Chapter 36
“The Count Theodore and Countess Theodore. The trial will begin shortly.”
After chatting with Richard for a while in the waiting room, Rozelyn came in to inform us. I exchanged a glance with him and stood up. Rozelyn hurried toward me to assist, but I declined her offer. I had rested enough, and walking on my own was no problem.
“If you need any assistance, please let me know.”
“Thank you.”
She looked at me with concern before leading us into the courtroom. We exited the waiting room, turned left along the wall, and came to the large doors straight ahead.
Inside, my father was already there. For some reason, Cecilia was also accompanying him. I took a seat designated for us and looked at them. Both of them glared at me as if they wished to kill me.
I hadn’t expected them to greet me warmly, anyway. To them, I was nothing but a burden.
Cecilia, who didn’t treat me as an older sister despite being one, and my father, who had subjected me to abuse. Yet, despite that, I looked at them with a bright smile.
“Father, it’s been a while. Did you return well? I was quite worried about not being able to see you off, but it seems you’re alright.”
“Diarna, you…”
He called my name softly. However, he couldn’t shout or express anger like before. This was the courtroom, after all. Any slip of the tongue could ruin everything.
Of course, even without a slip, Richard and I planned to reclaim everything.
“And Cecilia, it seems you’ve become more on edge since we last met. I’ve taken your place as Richard’s wife, and shouldn’t you feel a little happy about that?”
I referred to the fact that I had become Richard’s wife instead of her. Cecilia, not expecting that my becoming Richard’s wife would lead to such a situation, merely bit her lip in frustration.
Well, she probably never imagined that I, who was sold for money to Count Theodore, would suddenly claim my rightful inheritance regarding the title of Duke Tristan and the family assets.
According to their plans, I was supposed to die alone, having been abandoned by Richard after he discovered the truth. That was indeed the plan.
However, since I was not the original Diarna, things had become twisted.
To be precise, it had turned in a favorable direction for me. If they had known that everything would turn out this way, they would have never sent me to Count Theodore.
So, everything that happened was their own doing.
Seeing Cecilia’s face, looking as if she would explode with anger, somehow put me in a good mood. I smiled broadly at the two of them before quickly erasing my expression. I couldn’t be complacent since the trial hadn’t even started yet. I should treat this moment as a light form of revenge against the two who had tormented me thus far.
“Court rise.”
As we waited for the trial to start, an attendant opened the door once again and called out in a deep voice. As I stood up, the judges began to enter through the opened door. Only after they took their seats could I sit down.
“Is the plaintiff, Countess Diarna Theodore, and Count Richard Theodore, present?”
The judge seated at the bench looked at us and asked. His white permed hair and wrinkled eyes revealed his age.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
I answered first, and soon Richard followed. The judge nodded at us, then checked the paper he was holding before turning his gaze to my father and Cecilia.
“Is the defendant, Duke Gaiman Tristan, present?”
“…Yes.”
After a long silence, my father finally acknowledged the question.
“Plaintiff, please present your statement.”
The judge scrutinized my father and us with sharp eyes before raising his hand to indicate we should proceed. I had attended public trials a couple of times before becoming Diarna, but the proceedings now were unlike anything I had experienced. This seemed to be the way things were done in this world.
The first to stand was Richard.
“Your Honor, I am here today to restore the rights of my beloved wife.”
He stepped forward to speak in the center of the courtroom. The term “beloved wife” felt somewhat foreign to me, but I didn’t show it on my face. Our task here was to garner as much sympathy from the courtroom as possible.
Of course, garnering sympathy didn’t guarantee a victory in court. I knew that well. However, I mentioned the need for sympathy because I had no idea what my father had prepared, despite the evidence we had.
“My wife, Diarna, is the eldest daughter of the late Duke Tristan and was the officially registered heir. When the late Duke Tristan passed away unexpectedly, she had the right to inherit as the first priority from the Duke’s estate. This is a fact that no one can deny.”
As Richard spoke, the judge began to shuffle through the documents on the table, presumably looking at the ones we submitted, as well as the ones my father had presented.
“However, since Diarna was only ten years old at the time, all of her rights were transferred to her stepfather, the current Duke Tristan, Gaiman Tristan.”
“That’s because her parental rights belonged to Duke Tristan. Nominally, Duke Tristan is the stepfather of Countess Theodore. Typically, the parents exercise parental rights first. Since a stepfather is also considered a father, this is to be expected.”
The judge interjected with Richard’s statement. His assertion was correct in a typical scenario. Richard, having anticipated this, nodded and continued.
“Yes, that’s correct. Because she was so young, all rights to her were transferred to the current Duke Tristan.”
“Please continue.”
As he initiated his argument, the judge nodded, encouraging him to keep speaking. Richard took a step closer to the judge and continued.
“However, as you know, when Diarna comes of age, Duke Tristan was supposed to return to her all that he had been entrusted with. But he did not.”
He paused for a moment, and the courtroom fell into a deeper silence. Perhaps he had been waiting for this moment, for he opened his mouth once again.
“It was because he coveted the title of Duke Tristan, the Duke’s mansion, and the estate.”
“No!”
As soon as Richard finished speaking, my father shouted. He looked so fierce that it seemed he would rush out and grab his collar at any moment.
“Defendant, the plaintiff has not finished speaking yet. Please calm down.”
“…Ugh!”
The judge reprimanded my father as if such behavior was familiar to him. My father ultimately bit his lip, waiting for Richard’s next words.
“Diarna has trusted Duke Tristan and waited for him. Since she was three years old, she has lived with him as a father, believing that he would one day return everything to her. However, until the lawsuit was filed, Duke Tristan had returned nothing to Diarna. Therefore, I wish to recover what Diarna was supposed to have. The list is included in the documents we submitted. Please confirm. That is all.”
He politely bowed to the judge and then returned to my side.
“Very well. Having heard the plaintiff’s statement, it is now time for the defendant to present a rebuttal.”
The judge gestured toward my father, indicating he could speak. After taking a breath, he walked to the center.
“As Count Theodore said, Diarna is indeed the daughter of my deceased wife and the heir to the Duke Tristan family. Ideally, it would be right to return everything to her. But there is something you must understand.”
He looked at me with a triumphant expression.
“Diarna has been suffering from a cruel, incurable disease for several years now. So we have done our utmost to ensure that Diarna can focus solely on her treatment without worrying about other matters. We did not intend to rob her of her estate.”
My father’s trump card was revealing that I had been afflicted by Dannella disease. There were many things I wanted to say, but for now, I decided to listen to his argument. Given what had just happened, it was clear the judge would intervene if I tried to rebut.
“The disease Diarna has is Dannella disease. To treat it, we need the roots of the blooming Rosier flower. However, not only is it difficult to find that flower, but getting it to bloom is even harder. Therefore, we were trying to acquire the flower to cure Diarna’s illness. The typical market price for a Rosier flower is over five thousand gold. How on earth are we supposed to purchase such a flower? Naturally, we had to buy it with the inheritance intended for my wife, who is Diarna’s mother. Do I seem like a cruel father who seeks to steal from his daughter while wanting to save his stepdaughter?”
He delivered those words while shedding a few tears. The timing was so astonishing that I couldn’t comprehend where he had learned such acting skills. On the surface, he appeared to be a deeply flawed man who had to spend money to save his daughter’s life. But knowing the truth, I found his display entirely hypocritical and revolting.
Thanks 😁