Chapter 51……………………………………….
Before anyone realized it, Sharon was holding a box-shaped artifact from which a voice was being played with vivid clarity.
“My husband, Grand Duke Liandro, is the acting lord who has been formally entrusted with authority by the Duke. And the Duchess has been deceased for a long time. If not me, then who else could possibly be the mistress of Cassius Castle?”
“Miss Riena!”
Only then did the head maid fully grasp what was happening, her face draining pale.
“Therefore, strictly speaking, the young madam has no right to punish me or the children here, nor to exert influence over our employment. I didn’t want to say it so bluntly, but you went too far over something as trivial as hanging a portrait, and I have no choice.”
Recorded or not, the maid’s voice continued spilling words that were nothing but damaging to her present self.
“My deepest apologies, but even the young duke told me that it would be best for Miss Riena to continue managing the household affairs. So no matter how much the young madam insists, she cannot possess authority she never had to begin with.”
Click.
Sharon pressed the button, ending the playback.
“This is a conversation that took place only eleven days ago in Cassius Castle between the witness and the plaintiff, recorded using the device here.”
“Ah…”
The head maid let out a groan, covering her face with both hands.
“Earlier, you testified that while the plaintiff lacked authority, you sincerely served her as the lady of the house. But this is evidence that directly contradicts that statement.”
“T-that…”
“With this recording, we can confirm several facts.”
Sharon raised a finger.
“First: Marianne Neuer, who can be considered the representative of the ducal servants, did not regard the plaintiff as the mistress of the house at all.”
She lifted a second finger.
“Second: even through voice alone, her attitude is clearly far from respectful.”
The maid began trembling violently.
“And third: the plaintiff had no means whatsoever to discipline servants, and it is highly likely that the defendant knew this and allowed it to continue.”
“Y-you coward!”
Suddenly, the maid screamed and pointed at me.
“You took that artifact saying you’d deliver it to Miss Riena!”
“Witness!”
“This is theft! How shameless—presenting something you stole as evidence!”
Before Pharrell could stop her, the maid, cornered psychologically, detonated a bomb.
A self-inflicted one.
Idiot.
Rather than showing politeness, she had just reinforced Sharon’s argument with her own mouth.
She was never the clever type of character to begin with.
The maid abruptly turned toward Riena, desperate.
“Miss… that woman acted on her own… I truly didn’t know she would… I only handed over the artifact…”
She had lost all judgment, blinded by loyalty.
“It is not theft.”
Sharon replied calmly.
“The plaintiff properly requested permission from the servant who possessed the recorder at the time, and received it legitimately.”
“But you never delivered it!”
“I fully intend to.”
Sharon smiled.
“After this trial ends.”
“T-that’s absurd!”
“Then let me ask you instead. When did the plaintiff ever specify when she would deliver it?”
“What…?”
“Under Imperial law, if something was not taken without consent and there is clear intent to return it, theft does not apply.”
“That can’t be true!”
“If you doubt it, you may ask the lawyer standing right there.”
It was true, and Pharrell had no rebuttal.
Instead, he shifted tactics.
“Your Honor, I believe we require more time to examine this evidence carefully. There is no absolute confirmation that the voice belongs to the witness, and as you know, recordings have only a short history of being used as courtroom evidence…”
“How strange.”
Sharon’s voice was almost amused.
“Wasn’t you the first lawyer in Imperial history to submit a recording as evidence? Attorney Pharrell Phillips.”
Her lips curved.
“I refer to Case No. 647EC288, seven years ago. You were the defense attorney then, and it was you who first introduced the recording device to the world.”
The judge nodded.
“I remember clearly. The dispute over ownership of the sacred relic stone between House Cassius and House Birode.”
That case carried complicated history, even in the novel.
But what mattered now was this:
The decisive factor in Cassius’s victory back then had been… a recording.
A bizarre invention Riena had obtained by chance.
“Many doubted the recorder at first,” Sharon continued smoothly.
“Until Attorney Phillips perfectly proved its evidentiary power.”
She spread her arms as though genuinely admiring him.
“It was remarkable. No one could deny it. The recorded voice is indistinguishable from hearing the speaker directly. And while recordings may be erased… they cannot be manipulated.”
The reason lay in the special magic stone material.
But that wasn’t important now.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, we are spared the trouble of debating authenticity.”
Pharrell bit down hard on his lip.
I had never seen him react so emotionally.
Naturally.
The thing binding him now was his own past.
His greatest triumph.
“…I acknowledge it. The witness treated the plaintiff with an attitude unacceptable for a servant.”
Marianne stared at him in shock.
Fast thinker.
He abandoned defending her immediately.
