Chapter 13 – Part 4

“If what you say is true, Marquis, why did you push for the engagement of the Emperor and your daughter?”

“I didn’t believe it at the time either,” Isaac replied, “but…… later learned that the medicine had been switched by a pharmacist’s mistake.”

Isaac called out the pharmacist from back then. Whether he had been bought off or whether it was a mistake, the pharmacist cried and said it was all his fault.

When each witness had finished, the judge turned to Isaac.

“Marquis, I am well aware of your relationship with the late Empress, but that is not enough to prove that you are the Emperor’s biological father. Do you have any basis for that claim?”

Even if he tried to be impartial and not favor one side or the other, the judge could not help but favor the imperial family.

He asked the question as if looking for evidence to deny Isaac’s claim.

Isaac hesitated, then spoke.

“It’s an unfounded accusation, but Her Majesty, despite numerous couplings with the late emperor, remained childless for a long time.”

Although he didn’t explicitly state it, his question hinted at doubts about the late emperor’s virility.

Several of those on the emperor’s side cried out in anger.

“Outrageous, Marquis!”

“Please refrain from speaking!”

The booming voices echoed through the great hall. The judge opened his mouth to call for silence.

“So, there was something wrong with the Emperor’s fertility, is that what you’re saying?”

Leonard’s words were met with a hush.

Some craned their necks to see if they could make eye contact with the enraged emperor, while others glanced back and forth between the Marquis and the emperor.

Isaac bowed respectfully before the expressionless face.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

It was an affirmation. Leonard twitched up one corner of his mouth.

He’d been hoping for a chance to push his luck, naturally, and he’d been given one.

“Then I must ask you as well, Marquis; are you certain there is nothing wrong with your seed?”

“……?”

Leonard’s question caught Isaac off guard.

Callian, who had been watching, spoke up.

“Your Majesty, what you just said is unwarranted. My brother gave birth to his daughter, Alaina, after your birth, so…….”

“Was she born by a marquis?”

Callian paused and fell silent at the repeated question.

Isaac furrowed his brow, as if trying to read the Emperor’s mind.

Leonard smiled and surveyed the crowd.

“As far as I know… the one who gave birth to Lady Alaina wasn’t the Marquis, but the Marchioness.”

It was a short statement, but everyone understood its meaning.

Isaac rolled his eyes, and Alaina, who had been sitting quietly the entire time, spoke up as if she had been waiting.

“What are you talking about?”

The embarrassment in her voice was too natural to be an act.

Leonard crossed his arms and looked back at her.

She bit her lip and lowered her voice, pretending to catch his eye.

“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, but what you are saying is tantamount to accusing my mother of infidelity. I beg you to withdraw your words.”

“It is common knowledge that the nobility indulge in infidelity. I myself have great regret that my mother had the Marquis as her mistress.”

“But, Your Majesty, as you can see, I resemble my father, and…….”

“Well, aren’t there any red-haired and green-eyed people around here?”

Leonard’s question caused Alaina to drop her mouth in embarrassment.

Leonard jerked at the seat beside her.

“There is one sitting next to you right now.”

His voice was sarcastic, and all eyes in the courtroom turned to Callian. Callian’s face went white, and he threw up his hands.

“Mu, what are you talking about, Your Majesty. I, I’m…….”

Of course, denying the allegations of incestuous relations with his brother’s wife would seem suspicious, but hastily denying it while stumbling over his words also seemed equally dubious.

Moreover, it was unlikely that the emperor of a country would bring up such a story without any evidence.

“Come to think of it…”

The small voice that spoke was Janice Duferac, a close friend of Alaina and Marquis Solen’s fiance.

Her lover, Eclipse Solen, turned to see what was going on.

She glanced around, then leaned in and put her mouth in his ear.

“Why, do you remember the rumor? Viscount Stewart, was said to have some unusual tastes.”

“What?”

“He likes women seven years older than him…”

At the meaningful whisper, the Marquis slapped his knee as if he had realized something wonderful.

“He and the dead Marchioness were…… only seven years apart.”

“Besides, I heard not long ago that the Viscount…… has been visiting the Marchioness’s chambers every day since the Marquis was taken into custody.”

