As he walked into the courtroom, people began to murmur. Soon, the Supreme Court Justice stood up. Everyone stood up and bowed to him.
Without hesitation, Carson went to the head of the table and took a seat where Ines could see him best. After he sat down, the Supreme Court Justice extended his hand to the audience and told everyone to sit down.
“Let’s continue.”
When he finished speaking, the Supreme Court Justice nodded and turned to Ines again.
“Now, Ines Swenden. I’ll ask you again. Why did you plan your crime so meticulously and then spare Joseph Benoit at the last moment?”
Ines slowly raised her head and fixed her gaze on Carson. She only wanted to ask for his understanding. Her eyes, which had been calm all along, swung as if they had encountered a fierce storm.
“Trouble...”
However, it was difficult to control her heart, which was calming down without her knowing it.
“I can’t hear you well. Say it again.”
“I shouldn’t have caused trouble. I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I promised... I promised to try, but it didn’t work out.”
The moment he saw Ines, who was looking straight at him and speaking sadly, Carson had to clench his fists to keep himself from getting up and taking her away.
She was choked up by that emotion again. And she finally realized the true nature of that suffocating emotion.
It was a raw emotion that felt endless. It was a fundamental sense of responsibility that she shouldn’t feel and had no reason to feel. It was so overwhelming that it was suffocating at times.
He hadn’t brought her into this world, he hadn’t shaken everything about Ines, but Carson felt a strong sense of responsibility whenever he saw her. At first glance, it seemed like a feeling similar to guilt.
The justice shook his head from side to side and took a short break for the final ruling.
After the break, everyone came back, but Carson was nowhere to be seen. Ines looked at his empty seat and humbly accepted the judge’s ruling.
“Because this crime is a very serious crime that undermines the sound order of the land and creates anxiety, and that the crime was very organized, planned, and professionally committed, and that the nature of the crime was brutal, the defendant must be severely punished. However, because the defendant admits the facts, that this is his first offense, and all the sentencing conditions shown in the arguments for this case, such as the defendant’s age, gender, motive for this crime, means and results, and circumstances after the crime, the sentence is determined as ordered.”
Originally, Ines would have been sentenced to three years in Romfield for attempted murder.
The sentence was given considering that she had planned the murder systematically but changed her mind at the end and that she had attacked Zemern but it was self-defense.
However, due to the privilege of immunity that was immediately exercised, she ended up working as a maid at the Edmont Temple in Sanskrit, not Romfield, for three years.
Zemern Winningstone’s sentence was also decided later.
“Sentence Zemern Winningstone to 20 years in Altrana.”
Zemern’s scream echoed through the courtroom.
Altrana was a men’s prison comparable to Romfield. It was also called the Romfield for male prisoners.
Ines threw her head back the moment Zemern’s sentence, not her own, was announced.
It was the moment when everything was completely over.
It was Ines’ perfect revenge.
Ines was led to the temporary facility where Charlotte had stayed before leaving for the temple. She knew that this was also Carson’s consideration. And there she faced her father.
“I’m sorry, father.”
Her father was speechless and just stared at Ines in silence. Andrew, who had been holding his breath for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
“They said that because you... wrote down in detail about our family in the immunity, there would be no problems in the family.”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
“Ines... Did you really receive immunity with all of this in mind?”
“Yes.”
“Why on earth...?”
Her father burst into tears. He was so shocked and scared that he ended up shedding tears. She was the daughter he had raised without a single shadow. Her only daughter is innocent and cute.
“When I return in three years, please accept me.”
“You say that...”
Since she was no longer a noble, she would not be called a Young Lady or treated well. Her parents would not be able to show their faces in noble society either. However, in the past, it was the status she had abandoned when she married Joseph. Now, she had no reason to regret it.
“I will write letters often. Please tell my mother that I am doing well.”
He thought she would be very scared and anxious, but Ines looked very comfortable for some reason. Andrew gradually stopped crying at the sight of his daughter’s determined appearance.
