Ah.
Natasha couldn’t even think to suppress the sigh that escaped her, as she was utterly dumbfounded.
Told to bow down and apologize first because she was wrong? Wrong for what? At least Natasha had never done anything she couldn’t justify to herself.
“Didn’t you manipulate the situation between them to clear your debt and get away from Petrov?”
Mikhail’s voice echoed in her mind.
“Is that what Mikhail said? That I used Madam Olga to pay off my debt?”
“He didn’t say anything. It’s just what I figured out.”
“Oh, I see.”
Natasha curved her lips into a crooked smile.
She had always dismissed Jerome’s harsh reactions as mere tantrums from a child traumatized by his parents’ divorce. But now, she realized he had been thinking like this all along.
“Am I wrong? Otherwise, why would my mother have made such a sudden decision?”
Jerome didn’t seem willing to hear anything else. Natasha, recognizing this, let her gaze grow cold.
When she tightly pressed her lips together, Jerome smirked as if to say, “See? You can’t deny it.”
“You’re not going to say anything, huh?”
“You’ve already spun an entire epic in your head. What’s the point in me saying anything?”
Natasha had no interest in wasting time on such pointless things.
“Yeah, just keep thinking that.”
Thud.
She took a step toward Jerome.
“Right. I caused a rift between them. I’m the bad woman who broke up your happy family, right?”
Thud, thud.
With just a few more steps, Natasha was now standing right in front of Jerome’s face.
One more step, and she would practically fall into his arms. Jerome looked down at her, his face hard and his gaze tangled with complicated emotions.
“I fed and clothed a commoner, and she repaid me by betraying me. How should I apologize for that?”
“Don’t mock me.”
“Why? I’m just repeating what you said. You’re absolutely right.”
She smiled sweetly, her eyes narrowing into crescent shapes. It was a smile far too sugary for the situation.
Jerome’s eyes wavered intensely.
“Jerome, Jerome, Jerome.”
Natasha whispered his name into his ear, like lovers exchanging secret words.
“What should I do with you…?”
Just as Jerome began to turn his head in response to her sigh-like whisper—
Smack.
Ivan intervened first.
“Should I call the guards?”
Though his words were addressed to Natasha, his gaze remained fixed on Jerome. Gently pulling her shoulder back, he inserted himself between them.
Jerome, frowning, glared at Ivan. As the tension in the air shattered, Natasha, having lost interest, naturally took a couple of steps back.
“That’s enough. Jerome, you should really go now.”
“I’m not done talking yet.”
“I’m not interested in hearing it, just like you.”
Her sharp words scraped at Jerome.
He looked as if he were about to retort, but instead, he sharply turned his head. Without even saying goodbye, he walked out.
“…”
Natasha pretended to focus back on her documents, but her hands were clearly more agitated than usual.
***
“Case number B-2021135. The trial will now begin.”
Thud, thud, thud.
The sound of the wooden gavel marked the start of the trial.
Natasha gave Noel, who was sitting across from her, a small nod. He smiled brightly, pretending not to notice.
Mikhail, however, looked as if he hadn’t slept well.
His outfit appeared immaculate as always, but Natasha knew him well enough to recognize his distinctive, irritable expression when he was sleep-deprived.
“Now, Petrov’s lawyer, please begin your argument.”
Was it good luck, or bad? They had been assigned the same judge as in Estelle’s case.
To think he would be overseeing another trial involving the Duke’s divorce. She must have seriously angered someone higher up.
“Your Honor.”
Noel began lightly.
“First, I’d like to emphasize that the young Duke Petrov does not wish for a divorce. He deeply regrets standing before his beloved wife in court, and has expressed to me his remorse for neglecting her.”
Oh, really?
Natasha narrowed her eyes. This was no ordinary opening.
“However, he has promised that if given another chance, he will work hard to maintain their marital relationship. Please refer to the specific plans we’ve already submitted.”
He was framing this as though the divorce was happening because of neglect.
Not a single mention of infidelity or a mistress.
“The young Duke is very determined to maintain the marriage and is willing to accept any conditions to do so. Please understand the sincerity of his feelings.”
“Hmm. The reasons listed in the divorce petition… seem a bit different.”
The judge, unable to directly ask, “Didn’t he cheat?” chose to approach the matter indirectly.
Noel, however, boldly lied.
“It’s all a misunderstanding.”
Natasha could sense Chloe’s trembling. Silently, she placed her hand over Chloe’s.
“I see. Then, Natasha, please begin your argument.”
