chapter 19
‘If I had to take that hand, I’d rather make a deal with the devil.’
At that moment, Killian’s face flashed through my mind. Unlike the devil I had imagined, he was a man of elegance and dangerous allure.
“Her Imperial Highness, Princess Isabella, is entering!”
The courtroom, which had briefly quieted, grew noisy again at the princess’s arrival. I hadn’t heard anything about royalty attending this trial.
Did she read my letter?
A possibility crossed my mind. Otherwise, there was no reason for a sickly princess to attend a trial like this—unless she were simply a noble seeking entertainment.
Still, it was too early to jump to conclusions. I quietly observed the situation. Imperial knights surrounded the princess on all sides, guarding her without a single gap. It was protection taken to the extreme.
Rihart, who had been seated in the gallery, immediately noticed and stood up. His face hardened as he looked at her.
“Your Highness.”
“…It’s been a while, Sir Edmon.”
“Your Highness, stability is the most important thing right now. Why have you come out at a time like this?”
Rihart spoke with a tone that sounded almost like a reprimand, and the princess’s shoulders shrank slightly.
Seeing her dejected expression made me want to snap back at him.
Get lost, you nuisance!
“That’s what I wanted to say.”
“But staying inside the palace all the time is so suffocating…”
“Even so, you must take care of your health.”
“…All right.”
At her obedient reply, Rihart’s expression softened a little.
“But next time, please at least inform us before going out. We’ll arrange the escort properly.”
Princess Isabella looked slightly fed up but nodded anyway.
While they spoke, I quietly observed her.
The imperial family’s faces were the only ones never printed in newspapers, so this was my first time seeing her in person.
The seventeen-year-old princess was beautiful, but her faded violet hair—bleached by an excess of divine power—resembled a withering violet flower.
Perhaps to cover her pale complexion, she wore heavy makeup with reddish tones.
It’s a miracle she’s survived this long.
People with divine power overload rarely lived past thirteen. That was about the age Stella had died.
The princess had managed to hold on thanks to life-prolonging treatment from the newly appointed pope four years ago, but even now, it wouldn’t be strange if she died at any moment.
If only Stella had been born a little later…
She might have still been alive, sustained by the pope’s treatment.
That thought made my chest ache, and I turned my gaze away from the princess as if to escape it.
Once she took her seat at the very front of the gallery, the judge entered shortly after.
He came in with somewhat hurried steps and quickly took his seat.
…Looks like he rushed over in the middle of eating cake.
As if he had dashed in upon hearing of the princess’s arrival, there was still a bit of cream left at the corner of his mouth.
Well, if he delayed in front of a terminally ill princess whose every moment mattered, next time he’d be sitting in the defendant’s seat.
With the emperor as the plaintiff. And the verdict would be done in ten seconds.
Bang, bang. Judge—execution.
“I declare the court in session.”
And so, the trial began thirty minutes earlier than scheduled.
The Grand Duke Orpheo needs to get here quickly…
I bit my lip anxiously.
If the princess didn’t help, the trial would proceed as it was. It was understandable that she wasn’t acting rashly.
Well, considering how much Rihart must have badmouthed me…
A loyal knight, famous for his noble character.
If Rihart Edmon whispered “that woman is a fraud” beside her, there wouldn’t be a single person in the empire who wouldn’t believe him.
“The plaintiff, Miss Edith Diel, claims exclusive development rights over the coffee extraction method and cocktail recipes using coffee and wine…”
As the trial progressed, my patience began to wear thin.
Killian Orpheo hadn’t shown even a strand of his hair.
That damn devil.
He didn’t just toy with me, did he?
We had signed a contract, but if it was the Grand Duke Orpheo, he could invalidate it by any means.
If that’s the case, I won’t die alone.
If I were to die, I’d drag him down a cliff with me.
As I muttered something close to a curse in my mind, the judge struck the gavel.
“Plaintiff! Plaintiff!”
“Yes?”
Startled by being called, I snapped out of my thoughts. I had just reached the part where I shoved Killian off a cliff in my imagination.
“I asked whether the contents of your complaint match what I just stated.”
“No.”
“Is there another issue?”
“Actually, I was thinking about something else and didn’t hear your words, Your Honor. I’m sorry. Could you repeat that once more?”
I had to stall for time somehow.
Perhaps stunned by my shameless honesty, the judge made a baffled expression before clearing his throat.
From the left, I could hear the twin siblings of Cornelli snickering. I wished they’d just shut up.
“Plaintiff, please be more attentive. I’ll explain again.”
As the trial progressed further, the time came for both sides to present evidence and argue the truth.
Daisy and Russ Marty, seated in the gallery, kept glancing nervously between me and the exit.
At least thanks to the princess’s presence, the trial wasn’t being rushed.
I decided to make full use of that and stood up to speak.
“The ones who copied the coffee extraction method and cocktail recipes were Millen Dessert House and Rowen Dessert House.”
“And how is that related to this case?”
The lawyer representing Duke Adelheit scoffed.
“Of course it’s related.”
I let out a small laugh, as if it were obvious. My dismissive gaze made the lawyer’s face flush with embarrassment.
“As far as I know, those establishments are run by Baron Lopin and Viscount Hillstein.”
My voice rang clearly through the courtroom.
“They are both vassals of Duke Adelheit.”
“Such audacity! You’re the one who stole internal techniques first—!”
Duke Adelheit shouted at me, veins bulging, acting like the true victim.
It was so absurd I couldn’t even laugh.
I responded coldly.
“Then why didn’t you release those techniques earlier? Recently, Rohart Coffee House’s sales have been declining—wasn’t that why you stole Gold House’s techniques?”
At my valid point, murmurs spread through the gallery.
The Adelheit side faltered, and their lawyer quickly spoke up.
“Hah! We were preparing it ourselves. Edith Diel—if you hadn’t acted first, we would have released it before you!”
“Hmm, that’s a reasonable point.”
The judge chimed in.
At that, I shot him a sharp glare, and he flinched, avoiding my gaze.
The flow of the trial was completely biased.
There was no hope in sight.
Is the princess my only hope now?
For the first time since the trial began, I met Princess Isabella’s eyes.
She had apparently been watching me all along. When our gazes met, her red lips tightened.
She glanced at Rihart, then back at me, her expression conflicted.
Rihart met her gaze and shook his head.
It meant: don’t step in.
Seeing that, I became certain.
She definitely read my letter!
But I didn’t expect her to take my side at this moment.
Publicly, I was nothing more than a fraud.
“Plaintiff, do you have any witnesses to present?”
The judge asked again.
Half resigned, I opened my mouth. At this point, the only option left was to fight using evidence that I had developed these methods.
“No, I don’t have any—”
Just as the princess, biting her lip, squeezed her eyes shut and tried to stand—
“No, there is.”
A low, resonant, captivating voice suddenly cut through the courtroom.
It sounded strangely familiar.
I turned my head—and froze in shock.
At some point, the Grand Duke Orpheo had appeared, seated in the witness stand.
