episode_0070

“Talking so recklessly, it wasn’t your typical thief. They didn’t even stick to their target right away, but instead ran with the other knights from the beginning. What do you know to be saying such things?”

As Claire continued confidently, the other nobles pretended not to hear, coughing awkwardly.

“Even with all the support, we still fell short and ended up injured all over…!”

A wall was erected in front of Claire as a warning from Arscien, using the power of the verdict.

“Be careful, Claire Vagrand.”

“But this one-sided criticism…!”

“It’s not up to you to refute that, it’s Carsein.”

“…”

Under Arscien’s warning, Claire had no choice but to remain silent.

But it was quite effective.

“And you all should also be careful to some extent. This is a courtroom.”

The warning was not just for Claire but also for the agitators.

Everyone involved fell silent.

“Ugh…”

Theo, who had been trying to control his expression, realized that his plan was already shaking from the start.

Furthermore,

▶ Achievement progress: 12% ◀

Thanks to this advantage, the achievement progress was higher than before.

The choices… didn’t matter.

Claire had taken over the conversation.

“So, Carsein. Will you refute?”

I replied that I would listen until the end.

“Please continue.”

“Ah, yes!”

Theo, trying to hide his expression, continued speaking.

“There were enough reasons to be suspicious. The crackdown for fairness is justified. In fact, everyone was suspicious! Moreover─”

Just as it was in the game, Theo Ramstare spoke of Carsein’s reputation as expected.

It was a strong argument that there were enough wrongdoings to be suspicious, and such incidents would not happen within the Order, except for one difference: the engagement handkerchief.

“Oh…”

“My goodness.”

“If we consider it as a reasonable action for searching and cracking down to prevent illegal entry… it could be seen as a justifiable action.”

“We heard the rumors, but… we had no idea about the engagement.”

The audience murmured again.

It was clearly an unfavorable situation.

A choice appeared, urging for a resolution.

But it was okay.

Everything was going as I knew it would.

“Carsein. Will you raise an objection?”

“Yes.”

Arscien readily allowed it.

It was time for the choice.

[ 1. I am not a trainee but a member of the Vagrand Ducal family. ]

“Theo Ramstare. You may see me as a trainee, but the fact remains that you stole the engagement handkerchief from my pouch. Therefore, from that moment on, I am not a trainee but Carsein Vagrand.”

“…!”

“You should know well, Theo Ramstare. As a nobleman and a son of the Ramstare Marquis, if you think you can absolve the crime of stealing the engagement handkerchief with such authority, it is a mistake.”

-Ding!

▶ Theo Ramstare’s first claim is refuted! ◀

▶ Achievement progress increased by 7%! ◀

Emma then stepped forward to defend Theo.

“Considering the actions you have taken so far, it’s understandable that it may seem that way. But this is the reputation you have built up, even considering your anger over the handkerchief.”

“Yes, as I mentioned earlier, we all had suspicions about you.”

“Even though there were many incidents before the handkerchief, there is room for fair judgment.”

As Theo continued to claim to be a trainee despite being a nobleman, I thought it was unreasonable, so I took the opportunity to mention his previous reputation.

I’m sorry, but I was aiming for this.

“If that’s the case, Princess Arscien. If someone dared to touch my belongings knowing full well who I am, is it possible to consider this a normal offense?”

“No. If someone touches a noble’s belongings without permission, it is a situation where they can be held accountable for their actions.”

“In that case, I will now ask the person who touched my belongings to confess their crime. And that person is him.”

As I pointed my finger at a person, all eyes turned towards him.

At the tip of my finger stood Emma, whose complexion quickly turned pale.

“Did Lady Emma touch your belongings?”

“It’s not just any belongings. She touched the belongings that were sent down from the Marquis. It may seem similar to Theo Ramstair’s case, but Lady Emma explained her understanding with her own words.”

“Oh. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be strange to hold her accountable right here.”

Upon hearing this, Emma stood up in anger.

“Absurd! When did I ever touch your belongings, milord?”

“You definitely did. There is clear evidence to prove it.”

“What, what do you mean?”

“I will present the evidence.”

▶Emma’s financial documents will be used as evidence!◀

As I took out the prepared documents, Arscien immediately signaled to a servant. After reading the documents, Arscien raised an eyebrow.

“These are financial documents from the Marquis?”

“Yes. Only two people manage them under the Marquis, but if we limit it to just the documents, Lady Emma also has the authority.”

“I see. I understand that. However… hmm.”

Arscien raised an eyebrow.

At first glance, there seemed to be no problem with the documents.

