Chapter 76
“Given the nature of the trial’s subject, I also did some investigating after the Second Prince spoke.”
The Empress’s private soldiers, who had been hiding everywhere and throwing daggers, were subdued in an instant. They were kneeling below where the Empress stood, their mouths gagged to prevent suicide, avoiding eye contact.
As I swallowed, wondering if they intended to reveal the masters of these individuals in this courtroom, the still-indifferent Emperor rose from his seat.
“It must be quite nerve-wracking, being the first imperial trial since my ascension.”
No one laughed at the Emperor’s attempt at a joke. He clicked his tongue, seeming more concerned about the success of his joke than the pale complexion of the Empress or the despairing face of the First Prince, and made a bored expression.
“As the case was closely related to me, I ordered an investigation into that person. But on their way, my knights saw some familiar faces, you see?”
The Emperor gestured towards Lorang with his chin, then looked at the kneeling soldiers of the Empress.
It seems the Empress’s soldiers, who thought only we would investigate Lorang’s background, had also attacked the Emperor’s knights.
This was truly a mistake with no way out.
“Just trying to look into one man living in a rural village, and there were countless attacks.”
“…I couldn’t bear the insult, Your Majesty.”
“Even so, Empress.”
The Emperor sighed as he called out to the Empress. It sounded like a sigh directed at a foolish person, causing her face to redden visibly.
“Isn’t the resemblance too strong? Even I have eyes.”
“It’s a coincidence. It’s all fabricated.”
The Empress denied it to the end, but no one in this courtroom believed her words. The Emperor continued speaking, no longer smiling.
His gaze towards the woman who had been his wife was cruelly contemptuous.
“The Duchess herself even helped wash his face. I felt it the moment he entered the courtroom. Everyone must have thought the same.”
“……”
“After that… I was just observing my Empress’s attitude.”
“…Your Majesty.”
“I’ve seen enough. May I dare to pass judgment now?”
“Your Majesty! How could……”
“Since you seem to place yourself above me, I should ask for permission, shouldn’t I? I’ll prepare a high place befitting such an exalted person. After all, a monarch’s position is inherently lonely.”
The courtroom fell into utter silence. Everyone was thinking the same thing, though they couldn’t believe it. A high and lonely place.
“The Empress will be confined to the tower.”
“Father!!”
“For life, I think.”
The Emperor calmly delivered his verdict, ignoring the shocked First Prince.
Confining the Empress to the tower meant acknowledging the paternal relationship between the First Prince and Lorang. Just as we had hoped.
“Father, no! My blood is pure! Please reconsider!”
Unlike the silently resigned Empress, the First Prince rushed to the foot of the Emperor’s seat, his face pale, shouting in a manner unbefitting his station.
The fact that no one stopped him from approaching so close to the Emperor was a significant problem. Everyone seemed to be in shock. At this moment, the most composed individuals were likely myself, Cassion, the Second Prince, and… the Emperor.
“I have only one child, yet you dare call the Emperor your father.”
“Father…!”
“I won’t say it twice. The next time, I’ll charge you with insulting the imperial family.”
“…!”
Even I couldn’t help but gape at this. Such a cold and swift change in attitude. Was there not even a shred of affection?
The First Prince, at a loss for words, looked around, his lower lip trembling, as if hoping someone would shout that it was a false accusation, a lie.
But everyone quickly averted their eyes, and unfortunately, I ended up making eye contact with him.
“You……”
And in an instant, his eyes, which had been dead and dark, blazed with fury. As soon as our eyes met, the Prince’s expression changed, and he lunged forward.
“Asil!”
“…Gasp.”
I swallowed a breath, a beat too late, as his hand reached out toward my face. The First Prince charged like a beast, and by the time I realized his eyes had changed, his grasp was right before me.
Cassion, who quickly blocked the First Prince, drew his sword while protecting me as I instinctively stepped back in fear.
“How dare you draw your sword! I am the Prince! Pointing a sword at me is treason!”
“……”
Cassion didn’t even respond to his outburst.