“…….”

“I don’t think His Majesty would bring that up for no reason, but maybe…….”

Jenice lowered her voice as she glanced around, but those listening could anticipate what she was about to say next.

Of course, Callian’s access to the Marchioness’s chambers had been at Alaina’s behest, but rumors were not meant to take into account the circumstances of the parties involved.

What mattered was the image of his brother brazenly entering and leaving his dead brother’s wife’s chambers after he was taken into custody.

“He’s been telling Alaina about the dead Marchioness, you know, the one who died giving birth to her. I don’t think she showed it, but she missed her mother a lot…….”

Having said all that, Janice fell silent, as if realizing that it was too quiet around her.

But those who had already heard her voice seemed eager to share what they had just heard.

Dahlia Oberon, sitting a few seats away from her, seemed to be doing a pretty good job of spreading the word as well.

And those who had heard about Viscount Stewart’s unusual taste in the opposite s*x at the tea party were already whispering to their neighbors.

‘It’s difficult to commit murder, but this is manageable.’

Jenice remembered Alaina confessing her father’s actions before she left. Even the sudden loss of contact and her subsequent capture revealed what she had experienced.

So it was no small thing to help her get her revenge.

Janice covered her mouth with her fan to hide her laughter.

When her eyes locked with Alaina’s in the distance, she gave a small nod.

“How about that, Marquis? Would you like to be examined?”

Leonard asked Isaac, his voice relaxed as he let his ramblings fall away for a moment.

Isaac stiffened and looked at his brother and daughter.

Both of them looked extremely embarrassed, but what’s so hard about grown nobles feigning embarrassment?

“The Viscount has been spending a lot of time with the young lady lately.”

‘In the late duchess’s room, too…’

So, this was his plan. Then the suspicious medicine they were trying to feed him…

“Fuhahaha!”

It was at that moment that Isaac suddenly burst out laughing.

His laughter filled the courtroom with a heavy silence.

He chuckled for a long time, then spoke up.

“Very well,” he said, “let us examine me, but, Your Majesty, if there is nothing wrong with my seed…….”

“No, brother!”

It was at that moment that a desperate voice was heard. It belonged to Callian, his face white.

“You must not be tested. Refuse!”

“…….”

“Your Majesty, my brother’s age is approaching sixty. Wouldn’t it be unfair to judge what happened decades ago based on the results of a test today!”

Callian’s shout sounded desperate.

To some, he looked concerned about the Emperor’s maneuverings; to others, he looked as if he were tingling in his feet.

Leonard, watching, spoke up.

“Viscount, why are you so desperate to oppose the examination? What do you expect the results to be?”

At the directness of the question, Callian fell silent.

But his gaze remained fixed on his brother. As if he should never be tested.

Normally, Isaac would have listened to his brother. But he turned his head away, as if to look away from Callian.

He may have already fallen victim to her daughter’s manipulation.

If that was the case, then his frantic efforts to dissuade him were also intentional.

“Of course, as the viscount says, you are an old man, and I can understand if you are afraid you might not be able to make a man of yourself.”

Leonard smirked.

He knew it was an obvious provocation, but he knew he would look ridiculous if he refused to be examined here.

Besides, even though he was getting older, he was still a man.

He might not be as sharp as he had been in his younger days, but he had an unfounded belief that he was not incapable of making excuses.

“I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Of course.”

Since he had already switched out the suspicious medicine, there was nothing to fear.

As Isaac nodded, Leonard gestured to the judge.

Soon, a middle-aged doctor in a white coat stepped up to the podium.

“The fertility test works by dropping a reagent into your body fluids and seeing the reaction. If you’re fertile, you’ll see white smoke, and if you’re infertile, you’ll see black smoke. We’ll need to draw some fluids first, so I’m afraid the Marquis may need to move from his seat for a moment.”

“Of course.”

Leonard nodded, and Isaac rose to his feet.

Two of the Marquis’s servants and two of his guards accompanied him to prevent any tampering.

As Isaac disappeared from the courtroom, the people began to murmur in anticipation.

Eric leaned slightly toward Tenere.

“The viscount. Isn’t he a little strange?”