But is that really the case?

There are flaws.

[ 3. Summon Claire Vagrand as a witness. ]

“I call for a witness. I will summon Claire Vagrand as a witness to verify if there are any issues with these records.”

“Huh? Me…?”

“Hmm…”

Arscien hesitated.

It was understandable. Claire had just received a warning.

“If you need a witness from the Marquis, why not choose someone else? Your mother, Lady Isabella Vagrand, or your elder sister, Ariana Vagrand, could also stand in.”

“No, it’s not possible.”

“Why not?”

“Because, except for Claire, no one else would notice the errors in those documents.”

Although Isabella and Ariana seemed puzzled, they sighed deeply, but there was a reason behind this argument.

In the end, Arscien gave Claire another warning before seating her as a witness.

“How does it look?”

“Simply put, we cannot confirm anything with just that. Here, I will submit another piece of evidence.”

Soon, a box was moved by the knights.

“Open it.”

As I instructed, the knights nodded and opened the box.

-Creak. Clang!

“From cash to gloves, daggers fit for knights, watches, mirrors, jewelry, and accessories… quite a variety.”

“These were found in the Marquis’s First Knight Division warehouse. They were hidden in many suspicious places.”

The box was filled with items found in the First Knight Division warehouse.

And as Claire, who had been closely observing, quickly raised her hand to her mouth and rolled her eyes.

Claire runs a boutique herself. She has a keen eye for the market and values of items. That’s why her boutique is currently the most popular place in the Empire.

Since she runs it herself, she must have noticed what was wrong with the documents.

As Claire began to calculate the items in the documents and the box one by one, not long after.

“…Damn.”

She cursed under her breath.

Luckily, I was the only one who heard it.

Was that the end of her cursing with just one word that was barely audible? Claire seemed to have held back quite a bit.

▶Claire has identified the issue with the documents!◀

[ Achievement Unlocked! ]

[ Current Progress: 38% ]

After flipping through documents and boxes for a while, Claire, who was struggling to contain her rising anger, took a deep breath.

With a determined expression that seemed like she could grab Emma’s collar at any moment, she clenched her fist tightly.

“The value of the items in that box matches exactly with the record in these documents.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s Karsein’s allowance.”

“W-what?!”

The room fell silent in an instant.

Naturally, one could deduce the meaning.

If what was said is true, it meant that Emma had embezzled the allowance that Karsein was receiving from the duke, and it was discovered by the knights.

Interestingly, the amount almost perfectly matched what was written in the ledger, leaving no room for doubt.

Emma seemed lost in thought as if wondering how she knew, while Arscien, despite being shocked, showed a bewildered smile.

“W-what does that even mean?! It could have been a mere coincidence!”

Unable to stay silent any longer, Emma spoke first.

Her use of informal language in such a tense situation showed that she had lost her composure.

Thanks to her outburst, I was able to relax a bit.

“…Has Karsein ever indulged in luxury?”

“No. In fact, he would wear ill-fitting clothes rather than indulge in luxury.”

“He would wear outdated or ill-fitting clothes wherever he went.”

“I’ve seen it. Lady Claire would even nag him to dress properly.”

“If the reason behind it was embezzlement happening internally…”

The audience were nobles.

Nobles who had always closely observed Karsein’s attire.

No matter how much they were just spectators, in this situation, they all became witnesses.

“What does that have to do with anything! It would make sense if she had distributed it among the lower ranks!”

Bingo.

Here, one choice becomes active.

“Emma. It would be reasonable to assume that there was some kind of connection if the money you were managing ended up there, right? For example… paying to keep things quiet or persuading someone.”

“W-what are you saying?!”

“I will call upon the head of the First Knight Order, Radiel, the vice-captain Mark, and represent the official knights, Carlton, as witnesses.”

After a while, the three of them arrived.

As prearranged, they explained the incident at the water source and testified that all the apprentice knights were united.

As they began their investigation at the dormitory where the imprisoned apprentice knights were staying, evidence began to emerge, revealing items worth more than their salaries.

“Wait! Can we also say something?!”

“I want to testify as well. As a servant of Duke Vagrand!”

There were also witnesses who came forward.

Those fellows who had already established a rapport.

Despite Emma’s glaring, they did not back down, and when Arscien allowed them to speak, a ledger hidden in the duke’s residence was brought out.

[ Testimonies of the servants, evidence obtained ]

“…Is this also because of the rapport?”

No matter how hard I tried to find it, I never expected those guys to have it.

Anyway, with even the documents neatly organized, Emma was completely cornered.

