Chloe clenched the hem of her skirt in unbearable humiliation.
It was clear that she wanted to refute, but Natasha gently placed a hand on her shoulder to restrain her.
There was nothing to gain from showing that she was being swayed by her emotions. If she wasn’t careful, the judge might form a prejudice against Chloe.
Especially since the judgment of infidelity rested entirely in the hands of the judge, they needed to tread carefully.
‘It’s obvious that the story about the planned city is something they pieced together. If they’ve brought it up in court, it means all the preparations were made beforehand. There’s no point in digging into it.’
That didn’t mean there was no way forward.
“Of course, it’s not strange for the young duke and a professional manager to visit Mosqueche for a preliminary investigation. If it was a secretive trip, I can even understand using a false name. However.”
Now came the crux of the matter.
“It’s not typical for a lord and a professional manager to share the same bed during a business trip, is it?”
There was an undeniable hint of sarcasm in Natasha’s tone.
“The room the young duke booked had only one bed. I will submit photos of the interior of the room as evidence.”
The judge received the evidence and let out a small sound of disapproval.
It was a spacious room with only one bed. Romantic enough for the young duke and the professional manager to lie side by side.
“If I were to give the benefit of the doubt, I could understand twin beds as a precaution for confidentiality. But one bed? What noble sleeps in the same bed as their professional manager?”
Mikhail subtly avoided the flood of gazes directed at him.
“…It would be impossible unless they were in a very special relationship.”
“The young duke was planning to go out that night. That’s why they didn’t need two beds.”
“You’re saying he left the professional manager at the lodging and went out alone? Weren’t they supposed to be investigating the tourist city?”
“That night, the young duke was scheduled to visit the underground casino for nobles.”
Noel persistently continued to offer excuses.
“It’s one of Mosqueche’s famous attractions. However, since it can be dangerous for women to enter such casinos, he intended to go alone. Please understand the young duke’s intention to protect his vassal.”
It was a plausible explanation, enough to make Natasha frown slightly.
The underground casino, one of Mosqueche’s most famous spots, was notorious for its association with indulgence and excess.
The common women who frequented such places were typically service workers, so it was obvious how Yelena might have been misunderstood there.
It wasn’t a bad excuse.
‘He’s quite good.’
Noel responded with a smile as Natasha’s gaze met his.
‘Of course.’
Sparks flew in the air as their eyes clashed.
“I find that argument reasonable. Attorney Natasha, do you have anything further to add?”
“Your Honor, while it may be possible that they ‘coincidentally’ ended up staying in the same room and ‘coincidentally’ needed only one bed because of plans to go out that evening… I do find it suspicious that so many coincidences are piling up.”
As Natasha conceded for the moment, Noel shot her a tense glance. He knew she wasn’t one to back down so easily.
“But what if it wasn’t a coincidence?”
“Objection! The attorney is creating unnecessary anxiety with baseless assumptions!”
“It’s not anxiety. It’s fact.”
Natasha lifted a prepared document.
“There was a similar incident before this trip to Mosqueche. Approximately six months ago, when the young duke left, claiming he was going to inspect the duchy, there are no records of him ever visiting the duchy.”
That was the very day Chloe had first suspected his infidelity.
“Ah, perhaps the young duke made a secret trip to the Petrov duchy as well?”
Her tone was laced with subtle mockery. Mikhail’s face flushed with anger, but he was in no position to defend himself.
“Furthermore, there is a record of the professional manager also abruptly leaving the duchy on that very same day, citing urgent business. Another remarkable coincidence, isn’t it?”
The circumstances were secretive, private, and involved just the two of them—meeting all the conditions for an affair.
“Objection! These details are merely circumstantial evidence. There is no solid proof that the two engaged in an illicit affair!”
“I submit the testimony of the innkeeper, who witnessed the young duke and the brown-haired woman staying together at the lodging as evidence.”
Memory is one of the easiest things to distort, but in cases like this, it often plays a decisive role.
Especially in infidelity cases, the outcome often hinged on which side could more convincingly sway the judge.
Even the judge, who had been persuaded by Noel’s fabricated explanation, turned to him with a frosty expression.
“Defendant. Did you privately meet with the professional manager on that day?”
“…No, I didn’t.”
He barely managed to respond in a low, subdued voice, but the judge didn’t seem convinced.
Noel’s face showed signs of distress.
“The young duke certainly has a knack for coincidences. At this point, we might as well call them inevitable rather than accidental.”
“Attorney, refrain from unnecessary commentary.”
Natasha shrugged at the judge’s warning.
It was the perfect opportunity to embarrass Mikhail, who couldn’t say a word before the judge. What kind of lawyer would miss such an opportunity?
“Your Honor, as you can see, the claim that the encounter in Mosqueche was merely a coincidence lacks credibility. Because these ‘coincidences’ have occurred not just once, but multiple times. This is clearly an affair and constitutes the first of the six reasons for divorce.”
