70 – 70. CHAPTER 1 (4)
“You talk too recklessly. It wasn’t the usual intensity. I didn’t have someone assigned right beside me; I jumped in with the same intensity as the other knights from the beginning. What do you know to be saying such things?”
As Claire continued confidently, the other nobles coughed uncomfortably, pretending not to notice.
“Even with all that support, if you end up getting injured all over…!”
A barrier was raised in front of the heated Claire.
It was Arsien’s warning using the judgment’s prison.
“Refrain yourself, Claire Bagrande.”
“But the one-sided accusations…!”
“It’s not you who should refute them. It’s Karsein.”
…”
Under Arsien’s warning, Claire had no choice but to remain silent.
But it was quite effective.
“And you all should also exercise some restraint. This is a courtroom.”
The warning extended not only to Claire but also to the agitators.
The parties involved all remained silent, unable to utter a word.
“…Ugh.”
Theo, who had tried to control public opinion, realized that his plan had been shaky from the start and was struggling to maintain his composure.
Moreover.
▶Achievement Progress!◀
[ Achievement Rate: 12% ]
Due to this advantage, the achievement rate was significantly higher than before.
The choice… doesn’t matter now.
Since Claire took over and spoke on behalf.
“Karcein, will you refute?”
I replied that I would listen until the end.
“Please continue.”
“Oh, yes!”
Theo, struggling to conceal his expression, continued speaking.
“There was enough doubt to warrant suspicion. The crackdown for fairness is also a basis. In fact, everyone was suspicious! Moreover—”
Just as in the game, Theo Ramstair emphasized Karcein’s reputation as expected.
He had made enough mistakes to raise suspicion, and the argument was that such incidents would not happen within the Order.
Except for the single difference of the fiancée’s handkerchief.
“Oh…”
“Unbelievable.”
“If viewed as justified searches and crackdowns to prevent illicit entry… it could be seen as legitimate actions.”
“We heard rumors but… we had no idea that there was really a fiancée.”
The audience buzzed once again.
It was clearly an unfavorable situation.
Options appeared, and the pressure to resolve them began.
But it’s okay.
Everything went as I had known.
“Karcein. Will you raise an objection?”
“Yes.”
Arsien readily agreed.
It was time for the choice.
[1. I am not a trainee, but a member of the Bagrand Ducal Family.]
“Theo Ramstair. Though you may see me as a trainee, the fact remains that you stole the fiancée’s handkerchief from my pouch. So, from that moment, I am not a trainee but Karcein Bagrand.”
“…!”
“You should know well, Theo Ramstair. As a child of the Ramstair Viscount, as a noble, if you think you can absolve the crime of snatching the fiancée’s handkerchief with such dignity, you are mistaken.”
-Ding!
▶Theo Ramstair’s initial claim is refuted!◀
▶Achievement rate increases by 7%!◀
Emma stepped forward to defend Theo.
“Given the deeds committed by the young master so far, it seems plausible. Even considering your anger over the handkerchief, this is an accumulated debt by the young master.”
“Yes, as I mentioned earlier, we were all under suspicion of the young master.”
“Even before the handkerchief incident, there were many other debts, so there is room for fair consideration.”
When Theo continued to claim to be a trainee after explicitly stating his nobility before, Arsen seemed to think it was unreasonable for Theo to keep insisting as a trainee, so she mentioned his previous reputation.
I’m sorry, but this was what I was aiming for.
“If, Arsien Princess, even if you were well aware that I am this kind of person, is it possible to consider it fair judgment if someone touched my belongings without permission?”
“No. If someone touches noble belongings without permission, they can be held accountable for the crime.”
“If so, I will now ask the one who touched my belongings without permission for their crime. That person is him.”
As I pointed at one person, all eyes turned in that direction.
At the tip of my finger, Emma, whose complexion quickly paled, stood.
“Did this lady touch your belongings?”
“It’s not just any belongings. She touched the item given to me by the Ducal Family. While it may seem similar to Theo Ramstair’s case, Lady Emma explained my intentions with her own mouth.”
“Oh. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange to hold her accountable right here.”
Emma stood up indignantly.
“Absurd! When did I touch the young master’s belongings?”
“You certainly did. There is clear evidence to prove it.”
“W-What?”
“I will present evidence.”
▶Emma’s financial documents are used as evidence!◀
As I brought out the prepared documents, Arsen immediately gestured to a servant. After reading the documents, Arsen smirked knowingly.
“Is this a document for the Duke’s approval?”
“Yes, it is. Although only two people manage it at the Duke’s, if we limit it to just the documents, Lady Hyanjang also has the authority.”
“I see. I understand that. However… um.”
