I Wasn't Trying to Seduce with the Male Lead - Episode 92

Duke Claude Lowen swallowed. His mouth was bitter, but the situation was so unpleasant that he didn’t even feel like reaching for the drink beside him. It wasn’t just because of Count Edelche, who was standing in front of him spouting nonsense.

“…As a result of our thorough investigation, we can conclude that no one was imprisoned in the dungeon.”

“Thorough investigation,” he scoffed.

Claude considered upholding the law his mission and calling, and he was very proud of it. But sometimes, he felt a deep sense of regret. It was because the law forbade him from simply decapitating insolent fools like the one before him.

“I trust that the result of a thorough investigation by Count Edelche, who is so loyal to Her Royal Highness the Princess, must be truly fair.”

At Claude’s sarcastic remark, Count Edelche made a face as if he’d found a bug in his teacup.

“The dungeon, which has been left unattended for so long, was completely clean without a speck of dust. Doesn’t that seem unnatural? Do you have anything to say about that?”

“Th-that’s because our diligent knights have not neglected its upkeep.”

The chamber began to murmur.

“In any case, the clear fact is that no evidence was found! The judges, who must be impartial, should make that part clear!” Count Edelche declared, his neck veins bulging.

The dukes hadn’t had high hopes for the dungeon investigation, so before he could spout any more nonsense, Claude quickly moved the proceedings along.

“The report on the investigation is concluded. The next witness may come forward.”

Eleanor’s mother-in-law, Donat Mariche, walked out with an erect posture.

“I heard the Duchess humiliated her and sent her away a few days ago,” Minaz muttered from his seat beside Claude.

‘She must be grinding her teeth even more now.’

‘So be it,’ he thought. Her job would have been the same anyway.

The Princess’s chosen strategy for her final defense was a thorough character assassination. Malicious testimonies followed one after another, aimed at undermining the credibility of the key witnesses: Adrian, Biancasta, Eleanor, and Blaine.

Biancasta, who already had a terrible reputation, was barraged with accusations from witnesses calling her a liar and a criminal. Adrian was subjected to a verbal assault from his childhood tutor, who came forward to recount his troublesome pranks. Furthermore, palace officials described the two of them’s relationship in sordid detail, and Blaine was criticized as being nothing but a parvenu.

‘The awful thing about this is that it’s usually an extremely effective method.’

Since it was a public trial, the jury would be swayed by public opinion. They had anticipated this and prepared countermeasures, but that didn’t change the fact that they would have to endure ear-numbing nonsense all day.

“From the moment that woman first came to our house, her personality was twisted. You have no idea what a hard time we had because of Eleanor.”

Donat Mariche began her tirade from the first moment she met Eleanor, spewing insults and slander for hours on end. It was so long that the audience was exhausted, and a brief recess was called after her turn was over.

“My ears are bleeding from all this nonsense. I hope this dreadful trial ends soon.”

“The most dreadful part is yet to come,” Claude said, and Minaz scowled with disgust.

In the midst of the unpleasantness, the trial soon resumed.

“The next witnesses are members of the Support Union from the Mariche estate.”

The Mariche estate’s Support Union. It was a union that Eleanor had created to help the victims of Baron Mariche. Being a member of that union naturally meant one was a victim of the baron.

Young women, barely twenty years old, stepped up to the witness stand. The Princess’s lawyer, Viscount Morodel, began his questioning.

“You are people from the Mariche estate, correct?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Eleanor, the former Eleanor Mariche, now a commoner, was the wife of Baron Mariche, who ruled the Mariche estate. Please testify before everyone about the character of Baron Mariche.”

The expression of the woman on the witness stand was dark. Soon, her trembling voice began to fill the courtroom.

“Baron Mariche was a very bad person. He committed countless acts of molestation against the people on the estate, and he was also violent and imposed heavy taxes. We were taken to the castle when we were seven years old…”

What followed were testimonies of a horrific nature that were difficult to listen to. The woman was clearly in pain as she delved into long-buried memories, but she stammered on, glancing at the Princess’s side.

“Then why did Eleanor become the baroness?”

“Because she was the prettiest girl on our estate.”

“How did she feel about being sold to the baron?”

The woman rolled her eyes once before saying in a trembling voice, “She said she was sold for the highest price, and so she was different from us, who were just dragged along. She also said that once she became the baroness, all her hardships would be over.”

From the top of a distant tower, Eleanor, who was watching and listening to this scene, frowned.

‘This is the worst.’

She had almost no information about the pre-possession Eleanor. The original novel never mentioned her, and when she possessed the body, she was already in an environment where no one knew the original Eleanor.

Since she was the daughter of a family so poor it was tearing them apart, it was possible that she truly did see marrying Baron Mariche as a good thing.

‘Do I have to bear this burden, too?’

If she had to be possessed, how easy would it have been to be a daughter of a rich family without any of this baggage?

