I pressed my temples, it felt as if the Grand Duke’s words were draining me.
“You don’t have to hide the truth from me.”
“Didn’t you just say yourself that it’s forbidden to give false testimony in court?”
“Of course I did. But this isn’t a lie.”
When I frowned deeply to remind him of the facts, the Grand Duke let out a faint sigh.
“No, it is a lie. That’s why I’m correcting the misunderstanding.”
“Most people who come to me say the same thing. They’re wronged, misunderstood, that other person is lying.”
I responded indifferently to his excuse. It was the typical repertoire of defendants.
“Really, it’s not—”
“Then why did you kill Vivian’s father?”
By only the second question, we couldn’t find common ground, and the conversation was starting to drag. Annoyance began to boil up, and when I snapped back at him, the Grand Duke’s face twisted frighteningly.
“You. Didn’t you clearly say you’d prove my innocence?”
“Yeah. I said I’d ‘prove’ your innocence, not that you were actually innocent, Your Grace.”
“What… did you just say?”
He widened his eyes in shock. Honestly, whether he was truly innocent was none of my concern. The only thing that mattered was the contingency fee he’d pay me once he was declared not guilty in court.
It was obvious he’d misunderstood the role of a defense attorney. So naïve. I let out a long sigh.
“Let’s be honest. Our contract is simply for me to get you acquitted. It doesn’t mean I believe in your innocence, Your Grace.”
Frankly, all the circumstances of the case made it perfectly plausible that Grand Duke Richard had killed Vivian’s father. On top of that, the motive for murder was relatively clear.
Screee—
Just then, with the sound of a chair scraping back, the Grand Duke shot to his feet.
“I don’t need a lawyer who doesn’t believe in me. So get out right now!”
“Wait, you can’t do that! Our contract clearly—”
“Yes, about our contract.”
He glared at me fiercely. The red eyes that had been staring at me so earnestly moments ago now held only wariness and distrust.
“If you get me acquitted, I’ll give you half my wealth. But if I don’t cooperate, you can’t get me acquitted either.”
“W-what?”
The defendant refusing his own defense? That was something I hadn’t anticipated at all. I could only stare blankly at his back as he turned and disappeared.
The problem grew more serious. The next day, and the day after that, and even the day after that, the Grand Duke refused my visits.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do.”
In the end, today was another bust. I bit my lip hard. I’d thought he’d cool down after a day, but seeing him remain unmoved only made me more anxious. Of course, I couldn’t just give up like this, so I busied myself digging into the case for his defense. But if the most important client refused my counsel and stayed uncooperative, it was all useless. If he confessed his guilt at trial, it would all be over.
I was trudging out of the prison empty-handed when Lieutenant Victor Genoa approached from the other side. At some point, he’d become surprisingly friendly toward me and struck up conversation.
“Your Highness the Grand Duchess, how is His Highness the Grand Duke doing?”
I worked hard to keep a straight face so he wouldn’t catch on that the Grand Duke and I were in a cold war.
“Of course, he’s fine. By the way, are you doing what I instructed?”
“Yes. But… is this really all we need to do? As a man, it seems a bit too feeble. Doesn’t it make him look like he couldn’t even kill an ant?”
Ugh, he didn’t get it. I shook my head firmly.
“No. Looking like he couldn’t kill anything is exactly the point.”
What I wanted exactly was to revamp the image of the Richard Unit. When coming to the prison, no weapons, bright-colored clothing, all beards shaved, and neatly styled hair. Honestly, the soldiers, including Victor, gave off way too rough and macho vibes—like henchmen serving some murderous villain.
I had to eliminate anything that could tarnish the Grand Duke’s image beforehand. Thankfully, they had obediently followed my orders and were now completely transformed. When gathered together, they looked like a group of devout young men at a religious assembly.
‘Now if only I could change the Grand Duke’s mind…’
The absence of the most integral person was painfully clear. I let out a deep sigh, then walked off to my scheduled interview with a leading newspaper reporter. My relationship with the client might have hit a snag, but I still had to be thorough in my role.
* * *
A few days later.
In the visitation room of the underground prison.
