INAT - Chapter 78

Sylvia raised her head resolutely, as if determined to overcome her own frailty, and continued speaking calmly.

"Therefore, I request the illegal distribution register and poisonous herb trading contracts in the Duke's possession, as well as materials regarding the details of illegal experiments that were conducted in secret, as evidence."

As Sylvia finished speaking, the judge flipped through the documents placed before him one by one. Although the matter had already been reviewed in advance, he seemed to be contemplating the direction of the judgment while verifying it once more.

"...Handwriting verification has been completed for all relevant evidence. The signatures on all the papers are identical to Epic Joubert's handwriting. Furthermore, upon comparing the series of events and their timings, they match exactly, leading us to conclude that the actions were indeed committed by Epic Joubert."

"Ah. No! It is all forged! I have nothing to do with it!!!"

Ah. So he had been pretending not to know all this time just to insist it was a forgery. I clicked my tongue inwardly at Duke Joubert's baseness and looked at the judge.

"Are you insulting this trial right now? Do you really think we accepted the evidence without verifying its authenticity?"

However, that tactic was unlikely to work as the current judge was famous for being so incorruptible. Since I had already asked Thierry about this point, as I was concerned about it anyway, the trial proceeded exactly as I had expected.

The judge looked terrifyingly serious, as if he had been insulted.

"I apologize. Couldn't it be fabricated evidence capable of perfectly deceiving everyone? I am truly being unfairly accused!"

"...Honorable Judge, I have some evidence that I was unable to submit earlier. May I request it?

“Raise it.”

The judge, who had been looking down at Duke Joubert with a look of insolence, accepted the evidence without hesitation.

As the development became more interesting than I had expected, I glanced at Thierry sitting behind the judge and was startled to meet his eyes, as if he had been watching me all along.

Sitting languidly on the throne with his chin resting on his hand, he showed me a faint smile when our eyes met.

'Hey, there are so many people here; what are you doing? Why are you looking at me?'

I swooped out like someone pricked by a product and needlessly scanned my surroundings. Fortunately, everyone's attention was focused on the trial, so not a single person was looking at us... or so I thought?

There was exactly one person looking at me. It was Ethan Liart.

Ethan was staring at me blankly. Was it because I've only ever seen his smiling face? He looked so unfamiliar, completely devoid of expression. Or perhaps it was just that unsettling atmosphere that felt strange.

When Ethan's eyes met mine, he blinked his stiff eyes a couple of times and slowly looked away.

It felt strange, as if he were holding back his anger. Should I say it felt unsettling? It was to the point where I felt I should instinctively avoid him, even without Thierry telling me to.

"The evidence has been verified."

While I was distracted for a moment, the evidence Sylvia had submitted was fully verified. I quickly turned my gaze to the Judge. I was very curious about the small crystal ball he was holding, as it was something I had never seen before.

"I will reveal the contents recorded in the recording magic orb."

The judge did not explain at length. As if telling him to listen for himself and judge, he immediately activated the magic orb.

- What? You're saying they killed each other again?

- Yes. After two hours, the test subjects all start going berserk, perhaps because their minds are breaking down due to the poisonous herbs.

- I guess I'll have to reduce the amount of poisonous herbs. Adjust the quantity and try the experiment again. Since word might spread if we keep experimenting in the same place, find a different location and gather some vagrants.

- That is good, but I think we should refrain from conducting the experiment itself for the time being. Surveillance has intensified lately, so we will need to assess the situation before proceeding.

- First... we need to know exactly how much is needed before we can decide whether or not to increase the distribution volume...

The conversation ended there. Since the magic orb had a short recording time, the conversation wasn't long, but the content contained within that brief exchange was tremendous. Enough to more than sufficiently prove his guilt.

Duke Joubert, who had been vehemently protesting his innocence just moments ago, had his mouth shut tight like a clam. His face had even turned gray, as if he felt it was no longer possible to deny the accusation.

'It's over.'

Actually, getting the documents alone was impressive, but to think she managed to get a recording device like that. It seemed like Sylvia had really ground her teeth.

I watched as if observing Duke Joubert, who was trembling uncontrollably, his face heavy with fear.

"Alright. I was wrong. I was just doing this for the sake of this empire...!"

"Surely you aren't saying you sold medicine for the sake of the empire?"

