Trial (3)

I don’t think it’s a sex bribe, no matter how I think about it.

I’ve slept with so many people that I deserve to be called a slut with a loose pussy, but most of the time it was unavoidable, or due to the side effects of Lustful Art, or just to satisfy my sexual desires, not acting to get something.

“Charlotte, you have to think carefully. Count Paris must be lobbying hard right now, and no matter how good the public sentiment is, it can be overturned with just one verdict….”

No matter how high Charlotte’s reputation is and how good the public sentiment is, no nobleman will rebel against Duke Ambrosia.

Duke Ambrosia holds all the keys.

“I’m sorry, Lumi. No matter how easy and lewd I am, I can’t bring myself to spread my legs.”

‘Even if they curse me for pretending to be clean now, I have nothing to say.’

I know it’s a bit contradictory even to myself, but what can I do?

I can’t go to an old nobleman, laugh and offer a sex bribe to win the trial. I’d rather just get paid and sleep with them cleanly.

Moreover, Duke Ambrosia is an unattractive old man in his sixties with more than half of his hair gone. Charlotte can’t help but dislike him.

“Ugh….. This is unexpected…… It’s okay! I still prepared hard!”

“Yeah, let’s work hard together!!”

I cheer myself up, lifting the depressed mood.

I spend the rest of the time matching the evidence and words for the trial.

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-Murmuring……

This is the High Court in front of the Royal Palace.

Currently, Duke Ambrosia is sitting at the head of the table, holding something like a gavel and sitting solemnly, with Charlotte and Lumi on the right side of the center, and Lady Helena, Count Paris, and Runan on the left.

‘They’re openly using Count Paris’s power.’

About a hundred nobles gathered as spectators.

Not only noble faction nobles, but also neutral and royal faction nobles who came purely for fun, as well as Count Mikhail and the Third Prince came to watch.

The nobles see this trial not as the Rosean Count assassination case, but as a fight between Count Paris and the Rosean Count’s successor (Lumi). This is because the senators and the Count’s subordinate barons unanimously announced a statement agreeing to appoint Lumi as the successor a while ago.

‘Hoo…… I’m nervous?’

Charlotte is wearing a modest dress suitable for the court, but the volume that cannot be hidden is enough to captivate the people around her.

“Is that woman the knight?”

“That’s right, she’s the famous Boob Knight!”

“Hey, don’t call her Boob Knight!! I heard she’s a Whore Knight?”

There were people who spoke carelessly based only on rumors and appearance, but

“She’s the wonderful knight who saved our territory….”

“She’s going to be a Swordmaster in a few years. It’s never bad to be on her good side.”

There were many nobles who genuinely supported Charlotte in this way.

“Ahem….. Silence!! I will begin the trial. First of all, is it correct that both sides accuse the other side of being the perpetrator of the Count assassination case?”

It is a question asking whether it is certain that one of them is the culprit.

“Yes.”

“That’s right.”

Lumi and Lady Helena answer at the same time.

“Hmm, I will give Charlotte’s side the right to speak first. Feel free to speak.”

As Duke Ambrosia finishes speaking, Lumi comes to the center of the courtroom and begins to speak.

“First of all, there is something you need to know. What was the relationship between the Count and his son before this happened? I will tell you slowly.”

Lumi talks about the fact that Charlotte was usually sleeping with Count Rosean, that she became a knight with great value when she became a Sword User, that it was decided at the meeting to tie Charlotte to someone in the Count’s family through marriage, and that Charlotte chose Count Rosean as her marriage partner at the evening banquet and went straight into the bedroom with the Count.

“Hmm…… Do you agree with this content?”

Duke Ambrosia asks Runan’s side.

“Keugh….. That’s true…..”

This was a fact that was difficult to deny because there were too many witnesses, and the contents of the meeting room were even recorded, making it even more difficult to deny.

“Heo…..”

“Even with just that much, I can tell who it is right away?”

The audience begins to murmur.

Looking at the above content, it seems that Charlotte has no reason to harm the Count, and Runan seems to have a grudge against the Count. But decisively, ‘Is that enough to stab him with a knife?’ They will still shake their heads.

