Chapter 46
“That kid?”
For a moment, I couldn’t understand what Richard was saying and tilted my head in confusion. Then I realized that the “kid” he referred to was Dave, the one who had attacked me yesterday, and my eyes widened in surprise.
“Dave?”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible…”
Just this morning, he had apologized and expressed his willingness to help me.
I had already handed him the money, and his younger sibling should be staying at the Starlight Hotel. And now he’s gone?
“Did he run away?”
“Who knows.”
Richard avoided giving a clear answer, his tone ambiguous. It meant he didn’t know whether Dave had fled or if something else had happened—he had only learned about it later.
“Are you looking for him?”
“For now. Lorenz and Jason are searching for him.”
“What about Dave’s younger sibling? Is she missing too?”
“We’re checking. I got the news in a hurry, so I couldn’t confirm any more details.”
“…I see.”
If Dave’s sister hadn’t disappeared, it was unlikely that Dave had run away.
That left the possibility that someone had abducted him.
I turned my gaze to Duke Tristan, who was brazenly staring at me from the front.
Since Tristan was the one who had tried to kill me, he had enough motive to abduct Dave.
If Dave were to reveal during the trial that it was Tristan, or at least one of his men, who had tried to kill me yesterday, the trial would take a turn in my favor.
The person who would suffer the greatest loss in that scenario was none other than Duke Tristan.
Though the situation was still uncertain, it was crucial to find Dave as soon as possible—both to hear his testimony during the trial and to prevent him from falling victim to Tristan’s schemes.
“If it’s for the trial, don’t worry too much. We’ll manage without him,” Richard whispered to me, noticing my concern.
He seemed to think I was worried the trial would turn against us because of Dave’s absence. But that wasn’t the reason I was worried about Dave.
Honestly, we didn’t need him for this trial.
We had already gained a significant advantage the day before. It was unlikely that Duke Tristan would turn the tables at this point.
“It’s not that… I’m just worried about him,” I said.
“Worried?”
Richard looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“You’re worried about that kid? The one who tried to kill you?”
I understood his bewilderment.
Even I couldn’t quite understand why I was worried about Dave, the one who had tried to kill me.
But somehow, whenever I thought of him, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Perhaps it was because of his devotion to his younger sister, or maybe it was the fact that he had resorted to such terrible actions because of the desperation of living in poverty for just 10 silver coins.
I couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but I felt a bittersweet smile tug at my lips.
“Exactly. He tried to kill me, and yet here I am, worried about him and his sibling.”
“…We’re looking for him, so let’s wait and see.”
He still seemed unable to understand me.
To be honest, I couldn’t fully understand my own feelings either, so I had no way to explain them to him.
As Richard and I discussed Dave’s disappearance, the trial began.
“Plaintiff, Countess Diarna Theodore, and Count Richard Theodore.”
The judge, seated at the bench, called out to confirm our presence. It was the same judge we had seen the day before.
“Yes.”
“Present.”
I answered first, followed by Richard. The judge, hearing our responses, turned his head toward the opposing side.
“Defendant, Duke Gaiman Tristan.”
“Present.”
Hearing the response, the judge scribbled something on his paper and then turned back to us to speak.
“Plaintiff, do you have anything further to say following yesterday’s session?”
“Yes.”
Richard stepped into the center of the courtroom, drawing the attention of everyone present.
“I would like to revisit something Duke Tristan said yesterday.”
Richard, addressing the judge, then turned to look at Duke Tristan.
The duke, clearly displeased, glared at him.
“Yesterday, you said that you’d return everything to Diarna if she wished for it.”
He paused and then turned back to face me.
“Diarna, do you want your title and assets returned?”
“Yes, all of them.”
Without hesitation, I answered his question. He smiled faintly in response.
“That’s all, Your Honor.”
Richard walked back to our table with long strides. His statement was brief but conveyed exactly what we wanted to emphasize.
Duke Tristan, trapped by his own words from the previous day, was now in a bind.
He had openly declared that he would return my title and assets if I wished. Denying that now would make him look absurd.
“Defendant, do you have anything further to say?”
For that reason, Duke Tristan hesitated to open his tightly shut lips.
“Defendant?”
The judge addressed him again.
Duke Tristan glared at me and Richard with burning eyes before stepping down from his seat to stand in the center.
Still, he struggled to speak.
“The reason I said what I did yesterday was because I was worried about Diarna.”
After much deliberation, that was the explanation Duke Tristan came up with—that he had been worried about me.
The absurdity of it made me laugh, though I quickly suppressed it. My quiet scoff echoed in the courtroom, drawing attention to me momentarily.
Feigning calm, I steadied my breathing and waited for him to continue. I was curious just how much more nonsensical his words could get.
“As I said yesterday, Diarna was suffering from Darnnella’s Disease, a cruel illness that slowly consumes its victim.”
He brought up my illness again.
“Diarna accused me of not trying to find the Rosier flower, which is used to treat Darnnella’s Disease. But her accusation is misguided. It wasn’t that I didn’t try—it was that I couldn’t.”
Another word game.
He couldn’t?
No, Duke Tristan hadn’t even attempted to obtain the Rosier flower.
He had every reason to want me dead. With me gone, he could take everything—my assets, my title—and lavish it all on his beloved daughter, Cecilia.
I clenched my teeth tightly, suppressing my anger.
“Diarna, Count Theodore gave you a Rosier plant, didn’t he?”
Duke Tristan’s gaze fell on me as he spoke, a satisfied smirk playing on his lips as if he had found a weak point.
“Did that plant bloom?”
“…”
“To treat Darnnella’s Disease, the root of a blooming Rosier flower is required. An unbloomed Rosier is no different from any weed you’d find on the street.”
In the end, Duke Tristan’s “solution” was the Rosier flower.
“The Rosier only blooms under very specific conditions. If those conditions aren’t met, the plant will wither without ever blooming. So, Diarna, how about your plant?”
“Plaintiff, did the Rosier plant bloom?”
“…No.”
As I answered, Duke Tristan curled his lips into a sly smile.
“There you have it. Even Count Theodore failed to obtain the treatment for Diarna’s illness. Since an unbloomed Rosier is useless, it doesn’t matter whether you procure it or not. Do you think I didn’t know this? No, I was simply working to find a blooming Rosier flower.”
Duke Tristan glanced at Richard and smiled faintly.
“But since I didn’t have any visible results, I am now accused of doing nothing. …It’s unfortunate, Diarna. Despite my efforts for your sake, I’m misunderstood simply because my actions weren’t apparent.”
There was no way to verify Duke Tristan’s claim. There was no evidence that he had even attempted to obtain the Rosier flower.
The premise that it was difficult to acquire was enough for him to use as a cover.
And now, he could twist it to frame Richard, claiming that he had deceived me with superficial gestures.
“I only wanted to give Diarna what she truly needed—not false hope like Count Theodore did.”
…Like this.
“If my sincerity is still doubted, then I have nothing more to say. I only regret that Diarna, swayed by Count Theodore’s manipulation, might make a misguided choice.”
His words sounded convincing. But anyone who knew his true nature wouldn’t believe him. The problem was that the judge, who held the power to decide, didn’t know the truth about him.
“I would like to make a statement.”
I stood and requested the judge’s permission to speak.
The judge nodded readily, granting me the opportunity.
After ensuring Duke Tristan had returned to his seat, I stepped into the center of the courtroom.
“Yes, my father is correct. An unbloomed Rosier does nothing to help with Darnnella’s Disease. Any physician will tell you the same. Yet Richard procured a Rosier plant for me. Unlike my father, who did nothing. Do you understand the difference?”
