WPVMVA Chapter 76

Grey looked directly at the judges and declared with certainty. The judges nodded in agreement, their gazes turning cold as they looked at the inquisitor, Richard. He stumbled, one hand on his forehead.

Then, the Marquis of Cadogan’s fiancée, Duchess Claire Blackwood, glared sharply at the Marquis, who was sitting beside her, her eyes welling up with tears. She suddenly stood up and slapped him across the face.

“You rotten man!”

With that, the Duchess fled the courtroom.

“Claire!”

The Marquis of Cadogan called out her name in a hurry and chased after her. The face of Duke Lodion, who was sitting next to the two of them, turned beet red with anger and shame. Helena Strand gasped for breath at the sight of the situation unfolding before her, and then promptly fainted.

“My Lady!” a maid from the Strand family cried out, rushing to the side of the collapsed Helena.

Sitting in the witness stand, Grey curled one side of her mouth up in a sneer and said, “Should I continue? If the judges permit it, I can bring in people here to back up my testimony.”

“…No. It seems best to conclude the trial here today. What do you think, High Priest Richard Strand?”

“That would be for the best…” Richard replied in a meek voice.

The judge in the center brought his gavel down without hesitation and declared the trial adjourned.

As the judges left the courtroom, Richard also fled after them, without even a glance at his unconscious sister Helena being carried away by the servants.

Grey, who had been in the witness stand, and Lisander, who had been in the defendant’s seat, followed the Holy Knights. They needed to sign their statements before leaving the courtroom. The nobles who had been watching the trial also headed for the exit, whispering amongst themselves.

Daniela turned to Ashid with a dazed look on her face and said, “You said, ‘Leave it all to me’… Was this your plan all along?”

“Yes. Why? Don’t you like it?”

“No! It was perfect!” Daniela shook her head quickly at his question. Ashid looked at Daniela, who was smiling brightly at him, and said lovingly, “Then give me more compliments.”

“Oh, of course! Absolutely! You’re truly, truly amazing! Your Highness is a genius! How can you be so handsome and so smart?”

At her flattery, Ashid burst into laughter. He lightly shook their clasped hands and said, “Aren’t you thankful for a man like me?”

“Is that even a question? Of course I’m thankful!”

“Then keep your ‘promise.’”

“…Pardon? Promise?”

Daniela tilted her head and asked at his sudden words. Ashid then waved the ticket he was holding in his other hand and said, “The one about us ‘having a cozy date alone.’”

“…Ah!”

“This is a ticket that you and the Baroness went through a great ordeal to save. You have to use it gladly. Don’t you think?”

Ashid asked, subtly pressuring her. Grey had testified in a courtroom filled with many nobles and priests. If she didn’t follow through on her testimony, it would provide an excuse for Helena Strand and the nobles on the Crown Prince’s side who had helped her. He had planned this entire scheme with that exact point in mind: to make it impossible for her to refuse his date proposal.

Ashid smiled meaningfully, looking at her and waiting for an answer.

‘Well, I guess since it’s come to this, I have no choice but to do it… A date.’

She was so grateful to this man who had helped her, she felt she could go on a date with him a few times over. Besides, she honestly didn’t hate the idea of going on a date with him. Daniela thought this and readily nodded.

“Of course, that sounds great. I must keep it. It’s ‘because of me’ that this happened.”

“Good. This Saturday, at 2 PM. Well, you know that already, don’t you?” Ashid said nonchalantly with a shrug.

A moment later, the two of them stood up and headed for the exit. Just then, Duke Lodion, who had been sitting blankly in shock after realizing that the Marquis of Cadogan had been secretly meeting with Helena behind his back, suddenly stood up. The chair made a loud screeching sound as it fell to the floor, and the two people standing near the exit turned their heads.

Duke Lodion glared at them, his face a menacing scowl. Then he growled, “Aren’t you afraid of God, Grand Duke, to publicly shame my niece with such a devious scheme?”

“Why are you so worked up over this, Duke Lodion? This is just the beginning.”

“Wh-what did you say…?”

“And ‘devious plot?’ Those are strong words. I merely paid you back in the exact same way you’ve always done.”

“…!”

“How does it feel to be on the receiving end? Does your blood boil with indignation and rage? Do you finally understand what I felt back then?”

Ashid looked down at him arrogantly and scoffed. Duke Lodion gritted his teeth, trembling all over.

‘That madman…!’

He was furious. So furious he couldn’t stand it. He thought it would have been less infuriating if he had simply been stabbed through the heart with that man’s sword. Duke Lodion glared directly at Ashid and walked closer to him. He then spoke in a small voice, barely audible. “Why didn’t you just grab your sword and try to kill me like you used to, instead of digging into the lives of the Marquis and I like a rat? For a man who is a knight in name only, your actions are utterly cowardly.”

Ashid’s smile deepened upon hearing his words. He let go of Daniela’s hand, then pulled her tightly into a one-armed embrace and said, “I considered it. But my lovely and wise wife advised me against it. She told me that what I desire can be achieved without having to get my own hands dirty.”

“…!”

“A knight should, by all means, follow the words of his beloved lady. Don’t you think?”

Daniela’s eyes widened at his sudden actions. She stared blankly at Ashid’s profile as he faced Duke Lodion with a dignified and confident posture.

‘I know he’s just saying it, but… It feels good when he says things like that.’

He was a man who used to resort to violence to vent his anger whenever he felt like it, but now he was telling her that he had decided to solve a problem calmly and rationally because of her words. Daniela was certain it was a lie to get on Duke Lodion’s nerves, but she felt a strange sense of joy and pride.

Perhaps because of that, her heart began to thump-thump rapidly again. Daniela slightly lowered her gaze to hide her face, which was getting hotter and hotter.

“Hah!”

Duke Lodion was so dumbfounded he let out a hollow laugh. Seeing Ashid hugging his wife so openly and saying such cringeworthy things, and Daniela standing there quietly in his arms without any shame, was a complete eyesore. Grinding his teeth, he turned to Daniela and said, “You got abandoned by His Highness the Crown Prince and then immediately married his half-brother, and now you’re even stabbing us in the back like this? …The Duchess’s father, in hell, must be weeping tears of blood at this sight.”

“Duke Lodion, have you said all you have to say?” Ashid immediately scowled and put his hand on the sword at his waist.

Daniela hugged his arm tightly to stop him. Then, she smiled faintly at Duke Lodion and said, “No. On the contrary, I believe he would be proud to see how much smarter I’ve become.”

“…Hah!”

“Please be sure to tell your nephew that I feel so sorry for him and that he should have behaved better. Now, if you’ll excuse us, Your Highness and I will be leaving. …Let’s go, Your Highness.”

And even if Duke Enchanto were truly weeping in hell, she didn’t care.

‘Anyway, the Duke is a villain, and he’s not my real father, so who cares?’

With that last statement, Daniela grabbed Ashid’s arm and led him out of the courtroom.

“Yes, my wife.”

Ashid let out a short laugh and obediently followed her out.

Duke Lodion glared at their backs as they walked away, his face twisted into a monstrous expression. Once they were gone, he shouted furiously, “Those people I’d never be satisfied with, even if I chewed them to bits, how dare they!” He kicked the chairs scattered on the floor and huffed. The Holy Knights and servants who had been keeping their distance to not interrupt the conversation between the Duke and the Grand Duke rushed to his side to stop him. He gasped for air, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the doorway.

‘They must be celebrating their victory right now! Those bastards! Something far more horrible than this is about to happen!’

The Duke calmed his agitated mind, thinking of another plot he had concocted with Helena. He was certain that this time, he would finally be able to trap them.