The guilt of Count Validus was undeniable. Despite his murmured claims of repentance, not a single word of apology toward his wife or daughter could be found in his polished rhetoric.
If the count wins this trial… The poor young lady and the wife who couldn’t even appear here would be in grave danger.
“…”
Peonia couldn’t help but frown at the unpleasant thought.
“Hmm, but she’s someone who was helped by Carl.”
Lunie, apparently thinking the same, also showed support for the young lady of the Validus family.
“Using violence against one’s own family—what a despicable person!”
“Indeed.”
“Someone should just get rid of him.”
Peonia agreed wholeheartedly. The thought that such a person was breathing under the same sky as her filled her with disgust. But…
In truth, what caught Peonia’s attention was Lady Validus. Her frail body and sorrowful expression made her look as if she might collapse with the slightest push.
“So pitiful…”
“She looks like she hasn’t been properly fed.”
“She was unlucky to be born to such parents…”
Everyone who saw her immediately felt sympathy and pity.
Is she really that pitiful? But Peonia wasn’t so sure. Could someone so mentally and physically fragile really have brought a lawsuit against her father? Could she have made the decision to cut off the long hair that symbolized her status as a noblewoman?
Of course, the haircut might not have been her choice. There was a possibility that Count Validus had cut his daughter’s hair in a fit of anger. But Peonia quickly dismissed that thought.
“…”
Peonia’s lips tightened slightly. The image of the young lady covering her mouth and bowing her head was enough to evoke sympathy. But the quietly blinking blue eyes of the young lady were anything but ordinary. Those unyielding blue eyes were chillingly cold, yet somehow felt like a blazing fire.
Peonia had a premonition that when those eyes shone brightly before everyone, something extraordinary might happen.
“By the way…” Lunie whispered. “Your brother seems to have quite a relationship with that person, doesn’t he?”
In truth, what intrigued them more than the trial was the relationship between Orkis and Lady Validus. The two seemed to share a closeness that went beyond mere acquaintances brought together for the trial. To others, it might not have seemed that way, but to Lunie and Peonia, who knew Orkis well, the difference was clear.
“Did they know each other beforehand?”
“If they did, I would have known.” Peonia’s crimson eyes narrowed.
“True…” Lunie nodded.
Peonia was about to end the conversation and refocus on the trial when—
“Gasp!”
“Oh my goodness!”
The nobles were shocked.
Peonia’s eyes widened as if they might pop out of her head. Beside her, Lunie turned pale, her hands trembling. The fan she had been holding fell to the floor, left abandoned.
What had startled everyone was a certain action taken by Lady Validus.
“Let’s see…”
Seraphie tapped her chin with her fingers as if pondering which cake might taste better. But she wasn’t choosing a delicious cake.
“Hmm, these are all scars from being beaten by Father…”
After a brief moment of consideration, she smiled. “Father.” Then she asked, “Which one should we reminisce about first?”
Beneath her torn clothing, her arm was marked with bruises that had not yet healed.
* * *
Your attempt was good, Count.
Seraphie acknowledged that the count’s strategy was excellent. But she wasn’t greatly flustered, nor was she worried. Of course, she was slightly annoyed. She felt a sharp sarcasm toward him, wondering why he hadn’t used his intelligence to care for his family instead of coming up with this strategy. But that was the extent of it.
She listened to her father’s false confessions.
I need to change my plan. Seraphie immediately adjusted her strategy. If I keep playing the weak and fragile act, it will only help the Count. She couldn’t afford to appear as the incompetent, weak daughter that the Count was portraying her as.
That was a clear mistake.
She realized this with a mix of self-reflection. This trial wasn’t about determining guilt or innocence. The forced succession trial was a battleground to prove one’s ability to inherit the title and lead the family.
That’s why plaintiffs have been losing.
Seraphie felt she understood why plaintiffs had such a low success rate in forced succession trials. Perhaps they hadn’t emphasized their capability to inherit the title and lead the family. No matter how problematic the current title holder was, they could win as long as they demonstrated the ability to lead and uphold the title.
The world of nobility was cruel. They were the most ruthless and vile creatures in existence, willing to do anything to protect their position.
Look at me now. A daughter fighting against her father to seize and protect the title. Seraphie laughed at the sight of herself standing in the plaintiff’s spot.
Forget about sympathy… Appearing weak and fragile would only turn into poison.
