Chapter 87

Viscount Nordic was dragged out next to Lady Nordic. The judge asked him the same question, and he, having resigned himself to his fate, admitted to all charges.  

The judge then determined their punishment.  

“Lady Nordic will not face the death penalty because she exposed Baron Lakia’s human trafficking activities, which is commendable. However, the crime of embezzling from the Grand Ducal household for five years and falsely accusing powerless commoners is by no means light.”  

Bang, bang, bang.  

“I will now deliver the verdict. Viscount Nordic, guilty of embezzlement, will be sentenced to 30 years of forced labor in the Mountains of the Dead in Elvenguard. Amanda of the Nordic family will be sentenced to 50 years of hard labor in the frigid northern region.”  

Lady Nordic collapsed to the ground, crying.  

“The court will adjourn temporarily.”  

The people rose from their seats and began throwing food scraps and stones at Baron Lakia, Lady Nordic, and Viscount Nordic. After all, when else could they throw stones at nobles? The people didn’t miss this opportunity.  

Ash, who had been watching the trial, couldn’t hold back his anger and burst out in frustration.  

But all he could do was shout; he could not stop the people who were mercilessly throwing stones.  

During a public trial, the act of throwing stones at criminals during recess could not be restricted.  

When the judge returned, the people stopped throwing stones and quietly returned to their seats.  

Lady Nordic and Viscount Nordic, who had fainted from being hit by the stones, were dragged away by the knights.  

Ash sobbed as he watched his parents being dragged away.  

The judge struck the gavel twice and turned to Diana.  

“Young lady Nordic attempted to commit murder. We have confirmed the testimony of the apothecary recently arrested for selling narcotics and poison, as well as the ledger he possessed. Evidence has also been found that she tried to administer poison to someone.”  

The citizens watching the trial swallowed nervously in silence.  

“Do you admit to all charges?”  

She had only purchased a love potion, not knowing it was poison. But the moment she realized Agnita was one of Meia’s people, her mind went blank. Betrayal filled her with tears, and her frustration grew.  

“Young Lady Nordic claims she only purchased a love potion, but the very act of attempting to administer it to His Grace, the Grand Duke Florence, warrants the death penalty.”  

“Hic…”  

Diana wept openly, sobbing uncontrollably. But no one looked at her with sympathy.  

“Young Lady Nordic will be sent to the monastery on Carban Island. There, she will spend her life repenting for her sins.”  

The monastery on Carban Island was a place where sinful women were sent. Their heads and all body hair were shaved. A brand symbolizing their sin was burned onto their foreheads. They had to farm their own food and spend their days kneeling from dawn until late at night, begging for forgiveness from the gods.  

Diana burst into tears. The judge then announced:  

“The court will adjourn temporarily.”  

After the judge left, people began throwing stones and trash at Diana, shouting:  

“You’re a witch!”  

“Poisoning people?”  

“Do nobles think they can poison and kill people as they please?”  

Ash tried his best to stop the people throwing stones, but instead, he was restrained by the knights and thrown out of the courtroom. He begged to be let back in, but the courtroom doors remained closed. He collapsed in front of the doors, crying.  

After Ash was gone, the judge returned to the courtroom.  

The people, still filled with anger, murmured among themselves.  

The judge struck the gavel a few times. As the murmuring died down and silence returned, the judge spoke.  

Finally, Baron Lakia was brought out. He could not walk because his Achilles tendons had been severed.  

“Baron Lakia’s crimes are so heinous that they are unspeakable. No punishment would be sufficient. Therefore, the responsibility for his punishment will be entrusted to the Grand Duke Florence household. This concludes the trial.”  

Bang, bang, bang.  

After the judge left, Theodore stepped forward.  

“I announce that this public trial was held to ensure fairness for the Nordic family and Baron Lakia, who falsely accused Liu and his family, as well as all those who worked under him.”  

The people quietly watched Theodore’s charismatic presence.  

“I promise, in the name of the Grand Duke Florence household, to compensate those who were harmed in this matter. While no compensation can erase the pain of what happened, I vow that if such situations arise in the future, we will hold fair trials to ensure that the guilty are punished.”  

The people were deeply moved by Theodore’s promise to not only bring justice but also provide compensation. They stood and applauded.  

Rebecca, with Theodore’s permission, visited Baron Lakia in his solitary confinement.  

When he saw her, he smirked with a lecherous grin.  

“Beautiful Rebecca.”  

“You killed everyone who worked for the Heden family. You didn’t even give them severance pay before granting them death!”  

She had believed him when he said he gave them severance pay. She hadn’t known he would kill them.  

“I told you I sent them to a good place. Don’t twist my words and blame me! I gave them severance pay! Sure, I killed them and took it back, but the fact remains that I gave it to them.”  

