The Trial Reaches a Climax
Breaking only Krantz Princess’s testimony would guarantee a clear victory in this endless, drawn-out trial.
Behind the black veil, Annelin smiled. Her mind had already wandered to a beach in Krantz, basking in the warm sunshine.
“Witness?”
Lawyer Graham forcibly broke the long silence.
All eyes were focused solely on Kayla’s lips.
“…That testimony.”
Kayla, who had taken a long pause, finally opened her mouth and then clamped her lips shut again. Frustrated sighs erupted from various parts of the courtroom. Annelin was starting to get annoyed.
“Please continue.”
Graham thought Kayla was clever for creating such a dramatic effect. The air in the courtroom was so tense it felt like it was about to burst. The next moment, as if the taut air had popped, Kayla’s voice erupted.
“It’s all true.”
“…”
The courtroom fell silent. People just blinked, unable to comprehend what they had just heard.
The first person to realize the meaning of Kayla’s testimony was Annelin.
Betrayal.
The worst possible variable, one that wasn’t included in any scenario.
Annelin tried to steady her breathing. But she couldn’t breathe properly. The black veil with the rose pattern, which touched her slender jawline, trembled.
How dare you… How could you…
Annelin desperately tried to calm down, but it was no use. Her knuckles, clutching the armrest, turned white.
“Everything the Princess of Krantz said is true.”
Finally, the courtroom went into an uproar.
“My goodness!”
The shock, added to the intense heat of early autumn, was too much for some elderly ladies, who fainted one after another.
In the midst of this chaos, Kayla continued, her voice trembling.
“Annelin forced Angela to get involved in the Blanchett abduction. And when things went wrong, she… to cover it up…”
“Answer only the questions, Witness!”
The white-wigged judge, his face crimson, bellowed at the witness stand, but his voice was drowned out by the whirlwind of shock that swept through the courtroom.
“She ordered the assassination of Angela Birkin. She was killed for no reason…”
“Witness! Shut your mouth!”
Lawyer Graham, now pale, shouted.
How could you…
It felt like her throat was being choked. If she could, Annelin wanted to tear Kayla’s lips apart with her own hands.
“She was murdered by Annelin.”
The judge was flabbergasted. Kayla burst into tears. People gasped in shock. And Princess Annelin collapsed.
“Oh, my God… such a ridiculous thing…”
“I can’t believe it. The Princess… doing something so terrible…”
“Poor Miss Birkin.”
The audience couldn’t help but gasp in shock at the tragic fate of Angela Birkin and the shocking revelation from the princess they had revered.
“Silence!”
Despite the court clerk’s shouts, the horrific truth plunged the court into a state of chaotic disorder.
Through her fingers, as she buried her face in her hands and sobbed, Kayla’s eyes met Duke Leopold’s. With an impassive face, the Duke gave a short nod, and his gaze moved to Olivia Blanchett.
His eyes, which had been blank, suddenly softened like a spring breeze. His attitude was so disarming that it was almost absurd.
The courtroom was in disarray. As Annelin lost consciousness, the judge declared a postponement of the verdict and fled the courtroom as if he were escaping. The court artist, who had been silently observing the chaotic scene, started working faster.
As the black charcoal swiftly glided across the white sketchbook, the unclear lines began to take shape. The charcoal passed over the face of Olivia Blanchett, who was walking out confidently past Princess Annelin, lying on the floor of the defendant’s stand. A smile of a graceful victor appeared on her face.
Below the grand, pillared staircase, the citizens of Lytton were gathered. The people, who had been debating the outcome of the epochal trial for a long time, fell silent in an instant.
“Th-there they are! They’re coming out!”
At someone’s loud shout, the crowd’s heads all turned up. On the steps, bathed in the red sunset, Olivia Blanchett appeared, escorted by Duke Leopold.
The onlookers murmured.
Princess Annelin of Britte was nowhere to be seen. That fact meant only one thing.
Olivia Blanchett’s victory.
This can’t be…
While the princess’s supporters were dumbfounded, a scream-like cheer erupted from another side. Simultaneously, flashes went off everywhere.
“Look over here! Miss Blanchett!”
“What are your thoughts right now? Just a word!”
