She hadn’t seen Theodore since his visit.
That was only natural.
They were already close friends so, if he came to see her, who was about to go on trial, who knew what kind of rumors would spread.
Still, on the second day, at Theodore's discretion, she was briefly able to see Vivian and the others.
And so, time went on.
"Please extend your hands so we can securely bind them with a rope before you go to trial.”
It was finally the third day.
At first, she didn't know how much time had gone by, but she realized it when she saw the soldiers who had come to pick her up.
"As you know, Your Lordship, you possess special abilities. So, I will be placing a magical tool that controls your powers on your wrists.”
She did not resist.
As she was told, they bound her wrists with a rope-type magical tool.
Then, she climbed the stairs of the underground prison with them and came out.
"……It’s dazzling.”
Not only was she unable to open her eyes properly, but it stung so much that she had to keep them closed.
But it was then.
Caw. Caw.
A flock of crows began to cry nearby, as if they were singing in a chorus.
“These damn crows!”
“I don’t understand why they’ve kept hovering around here these last few days! Go away!”
The soldiers had become accustomed to chasing away the crows.
She raised one hand.
She used it to block out the blinding sunlight as she looked towards the direction of the crows’ cries.
Crows circled in groups in the sky, not to mention in the trees.
"I clearly told you to wait."
The crows cried more vigorously, as if to answer her murmur.
Caw. Caw.
She looked up further, the corners of her lips slightly raised at the sound of the crying.
Her vision cleared up as she got used to the light.
"Oh, my! Crows…….”
"What's wrong with them? Did they eat something strange?”
"Are they finally going somewhere else?”
Some of the crows came down to the ground and hovered around the soldiers as if they were trying to bully them.
Then the soldiers flailed their hands and feet at them.
As Rosa was watching this, a crow landed on a branch near her.
She didn't take note at first.
But as soon as she saw the crow's eyes shining radiantly in the sun, she couldn't take her eyes off of it.
Black feathers and pale green eyes.
“...… You really don’t listen to me at all.”
Caw.
The crow with pale green eyes flapped its large wings and cried.
As she took in that scene, a deep smile appeared on her lips without her realizing it.
* * *
The trial was quite large.
Because the matter was so serious, it took place in a large enough space to accommodate not only the nobility, but also the commoners who paid a fortune to watch.
"Please enter now."
Rosa went into the court.
Since all of her magical tools were removed upon entering the prison, she had no choice but to attend the trial in the form of a woman.
Perhaps, that's why people booed her so much that she couldn't proceed as soon as they saw her.
"Booo!”
"They say blood is thicker than water, and as expected from a rebellious family, together with her father..."
"Go away, devil's child!”
They already seemed convinced that she was the bad guy, as predicted.
But she was not hurt.
She expected people to react like this anyway.
"You can stand here.”
She stood in the middle of the courtroom.
She turned around and looked at the faces, one-by-one, to see who was present.
The first faces she saw were sitting at the very front.
The first faces she saw were the faces of Conitel and Yura, who sat in the witness box and looked at her with a casual smile.
They were not welcome faces, so she turned her head without hesitation.
Then she found the Duke of Cardia and Aphra, who were watching her with stern faces.
“...…Everyone's here.”
Near them, equally serious, were Vivian and the Marigolds.
And finally...….
"Enoch."
Enoch, who had come with Lysander, was sitting next to him.
He was different.
He did not look as stiff, angry, or sad as everyone else.
He was smiling with all his might.
As if telling her not to worry and reassuring her that he would always be by her side.
"Everyone quiet down!”
Bang!
As she exchanged glances with Enoch, the sound of the gavel sounded out clearly.
An instant silence followed.
Not missing this moment, Marquis Royer, who is in charge of this trial, stood up and shouted in a loud voice.
"Before the trial begins in earnest, His Majesty will appear, so please stand up.”
* * *
At first, it went like any other trial.
They talked about why this trial was held and what things they would focus on.
Then the trial continued.
"This family has caused many problems in the past. It was anticipated that something like this would happen someday, which is why the Estella family has had so many restrictions since the time of their ancestors.”
"The problem was that we should have abandoned this sinful, treasonous family from the beginning. This time we must teach them a lesson.”