“Your Honor, according to Article 840 of the Civil Code, there are six grounds for a judicial divorce. The first listed is ‘adultery by a spouse.’ In other words, unfaithfulness.”
Where do you think you’re running off to? Natasha continued to meet Noel’s gaze as she proceeded with her argument.
“I’m sure you’re well aware of this, Your Honor. In the faith of Baldur, it is believed that the gods designate one true soulmate for each person. Once married, their souls belong to one another alone. To desire another is to defy the will of Baldur, and further, to insult the divine.”
In an instant, she painted Mikhail as someone who had not only broken the law but also betrayed his faith.
She had just snapped two of the three pillars holding up the Illyhad Empire, and it was a grave offense.
“The young duke said that everything stemmed from a misunderstanding, but we have decisive evidence.”
At least in this trial, Noel was at a significant disadvantage.
“You saw it clearly with your own two eyes, didn’t you, Attorney Noel?”
Because Noel himself was a witness to the scene.
Noel, whose name was mentioned, forced himself to maintain a poker face and smiled broadly. However, Natasha saw through him.
That slightly distorted corner of his mouth.
“But unfortunately, since the attorney is sitting across from me, I’ll have to call someone else as a witness. I request Boris, the guard who checked the room at that time, to be called as a witness.”
“Granted.”
Since the witness had been requested in advance, preparations were swift. Boris, a familiar-faced guard, dressed in his uniform, sat in the witness stand.
“I swear in the name of Balda, the divine, that I will not tell a single lie.”
He looked quite nervous, probably because it was his first time standing in court.
“Mr. Boris, what is your current occupation?”
“I, I am a guard responsible for maintaining order in Mosqueche!”
“What kind of duties do you perform to maintain order?”
“I patrol the area and respond to calls when there are reports.”
Natasha’s eyes glinted for a moment as she received the answer she was looking for.
“Then, on May 10th, Imperial Year 568, exactly one week ago from today, could you explain the report you received in detail?”
“Yes, yes. At first… it was a report about hearing a woman’s scream.”
Boris carefully retraced his memory.
“So I thought it was a case of violence and headed to the location mentioned by the caller. I asked the manager, but they said there was no surname listed, which is why I went ahead! I swear, I never imagined it would be the young duke!”
Unlike with nobles, no special permission was required to search the residence or lodging of commoners.
Mikhail still stood with his arms crossed, observing the trial without showing any change in expression.
“By principle, I was supposed to ensure the safety of the woman and then withdraw, but the young duke repeatedly blocked me from entering.”
“Did you see the face of the woman who was with the young duke?”
“Yes, I did.”
“What color was her hair?”
“Well… it was brown.”
Brown!
At that testimony, the eyes of those in the courtroom briefly flicked toward Chloe and then away.
As everyone knew, Chloe was a woman renowned for her brilliantly shining silver hair.
“I see. So the young duke spent the night in a Mosqueche hotel with a mysterious brown-haired woman, is that correct?”
“Well…”
As Boris hesitated, glancing at Mikhail, Noel intervened.
“Objection. The defense is intentionally distorting the truth.”
He recited a pre-prepared explanation.
“The brown-haired woman you mentioned is a professional manager from the Petrov duchy. This is a well-known fact, even to the defense. The defense is deliberately omitting this fact to make it seem as though the young duke spent the night with an unknown woman!”
“I apologize if it came across that way. I was simply following the necessary procedure for fact-checking, so I hope there are no misunderstandings.”
With Natasha’s clean apology, the situation came to a close. There was nothing to gain from dragging it out.
“There’s nothing strange about the young duke visiting Mosqueche with a professional manager. Mosqueche is a successful tourist city, and recently the Petrov duchy has been planning to build a new city using Mosqueche’s success as a reference.”
Noel submitted a ‘new city development plan’ dated two years ago as evidence. Such official documents were nearly impossible to forge, making them highly credible.
‘Well-played.’
Natasha thought to herself. He must have combed through five years’ worth of documents just to come up with that excuse.
“As you know, in such plans, confidentiality is the highest priority. As soon as word gets out that a specific area is being developed, wealthy speculators swarm in. To prevent the benefits and compensation meant for the residents from being taken by such people, they made a discreet trip in secret.”
At those shameless words, Chloe glared at Noel. He had a lot to say for someone who had witnessed the scene himself.
“And yet, it’s truly unfortunate that such a scene was misunderstood as something inappropriate.”
With his cunning words, he subtly placed the blame on Chloe.
He carefully added the nuance of, ‘You’re doubting your husband, who was simply working. Isn’t this practically a case of pathological jealousy?’
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
