Chapter 123 - North Korean rabbit

Episode 123

For a moment, Hilia felt herself at a loss for words.

Something hot welled up in her throat.

Lord Beltain continued his testimony from the witness stand with composure. His tone carried a certain, almost reverent, gravity.

"Her Highness the Crown Princess is the wife of His Highness the Crown Prince, a lady faithful only to her lord and husband, to whom she swore eternity before the God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Moon."

He paused briefly before continuing.

His words themselves seemed intended to draw a clear line between Hilia and himself.

"...I am merely Her Highness's inadequate knight. It is absurd that my name should be bandied about alongside Her Highness's in such a matter."

Then, Lord Beltain turned his head.

Towards Evangeline, who was hiding behind Ludwig, his lawyer, and the spectators.

"Do not dare attempt to tarnish Her Highness's honor."

The lawyer, momentarily cowed by Lord Beltain's imposing presence and at a loss for words, belatedly regained his senses.

His face flushed crimson as he began to point an accusing finger.

"Isn't this different from what you told me earlier?! You said it was an adulterous affair!"

Indeed, it was unlikely that Ludwig's side had recklessly trusted and put Lord Beltain forward without cause.

They must have separately confirmed that Evangeline had thoroughly persuaded him before placing him on the witness stand.

Yet here he was, on the crucial stand, saying something entirely different.

Ludwig shouted in fury.

"Where have you thrown your knightly honor?! You told my lawyer in the waiting room that you had an improper relationship with Hilia! Ah, perhaps someone threatened you? Told you not to speak the truth?"

At this, Lord Beltain fell silent for a moment, then instead asked a question.

"Was it not you who attempted to threaten and persuade me?"

"What?"

"What did you say?"

"In order to fabricate a false crime and corner Her Highness."

"Nonsense!"

Lord Beltain paid no heed to Ludwig and his lawyer's astonishment.

Looking directly at the judge, he drew the sword hanging at his waist.

Fear rippled through the spectators, and of course, the judge.

It was only natural, given he had drawn a blade during a trial.

But Lord Beltain's sword threatened no one.

He planted the drawn sword upright into the floor of the witness stand.

"I swear upon this sword, which is a knight's life, honor, and everything he is... Her Highness the Crown Princess is innocent."

Then, raising his head, he declared loudly,

"Anyone who dares to sully the honor of a noble lady must first break this humble sword of mine."

At that moment, a man who had been hiding his face with a hood in the spectator seats intervened.

He removed his hood, then lightly vaulted over the railing separating the spectators and landed gracefully inside the courtroom.

In an impassioned tone, he echoed Lord Beltain's words.

"As a fellow knight in service to Her Highness the Crown Princess, I deeply concur! Should anyone seek to tarnish Her Highness's honor, or to cast aspersions upon this honorable knight, they must also break my sword!"

His red hair flared like flame.

Those who recognized the man cried out.

"Aaron Müzen!"

"It's the young Duke of Müzen!"

"The Sword Master has stepped forward!"

Utterly ignoring the shock from Ludwig's side, Aaron stood beside Lord Beltain on the witness stand with an expression full of pride.

And he spoke as if for all to hear.

"As a fellow knight, I salute your chivalry!"

"......"

Lord Beltain, the one actually being praised, wore an awkward expression.

But the radiant Aaron failed to notice.

* * *

A wave of commotion began to surge within the courtroom.

"Wait, what does this mean now? The knight denied it."

"Did you really expect him to admit to what he did? Of course he'd say no! Don't you know anything?"

"What? Is that what you call an argument? Can you still say that in front of the Sword Master?!"

"Th-that's...!"

When Lord Beltain appeared as a witness for Ludwig's side, the atmosphere had suggested the conclusion was already foregone.

But his actual testimony asserted Hilia's innocence. The judge rapped his gavel to restore order to the chaotic atmosphere.

"A knight's honor is, of course, important, but this is not the forum to debate it. Particularly, the young Duke of Müzen entered without permission. Your previous statement could also be interpreted as a threat against the plaintiff and the witnesses. You will be removed from the court immediately."

He was correct.

From the start, Aaron had not acted on any instruction from Hilia or Arpad.

He had come purely as a spectator and, moved by Lord Beltain's actions and demeanor, had acted on impulse.

He readily acknowledged the judge's authority and withdrew.

"It was not my intention to threaten. I shall comply with the instruction."

Aaron obediently left the court, surrounded by guards.

But the sheer force of the words he left behind remained.

'Anyone who seeks to lower the Crown Princess's honor must fight his own sword.'

