ITMWG 103

Chapter 103…

It’s your fault, so take responsibility.

“Then let’s end today’s trial here.”

The emperor announced the end of the trial and left.

The first prince, who was staring at the marquis who was dragged away with a blank expression, hurriedly collected his wits and followed the emperor.

Even though only the back of his head was visible, the first prince’s confusion and bewilderment were clearly sensed.

As the high-ranking officials left, the onlookers became even more excited and raised their voices.

Watching the onlookers chattering away, expressing their criticism of the marquis or sympathy for Nadia, she felt strange.

She saw clearly how many times public opinion had changed in this place today.

Whenever a small fact was revealed, they would shake and criticise the person in front of them without hesitation.

In the end, the target of the criticism was her uncle, but it could have been directed at her if she had been careless.

Thinking about it that way, the atmosphere in the courtroom, which she had tried to endure with courage, felt infinitely heavy.

As Nadia staggered while tightly clutching the hem of her skirt with both hands, Altair, who had been watching, approached her quickly.

When she saw Altair’s face, which had an unwavering expression despite walking urgently, the courage she had been holding onto collapsed.

It was because of the relief that someone I could lean on without worry had appeared.

“Nadia!”

Altair lowered his body and examined her complexion, perhaps surprised by his wife’s appearance as she collapsed to the floor.

His eyes were filled with worry, and the weight of the voices that filled the courtroom became as light as a feather.

Nadia tried to reassure Altair, but she could feel that the corners of her stiff lips did not form something close to a smile.

“You did well. Really.”

“…That’s right. I did well!”

If it were before, she would have said that she was lacking, but she decided to be confident and proud.

She nodded, repeating the words “I did well” as if she was praising herself.

“You really did well.”

“Yes.”

Altair, who found that funny, let out a snicker and reached out to touch her cheek, but then frowned slightly and halted.

Nadia blinked as she looked at her hand that had stopped in midair. He asked.

“Is it okay now?”

“What is?”

“No contact. Can I touch you now?”

She clearly shouted at Altair before entering the courtroom, “No contact, because if you touch me, my mind will become messy!”

But he was still following that? In the novel, if it’s for his own interest, he would do all sorts of things behind her back without hesitation.

Plus, I’ve seen that in real life, too.

Nadia had seen up close the process of getting rid of the annoying Balhail and receiving the orchard from the arrogant noble, so she knew clearly that the character in the novel was not just fictional.

“If you’re not someone who faithfully follows these things…”

“If I think it’s more beneficial to faithfully follow the warning, then I shall do so.”

“Benefit?”

What benefit is there in following my warning?

Aas if she was asking the obvious, Altair looked at her in a puzzled manner.

“Not hurting my wife’s feelings. Is there a bigger benefit than that?”

“Y-you-, you weren’t the type to say such things either… ”

Altair’s face turned red as he calmly said the embarrassing words.

Nadia thought that from now on she should forbid him from approaching her altogether instead of a no-touching when they had important work to do.

“Baroness!”

The moment she lowered her head, unable to help her flushed face, Duke Viosques, who had been sitting in the audience, came over to us with a hearty laugh.

“Well done! You’re really clever. Paper and ink, I was really surprised!”

“Impatience and carelessness always leave loopholes.”

“That’s right.”

Duke Viosques nodded in agreement with Altair’s words, then glanced at the onlookers who were leaving the courtroom one by one.

“The whole capital will be buzzing with the trial story now. It was quite dramatic after all.”

The fact that the uncle and niece were fighting over the insurance money was already ridiculous, but the fact that the uncle forged documents to frame his niece made it even more provocative.

If the emperor stepped forward and started investigating the truth, it would be revealed that the deaths of Nadia’s parents were not a simple accident, so the rumours would only grow bigger.

And if it’s also revealed that the First Prince was the mastermind…

“Once the rumours spread, I plan to petition His Majesty. It would be about stripping the title of the current marquis of his dishonest title and returning it to you.”

Duke Viosques lowered his voice and told us his plans for the future.

“Then the law would have to be changed so that you, a woman, could also inherit the title, and it would be an opportunity to completely overhaul the traditional inheritance law. If public opinion burns like fire, His Majesty cannot just stick to tradition.”

“Will there be enough people who agree?”

Duke Viosques nodded slightly at Altair’s question.

“There are quite a few people with similar circumstances. They are all worthy of speaking up in front of His Majesty. Furthermore, our petition would not be bad from the imperial family’s perspective.”

Duke Viosques looked at the emperor’s seat, which was already empty.

