Chapter 135
“Your Majesty. Everything Duke Dearrut says is true. The Second Prince has been using his power recklessly. And the Second Prince’s degeneration is entirely my fault.”
The Empress let her words trail off as she conspicuously dropped a single tear.
“As Your Majesty knows, the Second Prince was very weak as a child, so I couldn’t discipline him properly. Even when he grew healthy, I should have corrected his mistakes… But after ascending to the position of Empress, I was too busy caring for the Imperial Palace’s welfare to pay attention to the Second Prince.”
Then, kneeling before the Emperor, she continued:
“Therefore, Your Majesty, please impose a severe punishment on both the Second Prince and myself this time. I will thoroughly teach the Second Prince never to commit such foolish acts again.”
At the Empress’s heartfelt words, the sounds of nobles quietly drawing in their breath could be heard from all around.
“I will also take responsibility for all this and make restitution to the Rosetta Viscount’s family. If Your Majesty permits, I will help ensure that the child the Viscountess will bear can be properly registered in the Imperial family.”
The Empress bowed her head as if personally atoning for her child’s sins.
A sense of both maternal love for the Second Prince and solemnity as the Empress of a nation, willing to take responsibility for everything, was simultaneously conveyed.
At this sight of the Empress, the courtroom’s atmosphere, which had been filled with anger, dramatically changed.
It shifted toward sympathy for the Empress.
This was because the Empress’s reputation was excellent. Everyone may have despised the Second Prince, but they couldn’t bring themselves to hate the Empress as well.
They need to know that the Empress is insane.
Only Alice in the gallery wasn’t deceived by the Empress’s performance. In truth, if Alice hadn’t known the original story, she too would have been completely taken in by the Empress.
The Empress’s current appearance was so wretched it was heartbreaking.
However, knowing that the Empress had cruelly tried to kill not only Viscountess Rosetta but also the child in her womb, Alice found the Empress’s performance merely disgusting.
And Alice lowered her gaze to the one person who would uniquely understand her feelings.
Kylus.
Indeed, Kylus seemed to feel the same displeasure as Alice, as a scornful smile played on his lips.
At that moment, as if sensing her gaze, Kylus raised his head and looked at Alice.
He gave her a smooth smile and then stepped forward.
And just as the Emperor was about to open his mouth to console the silently weeping Empress, Kylus spoke:
“Your Majesty, I apologize, but there is one more heinous crime that His Highness the Second Prince has committed.”
“What…? Was that not all?”
The Emperor hesitated, and the nobles’ attention focused on Kylus.
At that moment, even the Second Prince turned his head toward Kylus. With everyone’s gaze upon him, Kylus spoke with a stern face:
“Yes, Your Majesty. The assassination attempt that occurred at the recent hunting competition—the true culprit is none other than His Highness the Second Prince.”
“Gasp!”
The sound of nobles inhaling could be heard, but Kylus continued in an even louder voice:
“And His Highness the Second Prince used black magic, the absolute taboo of the continent, through a black mage, for the assassination attempt.”
Assassination and black magic.
The nobles drew in breaths full of shock at this unexpected, enormous crime. Even the Emperor gaped with a dumbfounded expression.
Kylus observed this and inwardly smirked.
It was because the Emperor couldn’t have imagined that the word “black magic” would come up in this trial.
True to his character of being poor at managing his expressions, the Emperor made all sorts of fuss and said to Kylus:
“Duke! Not only is the true culprit of the assassination attempt the Second Prince, but the Prince also employed a black mage! What on earth is this about?! Weren’t you the one who closed the case, saying the true culprit of the assassination would be difficult to find?!”
With his upper body leaning far down over the courtroom, the Emperor looked as if he might rush toward Kylus at any moment.
A figure devoid of any dignity or gravitas.
Moreover, the Emperor seemed to have completely forgotten about the Empress who had been kneeling and crying beside him.
It wasn’t just the Emperor who had forgotten the Empress. The nobles who had felt sympathy for the Empress’s tears had long since forgotten their compassion due to Kylus’s words.
The flow of the trial, which the Empress had momentarily swayed, turned back to Kylus.
Feeling satisfied with this, Kylus answered the Emperor:
“Yes, that’s correct, Your Majesty. At that time, I truly couldn’t find any evidence about the assassin at the scene, so I had no choice but to conclude the case. However…”
He deliberately paused to heighten the courtroom’s atmosphere further.
“Afterward, Viscountess Rosetta provided a clue about the assassination attempt. It was the threat His Highness the Second Prince had made to Viscountess Rosetta.”
“Threat?”
The Emperor furrowed his brow.
Instead of answering, Kylus signaled to an attendant standing at the side of the courtroom. Before the trial began, his knight had entrusted something to the attendant.
The attendant approached Kylus and handed him a triangular recording stone.
