Chapter 186…………………………………..
This very moment was precisely when I had to unleash all the acting skills I had honed over my life without holding back.
“What exactly are you saying?”
I feigned ignorance and protested.
“What did I do? What trickery are you talking about? If I lie in this trial, I’d be burned alive immediately!”
“Do not trust that wicked woman!”
The knights reported to Theseud.
“The blessing of the Rosen Dukes is something inherited through the ancestral power the family has venerated for generations. It’s completely different from ordinary magical power, divine power, or elemental power, and cannot be detected by normal means. I suppose it isn’t entirely impossible to use some trickery.”
“I see.”
Theseud nodded coldly.
“I don’t know how the story the princess just told relates to the incident in which you attempted to assassinate the two princes and fled… but now that there’s suspicion you’re using the family’s blessing for deceit, we cannot proceed with this trial as it stands.”
When he inclined his head, the knights immediately ran off somewhere.
Probably to get the examination equipment?
Theseud must be thinking this is finally the moment to dispose of me.
He’s certain he left not a trace of evidence at the scene.
‘But you’re completely mistaken.’
When did I ever say you left evidence? I only said there was one piece of evidence left.
And it wasn’t left by you, the culprit—it was left by me, the victim.
I had subtly muddled my words to mislead you and trap you.
Now, it’s your turn to fall into the trap.
After giving Theseud a sharp glare, I slipped behind Luelian.
Luelian shouted at the approaching knights with a furious voice.
“What do you think you’re doing? The family’s blessing? I didn’t see anything! This is a trial through divine miracle. If you interfere, you’ll incur the wrath of the gods! No one touches Aristina!”
With his violet eyes flashing fiercely as he protected me, the knights who had approached boldly hesitated.
While this commotion unfolded, the knights who had rushed off on Theseud’s orders returned. They were carrying mirrors, seemingly the same ones used during the witch hunt.
“Princess Aristina Rosen.”
The knights approached me, speaking coldly.
“Stop distracting with nonsense and confess honestly to the charges of attempting to assassinate the Crown Prince and Second Prince. If you are innocent, what reason do you have to refuse verification through this mirror? Are you avoiding it because you are guilty?”
“Absolutely not!”
I shouted to the people.
“Everyone! In fact, all of this was done to reveal the murderer! That night, I marked the culprit’s body! Among us, there is the murderer!”
Then I snatched the mirror that was about to reflect me and swung it around, reflecting every direction.
A radiant light flashed within the courtroom created through divine miracle.
The light reflected in the mirror and concentrated on one person.
Theseud.
From his arm, the red aura of the Rosen Dukes flared brightly.
“Huh?”
Everyone in the hall saw it. Murmurs of surprise spread.
“Why is the energy of our family coming from there?”
My father, who had been watching silently, shouted loudly.
“Exactly.”
I echoed my father’s words.
“Everyone! Isn’t it strange? Now that things have reached this point, where is the villain who disrupted the knights’ duel? Even though Luelian escaped so cleverly, his trail was eventually discovered. But why has that person completely vanished? Since the knights’ duel, he seems to have disappeared as if he never existed!”
The murmurs grew louder.
“The reason is simple. He hid in a place no one would suspect. The imperial palace itself.”
I shouted to the crowd.
“The late Duke Lacroix truly passed away as everyone believed. You were deceived by a fake. A human skilled enough to mimic a phantom can steal relics and remains from a tomb without difficulty. Isn’t that right?”
My voice echoed powerfully through the courtroom.
“Everyone knows it in their heads. But they chose to believe a sensational story they wanted to believe. Just as you were mesmerized by the provocative tale that I poisoned Serene and believed it blindly! Now is the time for everyone to stop deceiving themselves and see the truth!”
I pointed at Theseud, standing on the judge’s platform.
“On the night of July 13, the one who broke into the room where I was confined was none other than him! At the time, he used the Windfairer, officially reported missing, to try and kill me! Dreaming of a perfect crime!”
The courtroom, previously silent, erupted like a hive of bees.
“……”
Theseud silently stared at his own arm.
Looking at the shining crimson aura on his arm, his gaze was as if staring at a worm.
With a face full of disdain, he pressed it down like snuffing out a cigarette.
“Absurd….”
The words escaped his lips, and the knights became agitated.
