Chapter : 11
At her sudden question, Patron’s mouth stopped for a moment. From that fleeting hesitation, Clitaim became even more certain.
The Grand Duke had really gone and threatened someone.
After organizing her thoughts for a moment, she soon spoke.
“Can you really manipulate the evidence?”
With the things he had said before and a basic understanding of the Cerdia Empire, it was enough to figure it out.
The temple had an investigation team that examined whether evidence had been tampered with.
The investigation team was selected by the Cardinal, appointed by the Pope, and commanded by the Archbishop.
Among those three people, there was only one person who was under the Grand Duke.
“The Archbishop?”
“……That is correct.”
Patron replied in a somewhat displeased tone, having been caught so quickly.
After learning the truth behind the matter, Clitaim was grateful to him, but at the same time, she felt suspicious.
Someone who knew better than anyone what kind of relationship existed between the Imperial Family and the Temple had taken an action that would put him at odds with the Temple.
Even if it was necessary to properly separate from his ex-wife, wasn’t the risk too great?
‘Does he have some other motive?’
What is he planning to do by earning my favor?
Although he said he had no choice, I had pushed him rather threateningly. Unless his head was completely screwed up, why would he want the favor of someone like me…?
Various thoughts came to mind, but no matter how she considered it, the only benefit he could gain from threatening the Temple was her divorce.
‘I should at least thank him, right?’
Whatever the reason that had prompted him to do it, the result had benefited her, so she felt that she should at least offer him a minimum expression of gratitude.
“Thank you.”
“……?”
“I said thank you.”
She pretended as though it were nothing, but she did not want to hurt herself.
Who would enjoy hurting themselves?
Unless they were crazy.
Still, she had decided to do it because there was nothing else left to her besides this method.
At Clitaim’s unexpected thanks, Patron’s eyes widened before he answered indifferently.
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want it before?”
“I said that because I didn’t know this would happen.”
Clitaim frowned and answered sharply, sensing a lingering reproach in his words.
“I hope you win the trial.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll definitely win.”
Unless the Archbishop was an idiot, he wouldn’t side with a man who committed domestic violence.
At her confident voice, Patron gave a deflated little laugh and continued.
“The effects of the injuries will last for about half a day. They’ll remain for quite a while even after the trial ends, so don’t worry.”
“Then I’ll have to make sure to cover them up after the trial. Electra would be surprised if she saw them.”
Clitaim clicked her tongue as she examined the newly completed potion from every angle.
The green potion looked dangerous just by looking at it.
Patron clicked his tongue as well when he saw how she always looked for Electra first, then continued.
“What will you do if the injuries aren’t accepted as physical evidence?”
Whether to accept something as physical evidence was not the sole authority of the Archbishop.
The bishops who assisted the Archbishop could also give their opinions and vote in favor of or against it.
Evidence in the form of injuries had too many weaknesses because there was always the possibility that they had been fabricated.
From the bishops’ perspective, it would be difficult to accept something like that as evidence.
And there was no such thing as a Recording Stone that could preserve voices or images.
At Patron’s concerned question, Clitaim instead curved her lips into a confident smile.
“Even if they can’t be used as evidence, they’ll still be useful.”
“……”
“If I’ve been taken advantage of because of prejudice, shouldn’t I take advantage of it at least once?”
When Patron looked confused by her cryptic words, she let out a hollow laugh and changed the subject.
“Are you coming to the trial?”
Since this trial was something Clitaim herself had to handle entirely, there was no particular reason for him to come.
But Patron answered as though it were obvious.
“Of course. I need to make sure everything goes smoothly.”
At his words about making sure things proceeded properly, Clitaim soon understood and nodded.
“Then, may I ask you for one favor?”
“What favor?”
At Clitaim’s question, Patron leaned his body slightly toward her.
In response, she subtly leaned back and continued.
“Please don’t let Electra come to the trial.”
Even though he did something wrong, I don’t want to put a child in a place where all of her father’s shame will be exposed.
At the perfectly reasonable request, Patron nodded as though it were only natural.
From that day onward, Clitaim prepared for the trial by making potions and reading precedents concerning divorce.
The Grand Duke of Ludwig had provided her with a divorce lawyer, but the show she would have to put on in the courtroom was something she had to handle entirely by herself.
She considered telling the lawyer about it, but she didn’t think it would be particularly helpful.
If anything, he would probably try to stop her and only get in her way.
‘How long have I been waiting for an opportunity like this? I have to succeed no matter what.’
In all her previous lives, everything had ended before she even had the chance to set foot in the courtroom.
If she regressed again from this point, she would truly give up on everything and live like a corpse.
‘The structure of the Temple…’
She examined the map of the Temple that she had obtained from Patron and wrote down every possible scenario on paper.
What if the majority sided with her?
What if only a minority sided with her?
And what if no one sided with her at all and everyone viewed the situation through a distorted perspective?
The first and second scenarios offered at least a small amount of hope, but the third meant complete ruin.
‘There’s no way people can be divided so completely into black and white.’
Even the same person could be considered a good person by one individual and a bad person by another.
Prejudice would be the same.
‘Well, this isn’t something I can control.’
If she knew the identities of the people in advance, she could have tried bribing or threatening them, but she couldn’t do that.
The investigation team consisted of priests belonging to the Temple, while the jurors would be members of the most prominent families in the country.
