Deceiving His Majesty and the Empire by impersonating a dead Princess, wasting the national treasury and disrupting the imperial lineage through competition, seducing a man with her body, and cunningly expanding her support base through him...
The crimes Count Osbord listed against me were a feast of all the dishonorable things that could befall a woman.
But more shocking than all of that...
“And finally, the attempt to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.”
I couldn't stand that charge at all. I even forgot my promise to be polite and calm, and I opened my eyes and protested.
“That’s not true!”
Count Osbord answered with a stiff face.
“His Majesty collapsed immediately after the criminal left the palace. It was concluded that he had consumed poison...”
I took a deep breath. I took a deep breath, and it felt like my ribs were going to split.
But there was no time to worry about that. My mind went blank in an instant.
Poisoning? I could barely move my stiff lips.
“Is there any danger to the new life, to the, to life...”
“Fortunately.”
The tension suddenly released, and my whole body trembled.
It would be like a rat that had fallen into water and been pulled out, but it was not as easy as I thought to regain the composure that had been lost. It was a great consolation that His Majesty's life was not in great danger.
But it was too early to be relieved, said Count Osbord, holding up a small glass bottle.
“The same type of poison found in His Majesty’s body was found in the Princess’ Palace. I am submitting this as evidence.”
As I was about to open my mouth to say something, Count Osbord raised a hand and stopped me.
“Enough. There will be ample time to argue later.”
“...”
I clenched my fists so hard that my nails left marks.
Only then did everything make sense: the trial was held too hastily, the guards' attitude, the public opinion that turned against me in an instant.
I thought I was just rushing to prepare for Laskan's invasion...
From then on, Count Osbord's voice was no longer audible to my ears. About twenty more crimes, which I had never committed, were lined up one after another in the courtroom.
At last, after a long and drawn-out reading, Count Osbord asked:
“Does the sinner admit all these facts?”
“I don’t admit it. First of all…..”
Count Oddbod raised his hand once more. Duke Kairak's smile was now almost sinister.
“Is there any evidence to support your claim?”
I bit my lips until they turned white. It wasn't the time yet.
“There is no evidence, but...”
“Count Osbord.”
It was Thalia who stood up gracefully. Looking at her face, which was as haggard as mine, I could tell how much mental anguish she had been going through.
She looked a bit frightened by the sudden gazes, then quickly spoke as if she had made up her mind.
“Not all charges have been properly proven yet. You can’t even call her a criminal, and regardless of whether there is evidence or not, Her Highness the Princess...”
“The Duke of Valencia.”
A voice like a snake. I wouldn't be surprised if the Duke of Kairak had a forked tongue.
He burst into a raspy laugh.
“You’re looking for an illusion that doesn’t exist. You calling that impostor a Princess.”
“Duke Kairak. Please, speak respectfully...”
“You are the one who should be careful with your words, Lieutenant.”
As he waved his hand, Zachary, who was standing behind the Duke, handed a wooden box to Count Osbord.
“The evidence that this woman is not the Princess is clear.”
Even without looking closely, I could tell that it was a box that held the appraisal stone. It seemed like Zachary and the nobles nearby all recognized it.
A commotion spread through the courtroom like a wave. Count Osbord waved his baton and called for silence.
In the meantime, the servants came in with the bowl. Count Osbord took out the judging stone with his gloved hand and slid it onto the bowl. There was no need to look any further. The scene I had seen a dozen days ago was being reenacted exactly as it was.
The stones were spinning around the edge of the basin, pushing each other away. There was no tangling. A silence so calm that even the sound of feathers falling could be heard fell on the courtroom.
“Answer, High Priest Judias!”
At the thunderous shout of Duke Kairak, the high priest who had shown me the judgment stone that night stepped forward and bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Is that judging stone really the one stained with the blood of His Majesty the Emperor and the criminal?”
He looked at me with a complicated gaze for a split second. But his answer did not change.
"You're right."
“Do you swear before Temer, who gave you life?”
“...I swear.”
That was the end of it. Thalia closed her eyes and sank into her seat as if she had fainted.
In an instant, the situation became very unfavorable for me.
I couldn't let the flow be taken away like this. I glanced around the jury box.
A long time had passed since the promised time, but no matter where I looked, 'that' person was nowhere to be seen.
