ITMWG 101

Chapter 101…

It’s just like a confession.

As soon as she entered the courtroom, countless eyes were fixed on her face.

Not only the familiar nobles, but also the commoners seemed to have gathered in large numbers to watch the trial.

The crowd is huge.

As she glanced outside, she saw that the onlookers were curious about how the trial would conclude today, and instead of going home, they were gathered in front of the courtroom.

The crowd was much larger than she expected, and she could feel her proud heart about to shrink, so she quickly recalled the mindset she had learned from Altair.

So what?! Do I even care?!

As Nadia continued to find her seat, she kept thinking about those words and calmed down a little.

Looking across, she saw her uncle was looking through a pile of documents on the desk with a somewhat anxious expression.

In a normal trial, one would bring a lawyer, but in a trial presided over by the Emperor himself, the parties must appear alone.

The intention was to prevent anyone from daring to spout nonsense in front of the emperor.

Since the emperor handed down the verdict himself and allowed anyone to observe, it could be said to be a special trial in many ways.

Such trials often ended up becoming a battle of nerves.

After all, momentum was important in everything.

Although the Emperor sought the advice of the judges with arguments and evidence from both sides, he was also human and could not completely ignore public opinion.

In that sense, we have the advantage.

This was to refer to their appearances alone – a middle-aged man and her, a young woman.

A fight between a marquis who already had everything in his hands and a young lady who lost her parents, title, and property overnight…

It was much easier for her to garner sympathy from the onlookers.

And the evidence is clear.

The fact that her parents’ deaths were passed on to her uncle was an inevitable problem under inheritance law, so she could only get sympathy, but the part about the insurance money was a completely different matter.

Her parents signed up for insurance, and designated her, their daughter, as the beneficiary, separate from the title inheritance.

That was clearly written on the insurance policy that was already in the hands of the police.

At that, she looked around wondering why, and soon she found out why.

The emperor, the presiding judge, had appeared. And he wasn’t alone.

The First Prince?

The First Prince was standing by the Emperor’s side like a secretary.

Even as they entered, the First Prince was whispering something in the Emperor’s ear and they seemed to be having a serious conversation.

After Dwinhofer met his unfortunate end, the First Prince seemed to have figured out the situation and followed the Emperor to defend himself.

Her uncle’s face brightened when he discovered an obvious ally.

The First Prince tried hard not to look at the Marquis, but Nadia, who knew the circumstances behind, could clearly see the two of them quickly exchanging glances.

This is a disadvantage for us.

The Emperor didn’t officially announce a successor, but everyone still thought that the First Prince was the most likely to be the next Emperor.

It was natural, since he was the eldest son.

The second Prince was keeping an eye on the first Prince and waiting for an opportunity, but unless there was a major problem with the first Prince, his turn would not come.

In such a situation, it went without saying that the third Prince, Orca, had long been pushed out of the line of succession, and the Emperor did not necessarily deny the guesses of those who thought the first Prince would be the next Emperor.

Perhaps many people accepted the fact that the Emperor appeared here today with the first Prince as a kind of successor education.

“His Majesty the Emperor has arrived! Everyone, please stand up!”

At the shout of the attendant, everyone in the courtroom, including the onlookers, stood up from their seats, including Nadia and her uncle.

It seemed that he thought the obvious next Emperor was on his side, so the marquis had a relaxed expression, completely erasing the anxious expression he had shown just a moment ago.

There was a sneer on her uncle’s face as he looked at her.

“Everyone, take your seats.”

The Emperor’s short order instantly cleared up the messy courtroom.

People sat up straight and awaited the trial that was about to begin with interest.

“I have received a complaint about a disturbing incident and I would like to resolve it myself, Baroness Aylesford.”

“Yes.”

“You wrote in the complaint that your uncle, the Marquis of Vine, embezzled the insurance money from the deaths of your parents, the late Marquis of Vine and his wife.”

Nadia tried to speak as calmly as possible, but she couldn’t stop her voice from shaking due to the tension.

It wasn’t a big deal, since it was better to look a little nervous than to have a too bold of an attitude.

“Oh my goodness!”

“How could someone do that to their niece!”

The pitying girl’s appeal moved the hearts of the onlookers, and criticism of her uncle erupted from all over.

Since this incident was such a hot topic, the onlookers probably knew the general details, but hearing the story from the victim’s mouth made them feel even more repulsed by her uncle.

Unable to bear the pouring criticism from the people, her uncle slammed the table with both hands and jumped up from his seat.

“That’s a blatant lie, Your Majesty! I didn’t take the insurance money!”

“I haven’t given you permission to speak yet.”

He flinched at the emperor’s cold remark.

However, after looking at the first prince sitting next to the emperor, he regained his composure and continued to complain that he was wronged.

“My apology, Your Majesty. But this is unjust.”

A deep sigh escaped from her uncle’s mouth.

