that was connected to similar displays throughout the country.

"Hold on!"

Charlene stood up hurriedly, attracting everyone's attention.

She then said pitifully to me, "It'll be painful to wear the Judgement Helmet, Hanson. I can't bear to see you suffer. If you admit to your crime, you'll only have to serve your sentence in prison.

"However, if the truth is made public, your reputation will remain ruined even after you're released. How are you going to continue living your life?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, everyone looked sympathetically at her.

"She's such a great woman. Why doesn't this scumbag know how to cherish her? He even had to be a cheating bastard. He really doesn't know how good he has it."

"I'm Charlene's neighbor. She's generally very approachable and treats Hanson really well. It's no exaggeration to claim that she's the kindest, most loving wife."

"That's right. Even now, this woman is speaking up for that scumbag. We're in favor of just convicting the cheating bastard and letting him rot in prison, Your Honor!"