The voice of Duke Kairak interrupted my anxious thoughts.
“What we need to note here is that this deception was not committed by an individual, and that it was the Ashkabad operation that protected her.”
"No."
I silently accepted all the accusations and criticisms that were poured on me, but I just couldn't let that one thing go.
Despite my protests, Duke Kairak simply smiled obliquely.
“Je have dared to touch the imperial lineage, so he should be severely punished for treason... but in recognition of his contributions to the empire, I demand that he be stripped of his title and his status erased.”
“..”
I bit my lip. Should I go harder from here, or... should I throw the plan out the window?
In a flash, time flew by, and I was back to the very moment when Veronica had asked me to entrust her life to her.
“Your Highness once asked me to move for Your Highness.”
"..."
"Can you entrust your life to me?"
“...What does that mean?”
"I know that Duke Kairak switched Your Highness's identification stone. I know where the real identification stone is stored."
"How did you do that..."
Veronica looked at me with a tired face.
"I will bring you the 'Unmanipulated Judging Stone' to Your Highness."
"..."
“But that is all my role is. How you use it is entirely up to Your Highness’s discretion.”
You're leaving it up to me? That's when I realized that this was Veronica's final test.
I walked around the small room, gathering my thoughts.
“Even if you have the judging stone, you can’t move it recklessly. His Majesty is being held hostage unconscious, and they have the judging stone with Your Majesty’s blood on it in their hands.”
Veronica nodded in agreement.
“No matter how much I insist that the item I brought is real, if they kill His Majesty and purify the Appraisal Stone for six months, that’s it. Or they’ll insist that I was a fake from the beginning.”
In the end, there was only one way.
“I need to set up a trial. I don’t want to be too docile, but I need to set it up so that they believe I’m cornered. They have my life in their hands, and they can kill me at any moment.”
"..."
"How dare Duke Kairak not know that this is a trap. Our counterattack will begin from there."
"Isn't there another way?"
Dmitry, who had been listening the whole time, interrupted impatiently.
“How can we trust Lady Veronica? If she doesn’t come to the court, it will be you, Your Highness, who will be in danger.”
What did I say then? I laughed and said that I believed in her integrity more than anything else.
That was my choice. I still think the same. If my eyesight for people hadn't been so poor from the beginning, Veronica would be trying harder for me than anyone else right now.
What I could do here was to trust her and act according to plan rather than wasting time suspecting Veronica, who never showed up. So what I had to do was clear. Buy time.
I gathered all my thoughts and spoke in a trembling, cold voice.
“Duke Ashkabad believed that I was the real princess!”
Veronica will come.
“I was the one who approached him from the beginning.”
“Quiet! Quiet!”
“Trust me, he really didn’t know. I did it all by myself.”
“Recall, everyone. Who brought this woman, who was of royal blood, into your presence?”
“I understand that under Imperial law, the charge of treason is to be dealt with under a separate law. In this way...”
I refuted every word of Duke Kairak, but it was practically an empty cry. I felt that no one believed me.
The Duke was just playing with me, rolling me around with one hand like a predatory beast. I glared at the nape of his neck.
Yeah, just let your guard down.
Until I finally put a knife to your neck.
I failed to defend myself as Duke Kairak pointed out, and I let them tear me apart, intoxicated with victory, without even looking back.
“I can’t listen to it anymore.”
Finally, Duke Kairak burst into laughter and said this. The atmosphere in the courtroom was as tense as it could get. There was no friendly gaze anywhere for me.
Veronica still hadn't come.
“Count Osbord. I think it’s time to pass judgment.”
I bit my lip. I tried to stall for as long as I could, but it wasn't enough. Did something happen to Veronica? Either way, she was already too late.
From up there, Dmitry was looking down at me with a clouded expression, as if to say, 'Didn't I warn you from the beginning not to trust her?'
I smiled faintly.
It was I who made the decision to believe, and it was I who pushed forward with this plan. So it was I who had to take responsibility.
Even if Lady Veronica doesn't come.
I bit my lip and tried to lift the sign hanging around my neck. As I had promised in advance with the Knights of the North, I would act accordingly.
That was when.
“...It’s late.”
The sound of the great wooden doors of the main conference hall opening again was heard.
A white hand pulled back the hood. Red hair and blue eyes poured down. The early morning sunlight shone behind her, casting a strange halo around her.