“I did everything for my niece who lost her parents. I didn’t kick her out of the Marquis’ house, and I took good care of her and even married her off to a good husband. The rich man who owned the magic stone mine, Baron Aylesford, is that child’s husband. And I was the one who found her marriage partner!”

Magic stone mine. Riches. Marriage partner.

The onlookers murmured at those few words.

When Nadia married Altair, Aylesford was in dire straits, but her uncle never mentioned that fact.

Her uncle began to gain more and more strength as he was fueled by the onlookers who did not know the truth behind the story he told.

“If I were the scoundrel who stole my brother’s insurance money before he passed away, would I have taken care of my niece like this? I would have kicked her out of the family long ago so she would not have had the chance to speak out like this. To repay kindness with enmity like this…it’s truly…”

Her uncle took out a handkerchief from his inside pocket and began to pretend to wipe away his fake tears.

“My niece used to always listen to me, which made her a good niece. But after getting married, she suddenly changed. I am very suspicious that she was tricked by her husband and tried to steal the wealth of the Vine Marquis, Your Majesty!”

The marquis, who had raised his voice toward the emperor, looked straight at Nadia this time.

“Nadia, come to your senses now. Are you thinking of falling for your husband’s trick and disgracing our family, a long-standing and prestigious family? Huh? If you need money, I can give it to you. I do not mind it at all for my precious niece. But I can’t stand this kind of insult!”

The onlookers’ murmur grew louder, which made not only Nadia but also Altair look like bad guys.

The eyes of those who had been looking at her with pity were now filled with wariness, as if they were looking at a couple in a fraud.

She had to turn this situation around.

“Uncle, I’m not doing this because I need money. As you said, Baron Aylesford is a wealthy man who owns a magic stone mine. Do I really look like I’m doing this because I need money?”

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…A tear for a tear!

Nadia squeezed out as many sad thoughts as she could, took out a handkerchief from her pocket, and started to do exactly what her uncle had done.

But unlike her uncle, who didn’t even show a trace of tears, tears started to trickle down as soon as she took out the handkerchief and held it to her eyes.

It was natural for her nose to tingle and tears to flow out when she thought of her deceased parents.

However, there was something more important than being intoxicated by sadness right now, so Nadia should put her sorrow aside and lead the situation rationally.

“I just want to receive the legitimate inheritance my parents left me. It’s not just money. It’s the love my parents left me… Yet, you intercepted that…”

“Huh! Who intercepted it?”

When Nadia’s tears seemed to change the mood of the onlookers, her uncle forgot to pretend to cry and threw his handkerchief on the floor.

“You did receive the insurance money! It’s true that I talked to the insurance company and received the insurance money first because you were so miserble during the funeral. However, I definitely gave it to you after the funeral! Didn’t you even create a document because you said it would be good to leave evidence?”

The marquis argued and glanced at the First Prince.

The corners of his mouth slightly raised and he nodded lightly as if saying he had done well.

The marquis, who had received his confirmation, raised his chin with an even more proud attitude.

He seemed to have revised his logic to ‘I received the money from the insurance company first but then delivered it to my niece’ after realising that they had obtained an insurance policy with a beneficiary on their side…

It’s unfortunate that we can’t use the evidence we have, but…

Were he to tell such a big lie, there would inevitably be a hole.

To fill the gap of a lie, one would need an even bigger lie, and to fill the gap of an even bigger lie, they would need an even bigger lie, and eventually, the lie that plugged the hole would fall off.

“I don’t remember having such a conversation with my uncle. And we didn’t even write a document.”

“You’ve been greedy and cunning since you were young! Didn’t you create the document because you thought a day like this would come? I’ll submit that as evidence, Your Majesty!”

Her uncle raised one of the documents piled on the table with a smirk.

Then the servant who was waiting quickly took the document and gave it to the emperor.

The emperor looked at the contents of the document, smiled as if he found it interesting, and handed the document to Nadia through the servant.

“Your-, Your Majesty!”

The marquis jumped up in surprise at his action.

“That kid might, ge-get rid of the evidence that is unfavorable to her…”

“Then it would be better if she confessed her guilt, isn’t it?”

The emperor ignored his protest and said to Nadia.

“Do you have anything to say about this document?”

She calmly skimmed through the document in her hand.

The content was just as her uncle had said.

The insurance company had delivered the insurance money to her uncle first instead of her, who was busy with the funeral, and her uncle had definitely given her the insurance money after the funeral. They then confirmed it and signed it and left it as a document.

I have to prove that I didn’t receive the insurance money before we can move on to the next step.

But the document was more elaborate than she thought.

The signature was also very similar to hers, so it would probably be difficult to detect the forgery even if she looked closely.

I left many documents with the Marquis, so the signature forgery must have been perfect.

But…

We only recently obtained the insurance policy. My uncle and the first prince didn’t have time to think long and deal with it.

So there had to be a hole.

Just like ‘this’.

If it’s a lie that will flop like this, it’s better not to say it to begin with, dear uncle.