The Unemployed Prince Covets My Nephew - Chapter 32
It was ambiguous to side with either Representative Lore’s appeal or Ainous’s opposition.
“Your Honor, what do you think?”
“Originally, in such cases, a second trial date should be set, but since this trial cannot go to a second trial, I think we should apply an exception.”
“However, Representative Lore, keep in mind that if it is determined that the witness has no direct relation to the case, the representative may be punished afterward.”
Another judge warned Representative Lore.
The King gestured to quickly call the witness, as if he had no choice.
Representative Lore whispered something to the servant he had brought, and the servant opened the courtroom door.
Soon, a woman with her head bowed and her face covered by long hair walked into the courtroom.
All eyes focused on her, and at Representative Lore’s request, she stepped up to the witness stand.
Hailey, who had been comforting Theo, was shocked when she saw the witness’s face and instinctively hugged Theo’s shoulder tightly.
“Witness, please state your identity.”
“I am… Marianne Langston, the biological mother of the child sitting over there.”
Voices filled with shock and astonishment erupted from all corners of the courtroom.
“The Lady of Langston? Oh my goodness!”
Her sister Marianne had never shown herself, no matter how much she was sought after.
No one knew where she had been or what she had been doing, but she had never been there for the child when he needed his mother the most, not even once to warmly embrace him.
‘How dare she call herself a mother. How dare she show up here!’
How could she appear at the most unnecessary moment and claim to be Theo’s mother?
Hailey’s lips trembled with anger.
“Quiet, everyone. Please maintain order. Witness, place your hand on the oath document.”
Marianne didn’t even glance at Theo and Hailey, and placed her hand on the oath document, completing the oath ceremony just like Theo had earlier.
‘So Duke Brahe remained calm and composed because of this?’
Axel smirked.
Representative Lore, feeling as if he had regained the upper hand, straightened his shoulders and stepped forward.
“The witness claims to be the biological mother of His Highness Prince Theodore von Otte, who is sitting over there. Is this true?”
“…It’s not a claim; it’s a fact. He is my child. Although I was very busy and temporarily left him with my sister Hailey, he is indeed my child.”
“Then you are saying that the Princess Consort deceived everyone and lied?”
Ainous stood up and protested.
“Objection! Representative Lore is making hasty judgments based on fragmentary testimony while ignoring the overall context!”
“What could be more important than the fact that she is the biological mother? If the witness’s testimony is true, then I regret to say that this is a fraud where the Princess Consort deceived the royal family and everyone else, trying to pass off a child she did not give birth to as a royal descendant!”
The issue of whether Theo’s testimony was true and whether Theo was Marianne’s biological son had nothing to do with the essence of this trial, but it was enough to divert the focus and capture people’s attention and control.
Therefore, Axel and Hailey had informed Ainous about the facts related to Theo’s birth and had prepared for this.
But they never imagined that they would actually find and bring Marianne, the biological mother. Despite Marianne’s lack of affection for the child, they never thought she would be so shameless as to appear before the child at such a moment.
Hailey, holding Theo tightly, couldn’t control her raging emotions.
Theo, hearing the murmurs from all around, hunched his shoulders and bowed his head.
Seeing this, Hailey, filled with anger, stood up abruptly.
“I will show you what is more important than being the biological mother!”
“Princess Consort! Such remarks are not allowed…”
“That woman is a shameless person who didn’t even name the child after he was born. I have been raising the child until now. Is there any more important fact than that she is a pathetic woman who abandoned the child and ran away? Even beasts don’t do such things!”
“Your Honor! The Princess Consort is insulting the court right now!”
Hailey knew she should control her temper according to the situation and timing, but she couldn’t hold back this time. She didn’t even want to call her sister or use her name. It was Marianne who had abandoned the family first.
‘Ridiculous.’
Hailey was not one to hold back. There was a proper remedy for such people.
“According to Chapter 10, Article 3 of Zenovia’s Family Law, parents who have been out of contact for more than two years can be deprived of custody! It has been exactly over 27 months since that woman left me a note saying she was leaving the child with me! So, it is no different from her having transferred custody to me!”
Normally, Hailey would have been warned, but the situation was what it was. Axel was standing beside her, growling, and even the King was watching silently, so the judge had no choice.
Representative Lore, his face flushed red with embarrassment at the unprecedented turn of events, stepped forward.
“But it is true that the Princess Consort deceived everyone!”
“I will speak to that.”
“Q-Queen.”
“The royal family was already aware of that fact. Do you dare to belittle the royal family? How dare you presume to decide so easily who can bear the name Otte?”
The Queen, who had been quietly watching from the special seat, spoke up.
Representative Lore, flustered by the Queen’s sharp tone, couldn’t respond and closed his mouth. It seemed the King was already aware of this fact, as he showed no surprise.
“As my Queen said, there was no procedural issue. Baron Langston did not register the child in the family register, so the woman does not have custody from the start. After the marriage with the Prince, the child was first registered in the Otte family. Your ignorance in using the term ‘illegitimate child’ is disappointing.”
“……”
“If anyone else wishes to flaunt their ignorance further, it could be considered an insult to the royal family, don’t you think, Your Majesty?”
Axel chuckled aloud at the Queen’s lengthy way of saying ‘being stupid is a crime.’
Duke Brahe’s expression was grim, and Representative Lore, his face bright red, couldn’t say anything.
The King clicked his tongue and said,
“If there is no testimony directly related to the main point of this case, I will have the witness removed.”
“There is still more!”
Representative Lore answered urgently.
Hailey sat down and held Theo’s hand. Theo looked up at Hailey blankly.
‘Are you okay?’
Theo mouthed the words, asking instead if Hailey was alright.
Looking down into Theo’s clear eyes, Hailey nodded.
How could they do this to such a child until the very end? Hailey’s anger did not subside easily.
“Does the witness acknowledge what the Princess Consort just said?”
“Yes, I acknowledge it. I was born as the eldest daughter of a baron, and my role was significant. I couldn’t erase the child who came to me as fate, so I gave birth, but I couldn’t become a maiden raising a child. I tried my best! But… my parents excessively forced me into a marriage I didn’t want, so I had no choice but to leave.”
Hailey was dumbfounded watching Marianne pretend to cry.
Marianne testified that she had been staying at a monastery in Vasa and was planning to come to Zenovia because she missed her child so much.
“I sent a letter to a maid I cherished. I planned to bring the child without my parents knowing. So I heard from that maid that my mother and sister were going to a palace party.”
Marianne was known for frequently replacing her maids. She often slapped or insulted them, causing them to quit. There was no way she had a ‘cherished maid.’
Marianne added a shameless lie, saying she had no choice but to attempt stowing away on a merchant’s ship to Zenovia to avoid being caught by her parents.
“I knew nothing about the matter with Count Roman. I just heard that my father was looking for an orphanage to send the child to, and I became desperate. So I had no choice but to instruct someone to approach a foreign orphanage. It wasn’t a kidnapping! I was just trying to get my child back!”
“Then, were you with the child on that day?”
“…Yes. As soon as they brought out the sleeping child, I received the child and stayed with him at the inn. You can ask the innkeeper. They will confirm that I came with the child.”
Such testimonies could easily be fabricated. Hailey felt frustrated by the lack of photos or CCTV in this world.