After finishing breakfast, I was busy preparing to go out.

It was just washing up, changing clothes, and grooming, but I felt like I was putting in more effort than usual.

It seemed that most of the central nobles would be attending to observe this trial because the defendant was Duke Franz.

I don’t know what instructions were given, but the maids of the Berzel duchy, including Avina, seemed to be working harder to groom me.

After all, since I would be appearing before the nobles after the ball, they seemed to think I shouldn’t be looked down upon.

Everyone had such serious expressions that I naturally became nervous too.

“It’s all done, Miss.”

Only after Avina’s words ended could I properly check the mirror.

In the mirror was someone so beautiful that it was hard to believe it was my former self.

“Wow…”

It was a different feeling from the ball.

I stared into the mirror for a while, feeling awkward about my elegant appearance.

Although I was generally satisfied with my usual appearance, the prettily dressed up look felt different and kept catching my eye.

“Do you like it?”

“Like it? How can you be so skilled? I could never dream of doing this myself.”

When I exclaimed in admiration, Avina smiled proudly.

“It’s time to go out now. Everyone must be waiting.”

“Right. Let’s go then.”

At Avina’s words, I hurriedly started walking.

I quite liked how the dress swayed with each step.

Click, when Avina opened the door, the waiting room came into view.

“You’re out…”

Alex, who was reflexively turning at the sound, couldn’t finish his sentence and stared at me intently.

“How is it? Pretty, right?”

I smiled brightly with a newfound feeling.

But no answer came from Alex.

“Alex?”

I called out to him, who was still staring at me with a blank expression. Then belatedly, as if coming to his senses, Alex smiled faintly.

“You’re always pretty, but today even more so.”

“Right? It’s really amazing. How can someone be so skilled? When I looked in the mirror, I thought the person in the mirror wasn’t me but someone else.”

I joked, and Alex laughed softly.

I thought he might be a bit nervous since it was the trial day, but looking at him now, it didn’t seem so at all.

“Is the time okay?”

“It’s a bit tight. Let’s talk while we go first.”

“Okay.”

Alex politely held out his hand towards me. By now, even the sight of him extending his hand for an escort didn’t feel awkward. I must have gotten used to it.

Finishing that thought, I carefully placed my hand on top of his.

Alex made my hand rest on his arm and then immediately came out into the hallway.

“I heard many other nobles are coming too, is that true?”

“Yes. This isn’t an ordinary matter. As you know, Claire, it involves all three dukes. And the defendant is Duke Franz. Not only the central nobles, but the eyes of the empire will be on this case.”

“I see.”

I wondered if it was okay for me to attend such a trial.

“Are you nervous?”

At that moment, Alex suddenly asked me.

When I looked up to check on him, I saw him looking down at me with a kind gaze.

When our eyes met, he smiled slightly and then shifted his gaze back to the front.

“How can I not be? Given what happened when I met Duke Franz before, I’m scared of what he might do at the trial, and I’m also unsure if it’s okay for me to be there when other nobles are coming.”

“Shall we go back?”

“What– no, at this point?”

Surprised by Alex’s sudden words, I asked back, and Alex shrugged his shoulders once.

“If you don’t want to, you don’t have to go. I don’t want to force you.”

“But still…”

Unable to find words to refute Alex’s statement, I closed my mouth tightly.

As he said, I didn’t have to go if I didn’t want to.

As a commoner, I wasn’t even qualified to be a witness.

That’s why I was going as an observer this time too.

It wouldn’t be a bad choice to just give up and not go here.

Who knows what problems might arise if I went unnecessarily.

But…

“No. I want to go. I want to go.”

I didn’t want to avoid it.

The thought that leaving the room on the day of the confrontation with Duke Franz was a mistake kept lingering in my mind.

Although it was nice to walk around the market with Alex then, I shouldn’t have left like I was running away. For Alex’s sake too.

But back then, I wasn’t confident. I thought the risk would increase if Duke Franz was released.

This time, I wanted to watch Duke Franz’s trial with my own eyes without avoiding it.

Alex stared at me for a moment at my words, then nodded.

“Alright. But if it feels too much, tell me anytime.”

“Okay.”

Alex hurried his steps again. I matched my pace with Alex and we came out to the lobby.

When we arrived at the portico entrance of the Berzel duchy, a carriage was already prepared.

Before getting on the carriage, I turned around to look at the mansion. I caught sight of Christine looking this way from a second-floor window.

I smiled faintly towards her. I’m not sure if she could see it though.

As soon as Alex and I got on the carriage, it started moving at a slow pace.

Come to think of it, normally Miss Veronica would have moved with us, but I belatedly realized she wasn’t at the entrance or by the carriage. It seemed she had left earlier while I was getting ready.

“Did Miss leave first?”

When I asked Alex for confirmation, he nodded.

“Yes. She has things to do. A lot to prepare for, too.”

“I hope we’re not late because of me?”

“Claire, you worry more than I thought. Don’t worry about being late. If we were late, we wouldn’t be going at this speed.”

“That’s a relief.”

As I sighed in relief, Alex laughed lightly.

***

Fortunately, we were able to arrive at the courthouse earlier than the trial time.

Beyond the waiting room, I could see people who looked like nobles gathered in small groups, chatting.

As expected, it seemed many nobles had come to observe this trial.

“Let’s go this way.”

Alex glanced that way briefly, then whispered to me as if uninterested.

“Don’t we need to go over there?”

“Not yet. For now, the trial is the priority. There’s no reason to waste energy on unnecessary things.”

“You’ve arrived, Your Grace.”

As we were walking and talking, a security staff member I had seen before greeted Alex. Then he looked at me, hesitated for a moment, and then politely greeted me.

“Miss has come too. I’ll escort you this way.”

Following the staff member with Alex, we came to a separate gallery with seats for two people.

Alex pulled out the chair so I could sit down.

Once I sat down, Alex also sat next to me.

“Don’t you need to go somewhere?”

“When it starts. It’s fine for now.”

After finishing his words, Alex rested his hand on the table, propped his chin, and stared at me intently.

“…What? Is there something on my face?”

It wasn’t unusual for Alex to look at me, but this time felt different, so I asked him.

“There is.”

“Really?”

When I asked back in surprise, Alex reached out towards my face. Then he gently caressed my cheek with his hand.

“How can you go around spilling beauty like this?”

“What?”

I froze, surprised by his unbelievable words, and Alex laughed, seemingly amused.

“You’re just teasing me now, right?”

“No? I’m always sincere.”

“……”

In fact, Alex’s voice was dead serious.

Rather, I felt embarrassed by his statement and my face heated up.

“Were you always this smooth-talking?”

I asked, feeling the air getting hotter, wondering how he could say such things so naturally without even changing his expression.

Alex frowned one eyebrow, seemingly thinking.

“Well, even I didn’t think I would be like this until I met you.”

Certainly, the Alex I knew from the original story wasn’t this kind of character. He was more sensitive and sharp-tempered.

“You’ve changed me.”

For some reason, I felt my nape tense at the softly whispered words.

“In the past, I wouldn’t have forgiven Kruger, nor would I have accepted Christine Robelin at Kruger’s request.”

“It’s a positive change, right?”

Alex thought for a moment at my careful question, then affirmed.

“Yes.”

While we were talking, the courtroom doors that had been closed all this time opened, and quite a lot of people started coming in.

It seemed the spectators had finally started to enter.

One by one, the empty seats began to fill up. Among them, I could see some faces I had seen at the ball before.

And as the door opposite to where the spectators had entered opened, Duke Charon Franz, the defendant of this trial, entered.