69 – 69. CHAPTER 1 (3)
“…What?”
Flora was greatly taken aback by Carcine’s sharp words.
She had anticipated that he would scold her to some extent, but she never thought she would be cut off like a knife without even getting to the point.
“Why? Why do you say you don’t need my help when I’m offering it? If you make me a witness in the trial, we can easily resolve this issue!”
Flora asked Carcine, her voice trembling.
As usual, Carcine, with his cold gaze, plunged a dagger into Flora.
“How can I trust you?”
“What?”
“You made me a criminal with your testimony in the Chapel Forest Radiel Raid Incident. How can I trust you?”
Flora tried to shout back at Carcine’s words.
But Carcine’s words were quicker.
“You didn’t know about Theo Ramsteer. You didn’t know Emma was that kind of person. How can you say that now that you know?”
The flora that pierced the summit shivered her shoulders.
“Stop causing trouble and go back. You foolish little kid. One testimony is enough to completely turn the tide and make you a criminal.”
“…What’s that. Are you thinking that I’ll take Theo and Emma’s side?”
“Yeah.”
A single affirmative syllable.
But once again, it was a sharp response.
The blue pupils began to tremble.
“I said I’ll help. I didn’t say I wouldn’t. So…”
“No need. Flora Vagrand.”
As the words that were being continued were sharply cut off again, Flora suddenly remembered her conversation with Camilla.
– Since I know what the young lady wants to say, may I speak frankly even if it goes beyond the subject?
– What?
– If you’re trying to win the lord’s favor, Miss Flora, you will never achieve what you desire.
At that moment, Flora flinched.
It was because she had truly thought that way.
– I am not free, but the lord has shown mercy and spared my life.
That sin cannot be washed away.
It’s a sin that must be carried for a lifetime.
It was only because he showed mercy that she had a chance to atone.
Camilla said that.
She said it as if making a casual remark with an expressionless face, but to Flora, it was a cutting remark.
“What are you talking about? Are you saying that my intention to help Carcyn is a wrong action?”
“I apologize, but yes. The lord has shown you mercy several times already.”
“If I just help so that he doesn’t do anything like this again! All I have to do is clearly tell him to avoid such things in the future, so why are you saying it like that?!”
After that, she ranted with determination.
Wait and see.
Since it was an issue caused by her own hands, she would resolve it properly.
Flora showed her determination to Camilla and left the room.
However.
Reality was truly as Camilla had said.
Water began to trickle down the wall.
“Why! You said you wouldn’t do that anymore! Why aren’t you listening to me!”
Her trembling voice turned into a sob.
Wiping away the tears streaming down, Flora began to cry out loud.
“It’s true. I, I will take your side this time. I now know that Theo and Emma are not bad people!”
She wiped her tears and shouted.
Hoping that even a word would reach and change Carcyn’s heart.
“I won’t do that again in the future… I won’t do anything bad to you from now on…! So, I…!”
“No need.”
Snap.
The sound was so cold, as if Carcyn’s voice drew a line.
Once again.
He drew a line.
“She is a commoner brought in by the mad Viscountess. She is not family, so there is no one to care about her. A despicable, base, dirty man disturbing the noble Viscountess. How disgusting.”
Emphasizing his status, he drew a line.
The Viscount Vagrand and the lucky pick-up child.
He presented the argument that no one would like that.
“He could be the kind of scum who covets others’ families. Since my master dares to stand on the same level as a commoner, the maids and servants might be troubled as well.”
Emphasizing his usual perception, he drew a line.
It was a justified harassment.
It’s a torment that could happen.
Even without anyone’s orders, such things could occur.
“There’s Theo Ramstair. Emma Wurnen has come forward. Moved to bring justice to a lowborn who constantly causes trouble, fights, shouts, and lies every time they open their mouth. Mobilizing maids and knights for it.”
“What… What is this… What are you saying…!”
Flora finally caught on.
The line drawn three times, what it meant.
Whether to say it or not, Karsein spoke as if there were no issues.
“Seems like you have no connection with this, Flora.”
Flora Vagrant stated that she had no connection to this incident.
She had nothing to testify to in this trial.
She drew a very clear line.
“You can’t say a word, right… That’s not where it’s at… You know, don’t you. You know all about what I’ve been through…”
As Flora reached out, trembling, Karsein, with a solemn expression, asked, “No evidence, right?”
A faded scar couldn’t prove the torment.
A single word, whose timing may be unknown, couldn’t help erase a person’s existence in a series of events.
The pain had reached a point where it was hardly felt.
The victim’s unspoken words became a huge barrier.