“There have been such incidents in history, where the first prince, the official successor, is lacking, but the second prince is so outstanding that he has no choice but to make excuses and kill the first prince.”

“Falsely framing him for a crime that didn’t even happen, or using the excuse that he was assassinated by an outside force.”

As Altair added in agreement, there was a brief silence.

As Nadia followed the two and looked at the empty emperor’s seat, Duke Viosques smiled and patted her shoulder.

“Anyway, don’t worry, Baroness. Just prepare to become the marchioness soon. With what you showed me today, you’ve definitely shown everyone that you have the potential to be the marchioness.”

Rumours of the trial concerning marquis Vine and Nadia spread like wildfire throughout the capital.

The flames grew even bigger as the investigation revealed that her parents’ deaths might not have been a simple accident.

As the flames were engulfing the entire capital without stopping, Duke Viosques submitted a petition to the emperor as promised.

If the deaths of the former Marquis and his wife were really caused by her uncle’s plot, he should be removed and everything should be returned to Nadia Vine, the rightful owner.

It was like pouring oil on the flames.

The hearts of those who had been burning at the sight of the unjust incident turned to support Duke Viosques’ petition.

The revision of the inheritance law that was linked to this also gained a lot of support.

It seemed that Melissa was persistently requesting a visit with her lawyer, but no one was able to meet the ones imprisoned in Balstead.

Now all that was left was the Emperor’s decision.

The problem is that the First Prince is also involved in the death of my parents.

The Emperor had never expressed any dissatisfaction with the successor until now.

If the Third Prince Orca had been the ‘higher line’ of the incident as initially expected, it would have been easy to guess the Emperor’s intentions.

If he were to bury the incident in order to protect the successor…

“He won’t do that.”

“Huh?”

Altair’s firm voice reached her ear, who was lost in thought.

“You’re worried that the Emperor might protect the First Prince.”

“…Is it written on my face?”

Altair chuckled as he touched Nadia’s face, having guessed correctly.

“There’s nothing written on it. But that’s the only problem you would have to worry about in this situation.”

It had always like that, no matter what.

The moment she let her guard down, thinking that everything was going well and that it would soon be over, the situation reversed.

Just like how her uncle and the first prince let their guard down and ended up being overturned in court.

“The prince is involved in such an illegal act, so the royal family would want to avoid a scandal. They could just cut off the tail and punish your uncle. But then, the real enemy would still remain, and your parents’ grudge would not be resolved…”

The more he spoke, the more her shoulders slumped.

If they couldn’t punish the first prince, even if her uncle was punished and the marquis title was reclaimed, it would be their defeat.

And she didn’t want to lose.

“…When I was at the Vine…”

Altair opened his mouth, watching Nadia clench her fists. It was a somewhat unsuitable topic.

“I visited the graves of the previous marquis and his wife.”

“Pardon?”

Her eyes rounded as she looked at Altair, and saw one corner of his mouth slightly lifted into a smile.

“The maintenance was a mess. There were traces of hastily cleaning up, but it was terrible. I thought you were treated that way by the Marquis in that house too. It was a completely… different experience from what I had only heard.”

“…”

“That’s why I swore in front of them both that day. As Nadia Vine’s husband, I too became your family, so I would definitely fix everything. At the time, I didn’t know that my parents’ affairs were also involved, so it might have sounded a bit arrogant.”

“Altair.”

When she carefully took Altair’s hand in a calm voice, he chuckled and lightly ruffled her hair as if telling me not to worry.

“Those who commit crimes will definitely pay the price. Definitely.”

“I want them to receive their just punishment.”

“Why? Are you afraid that I might assassinate the First Prince? Do you not like that kind of thing?”

Altair’s eyes flashed dangerously. At that, Nadia shook hẻ head and wrapped her arms around Altair even tighter.

“Me?”

“Yes. Killing the royal family is a great sin. I don’t want Altair to get caught up in it and be in danger.”

If that happened, only the Third Prince Orca would be happy. He would be able to eliminate the enemy without getting a drop of blood on his hands.

The only one who can punish the prince was the emperor. If he dared to cross that line, Altair would become a traitor.

“So don’t have such strange thoughts. Never.”

She looked firmly into Altair’s eyes and urged him, and his once murderous eyes took on a strange light.

“I would choose that approach without mercy.”

“A-Altair!”

“In the past, I would have done that. I would have done it to get what I wanted, no matter what. But I can’t do that anymore.”

Altair lightly kissed the back of her hand that was wrapped around his.

“It is only at this age do I know what fear is.”

“It’s all your fault. How are you going to take responsibility for this…? Huh?”