Judith and Cain decide to bribe the old butler of Viscount Wilbur.
It was because of information that he came out of his residence periodically to see his son and daughter-in-law who lived outside his residence.
But before the hard-earned plan could be put into action, news of Stella's death came.
It was only two days after she met Stella at the banquet.
Judith, who had no ties to the Wilbur family, was not invited to the funeral, but Layla went to pay her respects.
The very next day, Laila secretly called Judith.
“I heard that Miss Wilbur wrote me a letter.”
At the funeral, Stella's personal maid came to find Layla without anyone noticing.
“Stella was so weak the next morning after the banquet that she couldn’t even eat. But Viscount Wilbur didn’t call the doctor.”
Then, just before she died, Stella miraculously came to her senses and sat down at her desk.
“She wrote the letter as if she was possessed by something and asked her maid to deliver it to me secretly.”
After that, Stella collapsed and never got up.
“I tried to send a letter straight to her house, but Viscount Wilbur always monitored Stella’s letters.”
The maid thought there must be a reason why Stella had asked Layla to send the letter she had written with all her might.
The maid, who had always felt sorry for Stella, decided to grant Stella's last wish.
As Layla happened to come to pay her condolences, the maid delivered the letter without letting anyone know.
“I wondered why Miss Wilbur wrote me a letter, but after reading it, I think I understand.”
“What is it about?”
“I would like Miss Harrington to read it yourself.”
Layla held out Stella's letter. Judith unfolded the neatly folded letter.
The letter began with the sentence that she had been robbed of her life by the 'wine of exchange' and regretted not accepting Judith's offer.
[ The medium does not live in the den. I do not know where he lives, but, oh, he seems to be watching me, I feel his snake-like gaze, is he looking at my scalp? I will tell you everything I know.
In exchange for saving my brother, my father gave the medium a fee of 5,000 gold, a mansion in the south, and a carriage that said he was regaining consciousness.
Please pretend you didn't see the useless sentences earlier. The person who flipped my head over was my mother. My dear mother.
It is also said that the medium was adopted into the Malton family. However, the mother is already dead, and the Malton family is a collateral line of our family. Lord Malton is from the South and has no children.
That medium, wearing the skin of my mother, seems to be trying to escape to the south. I will catch him and cut off his limbs...]
The content was that the medium was given gold coins and guaranteed adoption as a reward for saving the younger brother's life.
Whether she was in a daze or not, the letter was a mess. It seemed she was hallucinating continuously.
Stella used every bit of her strength to seek revenge on her father and the priest who did not even consider her a child.
Judith sighed in regret.
“I knew what the priest would do, but I didn’t know he would kill Lady Wilbur. Do you know what happened to Viscount Wilbur?”
“I haven’t heard any news. But if the spell was successful, wouldn’t we hear news soon?”
Layla shrugged.
“What are we going to do now, Miss Harrington?”
“We must go and catch the priest.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“I don’t know where he is, but I know where he will come from.”
In front of the court.
“As they say, if you study anything, you’ll find a use for it someday.”
Erne trembled at Judith's seemingly proud voice.
Judith's words themselves were not wrong. If you study anything, it will be useful someday.
The only problem was that the study was about how to adopt an older man to secure a title.
“Is it really possible to adopt a moneylender older than Miss Harrington?”
Tia, her face covered by a scarf, looked at the faces of the people entering the court and asked.
Tia was very afraid of meeting Shadin again. However, Judith and Erne had no choice but to take Tia out, because Tia was the only one who knew the faces of Shadin's Followers.
“That was possible.”
The adoption of a noble family is a three-step process, the first of which is, of course, the submission of documents.
Once the paperwork is approved, the court will call the adopter and the person being adopted.
The two sign the adoption papers in front of a judge, and if the judge approves, the adoption process is complete.
At this time, both the adoptive parents and the person to be adopted must be present.
This was a procedure to prevent titles and nobility from falling into the hands of the powerful.
It was said to be to prevent crimes such as stealing the family seal and pretending to be adoptive parents, but now they only verify identity.
“They said that if you give the judge some bribes, he will approve it after verifying your identity.”
