“Ah, so you intend to go after the noble behind all this as well?”

Valierre thought he could see right through Ermedillin, who was alluding to a highranking person without knowing the exact situation.

How could she ambiguously mention someone in the background when they hadn’t yet caught the person who officially handed the boy the knife? She must certainly be plotting to scapegoat someone.

“She wouldn’t point a finger at me, would she? Even if she is the empress, how can she arbitrarily accuse someone without evidence? Besides, I didn’t even orchestrate this.”

Valierre glanced at Anglais’ complexion, briefly considering whom Ermedillin might accuse.

Upon seeing Anglais, who had been gradually avoiding him despite promises of rank and fiefdom, irritation started to swell up in him again.

In truth, Anglais had been openly avoiding Valierre these past few days.

He seldom frequented places she would visit and seemed to sneakily take meals and sleep somewhere other than his room.

“That hypocrite. All talk, no action. After the trial ends today, I will definitely get a clear answer from him!”

Meanwhile, Anglais increasingly felt uncomfortable at Valierre’s sidelong glances.

He, too, was aware of Valierre, which was why he could clearly feel her gaze on him.

Yet, he still did not want to face Valierre.

He had been eagerly awaiting his rank and fiefdom, but his desire to bestow them had vanished.

Anglais was afraid.

Afraid that her delighted expression and radiant smile upon receiving rank and fiefdom might not be directed towards him.

People can change. Depending on the situation and environment, attitudes and personalities can alter.

However, people don’t change. The core values that form one’s soul never change; not even Anglais, an emperor, had ever seen it happen.

So, even if Valierre has recently turned materialistic, she must be a good person.

And even if Ermedillin has done some good things lately, she must be an evil person.

Their core should never change.

However, these two women have changed far too much recently.

Valierre behaves as if she was never good, and Ermedillin acts as if she was never evil.

“Save the boy? For that, would you give up your gains?”

Anglais had silently agreed to Ermedillin’s request to spare the boy, but he remained suspicious of her motives.

Confused by his wavering values, Anglais awaited Ermedillin’s answer.

“Your Highness, who do you think is behind this, among those who purchased the poison?”

Gulp.

Everyone in the courtroom, save for Ermedillin and Pellio, swallowed loudly.

Anglais did not show it, but he was internally tense, fearing Ermedillin might mention Princess Biella and give up on saving the boy.

“I can’t say for certain, but I have a suspicion.”

With a monotone voice, Ermedillin stated her opinion and turned her head to gaze in the direction where Count Ilenian was seated.

She then slowly rose from her seat, took a deep breath, and exhaled.

For a brief moment, everyone in the courtroom felt as if time had stopped.

“Would you like to name them now?”

A faint smile crossed Ermedillin’s lips at Pellio’s question.

However, her eyes were not smiling, making her smile seem rather meaningful.

“I do not wish to name anyone.”

The courtroom was once again engulfed in a small uproar.

“What sinister scheme is she cooking up now?”

Valierre felt increasingly frustrated at Ermedillin’s unexpected moves.

Though they both were possessed souls, the difference between them was like heaven and earth: he, a bastard with a regular wife, and she, a princess turned empress.
Being the protagonist was a fleeting joy; now I was on tenterhooks due to the miserable death of a villain.

“Repel the curse? I thought I wouldn’t be able to use magic since my soul had changed. What is this, Count François?”

Velia genuinely hoped that Ermedillin would not be able to testify in the next trial related to the attempted assassination of the empress.

“The only thing I want to say is this: I am alive, and I do not want to kill that boy.”

Even the unflappable Count Elenian had dropped his jaw at this.

“You all must be thinking I’m planning a more terrible torture for the boy to uncover the truth. The boy might be better off dead right now… something like that.”

Ermedillin stood up and approached the boy seated at the defendant’s chair.

The boy, tightly bound in ropes, shook almost convulsively as Ermedillin came near.

“You stabbed me with a knife. Do you remember?”

Upon Ermedillin’s question, the boy nodded with difficulty and burst into tears.

“I lost a lot of blood because of you. Do you remember that too?”

Nodding.

“Once back in the palace, I suffered so much from the poison on the dagger you used that I almost died. Do you know that?”

“Yes….”

The boy answered with his shaky thin voice.

“I know you lost your entire family to a plague. And that an adult handed you the knife. But I didn’t kill your family. The plague wasn’t my doing. You tried to kill someone who had nothing to do with your family’s death.”