NOVEL NEXT Chapter 121
The Emperor frowned as if annoyed.“The Marquis Gallard hasn’t arrived.”“Yes, Your Majesty.”The Emperor clicked his tongue.The Emperor was already here but Marquis Gallard hadn’t arrived.But, Marquis Gallard did not arrive after waiting for more than ten minutes.People looked at the empty seats with interesting eyes.“The trial start time has passed. Why isn’t Marquis Gallard here?”“Did he run away?”“What was the crime against Marquis Gallard?”“If you are innocent and proud, why don’t you show up! There’s something he had hidden, isn’t it?”Cesare stood up and stared at the empty seat.‘Why do I feel so ominous?’Even if you run away, you will admit to some of your sins.If you wanted to refute, you had to first attend the trial.He glanced at the Empress, but the Empress’s expression did not change.Then the judge’s door suddenly opened.“Uh…?”People’s attention was drawn to the open door.The only person who appeared was Joseph, not Marquis Gallard.All eyes suddenly turned to him, and Joseph put on a bewildered expression on his face.“I’m sorry. It’s urgent, so please forgive me for a while.”But he quickly came to his senses and ran to Cesare with a nodding greeting.Cesare raised his eyebrows.“Sir Joseph. What’s going on?”“Duke. Something big happened.”“Something big?”Joseph whispered to Cesare.Cesare’s face, who had been listening with a puzzled face, soon became terribly contorted.Bang-!He hit the desk with his fist.He murmured in anger.“How dare that bastard to Daphne…”“Duke. Now we are looking for madam with all the knights.”“I will go too.”“Yes? But what about the trial?”“The trial is not important than Daphne.”Cesare strode out of the courtroom with a quick step.Everyone was shocked when the person who applied for the trial disappeared.Suddenly, the seats were empty, both for the one who had requested the trial and for the one who was to be tried.“What’s going on?”“Why did the Duke just leave? Is he giving up the trial?”People who did not know the reason roared.And Gabriel, who was near Cesare, heard Cesare murmur.‘Daphne…!’A flash of fear flashed across Gabriel’s face. ***** I regained my consciousness by the cold feeling on my cheek.“Ugh…”My head was ringing.Maybe it’s because of the cold.After blinking a couple of times, focus returned.I groaned and got up.“Where am I…?”It was a dark and damp place.The cold stone floor was the source of the chill.Just then, the door opened.I squinted my eyes at the sudden flash of light.The person who appeared was someone I knew.“Marquis Gallard.”I bit my lower lip.As I got out of Gabriel’s house and returned to Cesare’s arms, I must have felt too relieved without realizing it.You can’t expect your opponent to use a trick like this.There is no way that a person facing downfall can stand still.He had a knight in our place to watch over Jacob to make sure he didn’t do anything in vain, and he’d been quiet since he’d agreed to work with Eilish, so I’d let my guard down.But I didn’t know that the knight I ordered to watch would have been bribed.I don’t know to what extent information was leaked to the Marquis.First off, he’d have noticed that I wasn’t divorced because of an affair, as Cesare and I were rumored to be in the social world.We expressed our affection as if we were sharing a long-awaited reunion!The maid who came in instead of Shannet must have been the maid who ate his money, right? There is no one in the world to trust.“Wake up.”It was an ordinary tone.I glared fiercely at Marquis Gallard.“What do you think you’re doing?”“I did not wish to do this to a helpless woman either.”Marquis sat down on the chair and whispered.What kind of bullshit you said when you already kidnapped me.It was a shameless attitude to say that he didn’t intend to do that when he already killed someone.“We need Lady, so that bastard on Burstoad will listen.”I bit my lip so hard that I tasted blood.I shouted in anger.“Release me now!”Marquis Gallard shook his head darkly.“I can’t.”“You know this is all crazy, right? Cesare will find me right away. There is no choice but to be caught, and then Marquis’ sins will only be added.”“Don’t be too angry. I was just calling you to talk.”“A conversation? I guess kidnappings are called conversations these days, too. That’s generous.”I groaned and looked around.It’s about finding a place to escape.But the only door was on the stairs behind the Marquis.And when I saw the shadows fluttering through the light, it seemed that at least two people were watching on the stairs.It was difficult to get through all these obstacles.Jacob, I don’t know what drug that damn bastard gave me, but my body doesn’t feel strong.As I was fiddling with the dress, I felt something.Realizing the identity of the object, I came up with a good idea.Perhaps, with this, it may be possible to create solid evidence.Watching Marquis Gallard’s eyes, I carefully pressed the button.Marquis told me.“Tell the Duke to stop the trial.”“Hah.”A sigh came out.I stared at him.“How can I stop a trial that has already been charged?”“It could end with insufficient evidence.”“There are too many crimes the Marquis has committed.”Above all, we had to bring out the Empress, who was in control of everything from behind the Marquis.Only then can Gabriel live, Cesare can live, and I can live.“You don’t think you know what you’ve done wrong.”“It doesn’t matter whether there is actually a sin or not. Of course, Lady is still young, so you think it may be dark in the ways of the world.”Marquis Gallard said something absurd.Besides, seeing what he was saying, it seemed to me that he was trying to put me down.He was mixing his words.It was clearly intentional.And Lady? It was a reference to the fact that Cesare and I were legally divorced.You gently scratch people in various ways.Anyway, I could see where he was coming from with that comment.It’s a trial, but in the end it’s a battle of power.It’s a process of picking sides to determine who will have power in the future.In reality, whether or not he actually committed a crime was not a major part of the trial.There’s a phrase: innocent by birth, guilty by association.If the world were to run fairly, the Empress and Marquis Gallard should have been punished long ago.They expelled the woman carrying Gabriel from the Imperial Palace, killed the Crown Prince of an Empire, and took the lives of many people with banned drugs for financial gain.Until now, the power of the Empress was strong.The Empress was powerful, but she had no Prince to succeed her, so she was at a disadvantage in the matter of successionHowever, things changed when Gabriel appeared.The existence of a crown prince brought a very powerful weapon to the table, allowing the Emperor and Gabriel to cross swords.This is probably why Marquis Gallard has been trying to silence the trial in this way.He said with a wicked smile.“If you believe that there will be people in this social world who live an impeccable life, then yes. I still think it can be. It’s a time when you want to believe in the bright side of the world and have hope.”“What kind of nonsense are you trying to say?”“I just want to say that in the end they are all connected by a single string.”He clasped his hands and made a sad expression.“If the trial proceeds, not only Gallard, but many nobles will be swept away. Then who will fill that void? A man-like current Crown Prince?”Marquis Gallard shook his head slowly.“The Crown Prince has no power to do that. Even the Imperial aristocrats talk a lot about the Crown Prince’s abilities. The public opinion is that he has a lot of things he doesn’t know because he lives on the street without a mother.”I cringed for a moment.It was all because of the Marquis and Empress Gallard that Gabriel had to live without a parents on the streets.Originally, Gabriel, as a Prince, was able to eat good food in the Imperial Palace, receive a good education, and grow up properly.It was the family of the man standing in front of me right now spouting nonsense that took the opportunity away.Besides, Gabriel was a hard worker.Of course, you should be scolded for having to confine me and forcing me to break up with Cesare because you thought you were going to save me.Even now, she hasn’t completely forgiven Gabriel.I was too unhappy during my imprisonment at Gabriel’s residence to pretend it never happened.Because every day I spent all night in tears worrying about Cesare, and it felt like there was nothing I could do.However, Gabriel, who reflected on his mistakes in a letter and said that he would become a good person, definitely has growth.This is a far from Marquis Gallard, who was blinded by money and sold drugs.