Chapter 120

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 120

Chapter Title: The Scandalous Testimonies

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Ludwig's claims themselves were nothing out of the ordinary.

They were simply a recitation of the rumors Evangeline Ruth had thoroughly spread using Espitola and her rumor-mongers.

'The Crown Princess was having an affair with that knight.'

So there was nothing particularly new or tantalizing enough to capture people's imaginations.

Evangeline had worked tirelessly to make this affair as salacious and sensational as possible.

'That's the only way to shatter Hilia Delphin's undeservedly inflated authority and drag her down.'

The testimonies from the witnesses Evangeline and Ludwig had brought faithfully served that purpose.

"I was a maid responsible for tidying the bedroom back when Your Highness was still the Delphin Duchess. Every time I went in to clean, I had to see Your Highness sharing a bed with Sir Beltein."

Not just the first witness—all of them were former employees of the Delphin Ducal House with firsthand experience there.

"I worked as a gardener. Even in broad daylight, the two of them were passionately entangled in their love play."

Ludwig's lawyer leaned in with eager curiosity.

"What sort of love play, exactly?"

The gardener stole a quick glance at Hilia before dropping his head low.

But he didn't hold his tongue.

"Not just deep kisses... anything more is too indecent for me to say aloud."

The testimonies kept coming, one after another.

"I was a kitchen servant. Whenever I brought meals or snacks, I'd catch the two of them together far too often. It never looked like a normal knight and lady. Far... deeper than that."

"Anyone who's ever worked at the estate, even briefly, has heard the rumors."

Few could resist the allure of a noblewoman's premarital scandal—especially one this juicy.

Murmurs rippled through the spectators with every lurid detail.

"No wonder her ex-fiancé's in such a rage. Who wouldn't be? She's outright mocking him."

"Exactly. And all those explicit details... it's almost disappointing. I thought the Crown Princess was above that sort of thing."

"But isn't it just one side's word so far?"

"Haven't you heard? Everyone from Delphin knows!"

"My friend worked there—she said they were basically living as husband and wife."

"How utterly disgraceful..."

"He even escorted her here, only to uncover his wife's dirty little secret. Poor Crown Prince."

"Grand Duke Ludwig's the biggest victim, but His Highness must be heartbroken too."

"And didn't they say there's a new knight on staff recently? Don't tell me she's tangled up with him too..."

Evangeline's planted rumor-mongers chimed in, claiming they'd heard the same from friends.

The courtroom's mood swung decisively toward Ludwig's side.

All before Hilia or her witnesses even had a chance to speak.

Thrust into the eye of a woman's most damning scandal, Hilia's face drained to a ghostly white.

She hadn't mustered so much as a feeble defense.

To anyone watching, she was clearly cornered.

Hard to believe this was the same woman who had gazed down so confidently at the Artanus banquet.

Evangeline allowed herself a triumphant smile.

'Yes, that's the face. That's the place that suits you.'

At the same time, she confirmed her judgment had been spot-on.

'Even a soul possessor couldn't have seen this coming. It's not in the original story.'

This was Evangeline's solo scheme, utterly divorced from the original plot.

Anyone banking on canon knowledge would be caught flat-footed.

For the first time in ages, Evangeline felt utterly satisfied.

Orchestrating everything from the shadows to trap Hilia—this was the dynamic she'd mastered over five long years.

And now it was playing out again, just as it should.

To her, it felt like everything had snapped back into place.

She unfurled her ornate red fan to conceal her curled lips.

'And don't think for a second this is the end. This is just the beginning.'

A sensible question cut through the crowd's chatter.

"But even if the testimonies are true, aren't they all from before the marriage? Isn't dragging this to trial a bit much?"

"Marriage or not, an engagement's a binding contract. It's only right to demand compensation from someone who couldn't keep chaste during it, leading to a breakup."

In truth, such disputes cropped up more in divorce courts, but engagement breach trials weren't unheard of.

Counterpoints followed swiftly.

