Chapter 120 - North Korean rabbit

Episode 120

Ludwig's claim itself was nothing special.

It was merely a recitation of the rumors that Evangeline had already sufficiently spread using Espitola and her whisperers.

'That the Crown Princess was in an illicit relationship with that knight.'

Thus, it contained nothing particularly new or stimulating enough to capture people's interest.

Evangeline had strived to make this matter as sensational and provocative as possible.

'Only then will it help to shatter and bring down Hilia's excessively inflated authority.'

The testimonies of the witnesses brought by Evangeline and Ludwig also faithfully followed this intention.

"I was a maid in charge of tidying Her Highness's bedroom when she was still a princess. Whenever I went to clean her private chamber, I had to see Her Highness and Lord Beltain sharing a single bed."

Not just the first witness, but all the witnesses were former employees who had worked for the Ducal House of Delphin.

"I worked as a gardener. Even in broad daylight, the two were passionately engaged in amorous acts."

Then Ludwig's lawyer asked in an excited tone.

"What kind of amorous acts were they engaged in?"

The gardener glanced furtively at Hilia for a moment, then bowed his head deeply.

But he did not close his mouth.

"Not just deep kisses... anything beyond that is too shameful for me to speak of."

The testimonies continued one after another.

"I was a kitchen servant. When I went to deliver meals or snacks, I often saw the two together. It absolutely did not look like a normal relationship between a knight and a lady. It was a much... deeper relationship."

"Anyone who worked at the residence even briefly knew of this rumor."

Few were those who felt no interest in the scandal of a noblewoman, especially one before marriage.

With each sensational testimony, a stir began to pass among the spectators.

"I wondered why her fiancé was making such a fuss, but isn't this worth getting angry about? She outright deceived her fiancé."

"That's right. And there are too many shameful details... It's a bit disappointing. I thought Her Highness the Crown Princess was a remarkable person."

"But isn't it premature to judge based on only one side's story?"

"Didn't you hear? Everyone who worked at Delphin knows!"

"My friend also worked at Delphin, and they said the two were practically like a married couple?"

"How disgraceful......"

"He even escorted her all the way here, only to learn such a secret about his wife. Poor His Highness the Crown Prince."

"The greatest victim is Grand Duke Ludwig, but His Highness the Crown Prince must also be devastated."

"And I heard she recently took on a new knight? Surely not with that knight as well......"

The whisperers Evangeline had planted chimed in, claiming they had heard it from their acquaintances.

The atmosphere inside the courtroom instantly shifted its weight toward Ludwig's side.

Even before Hilia herself or the witnesses she brought were given a chance to testify.

Hilia's face, thrown into the whirlwind of a scandal fatal to a woman, looked pale.

In a situation where she couldn't even offer a proper defense.

To anyone watching, Hilia was cornered.

To the point it was hard to believe she was the same person who had looked down so confidently at the Artanus banquet.

Evangeline smiled with satisfaction.

'Yes, that expression, that predicament suits you.'

Simultaneously, she confirmed her judgment was correct.

'Even if she's a transmigrator, she couldn't have anticipated this situation. Such an event didn't exist in the original work.'

It was a scheme concocted by Evangeline alone, unrelated to the original.

It was only natural that a transmigrator relying on the original work's information would be unable to respond properly.

For the first time in a while, Evangeline felt supremely satisfied.

It was a dynamic she had grown accustomed to over the past five years: she, knowing everything, manipulating her surroundings to corner Hilia.

That familiar spectacle was unfolding once more.

To Evangeline, it felt as if everything was returning to its rightful place.

She unfurled her splendid red fan, hiding the corners of her mouth curled up like hooks.

'And... don't think I'll end it here. This is only the beginning.'

A reasonable question emerged from among the spectators.

"But even if those testimonies are true, aren't they all matters before the marriage? Isn't it strange to go to trial over that?"

"Even if not as much as marriage, an engagement is also an important contract. Isn't it natural to hold the party who did not maintain fidelity during the engagement period liable for compensation regarding the broken engagement?"

In reality, conflicts related to such matters surfaced more often in divorce trials, but trials over broken engagements did occur occasionally.

However, there were counterarguments to this as well.

"The annulment of their engagement wasn't because of that."

People's gazets landed on Arpad, standing firmly by Hilia's side.

"It was because of the marriage of abduction."

"Then what happens? How does this work?"