It was Princess Veronica.
The crimes Count Osbord listed against me were a feast of all the dishonorable things that could befall a woman.
But more shocking than all of that...
“And finally, the attempt to assassinate His Majesty the Emperor.”
I couldn't stand that charge at all. I even forgot my promise to be polite and calm, and I opened my eyes and protested.
“That’s not true!”
Count Osbord answered with a stiff face.
“His Majesty collapsed immediately after the criminal left the palace. It was concluded that he had consumed poison...”
I took a deep breath. I took a deep breath, and it felt like my ribs were going to split.
But there was no time to worry about that. My mind went blank in an instant.
Poisoning? I could barely move my stiff lips.
“Is there any danger to the new life, to the, to life...”
“Fortunately.”
The tension suddenly released, and my whole body trembled.
It would be like a rat that had fallen into water and been pulled out, but it was not as easy as I thought to regain the composure that had been lost. It was a great consolation that His Majesty's life was not in great danger.
But it was too early to be relieved, said Count Osbord, holding up a small glass bottle.
“The same type of poison found in His Majesty’s body was found in the Princess’ Palace. I am submitting this as evidence.”
As I was about to open my mouth to say something, Count Osbord raised a hand and stopped me.
“Enough. There will be ample time to argue later.”
“...”
I clenched my fists so hard that my nails left marks.
Only then did everything make sense: the trial was held too hastily, the guards' attitude, the public opinion that turned against me in an instant.
I thought I was just rushing to prepare for Laskan's invasion...
From then on, Count Osbord's voice was no longer audible to my ears. About twenty more crimes, which I had never committed, were lined up one after another in the courtroom.
At last, after a long and drawn-out reading, Count Osbord asked:
“Does the sinner admit all these facts?”
“I don’t admit it. First of all…..”
Count Oddbod raised his hand once more. Duke Kairak's smile was now almost sinister.
“Is there any evidence to support your claim?”
I bit my lips until they turned white. It wasn't the time yet.
“There is no evidence, but...”
“Count Osbord.”
It was Thalia who stood up gracefully. Looking at her face, which was as haggard as mine, I could tell how much mental anguish she had been going through.
She looked a bit frightened by the sudden gazes, then quickly spoke as if she had made up her mind.
“Not all charges have been properly proven yet. You can’t even call her a criminal, and regardless of whether there is evidence or not, Her Highness the Princess...”
“The Duke of Valencia.”
A voice like a snake. I wouldn't be surprised if the Duke of Kairak had a forked tongue.
He burst into a raspy laugh.
“You’re looking for an illusion that doesn’t exist. You calling that impostor a Princess.”
“Duke Kairak. Please, speak respectfully...”
“You are the one who should be careful with your words, Lieutenant.”
As he waved his hand, Zachary, who was standing behind the Duke, handed a wooden box to Count Osbord.
“The evidence that this woman is not the Princess is clear.”
Even without looking closely, I could tell that it was a box that held the appraisal stone. It seemed like Zachary and the nobles nearby all recognized it.
A commotion spread through the courtroom like a wave. Count Osbord waved his baton and called for silence.
In the meantime, the servants came in with the bowl. Count Osbord took out the judging stone with his gloved hand and slid it onto the bowl. There was no need to look any further. The scene I had seen a dozen days ago was being reenacted exactly as it was.
The stones were spinning around the edge of the basin, pushing each other away. There was no tangling. A silence so calm that even the sound of feathers falling could be heard fell on the courtroom.
“Answer, High Priest Judias!”
At the thunderous shout of Duke Kairak, the high priest who had shown me the judgment stone that night stepped forward and bowed his head.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
“Is that judging stone really the one stained with the blood of His Majesty the Emperor and the criminal?”
He looked at me with a complicated gaze for a split second. But his answer did not change.
"You're right."
“Do you swear before Temer, who gave you life?”
“...I swear.”
That was the end of it. Thalia closed her eyes and sank into her seat as if she had fainted.
In an instant, the situation became very unfavorable for me.
I couldn't let the flow be taken away like this. I glanced around the jury box.
A long time had passed since the promised time, but no matter where I looked, 'that' person was nowhere to be seen.
The voice of Duke Kairak interrupted my anxious thoughts.
