The murmuring of people suddenly stopped. The silence that descended in an instant felt suffocating, as if one couldn’t breathe.

Duke Franz, on the contrary, was calm.

He sat down in the defendant’s seat, leaned back against the backrest, and crossed his arms.

Even so, he was scanning the crowd with sharp eyes. It looked as if he was searching for someone.

Eventually, his gaze reached the second floor. It was where Alex and I were sitting now.

It seemed he had been looking for us all along.

Duke Franz’s demeanor turned hostile as he stared at me.

I felt intimidated even though I hadn’t done anything wrong. Strangely, whenever I received his gaze, my body tensed up automatically.

At that moment, I felt a warm touch on my hand, as if to say it was okay.

Startled, I turned my head to check and saw Alex looking at me with a worried gaze.

Looking into those eyes, I felt my tension dissipate.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just felt a little intimidated, I guess.”

I curved my lips into a smile to reassure him. He reluctantly nodded and withdrew his gaze from me to look straight ahead. But he didn’t let go of the hand that was holding mine.

I deliberately pulled my hand out of his. As my hand slipped away, I felt Alex’s hand hesitate.

Laughing inwardly, I grabbed his hand properly.

I could feel his gaze from beside me, but I looked towards the courtroom as if nothing had happened.

I saw Duke Franz’s gaze, who had been watching this scene, shift from me to Alex.

Unlike me who had initially shrunk back, Alex wasn’t affected by that gaze or wasn’t interested in Duke Franz’s current gaze, as he showed no particular movement.

“I should go down soon now.”

Alex suddenly spoke.

Come to think of it, I remembered him saying he had to go down when the trial started.

“I guess so.”

Since Duke Franz was already standing at the defendant’s seat, Alex would need to start preparing soon too.

Realizing this, I tried to let go of his hand, but Alex firmly grasped my hand again.

I turned to look at him. He was looking at me.

“I’m reluctant to go.”

I let out a small laugh as I watched him speak with a mischievous expression.

“Go ahead. I’ll be here.”

“Alright. I’ll be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Alex, who had been holding my hand until he stood up, reluctantly let go.

“Stay seated.”

When I tried to stand up with him, Alex stopped me. Then he left alone.

I smiled slightly as I watched the door he had gone through.

While I kept my eyes on the courtroom, it didn’t take long for Alex to appear.

Alex, standing in his designated place, looked up to check on me. Then he nodded briefly.

I calmed my nervous heart inwardly as I waited for the trial to begin.

It wasn’t long before the courtroom door opened again.

“All rise.”

The staff called out in a deep voice.

As I stood up, the judges entered through the door.

Their footsteps echoed loudly in the silent courtroom.

They immediately arrived at the bench and took their seats. Only then did everyone in the courtroom sit down.

“Is this the plaintiff, Security Captain Roaman Dale, and the defendant, Duke Charon Franz, for this case?”

The judge asked the Security Captain at the plaintiff’s seat and Duke Franz.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Security Captain Roaman answered first. Then everyone’s gaze turned to Duke Franz.

“…That’s what they say.”

Duke Franz answered in a voice that seemed to find it ridiculous.

“Then, plaintiff, please speak first.”

“We are indicting Duke Charon Franz as a suspect for the criminal acts committed against Duke Alexander Berzel over several years, and for the attack on Duke Edwin Anstis and Lady Veronica Maynard.”

Duke Franz snorted when Roaman finished speaking. Because of this, everyone’s attention turned to Duke Franz.

“This is absurd. What’s the basis for this? How many times do I have to say that Duke Berzel is framing me…!”

“Defendant, I have not yet given you permission to speak.”

“What?”

It was the judge who cut off Duke Franz’s escalating words.

He was staring at Duke Franz with an expressionless face.

As Duke Franz’s face faltered, the judge spoke again.

“Your turn will come soon, so please speak when I give you permission if you have something to say.”

“What!”

