Chapter 124 - Book Rabbit

Episode 124

A throng of lavishly adorned women surged into the courtroom.

Some were noble ladies or widows, others were wealthy gentry or courtesans. One stood out, dressed in a monk's habit.

Six women lined up in a row in the witness stand vacated by Lord Beltain.

The judge tilted his head in confusion. Just what incident were these women supposed to be witnesses to?

The lawyers and spectators were equally puzzled.

Only Ludwig and Evangeline grasped the situation.

Ludwig had turned ashen and frozen, while Evangeline chewed her lip behind her veil.

'Those women are definitely…!'

Evangeline was also aware of Ludwig's lovers.

However, she had thought that since this trial was solely about proving Hilia's infidelity, simply keeping them under surveillance would suffice.

'Moreover, for these women to appear as witnesses… I received no word at all from the watchers I had placed on them?'

This could only mean one thing.

Hilia had anticipated this situation in advance, evaded Evangeline's watchers, and brought them out as witnesses.

Evangeline tasted the ominous, metallic tang of blood on her lip.

* * *

I had already secured their identities even before hearing that Ludwig had sued me.

Thanks to the memories of my previous life, I remembered Ludwig's lovers well.

Not once had there ever been a time when Ludwig did not have lovers other than me or Evangeline.

Therefore, most of them were familiar faces.

Some had lent a hand in tormenting me at Evangeline's instigation.

"Your Grace's failure to receive your husband's affection is entirely your own fault, Your Highness."

"No matter how much affection we share, it could never compare to Lady Evangeline's."

"Isn't Lady Evangeline the true Grand Duchess in fact?"

My anger towards them still simmered.

But now, there was something more important than such trivial matters.

If they were willing to participate in tormenting me after being bribed by Evangeline, it meant that with a sufficient reward, they would gladly work for me as well.

It meant they were motivated not by loyalty or fidelity, but solely by profit.

Upon promising substantial compensation and protection, three of the women immediately came over.

The other three stepped forward purely out of resentment and malice towards Ludwig.

The six women, appearing for different reasons, lined up and gave their testimonies one after another. It was almost a relay of testimonies.

"Grand Duke Kielern seduced me during his engagement period. I met him briefly with a light heart."

"Listen, he was two-timing between that woman and me, and when we found out, we grabbed each other's hair."

It was somewhat known that the fairly famous courtesan Lacia and the daughter of Viscount Quisen had fought.

"But I didn't know it was because of Grand Duke Kielern. There was no rumor of it at all."

"I heard the two fought over an opera singer."

This had happened because Evangeline had suppressed all related rumors.

"He approached me by hiding his status… sob! He deceived me into thinking he would marry me and spent the night…! Ugh! Later, I found out he was a man with a fiancée, and I entered a convent!"

The only woman dressed in a monk's habit wept profusely as she testified. Sympathy poured in from all sides.

The most proactive among the six, the courtesan Lacia, cried out.

"And when His Grace the Grand Duke visited my residence, he would often bring other lovers along!"

Her finger pointed at Evangeline in the spectator seats.

"With the daughter of the Marquis of Ruth, no less! The two used my mansion as a rendezvous spot! Naturally, this was during the past three years, within the Grand Duke's engagement period!"

This was possible because she did not consider Ludwig a lover, but treated him as a client.

She was notorious for receiving appropriate fees from noblemen who came as patrons and even introducing other women to them.

Lacia produced a ledger she had brought.

"This is the record of clients, no, patrons, I have meticulously kept for ten years! The records concerning His Grace the Grand Duke are here too!"

I felt a touch of admiration.

That courtesan had been the most vicious among those who tormented me on Evangeline's orders.

'She's just as adept at attacking, even when the situation or enemy has changed.'

It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, watching Evangeline's former lapdog from before the regression now bite its old master.

Following the courtesan's finger, the spectators' gazes fixed upon Evangeline.

"Wait, come to think of it, wasn't it Lady Ruth who earlier tried to seduce Her Highness the Crown Princess's knight?"

"I wondered why she was tripping over an unrelated person, but it seems she wasn't unrelated after all?"

"Come to think of it, wasn't there a strange rumor before? When their luggage came out together from Delphin…"

"Well, I did think it was a bit odd from then on…"

The spectators kept their voices as low as possible, but as they all spoke at once, a noise like a boiling furnace swirled around Evangeline.

Her current expression was not clearly visible due to the veil.

But I could well imagine the hand trembling beneath her sleeve.

Ludwig glared at the women lined up giving their relay testimonies, his face flushing red and pale by turns.