It was a funny trial.
Normally, there would have been conflicting opinions to determine guilt or innocence.
But no one was on her side, and the nobles on the platform kept repeating the same thing.
She had to defend herself.
"The dead Duke Caligo is sitting there! What does this mean?”
She couldn't keep listening, especially as they tried to drive her into a corner and frame her as being in cahoots with her father.
She raised her bound hands up.
"Are you not giving me a chance to speak?”
She spoke for the first time.
Still, the nobles on the platform only looked at her with shameless eyes and tried to ignore her.
"What gives you the gall to ask for a chance to speak….”
Bang!
Theodore, who was sitting on the highest platform, brandished the gavel.
Then, he looked over the nobles below him with cold eyes, exuding no warmth whatsoever, as usual.
"It feels like I’m visiting the market, not at court. Why is there such raucousness?”
The noisy court slowly went silent. Only then did she have a chance to speak.
She did not miss the opportunity.
"I don’t understand why you all just assume things without asking questions. Let me tell you, I am not a devil, and I didn’t know my father was alive.”
She was not done.
But the nobles on the platform cut her off, as if they didn’t need to hear any more.
They even spit and got angry.
How could she lie in a situation like this!?
"Luz said it! She knew that you were a woman even though you never told her!”
"And that’s not all, is it? According to the saint, didn’t Luz compare you to the devil?”
"So, I can't believe a word you say. Such ridiculous excuses without any basis whatsoever…”
“Tsk. Tsk.”
Naturally, Yura was mentioned.
It was natural that people's eyes were also directed at Yura.
Yura also stood up on her own as if she had been waiting.
Then, pointing at Rosa, she said,
"I remember very clearly. Luz told me that a devil with the face of a saint would come.”
Gasping could be heard here and there.
Some covered their mouths and whispered amongst themselves.
Pointing their fingers at Rosa. However, she was not ashamed.
Rather, she did not shy away because this was what she had been waiting for.
"Would it really be necessary for me to curse others and then pretend to release them? Even to the point of being called the purple saint?”
“...…The duke, as the person concerned, must be well aware of the answer to that question. How can I know his sinister intentions?”
Yura said it as if she were embarrassed.
However, people didn't see anything strange about Yura performance.
That's why blind faith was such a scary thing. Not only is it easy to fool people, but…….
It makes you not notice the odd holes you could feel if you just looked a little closer.
"I don't know either."
Rosa shrugged in an exaggerated gesture on purpose.
"I was a young duke on the rise, and friend and servant who had been trusted by His Majesty since childhood. I could have lived my whole life in peace without having to do any such troublesome work.”
The first thing she had to do was to remind people that she had no reason to do such a thing.
There was a chance they might bring up her father to trip her up, so she mentioned Caligo in advance.
It was a sort of preemption.
"After learning that my father, the former Duke, was still alive, I secretly moved to stop him. If you have any questions about him, you can ask Duke Elef Snow.”
This was the part she had arranged during conversations with Duke Snow on their way there.
In fact, upon hearing her, Elef stood up and expressed his desire to speak out.
In a very loud voice, too.
"She is right. With your permission, I will come forward and explain.”
The nobles panicked.
They looked at him as if they couldn’t understand why he had been quiet all this time and waited until they were in the courtroom.
Elef bowed his head and apologized.
"First of all, I apologize for not telling you earlier, but there are circumstances that make it unavoidable.”
It was part of the plan.
Since there were already a lot of misconceptions about Rosa, she wanted to clear them up and tell the truth about her father while many people were watching.
So, she also opened her mouth.
"I was able to find my father with the help of Duke Elef.”
Theodore said he would tell the truth, but there was no word from him yet.
She had no idea when, where, or what to bring up.
But he was not giving her any signal, so she proceeded leading the trial as she had planned.
"Please listen to the story…….”
Before she had finished, Theodore shouted at Elef in a determined tone.
"Explain."
His permission was granted.
Now that he was granted permission to speak, Elef boldly leapt forward as if he had been waiting for his chance to speak.
He stood by Rosa.
Then, he began to explain to people in a calm voice, free from emotion.
How they had met and what had happened since then.