“This is Viscountess Rosetta’s testimony.”
Kylus pressed the apex of the triangular recording stone.
Then, Viscountess Rosetta’s voice echoed loudly throughout the courtroom:
[When I said I would inform Your Majesty that I was carrying the Prince’s child, His Highness the Second Prince told me this: The moment I opened my mouth about the child, he would erase both me and the child in my womb from this world without a trace.]
At her clear statement, everyone in the courtroom held their breath.
[He threatened me, saying he knew a black mage well, and if I wanted to live, I should keep my mouth shut…]
Kylus handed the recording stone back to the attendant after the Viscountess’s words ended.
Then the nobles, who had been listening to the testimony with bated breath, began to murmur loudly.
“No matter what, to try to kill his own child…”
“Seeing such a threat, isn’t the Second Prince truly the culprit of the assassination attempt?”
Just as the nobles raised their voices, the Second Prince, who had been keeping his head down all along, shouted sharply:
“Cut that nonsense! To say I’m the true culprit of the assassination attempt with just this kind of recording stone! Your Majesty, does this make any sense? This is slander against me!”
“How could I say His Highness is the true culprit with just this recording stone alone? Your Majesty, there are more witnesses and evidence to prove His Highness the Second Prince’s crimes.”
Kylus signaled to the attendant once more.
Soon, as the courtroom door opened, a commoner entered.
“State your name and residence to His Majesty.”
Kylus addressed the commoner man who was hunching his shoulders.
The commoner man swallowed hard and spoke with a trembling voice:
“I am Jen, who runs a tavern in the Sothos district, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“The Sothos district… Isn’t that close to the slums?”
“That’s correct, Your Majesty. The Sothos district has long been known for its poor security due to its proximity to the slums and the prevalence of black market traders. As Your Majesty knows, black mages occasionally appear in the Sothos district for this reason.”
Kylus answered the Emperor’s question.
Indeed, all the occasional incidents related to black magic occurred in the Sothos district.
So much so that the saying, “If you want to meet a black mage, go to Sothos,” circulated openly in the Empire.
Kylus continued calmly:
“And this man, Jen, saw His Highness the Second Prince meeting with a black mage in the Sothos district.”
“What!? Is that true? Did you really see the Second Prince meeting with a black mage there? If it’s a lie, not only your life but your entire family will be executed!”
The Emperor threatened Jen.
At this, Jen trembled as if terrified. But Jen shouted with all his might:
“It’s not a lie! I really saw it. His Highness meeting with a black mage ten days ago. Though it was deep into the night, His Highness’s golden hair and opal-colored eyes shone distinctly—how could I testify falsely!”
“You worm, how dare you slander me! I’ve never been to Sothos—how could you have seen me!?”
The Second Prince lunged at Jen with a force that suggested he would tear him apart. But the Second Prince didn’t even reach Jen before his shoulder was grabbed.
Naturally, by Kylus.
“Calm yourself, Your Highness. This is a sacred court of law. If you cause any more disturbance, you will not be able to avoid a shameful sight.”
It was a warning that he would subdue him by force. Even now, Kylus was holding the Second Prince’s shoulder with a strong grip. Just a little more pressure, and his shoulder bone would crack.
The Second Prince twisted his face in pain, then shook off Kylus’s hand.
Kylus willingly released the Second Prince’s shoulder. The Second Prince didn’t approach Jen again, but his breathing became rough, as if unable to contain his indignation.
Kylus looked at the Prince, then raised his head to the Emperor with a derisive smile.
“Your Majesty. After hearing Viscountess Rosetta’s words and this man’s testimony, I investigated the Sothos district and found a place where a black mage was hiding. And there, I discovered a contract between the Second Prince and the black mage.”
Kylus took out the final piece of evidence from his inner pocket and showed it to the Emperor. The Emperor’s eyes widened, and Kylus said:
“This contract contains a promise to pay 10,000 gold coins in exchange for perfectly erasing all evidence from the assassination scene.”
“What proof is there that I wrote that contract! Cut the bullshit!”
Though the Second Prince shouted fiercely, Kylus didn’t budge.
“Why wouldn’t there be proof, Your Highness? Black mages, being eerie beings whose very cores are dyed with darkness, always require a fingerprint stamped with the other party’s blood when making contracts.”
He continued impassively:
“Naturally, he would have demanded a blood fingerprint in his transaction with Your Highness as well. And here, on this contract, Your Highness’s fingerprint remains clearly visible.”
“What…”
“The blood of the imperial family contains special magical power. I have already confirmed through a mage that this fingerprint is from imperial blood.”
Cutting off the Second Prince’s words, Kylus looked straight up at the Emperor.
“But it’s best to demonstrate definitively in front of everyone, so why don’t we call the Imperial Palace mage right now to verify, Your Majesty?”