He tried to interrupt and shout with each testimony, only to be restrained by the judge several times.

The lawyer standing beside him had also turned a sickly gray.

Amidst this, I once again requested to speak.

"The reason for the annulment of my engagement with Grand Duke Kielern was the marriage of abduction."

As I made this statement, I deliberately looked at Arpad.

Arpad met my gaze as well. I smiled brightly and said,

"But now, I am endlessly grateful to the husband who abducted me then. Had he not, I might have been applying for a divorce trial."

"Hilia!!!"

As Ludwig's furious shout echoed through the courtroom, the judge restrained him again.

Arpad openly sneered at his cousin. Pretending not to notice, I continued.

"Even without the marriage of abduction, my engagement with Grand Duke Kielern would likely have been annulled. As you can see, the Grand Duke did not uphold the fidelity of the engagement at all."

Many around nodded in agreement.

"Therefore, all the charges Grand Duke Kielern has brought against me are unfounded. On the contrary, the responsibility for the broken engagement lies with Grand Duke Kielern, and I demand compensation for it."

The judge asked,

"Your Highness has already sued the Grand Duke for embezzlement and illegal transfer of title. Are you saying you wish to add compensation for the broken engagement as well?"

I nodded.

"Yes. The Grand Duke demanded the Delphin family's mansion and assets from me as alimony. Then, I too should be able to demand a corresponding price."

Ludwig's complexion turned a sickly gray.

"Indeed, Imperial law contains a provision that if one party demands compensation and fails to prove their case, they must pay the other party an equivalent compensation."

It was a kind of 'an eye for an eye' clause, one of the characteristics of Eastrid Imperial law.

The judge flatly stated the predicament Ludwig was in.

"We have already requested seizure of all assets of the Grand Duke Kielern's house, but the compensation you demand for this broken engagement matter is even greater. In that case…"

Then Arpad interjected, with an attitude as if he were a real lawyer.

"In such cases, isn't there the method of sentencing to penal labor to repay the compensation?"

"Wh-what?!"

Ludwig could no longer contain himself and shouted.

That was a punishment usually given to street vagrants caught committing crimes.

Mentioning penal labor to Ludwig itself was a severe insult.

"I am a member of the Imperial family! How dare you speak of sentencing an Imperial to penal labor?!"

At that, Arpad chuckled.

"My wife, whom you sued, is also an Imperial. And being an Imperial does not place you above Imperial law. The only one above the law is the master of the Empire."

Ludwig's fists trembled violently.

I smiled radiantly, further twisting the knife.

"Don't worry, Grand Duke Kielern. If you win the lawsuit for embezzlement and title transfer, you'll have assets left, so you can use those to pay the compensation for this matter."

Of course, this was said knowing full well that Ludwig was bound to lose on both counts.

As expected, Ludwig did not accept this meekly. He brought up the witnesses he had presented at the trial's beginning again.

"Whatever I did, it's a fact that woman rolled around with a knight! Aren't the witnesses clear enough on that!"

Arpad grew angry.

"Don't insult my wife by implying she's like you just because you wallowed in the gutter, Ludwig."

Then Ludwig twisted his mouth into an ugly sneer and said,

"Is there any proof that I rolled around with those women during my engagement? You and Hilia probably just bought them off with money!"

The courtesan, seizing the opportunity, cut in.

"Here is the ledger…!"

Ludwig roared.

"Anyone could write something like that! How can that be considered evidence?!"

At Ludwig's desperate flailing beyond imagination, a momentary silence fell over the courtroom.

Thanks to that, someone's muttering was clearly heard.

"Pathetic."

It was a sentiment everyone shared.

But with bloodshot eyes, Ludwig maintained a truly 'come and get me' kind of obstinacy.

I stepped forward with a bright smile.

While unfastening the aquamarine necklace, the only piece of jewelry I wore besides my wedding ring.

Holding it in my hand, I opened my mouth to end this tedious and ugly show.

"If the accuser himself said it with his own mouth, that would be the most certain testimony and evidence of all."

"What statement are you referring to?"

"The threat that if I didn't do as he said, he would frame me."

Ludwig flinched for a moment.

Soon, as if finding it absurd, he instead declared boldly,

"That's ridiculous! I never said such a thing! Who would believe that?!"

The moment Ludwig's words ended, I activated the necklace.

As light gathered into the necklace, it began to replay a man's voice, ranting and raving.

Ludwig's face contorted into the most distorted expression I had ever seen, even including my regressions.