And Aaron’s poignant confession that squeezed her heart.

There was no time to look around.

“Do you acknowledge the chambermaid’s testimony, Princess?”

Rebolant, now addressing Delia without any courtesy, said.

“…”

All eyes in the council room were fixed on Delia.

It felt eerie, surrounded by cold, ceramic dolls.

“Did you… Did you not accept the commander’s proposal? To give Ioleti using his power?”

Delia, feeling nauseated, bit her trembling lip and remained silent.
“Throne? That’s absurd. It was only the intention to save Ioleti in a crisis situation.”

Rebolant, looking at Delia with contemptuous eyes, brought out another card.

“We have evidence. Due to the urgency of the situation, we searched the princess’s room with the help of the guards. These are the papers that came out of the desk drawer.”

Juliano took out an envelope from his bosom and pushed it toward the center of the table.

“If you examine it, you will see that there are unknown codes written. Upon careful investigation, it was revealed to be the code of the Imperial army.”

Spread out on the table were papers with messy codes that Delia had scribbled while researching how to summon Mei.

Delia strongly objected.

“That, that was research material for luring and capturing spies. It was a bait to find the Imperial army spy hiding in Wangseong.”

“Imperial spy? Who? Could it be Mei Carlo?”

At Rebolant’s words, Delia widened her eyes.

Her delicate golden eyelashes trembled.

How did he know?

A creepy unease seized her heart.

“Yes. That’s correct.”

It was a story told in secret by her father under orders.

It was her father’s decision to prevent her brother from getting into trouble if it was revealed that the closest aide to the Crown Prince was an Imperial spy.

But Rebolant mentioned Mei Carlo’s name.

How did he know?

“If it’s Mei Carlo…”

To the lawmakers’ sighs, Rebolant confidently spoke.

“Yes, that’s correct. He was the closest aide to the Crown Prince.”

“Then, the Crown Prince…”

“The princess attached an Imperial spy to watch over the Crown Prince. It was a spy the princess planted to check the Crown Prince.”

Astonished, Delia strongly objected.

“It’s absurd. I have no reason to do such a thing.”

“To gain power in Ioleti. To undermine the Crown Prince and take his position.”

A ridiculous story gained credibility with just one word that it was for gaining power.

Selling out the country.

Drawing in foreign powers for the sake of power.

Delia was facing a horrific lie that she had never imagined.

But…

When truth was put into the hollow of lies, the falsehood became perfect.

All the truths were proving the lie.

“Mei Carlo was a spy planted by the princess to monitor the Crown Prince and move him in favor of the princess.”

“Then…”

“There are suspicions that Mei Carlo also passed information related to the Battle of Cabat Plains.”

“How could that happen.”

“It means the princess might have had an influence on the defeat at Cabat Plains.”

Rebolant held up the paper with codes and presented it to the lawmakers.

“There is also the maid’s testimony that the princess handed a note with Imperial codes to Mei Carlo.”

Delia, in desperation, opened her mouth.

“That was to find out he was a spy and to separate him from the Crown Prince.”
“Then, how did you know that Mei Carlo was a spy?”

“Well, during the operation in the Tarence Mountains…”

Delia’s words trailed off.

If she talked about being captured as a prisoner and how Aaron, the enemy commander, had released her, it would lead to further misunderstandings.

The more she tried to explain, the more she felt cornered.

Rebolant seized the opportunity and pushed Delia to the edge.

“Probably heard it from the enemy commander. Do you remember when the princess was away from Wangseong for an extended period recently?”

Twisting his lips, Rebolant looked at the princess.

“By then, she had already planned to betray Ioleti by meeting with them. And when she returned, pretending to be sick, she deceived our eyes.”

A pale face, tightly closed red lips, and a slender body trembling like a willow.

Even when falling, Princess Ioleti, with her dignified appearance, was beautiful.

Rebolant, with a sly smile, continued his final words while producing arsenic.

“For the sake of seizing power, she drove away the heir, wouldn’t she have killed her own parents, who were nothing more than obstacles?”

The conference room fell into a deep silence.

Despite trying to respond calmly, no thoughts came to mind.

Delia reached out towards the water cup, trying to feign composure.

However, her trembling hand was impossible to conceal.

The surface of the water rippled with the trembling of her hand.

Everything Delia had done so far weighed heavily on her.

Every choice she had made stabbed at her heart.

“The fact that the princess who sold the country is in Ioleti is disgraceful. Blinded by power, she handed over her parents’ lives to the Imperial army, damaging Ioleti’s pride.”

Rebolant’s sharp words delivered the final blow to Delia.

“I argue that Princess Delia, who committed treason, should be expelled from Ioleti.”

Delia looked around the conference room with a weary gaze.

The lawmakers gazed at her with eyes expecting an explanation.

“It’s an unreasonable accusation. I have a witness who can explain my position. Please allow me to call a witness.”

She couldn’t retreat now.

She had put everything on the line for Ioleti, and she couldn’t succumb to such baseless accusations.