Naturally, the conversation among the judges was suspended.

Soon after, Marquis Howard walked into the conference room.

Following him, several of the Empire’s notable nobles entered the conference room as well.

Approaching the round table where the judges were seated, Marquis Howard spoke.

“As the recess seemed to be prolonged, I had no choice but to attend the meeting to quickly understand the situation.”

It was then that the judges were looking at the nobles who had suddenly burst into the conference room.

Lastly, Duke Cardia walked in.

“There must be no injustice in such an important matter.”

A deep, low voice descended. Up close, Duke Cardia exuded a unique aura that was unapproachable.

“……”

The judges exchanged glances and swallowed hard.

The trial resumed.

Jieselgrante could sense that the atmosphere among the judges was quite different from before the recess.

And she was soon able to confirm that her intuition was correct.

“As important new information that requires verification through further investigation has come in……”

The judge explained the reason for the recess and announced the end of today’s trial.

Jeers and criticisms poured in from the spectators, but the judges calmly left the courtroom.

A faint smile settled on Jieselgrante’s face.

“What could have happened?”

The Marquis Howard’s daughter expressed her curiosity as she rose from her seat.

“I wonder.”

Jieselgrante also stood up with a nonchalant face, as if she didn’t know anything about the circumstances.

“Young lady.”

“Yes?”

“You know something, don’t you?”

The Marquis Howard’s daughter pressed her in a low voice.

“Me?”

Jieselgrante tilted her head with an innocent expression.

“Come on, be honest with me.”

“I was with you throughout the trial, how could I know anything?”

As Jieselgrante shrugged and moved, the Marquis Howard’s daughter followed closely behind, urging her.

“I saw you keep glancing at the entrance earlier.”

Her voice was lowered so that only Jieselgrante could hear, given the many eyes around them.

‘She’s quite perceptive.’

Jieselgrante decided that she would have to be even more careful with her actions in front of the Marquis Howard’s daughter from now on, as she took a big step forward.

The Marquis Howard’s daughter continued to follow Jieselgrante until she reached the carriage after leaving the courtroom.

Her glaring gaze was quite fierce.

“You’re too much. I thought we were close friends……”

Realizing that persuasion wasn’t working on Jieselgrante, the Marquis Howard’s daughter now began to appeal to emotion.

“……”

It was when Jieselgrante, who had let out a low sigh, turned around towards the Marquis Howard’s daughter.

Somehow, Cabelased had approached near the Marquis Howard’s daughter.

As their eyes met, Cabelased asked.

“I’d like to have a word with you. Can you spare some time?”

Only then did the Marquis Howard’s daughter notice Cabelased behind her, her eyes widening like a startled rabbit as she hurriedly turned around.

After quickly greeting Duke Cardia, the Marquis Howard’s daughter winked at Jieselgrante.

Then she moved towards the Howard family’s carriage visible in the distance.

Cabelased, who had been watching her, soon turned his head towards Jieselgrante.

Jieselgrante and Cabelased continued their conversation while walking along a path prepared near the courtroom.

“You seemed quite close with the Marquis Howard’s daughter?”

“It just happened that way… More importantly, you said you had something to tell me?”

Cabelased nodded lightly and said.

“First, I should say thank you. Thanks to you, I gained a small pleasure.”

“…If you gained a small pleasure thanks to me, that’s good, but I wonder what pleasure I gave you today?”

To her question, Cabelased answered without even taking a breath.

“To our dear judge, for the purpose of public interest, I decided to convey the facts I know……”

The contents of the letter that followed were well known to her.

After all, she herself had written the letter. Of course, it was ghostwritten to avoid leaving her handwriting.

‘I didn’t expect him to notice so soon.’

Jieselgrante, turning her head slightly away from Cabelased, bit her lip.

“It seems the source of the information was Count Zimmer’s daughter.”

A faint crease appeared between Jieselgrante’s brows. But Cabelased didn’t stop there and continued.

“Ola, wasn’t it? The name of the maid you placed by Count Zimmer’s daughter’s side.”

When Cabelased even mentioned the name of Lindsey’s sister Ola, Jieselgrante realized she could no longer hide it.

“It seems you’ve been monitoring me.”

Cabelased nodded immediately, as if he had no intention of hiding it.

‘Just how much does he know.’

As she was thinking this, Cabelased added.

“You must be curious about how much I know.”

That grinning expression couldn’t have been more annoying.

“If you want something from me, please tell me.”

Cabelased’s eyes widened slightly at her boldly spoken words.

“…?”

But soon, with a smirk, he added.

“What do you think I want?”

She couldn’t immediately answer that question. Cabelased’s goal was the imperial throne.

Without the special item of a diary written about the future, the current Jieselgrante would never have known this part.

Jieselgrante increased her walking pace slightly and changed the subject.

“Then let me ask one thing too.”

“By all means.”

Recalling that Cabelased had also left his seat when the recess was announced and the judges left the courtroom, Jieselgrante opened her mouth.

“Was it you who persuaded the judges?”

“That would mean I cooperated with your actions.”

Cabelased’s eyes narrowed, then soon curved into an arc.

After staring blankly at the smile that had settled on his face for a moment, Jieselgrante quickly spoke.

“Now can I hear what you wanted to tell me?”

“Having taken credit, my business is finished with this.”

Jieselgrante’s lips parted slightly.

‘Really, is that all there was to your business?’

She thought for a moment, but then decided this was better.

It would be more troublesome if he asked why she was delving so deeply into this matter.

As Jieselgrante was about to return to her carriage, she recalled what Mikhail had told her recently.

“Happy birthday in advance.”

At her sudden words, Cabelased’s brow furrowed slightly.

“……”

His expression, as if he had been caught off guard, was quite a sight to see.

“The Founding Day is still a while away, but I thought I might not see you again before then.”

It was a few days before the trial.

Ola, who was returning to the villa with groceries she had bought in the bustling district, realized the trial was imminent when she spotted her original mistress, Duke Amaterasu’s daughter.

As expected, after Duke Amaterasu’s daughter left the Count Zimmer’s villa, Count Zimmer’s daughter grumbled with a gloomy face.

Seizing the opportunity, Ola offered Count Zimmer’s daughter some sweet alcohol.

Saying that once the intoxication set in, her gloomy mood would disappear completely.

Fortunately, Count Zimmer’s daughter didn’t refuse Ola’s suggestion.

And by the time she had emptied the not-so-small barrel of alcohol, she began to spill out what she had been keeping buried in her heart.

Although her pronunciation wasn’t clear due to intoxication, Ola could hear everything.

That day, Count Zimmer’s daughter herself had received a sleeping drug from the Empress’s confidant and mixed it into Princess Trinity’s tea.

But she didn’t know Princess Trinity would die so easily.

It was the moment when the confession drug she had received from Duke Amaterasu’s daughter took effect.

Having endured all of Count Zimmer’s daughter’s complaints and nasty temperament for this moment, Ola joyfully visited the Radcliffe trading company as soon as the sun rose.

And she delivered the product order list as written in the code table.

Thinking that she could finally leave this wretched villa and return to Duke Amaterasu’s mansion where her sister Lindsey was, Ola hummed a tune as she made her way to the villa where Count Zimmer’s daughter was sleeping.