Finally.
Flora Vagrant found herself with no room to intervene in this trial.
Just like nothing had happened.
As if it never occurred.
“Your testimony in court will be nothing.”
As Karsein’s shadow vanished without a trace under the fiery sunset, Flora completely lost any chance to intervene.
-Step, step.
With the sound of footsteps, everything vanished.
Now Flora, who had become unrelated to the incident, sat down, endlessly shedding tears.
All because of a boldly drawn line.
As Karsein’s influence disappeared, Camilla, who had watched the conversation between the two until the end, murmured quietly.
“That’s not it, Miss Flora. The message you should give to the young lord is…”
────!
Flora’s crying started to spread.
***
“This way.”
Three knights appeared in Emma’s solitary cell.
With a creaking sound, the door to the cell opened, and Emma, thinking she was finally being freed, cheered.
“Drag her out!”
At the command to drag her out, she began to struggle in confusion.
“What is the meaning of this! How dare you treat me in this manner!”
“Stop the nonsense and come out.”
“I am a lady of House Vagrant! Also a maid to Miss Flora! You knights have no right to treat someone like me in this way!”
Upon releasing her threat, the knights chuckled.
“You’ll understand when you see. More likely to be a sinner than a lady.”
“What, what did you say?!”
She tried to retaliate once more upon hearing the word “sinner,” but upon seeing their attire, she realized it was not something she was unfamiliar with.
“Official knights? Why?!”
If Theo Ramstair had successfully expelled Karsein and sent them for rescue, it would usually be apprentice knights coming. Even if it was an important matter, they would have sent trainees.
But the presence of official knights…
‘Things… have gone awry?!’
It meant everything was twisted.
“Emma Warren. You are being transferred to the court!”
“Hurry up and move!”
“Ah! Stop, stop, look!”
“Quick, follow me!”
“aaah! My hair is caught!”
Emma, whose hair was caught in the window bars, screamed.
The knights, indifferent to her pleas, dragged Emma like a sack of potatoes to the court.
The screams continued a few more times.
To some extent, the screams were a result of the knights’ deliberate actions.
Emma’s appearance upon entering the court was pitiful.
Hair tangled and unkempt.
Clothes torn and disheveled from falling and bumping around.
Her demeanor, which even in the dungeon had been one of a lady who ordered maids around, now resembled that of a criminal.
-Clang!
“Ugh! That hurts!”
The knights, who almost made Emma stumble, paid no attention and turned away.
Theo, who sat right next to Emma, expressed annoyance.
“Milady, stop sulking and get up quickly.”
“Theo Ramstair? You…!”
As a familiar face entered, Emma tried to shout.
Theo quickly covered her mouth and forced her to stand up.
“It hurts! Didn’t you see me just fall?”
“Oh, come on. It’s not the time for a showdown between us. If you don’t want to be screwed, cooperate.”
“What…?!”
“Let me make it simple. We need to work together to bury Karcein in this courtroom. Otherwise, we’re doomed.”
“Wait, are you saying we’re being framed as criminals in this trial?”
“Yes!”
From Noble mtl dot com
“Why me! I was just locked up in the dungeon!”
“That’s the point. He realized it! He knew you ordered the hit!”
“Wha…!”
“Stop the nonsense and follow my lead. If we can’t sway the judgment now, there’s no future for you or me!”
After conveying the dire situation, the main gate swung open.
People poured in noisily. Emma raised an eyebrow upon seeing Karcein among them.
But having casually dismissed the idea of having no future, she still lacked vigilance.
-Princess Arscien is entering to deliver the verdict!
“What, what?! Princess Arscien?!”
Upon hearing the name of the judge for this trial, Emma’s mind cleared.
This was no one who could be swayed with money.
The power of a duchess would be rendered powerless in an instant by the judge’s arrival.
Emma’s spine chilled.
Theo’s words were true.
‘This bastard is trying to bring down the duchess!’
With that bastard’s entrance, the duchess’s world began to crumble.
Thanks to that, her affairs had gone awry not just once or twice.
If she couldn’t oust Karcein, she would lose everything.
The peaceful life she had maintained through her duchess status was not something she could afford to lose.
Furthermore, she was on the brink of disaster. There was only one way out.
After overturning everything with this verdict, she had to eliminate him.
Still, it was a stroke of luck.
The trial being held meant not just proving innocence, but also an opportunity to turn the tables on Karcein.
Emma shot a mocking smile at Carcine, who was looking at her expressionlessly.
But.