Benedict, who had refused all of Elena’s visits, narrowed his eyes when told that Victor Genoa had come to see him.
“She must take me for a fool.”
Using Victor’s name again, huh. Benedict scoffed. Elena must be trying to lure him out with some flimsy lie. But when the guard insisted the visitor was definitely a man, he awkwardly scratched his neck.
Eventually, when Benedict arrived at the visitation room, a deep furrow formed between his brows.
“Your… appearance. What the hell.”
The moment he opened the door and laid eyes on Victor, it was so absurd that a scolding just burst out.
“How do I look, Your Highness? Don’t I seem extremely kind and harmless? Her Highness the Grand Duchess recommended it.”
Victor proudly pointed at the little yellow chick printed on his light pink shirt, his face beaming. At the mention of Elena from Victor’s mouth, Benedict’s expression hardened.
“Don’t tell me… you came here on that woman’s orders?”
“Of course not. I just… worried that Your Highness might have come down with some serious illness.”
Recently, Victor had sensed something was off. The Grand Duchess’s visits had been getting shorter and shorter. Her face seemed oddly shadowed by worry, too. So he’d come to see for himself if his superior was sick.
Meanwhile, once Benedict confirmed Victor’s visit had nothing to do with Elena, the sharp air around him eased slightly.
“As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. You, on the other hand, should burn that ridiculous outfit the moment you walk out of here.”
“No way! Do you know how effective this is? Thanks to Her Highness the Grand Duchess, things have been going quite well lately.”
Victor flailed his hands frantically and even wore a smug face as he held out a stack of newspapers to Benedict.
“Look at this.”
Benedict’s eyes wavered dramatically when they landed on the headline of a major newspaper.
“‘I trust His Grace the Grand Duke completely.’ — Exclusive interview with Her Highness the Grand Duchess in ‘Lady Aria.’”
“Ha.”
A biting laugh slipped from between Benedict’s teeth. That she trusted him—what a disgustingly shameless interview. The content was even more outrageous.
‘His Grace ran straight into enemy bombardment without a moment’s hesitation just to save a lowly commoner like me. I fell for him at first sight. (He cherishes all life, so he’d never harm anyone!) Such a warm, wonderful man has been falsely accused of murder. We’ve shared a tender love even within these prison walls… (omitted)’
The rest of the fabricated love story was so absurd he couldn’t keep reading.
Especially the part about him never harming anyone—he nearly laughed out loud. How many had he killed on the battlefield already?
And yet, she’d written it so convincingly that by the time he finished the article, even Benedict, who knew it was all lies, felt a slight lump in his chest.
“I never knew Your Highness had such a warm heart either,”
Victor said, wiping tears from his eyes, clearly still moved by what he thought was a noble love story. Benedict muttered in exasperation.
“Do people… actually believe this crap?”
“Of course! After Her Highness’s interview ran, sales of ‘Lady Aria’ doubled. Especially among the ladies, the support is enormous.”
“……”
Victor eagerly went on.
“Follow-up articles are pouring out too. Until recently, everyone treated Your Highness like a criminal, but now the narrative is starting to flip. People are even saying the Crown Prince is using the Police Bureau to recklessly investigate you just to keep Your Highness in check.”
He was genuinely delighted as he spoke. Benedict rubbed his stiff cheek with growing unease.
“It’s strange, but things go well when we do as Her Highness says. I used to dread each day leading up to the trial, but now… I almost look forward to it.”
His mouth tasted bitter. Seeing the hope on Victor’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to say that he was planning to reject that woman’s help and that there would be no acquittal in the trial. He rubbed the stifled, clogged feeling around his throat.
“…That woman—Elena. What’s she up to now?”
“Well, actually…”
At Benedict’s question, Victor’s face suddenly dimmed a little. Benedict furrowed his brow, puzzled. After hesitating, Victor finally spoke carefully.
A few hours later.
Left alone in the visitation room after Victor departed, Benedict pressed his forehead with a look like the world was ending. A deep sigh slipped out between his teeth, and at last, he muttered gravely.
“It seems… Elena Christie is in love with me.”
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