“I can’t ask you to understand me completely, but I’m not crazy or under the control of the devil, as people say.”
“Ines...”
“I did it to protect myself. Father, there’s a gold mine on the mountain that’s named after our family. It’s a huge gold mine.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“The Count of Graham was after that gold mine. That’s why he wanted to unite Landhill with Lesonia.”
Andrew could only listen to the astonishment.
“Joseph tried to marry me at the Count of Graham’s behest. And he even tried to fake his own death.”
Even though she spoke calmly, with her eyes clearer than ever, Andrew couldn’t come to his senses.
“And he tried to frame me for it. Of course, it didn’t happen, so I don’t have any evidence. I just found out by accident. If that had happened, I would have been sent to Romfield for murder.”
“Is that really...?”
“That’s not all. His ultimate goal was to politically agitate and take away my father’s Viscountcy.”
“If that’s true, you should have told me about that in advance.”
If Ines had only wanted to prevent that problem, she would have told her father. However, that was not the end of Ines. Her ultimate goal was to condemn those who had eaten away at her soul. How could she say that?
“The lord... helped me a lot. Please tell them to thank you on my behalf.”
A sad look appeared on her face as she spoke about Carson.
“That gold mine will be difficult to manage, so leave it to the lord. The lord will soon start a railroad business, so invest as much as you want. It would be better if you just gave it to him.”
Ines smiled brightly at her father as if her sadness from before was fake. Her father sat there blankly, unable to answer.
“It must be hard... to believe everything I say, right?”
“No, no. I believe everything you say.”
“Father, thank you. For believing me. I’m really sorry to my father, but I don’t regret it. I really do.”
“But how could you, how could you endure such a place?”
Ines laughed as if she found that really funny.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve always wanted to live in a temple. As you know, I’m a devout believer.”
“But that... how is it?”
“Don’t worry about losing your noble status. Just live like a human being. That’s what I believe.”
“Ines.”
She took his hand as she heard her father call her name. A smile naturally came to her face at the warm feeling. Only then did it feel real that everything was over.
“Someone tried to do something bad to us, but they didn’t succeed, and here we are, sitting across from each other.”
“Let’s continue.”
When he finished speaking, the Supreme Court Justice nodded and turned to Ines again.
“Now, Ines Swenden. I’ll ask you again. Why did you plan your crime so meticulously and then spare Joseph Benoit at the last moment?”
Ines slowly raised her head and fixed her gaze on Carson. She only wanted to ask for his understanding. Her eyes, which had been calm all along, swung as if they had encountered a fierce storm.
“Trouble...”
However, it was difficult to control her heart, which was calming down without her knowing it.
“I can’t hear you well. Say it again.”
“I shouldn’t have caused trouble. I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I promised... I promised to try, but it didn’t work out.”
The moment he saw Ines, who was looking straight at him and speaking sadly, Carson had to clench his fists to keep himself from getting up and taking her away.
She was choked up by that emotion again. And she finally realized the true nature of that suffocating emotion.
It was a raw emotion that felt endless. It was a fundamental sense of responsibility that she shouldn’t feel and had no reason to feel. It was so overwhelming that it was suffocating at times.
He hadn’t brought her into this world, he hadn’t shaken everything about Ines, but Carson felt a strong sense of responsibility whenever he saw her. At first glance, it seemed like a feeling similar to guilt.
The justice shook his head from side to side and took a short break for the final ruling.
After the break, everyone came back, but Carson was nowhere to be seen. Ines looked at his empty seat and humbly accepted the judge’s ruling.
“Because this crime is a very serious crime that undermines the sound order of the land and creates anxiety, and that the crime was very organized, planned, and professionally committed, and that the nature of the crime was brutal, the defendant must be severely punished. However, because the defendant admits the facts, that this is his first offense, and all the sentencing conditions shown in the arguments for this case, such as the defendant’s age, gender, motive for this crime, means and results, and circumstances after the crime, the sentence is determined as ordered.”
