CH 19

Decision

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

When the church rang the bells for the night and it was completely dark outside the windows, no one left the hall.

All the nobles in the audience were drawn into the narrative of the girl with the golden eyes. She stood on the witness stand, where all eyes were on her, and yet she was never intimidated, never flirtatious, and gave her answers with aplomb. Her appearance captured their hearts, and they even followed her every move with their eyes.

They gasp at the horrific monster she describes, and listen with sweaty hands as she describes her escape using herself as bait. It was no laughing matter. Because right behind her was the proof that she had vanquished the dreaded monster. This was due to the placement of stripped furs.

Even when it became a hide, it did not lose its presence. In fact, the current state, in which burnt areas and the like can be seen at a glance, confirms their fierce battle and has the effect of depriving their opponents of any room for rebuttal.

When the Duchess, Elizabeth Cranetta, finished telling the story of how the monster was finally caught in a trap and defeated by the knights, the nobles breathed a collective sigh of relief. By then, suspicion of Eliza had already been removed from their gaze.

◆

「That’s all I have to say about the monster extermination.」

「…It was stunning. Daughter of Clanetta.」

When I finished speaking, His Majesty the King, who had remained silent on the upper section of the podium, opened his mouth for the first time. That one quiet word was the decisive factor. One of the nobles, who had not missed His Majesty’s words, was the first to stand up and applaud, followed by the other nobles in a hurry. Within ten seconds, the hall was filled with thunderous applause. Among those who sent it to me were nobles from Edmond’s faction.

The Prime Minister, who had been watching the scene from the lower level, held up his hand, and the hall once again fell silent. His Excellency made sure the nobles were seated, then turned to Edmond.

He stood from his own seat, stunned. His dark face turned slightly blue. He had no idea that he would lose.

「Count Jungk. Do you have any questions or objections to Miss Elizabeth’s answer?」

Edmond looks around as he finally breaks free of his self-doubt after being spoken to by the Prime Minister. The nobles in the audience are giving Edmond a cold look. When he turned to his faction to ask for help, they looked away as if they did not care.

The situation that Edmond had planned to create, in which he would have surrounded me with enemies and intimidated me to deprive me of my comments, had occurred in the exact opposite position.

My eyes meet those of Edmond, who is looking for an ally. For a split second, he looks at me, and for a moment, the power returns to his eyes, perhaps from a feeling of hatred. However, he finally understood that any further comment would strangle him. Edmond nodded and answered in a whisper, “No, I don’t have any.”

「Then, as you declared earlier, you admit that your accusation against Miss Elizabeth was a mistake.」

「…Understood. I’m sorry for the trouble I’ve caused you」

「You fool! You’re bowing to the wrong person!」

Edmond apologizes to the podium, but is blackmailed by the Prime Minister. The old man’s unbelievably loud exhortation made him shrink back like a scolded child. Then, shaking his shoulders in frustration, he bowed his head toward me.

「! My apologies.」

「Very well. The disposition regarding this false accusation will be made in accordance with the Law of Nobility. Please wait for my report.」

「…Yes.」

「I hope that’s all right with you, Lady Elisabeth.」

The Prime Minister took one look at Edmond, who replied with a heavy heart, and then asked for my confirmation in a tone of sympathy.

「Yes. There’s no problem. However…」

「Is something the matter?」

「I have one thing to inform you about Count Jungk.」

◆

Duchess Elizabeth Clanetta’s accusations against Edmond took the aristocrats by surprise.

「The accusations against me are part of a conspiracy between Count Jungk and those who plot to overthrow the kingdom. The plan was to eliminate the Duchy of Clanetta as an obstacle to the rebellion in the Eastern Knight’s Domain!」

With that said, Eliza discloses information about Edmond. First, she presented the income and expenditures of Count Jungk’s domain, followed by raising the amount of financial support for the Eastern Knights who was jointly named in this accusation. The sum was so large that it was obvious that the Count’s financial resources alone would not be enough to cover it. The hall was buzzing with excitement, and a stern look was cast at Edmond. who was astonished to learn that his plan had been discovered.

「Count Jungk, financed by his anti-kingdom collaborators, took advantage of the impoverished knights and in exchange for their help, incited them to rebellion.」

「I–It’s all a bunch of nonsense! I have never considered rebellion, nor have I provided any financial support!」

「I have evidence and witnesses.」

Edmond’s voice turns inside out in denial, while Eliza turns around to face the entrance behind her. Then the door opened and a petite girl with bright crimson hair and eyes stepped into the hall. Her body was wrapped in a pure white dress of the same design as Eliza’s.

「Countess Jungk…?」

One of the nobles called the girl’s name. As they craned their necks at the unexpected appearance of this person, a scream like that of a strangled chicken came from the plaintiff’s seat.

「Cecille! What’s with that outfit? Why are you here!」

「Don’t you understand, my dear? No, The Rebel, Edmond Jungk?」

Cecile Jungk approached the podium with her long red hair, which was slightly tousled at the ends, and bowed to the King and the Prime Minister. She also bowed deeply to Eliza on the witness stand and stood beside her.

「How dare you! You betrayed me!」

「Seize Count Jungk!」

Edmond, enraged, tried to grab Cecille, but the Prime Minister Roger, who was on the dais, immediately gave the order, and the soldiers of the Kingsguard, who had been secretly standing behind him, held Edmond down on the floor of the hall. Cecille looked down at him coldly, then took the witness stand.

◆

Late at night at the end of August. Prime Minister Roger was having a secret conversation with two girls in the reception room of the Clanetta residence in the royal capital.