“But is this not merely the witness’s personal misconduct? That alone cannot prove the plaintiff suffered treatment severe enough to destroy the marriage—”
“As you yourself said, Attorney Phillips, the witness is the servants’ ‘representative.’ If the one meant to set an example behaves like that, do you truly believe the others treated the plaintiff respectfully?”
“Refrain from speculation!”
“Your Honor, one question.”
Sharon’s tone sharpened.
“Among the servants’ testimonies submitted by the defense… did even one mention the head maid’s disrespectful behavior?”
The judge closed his eyes briefly, searching his memory.
“…No.”
“How strange.”
Sharon’s contempt flickered beneath her professionalism.
“As you can hear from the murmuring in the background, this conversation occurred in front of multiple servants.”
“And yet not a single person testified about it?”
She tilted her head.
“Either the defense selectively edited testimonies… or they were all complicit.”
“Enough!”
“Oh, pardon. That was merely my personal conjecture.”
Her voice was cool.
“And you don’t need to shout. We can all hear you.”
No matter how Pharrell struggled, the tide had already turned.
Even without the butler, if it continues like this…
Then—
I saw the head maid still standing at the witness stand.
She looked frantic, glancing around—
Then gasped sharply.
The spectators’ gazes were vicious.
Of course.
She had been caught in an obvious lie, with vivid recorded proof.
Could there be a clearer villain than her?
Unlike Liandro, whom Pharrell defended, the maid had been thrown to the wolves with nothing.
She clung to her last thread of hope and looked at Riena.
“Miss…”
I was startled.
Until now, Riena had been expressionless.
But as she looked at the maid…
She smiled faintly.
Then her lips moved.
Are you okay?
Just as I read the silent message—
Riena’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m sorry.”
The courtroom turned toward her at once.
“It’s all my fault. The head maid was my nanny. I loved her so much… I wanted to do everything for her. I never imagined that would make her forget her place.”
Her voice wasn’t loud—
Yet it pierced the air perfectly.
“It was the same with my sister-in-law. I only kept taking over the work because I didn’t want her to suffer…”
She trembled.
“…How foolish I was.”
Everyone was absorbed.
Riena made it so.
When her thin shoulders shook with sobs, someone even let out an unconscious sigh.
“Sister-in-law… I’m sorry. This is because of me. No apology could ever earn forgiveness.”
When she finished, people looked dazed.
Only then did the judge slam his gavel.
“Order!”
It was a warning directed at Riena.
“If you disrupt the proceedings again, no matter your privilege as a member of House Cassius, you will be removed. Remember that.”
Riena nodded silently.
But the warning rang hollow.
Because even the judge had failed to cut her off.
He, too, had been crushed under her presence.
Just like everyone else.
Presence.
There was no other word.
Goosebumps rose along my arms.
This wasn’t about beauty.
Or acting skill.
Riena possessed something else entirely—
An overwhelming aura that dominated people.
This is the protagonist…
When I read Returning to Walk Only Flower Roads, I thought Riena’s special treatment was simply because she was the heroine.
Characters listened too closely.
Praised minor cleverness as though it were greatness.
Even villains froze like frogs before snakes when she glared.
Back then, I brushed it off.
Because she’s the protagonist.
But now—
I could feel it in my skin.
This was the protagonist’s power.
In good ways and bad.
An irresistible gravity that pulled everyone in.
Even from the audience, she could sway the trial itself.
“Young madam!”
Suddenly, the head maid rushed forward.
For a moment I thought she would attack—
But instead, she collapsed flat before me.
“I’m sorry, young madam. I was arrogant. I committed an unforgivable sin. I’m sorry. Truly, I’m sorry.”
Then she began slamming her forehead against the floor.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
The judge shouted urgently.
“Stop her!”
Guards rushed in and dragged her up.
Blood dripped down her forehead.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
Even as they pulled her away, she kept screaming apologies.
Then—
Our eyes met.
Only for an instant.
“….”
The courtroom fell silent.
And in that silence, someone whispered clearly:
“Pitiful.”
Agreement spread instantly.
“Yeah…”
“Imagine how desperate she must be…”
“She must really regret it…”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Only after the judge struck the gavel repeatedly did the murmuring die down.
Dangerous.
The atmosphere was shifting to their side.
Perhaps because Riena had already shaken people’s hearts—
sympathy formed quickly.
A loyal nanny repenting after her lady’s heartfelt plea…
That was the picture people wanted to see.
No.
In the maid’s eyes, I saw no remorse.
No guilt.
Not even hatred.
Only blind faith.
As though she couldn’t even feel pain—
only certainty that everything she did was for Riena.
I didn’t know whether the maid’s actions were intended by Riena.
But one thing was certain:
Riena’s plea had become a signal.
A person who was panicking moments ago changed completely.
Terrifying.
For the first time, I truly felt it—
I was standing on the opposite side of the protagonist.
Opposite someone loved absolutely by everyone around her…
And even by the world itself.
