I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 83

The princess stared blankly at a decoration on the wall. It was a tribute from a distant barbarian king, made of pure gold, but it had unique eye-like ornaments that seemed to spin. Perhaps because she was watching them, the voice of Zeppelin, who was currently giving a report, also seemed to be spinning.

“The Chief Justice of the Law Protection Office, Duke Lowen, officially accepted Adrian Eunice’s complaint today. He also accepted the request for a public trial.”

“What did you say?” The emperor’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.

“How dare some crazy country bumpkin’s words get to him, and he sues my daughter, the princess? I’ll tear these insane traitors to pieces and hang them immediately!”

After barely calming down the raging emperor, Zeppelin continued his report with a pale face.

“There’s another problem. By law, when a person with the title of Duke or higher is to be tried, the Chief Justice must preside directly. However, Duke Lowen is currently banned from entering the imperial palace by His Majesty.”

The emperor had banned the four dukes from entering the palace as retaliation for the dukedoms declaring the imperial family persona non grata.

“Is he going to put the princess on trial on the street for anyone to see, like a common dog or cow? How can such a thing be tolerated!”

However, the legal advisor standing next to him spoke with a contrite voice.

“By law, a courtroom is the imperial palace, a local court, or a place specially authorized by the Law Protection Office. Since Claude Lowen is the head of the Law Protection Office, he has the right to authorize a courtroom. There is no legal way to stop it.”

As Claude Lowen, the demon of justice, had checked everything meticulously, there was no way there could be a loophole in the law.

“I am very sorry, but to resolve this matter, we must first confirm whether this complaint has a basis…” Zeppelin bowed deeply, his voice trailing off.

At that, the princess, who had been listening silently, raised her pale face and cried out.

“How could it have a basis! This can’t be true!” Her voice, filled with injustice, echoed through the room.

“I’ve been wronged. This is clearly a conspiracy and a trap. How could I, I, do such a terrible thing…?” Tears welled up in the princess’s large eyes.

Even as she choked up, she insisted clearly. “This is an attempt to spread lies to incite the people and slander the imperial family! We should ignore the trial and immediately attack and punish those wicked people!”

While the emperor glared at her, Zeppelin continued. “Since we would be starting a reckless civil war, we must have a justification. I believe it would be advantageous to publicly reveal Her Highness’s innocence.”

“So you’re saying we should accept this ridiculous trial?”

“Duke Lowen would not manipulate the law with fabricated facts in front of everyone.” Although his career was short, Lowen’s integrity was beyond doubt. After saying that, Zeppelin looked at the princess. “If Your Highness is innocent, this is clearly the best method.” It was a gaze that seemed to urge her to speak up now if she wasn’t innocent.

“What are you talking about, Count Zeppelin? It’s impossible for Her Highness not to be innocent.” Count Edelche, who was also present, sided with the princess.

While the three were in a standoff, the emperor, who had been deep in thought with a dark expression, opened his mouth.

“First, put pressure on the Eunice family in the south to withdraw the complaint filed by Adrian.” It wasn’t a bad idea, but it would take too long for the news to reach the southern part of the empire.

The princess, who was about to say so, froze stiff at the emperor’s next words.

“The battle will proceed after this matter is resolved and we’ve gathered the scheduled troops and found our justification.”

“Your Majesty!” The princess jumped to her feet at the emperor’s conclusion. “Are you really going to put me in the middle of a clown show prepared by our enemies?”

“Aileen. I believe in your innocence.” The emperor placed a hand on the princess’s shoulder and spoke with gravity. “It pains me to think of the humiliation you’ll face, but this could be an opportunity. Let’s overturn their flimsy scheme and completely dispel all the misunderstandings about you at once.”

The recent rumors about the princess circulating through the empire seemed to have bothered the emperor as well. After giving the speechless princess’s shoulder a firm squeeze, the emperor commanded Zeppelin in a loud voice.

“Use every means to prove Aileen’s innocence. Also, prepare to strike as soon as we have our justification.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will obey your command.”

Soon, experts began to gather in Eogainos, making it bustling with activity. The princess took the opportunity to quietly slip out and head to her room.

‘Damn it, damn it!’ The princess barely suppressed the urge to kick everything she saw as she cursed under her breath.

She had expected this kind of clumsy scheme. That’s why she had tried to start a battle and bury it before this happened.