At Natasha’s words, the judge nodded slightly.
“Even if it were purely a coincidence, this marriage is as good as broken. How do you think Miss Chloe must have felt when she personally witnessed her husband spending the night in a tourist city with another woman, under the pretext of a territorial inspection? No matter how secretive his mission was, as a spouse, he should have informed her beforehand to prevent any misunderstandings.”
Of course, that is, if it were truly a secret mission.
“Now, even if my client’s husband stays out overnight for a legitimate reason, she will be consumed with constant suspicion. Even if it wasn’t truly adultery, once the trust between a married couple is broken, how can it ever be restored?”
Chloe dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief she had prepared in advance, pretending to cry.
It was a performance suggested by Natasha, and a very convincing one at that. Unlike Estelle, Chloe could pull off the tearful act perfectly without a veil.
“Please, consider the deep emotional distress of my client and make a wise judgment, Your Honor.”
As Natasha finished her speech, the judge let out a troubled sigh.
In any other case, the fact that a married man was alone in a hotel room with another woman would have been indisputable evidence of wrongdoing.
However, the fact that the two were lord and management specialist, and that the visit was supposedly for territorial management, was making the verdict difficult.
“Your Honor.”
At that moment, Noel interjected, his voice soft yet firm.
“Please, examine the case without prejudice. The real victim here is the young duke.”
What?
That was an outrageous statement! Natasha had no idea what nonsense Noel was spewing.
“The real victim? What exactly are you implying?”
The judge, equally baffled, asked in disbelief.
“While this case may seem like that of an unfaithful husband and a wounded wife, in reality, it’s different. The wife no longer wishes to maintain the marriage and is deliberately portraying her husband as the guilty party.”
“Objection! Attorney Noel is making baseless accusations against my client.”
“Objection sustained. Attorney, do you have any evidence to support this claim?”
The judge’s sharp gaze fell on Noel. If he didn’t answer properly now, the case would essentially be over.
But Noel maintained a confident smile.
“You repeatedly mentioned that the events surrounding this particular mission were an extraordinary coincidence. But isn’t there an even greater coincidence? That the wife and Attorney Natasha were both present at the same place at the same time.”
Oh, this was getting interesting. Natasha raised her chin, daring him to continue.
“It’s hard to call it a coincidence. After all, they were staying right across from the young duke in that vast city. It seems rather intentional.”
“Objection. The attorney is bringing up irrelevant matters to cover up the young duke’s adultery.”
“Objection overruled. Continue.”
Tch.
Natasha had raised the objection just in case, but it was overruled, as expected.
“Didn’t Lady Chloe know about this mission from the start? And didn’t she deliberately show up to falsely accuse her husband of adultery?”
“How rude.”
Before Natasha could say anything, Chloe responded coldly.
Despite being furious at his outrageous behavior, she maintained her noble grace.
“I suspected my husband of infidelity and consulted a divorce attorney. While I did happen to find out about what seemed to be their secret meeting, this is the first time I’ve heard anything about plans for a new city in the duchy.”
“Attorney, refrain from making baseless accusations against others.”
The judge also issued a warning to Noel, who, like Natasha, simply shrugged his shoulders.
“Your Honor, Lady Chloe never approved of this marriage from the start. I have countless testimonies regarding this. Although they are from employees of the Petrov duchy, I submit them as reference material.”
Testimonies from employees of the Petrov family on behalf of the young duke. Hardly reliable evidence.
“If the lady is deliberately causing trouble because the young duke didn’t agree to a divorce based on her mere change of heart, then it’s clear who the guilty party is.”
Noel’s argument suddenly shifted the entire situation.
The narrative changed from an unfaithful husband and a wounded wife to a husband trying to protect his marriage, while the wife was trying to exploit his business trip as a reason for divorce.
In the latter case, the guilty party would be the wife.
And the guilty party cannot be the one to request a divorce.
That was Noel’s strategy: to paint Chloe as the guilty party and invalidate her divorce claim!
‘This is a tactic I used to use often. It feels terrible to be on the receiving end.’
Now she understood why opposing lawyers always looked so frustrated when she would corner their clients as the guilty party.
Neither side had clear evidence. Divorce cases rarely had a definitive victim or perpetrator.
Chloe claimed that Mikhail had cheated, while Mikhail claimed that Chloe was causing trouble just to get a divorce.
Whose side would the judge take?
Even the judge seemed to be struggling with the decision.
But Natasha wasn’t going to just sit by.
“Your Honor.”
“Speak.”
“Since both sides have conflicting opinions, I request a decisive witness to settle this debate.”
At Natasha’s request, Noel’s expression stiffened slightly. He seemed to have guessed who she was going to summon.
“I call for the testimony of Yelena, the management specialist of the Petrov duchy.”
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