What should I show them?
There was no need to think hard about it. Seraphie had already prepared everything over the past month. Not for this trial, not for the family either, but for herself.
That’s why I need it now.
The ultimate reason she had to win this trial was for her own sake.
“Sir Felicia, Sir Iris,” Seraphie called out to Orkis and Carl.
Just then, the court official called Seraphie. The count’s side had finished their arguments.
“Tear my clothes a bit, please.”
Carl coughed in surprise, nearly choking.
“…”
Meanwhile, Orkis stared at Seraphie as if she were some bizarre creature.
“It’s not what you’re thinking.”
Seraphie had reached the end of her patience with trying to maintain politeness with them. Growing desperate, she pointed to the areas where she wanted them to tear her clothes.
“Just tear them here a bit.”
The left sleeve of her top and the right hem of her skirt, just enough to reveal a bit of her ankle. But the two men remained unmoving.
“Lady Validus?”
The court official called for Seraphie again, but tearing her clothes was more important than responding.
Why don’t they have swords now of all times! Seraphie shot a resentful glance at Orkis and Carl’s empty sword belts. Because they were in the presence of the emperor, no one except the imperial knights was allowed to bring weapons.
So Seraphie reached for something else—a fountain pen that was right in front of her. She checked the nib and immediately shoved it inside the sleeve of her dress. The sharp tip of the pen pierced through the cheap fabric with ease, glinting in the light.
Seraphie then used the pen to tear through the fabric from her sleeve to her shoulder and down the skirt hem. Her sudden and strange behavior caused a stir in the courtroom.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“What on earth are you doing?”
Orkis and Carl, who were right next to her, were more shocked than anyone. But Seraphie ignored them.
The fountain pen, its job done, clattered to the marble floor, leaving a trail of ink. Then, the sound of fabric tearing filled the air.
“Oh my goodness…!”
“What in the world…!”
Those who saw Seraphie’s exposed left arm were horrified.
“Let’s see…”
Seraphie tapped her chin again as if she were still pondering something.
“Hmm, these are all scars from being beaten by Father…” Seraphie smiled.
“Father.” She pointed to her arm and leg, asking Count Validus, “Which one should we reminisce about first?”
“…”
“Do you remember this one?” She pointed to a yellow bruise on her left arm.
“It’s been a month now. I got it trying to stop you from hitting Mother. Isn’t the color just repulsive?” She added with a touch of sarcasm that the bruise didn’t heal well even with treatment. The truth was, she hadn’t properly treated it, fearing it would fade.
Next, she pointed to the exposed ankle beneath her torn skirt. The ankle, as thin as her wrist, was wrapped in a white bandage. “This one is from the day you were arrested. I got it from being cut by a broken bottle.”
Seraphie’s exposed body bore numerous scars. And she remembered how each one came to be. Though the memories aren’t mine.
Whenever she looked at the bruises and scars, she would recall the worried voice of Marine who helped her bathe.
“Master threw a book at Milady…”
“It happened because Milady caught master’s eye…”
“Why does master do such things…”
Marine was a maid full of worries, and Seraphie could recount the origin of each bruise and scar on her body with ease.
Your biggest mistake was me. The me who witnessed your abuse. The me who endured your abuse. And your dead daughter.
Seraphie’s deep blue eyes, carrying the sins committed by the count, were entirely fixed on him.
“Do you remember this one?”
Seraphie brushed her bangs aside with her hand. A still reddish scar was visible on her rounded forehead.
“You hit me over the head with a bottle. Thanks to that, I slept for three days straight.”
Count Validus’s face turned as pale as her hair, then flushed as red as a tomato under the sun, alternating rapidly.
Right now, Count Validus wanted to hurl curses at Seraphie. Having been hit a few times, Seraphie could quickly sense it. But Count Validus couldn’t say a word.
As Seraphie’s bold accusations began, all eyes in the courtroom had fixed on the count. The contemptuous gazes of the nobles pinned down the once-unshakable Count Validus.
“Shall we take a look at my back too…”
As Seraphie was about to reach behind her to expose her back—
“…”
A warm piece of cloth touched her hand.
Huh…? Seraphie glanced down at the cloak that now covered her body and then looked to her side.
Orkis had removed his cloak and draped it over Seraphie, covering her arms and legs. He opened his mouth as if to say something but then closed it again. It was clear he had much to say but had decided not to at this moment.
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