Arsien cocked his head.
At first glance, it seemed like an ordinary document with no issues.
But is it really so?
There are flaws.
[3. Summon Claire Vargrand as a witness.]
“I call for a witness. To verify if there are any problems with the records, I will summon Claire Vargrand as a witness.”
“Huh? Me…?”
“Hmm…”
Arsien was in a dilemma.
Well, it made sense. Claire had just received a warning.
“If you need a witness from the Duke, why not choose someone else? Lady Isabella, your mother, or your elder sister, Arina Vargrand, could stand in for her.”
“That is not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because, except for Claire, no one else would notice the errors in those documents.”
Isabella and Arina sighed in incomprehension, but there was a reason behind Arsien’s argument.
In the end, after advising Claire once more, Arsien seated her in the witness stand and handed her the documents.
“How does it look?”
“Simply put, we cannot confirm with just that. Here, I submit one more piece of evidence.”
Before long, a box was moved by the knights.
“Open it.”
Upon the command, the knights nodded and opened the box.
*Clink!* A sound echoed.
“From cash to gloves fit for knights, swords, watches, mirrors, jewelry, and accessories… Quite a variety.”
“These were found in the storage of the Duke’s First Knight Division. They were hidden in many suspicious places.”
From Noble mtl dot com
The box was filled with items found in the First Knight Division’s storage.
And then.
As Claire scrutinized them closely, she quickly raised a hand to her lips and rolled her eyes.
Claire personally runs a boutique. She has a keen eye for market trends and evaluating the value of items. Hence, her boutique is currently one of the most popular places in the empire.
Running her own business, she would have noticed what was amiss in the documents.
As Claire began to assess the documents and items in the box one by one.
“Damn.”
She cursed aloud.
Fortunately, I was the only one who heard it.
Was that a single curse that wouldn’t be easily heard? Claire did well to hold back.
▶Claire has identified the issue with the documents!◀
▶Achievement rate has increased!◀
[Current rate: 38%]
After a while of alternating between the documents and the box, Claire, suppressing the rising anger, took a deep breath.
With a determined expression, as if she would grab Emma’s collar at any moment, she clenched her fist tightly.
“The value of the items in that box matches completely with the record in this document.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s Karsein’s allowance.”
“What, what?!”
The atmosphere in the room instantly shifted.
Isn’t it naturally deducible?
If those words are true, it means that Emma has embezzled Karsein’s allowance from the Duke, and it was found among the knights.
Remarkably, the amount closely matches what was recorded in the ledger, leaving no room to doubt.
Emma seemed to be lost in contemplation as if wondering how she knew, while Arscian, though taken aback, showed a wry smile.
“W-what’s the big deal about that?! It could have just been a coincidence!”
Seemingly unable to stay quiet any longer, Emma spoke first, her informal speech and clear loss of composure adding to the tension.
Thanks to that, I didn’t even lift a finger and blew my nose.
“…Has Sir Carsein ever indulged in extravagance?”
“No. On the contrary… he used to wear ill-fitting clothes.”
“Wherever he went, he either fell behind the times or wore clothes that didn’t fit.”
“I saw it. Lady Claire even nagged him to dress properly.”
“If the reason behind this is embezzlement within the household…”
The audience were nobles.
Nobles who had always closely observed Sir Carsein’s attire.
No matter how much they were mere spectators, in this situation, they all became witnesses.
“What does that have to do with anything! It would make sense if he distributed some to the lower ranks!”
Bingo.
At this point, one choice becomes active.
“Emma. Considering that the money under your management went there, wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume there was some kind of connection? For example… paying off to keep things quiet or persuading people could also be possible.”
“W-what are you saying?!”
“As witnesses, I will call upon the Commander of the First Knights, Radiel, the Vice Commander Mark, and represent the official knights, Carlton, to this stand.”
Shortly after, the three arrived.
As pre-arranged, they explained the incident at the water source, testifying that all the apprentice knights were united.
Starting their investigation at the lodgings of the detained apprentice knights, they began to uncover items beyond their usual wages, leading to the emergence of evidence.
“Oh, by the way! Can we say something too?!”
“We want to testify. As servants of Duke Vargrand!”
There were witnesses who also stepped forward at this point.
Those fellows who had already established a rapport.
Despite Emma’s icy stare, they didn’t back down, and when Arscian allowed their testimony, a ledger hidden in the duke’s estate emerged.
▶ The Duke’s reputation triggers an additional event!◀
[ Testimony of the servants, evidence obtained ]
“…Is this also due to the rapport?”
I never thought those guys, no matter how hard I searched, would be the ones to reveal it.
Anyway, even with the documents organized, Emma was completely caught off guard.