Even if the person being adopted is older than the person adopting. But no matter how meaningless the procedure is, a procedure is a procedure.
“He said that if he brings a representative, the judge will think he is being ignored and will not grant permission.”
Judges were generally the job of the children of noblemen who were smart but did not come from good families. They felt inferior because their families were not very good.
“So the priest will come soon.”
It was common for childless old men, like Lord Malton, to adopt a child on the verge of adulthood as their successor.
This could have been approved by simply submitting the documents properly without having to bribe the judge.
Besides, couldn't the priest change the color of his eyes to pretend not to be a Shaartin?
Through Cain's connections at court, Judith was able to obtain information that Lord Malton was to undergo adoption approval proceedings today.
So Shadin must come here today too.
"Uh?"
Tia, who was watching the person passing by, flinched.
“What’s wrong, Tia?”
“That guy is a Followers. He’s the man standing in front of the lion statue wearing a black robe. His hair and eye color are different, but he’s definitely one of them.”
Tia didn't look at him openly but whispered quietly.
“Are you sure?”
Erne deliberately looked elsewhere and asked again.
“Yes, I am sure. There is one at the entrance to the courthouse.”
Judith looked around at Tia's confident voice.
The presence of Followers following the priest meant that the priest was also here.
Where are you? Where the hell are you?
Judith's gaze wandered around and she saw an old gentleman getting out of a carriage and a person who seemed to be welcoming him.
Judith tapped Tia and Erne to look towards the carriage.
“Ugh...!”
Tia turned her head hurriedly. Tia's face, slightly visible from the side, was pale.
She could tell without even being told. It was that boy. He was the priest.
Erne sent a signal to the security forces disguised as merchants, pedestrians, etc.
"...Uh?"
It was at this moment that the security guards disguised as gatekeepers at the entrance to the courthouse quietly approached Sir Malton and Shadin as they passed through the main gate of the courthouse.
A Followers standing slightly outside the courthouse entrance spotted the gatekeeper.
The Followers, noticing something odd, started running instead of signaling the priest.
There was a commotion as the man began to run away, pushing through the crowd.
Shadin looked at the gatekeeper who had come right behind him with a puzzled look but quickly figured out the situation.
“Catch the traitor!”
Cain, who was hiding in the crowd, shouted. The security forces soldiers disguised as civilians rushed into the courthouse.
Some were evacuating people, fearing that the priests and their Followers would use poison, while others were chasing them and running away. The area in front of the court was a scene of chaos.
Judith kept looking around for the priest.
Did you go inside the courthouse? If so, you're like a rat without poison. All the exits of the courthouse are blocked by security forces.
“Wait a minute, that..!”
At that moment, Judith caught sight of a boy picking up his hat that had fallen on the floor and pulling it down low.
The boy blended in naturally with the crowd of people evacuating, following the instructions of the security forces.
Although she couldn't see the boy's face, Judith couldn't take her eyes off him.
Among the people who were running around, he walked with a particularly calm gait and his head never wavered even once despite being hunched over.
It's him! She shouted. Judith ran straight towards him.
The boy, who had been moving forward without even glancing around, felt Judith's gaze and looked back.
Dark skin, a young face, narrow, long eyes, and crooked corners of the mouth. It was a common, ordinary face.
It gave her the creeps to think that he had committed such cruel and ruthless acts with that kind of face.
She met blue eyes in the air. The boy who recognized Judith blinked one eyelid.
'Winking at this point? Is that crazy guy teasing me?'
Let's see if you can afford to wink even after being caught. When I was young, I was always the last runner in a relay race.
Just as Judith, who was about to get up, was putting strength into her legs to increase her speed, a strong arm grabbed her waist.
“...Aah!”
The moment Judith was thrown backward by the force, a chariot rushed forward at a terrifying speed.
Judith forgot how to breathe in a situation where she was almost hit by a carriage and thrown into a ditch.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Breathe, breathe.”
Erne held Judith as she lay on the floor, checking to see if she was hurt anywhere.
Meanwhile, Judith was struck by a certain feeling that crossed her mind.
'No, but why does this situation feel so unfamiliar and yet so familiar?'