Thierry cut off Duke Joubert abruptly, as he stammered out his words while even shedding tears. As if the matter was not worth listening to, he immediately asked the judge.

"Is the trial over?"

"Yes."

“Then let’s make a ruling.”

"All right."

The judge faithfully struck the gavel and scanned the assembly.

"I will now pronounce the verdict. Prisoner Epic Joubert has seriously endangered the lives of an unspecified number of people by distributing poisonous herbs, and has committed inhumane acts by forcing illegal experiments on humans. Judging by his attitude of lying without any awareness of his crimes or guilt, I have determined that there is no room for remorse and that the risk of recidivism is high..."

As the internal meeting seemed to have already ended by the time the recording was heard, the judge calmly read from the prepared paper. Everyone's attention was fully focused on the last words.

The judge, who had been silently looking down at the paper, raised his gaze and looked at Duke Joubert.

“I sentence you to death by hanging.”

"No! This won't do!!! I am being treated unfairly!"

The knights subdued Duke Joubert—no, the former Duke—who had begun to rampage like a man whose eyes had rolled back. He wailed and looked around as if searching for Sylvia, but she was nowhere to be seen, and the knights dragged him out so quickly that he vanished from the courtroom in an instant.

"To think that he shows no signs of remorse even after committing such a cruel act. The Princess really did a great job."

"Exactly. If she hadn't been a Princess, wouldn't no one have known about this? That means we might have unknowingly eaten that poisonous herb."

"Ha, just thinking about it is terrible."

Before I knew it, Sylvia was surrounded by people and being comforted. I couldn't see her right away either, so Oscar had to tell me where she was to let me know.

Now, shouldn't the Duke's title be firmly established by appealing to the returning public opinion and emphasizing that she is the only direct descendant?

If Sylvia becomes the Duke, Thierry gains another reliable ally. I thought it was quite a good ending for everyone.

I was holding back the laughter that was about to escape when, for a split second, I met Sylvia's eyes. Sylvia bowed slightly to me, making a gesture that I couldn't tell if it was a greeting or a thank you. I immediately gave her a nod, then naturally turned my back and left the courtroom.

'I think we should raise a toast today... Shall we have a glass of wine tonight?'

I was just about to return to my room with light, cheerful steps when I suddenly heard the sound of someone following me.

"Princess."

“Please step back”

Oscar's vigilance was faster than I could turn around. Since he could immediately recognize the identity of the voice even before I could turn around, I considered pretending not to know and just walking away.

"It won't take long, Princess."

Ethan called out to me again. It was clear that if he kept calling out to me and following me here, he would attract attention.

“...Let’s go over there.”

I left the entrance and headed to a place where no one could see me. Oscar looked at me once with a face that seemed to ask why I was bothering him, then extended his arm toward Ethan, who was approaching me, as if to mark a boundary.

"Please do not come any closer. Can't we have a sufficient conversation right there?"

"Princess, may we talk alone for a moment?"

Undeterred, Ethan looked only at me and asked in a soft voice.

"I'm sorry. I think that would be a bit difficult."

"...No, I am the one who should be apologizing for making such an awkward request."

"Then, do you have something to say...?"

I trailed off, as if urging him to hurry back to my room. Ethan, who had been looking down at me for a few seconds, slowly opened his mouth.

"If you don't mind, I would like to hear the answer to the question I asked last time again."

"What question are you referring to?"

"Don't you want to go back?"

Ah, but asking that question so directly in front of Oscar? It's like he's not even trying to be considerate; it's more like he wants Oscar to hear it.

I looked up at Ethan with surprised eyes and tilted my head slightly.

"...Do you want me to go back?"

"I simply consider the Princess's safety my top priority."

"Thank you for your words, but I am fine, as His Majesty considers my safety your top priority."

"It seems you are very close to His Majesty."

For some reason, it feels like the same conversation repeats every time we meet. I'm starting to feel a bit sick of it.

As I began to lose interest in the meaningless conversation, I started to get bored.

I thought he was kind, but then I wondered if he was just a busybody; either way, he was bothersome.

"Yes. Thanks to you, I'm doing well. So it's okay if you don't worry about me."

"Yes."

Ethan replied in a low voice, his face devoid of a single trace of a smile. When I looked down for a moment, he raised his eyes and stared at me.

"That's a shame."

At that moment, a strange chill ran down my spine. For some reason, Ethan's eyes seemed to flash sky blue, so I blinked several times.

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