“We met the knights chasing Zemuren again midway through the mountain.”

“Continue.”

“The spot where we found Miss Ines was right on the next peak. The scene of the incident was below us, and we could clearly see what was happening due to the terrain.”

“Liars, you’re lying!”

At that moment, Zemuren, who was sitting in the audience, stupidly shouted. Yelling that they were lying at the very moment they testified to witnessing the scene made it seem like he was worried his guilt would be exposed.

Ines could tell that Zemuren was extremely anxious to make such a petty mistake.

“The first scene I saw was the moment Miss Ines stepped onto that terrain.”

This meant he had seen everything. Ines realized why her trial had been decided so quickly—it was because the circumstances were fully understood, and those circumstances came from a reliable witness.

He calmly explained what he had seen.

“Two of us among the four immediately ran to where the incident was taking place, and Sir Thomas and I stayed back to ensure the situation was clear.”

Then a man who appeared to be an investigator came out and confirmed that the scene was clearly visible from their position. The knight’s testimony continued.

“Joseph Brunoa, the man chasing Ines Swalden, was about to catch up to her when he suddenly floated into the air as if caught by something.”

“Do you know exactly what it was?”

“I couldn’t be certain, but judging by his feet hanging in the air, it appeared to be a trap.”

People exclaimed “Ah” once more. It was already known that a trap much larger than those used for animal hunting had been discovered at the scene. The judge asked Ines to confirm this once more.

“Did you, Ines Swalden, personally create and set up this trap?”

“Yes.”

The room buzzed once again at her calm response.

“Sir John Camerfield, continue your account.”

“Subsequently, Miss Ines approached Sir Joseph. It seemed as if they were briefly conversing, then she disappeared from sight.”

As the testimony went on, the murmurs among the people grew louder.

“Quiet! Anyone causing a disturbance in court will be ejected. Please continue.”

And moments later, when they described Ines appearing beside Joseph with some large object, the crowd gasped dramatically.
Ines’s mother eventually couldn’t bear to stay in the courtroom and was carried out. But her father continued to hold his position there.

“But soon Ines untied the rope from Count Joseph’s leg.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because when she moved, Count Joseph completely fell to the ground. I witnessed him get up and stand for a while.”

“What happened after that?”

Camerfield looked at Zemuren who was sitting in the spectator seats and extended his arm towards him.

“Then Zemuren Winningston charged at Count Joseph and Count Joseph fell.”

“No, no, it’s all a setup. They’re trying to kill me!”

However, he had no choice but to be silenced by the people.

“After Count Joseph fell, Zemuren Winningston approached Ines Swalden.”

The knight testified that after hitting Ines’s face hard, he jumped onto her fleeing body just as two other knights who had left earlier stepped onto the verge.

Zemuren was screaming in madness. Despite resisting with his whole body, repeatedly saying that she had stabbed a knife into his shoulder, he eventually fell to the ground, hit by the baton swung by the police.

However, he wasn’t driven out of the courtroom because he was a party to the incident. The officers forced him to lean on the table, pressing down on his shoulders and waist.

Ines looked at the situation with indifferent eyes throughout.

People were more amazed by Ines, who calmly accepted the situation, than by Zemuren, who was screaming in madness.

“Ines Swalden.”

When the Chief Justice called her name, she slowly turned her head.

“Do you admit that all these testimonies are true?”

“I admit it.”

“I will ask a few things.”

“Please do.”

“Why did you try to kill Joseph Brnoa?”

“Because he completely ruined my life.”

Ines answered without hesitation. Since it was already known that it was an affair, the judge didn’t ask any more questions about it.

“Was the pulley at the scene really set up to hang Joseph Brnoa’s neck?”

“Yes, it was.”

“Then, having meticulously planned the crime, why did you give up on killing him?”

Just then, the door of the courtroom burst open with a loud noise. As the door fully opened, blindingly bright sunlight poured in first. And then he revealed himself.

Ines’s light and salvation, Carson Von Raymond.

She bowed her head for the first time as she entered the courtroom.