It was because of information that he came out of his residence periodically to see his son and daughter-in-law who lived outside his residence.
But before the hard-earned plan could be put into action, news of Stella's death came.
It was only two days after she met Stella at the banquet.
Judith, who had no ties to the Wilbur family, was not invited to the funeral, but Layla went to pay her respects.
The very next day, Laila secretly called Judith.
“I heard that Miss Wilbur wrote me a letter.”
At the funeral, Stella's personal maid came to find Layla without anyone noticing.
“Stella was so weak the next morning after the banquet that she couldn’t even eat. But Viscount Wilbur didn’t call the doctor.”
Then, just before she died, Stella miraculously came to her senses and sat down at her desk.
“She wrote the letter as if she was possessed by something and asked her maid to deliver it to me secretly.”
After that, Stella collapsed and never got up.
“I tried to send a letter straight to her house, but Viscount Wilbur always monitored Stella’s letters.”
The maid thought there must be a reason why Stella had asked Layla to send the letter she had written with all her might.
The maid, who had always felt sorry for Stella, decided to grant Stella's last wish.
As Layla happened to come to pay her condolences, the maid delivered the letter without letting anyone know.
“I wondered why Miss Wilbur wrote me a letter, but after reading it, I think I understand.”
“What is it about?”
“I would like Miss Harrington to read it yourself.”
Layla held out Stella's letter. Judith unfolded the neatly folded letter.
The letter began with the sentence that she had been robbed of her life by the 'wine of exchange' and regretted not accepting Judith's offer.
[ The medium does not live in the den. I do not know where he lives, but, oh, he seems to be watching me, I feel his snake-like gaze, is he looking at my scalp? I will tell you everything I know.
In exchange for saving my brother, my father gave the medium a fee of 5,000 gold, a mansion in the south, and a carriage that said he was regaining consciousness.
Please pretend you didn't see the useless sentences earlier. The person who flipped my head over was my mother. My dear mother.
It is also said that the medium was adopted into the Malton family. However, the mother is already dead, and the Malton family is a collateral line of our family. Lord Malton is from the South and has no children.
That medium, wearing the skin of my mother, seems to be trying to escape to the south. I will catch him and cut off his limbs...]
The content was that the medium was given gold coins and guaranteed adoption as a reward for saving the younger brother's life.
Whether she was in a daze or not, the letter was a mess. It seemed she was hallucinating continuously.
Stella used every bit of her strength to seek revenge on her father and the priest who did not even consider her a child.
Judith sighed in regret.
“I knew what the priest would do, but I didn’t know he would kill Lady Wilbur. Do you know what happened to Viscount Wilbur?”
“I haven’t heard any news. But if the spell was successful, wouldn’t we hear news soon?”
Layla shrugged.
“What are we going to do now, Miss Harrington?”
“We must go and catch the priest.”
“Do you know where it is?”
“I don’t know where he is, but I know where he will come from.”
***
In front of the court.
“As they say, if you study anything, you’ll find a use for it someday.”
Erne trembled at Judith's seemingly proud voice.
Judith's words themselves were not wrong. If you study anything, it will be useful someday.
The only problem was that the study was about how to adopt an older man to secure a title.
“Is it really possible to adopt a moneylender older than Miss Harrington?”
Tia, her face covered by a scarf, looked at the faces of the people entering the court and asked.
Tia was very afraid of meeting Shadin again. However, Judith and Erne had no choice but to take Tia out, because Tia was the only one who knew the faces of Shadin's Followers.
“That was possible.”
The adoption of a noble family is a three-step process, the first of which is, of course, the submission of documents.
Once the paperwork is approved, the court will call the adopter and the person being adopted.
The two sign the adoption papers in front of a judge, and if the judge approves, the adoption process is complete.
At this time, both the adoptive parents and the person to be adopted must be present.
This was a procedure to prevent titles and nobility from falling into the hands of the powerful.
It was said to be to prevent crimes such as stealing the family seal and pretending to be adoptive parents, but now they only verify identity.
“They said that if you give the judge some bribes, he will approve it after verifying your identity.”
