DC: I am Bruce Wayne

Chapter 114: Innocent Until Proven Prisoner

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"Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says different is selling something."

—The Dread Pirate Roberts/Westley, (The Princess Bride)

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<(Bruce Wayne POV)>

"Sorry, but I can't answer that question," I denied. "Your daughter is among the most beautiful women I have ever seen, just like you my Queen, and if you expect any man not to feel even the tiniest bit of desire and affection after laying their eyes on you two, then you must have never met a true man at all," I answered with a straight righteous face.

"That means you did have bad thoughts about my daughter, didn't you?" Hippolyta correctly deduced while raising one of her eyebrows.

"Bad thoughts? BAD THOUGHTS? What the hell do you take me for, a fucking animal? I am a well-respected philanthropist in my homeland, Your Highness. I try to help people as much as I can. I am neither a rapist nor a bad person. I only ever came to this island because I was lost at sea, otherwise, I wouldn't even have tried it, no matter how beautiful all of you are. Also, I consider myself a true man, someone who takes it as his responsibility to protect women and their honor... as long as that woman herself is worth protecting that is. Also, I am sure you understand that the very fact that I can say these words while still being bound by this lasso is proof that I am purely speaking the truth." I defended myself in a single breath, the self-righteous tone still not leaving my voice.

"..." After listening to my words, all the Amazons present there suddenly went silent as they looked at each other's faces in confusion. They knew that it was true. Nobody could lie with the lasso around their bodies. So, all the things the man had said were most probably true even though they didn't really want to believe it. In fact, some of the Amazon guards standing there while listening to the conversation had even begun to sympathize with Bruce, seeing him as a "gentleman" who truly didn't have any intention to cause them any harm.

To them, the man was definitely innocent and there was no way that the Queen would be able to punish him without seeming like an absolute villain. Some of them were almost wishing in their hearts that someone as innocent and honest as Bruce shouldn't be harshly punished for seemingly no reason at all.

Diana on the other hand barely had any visible emotions on her face at all. Nobody knew what she was thinking exactly but one thing was clear. Whatever her thoughts were, she was trying her best to hide them from her mother for some reason.

"You have a way with words, don't you?" Hippolyta snorted with an amused laugh. "But you are right. The lasso can never be wrong. You really are innocent, at least when it comes to any crime against our country and the people living in it... Fine then, I Queen Hippolyta of Themyscira hereby declare that Bruce Wayne is innocent of all the charges declared against him." She announced.

"Thank you, oh beautiful Queen..." I began in an attempt to try to flatter her, but my words were quickly interrupted.

"Take him to the prison." She ordered her guards.

"Wait, what? But didn't you just declare me innocent a few seconds ago?" I asked confused, wondering whether the Queen suffered from some short-term memory loss condition.

"I indeed have deemed you not guilty of the charges placed against you, traveler... But that doesn't mean you are free to go. As a man, you are not supposed to set foot on this island, nor are you allowed to know its location. You cannot be permitted to leave this island just like that. Because if you leave, then there is always a chance that you will reveal the location and secrets of this place to others. Once the selfish men in the men's world know about our exact location, it will undoubtedly affect not only my daughter but also all the Amazons as well. That is the reason why you will have to remain in prison until we figure out what to do with you." Hippolyta reasoned, her words making sound sense.