“What we need to note here is that this deception was not committed by an individual, and that it was the Ashkabad operation that protected her.”
"No."
I silently accepted all the accusations and criticisms that were poured on me, but I just couldn't let that one thing go.
Despite my protests, Duke Kairak simply smiled obliquely.
“Je have dared to touch the imperial lineage, so he should be severely punished for treason... but in recognition of his contributions to the empire, I demand that he be stripped of his title and his status erased.”
“..”
I bit my lip. Should I go harder from here, or... should I throw the plan out the window?
In a flash, time flew by, and I was back to the very moment when Veronica had asked me to entrust her life to her.
“Your Highness once asked me to move for Your Highness.”
"..."
"Can you entrust your life to me?"
“...What does that mean?”
"I know that Duke Kairak switched Your Highness's identification stone. I know where the real identification stone is stored."
"How did you do that..."
Veronica looked at me with a tired face.
"I will bring you the 'Unmanipulated Judging Stone' to Your Highness."
"..."
“But that is all my role is. How you use it is entirely up to Your Highness’s discretion.”
You're leaving it up to me? That's when I realized that this was Veronica's final test.
I walked around the small room, gathering my thoughts.
“Even if you have the judging stone, you can’t move it recklessly. His Majesty is being held hostage unconscious, and they have the judging stone with Your Majesty’s blood on it in their hands.”
Veronica nodded in agreement.
“No matter how much I insist that the item I brought is real, if they kill His Majesty and purify the Appraisal Stone for six months, that’s it. Or they’ll insist that I was a fake from the beginning.”
In the end, there was only one way.
“I need to set up a trial. I don’t want to be too docile, but I need to set it up so that they believe I’m cornered. They have my life in their hands, and they can kill me at any moment.”
"..."
"How dare Duke Kairak not know that this is a trap. Our counterattack will begin from there."
"Isn't there another way?"
Dmitry, who had been listening the whole time, interrupted impatiently.
“How can we trust Lady Veronica? If she doesn’t come to the court, it will be you, Your Highness, who will be in danger.”
What did I say then? I laughed and said that I believed in her integrity more than anything else.
That was my choice. I still think the same. If my eyesight for people hadn't been so poor from the beginning, Veronica would be trying harder for me than anyone else right now.
What I could do here was to trust her and act according to plan rather than wasting time suspecting Veronica, who never showed up. So what I had to do was clear. Buy time.
I gathered all my thoughts and spoke in a trembling, cold voice.
“Duke Ashkabad believed that I was the real princess!”
Veronica will come.
“I was the one who approached him from the beginning.”
“Quiet! Quiet!”
“Trust me, he really didn’t know. I did it all by myself.”
“Recall, everyone. Who brought this woman, who was of royal blood, into your presence?”
“I understand that under Imperial law, the charge of treason is to be dealt with under a separate law. In this way...”
I refuted every word of Duke Kairak, but it was practically an empty cry. I felt that no one believed me.
The Duke was just playing with me, rolling me around with one hand like a predatory beast. I glared at the nape of his neck.
Yeah, just let your guard down.
Until I finally put a knife to your neck.
I failed to defend myself as Duke Kairak pointed out, and I let them tear me apart, intoxicated with victory, without even looking back.
“I can’t listen to it anymore.”
Finally, Duke Kairak burst into laughter and said this. The atmosphere in the courtroom was as tense as it could get. There was no friendly gaze anywhere for me.
Veronica still hadn't come.
“Count Osbord. I think it’s time to pass judgment.”
I bit my lip. I tried to stall for as long as I could, but it wasn't enough. Did something happen to Veronica? Either way, she was already too late.
From up there, Dmitry was looking down at me with a clouded expression, as if to say, 'Didn't I warn you from the beginning not to trust her?'
I smiled faintly.
It was I who made the decision to believe, and it was I who pushed forward with this plan. So it was I who had to take responsibility.
Even if Lady Veronica doesn't come.
I bit my lip and tried to lift the sign hanging around my neck. As I had promised in advance with the Knights of the North, I would act accordingly.
That was when.
“...It’s late.”
The sound of the great wooden doors of the main conference hall opening again was heard.
A white hand pulled back the hood. Red hair and blue eyes poured down. The early morning sunlight shone behind her, casting a strange halo around her.
It was Princess Veronica.
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