Originally, Ines would have been sentenced to three years in Romfield for attempted murder.
The sentence was given considering that she had planned the murder systematically but changed her mind at the end and that she had attacked Zemern but it was self-defense.
However, due to the privilege of immunity that was immediately exercised, she ended up working as a maid at the Edmont Temple in Sanskrit, not Romfield, for three years.
Zemern Winningstone’s sentence was also decided later.
“Sentence Zemern Winningstone to 20 years in Altrana.”
Zemern’s scream echoed through the courtroom.
Altrana was a men’s prison comparable to Romfield. It was also called the Romfield for male prisoners.
Ines threw her head back the moment Zemern’s sentence, not her own, was announced.
It was the moment when everything was completely over.
It was Ines’ perfect revenge.
***
Ines was led to the temporary facility where Charlotte had stayed before leaving for the temple. She knew that this was also Carson’s consideration. And there she faced her father.
“I’m sorry, father.”
Her father was speechless and just stared at Ines in silence. Andrew, who had been holding his breath for a moment, slowly opened his mouth.
“They said that because you... wrote down in detail about our family in the immunity, there would be no problems in the family.”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
“Ines... Did you really receive immunity with all of this in mind?”
“Yes.”
“Why on earth...?”
Her father burst into tears. He was so shocked and scared that he ended up shedding tears. She was the daughter he had raised without a single shadow. Her only daughter is innocent and cute.
“When I return in three years, please accept me.”
“You say that...”
Since she was no longer a noble, she would not be called a Young Lady or treated well. Her parents would not be able to show their faces in noble society either. However, in the past, it was the status she had abandoned when she married Joseph. Now, she had no reason to regret it.
“I will write letters often. Please tell my mother that I am doing well.”
He thought she would be very scared and anxious, but Ines looked very comfortable for some reason. Andrew gradually stopped crying at the sight of his daughter’s determined appearance.
“I can’t ask you to understand me completely, but I’m not crazy or under the control of the devil, as people say.”
“Ines...”
“I did it to protect myself. Father, there’s a gold mine on the mountain that’s named after our family. It’s a huge gold mine.”
“What? What kind of nonsense is that?”
“The Count of Graham was after that gold mine. That’s why he wanted to unite Landhill with Lesonia.”
Andrew could only listen to the astonishment.
“Joseph tried to marry me at the Count of Graham’s behest. And he even tried to fake his own death.”
Even though she spoke calmly, with her eyes clearer than ever, Andrew couldn’t come to his senses.
“And he tried to frame me for it. Of course, it didn’t happen, so I don’t have any evidence. I just found out by accident. If that had happened, I would have been sent to Romfield for murder.”
“Is that really...?”
“That’s not all. His ultimate goal was to politically agitate and take away my father’s Viscountcy.”
“If that’s true, you should have told me about that in advance.”
If Ines had only wanted to prevent that problem, she would have told her father. However, that was not the end of Ines. Her ultimate goal was to condemn those who had eaten away at her soul. How could she say that?
“The lord... helped me a lot. Please tell them to thank you on my behalf.”
A sad look appeared on her face as she spoke about Carson.
“That gold mine will be difficult to manage, so leave it to the lord. The lord will soon start a railroad business, so invest as much as you want. It would be better if you just gave it to him.”
Ines smiled brightly at her father as if her sadness from before was fake. Her father sat there blankly, unable to answer.
“It must be hard... to believe everything I say, right?”
“No, no. I believe everything you say.”
“Father, thank you. For believing me. I’m really sorry to my father, but I don’t regret it. I really do.”
“But how could you, how could you endure such a place?”
Ines laughed as if she found that really funny.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve always wanted to live in a temple. As you know, I’m a devout believer.”
“But that... how is it?”
“Don’t worry about losing your noble status. Just live like a human being. That’s what I believe.”
“Ines.”
She took his hand as she heard her father call her name. A smile naturally came to her face at the warm feeling. Only then did it feel real that everything was over.