So Clitaim decided to start with the things she could control.
Holding the script she had written, she walked around the room and began practicing her acting.
It was embarrassing, but if she was going to do this in front of countless people on the day of the trial, she needed at least this much courage.
“……I am a victim who has an abusive husband, and I am also the mother of a child.”
Her decisive line, aimed at the jurors attending the trial.
“I hope that works.”
“What?”
“Huh? Ah, Electra, why aren’t you asleep?”
At her daughter’s sudden appearance, Clitaim quickly hid the script she had been holding behind her back.
This was something she absolutely could not let her daughter know about.
“I just couldn’t sleep…… I wanted to sleep with Mom.”
“Not today either?”
Seeing Electra fidgeting her fingers shyly, Clitaim raised her voice with a little squeak.
“N-No…… of course you can.”
“Then let’s sleep together.”
At the positive answer, Electra’s face brightened.
As though she had never been sad in the first place, the child hurried to the bed and patted the blanket.
“Hurry up!”
At Electra’s urging, Clitaim had no choice but to put the script inside the vanity drawer and take a place beside her daughter.
“I like sleeping with Mom.”
When Clitaim lay facing her, Electra snuggled into her arms and acted affectionately.
The soft baby fat on the child’s cheeks tickled her face.
The soft sensation made Clitaim relax, and she murmured with a faint smile.
“Who did my daughter take after to become so pretty?”
“Of course, I look like Mom!”
At the immediate answer, Clitaim let out a small laugh and kissed Electra on the forehead.
Although she was merely an extra who had possessed the role of the ‘villainess mother,’ she sincerely wished for Electra’s happiness.
Is it because she is precious to me, or perhaps……
Could it be because she resembles my past life?
Because she resembles the past I had, being abandoned by my parents and growing up alone in an orphanage.
“I’ll definitely make you happy.”
I’ll change the ending from one where she goes berserk and kills everyone to one where she lives an ordinary life.
Clitaim stroked Electra, who had already fallen asleep, and closed her eyes.
“Ahhh!”
A single scream rang through the quiet Baron’s residence.
The butler Theo, who had been nearby, hurried to set up the overturned furniture and tried to restore order.
But it was useless because the rate at which things were being thrown around was even faster.
Ever since attending the party at the Grand Duke’s residence, Hailey had been tearing through the entire household like a tyrant.
Perhaps he could not behave this way outside, but here, he was the law and the order itself, so no one could stop Baron Schultz.
After taking out his anger on innocent objects for quite some time, Hailey even lashed out at Camilla, who had come over to try to stop him.
“What the hell do you think you are?”
“Hailey!”
He usually treated Camilla as though she were a baby, but on days when he was in a bad mood, he treated her as casually as if she were something disposable.
Camilla, who knew this as Clitaim’s personal maid, silently ground her teeth and stood up from where she had fallen.
She wanted to snap back at him right away, but if she did, she knew her cheek would not remain unscathed.
Instead, she left the place and returned to her own room.
After locking the door tightly, she let out a deep sigh and lay down on the bed.
The reward for betraying Clitaim, who had treated her well, was nothing more than this room and a few pieces of jewelry.
And the unpleasant title of mistress.
‘If I’d known he was such a worthless man, I should have just stayed quiet.’
To Camilla, who had been a maid, Baron Schultz had seemed quite attractive.
A capable former knight known throughout society, the title of Baron, and a decent appearance.
He already belonged to someone else, but she had been unable to control the feelings that continued to grow inside her.
Although she certainly felt nothing like that now.
Even in the middle of all this, perhaps because she was hungry, her stomach suddenly growled.
“Hey, bring me some food right now.”
Camilla ordered Nancy, an easy target among the maids, to bring her food.
Nancy found it absurd that someone who was not even a noble, but merely a mistress, was ordering her around, and let out a hollow laugh.
“Get it yourself.”
We’re both maids. Who are you to give me orders?
Recently, as the number of times Hailey became angry with Camilla increased, the servants’ attitudes toward Camilla also began to change.
The servants, who had been obedient to her face even if they spoke differently behind her back, had become openly hostile.
Bang.
Once Nancy had said what she wanted to say, she immediately left the room.
Camilla let out an incredulous laugh and stood up.
“You used to tremble at a single word from me.”
Her face turned red with anger, and unable to contain her rage, she chased after Nancy.
Nancy was caught off guard and ended up having her hair grabbed by Camilla.
“How dare you talk back to me?”
“Bring my food. Now! Right now!”
She had long since forgotten her hunger because of her anger, but she raised her voice out of sheer pride.
“Ah, all right…… I’ll bring it. I said I’ll bring it!”
Nancy quickly brought the meal from the dining room.
“You should have done that from the beginning.”
Camilla sneered as she picked up the utensils and took a spoonful of the prepared soup.
“Ugh!”
But suddenly, she felt a wave of nausea and dropped the spoon.
‘Why am I like this? I eat this all the time.’
Startled by the sudden situation, she hurriedly pushed the food away.
Once Nancy had left, Camilla finally voiced the thought she had been holding back.
“Could it be…?”
No matter how she thought about it, there was only one possibility.
With an ominous feeling, she hurriedly called for a doctor and had herself examined.
“……Hmm.”
“Is my guess correct?”
The doctor carefully checked her pulse before slowly opening his mouth.
“Congratulations. You are pregnant.”