Some were eagerly chewing on the sensational scandal.

Others doubted whether such a scandal was even relevant to the engagement and its annulment.

Nevertheless, Evangeline's smile only grew thicker.

As if waiting for this moment, Ludwig's lawyer stepped forward and requested an additional witness.

"And there is a witness who can testify that Her Highness maintained a deep relationship with the knight even after becoming Crown Princess."

For the first time then, someone from Hilia's side spoke.

It was not Hilia herself. She still had a pale face, lips tightly sealed, enduring the humiliation.

"Whoever that witness is, they will have to stake their life."

At a timing no one expected, Arpad spoke in a murderous voice.

Ludwig's lawyer mustered courage to object.

"...Your Highness the Crown Prince. Threatening those who have come forward according to their conscience is not right."

Beside the lawyer, Ludwig was glaring at Arpad as if to kill him.

He had already been insulted by Arpad twice regarding Hilia.

Even though the bone fracture had fully healed, the pain felt as if it were stabbing his wrist.

That pain was soon humiliation and a sense of disgrace.

Ludwig gnashed his teeth and shouted.

"My lawyer is correct. To attempt to intimidate a witness, isn't it shameful for a man of the Imperial Family who should uphold the law?!"

Arpad chuckled.

"Well. It's far less shameful than squawking like a goose with a broken wing and a burst belly, wouldn't you say?"

"You bastard!"

As signs of a fight between the two royals appeared, the judge intervened.

"Please, both of you, remain calm. I am here as a proxy of His Majesty the Emperor. If you disrupt the proceedings of this trial, I will have no choice but to order your removal from the court."

Despite the noble status of Crown Prince and Grand Duke, the judge was stubborn.

At least within this courtroom, the judge was the one exercising the Emperor's authority.

Therefore, whether Crown Prince or Grand Duke, they could not refuse an order of removal.

Especially since the Imperial Knights sent by the Emperor were guarding the judges and court officials for this trial.

It was a sign that the Emperor was watching the direction of this trial, and also proof that he had entrusted his authority to the judge.

In the end, Arpad and Ludwig, though resentful, had no choice but to fall silent.

The judge first asked Hilia.

"Will you present your rebuttal now?"

Then, for the first time, an expression appeared on Hilia's pale face, which had been impassive all along.

Her attitude was serene, as if this place were not a courtroom that had placed her before an altar of humiliation, but a drawing room.

"I will not."

"You will not present a rebuttal or defense?"

"Not at this time."

Hilia stretched out her hand, pointing at Ludwig's lawyer.

"It seems the other side's arguments are not yet finished. Once all the words are done, I too shall prove my innocence."

Her voice was far too composed. Evangeline felt a faint unease.

Initially, Evangeline thought Hilia was cornered and pale with fear.

Now, as Hilia spoke for the first time, this thought suddenly occurred to her.

Could it be that Hilia was merely maintaining a calm, impassive facade?

'No. She must be pretending. It's impossible that she isn't the least bit anxious or humiliated!'

If she were in Hilia's situation, she might have bitten her tongue and died.

The party suffering such humiliation could not possibly be unaffected.

She was merely pretending.

Soon, that false serenity would surely shatter into pieces.

She wondered if Hilia, betrayed by someone she trusted, could truly maintain that composure.

* * *

Ludwig's lawyer stood up and proceeded to call the remaining witnesses.

"First, the employees of the Grand Duke's residence who entered the palace with His Highness Grand Duke Ludwig and witnessed the scene, and some palace attendants belonging to the Imperial Palace......"

It was boring enough to make one yawn. I had stood in court on all sorts of charges.

Treason, adultery, murder, attempted murder, and so on......

Each time, the trial, having already predetermined guilt, placed me before the public for condemnation and insult. It was no different from a well-scripted play.

But now was different. I had come here having prepared everything.

Moreover.

Arpad's hand holding mine tightened a little more.

His red eyes had been fixed solely on me since before we entered the courtroom.

As if he were worried only about me.

It was a gaze and attitude so sweet it was almost frightening.

Simultaneously, he was a reliable ally I had never had in such situations in the past.

This fact alone was giving me a strange sense of emotion.

It was then.

Ludwig's lawyer looked at me and Arpad and grinned.

A black, sticky, utterly unpleasant smile.

I soon learned the reason.

"...And as the final witness, I request Lord Renus Beltain, one of the two parties involved in this matter."

...What?