CHAPTER 08
Although there was some debate, in the end, everyone had no choice but to agree that there was no other way.
A moment later.
“The holy trial will resume tomorrow.”
Ruellian declared.
A murmur spread through the audience, but no one dared challenge the judge’s decision. The spectators dispersed, setting their hopes on tomorrow.
Even the luxurious carriage of the Duke of Rozen returned home.
“The Duke has returned!”
Though the atmosphere remained chaotic due to the young lady’s trial, the servants quickly composed themselves.
Everyone kept their mouths shut tightly and resumed their duties. A tense silence settled over both the main and annex buildings.
In that suffocating atmosphere, a grumbling voice came from a corner of the greenhouse.
“Damn it! When the hell can I quit this?”
A young apprentice gardener, who had been cleaning the floor, threw down his broom.
Even though he had perfectly completed the task he was hired for, he still hadn’t been paid the remainder of his fee. He had been told to lie low until the young lady was definitively executed.
“Damn it!”
Frustrated, he kicked the broom—just then, he sensed someone approaching.
He quickly picked up the broom and pretended to clean again.
But the presence grew louder, turning into the sound of feet running at full speed.
“Who’s there?”
As he turned around, knights of the ducal house appeared from between the trees.
Startled, the boy tried to step aside, but was too slow and ended up being pushed to the ground.
“Ah, sorry about that.”
The knights helped him up and held him firmly. The boy, too stunned to speak, simply opened and closed his mouth…
“You should’ve been more careful.”
At that moment, a voice froze him in place.
Someone stepped out from behind the knights.
Golden hair and rose-colored eyes. A face like a sculpture carved by the gods, wearing a cruel smile—an aristocratic young lady walked toward them gracefully.
Anyone from this household would jump out of bed at the sight.
The boy was dumbfounded.
‘What the hell? Why is the lady here? Isn’t she supposed to be detained by the Holy Order?’
Lady Aristina stared at the boy with eyes glowing with poison, then lowered her gaze.
Blood was flowing from a wound on his knee, scraped just below his shorts.
She frowned.
“Oh dear, you’re hurt. It’s your fault, so treat him.”
“We don’t have any medicine. Oh, wait—this kid has some.”
One of the knights picked up a bottle from the floor. The boy’s mind went blank.
‘Why is that here?’
A square glass bottle with a yellow label marked “Disinfectant.”
After completing the job, he had tossed that fake disinfectant bottle in the trash.
And yet, it had returned—as if possessed.
Even when he pinched his cheek, it was definitely the bottle he had thrown away.
When the lady tilted the bottle, drops of liquid began to fall—undoubtedly, that stuff.
“Noah Meyer. That’s your name, isn’t it? Why do you look so panicked? This is medicine, isn’t it? The very same disinfectant you used to treat Serene. Now, let’s use it on you.”
She knew everything.
Terror turned the boy’s mind completely white.
With crimson lips curling upward and eyes gleaming with sinister light, Lady Aristina approached—she was the very embodiment of a demon.
And that demon was about to pour poison into his wound.
“AAAAAH!”
The boy struggled in the knights’ grip.
“Please! Please spare me! I don’t know anything! Someone just gave me the medicine and told me what to do!”
“Who was it? The attendant maid, right?”
“Y-yes! Br–Brienne…”
At his confession, Lady Aristina turned her head sharply.
From across the greenhouse, another voice rang out.
“She says so, Brienne?”
The voice belonged to Duke Canel.
A curtain that had been draped among the trees like part of the decor was pulled aside, revealing a different scene.
The Duke of Canel and two holy knights from the Order were seated, having tea.
Among the twelve attendant maids serving them, one girl’s face had turned ghostly pale.
“That criminal just said your name. What do you think, Brienne?”
The Duke asked calmly, his gaze fixed on her.
In the suffocating silence, only the clink of teacups could be heard. Brienne’s hands trembled uncontrollably.
Finally, she opened her mouth.
“…I don’t know anything about this.”
“What?! Why are you pretending not to know all of a sudden? We just talked this morning behind the carriage warehouse!”
The boy shouted, unable to hide his frustration and lapsing into the harsh dialect of the slums.
“You can’t just throw me under the bus to save yourself! You were the one who pulled strings to get me hired here and gave me that bottle! You told me exactly what kind of injury to inflict when the pretty young lady entered the greenhouse! You said to act like I was treating her and pour on a generous amount so it would absorb well!”
He wasn’t about to take the fall alone—his fierce determination showed clearly on his face.
“Here! Here’s the money she gave me. This is half—the other half was promised after the lady’s execution. When I said I didn’t trust her, Brienne even wrote a promissory note under her little brother’s name. Here!”
Undeniable evidence was piling up.
“Ha… unbelievable.”
Duke Canel was stunned.
He was impressed that his daughter’s scheme had worked, and furious at the criminal’s shameless face.
“D-Duke, please have mercy…”
Brienne was trembling so violently under his cold gaze that she could barely stay on her feet.
Without even looking at her, he said,
“With all this evidence, we’ll have to investigate.”
“Yes, sir!”