This fact was firmly imprinted on every spectator in the courtroom and the witnesses waiting in the anteroom, because the courtroom was adjacent to the waiting room, and its structure allowed sounds from the court to be heard clearly.

The complexions of those who, at the instigation of Ludwig and Evangeline, had given sensational false testimony turned ashen.

Some were trembling with anxiety.

Then, Ludwig's lawyer stepped forward to try and reverse the situation.

"The plaintiff never attempted to persuade or bribe Sir Renus Beltain!"

Lord Beltain immediately refuted this.

"That is not true. The daughter of the Marquis of Ruth clearly came to me in person to...!"

"No, why is the daughter of the Marquis of Ruth, who has nothing to do with this trial, being mentioned now?"

The lawyer reacted more sensitively when Evangeline was mentioned than when defending Ludwig.

Hilia, who had been momentarily immersed in emotion, regret towards Lord Beltain, and gratitude towards the young Duke of Müzen, felt her mind snap awake.

It was like having cold water poured over her.

'I knew the lawyer was Evangeline's man, but it seems she employed some separate scheme after all.'

Meanwhile, the lawyer was skillfully pressing Lord Beltain.

"Why not claim that my client, His Grace the Grand Duke, attempted to persuade you? That would have at least been plausible."

"But it was clearly...!"

The lawyer asked with a cunning smile.

"Do you have any proof?"

"...!"

Naturally, there could be no proof that Evangeline had personally attempted to persuade Lord Beltain.

She could simply deny it, and that would be the end of it.

Lord Beltain had still done his best.

"Is my appearance as a witness for the plaintiff's side not proof? If the plaintiff's side had not attempted to bribe me, why would I be here now!"

"You must have approached the plaintiff's side deliberately to say just that!"

The lawyer instantly twisted the logic.

And he signaled Ludwig to lend weight to the claim.

"Th-that's right! We put that knight forward as a witness because he came to us first, asking to be made a witness!"

"That is not true!"

The lawyer asked again with a smug smile.

"Do you have a witness? Or proof? Something that can prove that I or His Grace the Grand Duke attempted to persuade you."

"...!"

Lord Beltain seemed to want to prove that Ludwig or Evangeline had threatened him as well.

But that was impossible.

It appeared Evangeline had taken thorough measures to ensure no evidence or witnesses remained, just in case.

Considering Lord Beltain's character and disposition, he had already exerted great effort given the current situation.

He was a typical knight, far removed from cunning schemes.

'Good. Now it's my turn.'

It was the perfect opportunity created by a loyal knight.

A prime chance to present what she had prepared.

She raised her voice and declared.

"I have both a witness and proof."

"...Pardon?"

"What did you say?"

The gazes, which had been fixed on Lord Beltain, swiftly clung to Hilia.

The momentarily flustered lawyer regained his composure and asked her.

"Are you saying you have proof and a witness that we attempted to bribe Sir Beltain?"

At this, Hilia smiled softly and shook her head.

"Of course not."

Just as the lawyer was about to feel a faint sense of relief,

Hilia asked assertively.

"Isn't that the most important issue right now?"

"...Well, yes, it is. Whether Your Highness committed adultery during the engagement period..."

Hilia shook her head coldly once more.

"Has that not already been testified? That nothing happened between us."

She smiled a benevolent smile towards Lord Beltain in the witness stand.

"By my loyal knight, who appeared as their witness."

"But, the other witnesses said differently, didn't they...!"

Hilia asked Ludwig's lawyer in a leisurely tone.

"Do you believe the point of this trial is whether I had an improper relationship with a knight during my engagement?"

"...Isn't that obvious!"

Hilia's tone turned imperious.

"You are mistaken. The truly important matter is who bears the responsibility for the broken engagement, and therefore, who is entitled to compensation."

Ludwig could not contain himself and sprang to his feet.

"That's obviously you, you shameless woman!"

Hilia whirled around and, glaring at Ludwig, said,

"I assert that the responsibility for the broken engagement lies not with me, but with Grand Duke Kieln. Naturally, I am the one who should receive compensation!"

"What?!"

While Ludwig and his lawyer were aghast, Hilia demanded of the judge.

"I request the admission of the additional witnesses I submitted beforehand. They will testify that the responsibility for the broken engagement lies with Grand Duke Kieln."

As Hilia listed the names of the witnesses one by one, it was now Ludwig's complexion that turned dark.

Because the names Hilia listed were all too familiar.

They were the names of Ludwig's former lovers.