The courtroom audience was in an uproar.
The appearance of a witness that no one had expected was an absolute shock.
This was especially true for Annelin.
Clack-clack. The sound of thin heels echoing on the courtroom floor rang in Annelin’s ears. The situation was so surreal that she couldn’t take her eyes off the woman walking toward the witness stand. The handkerchief she had neatly folded and placed on her lap was now twisting between her fingers.
The witness questioning began.
With a visibly brighter expression, Cassen Cloud passed the stunned Lawyer Graham and stood facing the witness stand.
“Before we begin the questioning, on behalf of Britte, I thank you for making the journey.”
Cassen bowed respectfully and asked his first question.
“Please state your name.”
“Irene de Krantz.”
Her voice was calm. Irene’s gaze, which had been on the prosecutor, moved to Olivia, unbothered by the murmuring. As their eyes met, Olivia gave a brief nod of thanks.
The audience’s gaze, which had been on the Princess of Krantz, naturally shifted to Olivia Blanchett.
As if it wasn’t enough to put a princess of one nation on the defendant’s stand, now they were putting another princess on the witness stand…
Anyway, she’s an extraordinary woman.
People clicked their tongues in shock at the unbelievable reality.
It was around this time that Annelin’s normally calm heartbeat went awry. Regret washed over her, as she felt she had too easily accepted the witness request.
But what could her testimony change, now that Angela Birkin is dead? Annelin tried to compose herself.
“Did the witness enter the country on June 25th?”
“Yes.”
“And you left on July 21st.”
“That is correct.”
The prosecutor, who had been scanning the documents, looked up and asked Irene, “Where did you stay during that time?”
Annelin frowned at the prosecutor’s unexpected question.
“Thanks to Princess Annelin’s consideration, I stayed in the West Palace.”
“What did you do besides official public activities?”
“Objection, Your Honor. This question has no bearing on the case and is a private matter—”
“You’re too impatient, Lawyer Graham. I assure you, Your Honor, the answer to this question is extremely important to this case.”
“Proceed.”
The prosecutor thanked the judge and asked the Princess of Krantz to continue her testimony.
“I spent most of my time reading books.”
“Ah! Quite an intellectual hobby. And that is when the incident you mentioned in your letter to me occurred?”
“That is correct.”
“Could you be more specific?”
The courtroom fell silent as a mouse.
“The change of beds prevented me from sleeping that day as well. I was putting a book back on the shelf and was choosing a new one.”
Irene was picking out a hardcover book of poems from the bookshelf in the attached study of her bedroom.
Thump. The bookshelf made a heavy sound as it rotated. She wasn’t particularly surprised, as a secret passage like this existed in the Krantz Palace where she was born and raised.
“So you went inside?”
“Yes.”
A momentary curiosity arose, and Irene, holding a candle, stepped into the dark passage. Unlike the Krantz Palace, which was damp and mossy from disuse, the secret passage of the West Palace was clean, without a single weed or speck of dust. As such secret passages do, it came to a fork in the road after a short distance.
“And which way did you go?”
“I went right.”
“…”
The face of Annelin, hidden behind a black veil, grew paler. Unconsciously, Annelin bit her nails through her black lace glove, then, surprised, lowered her hands to her lap and wrung the innocent handkerchief.
No way.
Annelin’s heart pounded fiercely.
“I heard voices. It sounded like two people were having a conversation.”
“Could you hear what they were talking about?”
“Yes.”
This can’t be!
Her clenched hands trembled. Annelin wanted to scream, Stop! and leap to her feet, but such an action would only invite suspicion. The audience, as if listening to a fascinating story, their eyes wide, focused on Irene.
“Can you state exactly what you heard, right here?”
No!
Annelin’s breath caught in her throat. Seeing Irene’s lips slowly part, Annelin instinctively prepared to faint. At that moment.
“Angela.”
The name of the deceased was heard.
Irene continued, her voice level, as she looked at the defendant’s stand.
“You’re the only one I can trust to do this for me, Angela. You know that, right?”
The black veil, like a curtain, trembled as if vibrating.
“Angela. I’m counting on you.”
“So, what did Miss Angela Birkin say?”
“You can count on me, Your Highness. I won’t disappoint you.”
Oh, my god!
The audience was in shock. It was a terrible testimony, so much so that if the witness wasn’t a noble princess, it could have been grounds for a defamation lawsuit.