“Someone tried to do something bad to us, but they didn’t succeed, and here we are, sitting across from each other.”
Seeing his daughter who seemed happy at first glance, Andrew couldn’t say anything in the end. He was so confused because he couldn’t figure out exactly what the child was feeling.
“Then I won.”
However, at the last moment, Andrew knew. The sparkling smile on his daughter’s face was that of a perfect winner.
Three days later, Ines had to receive another visitor.
But this time, it wasn’t a visitation. She was taken by carriage to the private residence of the Supreme Court Justice to meet the visitor who was waiting for her.
And in front of him, she met the man she had longed for. He was the man she had thought she would never see again.
Carson, who saw Ines, looked at her for a moment and then passed by without saying a word. She couldn’t tell whether he was angry or sad. All she could do was follow him quietly.
They were soon led to the reception room, where they met the Supreme Court Justice.
“My lord, why did you come here yourself without calling me?”
“Since you have requested a private meeting, it is right for me to come.”
Ines’ head tilted slightly at the word ‘private meeting.’ Why would he bring Ines to their private meeting? The Supreme Court Justice immediately ordered the maid to bring tea and guided him to his seat.
“Please sit down.”
Ines sat down quietly beside Carson. Then it occurred to her that her appearance was not at all pleasant. While she was adjusting her clothes, the voice of the Supreme Court Justice continued.
“So, what is the reason you wanted to see me today?”
Carson did not answer his question but just looked at him. Then he tapped the arm of the chair with his fingernail. The regular noise that spread through the quiet drawing room made the listener nervous.
“You are so... impatient.”
His voice was sharp. Ines’s breath caught in her throat at the sharpness. She now realized that he was very angry. Ines must not have been the only one to sense this, because the justice straightened his posture.
“The tea hasn’t even arrived yet, and you are asking me what I want to sell. This is no different from asking a cheap merchant what he wants to sell.”
“Then I won.”
However, at the last moment, Andrew knew. The sparkling smile on his daughter’s face was that of a perfect winner.
***
Three days later, Ines had to receive another visitor.
But this time, it wasn’t a visitation. She was taken by carriage to the private residence of the Supreme Court Justice to meet the visitor who was waiting for her.
And in front of him, she met the man she had longed for. He was the man she had thought she would never see again.
Carson, who saw Ines, looked at her for a moment and then passed by without saying a word. She couldn’t tell whether he was angry or sad. All she could do was follow him quietly.
They were soon led to the reception room, where they met the Supreme Court Justice.
“My lord, why did you come here yourself without calling me?”
“Since you have requested a private meeting, it is right for me to come.”
Ines’ head tilted slightly at the word ‘private meeting.’ Why would he bring Ines to their private meeting? The Supreme Court Justice immediately ordered the maid to bring tea and guided him to his seat.
“Please sit down.”
Ines sat down quietly beside Carson. Then it occurred to her that her appearance was not at all pleasant. While she was adjusting her clothes, the voice of the Supreme Court Justice continued.
“So, what is the reason you wanted to see me today?”
Carson did not answer his question but just looked at him. Then he tapped the arm of the chair with his fingernail. The regular noise that spread through the quiet drawing room made the listener nervous.
“You are so... impatient.”
His voice was sharp. Ines’s breath caught in her throat at the sharpness. She now realized that he was very angry. Ines must not have been the only one to sense this, because the justice straightened his posture.
“The tea hasn’t even arrived yet, and you are asking me what I want to sell. This is no different from asking a cheap merchant what he wants to sell.”
When he spoke in a threatening manner, the justice stood up from his seat. He then bowed deeply to him. When Ines saw this, she tried to stand up after the justice, but Carson reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Stay still.”
“I was rude. Please forgive me if I offended you.”
Despite the justice’s polite apology, Carson did not tell him to sit down again.
“Stay still.”
“I was rude. Please forgive me if I offended you.”
Despite the justice’s polite apology, Carson did not tell him to sit down again.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment