Rather Than Be Taken, I Will Take - Chapter 66

It was no longer surprising. Running into Cabelased somewhere by chance.

Although their reasons were different, Jieselgrante and Cabelased were now heading towards a single goal.

She was trying to take revenge on the Empress and Emperor, while Cabelased was planning to usurp the throne from the tyrant.

Even if their purposes were slightly different, the direction they were heading was ultimately the same.

The downfall of the current Emperor and Empress. So it was no coincidence that the two people’s spheres of action overlapped.

“We meet again.”

Jieselgrante blinked lightly and greeted him nonchalantly.

“I’m not even surprised anymore.”

He seemed to have had the same thought as her. Jieselgrante, who had burst into a small laugh, soon withdrew her smile.

Cabelased is a man who might kill her in the future.

She wondered if she had shown too much vulnerability in front of such a person.

Moreover, the trial of Baroness Oppenheimer, who would soon be framed as the assassin of Princess Trinity, was scheduled to take place.

Jieselgrante put on an impassive expression and took one step at a time towards the courtroom.

“You look just like a knight heading to the battlefield.”

Jieselgrante felt momentarily caught off guard by his casually thrown remark.

Before she could hastily come up with a response, Cabelased continued speaking.

“I’m very much looking forward to what kind of surprise event you’ve prepared for today.”

“……”

Before she could fully grasp the hidden meaning behind his words, Cabelased nodded a greeting and walked ahead.

“Well then.”

As he entered the courtroom, the nobles who had arrived earlier and were waiting began to approach Cabelased and greet him.

Jieselgrante watched his retreating figure and pondered over the words he had left behind moments ago.

‘A surprise event… Surely he doesn’t know something?’

As she was walking with such thoughts, a familiar voice was heard.

“It’s been a while, young lady.”

When she turned her head, the young lady of Duke Howard was smiling brightly.

“It’s been a while, young lady of Duke Howard. Have you been well?”

“Thanks to you. But just now, it seemed like you were with Duke Cardia……”

The young lady of Duke Howard gestured with her eyes towards Cabelased, who was surrounded by nobles. Her eyes were full of curiosity.

Knowing well that at times like this, one shouldn’t feed the curiosity, Jieselgrante quickly opened her mouth.

“We just happened to run into each other up ahead. We merely exchanged greetings, that’s all.”

Although inwardly flustered by the young lady of Duke Howard’s dubious gaze, Jieselgrante quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, seeing that you’re here at the courtroom, I suppose you’re also interested in this case?”

“Of course. I told you before, didn’t I? I had hoped that Her Highness Princess Trinity would ascend to the throne.”

“……”

“And I wanted to work as her aide.”

The young lady of Duke Howard lowered her gaze, drooping her shoulders.

Then, she quickly glanced towards Jieselgrante and added.

“I know. That my dream lacks practicality. My family always says so too. They tell me not to dream unrealistic dreams.”

“You don’t need to be mindful of me. I think saying something lacks practicality is what people say when they don’t have the confidence to make it possible, or when they can’t do it.”

“That sounds cool and all… but what does it mean?”

Faint wrinkles formed on the young lady of Duke Howard’s round forehead.

Her expression seemed to say, ‘You’re not just spouting words you’ve learned from books without understanding them, are you?’

“If I were Princess Trinity and had safely become the Emperor, I think I would have gladly recruited the young lady of Duke Howard as an aide if her abilities were sufficiently verified.”

It was just a hypothesis. A future that would never come. But that alone seemed to satisfy the young lady of Duke Howard, as her expression brightened.

“Ah, stop it now.”

The young lady of Duke Howard said, subtly pushing Jieselgrante’s shoulder.

“…?”

“Because I might fall for you.”

Jieselgrante promptly closed her mouth and turned her gaze to the front.

Just then, as the judge entered, the murmuring in the courtroom subsided.

As if to show that this was a trial drawing the attention of the empire’s citizens, the courtroom was packed with people.

In fact, there were a total of five judges.

In front of each of the five judges were documents related to the case, but no one was looking at them.

It seemed they had familiarized themselves with the case content beforehand.

The explanation continued that it was a murder due to the personal grudge of Baroness Oppenheimer, the location was Princess Trinity’s bedroom, and a dagger was used as the weapon.

As it was a case everyone knew about, the case explanation wasn’t very long.

In the solemn atmosphere, the judge seated in the center among the five judges opened his mouth.

“Baroness Oppenheimer, if there is anything that differs from the facts, please speak.”

At the judge’s words, the courtroom fell silent.

Everyone focused on Baroness Oppenheimer’s statement, but instead of speaking, Baroness Oppenheimer only shook her head.

“……”

“Are you refusing to testify?”

The judge took this as a refusal to testify.

At this point, Jieselgrante became somewhat curious.

Whether the judges didn’t know that Baroness Oppenheimer couldn’t speak, or if they had decided to pretend not to know.

Whether all five judges had been bribed by the Empress, or if they possessed the qualifications to pass a just judgment.

What was certain was that there was someone who had exerted pressure to make this trial flow in the direction they wanted.

This could be known just from the fact that there was no one to defend Baroness Oppenheimer, but no one pointed out that aspect.

Even just from the reaction of the young lady of Duke Howard beside her, Jieselgrante could understand the reason.

The young lady of Duke Howard had been grumbling continuously since the moment Baroness Oppenheimer entered the courtroom.

“Is a trial really necessary? Given that even the murder weapon has been found.”

“Of course, we should. An innocent person could die, you know.”

At Jieselgrante’s casually added remark, the young lady of Duke Howard suddenly turned her head towards her.

The gaze of the young lady of Duke Howard, sticking to her side profile, was quite stinging.

“Whose side are you on, young lady?”

“On the side of truth.”

“Well, well, looks like we have a truly neutral person here. As expected of someone from Duke Amaterasu’s house……”

Ignoring the grumbling voice of the young lady of Duke Howard, Jieselgrante glanced towards the entrance of the courtroom.

“But why do you keep looking over there? Is there something there?”

It was when the young lady of Duke Howard, who had keenly read her gaze, asked the reason.

“Ah, someone is coming in over there.”

Just then, someone quickly walked into the courtroom.

He soon approached the judges and handed something over, and then they began to converse among themselves.

As the courtroom became noisy with murmuring voices, the judge seated in the center spoke.

“We will have a brief recess.”

The judges began to rise from their seats one by one.

“Why are they doing this all of a sudden?”

To the young lady of Duke Howard’s question, Jieselgrante just quietly shook her head.

“I wonder.”

A little while ago, an anonymous letter had arrived for the judges.

“Dear esteemed judges,

I have made the difficult decision to convey the facts I know for the purpose of public interest. I kindly ask for your understanding regarding the parts where I cannot proudly reveal my face……”

The letter, which relied on anonymity out of fear of exposing one’s identity, contained several points related to the death of Princess Trinity.

That there was a maid who mixed sleeping pills into the tea Princess Trinity was to drink that day.

That the person who instigated this was not Baroness Oppenheimer.

This meant that someone other than Baroness Oppenheimer was connected to the murder of Princess Trinity.

Additionally, as it contained content that was not known to the public, it couldn’t be simply dismissed as false.

And one more thing, the judges were greatly shocked by the part stating that the mastermind behind Princess Trinity’s murder had taken measures to prevent Baroness Oppenheimer from speaking.

Because it was such an inhumane and cruel act.

“What do you all think?”

The oldest judge looked at the other four judges and asked.

The judges each offered their opinions.

But the arguments were split into two sides.

One side arguing that additional verification was needed based on the contents of the letter, and the other side arguing that the possibility of it being a slander to cause confusion should be considered.

“Hmm……”

As the situation seemed unlikely to reach a consensus easily, the judges each fell into thought.

And the judges, who had received instructions from the Antares family to pass judgment and punishment quickly without dragging it out, started to get headaches.

“How about we decide by majority vote?”

The Antares family had placed three of today’s attending judges in anticipation of such a situation, and a judge who knew this fact naturally tried to gather opinions by majority vote, saying it was a clever solution to this situation.

“Everyone is eagerly waiting for a quick verdict, so it seems like a good method.”

Another judge added, and the judge next to him also nodded, saying it was a good idea.

“As this is a high-profile case, while there’s a way to honor Her Highness the Princess through a quick verdict, I’m a bit concerned.”

“I think so too. If the truth comes to light after the punishment is carried out, Baroness Oppenheimer would have met her end under false accusations. If the facts are revealed belatedly, we who passed hasty judgment won’t be free from responsibility either.”

Faced with this reasonable argument, even the judges who were trying to push for a quick resolution through majority vote couldn’t easily proceed.

“Then what do you suggest we do? If you have a solution in mind, please speak up.”

It was when the time of not reaching a consensus started to grow longer.

Footsteps were heard from a place not far from the conference room where the judges were.