‘How on earth did this happen?’

Aria looked at Admund with trembling eyes.

Her gaze did not leave one spot.

Seeing Clea and Admund looking happily at each other, Aria doubted if this moment was real.

She tried to call out to Admund again.

“Let us begin the trial.”

But before that, Odin announced the start of the trial first.

With everyone present, there was no reason to delay the trial any longer, so it was really about to begin now.

Aria frowned as she looked at Clea’s face.

Clea was smiling while looking at Aria.

That smile was the confident smile of a victor.

Amid all the confusion, Aria turned her gaze to look at Admund, but Admund had not once looked at her since warning her.

“The matter to be discussed here today is the attempted murder by the criminal Aria.”

The nobles gasped at the words “attempted murder”.

Although it had already been circulating as a rumor, many had been skeptical until it came from Emperor Odin’s own mouth.

There were those who thought there was no way Aria, who was called a saint, could have done such a thing.

They thought that such rumors were merely political slander against her.

But as of today, everything became clear.

Odin called Aria not a defendant or suspect, but a criminal. Publicly in front of everyone gathered.

“No one has taken up your defense. So you will have to answer all questions yourself.”

As Odin spoke in an emotionless tone, everyone’s eyes turned to Aria.

Normally in a trial, one would stand with a defense counsel.

And in the empire, there were cases where public defenders would stand in for those who could not afford to hire one.

In Aria’s case, they had tried to provide support since she couldn’t hire one, but no one came forward to defend her.

The spectators were shocked by the fact that no defender was assigned to her, when even heinous criminals with clear guilt had defenders.

“Well then, do you admit to the crime you committed?”

Odin began questioning Aria in earnest.

It was a question asking if she admitted to her charges.

Aria shook her head and said,

“I have committed no crime.”

Clea smirked at her brazen words.

She had wondered what would happen if Aria admitted it readily, but her not doing so made Clea think it was just like her.

Meanwhile, those who had attended the meeting with Clea before frowned.

If Aria’s words were true, it would mean that Clea, the Crown Princess, had lied.

But Clea still maintained her composure.

“She denies the crime, but is there anything to prove her guilt?”

Odin turned his head and asked Clea.

Clea spoke as if she had been waiting for this.

“There is a witness who can testify to the situation that day.”

“You must have bribed someone anyway. Or are you planning to bring in people from the Odoi family? Everyone here knows which family you come from!”

Aria lashed out at the mention of a witness.

It was an outburst made while being conscious of Grit who was present.

It was an outburst made out of fear that he might betray her, having received a huge sum of money from her.

“Silence. I believe I have given the right to speak to only one person at the moment.”

Aria’s attempt to change the atmosphere ended with one word from Odin.

While the right to speak still belonged to Clea, a figure with a deeply pulled hood appeared from among the spectators.

Only Clea knew who this figure was.

“This person is the witness I mentioned.”

Hearing Clea’s words, Aria’s mind became complicated.

Because the person who now entered her sight did not seem to be Grit or someone from the Odoi family.

“The witness should reveal their identity.”

As soon as Odin’s words fell, the witness removed their hood and revealed their face.

Then everyone looked at the witness Clea had mentioned with bewildered expressions.

The expressions of Aria and the Hersher family members in particular were a sight to behold.

“Y-you, how……”

“It’s been a long time, young lady.”

The witness was a person who had been loyal to the Hersher family, and had been Aria’s dedicated maid who had assisted her since she was young.

Perhaps because of this, many among the spectators recognized the maid.

They couldn’t understand.

Why the maid came forward as a witness, and why Aria was reacting like that.

The maid before their eyes was truly the most loyal person to Aria.

“Well then, who are you?”

Odin smiled as he looked at the witness Clea had brought.

“I am Julie Pinter, and I was once a person who devoted myself to the Hersher family. I was the dedicated maid of the criminal Aria who stands before you.”

“Well then, what is it that you wish to testify?”

Aria froze on the spot.

She needed to stop the maid’s mouth even now.

But after making eye contact with the maid, her body stiffened and she couldn’t do anything.

The maid who had always shown only smiles was now looking at her with resentful eyes.