“To pull such a filthy trick! Everyone! Don’t be fooled! Before the engagement, the villain met with Sir Theseud separately when receiving the betrothal gifts! That’s when she left this vile mark!”
“I don’t think that’s true at all.”
My father interrupted.
“To leave a mark like that, there must be contact. He would have had to grip her arm tightly. The attendants present at the time will testify that by etiquette, there would be no such contact while presenting betrothal gifts. They would not have met otherwise…”
His pale face flushed red with rising anger as he spoke.
“Then was it really you, Sir Theseud? That night, did you break into my house and harm my daughter?”
“Baseless slander.”
Theseud replied.
Then, at that moment.
“Absolutely not!”
“We have evidence!”
Someone suddenly shouted from the crowd and stepped forward.
A middle-aged woman with half-white hair and a monocle, and a young man wearing a round hat.
Editor Gregory and Benjamin.
“The smell of chicken droppings?”
The expressions around them turned odd, but the two ignored it and approached the witness stand. Soul cards emerged from their bodies and surrounded them in flames.
“You’d better think carefully.”
A royal knight said with a domineering tone.
“Do you know what this means? If you give false testimony, you’ll incur the wrath of the gods and be burned instantly.”
“It doesn’t matter. Everything I say is the truth.”
Editor Gregory stood at the witness stand without batting an eye.
“I am Melissa Gregory, editor of the Justice Daily. I have a public-interest tip. In the materials handed to us by the Rare Books Research Foundation, mistakenly thinking we were investigators, several receipts for hospitality expenses from the Public Security Bureau were discovered. Some executives had been shielding the foundation for a long time. What secret could justify this?”
“Look at this accounting ledger and you’ll understand.”
Benjamin quickly interrupted, spreading documents.
“The foundation regularly transferred large sums under the name of consulting fees to a person named Sir Frey. Editor Gregory remembered this name.”
“Persistent journalists like us rarely forget a name once it’s in our heads. This Sir Frey is a royal knight, reported missing during a mission. Isn’t it strange? Someone missing for five years was still receiving consulting fees as recently as two months ago?”
“Sir Frey, you say. Regarding that individual, this person here can also speak.”
A deep voice rang out.
Everyone turned.
A broad-shouldered white-haired old man entered with subordinates.
The head of the Dark Guild.
Among the black-suited subordinates, a middle-aged noble turned pale.
Count Leno.
He was the one who falsely accused the late Duke Lacroix.
Before reaching the witness stand, he trembled and blurted out.
“The one who approached me was Sir Frey. When the advance was deposited, I quickly memorized the name. He handed me a script and told me to read it. But that’s not a capital crime! Who hasn’t spread a rumor? I will pay any price, please spare my life!”
Editor Gregory looked at the terrified Count Leno disdainfully and spoke.
“Everyone remembers. The author said the late Duke Lacroix learned dark magic from a foreign merchant. That script didn’t come out of nowhere. Writing is usually based on one’s experiences.”
“Editor Gregory is correct. With that evidence, we present receipts from the Rare Books Research Foundation for purchases from a merchant. The items were listed as ‘office supplies,’ but the amount is absurd. I found them with eagle eyes.”
Benjamin said proudly.
Indeed, our little hamster. Truly my editor.
‘I will never forget this kindness!’
With that thought, I safely hid behind Luelian and shouted.
“Did everyone hear? Through this evidence, we discovered that someone in the Rare Books Research Foundation used opaque funds mentioned in newspapers to obtain dark magic and frame the late Duke Lacroix. But who could that person be?”
I looked around the crowd.
“It’s fascinating. Someone freely used the name of a missing royal knight for five years. Even if he had no family, the knight order must have searched diligently. Transactions under Sir Frey’s name occurred repeatedly, yet no contact was made with the knight order? Strange, isn’t it?”
Silence fell.
I continued.
“A person who can use the name of a royal knight as if it were their own, with power. Someone who can completely control a foundation while hiding their identity, with financial resources. Someone who can discreetly secure influence with the Public Security Bureau as a contingency. Who could possibly have all of this? No matter how I think about it, only one person comes to mind.”
Then, I peeked out from behind Luelian and turned my gaze proudly toward Theseud.
“……”
His eyes blazed a deep, furious blue.
