“I have something to say, Your Majesty.”
Dozens of eyes focused on Countess Rivolain. She maintained composure despite the tension, speaking calmly.
“I saw Lady Cassian standing in the spot where I fell.”
Despite the likely strain on the Countess, she spoke as nonchalantly as possible.
The Empress furrowed her brow, glancing at Yeffa.
“You mean the Young Lady of Cassian?”
“Yes.”
Yeffa, who was singled out, widened her eyes with a puzzled expression.
“Countess, what do you mean?”
Yeffa questioned with an indignant expression.
“You don’t mean to tell me that you’re suspicious of me, do you?”
“Then can you tell me why you were standing there for so long and what you were doing there?”
“I was just watching, like everyone else.”
“Why precisely in the secluded corner of the ship?”
“That’s because……!”
Countess Rivolain, slightly taller than Yeffa, naturally looked down at her, calmly asking,
“Can you explain why you were there?”
When she didn’t provide a convincing answer, the ladies started murmuring among themselves.
“Is Lady Cassian involved again?”
“Surely she wouldn’t go that far…”
“Why can’t she give a proper answer? Is there something bothering her?”
Even the Empress, who had been observing Yeffa, interjected.
“That’s a valid point. If the lady feels unjustly accused, she should explain calmly.”
With the Empress joining in, Yeffa suddenly lowered her head, her eyelids trembling.
“This is too much, all of you.”
Drip, drop.
Clear teardrops fell onto the dirt floor. Despite the sobbing and the shivering shoulders, there was no audible crying.
Her strong emotion conveyed the desire to show vulnerability, yet not to appear weak.
‘Her acting skills have improved.’
Even someone like me, who knows Yeffa well, almost believed her for a moment. It seemed like she had been grinding her teeth since the incident a while ago.
As the uncontrollable sadness persisted, everyone fell silent, not daring to speak further.
As if on cue, the women who had been watching stopped murmuring and fell silent. The Empress, too, seemed to have softened her anger and only had a slight frown on her face.
“No matter how big of a mistake I made in front of Her Highness today, is it fair to judge me without any evidence?”
“Lady, I’m just inquiring about what I witnessed.”
“Then why don’t you ask the others? Was I the only one standing there? Some passersby must have stepped on the same spot.”
“But the only person who stood there for a long time was the lady. Moreover, according to my memory, the last person standing there was also the lady.”
“Do you have any evidence that I did that? Any evidence that I was the last one standing there?”
“That’s…….”
“Are you accusing me based solely on your memory? Countess, how can you try to condemn someone like this?”
Looking at Yeffa’s desperate plea, the young ladies eventually gave her a wistful glance.
As public opinion seemed to be favoring her, Yeffa’s performance reached its climax.
“Your Majesty, please believe me. I am innocent!”
“Then why did you go to that spot in the first place?”
“Because no one would mingle with me. Is it such a big sin that I was there by myself?”
“Lady, first calm down and—”
“I wish I hadn’t come at all. If I knew I would only experience such sad events, I would have been much happier at the mansion with the dogs!”
Yeffa, pouring out her resentment, shed a few more tears before wiping her tear-stained cheek with a clenched hand.
Seeing her pitiful state, the young noblewomen couldn’t help but feel the urge to embrace her and comfort her.
“Perhaps we’ve misunderstood. It’s hard to believe that such a delicate lady would do such a thing…”
“Maybe we were too hasty. It is possible that she was simply standing alone because she had no one to accompany her.”
“Maybe what happened earlier…”
“Countess Rivolain, you’re being too harsh. Why are you suspecting the lady without evidence?”
“Wait, then… does that mean the person who damaged the ship is among us?”
With that last statement, everyone fell silent.
When they thought Yeffa was the culprit, they were quick to criticize her, but now that it seemed unlikely, they exchanged glances, and laughter erupted among them.
‘People are truly easily swayed creatures.’
Eventually, the Empress, wearing an awkward expression, rubbed her temples.
Normally, anyone who dared to pour out emotions and shout at the Empress would have faced a stern rebuke.
However, Yeffa was still a young girl, and she seemed to be genuinely frustrated, sad, and unable to control her emotions.
Seeing Yeffa’s pitiable state, the other people present, including the Empress, couldn’t bring themselves to say more.
“Alright… I understand. We should start by finding evidence.”
Saying so, the Empress gestured towards me. It was a sign for me to do something, since Julion must have told her I have a way.
Naturally, the eyes of the young ladies gathered on me, and I slowly opened my mouth.
“The method is simple. The culprit used a special substance to transform the wood. They might have the substance with them, or at least there should be traces of it. So, if everyone could show their belongings…”
The room buzzed with murmurs again.
There were questions about what substance it was, and some didn’t want to show their belongings.
“All of you, if you are innocent, take out your belongings and show me.”
As the Empress took charge, the ladies reluctantly took out their handbags.
Yeffa casually threw hers on the floor.
I walked up to her and asked.
“That’s a cute embroidery; did you make it yourself?”
“Yes, I made it.”
I almost burst out laughing. As if. She must have gotten a maid to do it.
Yeffa, born as a noble, didn’t want to do anything, but she also wanted to appear to be good at everything.
So I purposely asked in public for all to hear. She’d probably lie and say she made it.
‘This way, she wouldn’t be able to lie about it later.’
I intentionally did this to prevent her from making any preemptive excuses like claiming the bag was switched or that she didn’t know about it, and so on.
Also, if she says she made it herself, she can’t deny it by saying her maid made it, so she doesn’t know anything about it.
“Oh, did the lady personally make this? It’s really well-made.”
“Indeed. I find embroidery too difficult, so this is amazing.”
Some of the ladies nearby approached Yeffa, consoling her and complimenting her embroidery skills.
It seemed they had forgotten the incident with my pearls before the boat ride, and now they sympathetically approached Yeffa, finding her pitiable.
However, there were still some who regarded Yeffa with suspicious glances, silently keeping their doubts.
Among them was Countess Rivolain. The Countess’s expression gradually crumbled. She must have started feeling the pain again.
I thought that if Julion didn’t return soon, I might just take the Countess and leave.
“Oh, my goodness!”
“Are those birds over there?”
“What kind of black birds are swarming over the palace?”
In the distance, a flock of black birds was coming together and flying towards us.
I, too, was startled and let out an exclamation.
‘I didn’t expect there to be so many…!’
I thought there would be one or two at most. It’s a rare species, to say the least. Not just any rare species, but a rare species that feeds on elephant parasites!
‘Are there elephants in the palace?’
I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.
Now, as the birds came closer, their forms became distinct, and Yeffa’s face stiffened. The ladies were also shocked.
“Ack! Why are they coming this way…!”
“Aren’t they getting too close?”
The flapping sounds filled the air over the lake. And then, the black mass of birds collectively swooped down on Yeffa.
