“That’s right! I saw it too, that man forcibly tearing this woman’s dress!”

A man stepped forward and shouted. He was a middle-aged man with a cleanly bald head.

The man’s words didn’t end there. He narrowed his eyes above his plump cheeks and suddenly shouted in an even louder, more vehement voice.

“Wait, now that I look closer…… Isn’t that Sir Zephyros, His Majesty the Emperor’s close aide!”

The scripted lines and theatrical tone seemed suspicious, but it didn’t matter much to the public. What stuck in people’s minds was only the fact that ‘the Emperor’s close aide tried to r*pe a married woman.’

When his lord was mentioned, Zephyros couldn’t contain his anger and strode forward, emitting a murderous aura.

“This is intolerable. Who orchestrated this!”

However, the public’s reaction was firm. When the woman sobbed in fear, people unanimously blocked Zephyros’s path.

They were protecting the woman from him.

With the woman’s appearance, convincing claims, and the witness’s testimony, Zephyros had somehow been branded a despicable villain.

‘This is absurd. It’s a false accusation.’

Watching all this from a distance, Aristie instinctively knew Zephyros had fallen into a trap. But Zephyros was universally acknowledged as the Emperor’s loyal servant.

No one would dare harm the eldest son of a knight family that had protected emperors for generations, nor would they have a reason to. Until now, that is.

‘Yet if someone plotted this…… Someone who would gain from it……’

Aristie bit her lip and quickened her steps. She intended to personally step forward and defend Zephyros.

But just then, something caught her toe and flew off. A small object glinting in the faint sunset light.

‘……What’s that?’

For some reason, Aristie couldn’t ignore it and approached where the object had fallen to pick it up. Upon examination, it was a small silver nail scissors.

‘Why is this here……?’ she wondered, when suddenly a hypothesis occurred to her.

‘Ah, could it be…… If so!’

Aristie took out her handkerchief, wrapped the scissors, and headed back to the main street. But she was too late.

Zephyros and the woman had already been led away by the military police summoned by the people. Even the man who had sided with the woman was gone.

‘……Estelle!’

Aristie strongly suspected Estelle was behind this. Since there was nothing she could do here, she got in her carriage and headed home.

She intended to help Zephyros. But to do so, she needed time to prepare.

‘Trying to remove Sir Zephyros and expand her influence? I won’t allow it!’

She stared at the handkerchief wrapping the nail scissors and carefully placed it in her bag.

Her vow to actively counter Estelle’s schemes. Now was the time to put it into practice.

* * *

“Sir Volter!”

Upon arriving at the Duke’s mansion, Aristie sought out Volter first.

Volter, the commander of the Yentrice Knight Order, was like a father figure to her and someone she greatly relied on.

“Miss? What brings you here at this hour?”

Volter, who was preparing to leave work, asked with raised eyebrows. Aristie’s expression was too serious for this to be just a casual visit.

“I’m sorry, but I have a favor to ask.”

“Please tell me. If it’s your request, I would even pluck the stars from the sky for you.”

Aristie smiled briefly at Volter’s joke but quickly returned to her serious expression and said.

“An incident occurred on Ellin Road. Please send someone to the military police immediately to investigate it. Sir Zephyros is involved, so it’s probably already a hot topic within the military police.”

“Zephyros? How did that happen?”

Aristie told Volter exactly what she had witnessed. After hearing the story, Volter was bewildered but not particularly proactive.

“The situation is unfortunate, but Zephyros’s promiscuous behavior is well-known, so it won’t be easy to overturn public opinion. Given his usual image and the presence of a witness……”

“That’s why we need to find evidence. Besides, there’s a witness on our side too. Because I saw it.”

“Oh my, Miss.”

Volter scratched his short hair with difficulty.

“Why are you trying so hard to help him? If you appear to be involved in a love scandal before your imperial marriage, the Duke will be furious.”

He was genuinely concerned for Aristie. Though she understood his concern, Aristie had her own reasons for not backing down.

“I actually suspect that the person who plotted this might be the same individual who has been tormenting me.”

“What!? If that’s the case, we can’t just stand by!”