“Silence everyone!! Surely that’s not evidence of attempted murder, tell me more, Miss Lumi.”

“Yes, I will continue. Do you know what the most important clue in a murder case is?”

“The murder weapon…..”

The audience around Lumi responds to her words.

“Yes, that’s right!! I will submit the murder weapon that stabbed the Count at the time as evidence.”

With Lumi’s words, the back door of the courtroom opens, and the Knight Commander pulls a dagger on a small cart.

“First of all, in order to avoid suspicion of evidence fabrication, this is the result of a request for analysis from the Blue Magic Tower, which is a competitor, not the Red Magic Tower to which I belong. Please take a look at the examination report, Duke.”

Lumi brings the Blue Magic Tower’s examination report to Duke Ambrosia.

“Hmm…… The detected fingerprints, Runan and many knights who were transporting it. The bloodstains are all Rosean Count’s…… Since the culprit is one of the two anyway, the only one left who stabbed the Count with this sword is Runan……”

Accurate evidence is more important than mere circumstantial evidence. The situation where the culprit is virtually confirmed with just the first piece of evidence. The audience murmurs again.

“Everyone be quiet. It’s not over yet. I will ask Lady Helena and Runan. Do you have any rebuttal or evidence against this evidence? If not, I will make a judgment right away.”

‘Oh, are we winning this easily?’

Charlotte is secretly happy inside. But how could that be?

“It’s all a lie!!!”

Helena’s sharp voice cuts through the courtroom.

“Charlotte only needs to hold Runan’s hand and stab him to get that much fingerprint evidence! My son is only at the level of an ordinary person, so Charlotte can do it if she wants to!”

As Helena finishes speaking, jeers are heard from the surroundings.

“Woo~~ Do you think that kind of excuse will work?”

“Isn’t that just arguing? Is there no evidence?”

“It’s over, why hold a trial if you’re going to collapse with just one piece of evidence in the end?”

The public sentiment is already predicting Helena’s side’s defeat.

“Stop, although it’s a ridiculous statement, it’s not impossible.”

‘What? Did that old man really take the money?’

“So I’ll ask the other way around. Then why did Charlotte kill the Count? Tell me the motive or evidence.”

“Evidence! I have it!!”

The audience becomes quiet again at Helena’s confident declaration.

“Charlotte, no, that vulgar whore is a spy for the royal faction!!!”

“Wh-what??”

The audience starts murmuring again, and Lumi refutes.

“Don’t make such absurd claims! Do you have any evidence?”

“Of course I do!! Do you know where she’s from? It’s Lukea Count’s territory! As you all know, Lukea Count is a royal faction!”

“Don’t talk nonsense!! Are people from royal faction areas spies?”

Helena doesn’t stop talking even with Lumi’s rebuttal.

“If a whore from Lukea stabbed a noble faction Count, it would make sense!”

“You’re concluding the result and inserting it into the process, don’t just argue without any logic!!”

“No! There’s enough evidence. It’s suspicious from the start that she went to Dyke Territory and laundered her identity, and it’s also suspicious that Lumi, that runaway bitch, came back for no reason.”

“How much are you going to argue…..”

“I’m not arguing! It’s a reasonable suspicion!! You were in the same party there, right? But when you suddenly came to our territory, didn’t you pretend not to know each other?”

“Haa….. Judge, I don’t think Lady Helena knows how serious it is to expose the confidentiality of Dyke Territory……”

Lumi looks at the Duke as if requesting mediation, and the Duke finally stops the fight.

“Stop, there are two important things to go over. First of all, Miss Lumi, is that true? Is it true that you were in the same party as Charlotte in Dyke Territory and deliberately pretended not to know each other?”

“Yes. That’s true, but I just pretended not to know because of the law that people from Dyke Territory don’t dig into the past.”

Lumi answers calmly. In fact, she’s not too flustered because she prepared for this.

“Hmm….. That’s possible, then I’ll ask Lady Helena. Although we should always be careful of spies, is there no evidence other than the fact that she’s from Lukea city?”