「This is everything I know.」

「I see, so the other knight lords were jointly named in the accusation because they were financed by Count Jungk.」

「I am ashamed to say that my family also received assistance. Here is the secret letter delivered to Obert family.」

Countess Cecille Jungk spreads letters and other evidence on the parlor desk, exposing the misdeeds of the Count who married into the family. A girl with golden eyes, Duchess Elizabeth Clanetta, was peeking at it, leaning forward from her chair.

This was the second time Roger had met Cecille. He had once met her at an evening party he had hosted, accompanied by her husband, Count Jungk. He was impressed by the way she spoke without wasting any time, and he was sure that my impression of her intelligence was not mistaken.

But what astonished him even more was another girl, Elizabeth, whom she had met for the first time a few days before.

When she came to the Prime Minister’s residence the other day, Roger thought she was upset by the accusations and asked for help.

However, when he actually met with her, Elisa asked him about the date of the hearing in a calm and collected manner. He was further surprised by the gallantry of the Countess, who suggested that she counterattack the accusation using her complaint. Three years earlier, when he had received famine relief, he had heard rumors from the people of Clanetta that she was an outstanding person. Roger was convinced that the rumors were not false.

「Prime Minister. As you can see, we have all the evidence we need. All that remains is…」

「You were to sign a written pledge to testify.」

「Be that as it may.」

Eliza’s beautiful golden eyes narrowed happily. This was her proposal.

Letting Cecille testify as she did would leave both Clanetta and Cecille’s parents, Oberle, in a state of anxiety. On Clanetta’s side, of course, is the risk of a last-minute statement in favor of Countess Jungk. And on Obert’s side, there are no guarantees after betraying Count Jungk’s family.

The idea was to remove the uncertainty on both sides by making a pledge with a trusted third party. Three sheets of parchment with the pledges written on them were prepared, and all three were signed by the three parties.

「Obert swore to be a witness at the hearing.」

「Clanetta promises to replace the Jungk family as Obert’s donor parents.」

「And I, the Prime Minister, will witness the oath of both parties.」

Each of them spoke their own pledge and looked at each other. The eyes gazing into each other’s contained respect for the person they trusted.

◆

Cecille finished her testimony. The hall, which had been buzzing earlier with the settlement of the charges against Eliza and Cecille’s appearance, was now quiet and still.

This was because they realized that the plot to rebel, brought about by the wife of the ringleader, and who was lurking behind it, was eerily large. Checking the secret book of evidence she submitted, Roger asks about the testimony, as if to remind the nobles.

「So this Karls merchant, a man named Osby, was behind the scenes working against Lady Elisabeth.」

「There is no doubt about it. Since the spring when Osby started coming and going, suspicious rumors about Lady Elizabeth began to circulate. The Jungk faction, consisting of the knightly lords named in the accusation, was once funded by the man himself to an unnatural degree.」

「When did that happen?」

「The faction was formed about two years ago. Three years before I married into the family, he had already become a merchant in and out of the Jungk family!」

The aristocrats were anxious about the mastermind’s carefulness. The interests they had built up over the past 70 years of peace and quiet were about to crumble. This fear turned into hostility toward Edmond, who had called it in, and the hall became deadly.

「That’s a lie. That’s a lie! I know no such person! Those little girls and the Prime Minister are trying to set me up!」

「How unsightly! Edmond Jungk!」

Edmond’s strained chatter was broken by a young, taut voice that echoed across the hall door. Then, through the door that opened once again, the blond-haired, blue-eyed, and handsome crown prince, Leon, appeared.

◆

The Crown Prince was dressed in the blue vest he had once worn to a ball. Knowing of his arrival, Cecille and I tugged at the edges of the dress and bowed quickly.

「Your Highness.」

The nobles hurriedly bowed their heads at the sudden intervention. His Highness passed between them with a great stride and approached Edmond.

「Your Highness, I have brought these accusations on your behalf! Do you intend to accept the words of the wicked one and kill this loyal retainer!」

While being restrained by this time, Edmond looked up and condescendingly asked for help from His Highness. However, what he received in return was a single word that kicked him out of his shallow state of mind.

「Edmond, your crimes are clear.」

「O–On what basis…」

「You brought your faction with you, and that was your revenge. Almost all of them admitted that they were instigated by you, and that they were complicit in the manipulation of the accusations.」

「Wha…!」

Edmond’s complexion finally turned blue. His Highness looked back at the audience and gave a stern talking-to to those of the faction who had abandoned Edmon.

「We also know that you were part of the group that led the operation. It’s no use pretending to be a stranger. Kingsguard! Seize these shameless men!」

In the blink of an eye, they were captured and Edmond’s faction was completely dissolved. The Prime Minister, who saw the arrests, announced the settlement of the charges in the same stolid voice that he had used at the opening of the meeting.

「With Lady Elisabeth’s accusations, the crimes of Edmond Jungk et al. are now clear! In accordance with the Noble Laws, the traitors to the State are hereby imprisoned immediately. All those who have no objection, let us applaud their approval!」

Edmond seemed to shout something, but it was swallowed up by the instantaneous applause and did not reach his ears. As Edmond and the others are pulled away and disappear from the hall and the applause subsides, the Prime Minister speaks to me, who was standing by the witness stand.

「Lady Elizabeth.」

「Yes.」

「Your work on this occasion was truly outstanding. I hope that His Majesty will bestow upon you a prize at a later date.」

「Thank you very much.」

The two people on the dharma platform and His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince, who had come to his side, looked satisfied as he sat down and bowed deeply.

「And with that, I now bring this meeting to a close! Let us once again send off with a round of applause for Elizabeth Clanetta, the saint of salvation!」

Amidst a storm of applause, she made her grand exit with Emily, Cecille, and the knights who had been waiting at the end of the hall. It did not cease until they had left the hall and turned down the corridor of the royal palace.