“Uwaaaah!”
The instant the tearing sound rang out, the terrified Anix flailed both arms wildly from the defendant’s seat and screamed.
In fear, he covered his face with both arms as if trying to shield himself from someone’s blow.
As a result, everyone’s attention turned toward Anix.
When silence followed, Anix slowly opened the eyes he had squeezed shut.
“Huh?”
Realizing he was unharmed, he belatedly examined his whole body, checking for injuries.
‘How pathetic.’
Liselotte calmly watched the ridiculous farce unfolding in the defendant’s seat.
In truth, when she had notarized the agreement, she hadn’t staked Anix’s life as collateral.
Eren had agreed to do so, but at the time she thought it was too heavy a condition for a mere notarization.
Looking back now, it would have been a good opportunity to control Anix’s life with nothing more than a single sheet of paper.
Of course, had she done that, she wouldn’t have been able to tear the paper so easily just now.
Considering the many children who might have been sacrificed like Kairi, wouldn’t dying quickly in one stroke have been far too lenient?
In the end, it had been a notarization limited to preventing the agreement from being damaged.
There was only one reason Liselotte had lied about staking Anix’s life.
In a trial with so many spectators, in a sense, what mattered was what was shown.
Just as the same documents were more eye-catching when properly arranged.
So it was necessary to present her divine authority in a more extreme way.
Especially since it left no physical trace.
After all, the only people who knew the truth about the notarization were Liselotte and Eren.
“Ah, haha. That startled me. I mean, why would you scare me like that…?”
Anix, who had been instinctively making excuses, slowly changed expression as if realizing something.
At last, he looked at the torn agreement and frowned.
“Your Highness, did you really tear the agreement?”
Liselotte deliberately handed the neatly torn agreement to Anix for him to see.
“Here, would you like to try tearing it?”
Clack, holding the torn pieces as if snatching them away, he pulled, tore, and crumpled them repeatedly.
But when nothing happened after it had already been torn, Anix muttered in disbelief,
“You have divine authority? You are saying this is true……?”
Diana had known from early on.
Indeed, it seemed Diana had never fully trusted Anix from the start.
If it were her, it would have been natural for her to be more fully aware of Liselotte’s ability.
Liselotte shrugged and asked back,
“Did the defendant truly not know? The witness once used the Word of Command on me at a banquet hosted by the Imperial Family, and it did not work as intended.”
Since it was an Imperial banquet, most of the nobles had been in attendance.
It was easy to recall that occasion.
“She meant the time she said she would treat Her Highness the Grand Duchess?”
“My goodness. Then when she said she was unwell, it was not that at all…”
Miro twitched the corner of his mouth awkwardly.
As the one who was supposed to defend remained silent, Diana, who had been sitting there trembling, suddenly shouted,
“This is slander! Her Highness may indeed possess divine authority. But that does not prove that I can use the Word of Command!”
‘I intend to prove that from now on.’
Instead of answering, Liselotte displayed a brighter smile than ever before.
Seeing Diana stiffen with anxiety, she kindly asked Anix again,
“Defendant. It is true that you gave the orders regarding what happened in Gelloa village, correct? The witness knew nothing about it.”
“Why do you keep asking that?! Yes, I did it. I gave the orders, and Diana knew noth—”
Anix, who had intended to give a denial, hurriedly clamped his mouth shut at the words he himself had spoken.
But had he not already affirmed it?
Deliberately, Liselotte turned and addressed the presiding officials.
“Honorable Presiding Officials. As the defendant has just confessed himself, he openly conducted illegal experiments on orphans within the East. This is not only a dereliction of duty as the ruling House, but also a deception of the Imperial Family and the people of the East.”
Emperor Perida, who had been leisurely leaning back in his chair while observing the situation, slowly straightened his posture.
Still wearing a smile, he asked gently,
“Defendant. Is this true?”
“Deception? That is absurd. I am merely stating what I did as it is. No, what I just said was not that—”
The curve of Emperor Perida’s lips stretched even further.
Contrary to his gentle expression, he looked down at Anix sharply and spoke.
“So you are confessing that you have been focusing on matters other than subjugating monsters all this time?”
Anix glared at Miro seated beside him as if asking for help, but Miro, not understanding the situation, merely tilted his head in confusion.
Perhaps out of frustration, Anix struck his own chest several times with his fist.
Every time he opened his mouth, because of the Word of Command Diana had placed, he could say nothing but that he had done it, so silence was his only refuge.
The victory was certain.
Since Diana had decided to abandon Anix, it was clear that at the very least all responsibility would fall upon House Gloria.
Ironically, the only person who could create a variable here was Anix himself.
Emperor Perida seemed to whisper something to Ollas, then nodded and announced loudly,
“Regarding this confession, the presiding officials will confer briefly among themselves.”
Even the Commander of the Conrad knights rose from her seat and joined Emperor Perida.
As if seeing his own downfall before his eyes, Anix glared at Diana and shouted,
“You, you…! How could you…?!”
“Please help me. I am so frightened. My father might try to harm me. It is possible to apply for witness protection from the court, is it not?”
Instead, Diana actively appealed to the priest.
Her shamelessness in even making use of a witness protection request was remarkable in its own way.
Liselotte whispered quietly so that only Anix could hear.
“Are you really going to let Diana pin everything on you like this?”
She deliberately turned her gaze toward the mercenary standing at a distance behind the courtroom.
When their eyes met, he even leisurely raised his hand and waved.
It was a rude gesture, but more than that, the dangerous aura emanating from someone not entirely sane was more striking.
Liselotte asked again,
“Shall I predict the outcome of the trial? First, your remaining assets and territory will be confiscated by the Imperial Family. Then there will be compensation for the lives of the experimental victims, and another trial will be held regarding what happened in Gelloa village and with House Diconu.”
It was clear that Anix didn’t fully know what had taken place in Gelloa village.
His attitude and ignorant reactions were evidence enough.
Lowering her eyes quietly, Liselotte asked,
“You were not the one who led the experiments in Gelloa village, were you? You were the source of funding.”
“On what grounds are you saying that without evidence—”
Miro awkwardly tried to block her, but Liselotte spoke faster.
“I am not arguing it in court right now. I am speaking to the Duke privately.”
During the trial they were plaintiff and defendant, but once it ended, she would be the Grand Duchess and he merely a lawyer.
As Liselotte drew the line clearly, Miro lowered his head without another word.
“…I was short-sighted, Your Highness.”
The more she said that, the more confusion spread across Anix’s face.
Diana repeatedly glanced at him, as if afraid his mind might change.
Meanwhile, she openly spoke while lowering her head as though sorrowful.
“Father. At the very least, I, who am innocent, must survive. After the trial ends, I will surely find a way to save you.”
Wiping away the tears pooling in her eyes, she steadied her ragged breathing.
“After all, you were my very first and only family.”
Anix’s face flushed red with rage.
Grinding his teeth in betrayal, he muttered as if he might seize Diana by the hair at any moment.
“I trained an orphan and let her play at being a noble, only for her to stab me in the back now…?”
To the trembling man, Liselotte whispered once more,
“I will make it so you can speak honestly. Would your chances of survival not be higher if you reported Diana instead?”
Anix’s eyes flashed.