In the rose-colored sunset that engulfed the city, silver flashes burst like victory fireworks. The enthusiastic cheers of “Queen of Tennis! Protector of Justice! Olivia Blanchett!” shook the skies of Lytton.
Olivia, who had stopped for a moment on the stairs, looked up at the coral-colored sky and prayed for Angela Birkin’s peaceful rest.
Night fell on Lytton, which had been hot all day.
The Leopold company’s emblem, an elegant mermaid held in two hands, glowed faintly in the white moonlight. The gentle waves breaking against the ship’s hull occasionally broke the silence. Johan boarded the Leopold company’s merchant ship with Morris.
Standing on the deck, the darkness and the wind covering the sea were calm.
Johan walked across the deck with a regular stride.
Morris, who had stopped at the end of the narrow corridor, looked at Johan, who gave him a short nod. Morris then carefully knocked.
“It’s Morris. Duke Leopold has arrived.”
After a moment, a latch clicked from inside the silent cabin, and the door slowly opened. Morris stepped aside, and Johan entered. Morris followed him in and quietly closed the door.
The cabin, with no lights on, was illuminated only by the faint moonlight filtering through a small window. In that dim light, a woman raised the cream-colored veil covering her face. It was Kayla Johanson.
“You’ve arrived, Duke.”
Next to Kayla, who gave a slight bow, a woman silently approached and stood. It was Angela Birkin.
“She will probably be sentenced to death.” Johan said calmly, his voice flat.
Kayla and Angela looked at each other. The moonlight-filled eyes of the two women sparkled. A satisfied smile appeared on Kayla’s lips.
Just as Kayla was Annelin’s companion, Angela was Kayla’s.
For Angela, Princess Annelin was more than just someone she admired and respected; she was an idol.
For her friend, Kayla had recommended Angela for the vacant maid position that was left open after a marriage. Annelin had frowned slightly. A humble baronial family was not suitable for a princess’s maid. However, Annelin eventually accepted the request from her cousin and sister-like Kayla. That was the beginning of the tragedy.
Angela was so happy.
‘You must find her and get rid of her. No matter what. Understand?’
Kayla regretted helping Angela become the princess’s maid.
She, who had always accepted her shadow-like existence, was angered for the first time and found the courage to betray Annelin. It might have been a foolish gamble, but it was better than living a life of eternal regret. So she joined hands with Duke Johan Leopold, solely for Angela’s safety.
Kayla was originally going to be Olivia’s witness. She planned to reveal that Annelin had ordered murder to cover up the incident. However, when Annelin was cornered by Princess Irene’s appearance, she personally put Kayla on the witness stand.
She had put a noose around her own neck. If Kayla had been more like a real sister, as Annelin always claimed, she should have shown more consideration for her friend. If she had, the tragedy that happened in the courtroom today wouldn’t have occurred.
How little did you think of me?
Her life, which had been spent as a playmate for Annelin under her parents’ orders, ended here.
“Your passports and identification.”
Johan gestured to Morris, who took out forged passports and IDs from his jacket pocket and handed them to the two women.
Angela stared at the unfamiliar name on the passport for a long time.
Angela Birkin was dead. She could feel the reality of her situation. She was no longer a noble lady of a baronial family.
In this desperate moment, the one fortunate thing was that she had become sisters with Kayla.
Angela raised her reddened eyes to look at Kayla. A transparent tear rolled down her cheek.
Jane Palmer and Charlotte Palmer.
These were the names Duke Johan Leopold gave them.
Johan handed over a few more documents for their settlement and then got off the ship.
With this, everything was over.
The headline, “The Brutal Fall of Annelin Grace Britte,” seemed fitting enough.
The huge smokestack of the merchant ship roared, spewing a long trail of gray smoke into the black night sky. Soon, the ship’s figurehead, decorated in silver, shone under the moonlight and cut through the waves.
Johan stood still for a moment, watching the merchant ship heading toward the Republic of Nostia, before getting into his carriage.
The carriage wheels began to move slowly, heading toward Golden Avenue, where Olivia was waiting. Toward the city of bright lights, the opposite of the dark sea.
The night to celebrate a perfect victory was just beginning.