"Their engagement wasn't broken off for that reason."

All eyes turned to Arpad, standing resolute at Hilia's side.

"It was the bride abduction marriage."

"So what does that change?"

Some tore into the scandal with relish; others questioned its tie to the engagement fallout.

Evangeline's smile only deepened.

As if on cue, Ludwig's lawyer called for more witnesses.

"And we have a witness to testify that even after becoming Crown Princess, she kept up her deep involvement with the knight."

For the first time, someone from Hilia's camp spoke up.

Not Hilia herself—she endured with her pale face set, lips pressed tight against the humiliation.

"Whoever that witness is, they'd better be ready to stake their life on it."

In a timing no one anticipated, Arpad's voice dripped with killing intent.

Ludwig's lawyer scraped together his nerve for a rebuttal.

"...Your Highness. Threatening those acting on conscience is hardly proper."

Ludwig, at the lawyer's side, glared daggers at Arpad, murderous.

He'd been humiliated by Arpad over Hilia not once, but twice already.

His bone was long healed, yet phantom pain stabbed his wrist.

Pain that was pure shame and degradation.

Gnashing his teeth, Ludwig bellowed.

"My lawyer's right! Intimidating witnesses? Shame on a man of the imperial house sworn to uphold the law!"

Arpad scoffed.

"Hard to say. Far less shameful than a goose with a snapped arm and burst gut shrieking its head off, anyway."

"You cur!"

As the imperial clash threatened to erupt, the judge intervened.

"Gentlemen, compose yourselves. I stand here as His Imperial Majesty's proxy. Disrupt these proceedings further, and I'll have no choice but to clear the room."

Highborn Crown Prince or Grand Duke, the judge brooked no nonsense.

Within these walls, he wielded the Emperor's authority.

No one could defy an expulsion order.

Especially not with the Emperor's own Imperial Knights escorting the bench—a clear signal His Majesty was watching closely and entrusting the matter to the judge.

Grudgingly, Arpad and Ludwig fell silent.

The judge turned to Hilia first.

"Will you offer a counterargument now?"

For the first time, emotion flickered across Hilia's pale, impassive face.

Her poise suggested not a tribunal altar of shame, but a genteel drawing room.

"No."

"You refuse to defend or rebut?"

"Not yet."

Hilia extended a hand toward Ludwig's lawyer.

"Their side doesn't seem finished. Once they've had their say, I'll prove my innocence."

Her voice brimmed with leisure. A flicker of unease stirred in Evangeline.

At first, she'd taken Hilia's pallor for panic in the trap.

Now, hearing her speak, a doubt crept in.

Was Hilia simply holding a calm, blank mask?

No. She's faking it. No one could be that unruffled—not anxious, not humiliated!

If Evangeline were in those shoes, she'd sooner bite her tongue than endure.

The victim couldn't possibly feel nothing.

It was all an act.

That false serenity would shatter soon enough.

She wondered how long Hilia—betrayed by a trusted ally—could keep it up.

Ludwig's lawyer rose to summon the remaining witnesses.

"First, the Grand Duke's household staff who entered the palace alongside His Highness Ludwig and witnessed the scene, plus a few palace servants..."

It was so dull I nearly yawned. I've faced trial for every crime under the sun.

Treason, adultery, murder, attempted murder... you name it.

Each time, the verdict was guilty from the start—a public spectacle of scorn and degradation. Scripted theater, nothing more.

But this was different. I'd come prepared for anything.

And besides.

Arpad's hand tightened around mine, just a fraction more.

His crimson eyes had locked on me alone since before we entered—brimming with concern only for me.

Such sweetness bordered on frightening.

Yet he was the steadfast ally I'd never had in moments like this.

The very fact filled me with an odd thrill.

That was when it happened.

Ludwig's lawyer glanced our way and flashed a grin.

A dark, slimy smirk that turned my stomach.

I'd soon learn why.

"...And for our final witness, one of the two principals in this affair: Sir Renus Beltein."

...What?