Even if the person being adopted is older than the person adopting. But no matter how meaningless the procedure is, a procedure is a procedure.
“He said that if he brings a representative, the judge will think he is being ignored and will not grant permission.”
Judges were generally the job of the children of noblemen who were smart but did not come from good families. They felt inferior because their families were not very good.
“So the priest will come soon.”
It was common for childless old men, like Lord Malton, to adopt a child on the verge of adulthood as their successor.
This could have been approved by simply submitting the documents properly without having to bribe the judge.
Besides, couldn't the priest change the color of his eyes to pretend not to be a Shaartin?
Through Cain's connections at court, Judith was able to obtain information that Lord Malton was to undergo adoption approval proceedings today.
So Shadin must come here today too.
"Uh?"
Tia, who was watching the person passing by, flinched.
“What’s wrong, Tia?”
“That guy is a Followers. He’s the man standing in front of the lion statue wearing a black robe. His hair and eye color are different, but he’s definitely one of them.”
Tia didn't look at him openly but whispered quietly.
“Are you sure?”
Erne deliberately looked elsewhere and asked again.
“Yes, I am sure. There is one at the entrance to the courthouse.”
Judith looked around at Tia's confident voice.
The presence of Followers following the priest meant that the priest was also here.
Where are you? Where the hell are you?
Judith's gaze wandered around and she saw an old gentleman getting out of a carriage and a person who seemed to be welcoming him.
Judith tapped Tia and Erne to look towards the carriage.
“Ugh...!”
Tia turned her head hurriedly. Tia's face, slightly visible from the side, was pale.
She could tell without even being told. It was that boy. He was the priest.
Erne sent a signal to the security forces disguised as merchants, pedestrians, etc.
"...Uh?"
It was at this moment that the security guards disguised as gatekeepers at the entrance to the courthouse quietly approached Sir Malton and Shadin as they passed through the main gate of the courthouse.
A Followers standing slightly outside the courthouse entrance spotted the gatekeeper.
The Followers, noticing something odd, started running instead of signaling the priest.
There was a commotion as the man began to run away, pushing through the crowd.
Shadin looked at the gatekeeper who had come right behind him with a puzzled look but quickly figured out the situation.
“Catch the traitor!”
Cain, who was hiding in the crowd, shouted. The security forces soldiers disguised as civilians rushed into the courthouse.
Some were evacuating people, fearing that the priests and their Followers would use poison, while others were chasing them and running away. The area in front of the court was a scene of chaos.
Judith kept looking around for the priest.
Did you go inside the courthouse? If so, you're like a rat without poison. All the exits of the courthouse are blocked by security forces.
“Wait a minute, that..!”
At that moment, Judith caught sight of a boy picking up his hat that had fallen on the floor and pulling it down low.
The boy blended in naturally with the crowd of people evacuating, following the instructions of the security forces.
Although she couldn't see the boy's face, Judith couldn't take her eyes off him.
Among the people who were running around, he walked with a particularly calm gait and his head never wavered even once despite being hunched over.
It's him! She shouted. Judith ran straight towards him.
The boy, who had been moving forward without even glancing around, felt Judith's gaze and looked back.
Dark skin, a young face, narrow, long eyes, and crooked corners of the mouth. It was a common, ordinary face.
It gave her the creeps to think that he had committed such cruel and ruthless acts with that kind of face.
She met blue eyes in the air. The boy who recognized Judith blinked one eyelid.
'Winking at this point? Is that crazy guy teasing me?'
Let's see if you can afford to wink even after being caught. When I was young, I was always the last runner in a relay race.
Just as Judith, who was about to get up, was putting strength into her legs to increase her speed, a strong arm grabbed her waist.
“...Aah!”
The moment Judith was thrown backward by the force, a chariot rushed forward at a terrifying speed.
Judith forgot how to breathe in a situation where she was almost hit by a carriage and thrown into a ditch.
“Are you hurt anywhere? Breathe, breathe.”
Erne held Judith as she lay on the floor, checking to see if she was hurt anywhere.
Meanwhile, Judith was struck by a certain feeling that crossed her mind.
'No, but why does this situation feel so unfamiliar and yet so familiar?'
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