“Y-Your Honor!”
Miro called out urgently to Emperor Perida.
But the Central Court staff and clerk who had been standing by the wall were already dragging a desk and chair forward at his command.
Still standing, Miro bent at the waist and hurriedly scribbled something as he protested,
“Th-This is a situation where neither side’s witness has confirmed past residence with certainty, so to accept her immediately as a witness—”
“We will recess for ten minutes until the additional witness seat is prepared. That will be all.”
It seemed he had been trying to draft a formal objection to delay the witness request, but Emperor Perida swept even that aside with the declaration of a recess.
Miro stared blankly at the backs of the presiding officials as they exited after announcing the recess.
‘Damn it…’
Crumpling the paper he had been writing on, Miro forced his expression back under control.
‘Why are members of this House never honest with their lawyer? How am I supposed to defend them like this?’
Most clients tried to minimize their own guilt from the start.
He had never believed that everything Duke Gloria told him was the full truth.
‘But no one said anything about treason and blasphemy!’
Even that would have been manageable in moderation, but today’s hearing had been nothing but one crisis after another.
Miro glanced again at Diana, who still stood at a distance at the back of the courtroom.
When their eyes met, he smiled as though nothing were wrong and quickly shuffled through the documents he had brought.
Once the additional witness seat had been prepared, Diana walked forward with steady steps.
Since no one left their seat, all eyes followed her.
After checking a few documents, Miro discreetly looked around to ensure no one was watching, then slipped them naturally back into his bag.
Just then, Diana, who was passing by him, called out,
“Miro.”
“Y-Yes, my Lady. Had you informed me in advance, I would have filed the witness request beforehand.”
Smiling as he faced her, Miro subtly slid his bag beneath the chair as though merely setting it down.
Diana smiled brightly and leaned her head slightly toward him.
“I know that part of the territory of House Gloria has been transferred under your name.”
“…My Lady. This is…”
Miro swallowed dryly.
The Head of a ruling House could grant a portion of territory in exchange for establishing a vassal House.
However, legally it was a completely separate House, so even if House Gloria were to fall, the vassal House would suffer no damage.
House Gloria had no vassal Houses.
With so much to conceal, it had likely never been in a position to maintain one.
Miro had taken advantage of that.
After all, it wasn’t difficult to observe the situation in the East while serving as an aide.
The registration documents were inside Miro’s bag at that very moment.
‘If this trial had gone well and we had won, I had planned not to submit the documents for the time being…’
But judging by the situation, he would have to flee the moment the trial ended.
While he was still searching for an excuse, Diana smiled sweetly.
“I know. Anix, that fool, probably never checked. He would not even know how much authority an aide holds.”
“That is not the case, my Lady. You misunderstand. I was merely concerned that you might make a mistake at the witness stand.”
“How incompetent.”
After sweeping him with a look of contempt, Diana took her seat at the witness stand prepared beside Kairi.
Miro quickly calculated his gains and losses.
‘My Lady is quick-witted. Whether we win or lose here, she will cast me out in the end.’
He swiftly took out a fresh sheet of paper and scribbled a few brief lines.
Then, folding it roughly, he discreetly pressed it into the side of a waiting attendant.
“Please deliver this to House Gloria at once. His Grace must be informed of the situation of the trial.”
Reading the awkward atmosphere at the seat behind her, Liselotte crossed her arms and sat back indifferently.
Meanwhile, Valen, seated close behind her, wouldn’t stop talking.
“This is deception of the Imperial Family. Can that not be added as an additional charge?”
“What does that have to do with a damages lawsuit? The Imperial Family can handle that separately later, Brother.”
“If we add deception of the Imperial Family, would there not be aggravated punishment or some advantage?”
‘Ah, as if I wouldn’t handle it properly myself. And with so many watching, I can’t even smack him just because he is the Crown Prince.’
“Hey, I can write that sort of thing too. Why did you not tell me about this? I am genuinely offended.”
She was only half listening when—
Eren’s calm voice sounded directly behind her.
“If the Imperial Family intervenes, the fairness of the trial itself may be questioned.”
For some reason, Liselotte felt guilty and deliberately kept her gaze forward, pretending nothing was wrong.
She hadn’t wanted to bring up the matter of the nomads in front of him if she could avoid it.
Knowing how his parents had died, speaking openly about experiments that treated people as less than human weighed heavily on her.
But oblivious as ever, Valen ground his teeth.
“Grand Duke. You should be angrier. I suspect even the death of the former Grand Duke and Grand Duchess may be connected to this. Have you looked into it?”
That was enough.
Liselotte rolled up a sheet of paper and smacked the top of his head with it repeatedly.
“Your Highness, please, that mouth of yours— just close it!”
“Ow, ah! Liselotte, why? Why are you hitting me? This is all for your sake!”
Even so, perhaps aware of his dignity, he kept his voice low, whispering instead of shouting, which made it almost comical.
Eren, however, answered evenly.
“They may have needed blood for experimentation.”
Liselotte, who had been hitting Valen, slowly unrolled the paper she had twisted.
Eren himself appeared unaffected.
“They may also have wanted to ensure that no more pure nomadic bloodlines remained on the continent.”
As if belatedly apologetic, Valen sat upright in his seat.
“My apologies. I spoke out of turn.”
If he had just kept quiet after being hit, that would have been nice.
While she glared at him sulkily, Hedmilton quietly approached her side.
“The counsel for the East. He is planning to make a move.”
“…What?”
“I overheard him talking with Lady Diana earlier. That seems to be the case.”
‘You overheard that?’
No matter how quiet the courtroom was, there were so many spectators that even breathing sounded loud.
Moreover, there was a considerable distance between Miro’s seat and Liselotte’s.
When she looked at him as though he were strange, Hedmilton widened his eyes.
“I worked for House Gloria for years. Just by watching her lips and her movements, I can tell exactly what the lady is saying and thinking.”
She began to understand why the servants of House Gloria believed he was fond of Diana.
Feeling slightly bewildered, Liselotte asked back,
“Is it the same with Duke Gloria?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you think Diana volunteered as a witness?”
“Hmm, in my opinion…”
Tilting his head, Hedmilton covered his mouth slightly and whispered,
“I think she has fallen out with the Duke. When she and His Grace share the same opinion, she never steps forward first.”
Fallen out…
That meant in this trial, there was a high chance that Diana would save herself with her testimony while Duke Gloria would fall alone.
What Diana could claim was obvious.
After all, the blood appraisal couldn’t produce results immediately.
Liselotte felt as though she could see the angle from which to corner Diana at the witness stand.
“The recess is over. The Presiding Officials are entering!”
No sooner had the recess ended than the presiding officials resumed their seats.
Without being prompted, Diana immediately recited the witness oath.
Stroking his beard, Ollas asked her,
“Witness for the defendant. Do you know of Gelloa Village?”
“I do not.”
So she was denying it from the start. Even after swearing to accept punishment for perjury, she was lying.
Unlike her frail body, she was bold.
“Before your adoption, which poorhouse were you in?”
“I do not know. I moved between several poorhouses and was told that I was a talent to be adopted into a noble House.”
After a brief pause, Ollas tilted his head.
“Does that mean… you were intended from the beginning to be adopted into House Gloria?”
