A perfectly straight gaze in which not a single trace of a joke could be found stared at Liselotte.
Considering how Eren had consistently avoided her eyes at first, it couldn’t help but be called remarkable progress.
Liselotte scrunched the bridge of her nose and told him firmly,
“You may not know this, Eren but I have no intention of dying because of someone else ever again!”
As if it weren’t already enough to simply live out her full lifespan before going, to be sacrificed for someone else’s mistake or objective?
“Again?”
Eren’s brows twitched as if he sensed something strange.
“You speak as though you have died before.”
Feeling a pang of guilt for no reason, Liselotte instead looked at him boldly and smiled brightly.
If she backed down here, she would be at a disadvantage. In anything, momentum was what mattered.
“It means I have no intention of dying against my will.”
Before he could dig any deeper, she quickly changed the subject.
“Are there still people trying to enter the Keilos’ estate even after Mirkena arrived?”
“Not as openly as before. I imagine Ail handed that matter over to Hedmilton.”
“Ah, that.”
Liselotte, who had been about to say it was unusable evidence, quietly closed her mouth.
Still, there had been effort put into organizing it, and there was no need to disregard someone else’s hard work.
But Eren saw through even that with ease.
“So it cannot be used as evidence.”
“Well… there is no clear proof that the East was responsible. If we reveal it rashly and they attempt to destroy evidence, that would be troublesome as well.”
The retired subjugation force member had been clear enough, but after that there were quite a few minor individuals who tried to enter the Grand Duke’s estate.
Most of them failed to get past the reinforced security and turned back.
The problem was that not all of them had come with a clear intention.
Looking at the scenery outside, as they were almost at their destination, Liselotte answered,
“They are people who were caught after Mirkena entered the estate, correct?”
“For now… yes. Though their motives and circumstances appear to be actions meant to put on a show.”
“Whether or not they were sent by the East, it is certain they hoped Mirkena would not be discovered.”
If the intrusions stopped abruptly after Mirkena entered the estate, wouldn’t that arouse suspicion?
Liselotte stretched her arms out long and then fixed her gaze on the courthouse.
“They have improved compared to before. They even considered that they might be suspected.”
Which meant that before, they had seemed foolish enough to let things slide like that. Should she be pleased about this?
Eren quietly watched her profile.
Their eyes met briefly. Both seemed to have something to say, yet neither brought it up carelessly.
It was Eren who spoke first.
“I see.”
Lately, his intuition had been particularly unsettled.
This was solely Eren’s instinct. An organic sense that others could never perceive.
The problem was that, because it was only a feeling, he couldn’t know the cause, the timing, or what trouble might be approaching.
Mirkena was a rat in a trap.
If she were to act outside the plan, there were people holding their breath throughout the North, ready to restrain her.
Even the retired subjugation force member was being closely watched by those stationed at the Keilos estate.
They could have arrested her immediately, but it was an unavoidable choice due to the possibility that the East might notice before the lawsuit.
As a result, House Gloria believed the lawsuit was already won, so there was nothing to be anxious about. There should have been nothing.
Wasn’t everything proceeding smoothly according to plan?
‘…It does not feel entirely clear.’
Yet for some reason, his heart felt uneasy.
To be honest, Eren wanted to remain by Liselotte’s side twenty-four hours a day.
He felt reassured only when she was within sight, and safe only when she was within a distance he could respond to at any moment.
Using that as an excuse to gradually increase the time he spent beside her was, admittedly, a bit of selfish desire.
He gazed at Liselotte, whose pink hair had grown slightly lighter under the sunlight, as though she were a painting.
She looked fragile, yet she wasn’t weak.
She felt like someone from a completely different world than his own. Given the difference between the North and the Central region, that wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
The one who could grasp and shake him at any time had always been her.
Eren didn’t dare to touch Liselotte. What if it hurt her?
What if she thought he was a boring person?
He had even tried to improve his conversational skills. He simply smiled kindly.
Just about as much as he smiled at Hedmilton and Ail.
When the carriage came to a stop, Eren naturally stepped down first and then extended his hand to Liselotte.
Now taking his hand as a matter of course, Liselotte lightly accepted his escort and stepped down from the carriage.
Looking at her, Eren quietly asked,
“…How likely is it that this was not done by House Gloria?”
“100%.”
Liselotte was certain.
The East moved this many people?
Impossible.
It was a trial personally presided over by the Emperor.
Which also meant it was a matter that the Senate couldn’t help but take notice of.
Would they truly be unaware that Diana had been adopted?
Some of the loose-lipped ones would have already hinted at it to their families and friends.
There was no place where news traveled faster than high society.
The reason Diana’s reputation had been maintained at all was simple.
The only legitimate daughter of the Great House of the East, and the Crown Prince’s fiancée. As well as the authority she possessed despite not being of Imperial blood.
Now that her family, her bloodline, and her engagement were gone, there was only one thing left to support her.
Her divine authority.
‘What are the odds that an orphan just happened to awaken divine authority, and by sheer luck was adopted into House Gloria?’
Was that not close to a miracle?
It was far more likely that someone was deliberately continuing to send clumsy intruders.
‘There is someone else behind this.’
They were likely watching this trial closely.
Around the Central Court, noble carriages lined up densely, as though they had come to observe.
Unlike before, the atmosphere was heavy all the way to the courtroom. At the very least, no one seemed to have come for mere gossip.
‘Before, they would send a young heir or a family representative to observe.’
Most of those offering greetings now were the Heads of various Houses, large and small.
“We pay our respects to Your Highnesses, the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.”
Eren acknowledged the greeting with a brief nod.
As soon as they stepped into the courtroom, faces she had often seen at banquets all turned to stare at her at once.
‘Whoa, that startled me.’
How could they look so solemn over someone else’s trial?
Unlike the heavy atmosphere of the courtroom, Miro, seated at the defendant’s bench, looked entirely at ease.
From his neatly tailored clothes to his glasses, which seemed newly replaced and even set with gemstones along the frame, he was impeccably dressed.
‘Just where does he get all that money?’
No matter how high his legal fees were, was it enough to indulge in that level of luxury?
Had he not already lost to her several times?
Miro smiled shamelessly and asked,
“Have you decided on an appeal mercenary?”
Unbelievable. He was already thinking about an appeal?
To file an appeal, the appellant had to duel the opposing party and win.
The trial wasn’t even over, yet he behaved as though he had already won. A hollow laugh nearly escaped her.
Of course, Liselotte kept her smile in place by clenching her teeth tightly.
Miro continued speaking with an expression that showed not the slightest bit of apology.
“Ah, well. His Highness could do it personally, of course… but usually one hires a mercenary, so I thought I would ask.”
“You know, they say if you hold a celebration banquet too early, it ends in ruin.”
“I only mentioned it out of concern. The East has brought a mercenary just in case. I thought you might need to secure one before the trial ends, so I was helping you.”
They had already brought an appeal mercenary?
Miro tilted his head toward the back of the gallery.
When she looked in that direction, a young man she had never seen before stood in a corner, wearing light armor and grinning.
His smiling face didn’t look entirely sane.
Especially his eyes, which seemed unfocused.
“Is that truly the appeal mercenary brought by the East?”
“Yes. I hear he is a very capable subjugation force member. Apparently, he was quite formidable among mercenaries.”
Miro explained proudly, as though boasting, even though the man wasn’t even his knight.
Before she could fully grasp the faint thought that he resembled someone—
A guard of the Central Court loudly announced,
“The Chief Presiding Official enters!”
With a rustle, beginning with the spectators, everyone rose to their feet.