“Of course there is! May I call the witness I prepared?”

Helena looks surprisingly confident.

‘I’m uneasy…. What are you so confident about?’

The back door of the courtroom opens and a knight walks in.

‘Wait, I know him?’

His identity is a knight of the Rosean Count’s family.

“Now! Tell me honestly what you saw that night!”

“Yes, madam! It was dawn when everyone was asleep. But suddenly Miss Lumi came into the knights’ quarters and woke up the knights. As if she knew something was going to happen.”

“So what did you do?”

“Yes, I followed Miss Lumi and all the guards near the Count’s bedroom were dead. And the knight who killed them was Runan’s bodyguard. So after killing them all, I carried the Count, who was bleeding, to the temple.”

“Ha! Are you confessing that Runan is the culprit, madam?”

“No. Didn’t you notice anything strange after hearing this testimony? How did Lumi know the Count was attacked and bring the knights?”

“Of course, the Count’s bedroom isn’t soundproof. I received a report from the patrols that there was a strange noise?”

“No! Nothing was heard from the Count’s bedroom except the moans of that lewd whore!! I was awake until dawn!! Judge, Lumi and Charlotte are plotting together! They’re killing my husband and framing my son as a murderer!!”

“This time too, madam, you only have words.”

“Heeuuum…..”

As the Duke makes an ambiguous expression as to whether he should believe this, Helena calls an additional witness.

“It’s not over. Next witness, please come out!”

Someone slowly walks out, opening the back door.

The surrounding nobles exclaim “Ooh?” and Charlotte’s body freezes the moment she sees that face.

The main character is Lukea Count!!!

The lord of the city where Charlotte first started.

He is busy rebuilding the city that was half destroyed by Heinkel, and he appeared here.

“Now! Many of you know him, right? It’s Lukea Count!! Count, please tell the truth.”

“Ahem….. Charlotte is a spy for the royal faction.”

Lukea Count makes a bombshell declaration as soon as he arrives.

“Shit!!! Did that bastard take money and lie because his territory was ruined?”

At that moment, Charlotte, who had been quiet, suddenly stood up and cursed when she was falsely accused.

“Quiet! Be quiet and Lukea Count, continue speaking.”

“Hehehe….. It’s nice to see you again after a long time, Charlotte. Anyway, she was originally going to be laundered as a spy for another noble faction and sent as a spy. Of course, I didn’t plan it alone, and I brought the old plan here.”

Lukea Count hands their plan to Duke Ambrosia.

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“Hmm…… It was real….. A plan to disguise a whore and send her as a spy to another noble faction….”

The Duke, who briefly checks the authenticity of the document, nods and reminds them once again that it is not a forgery.

“What…..? Don’t lie! I’m the person involved, I’ve never heard of that!!”

I don’t understand what’s going on. Was I being raised as a spy without my knowledge?

“And it’s not like you’re confessing, does it make sense for a royal faction nobleman to say that he raised a spy to send to the noble faction?”

“Hehehe….. I’m sorry, but I’m no longer a royal faction.”

“Huh?”

Lukea Count did his best to clean up after his territory was almost half destroyed by Heinkel.

However, unlike his earnest heart, the Sword Energy marks where the strong Black Magic power gathered caused an epidemic in the city, and eventually 50% of the city’s population disappeared and it is now almost a ruin.

The problem is not only that. Didn’t Duke Theodore say that he would kill all the royal faction intelligence guys if they gave the wrong information after seeing Heinkel’s last Sword Energy?

The intelligence nobles didn’t want to take responsibility themselves, so they had to pass the responsibility on to someone, and that person was Lukea Count.

No, he’s not even a Count anymore. He was demoted to Baron, and Paris Count and Helena, who were wandering around after losing their territory, seduced him and brought him here. In this situation, there is no reason for him not to expose the plans of the royal faction people in the past.

Anyway, the situation has become very likely that Charlotte is a spy for the royal faction.

Especially since this is a place where noble factions who hate the royal faction are gathered, the repercussions are bound to be even greater.

“What….. Is it real?”

“Unbelievable…… Does that mean everything was acting?”