Duke. Armor. Embezzled money.
All three beats aligned perfectly.
“Indeed, the rumor of Duke Vargrand looking after the lower ranks spread all the way to the royal palace. It turns out it was all based on the owner embezzling money.”
“P-Princess. That’s not true! I, I…!”
Desperate to turn the situation around somehow, I stumbled on my words.
Someone who could help in this situation.
I needed to find Flora.
However, Flora was nowhere to be found in this courtroom.
“Why. Why is she not here when she’s most needed…! Now that it’s come to this…!”
Sending a pleading look to Theo as if to say, “You helped me, so do something,” but…
“Oh, by the way, this has nothing to do with me.”
“W-what.”
“I heard the two testimonies were somewhat similar.”
“The difference between somewhat and the same is quite significant, isn’t it?”
Theo had already decisively severed the link between him and Emma.
“I never thought something like this would happen… I will give back everything I received. It’s truly regrettable. To think that the Duke’s servant orchestrated this and handed me money. I thought it was a gesture of goodwill…”
“Theo Ramstair! How dare you…! How dare you betray me?”
“Hmm. Regardless of the outcome, Emma Urnan swore to speak only the truth before the judgment seat. However, now it seems falsehood has taken root.”
“No, Your Highness! I…! aaargh!”
-Chiiieeek.
Due to the power of the verdict, Emma’s face bore the stigma of mentioning falsehoods.
“There, bring out that sinner.”
Arsien ordered to take Emma Wurnen, who had become a sinner.
▶ Emma Wurnen’s guilt has been proven! ◀
▶ Successfully completely removing the relevant character from the story! ◀
▶ Achievement greatly increased! ◀
[ Achievement 50% ]
“No. This is all a wicked scheme! Your Highness! Your Highness!!”
Emma’s voice, being dragged out from the courtroom, soon fell silent.
The one left alone slit the throat.
“Hmm. I never knew the one committing such despicable acts was right next to me. I thought our opinions somewhat aligned…”
Clearly, the tail was cut off.
With this, the connection with Emma was severed. So, once the tail was gone and the request to chase after Karsein was naturally buried, the hand was quickly withdrawn.
But. It wasn’t a total withdrawal.
“Next, I will present evidence that Theo Ramstier is the culprit in the Radial Ambush incident.”
Ironically, you too have painted yourself into a corner.
***
Watching Karsein deftly probe the opponent’s weaknesses, Harnier grinned broadly.
‘Was thinking of stepping in if things got uneasy, but looks like you’re handling it well on your own.’
In reality, Karsein was in a very unfavorable position.
There was a huge barrier of manipulated evidence to bring up past events, and right now, in this ambiguous position as a trainee and a noble, they had to defeat their opponent.
All evidence had to be gathered as it was. And there was virtually no one around to help.
The scenario seemed like a powerful figure oppressing the weak with authority, making it easy to be criticized, considering most of the spectators were nobles.
The fiancée could help to some extent, but even she couldn’t unearth the essence of the crime.
However, Karsein didn’t miss a single important point that Harnier pointed out.
No. They went beyond that to create results.
They were prepared to respond to any reaction that came, analyzing the opponent’s contradictions meticulously, easily unraveling the dilemma when it arose and turning it into an opportunity.
In a situation no different from facing two opponents, they precisely aimed for the Achilles’ heel of one and spread a net to prevent their escape.
‘Truly. How far have they calculated and set up their moves.’
It was worthy of admiration.
“Lord Karsein states that I am the culprit, then the black sword with magic embedded in it…!”
“That is irrelevant. Both of you clearly had a difference in skill with Radial. If we were to nitpick, it should have been a critical situation or a moment of carelessness. Since you were wounded, it could be seen as a situation where someone was in danger and you acted to protect them.”
Arsien seemed to have already anticipated the course of events, so it was evident that this trial would soon end in Karsein’s victory.
Watching Karsein with a smile, Arsien, the Marquis, called Harnier quietly.
“Hmph. It doesn’t seem like our family will suffer any harm, but handle the private negotiations yourself, Harnier.”
“…Marquis.”
“Even so, aren’t you just a half-blood? Your lineage may be noble, but it’s only half.”
“It is my engagement.”
“Tsk. Instead of spouting such nonsense, think about how you can be of help to the family. Has your year yielded any results since that day?”
The Marquis scolded Harnier with a displeased expression.
“Conceal your illegitimate birth and live as a noblewoman. Only then can you and I, as well, continue a noble and prosperous life.”
…”
There was much to say.
But it remained unsaid.
‘A despicable human.’
Theresia Marquis had already ceased to consider her as family.