“Medelin Arzen, I’ve already completed the handwriting analysis of your letter. Do you still intend to play dumb?”
Despite the Emperor’s sharp-edged tone, Medelin didn’t flinch.
Unlike the Grand Madam, who had witnesses and solid evidence against her, Medelin’s letter was the only proof implicating her guilt.
‘And that alone isn’t enough evidence to prove I conspired with the Grand Madam.’
Medelin soon spoke with a pitiable expression.
“Just as the defense attorney mentioned, I was angry with Cornelia and used strong language in the letter. I didn’t really mean to hurt her.”
The Emperor’s expression twisted.
“So, you think it’s acceptable to harbor such malicious feelings toward a member of the royal family?”
“It’s common for siblings to express themselves harshly when they’re close. I was upset after arguing with Cornelia.”
Some nodded in agreement with Medelin’s words, but many still regarded her with cold suspicion.
Undeterred, Medelin tearfully continued.
“I admit my fault for failing to stop the Grand Madam, but I wasn’t part of her plan. I truly wasn’t.”
Although her motive was to end Cornelia’s pregnancy, the consequences of the accident were severe enough that mere bystander liability couldn’t be overlooked.
However, it was still much less severe than the crime of conspiracy.
‘If it turns into a conspiracy charge…’
Of course, without Cornelia’s body being found, the Emperor couldn’t hastily execute her.
According to imperial law, murder required the victim’s ‘corpse.’
‘Right, and there’s no clear evidence proving my involvement in this accident, either.’
While the chandelier had fallen from the jewelry shop owned by her family, there was no definitive proof linking Medelin to it.
She had bribed the doctor to ensure Cornelia’s definite miscarriage, but she had not even stepped foot in the doctor’s clinic, so no charges could be brought against her.
Therefore, the only accusation left against her was harboring malicious intent towards Cornelia.
Medelin spoke up,
“Unlike the Grand Madam, I had no intention to harm Cornelia’s child…”
That’s when it happened.
“Your Majesty, that wretched woman urged me to ensure the child’s death.”
Medelin’s eyes widened.
It was the Grand Madam who had been silent all along and glared at Medelin while saying that.
‘Ash, so this is how it’s going to come out?’
She had considered the Grand Madam to be her mother-in-law and remained silent despite Marquis Philippe’s continued interrogation; if she were now trying to drag her down as well, the situation would be different.
At this point, Medelin broke down in tears and stated,
“Grand Madam, why on earth are you doing this to me? This is all your own doing…….”
“I have evidence of your conspiracy.”
Stunned by the Grand Madam’s words, Medelin sucked in a breath.
‘Evidence? Could it be another letter again…’
Medelin shook her head.
No, it couldn’t be. Anticipating things going wrong, the Grand Madam had surely instructed the maid to burn any such letters.
‘Yes, if there was another letter, Grand Madam Blant’s maid would have revealed it earlier.’
As Medelin was calming her nerves, the Emperor spoke up.
“Alright, what is this evidence?”
Then the Grand Madam opened her mouth.
“When my daughter-in-law collapsed, Medelin suggested going to the physician on Bronze Road 4, near the jewelry store, because she had bribed the doctor there.”
“Do you know the purpose for which she bribed him?”
“Yes, Medelin sent me a letter. She said that if Cornelia did not have a miscarriage, she would bribe a doctor to ensure the child was definitively eliminated.”
The Emperor then turned to the Blant family knights, who were present as spectators, and asked,
“I heard you accompanied her on an outing. Is that correct?”
Chester nodded respectfully and replied,
“Yes, Your Majesty, that’s correct.”
“Then did Medelin Arzen truly lead you to Bronze Road 4?”
The Blant family knights who attended the trial corroborated the Grand Madam’s statement.
“Indeed, Miss Arzen suggested going there. However, the Duchess’s slave, Sardin, suggested going through a shortcut to the mansion.”
Medelin’s fists clenched as she realized that she had told not only the Grand Madam but also the knights of Duke Blant where the doctor was.
‘Damn it, I should have dealt with that doctor after all…!’
If Medelin had sent someone, be it her father or her mother, to take care of the matter while she was in prison, this wouldn’t have happened.
She resented her father for not sending someone, likely due to the public’s attention to the case.
The Emperor glared at Medelin and spoke coldly.
“Marquis Philippe, fetch the doctor in question at once. The trial will resume afterward.”
In the hours that followed the adjournment, Medelin was going through hell.
‘What will happen to me if this doctor confesses to everything?’
Since the doctor is in the capital, it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
If the doctor admitted to the charges, like the Grand Madam, she would have to wait for the Emperor’s decision without any way to escape it.
In the worst case, she would lose her life.
