Since the exchanged correspondence remained intact as evidence, holes kept appearing in Miro’s claims.
‘If it were me, I would be too embarrassed to speak. I really don’t know why everything comes so easily to him.’
Liselotte casually reviewed the rebuttal briefs the East had sent so far.
Unlike her own submissions, which had been packed with evidence, the materials sent by the East contained nothing but mindless rebuttals like “We don’t know,” “It’s unrelated,” and “It has nothing to do with us.”
Even if all the attached evidence they had sent so far were gathered together, it didn’t amount to more than five items.
And among those was correspondence that Liselotte herself had submitted first, making it essentially duplicated evidence.
Excluding the Emperor, both Ollas and the knight commander seemed puzzled by how shallow these rebuttal briefs were, flipping through them several times.
Ollas fiddled with the tip of his beard and asked,
“If this was a border region, similar incidents must have occurred repeatedly in the past. Before filing this lawsuit, how were such matters resolved?”
Liselotte rose confidently from her seat.
“In previous joint subjugations, experienced aides coordinated matters wisely. Thanks to that, cooperation proceeded without issue.”
“Hmm, even if aides handled it, was not the final decision-maker the defendant? Does that mean the aides coordinated matters without the defendant’s approval?”
Liselotte nodded toward Hedmilton beside her.
Hedmilton stood up with a stack of documents in hand and passed the materials to the clerk.
Watching the documents being delivered to Ollas, Liselotte answered clearly and deliberately.
“We submit, as additional evidence, statements of fact regarding the work duties of two aides who resigned from the defendant House.”
They were statements concerning the duties of Jar and Hedmilton.
They detailed the work processes during their tenure at House Gloria and the decisions that Duke Gloria routinely pushed onto them.
They stated that Hedmilton had independently judged and handled subjugation matters, and that Jar had observed that entire process.
Taebon also wrote a statement confirming that, when he was at House Gloria as a mercenary Commander, the subjugation force moved according to Hedmilton’s instructions.
“All of them are statements written by former employees. There is no more conclusive evidence than this.”
Ollas, whose eyes were still hidden beneath his beard and hair, slid the documents aside as if he had read them, or perhaps not.
The Emperor, without sparing the documents a single glance, smiled and passed the evidence to the knight commander.
After reviewing the statements of fact one by one, the knight commander’s expression hardened.
“A ruling House bears responsibility for subjugations. However, it appears that decisions and judgments were made by the aides on the defendant’s side. Is that correct?”
“That is…”
Miro, rarely flustered, wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.
The troubled look lasted only a moment. Miro smiled so broadly that his eyes disappeared.
“Changes in the person in charge are not important in the course of subjugation. Because the aides were competent, the defendant entrusted the matter to them with confidence. This does not constitute evidence that the defendant abandoned responsibility during the subjugation.”
‘Then this is where we fire back with more evidence.’
When Liselotte nodded toward Hedmilton again, he scurried over and handed another set of documents to the clerk.
“We submit additional evidentiary materials.”
There was plenty of material showing that the East had failed to fulfill its responsibilities.
Liselotte smiled brightly as she explained.
“As evidence that the defendant side consistently failed to properly carry out the role of a ruling House, we submit a report related to Gelloa Village.”
“Objection. The closure of Gelloa Village is unrelated to this case.”
Miro swiftly raised his hand and moved to defend.
“That area is a land abandoned even by the East, and since no one lives there now, it cannot be the defendant’s responsibility.”
Without even turning her head, Liselotte lifted documents identical to the evidence she had just submitted the moment he finished speaking.
“The evidence consists of an analysis of the flow of funds of House Diconu and the flow of funds of the Eastern Ducal House.”
Curious gazes from the spectators focused on her.
Quite a few had already noticed the recent deterioration of House Gloria’s financial situation.
However, the East as seen at the recent banquet hosted by Diana didn’t look as weakened as the rumors suggested.
Even if their influence had waned with the broken engagement to Valen, a ruling House was still a ruling House.
As long as subjugations continued without incident, it wouldn’t be difficult for the House to recover.
For nobles sensitive to shifts in power, it was an issue of utmost importance.
After taking a brief pause to breathe, Liselotte continued speaking, deliberately pretending to read the documents.
“House Diconu was once entrusted by House Gloria with subjugations in certain parts of the East, and with the profits earned there, they managed nearby areas. One of the areas they managed in that way was Gelloa Village.”
At the unfamiliar name of a rural village, the spectators began to murmur.
“Gelloa Village? Where is that?”
“Isn’t that the village where there was an epidemic a long time ago…?”
“Ah… what could such a small village possibly have to do with this. Are they dragging something like that in because they have no evidence related to the subjugation?”
As if there were no connection.
Tapping the evidence in her hand lightly with her finger, Liselotte continued.
“House Diconu began sponsoring a poorhouse in Gelloa Village at some point. The amount was a staggering 12 billion gold.”
Gasp. Sounds of people sucking in their breath came from all around.
“What… 12 billion to a poorhouse?”
“With that kind of money, you could build a whole temple, not a poorhouse.”
The amount was absurdly large.
It wasn’t a donation paid all at once, but sums disbursed under various pretexts.
Human resource development, regional maintenance, compensation for monster damage, and so on.
As if subsidizing a large, densely populated region.
Amusingly, House Diconu, which had shown no interest in the poorhouse at first, began increasing its sponsorship right around the time it started gathering investments.
The amount was far too questionable to be explained as a simple change of heart.
Flip. Turning the page, Liselotte continued in a clear, book-reading voice.
“And House Gloria is likewise paying maintenance funds every month to the area managed by House Diconu, citing regional development. The total amount comes to 45 billion gold.”
It looked as though he knew nothing at all about matters related to House Diconu.
Miro bit his lip slightly, his eyes anxiously sweeping over the presiding officials.
One Had to know something to rebut it, but he looked as if everything related to House Diconu was completely new to him.
Liselotte briefly checked the Emperor’s reaction.
It was material he himself had provided. At the very least, the Emperor would have known how this evidence would be used.
Yet he continued to wear a gentle smile, merely watching the trial like a bystander.
Liselotte snapped the papers shut and raised her voice.
“However, that area has long since seen the extinction of monsters, and since no one lives in the village anymore, it is impossible to know where the money is being used.”
She deliberately concealed Kairi’s story.
This was her final card, and Liselotte hoped as much as possible that he would not be consumed as gossip before the public.
If it truly became necessary, she would reveal it, but for now, the situation had not yet pushed her that far.
Liselotte let out a small sigh, then continued speaking.
“This is evidence that the defendant neglected its management of the Eastern region.”
Because the amount involved was so large, the atmosphere sank heavily.
Among the crowd were merchants and employees who hadn’t been properly paid by House Gloria, mixed in and barely containing their anger.
Watching the situation unfold, Miro suddenly raised his hand.
“Objection. Matters concerning House Diconu are unrelated to the defendant!”
“If the defendant has been negligent in its responsibility over the Eastern region, then they are not unrelated. The objection is overruled.”
The knight commander cut him off coldly.
But Miro stubbornly kept his hand raised.
“Honorable Presiding Officials. Gelloa Village is part of the Eastern region, and even if it is no longer a village, regional residents still live nearby. Maintenance funds are inevitably necessary. Whether this amount is appropriate is not a matter for this trial to judge.”
“I will rebut on behalf of the plaintiff. We are not asking you to judge the amount, but to establish the defendant’s incompetence in being that indifferent to regional management.”
As Liselotte pressed forward without backing down, the Emperor merely watched the exchange in silence.