‘I should have killed them all back then…’ Sky Fade. Because of that man, all the key witnesses—Beatrice, Eleanor Marice, Adrian Eunice, Blaine, and even Ilai—got away alive. It was as clear as day that the trial would become a messy, drawn-out affair.

‘Damn it. As long as it’s come to this, I have to get out of it. The one thing the princess was most confident in throughout her life was blaming her own mistakes on others. Manipulating situations and hostages to get rid of accusations was her specialty. Although many had fallen away, she still had countless chess pieces to use.

‘I can’t just play along with their tempo.’ Getting out of the crisis wasn’t enough to satisfy her. She had to strike back at them.

Was it a coincidence? Today, the very piece she could use was scheduled to visit.

After a busy morning and calming her mind, the princess headed to the reception room at the appointed time.

“Duke Calabria.”

The duke, who was seated, rose when he saw the princess. He greeted her with a stiff face.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness.”

The relationship with the duke had become even more delicate since their last meeting. Now that the princess had crossed a point of no return with Lian, and was even planning a civil war, it was a situation where the duke wouldn’t gain much by unconditionally pledging loyalty to the imperial family. It would be a disaster for the imperial family if he pulled back, but the princess showed no sign of tension and was completely at ease.

‘It’s a good thing I took action beforehand…’ The princess smiled triumphantly to herself and offered the duke a handshake. As their hands met, the mark of a vow, visible only to her, appeared clearly on the duke’s cheek.

‘Vow of Affirmation.’ Duke Calabria had refused the Vow of Servitude but had ended up taking a vow to sacrifice everything and be loyal to the imperial family. Because of that, he could no longer back out.

“It’s about time for Duke Calabria to make his move.” The princess spoke with an arrogant tone. “If I get cornered any further, I might start to doubt your loyalty.”

At her prodding, Duke Calabria bowed his head.

“You will see proof of my loyalty today.”

The princess’s eyes sparkled. She had been continuously pressuring Duke Calabria to entrust his family’s military command to the imperial family. With his troops, she could silence that annoying Zeppelin and move the army immediately.

“That’s good. Then I hope you’ll hurry.”

Without a word, Duke Calabria rose and left Rosagrande. The princess’s smug gaze was fixed on his resolute back.

“I’m so sorry about before.” Biancasta came to see Eleanor early in the morning to apologize.

“Count told me never to relay the message, but I’m such a bad liar… I was so afraid I’d tell you if you seemed down, so I stayed away for a while.”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry.” Eleanor said cheerfully and then winked. “Besides, isn’t there something more important right now? Go see Adrian quickly.”

At Eleanor’s words, Biancasta’s cheeks turned red, but she nodded.

“Let’s talk more later.”

Shortly after Biancasta left, someone else knocked on Eleanor’s door. Eleanor flinched as she opened the door.

“Eleanor.”

Lian stood there with his mask off, his face bare. It had been swollen just yesterday. As the doctor had promised, he seemed to have recovered as if by magic exactly one week later.

Eleanor looked at his sharp face and asked, “Are you okay? Are you all better now?”

“I think so.” Lian’s voice had returned to its original clean, aristocratic pronunciation. It was a relief, but she felt a strange sense of regret.

“Are there any side effects?”

“Yes. Probably.” Lian nodded, then added as if he just remembered, “Oh. I can’t eat hot food very well now.”

The price for breaking the Vow of Servitude was having a “cat’s tongue.” Eleanor felt a laugh coming on. She chuckled and asked Lian, “That’s good. But what brings you here?”

“Ah, well… I brought you some mail.”

Eleanor smiled at Lian’s words. The two had been avoiding being alone or talking to each other due to the circumstances. So, it seemed he had deliberately offered to run an errand just to have a reason to talk to her.

“Thank you. I’ll check it.”

“There might be dangerous mail, so I’ll look at it with you.”

Since he had brought it himself, he must have already filtered out anything suspicious. Eleanor didn’t point this out.

“Alright. Then come on in.”

Eleanor entered the room and began checking the mail with Lian. The considerable amount of letters were mostly casual inquiries and fan mail. As Eleanor quickly sorted through them one by one, a letter from the Imperial Authentication Office caught her eye. Eleanor’s expression became complicated as she opened the envelope.

“What does it say?”

“It says I’m no longer the Baroness Eleanor Marice.” The official document from the Imperial Authentication Office. Eleanor’s voice echoed bitterly in the room.

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