The knights ran off and soon returned.
“One of the floorboards under her bed was loose. When we lifted it, we found this.”
They presented a brick to the Duke.
At first glance, it looked ordinary. But when they smashed it, a glittering gold bar was revealed inside.
“What the hell, Brienne?”
I walked toward her and said coldly,
“Was your salary not enough, huh?”
Brienne, who had barely been holding on, collapsed at the sight of me.
“P-please spare me!”
Being reborn as a notorious villainess had felt hopeless at first, but now I saw the advantages.
This face was perfect for interrogating criminals.
I was sure of it.
In natural light, my eyes were rose-colored—but in darkness, they glowed red. If someone looked into them, wouldn’t gruesome, high-definition visions of their imminent fate flash before their eyes?
And to match that mood, I had to deliver the perfect line.
I reached out and grabbed Brienne’s chin.
“Dragging this out will only prolong your pain.”
“…Hhk!”
Shaken by fear and despair, Brienne finally broke.
“I’ll confess everything.”
The attendant maid, trembling like a leaf, spilled all the details.
The courtroom was buzzing like a marketplace.
“Because Aristina caused another scene over Serene yesterday, even the mighty Ruellian Lacroix had to declare an adjournment. But it turns out Serene did nothing wrong, and today Aristina will finally go down for good.”
Such rumors had been spreading, and with the public allowed unlimited access to observe, all the noble ladies and lords who hated Aristina gathered.
They watched Ruellian closely as he finally spoke.
“On the night of July 13, Lady Aristina Bianca Rozen trespassed into the sanctuary and desecrated the holy relic, the Amaranthia flower. The gravity of this crime cannot be measured.”
Finally! Everyone leaned in with bated breath…
But the next words out of Ruellian’s mouth shocked them.
“However, according to the lady, she committed this act to draw attention to a divine revelation related to the attempted poisoning of Lady Serene Hyperion. She claimed that God had provided evidence of her innocence and presented that proof to the court. As a result, the truth of the incident was uncovered. The lady was falsely accused.”
What?!
Everyone stared with their mouths open. Ruellian shrugged.
“On the day of the incident, just before the tea party, a delinquent named Noah Meyer—disguised as a servant of House Rozen—approached the victim, Lady Serene Hyperion, and intentionally injured her. Under the pretense of treating her, he administered a substance that reacts with blood to become a deadly toxin.”
He flipped through a few pages.
“This was all part of a scheme to frame Lady Aristina during the upcoming reconciliation ceremony. The person who hired Noah Meyer was Brienne Evans, an attendant maid of the ducal house. And the one who bribed Brienne was…”
He scanned the gallery.
“Charlotte Remiel.”
Everyone turned to look at the same spot.
There stood a noble lady, her face already pale as a corpse.
‘Finally, the real culprit.’
I stared at her.
The eldest daughter of the prestigious knightly House Remiel.
Dressed in a violet dress with lace gloves, she looked every bit the elegant and refined noble lady.
She—Charlotte Remiel—was the true mastermind behind everything.
“How dare you! These accusations are absurd!”
She shouted boldly.
“And who are you shouting at? I made that judgment just now. Are you saying I’m lying? That’s contempt of court—add it to the list.”
Ruellian slammed the documents onto the table. His tone was businesslike yet menacing.
“All the evidence is here. The maid confessed everything. She used to serve in your household, right? Thanks to her background in proper etiquette from a knightly family, she was hired as an attendant for House Rozen. It’s all recorded—when and where you two met and planned everything…”
He flipped through more pages.
“Three witnesses already came forward. One of them is the black-market dealer who sold you the poison. The owner of ‘The Blue Windmill’ tavern by the Lucia Bridge. Who would’ve thought? A noble lady from an esteemed family consorting with someone like that.”
So he even ran a full background check.
I was impressed. Recruiting Ruellian had been a brilliant move.
With extraordinary speed and focus, he had gathered enough evidence to completely corner the culprit.
Now I understood why people worshipped him like a god.
“…”
As the pile of irrefutable evidence grew, Charlotte, who had been so defiant, turned completely pale and finally collapsed.
“Restrain her.”
“Yes, sir!”
The holy knights stepped forward.
From here on, this was no longer a matter of faith—it belonged to the realm of law. The true criminal was to be bound and taken to the authorities.
At that moment—
“Wait!”
I shouted.
“There’s one thing I want to ask the culprit.”
Seeing the one who had tried to destroy me brought me immense satisfaction, but also confusion.
‘Why?’
Of all the enemies I had, Charlotte Remiel wasn’t one I remembered.
‘And I paid attention to everyone, even the extras…’
In front of everyone, I approached her and asked,
“Why did you do this to me?”
“Why?”
Charlotte jerked up her head, her eyes burning with hatred.
I flinched inwardly—but I couldn’t back down.
‘I genuinely want to know.’
If I wanted to survive, gathering and analyzing previous cases was vital.
I had to know why this person had targeted me—so I could be prepared for the next time.
Fueled by my thirst for information, I questioned her even more fiercely.
“Speak! You must have had a reason to frame me like that, didn’t you?”