“What do you surmise was the request made by the defendant?” Cassen Cloud’s voice was sharp as he questioned.
“At the time, I didn’t know. I just thought it was a common conversation between a lady and her maid. But after reading the newspaper articles about this incident, I realized that the conversation was directed at Angela Birkin to—”
“Objection, Your Honor. The witness’s statement is merely her speculation and not fact. I ask that it be struck from the record.”
“Sustained.”
The judge gestured to the clerk and glared at the prosecutor.
“No further questions, Your Honor.”
The prosecutor returned to his seat, but the three judges looked dumbfounded. The one with the longest wig, a Royalist, the late king’s son-in-law, and the princess’s godfather, had his face turned as white as his wig.
Damn it.
It was an undeniable guilty verdict. In his sixty years of life, he had never imagined that he, a Royalist, the late king’s son-in-law, and Princess Annelin’s godfather, would be the one to hand down the first-ever guilty verdict for a member of the royal family in history.
“The defendant’s side, you may cross-examine.” He commanded, trying to regain his composure.
Annelin leaned her head toward Graham. After whispering into the lawyer’s ear, she straightened up, and he rose from his seat.
Graham approached the witness stand with a relaxed gait. The cross-examination began.
“Is there anyone who can corroborate the witness’s testimony? Someone who heard it with you?”
“No.”
“It’s possible the witness made the whole thing up.”
“…”
Graham, with a single sentence, shattered the credibility of Irene’s testimony as easily as if he were breaking a glass vase.
“How can we trust the words of a witness that we cannot prove?”
Like a reed swaying aimlessly in the wind, the courtroom grew noisy again.
“I have testified on the honor of Krantz.” Irene said firmly to the mocking lawyer.
“How many people were in the conversation?”
“Two people.” Irene answered, giving Graham a cold stare.
“Are you certain?”
“I am.”
“I have no further questions for this witness. And we would like to request a new witness, Your Honor.”
“The witness is dismissed. The request is accepted.”
The judge, with a stern expression, didn’t even ask for the prosecutor’s opinion and immediately granted the request.
A new witness…
Johan’s dry gaze fell on the cornered princess. He had to give her credit for the composure she was feigning even in this situation.
“I call Miss Kayla Johanson as a witness.”
As her name was called, Kayla, who was sitting in the audience, flinched in surprise.
Annelin, who was seated in the defendant’s chair, turned her head. Their eyes met.
A silent command.
Understanding its meaning, Kayla slowly rose from her seat. She walked down the aisle of the audience, all eyes on her.
It was when Kayla’s slow steps passed the defendant’s stand. Her amber eyes met Annelin’s again through the rose veil.
I’m counting on you, Kayla.
Leaving the brief moment behind, Kayla stood on the witness stand.
“I swear. I, Kayla Johanson, do so upon my conscience…”
Kayla’s voice trembled slightly as she read the oath.
Finally, the final witness questioning of this trial began.
“Please state your relationship with Her Highness the Princess.” Graham asked.
“We are maternal cousins.”
“I understand that the two of you are particularly close. By any chance, on that day—the very day the Princess of Krantz claims to have heard the conversation between Her Highness Princess Annelin and Miss Birkin, around 11:00 p.m. on June 28th—where were you?”
“…”
Kayla, who had been looking at Lawyer Graham, slowly turned her head. Annelin, sitting in the defendant’s chair, was looking at her.
“Witness?”
At the sound that broke the silence, Kayla slowly unclenched her tightly bitten lips.
“…I was with Annelin and Miss Angela Birkin.”
My God! The courtroom was turned upside down.
Amid the chaos, Annelin’s lips curled into a slight smile.
Well done, Kayla.
The courtroom was in an uproar.
“Silence!” The judge quieted the noise.
Annelin’s shoulders, which had been tense, relaxed. Annelin looked at Kayla with a somewhat peaceful gaze.
A silent understanding. Kayla was perfectly performing her role in the impromptu play that Annelin had so cleverly devised.
“Does that mean you, Her Highness the Princess, and Angela Birkin were all together?”
“Yes.”
The audience began to murmur, confused about whose words to believe.
Olivia sighed softly. Annelin’s shamelessness was truly beyond imagination.
“On that day, does the conversation between Her Highness the Princess, the witness, and Angela Birkin match the testimony of the Princess of Krantz from just moments ago?”
For a moment, the world was deadly quiet.