“Today, I will take revenge on you. But you’ll never feel like I’ve truly avenged myself.”  

In the dark room, she had imagined countless ways to take revenge on him. But none of them felt satisfying enough.  

“It’s not revenge… I realized that even if I take revenge on you, my resentment won’t be resolved.”

“Rebecca, who saved you? How did you even smuggle out the ledgers?”  

Rebecca slashed the pants of Baron Lakia, who was tied up, with a sharp knife.

His lower body was soon soaked in blood, and the knife remained tightly gripped in her hand.  

“What… what are you doing?! Stop this!”  

“You used to enjoy drinking and beating me. Afterward, you’d sleep soundly, but I couldn’t sleep because of the pain.”  

The knife in her hand was aimed at his most vital area.  

“Don’t do it, Rebecca! Beautiful Rebecca!”  

Baron Lakia twisted and struggled, bound hand and foot, but he couldn’t stop her.  

“I imagined this moment every single day.”  

“Ugh!”  

“You should’ve managed your ledgers better when you were drinking! Although, thanks to you, I put them to good use.”  

Her knife moved toward his most critical area.  

Slash.  

“This is what I imagined doing to you the most, out of the countless ways I thought of. Congratulations! You’re now a eunuch!”  

“Arghhh!”  

With a few slashes, Rebecca severed his manhood from his body.  

At his pitiful screams, the guards entered and gagged him, complaining about the noise.  

“Oh, you’ve cut it off.”  

“You should also cut his tongue. He might try to kill himself.”  

“We’ll take care of that.”  

Another guard entered holding a bottle of holy water.  

“Excessive pain can cause shock and death. Lady Heden, His Grace has provided holy water.”  

When the holy water was poured over his wounded area, the bleeding immediately stopped.  

“Now, please leave this filthy place, Lady Heden. We’ll handle the rest.”  

Rebecca handed the knife to the guard and asked,  

“This isn’t a dream, is it?”  

The guards replied,  

“It’s not a dream.”  

“That’s a relief.”  

***

Viscount Nordic was sent to the Mountains of the Dead in the south, Lady Nordic to the northern region, and Diana to the monastery. Baron Lakia was left screaming in his underground prison, completely bound. Everyone except one person had been punished.  

“Mei, are you not going to punish Ash?”  

“A rat that escapes the trap will eventually eat poison.”  

“Poison?”  

“Yes.”  

Theodore smiled faintly and asked,  

“Have you prepared poison as well? As expected, you’re brilliant, Mei.”  

“He will long for his family for the rest of his life. But he will never be able to see them again.”  

He would think of his family whenever he was lonely, tormenting himself.  

‘If only I had taken the stones instead of my parents or sister.’  

‘If only I hadn’t come to the Grand Ducal household.’  

He would live his life longing for the family he could never meet again, blaming himself for his incompetence.  

It was the perfect punishment for him.  

“In his anguish and longing, he’ll turn to alcohol.”  

When people are in pain, they often seek solace in alcohol.  

“Alcohol, when consumed in moderation, can be medicine, but in excess, it becomes poison.”  

A rat can be killed with a trap, but sometimes, poison is more effective.  

“If he drinks every day, drowning in his misery, the rat will eventually die on its own.”  

All of the Nordic family’s assets were confiscated. Ash was left with nothing, not even a single coin, completely alone.  

He was literally thrown out onto the streets. His father, who had cared for him, his mother, who had worried for him, and his sister, who had constantly grumbled, were all scattered and separated.  

He would never see them again.  

‘Will my mother and father struggle in the labor camps?’  

‘Will they collapse from exhaustion?’  

‘Will my sister be okay there?’  

‘Will I be okay on my own?’  

In his changed circumstances, Ash suffered. As Meia had predicted, the only thing he turned to was alcohol.  

Drinking and vomiting all day long, he eventually succumbed to his “poison.”  

In the end, while drunk, he fell from a bridge and became disabled.  

The once-beautiful and wealthy Nordic Viscounty faded from people’s memories.  

***

The Grand Duke Florence household became quiet and peaceful, as if a great storm had passed.  

The vassals rejoiced in Theodore’s growth and looked forward to the future. All accounting staff were dismissed, and replacements were chosen from academy graduates, regardless of status, based solely on skill.  

Theodore, satisfied with the changes in the Grand Ducal household, escorted Meia as always.  

He held her hand gently, as if handling fragile glass.  

The warmth of her hand made him feel deeply comforted.  

Theodore looked down at her.  

With every step she took, her dazzling silver hair swayed, and the scent of flowers tickled his nose. Her soft cheeks, straight nose, long lashes, and red lips filled his gaze.  

“Lady Meia.”  

“Yes, Grand Duke Theodore.”  

Her blue eyes, looking up at him as she answered, reflected only him.  

He pressed his lips to the back of her white hand.