There are accusations of dark magic related to Lady Dianne Crustel of Crustel. In accordance, an order to summon Lady Dianne to the Foncio Temple has been issued.”

“What did they send to you from the capital temple?”

“I issued a summon order.”

“A summon order? How dare they speak to you like that?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh-ho, these days, is it a trend in the capital to carry a sword outside the carriage?”

I shrugged.

In reality, a summon order didn’t have much compulsion. Nobles in the capital would have no choice but to obey the temple’s orders, but for our family, it was another story if we ignored them.

I knew that as well, so I deliberately intercepted the temple’s letter halfway.
“I will definitely make sure to comply with the summon.”

Anyway, I couldn’t keep this a secret from my family until the end. I planned to strengthen the support for the temple’s summon order before my family knew about it.

That way, even after my family found out about this, they would have no choice but to reluctantly let me go.

Below the summon order were the date, time, and a more detailed location.

“The person who accused me is probably obvious without looking.”

Generally, the identity of the accuser is attached secretly, so it’s hard to know for sure, but the answer was already there.

“Amelia Hwangbi.”

Since I had to go to the capital anyway, I was thankful for the help, but her actions were ridiculously amusing.

“I’ll think about the aftermath later and take action.”

I took out a clean piece of paper to write a reply. I imitated my father’s handwriting, which I had practiced diligently for the past few days, to write the response.

“I understand. I will send it on the specified date. -Kyrillius Crustel”

“Well, how is it?”

“Did you draw a worm?”

“It’s my father’s handwriting. Can you read it?”

“Hmm…, ‘Understood, will send on the specified date.’ How’s that?”

“Good, perfect!”

My father’s handwriting was characterized by roughly scribbled letters. It seemed to be well imitated if Montree couldn’t recognize it.

“Send this to the temple.”

“Yes, well. I understand. So, what did you write? Did you say you couldn’t go?”

“No, I will attend, so prepare for that.”

“Huh? Is there no need for you to attend, Miss?”

“There’s no need, but I plan to go.”

“Why? Why would you… Ah! There must be some profound meaning, I see.”

Montree nodded slowly with a faithful expression. Of course, there was some profound meaning.

I cast my gaze under the bed.

Unlike other times when it would expose its tail, this time, the silver snake completely hid itself.

“There’s no point in being together. It won’t help each other.”

Montree, who had concealed the letter in his arms, left the room. Watching him leave through the window towards the main gate, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m going to the capital.”

Now, the day to send the supernatural being to the male lead was approaching.

A few days later, the key figures of the duke’s family gathered in the drawing-room of the Duke’s Mansion.

The duke, his sons, their personal aides, and even Bartolo, who was in charge of the knights’ order.

Confirming that everyone had gathered, the duke threw a letter onto the center of the table.

“Is there anyone to explain what happened?”

It was an official document from the royal family. The content allowed the temporary opening of the teleport connecting Hesseira and the capital.

The reason for this was the royal family’s readiness to resolve the accusations of black magic against Lady Dianne Crustel as soon as possible.

A heavy silence fell in the meeting room.

“If it’s an accusation, does that mean someone has accused the lady?”

In a voice that was unusually serious, Bartolo spoke. Philene handed another document.
“Yes, the trial has been arranged. Here are the trial date and location. The trial will take place at the temple court, and now that the trial is scheduled, it has legal force. If the lady does not attend on the appointed date, it may be deemed an escape, and forced summons may be carried out.”

Dayban muttered this with a bitter tone.

“I should have killed Hwangbi back then.”

“It’s useless to say that now. We need to deal with the problem at hand.”

In response to Mikael’s somewhat detached words, Dayban stared at him resentfully. He swallowed the words he was about to say, refraining from arguing with the little boy’s worries.

Mikael, too, had a lively gleam in his eyes above his tightly sealed lips.

“Proceeding without sending a summoning notice, and progressing with the trial based solely on circumstances without proper evidence is an action that disregards all of us. Even with no clear evidence, this is sufficient grounds.”

Clemens calmly presented a realistic approach. Most of them nodded heavily.

Without clear evidence and proceeding with the trial only based on circumstances or suspicions without the opponent’s consent couldn’t happen. Especially in the case of the temple court, it was absolutely impossible without clear evidence.

However, in the temple, they proceeded as if the party had responded to the summoning notice. It was as if Diene had really performed black magic.

At that moment, the meeting room door creaked open.

In the late evening, someone who should never have known the contents of this secret gathering entered the meeting room.

“Was everyone here?”

Diane casually walked to the duke’s side and took a seat. The official documents on the desk had already been discreetly put away by Philene.

“Have you read all the books?”

Kyrillius asked softly. Compared to the tone during the meeting, it was a noticeably different attitude.

“Yeah, I read them all. After summarizing the content, Sophia did well, so I gave her some jelly.”

“Okay, good job.”

He wanted to talk more with the child, but now he had to send her back to her room. Kyrillius looked at Mikael, who was the best at soothing the child.

“Diane, want to come upstairs with me for now? I’ll recommend some other books.”

“No, I’ll stay here.”

Unusually, Diene shook her head. Clemens thought she was just throwing a tantrum like a little sister.

“Are you bored? We’re busy with work right now. We’ll finish soon, and I’ll play with you.”

“No, that’s not why I came. You all gathered here because of me, right?”

Looking at the empty desk, Diene put the received summoning notice on it. It was the summoning notice she received before she sent a reply to the temple.

Seeing it, the others gradually widened their eyes.

“How did you…?”

Diene looked at the assembled people one by one and slowly spoke.

“I know what’s going on. I responded to the summoning notice because I sent the reply myself.”