Duke’s residence. Embezzlement. Money.

All three elements fell perfectly into place.

“Indeed, the rumor that Duke Vagrand’s servants take care of the lower ranks has spread all the way to the palace. It turns out it was all based on the perception created by embezzling the owner’s money.”

“P-Princess, that’s not true! I, I…!”

In a desperate attempt to deflect the situation she was cornered in, she stumbled over her words.

She needed to find Flora, someone who could help her in this dire situation.

However, Flora was not present in this courtroom.

“Why… why is she not here when it’s most important…! Now that it’s come to this…!”

She glanced at Theo as if to say, “Since I helped you, do something at least.”

“By the way, this has nothing to do with me.”

“What, what do you mean?”

“I heard that the arguments of the two were somewhat similar.”

“The difference between ‘somewhat similar’ and ‘the same’ is quite significant, isn’t it?”

Theo had already decisively cut off the connection with Emma.

“I never expected something like this… I will make sure to relinquish everything I received. It’s truly regrettable. The Lady of the Marquis, who orchestrated such a thing and handed me money. I thought it was a gesture of goodwill…”

“Theo Ramstair! How dare you…! How dare you betray me?!”

“Hmm. Whatever the case may be, Emma Urnen swore in front of the judgment chamber to speak only the truth. But now it seems that it was a lie.”

“No, Your Highness! I…! Aaaah!”

-Chiiing.

Under the power of the judgment chamber, a mark of falsehood was stamped on Emma’s face.

“There, drag that sinner out.”

Arsien ordered to take the now guilty Emma Urnen away.

▶Emma Urnen’s guilt has been proven!◀

▶Successfully removed the character from the Marquis!◀

▶Achievement greatly increased!◀

[ Achievement 50% ]

“No, this is all a treacherous scheme! Your Highness! Your Highness!!”

Emma’s voice, being dragged out of the courtroom, was soon silenced.

The one left alone then slit the throat.

“Hmm. I never knew that the one who committed such a despicable act was right next to me. I thought our opinions somewhat aligned…”

Clearly, the tail had been cut off.

By severing the connection with Emma, the request to chase after Carcine once the tail was caught naturally faded away, so he quickly withdrew his hand.

But. It wasn’t withdrawing his hand.

“Next, I will present evidence that Theo Ramstair is the culprit in the Radial Assault case.”

Rather, you yourself have stepped into a dead end.

***

Watching Carcine deftly probe the weaknesses of his opponent, Harnie smiled broadly.

“If you were nervous, I was thinking of stepping in, but you’re doing well on your own.”

In fact, Carcine was in a very unfavorable position.

There was a huge barrier of manipulated evidence to bring up past events, and he had to defeat his opponent from the ambiguous position of a trainee and a noble.

Evidence had to be gathered as it was, and there was hardly anyone to help around.

The structure seemed to oppress the weak with power, and considering that most of the spectators were nobles, it was easy to be criticized.

Even the fiancée could help, but she couldn’t uncover the essence of the crime.

However, Carcine did not miss a single important point that Harnie pointed out.

No. He created results beyond that.

He analyzed carefully, grasped the inconsistencies in the opponent’s arguments, and easily exposed and turned challenges into opportunities.

In a situation no different from facing two opponents, he accurately struck down one and did not let them escape, spreading a net to catch them.

“Really. How far ahead has he calculated.”

It was enough to make admiration come out involuntarily.

“Lord Carcine claims that I am the culprit, then what about the black sword with magic that Lord Carcine wielded…!”

“That’s irrelevant. Both of you clearly lag behind Radiel in terms of skill. It should be a dire situation or a moment of carelessness to make a difference. Since you were wounded, it would be right to consider it a situation where someone was protecting you in a crisis.”

Arsien seemed to have already anticipated the course of events, so it was clear that the trial would soon end in Carsain’s overwhelming victory.

With a smile on his face, Carsain watched as Harney called out to Hujak in a low voice.

“Hmph. It doesn’t seem like our family will suffer any harm, but you should handle the private discussion yourself, Harney.”

“…Hujak.”

“Even so, you’re still a noble, even if only half-blooded.”

“It’s my engagement.”

“Tsk. Instead of talking nonsense, you should think about how you can help the family. Hasn’t your year been fruitless since that day?”

Hujak scolded Harney with a displeased expression.

“Hide the fact that you’re a bastard and live as a noblewoman. Only then can you and I continue to lead noble and prosperous lives.”

There were many things she wanted to say.

But she didn’t.

‘A despicable human.’

Lady Theresa Hujak no longer considered her as family.