Once the Emperor had declared him not to be his son, it wouldn’t have mattered to the imperial family if he had cut off his head instead of just pointing a sword at him.
If there was anything to worry about, it was the possibility that the Emperor might still have some affection left for the First Prince and show leniency…
“Hmm.”
The Emperor was still standing in his place, merely observing this farce. He didn’t seem inclined to reprimand or suppress Cassion’s actions.
“Bind him.”
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively, as if he had seen enough of the spectacle, and ordered the knights who had been restraining the Empress’s soldiers. The subject, though unspoken, was clearly the First Prince.
“Let go! Release me! You mere knights…!”
The knights bound the First Prince, who was thrashing about with an expression that suggested he had much to say. The Emperor tended to appoint capable individuals regardless of their social status, though not as much as the Second Prince, so there might be knights of common birth among them who had been disliked by the First Prince.
“Let me ask one last thing. Klaus, did you know about your bloodline?”
“My bloodline is the imperial bloodline!”
“I see, so you didn’t know.”
The veins on the First Prince’s neck bulged. What kind of beliefs and convictions did he hold to be so obsessed with bloodline and status?
“In that case, for now, just isolate him in the underground prison. We’ll think about his future residence later.”
“Father!!”
“After all, you can’t stay in the palace anymore.”
The Emperor looked around at the despairing First Prince, the Empress being restrained with a pale expression, and the stunned nobles, before finally ringing the bell. The sound marking the end of the trial was cruelly clear and bright.
“Let’s conclude this imperial trial now.”
Bang-
Immediately, the Emperor left, and the knights dragged the Empress and the First Prince to their respective places as ordered by the Emperor.
However, those who remained were reluctant to leave.
“Is it… is it over?”
“…Uh…”
“Is the trial finished? Did we win?”
“It seems so.”
Finally, unable to bear the confusion, Lorang tugged at my sleeve and asked. But I was just as dumbfounded.
The trial we had prepared for days and nights ended with ridiculous ease.
It’s our victory.
“Your Grace, Duchess…!”
“Oh, right.”
But this is no time to be in a daze. We’re not alone here. Other nobles, who wanted to discuss the situation, began to regain their senses and set their eyes on us like a pack of wolves.
“Let’s go! Hurry, hurry!”
“I’ll go another way, so watch your back on the way home.”
The Second Prince whispered to us as we hurried to leave the courtroom. I gave him a sidelong glance, expressing that his joke wasn’t funny. The Second Prince also seemed a bit intoxicated by the victory of the trial to make such a joke.
“There should be a carriage right where you got off when you exit. Take care.”
The Second Prince escaped from the crowd of nobles approaching him. I grabbed Lorang and Cassion’s arms and led them away.
The nobles trying to catch us hesitated when I apologized with a gloomy expression, and taking advantage of that moment, we left the courtroom and walked quickly through the hall. Then we saw a carriage similar to the one we came in.
“Get in quickly! We need to get out of here before rumors spread!”
Why do I feel like I’m the only one in a hurry? I shoved the dazed Lorang in, pulled Cassion, whose thoughts were unclear, and after sitting down and closing the door, the carriage immediately departed.
“Phew…”
“Asilia.”
The joy of victory or whatever, it’s all so overwhelming. As I unbuttoned one or two buttons of the dress that had been tightly fastened up to my neck and sighed, Cassion called me in a low voice.
His voice sounded strangely… excited? Is he also intoxicated by the victory of the trial? This can’t be the complete end, though.
“We shouldn’t let our guard down too much yet…”
“Now that the trial is over, can I hear your answer to my confession?”
“…Oh.”
Cassion interrupted me and threw out an unexpected question.
…Come to think of it, I had forgotten about that because the trial was so chaotic.
“Hm? Asilia.”
If I find Cassion a bit cute for urging an answer right after getting in the carriage, completely disregarding the trial, does that make me seriously ill too?
But if I had known he would demand an answer not just today but for several days to come, I might have found him a little less cute.
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