The one who had sworn loyalty saying she would unconditionally be on her side.

“On the day the criminal visited the Odoi mansion, by chance, she encountered Her Highness the Princess there.”

People focused on Julie Pinter’s words.

This was a fact that everyone else also knew.

It was bound to be memorable that Aria, who attracted people’s attention wherever she went, had visited the Odoi mansion.

Given that the Odoi family and the Hersher family were enemies, it was inevitable that her personal visit to the Odoi mansion would become a topic of conversation.

“Everything happened on that day. As soon as the criminal encountered Her Highness the Princess, she impulsively pulled out a self-defense dagger and lunged at her.”

“That’s not true!”

It was then. Aria couldn’t hold back anymore and shouted.

It would have been good if she had shouted before Julie Pinter’s testimony came out of her mouth, but it was already after it had been spoken.

“It’s not true!”

Julie Pinter’s shocking testimony and Aria’s sensitive reaction stimulated people’s imagination.

“Is it really not true?”

Meanwhile, Clea, who had been quietly observing the situation, asked Aria.

Aria looked at Clea with uneasy eyes.

“That day, the small knife you were holding grazed my side.”

Clea slowly walked towards where Aria was.

At this unexpected situation, everyone held their breath and watched the scene.

“What did you do after that?”

Aria bit her lip and glared at Clea.

Clea, who was facing the glaring gaze head-on, raised the corners of her mouth.

“You quietly watched as the witness over there took your knife away and sacrificed herself for you, saying she did it?”

A wound had already formed on Aria’s lips.

A drop of blood from the wound fell to the floor.

“I didn’t do it.”

“Then why did you try to kill your maid? Even sending your family’s knights to the imperial palace.”

“That wasn’t my doing.”

“The situations seem to overlap quite a bit for it not to be you, don’t they?”

At Clea’s words, people looked at Duke Hersher.

It was already nonsensical that he sent knights to the imperial palace, but the reason being to silence someone who sacrificed themselves for his daughter.

The crime was too heinous, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heated.

But the one who was most enraged here was none other than Admund.

‘How terrible.’

This was probably the first time he was hearing directly from Clea about what Aria had done.

He had heard roughly what had happened through Hayden before.

Until now, Clea had been sparing with her words out of concern for him.

Finally hearing about that day directly from Clea, Admund’s teeth chattered.

Yet at the same time, he prayed for this time to pass quickly.

“Of course, your crimes don’t end here.”

Clea unfolded the paper in her hand in front of her. It listed numerous charges.

“The crime of feeding poison to Admund, unable to accept our marriage to the very end.”

Clea mentioned each one, raising her voice so everyone could hear.

“Not stopping there, the crime of killing another maid and cursing the imperial family. And the crime of attempting to kill your current fiancé, Lloyd Percy.”

As Aria listened to each charge being mentioned, she turned her gaze towards the spectators.

She especially watched her parents.

Duke Hersher wore an expression of anger like the others, while the Duchess was pale with shock.

“Admund, please.”

The only hope left for Aria was Admund.

She looked in Admund’s direction, tears flowing.

Admund was looking at Aria with an even more vicious gaze than before.

“I truly love you.”

So please save her from this situation, Aria began to plead.

Completely broken down, she no longer knew how to refute Clea’s words.

It was already too late for her to escape this situation.

The only thing Aria believed in was one thing, Admund.

“This is really the worst.”

It was a voice that came from among the spectators, as if it was unpleasant to hear.

“Saying she loves him after feeding him poison, she’s not in her right mind.”

“She must be crazy!”

“No, that’s a monster. And the Hersher family who has raised such a monster until now must surely have problems too.”

The anger of those who had been quietly listening began to pour out.

They hurled accusations at the Hersher ducal family and Aria.

Odin watched the situation for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Everyone, be quiet.”

The evidence presented so far was sufficient to pass judgment.

“It seems we have discussed this issue enough, so let us move on to the next.”

Odin wanted to move on to the next agenda to save time.

“Next, we will hold a trial regarding Grit Odoi’s treason, so Grit Odoi who is present should come forward.”