“Those whore-like sluts dared to plot!! Drag them out right now!!!!”

There were people who couldn’t believe it, people who were excited that they had been deceived, and people who were so angry that they would run up and hang Lumi and Charlotte on the gallows right away.

“Everyone be quiet!! The trial is not over yet.”

‘Lumi….. Is this okay?’

Whether that document is forged or not, the moment the judge recognizes it as true. It really becomes true.

“Then, I will give Charlotte’s side a chance to refute. If you are a spy for the royal faction, I will not stand still.”

In fact, the murder case and the royal faction spy may not be related.

But most of the nobles are already in a very emotionally intense state because of the thought that a royal faction spy may have assassinated a noble faction Count.

Lady Helena has prepared a trick to touch their emotions well.

“Hoo…… Yes, of course I can refute!”

‘Please…. Please…..”

Lumi says nervously. If we lose here, it’s over.

“Then we will call the witnesses too.”

‘Huh? Witnesses?’

“I will allow it.”

In a moment of desperation. The witnesses on Charlotte’s side appear.

-Kwaang

The back door opens roughly and a huge man suddenly enters.

“Haha!! Charlotte, it’s been a long time! I was wondering where you went, but you were in a place like this?”

The identity of the man who comes in with a hearty laugh is Jack, the bald Guard Captain of the Brothel where Charlotte was first.

‘Why are you there?’

“Our cutie, you’ve been living well, haven’t you? You’ve become very famous?”

The second person to enter is the madam of the Brothel. She is the one who practically raised Charlotte since she was young.

“Cha… Charlotte… The real Charlotte’s butt!!!”

The last person to enter is Hanson. He was always looking for Charlotte’s butt because he was mentally disabled from a head injury, and he finally found the real Charlotte.

“No, how….?”

Charlotte was surprised too, but that’s not important now. Lumi calms them down and calls them to the center of the courtroom.

“Okay, okay….. Everyone, say hello later and let’s start with the testimony first.”

Just their appearance changes the atmosphere 180 degrees. That relaxed expression and posture, it’s not a situation where they’re cornered.

The madam starts talking first.

“I know about that plan too. It’s a proposal that Lukea Count made to our Brothel.”

“That’s right, I know it well too. Several nobles came and said they would give us money to sell the whores here, it was a very annoying thing, so I remember it exactly.”

Jack receives the madam’s words and continues to speak.

“But we refused. Of course, if we knew Lukea Territory was going to be ruined, we should have sold it then.”

“Hehe…. I don’t think I would have given up Charlotte no matter what?”

“Hey, I can’t give up Charlotte either~”

As it seems like it won’t end if it goes on like this, the Duke intervenes for a moment.

“Stop, that’s enough. I’ve heard your testimonies well. Then do you have any evidence?”

“Evidence? I think the judge already has the evidence?”

“Hmm? What is?”

“I know because I’ve received the same thing before. By the way, the name of our Brothel is ‘Song of the Fairy.’ Is the name of our Brothel on that plan?”

At the madam’s words, the Duke searches the plan again.

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“It’s not here. Every Brothel name is recorded, but there is no Brothel called Song of the Fairy. The King’s faction’s plan existed, but Charlotte was not the target.”

Rather, bringing a truly detailed plan was their mistake.

“That… that can’t be!! You!! You definitely said it was certain…”

Helena blames Count Lukea.

“Ahem… I’ll step out at this point.”

Count Lukea, or rather, Baron Lukea, realizing that things were going strangely, quietly steps back.

Would the noble faction stay still after hearing those words?

All the emotions they had foolishly been angry about were poured out on Helena and Baron Lukea, who had tried to deceive and use them.

“You bastards!! How dare you use us?”

“I didn’t believe it from the start! Raising a Swordmaster-level spy? What nonsense…”

“Scammer bastards, you deserve to be punished!!”

As they were being cursed, Charlotte and Lumi’s faces also beamed.

‘Did we win?’

Thinking this might have been a mistake.

“Ugh… it’s not over yet!!!”

In a situation where she was cornered, Countess Helena confidently steps forward to the center.