How much time has passed?
Marquis Philippe returned, and the trial resumed.
“What happened?” the Emperor asked.
With a grim expression, Marquis Philippe bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, the thing is… the doctor was found dead.”
Medelin couldn’t believe her ears upon hearing Marquis Philippe’s words.
‘What?’
Simultaneously, the Emperor rose abruptly.
Bam!
“Explain in detail,”
“When I went to the doctor’s clinic, everyone inside was already dead. There were no survivors or witnesses.”
At that, the Emperor gritted his teeth.
‘Is this the work of Marquis Arzen?’
He had played along with his daughter and staged a performance, but the situation was not unfolding as he had hoped.
‘If the doctor had survived, we might have had the upper hand.’
The Emperor thought that this sudden and unexpected turn of events would finally give him control over the Marquis of Arzen.
However, now he had no choice but to proceed safely according to Cornelia’s plan.
Cornelia’s plan was to weaken the Marquis’s power by using Medelin Arzen’s sentence reduction as leverage.
The more the trial progressed, the more the Emperor felt his anger rise.
‘I’ve been so accommodating all this time, and yet they dare touch my daughter?’
He had originally viewed his daughter as a mere tool—so worthless that he was willing to give her away to the thorny thorn in his side, Erich Lennon Blant.
That’s why he thought using her would be no big deal. However, the fact that the dog he had raised had bitten him was far more disgusting than he had anticipated.
He suddenly remembered how Cornelia had warned him to be wary of Arzen.
‘Yes, I suppose she already knew the nature of those insolent things.’
Then the Emperor looked at Medelin with a stern gaze and spoke.
“Due to the unresolved suspicions, Medelin Arzen will be imprisoned in the imperial underground dungeon until her guilt is revealed.”
The expression on Medelin’s face, who had until just moments ago expected a light sentence for conspiracy, turned grim.
“And as for the Grand Madam of Blant…”
As the Emperor spoke, the courtroom was visibly shaken by the trial’s outcome.
Erich, who had been watching the whole thing, clenched his fists tightly and glared at the Emperor with a piercing gaze.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Have you heard? They have stripped the Grand Madam of her noble status and sentenced her to life imprisonment.”
“Yes, and that’s considering the fact that no one ever found the princess’ body.”
“But still, surely the Grand Madam won’t rot in prison for the rest of her life… Ah, she’s not a Grand Madam anymore.”
“That’s right. Now she’s just an ordinary commoner.”
“And they’ve also seized a significant portion of the Blant assets.”
“Well, they say it’s to compensate for the princess’s dowry.”
“Oh my, the princess’s dowry must have been enormous… Were they attempting to drive out such a daughter-in-law?”
“That’s right, but what about Lady Arzen? There’s still no news?”
“I heard they’re still looking for evidence, but nothing concrete has come up yet.”
Listening with a grim expression, the man furrowed his brow.
He tried to find evidence to prove Medelin Arzen’s guilt, but no evidence was found at all.
As if someone had deliberately destroyed it, like the doctor who had suddenly died.
At that moment, the noblewomen started chattering again.
“Well, isn’t her status ruined anyway?”
“True, there’s just no evidence, but everyone knows Medelin Arzen is a villain who attempted to eliminate Her Highness the Princess out of jealousy.”
The man who was listening to those words clenched his fists tightly.
‘That’s right; evidence doesn’t matter. I won’t let Medelin Arzen and those who concealed the evidence get away with this.’
Swiftly, the man moved discreetly toward somewhere else.
With agile movements, he passed through the royal main gate unnoticed and reached the deep underground prison within the palace.
As the shift changed, the guards grumbled as they left the prison.
“Ugh, that guy must be drinking again. I should go look for him.”
While the guard was cursing his late superior, the man didn’t miss the opportunity and quickly reached the deepest part of the prison.
The woman, who had fallen from being a noblewoman to a commoner, was there, sitting alone.
‘How did I end up like this?’
She had only wanted to scold her arrogant fake son and replace the daughter-in-law she disliked.
But with just the single charge of trying to kill an unborn child, she had lost everything.
‘It’s okay. As long as my son comes back…’
It was then.
“Mother.”
Bianca looked up at the voice calling out to her.
And there stood a man removing his hood, causing Bianca’s eyes to widen.
“Erich!”
He was undoubtedly her son, with his blond hair, blue eyes, and strikingly handsome face.
Erich Lennon Blant, her real son, not the fake.
She approached the iron bars quickly, reaching out to touch her son’s cheek.
But at that moment, her hand was roughly pushed away.
“You must have been through a lot. Not being able to distinguish between the real and the fake.”
In that mocking tone, Bianca’s face contorted like a demon’s.