The current Eleanor was, in fact, a completely different person from the original one. Not only was her personality different, but so was her appearance. Her natural features were good, but there was something plain and countrified about her. Her current porcelain-like skin, lustrous hair, refined beauty, and excellent figure were all things that Eleanor had achieved through meticulous self-care.

The problem was that to others, she was the same person.

“Did you… really say that?” Sky asked, raising an eyebrow. The emotion in his sea-colored eyes was closer to curiosity than condemnation.

‘I don’t need to take the blame for something I didn’t say.’

Eleanor shrugged and shook her head.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Then is that woman lying?”

“Probably not.”

Eleanor didn’t think they were making up lies. She was just lamenting the fact that she might disappoint others for a mistake she didn’t commit. Thinking about the judging stares of the Duchess, the dukes, and the people around her, her stomach tightened.

“Don’t make that face.”

As she sighed, Sky spoke again.

“I don’t know the circumstances that led to that statement, but I know you’re not that kind of person. None of us are so spineless that we would let our judgment be changed by what an outsider says.”

Sky smiled and patted Eleanor’s shoulder.

“If you were the kind of person to brag like that, we would be enjoying a marvelous time in Phaedra instead of sitting in this tower.”

His playful words were a great comfort. Sky didn’t stop there and used his long finger to point at the faces of the Duchess, Claude, and Minaz in the magnifying glass.

“Look at their faces. They aren’t fazed at all.”

As he said, the group simply looked exasperated, with no sign of being swayed. Still, Eleanor felt a hatred for the source of this situation that went beyond mere dislike.

“This shows how opportunistic and malicious a woman Eleanor is. She would even happily marry a heinous criminal for her own gain.”

Did she really have to call a victim of a crime just to say such a thing? Eleanor frowned and looked at the Princess sitting in the courtroom. She was looking at the victims on the witness stand with a deeply sympathetic expression. Eleanor had been impressed before, but this was a truly spectacular and deceitful performance.

“We can easily turn that kind of sordid smear around in the next trial, so you don’t have to worry.”

Eleanor nodded at Sky’s words. Their turn to attack was still to come.

But at this point, something happened that they hadn’t expected.

“Um… but.”

A girl who had been standing huddled in the corner of the witness stand spoke, looking terrified.

“We don’t think Eleanor, the baroness, is a bad person.”

The sudden words caused a stir among the audience.

“It’s thanks to the baroness that we are no longer serfs and can live comfortably and receive an education in Felicity.”

“That’s right. The baroness helped us achieve our dreams.”

As one by one the witnesses started speaking, Viscount Morodel’s expression instantly changed.

“Isn’t that just a way to manage her image to sell her books? She pretended to be kind to a few people as an example…”

“It’s not just a few people. If you’ve been a victim, she’ll sponsor you without even asking.”

“She did that for me, too. And she’s been kind to us for a long time.”

“She said that even though she wasn’t the one who committed the crimes, she couldn’t stand by without doing something for us, the victims.”

“She released all of us who were trapped in the barn and shared her own food. Even when the baroness, who’s sitting over there, tried to stop her…”

The witnesses began to talk over each other. Donat Mariche, who was sitting opposite them, looked livid.

“Thanks to the baroness, we’re living much better than before. There are so many victims on the estate that we don’t feel discriminated against, either.”

“We’ve become independent now, and we’re planning to help people from other estates as members of the union. We won’t let the baroness bear all the burden by herself.”

Sky, who was listening to everything from inside the tower, quietly spoke.

“She didn’t even bat an eye when she was being slandered…”

His eyes, with a smile in them, looked at Eleanor.

“But when she’s praised, she looks like she’s about to cry?”

As he said, Eleanor’s lips were pressed together tightly, and her eyes were blinking, tinged with red.

‘She’s being foolishly kind again, throwing money away. No one will ever recognize what you’re doing!’

She had heard those words countless times over the past five years. But Eleanor had steadfastly refused to stop her victim support projects. It wasn’t because she wanted someone to recognize her efforts, but because she genuinely felt sorry for the victims. She hadn’t expected a reward, but her heart was touched by the fact that the victims, whose hearts seemed to never open, had understood her sincerity.

“I never knew a woman holding back tears could be so pretty.”

Sky took out a luxurious handkerchief and offered it to her. She took it but didn’t use it. Instead of shedding tears, she looked outside with reddened eyes.

‘These people should not have to be dragged to a place like this and have their painful memories dredged up because of someone else’s circumstances.’

The Princess must be eliminated so that such an unreasonable thing never happens again. Eleanor’s resolve hardened once more.

“Zeppelin.”

Zeppelin cautiously looked at the Emperor sitting in the seat of honor. He had been showing a deep emotional fluctuation with each trial, but now he seemed strangely distracted and lost in thought.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Come to my chambers later. There’s something I want to discuss.”

Zeppelin bowed his head and asked, “Should I bring Her Royal Highness the Princess as well?”

The Emperor glanced at the Princess and immediately shook his head. His eyes were unusually dark.

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