Upon hearing this, Volter immediately changed his attitude and rolled up his sleeves. He knew all too well how much slander and scheming Aristie had endured.

He and his knights were the ones who had resolved these incidents each time following her instructions. Thanks to this, their investigative abilities had become far more agile and sharp than those of the military police.

“First, identify the woman who reported the incident, then do the following. Go to the military police……”

Aristie calmly gave instructions and added a request.

“Particularly when investigating, please pay attention to the woman’s husband.”

“Her husband?”

“She emphasized being married, so she must have a husband. While she might try to thoroughly hide the details of the incident, her husband will be different. If you watch him, he’s likely to reveal flaws.”

“How can you be so sure of that?”

“The setting is obvious.”

Aristie shrugged and added an explanation.

“This incident wasn’t done behind the husband’s back. If it were, she would have hidden her marital status. The fact that she boldly revealed she was married indicates that the husband also cooperated with the incident and received compensation.”

“Oh, that could be true!”

“What kind of husband would allow his wife to carry out such a thing? He’s bound to be a gambler or a kept man. Such a person would leave traces of his actions as soon as he receives payment.”

“Indeed!”

Volter’s fist hit his other palm. It was certainly a reasonable deduction. And in most cases, Aristie’s deductions proved correct. Volter knew this from experience.

“I understand. I’ll mobilize personnel right away.”

“I’m sorry for always making urgent requests.”

“Don’t say that. This kind of work becomes enjoyable once you get used to it, you know? Haha.”

Volter laughed heartily and called his subordinates to relay the mission. Aristie conveyed her apologies and encouragement to them before returning to her room.

Perhaps because she had used her brain after a long time, the day felt unusually long. She was extremely tired.

However, after dinner, she opened the exchange diary she had received from Roselina. It was to keep her promise to her friend. They had agreed to write whenever an incident related to Estelle occurred.

<Rose. It’s me, Aristie. I didn’t expect to pick up the pen so soon.

On my way back from meeting you today, I witnessed an incident. Sir Zephyros got into trouble, and I think somehow Estelle might be behind it……>

Aristie wrote her entry carefully. Wishing for her friend’s recovery.

She sincerely hoped that by the time she handed over this diary, Roselina’s illness would be completely cured.

* * *

Several days later. A special trial was held in the audience chamber of the imperial palace.

Originally, one day a month was set aside to receive selected petitions from the people, but Miela, who had played a trick on Zephyros, submitted a petition to the Emperor asking him to personally deliver a verdict.

“His Majesty the Emperor enters!”

With the chamberlain’s announcement, Khalid entered and leisurely sat on the imperial throne. Everyone present, including Zephyros and Miela positioned on either side, bowed their heads simultaneously.

The Emperor’s direct participation in a trial was not a common occurrence. Special trials were held only when significant incidents affecting the Empire or the imperial family occurred.

In that sense, this trial could be interpreted in two ways.

First, that the Emperor valued Zephyros greatly. Second, that despite this, he would bring him to a special trial to deliver a fair judgment.

Of course, Estelle was behind Miela submitting the petition. Estelle knew that Khalid would not be able to refuse the trial.

If he refused, even if Zephyros was found innocent, public suspicion would grow. The suspicion that he dismissed the charges because Zephyros was his subordinate would be unacceptable to Khalid, who valued fairness and trust.

“Are you the one who submitted the petition?”

When Khalid’s golden eyes turned toward Miela, she answered while looking at the ground, not daring to meet his eyes.

“Y-yes, Your Majesty!”

“I received a report that Zephyros Schultz, an imperial guard knight, attempted to dishonor you. State the details.”

The Emperor, who would never believe such a thing, nevertheless commanded without showing emotion. Miela cleared her throat and recited her prepared lines with a sorrowful voice.

“I had a friend who admired Sir Zephyros, so I approached him wanting to introduce them. Sir Zephyros gladly accepted my proposal to meet my friend and left the bar with me.”

“And then?”

“But while walking, he suddenly changed and sexually harassed me, and eventually……!”

Her voice grew more agitated as she continued her explanation, and soon broke into sobs. Being in a position where she had to deceive at all costs, she had to put her all into the performance.