“From now on, we will begin the trial of Theo Ramstair, who brazenly looted the belongings of the master, including the handkerchief of the betrothed, and Carcine, who imposed excessive punishment on the knights of the house.”
“…?”
As the trial on entirely unfamiliar grounds commenced, any sense of ease swiftly dissipated.
-Woong.
With the sound of the prison doors opening, the trial began.
***
As they entered the courtroom, Theo and Emma were already present.
Both looked nothing short of abysmal.
Theo seemed as though he had been through a brawl, with visible bruises on his body or shoe marks not concealed by his attire; Emma, on the other hand, appeared disheveled in her mourning clothes, with remnants of being dragged along, even the once meticulously groomed appearance in the cell now greatly disarrayed.
Looking at them now, who would think they were the knights of Viscount Bagrand and Lady Emma? They were no more than mere prisoners.
They alternated between staring at me as if to kill and exchanging wry smiles.
‘Well, confidence exudes in a trial, right?’
That must be it.
You’ve already defeated Carcine once before.
‘But are you still confident like this?’
-The trial is now being presided over by Princess Arsien!
At the mention of Arsien’s name, Theo’s eyes lit up, and Emma jumped in surprise.
“From now on, we will begin the trial of Theo Ramstair, who brazenly looted the belongings of the master, including the handkerchief of the betrothed, and Carcine, who imposed excessive punishment on the knights of the house.”
As Arsien took her seat and began reciting the charges, Emma started whispering anxiously to Theo.
She must be asking how this happened.
Well, there was no other way.
As a princess of the Pheclos Empire, Arsien couldn’t express dissatisfaction as before if the charges were unfavorable.
As Viscount Bagrand and Marquis Teresia also took their seats, they began swallowing nervously, facing an unimaginable risk.
‘But I can’t relax either.’
People started entering the courtroom. Theo Ramstair had his reasons to be confident; being the son of the ‘Viscount Ramstair,’ he had a considerable influence.
For now, facing Carcine, who was not well-versed in noble customs, it was enough to feel pressured just by being watched and criticized.
In the end, he was alone.
Alone in proving everything.
To clear his name, he had no choice but to confront those who resorted to deceitful manipulation and bring them down fairly and squarely.
-Woong.
“The trial bell has been rung. Before the trial begins, both parties must swear that there will be no falsehood in their testimonies.”
“We swear.”
Before long, Arsien signaled to start the trial, and it finally commenced.
▶The trial has begun!◀
▶If the goal achievement rate is not met, you will return as a Viscount and face defeat!◀
[Goal Achievement Rate: 100%]
To return as a Viscount.
In other words, it meant death; if you return, you die.
It was nothing short of a penalty with death as the consequence of failure.
“May I present my case first, Your Highness. Is that acceptable?”
“Hmm?”
“I am not here to rebut the retrial issue. However, to ensure my arguments do not get overshadowed by this topic, I have the right to present my opinion before deliberation.”
“I see. What do you think?”
Arsien looked at me and inquired.
Giving the first opportunity to speak meant seizing the initiative to sway the atmosphere. Asking if it was fine to give that advantage was merely one-dimensional thinking.
On the contrary, it’s much better to draw out the opponent’s weak point.
“I don’t care.”
“Oh, is that so?”
Arsien interjected the trial.
“First, Trainee Karsein received too much during the induction period. Although it might have been excessive, there were situations that raised suspicions of misconduct. These suspicions were initially created by the individual. Therefore, we had no choice but to tighten the supervision even more.”
Theo Ramstair presented an item as evidence.
My pouch. And my bag that I brought when I entered the smoky room.
He opened the bag and took out some items.
“Supervision was carried out during this process. Look. Do you see things like this coming out? The supervision can be considered a fair action for impartial judgment.”
Upon hearing this, the audience murmured.
“Well, that makes sense. Getting support from the Bagrande Duke. Certainly, it’s more than other knights.”
“Receiving training means receiving teachings. If you receive so much, you won’t gain experience of shedding weight and toughening up.”
“If you train in a state where blood is shed and skin is torn…”
-Ding!
A choice appeared.
Here, I need to appease the opinions of these spectators.
Since all conditions were satisfied, there was not a single disadvantageous or dead-end flag.
Still, if I had to choose.
‘This opinion seems to be the best.’
[ 2. I will undergo the same intensity of training as the knights from the beginning─ ]
-Whoosh.
“What? Why did the choice suddenly disappear?”
Thud!
At that moment, with a loud noise, a woman’s voice echoed through the hall.
“What do you know to be babbling like that?”
Under her pink hair, a heavily contorted face stood out.
It was Claire.
*Insert slapping forehead meme