“I have already confirmed the records of the case for now.”

As the judge took a firm stance, Duke Franz seemed momentarily dumbfounded and gaped.

In fact, I was also surprised by the judge’s unyielding attitude.

After all, the other person was Duke Franz.

It was a reality that one had to yield to him out of fear of his wealth, honor, power, and connections.

Although Alex or Duke Anstis were his opponents, from the position of being caught in between, it was best not to offend either side.

However, the judge was coming on strong as if he wasn’t considering such things.

Duke Franz, finally seeming to grasp the situation, scrunched up his face.

Knock knock.

Then the sound of someone knocking on the door was heard from behind.

I was startled because I hadn’t expected anyone to come.

“The Count and Countess of Maynard have arrived.”

“!”

Again, I was surprised at the staff’s announcement from outside.

“Tell them to come in!”

I hurriedly stood up and said.

Soon the door opened and familiar faces appeared.

“Claire, have you been well?”

“We heard from Veronica that you were here, so we came up.”

I bowed my head in greeting as I saw the two greeting me with kind faces.

“It’s been a long time, Count and Countess.”

The staff quickly prepared seats for the couple.

“Claire, you should sit down too.”

The Countess urged me while I was wondering if it was okay for me to sit while the two were standing.

“Is it… okay?”

“Of course.”

I hesitated for a moment before carefully sitting down in the seat the Countess pointed to.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come to greet you because I didn’t receive notice of your arrival.”

“No, it’s alright. We were so surprised by the news about Veronica that we came in a hurry without time to contact anyone.”

“Did you see the lady?”

“Yes. The trial had started so we couldn’t stay with her, so we came up separately.”

“I see.”

Well, it wasn’t strange for the two of them to come here. After all, Miss Veronica was also one of the main victims in this case.

The news would have already reached the Maynard family when Miss Veronica was injured.

“We heard briefly that a lot has happened while you were here.”

“…Yes.”

I nodded in agreement and then immediately bowed my head.

“I’m sorry.”

“What do you mean?”

When I apologized in a weak voice, the Countess tilted her head and asked.

“About Miss Veronica being attacked… It’s because Duke Franz ordered me to be kidnapped. If it weren’t for me, Miss wouldn’t have been hurt…”

My voice gradually became smaller without me realizing.

The two of them were great benefactors to me.

I was afraid they would be angry with me if they knew the full story of how Miss Veronica got hurt.

“Why is that your fault?”

“What?”

“Isn’t that why this trial is happening now?”

“That’s true, but…”

“We heard the overall story from Veronica. That you’re also a victim in this. So why is the victim apologizing? The one who should apologize is over there.”

The Countess’s gaze pierced towards Duke Franz, who was arguing in the courtroom. It was a contemptuous look.

“Of course, if I said I wasn’t resentful when I first heard the story, it would be a lie. But I understand. What fault could you have?”

The Count spoke in place of the Countess.

“You must have had a hard time too, right?”

At the last question, emotions welled up suddenly. I almost burst into tears.

By biting my lower lip, I was able to hold back from shedding tears.

Only recently did I realize that I was originally this tearful.

The Countess lightly patted my shoulder as I barely managed to compose myself.

“I’d like to hear more, but now doesn’t seem to be the time. When this trial is over, why don’t we have a more detailed conversation with Veronica?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

I nodded and shifted my gaze to the courtroom. Then my eyes met with Miss Veronica, who was sitting in the waiting area far away.

She smiled as usual and waved her hand subtly towards me.

I responded to her greeting by smiling faintly as well.

Meanwhile, the trial arguments were going back and forth roughly. It was because of Duke Franz, who denied and rejected the evidence presented.

“Then I request Jade Robelin as a witness.”

At that moment, Roaman’s voice rang out. No sooner had his words ended than Sir Kruger appeared in the courtroom.

People murmured loudly at the word ‘Robelin’.

Only those who already knew of Sir Kruger’s existence remained calm.