Chapter 141: An Affair Case [2]
I sat still, my brow furrowed.
My head was in an extremely complicated state.
'How on earth should I solve this case?'
The story about the lord's tyranny was actually just an excuse.
Grady, the son, was furious with his father for stealing his lover.
The more absurd details start now.
'A father who covets his child's woman, or a woman who quickly gives in to temptation.'
This isn't some 200% erotic American drama.
It's truly a sight...
I glanced back at the audience.
Perhaps because the term 'unfilial piety' was quite strong, there were quite a few people present.
Since my reputation is so high, I guess more people gathered.
Is this where the Count's affair is revealed?
'It's going to be a lot more of a headache than it is now.'
I raised my hand and stopped the prosecutor from questioning the witness.
Then I called both sides together.
"We'll take a short break, so let's meet in the conference room in the back."
"Huh? What's going on all of a sudden?"
"The person in charge of this case is… Attorney Anderson Cantrell."
"Yes."
"Do you know that there is another person involved with both the defendant and the victim?"
"Yes? There was no such testimony at all."
"It's a serious matter, and I don't think it's something we should not discuss in a public place."
"All right."
Inspector Cantrell nodded readily.
But there was opposition from the defendant's attorney, that is, Grady's side.
"Why should we do that? We don't want to do that. Please conduct the hearing immediately."
It seemed like they had prepared themselves mentally.
An attitude of not caring even if the identity of the woman caught between them is revealed.
Well, Grady had nothing to lose.
Not only had his lover been stolen, but he had also been stripped of his position as successor.
'The funny thing is that it was Count Antonio who filed the suit.'
That guy must be quite narrow-minded.
In any case, the trial could not proceed like this.
First, i needed to confirm the intentions of both parties.
I dismissed the defendant's argument.
"We will adjourn. The hearing will be held later, so please leave."
Then the audience rose from their seats and began to leave the courtroom.
They all had puzzled expressions.
"I hope there's something wrong with His Highness. Has he suddenly become unwell?"
"His complexion looks fine, but has he figured out something we don't know about?"
"No, he must have been flustered too. How could something like that happen with common sense?"
"Oh my! If I thought my son did that, I would be enraged."
There would be a lot of conflicting opinions, but they wouldn't find an answer.
This case would be dealt with quietly.
Eventually, I was able to meet the defendant and the victim separately.
First, from father's side.
"Nice to meet you, Count Antonio."
"It is an honor, Your Highness the Duke of Carriers. I am sorry to have to meet you on this occasion."
"Never mind. But, do you have any plans to withdraw the lawsuit?"
"Of course. How could I forgive that scoundrel?"
"But then the shameful story of Count Antonio's family will be revealed. Your son wants that."
"...yes?"
Count Antonio's face became blank, as if he was taken aback.
He can't help but be surprised when something like this comes out of the blue.
Because nothing has been revealed yet about the third person, the woman who caused the affair.
I continued speaking with a knowing expression.
In times like these, O have to be strong to break the vain momentum.
"This time, the trial rules have changed. Now, judges can investigate the case in advance."
"Oh, is that so? I thought Your Highness the Duke had some kind of divine gift of foresight, as rumored."
"I'm just an ordinary person. Anyway, after doing some research, I found out that the woman is at the center of everything."
Of course, it's a blatant lie.
As soon as I returned, I negotiated with the Emperor and immediately began his first trial.
There wasn't even enough time to look through the case documents.
But Count Antonio could not have known such details.
As I got to the point right from the beginning, my opponent's expression became distorted.
"It will certainly be a great blow to the honor of the Count's family. Everyone will look down on the name Antonio."
"…"
Count Antonio said nothing.
This person's goal must have been for the incident to end with just assault.
That would also be an excuse to strip his son of his position as successor.
But if the other person blows everything up, it will be a real disaster.
"Surely you're not going to do that. His reputation will be ruined too… … ."
"People who have nothing to lose tend to be reckless."
"Then what should I do?"
"How about you take care of the household chores internally? Start by dropping the lawsuit."
"That's the problem because it doesn't work well."
"Why?"
"Ahem!"
Count Antonio coughed loudly and then opened his mouth cautiously.
His face was slightly flushed, making it seem a bit awkward to talk.
"My wife is uncomfortable with our son."
"Just a minute. If you say wife…."
"Yes. She said it was hard to live face to face, so she asked me to kick him out quickly."
It was much more monstrous than I thought.
Who would have thought that one person could destroy such a historic Count's family like this?
But then suddenly I had a strange feeling.
'No, the defendant and the victim are all nobles. They must have seen some pretty people often.'
How great must it be to do this?
I felt like I had to see the woman in person.
Originally, it had nothing to do with the procedure, but my keen intuition told me so.
"Then, could you please call her over? I will try to persuade her."
"Is that okay? My wife is quite pretty."
"So?"
"If by any chance His Majesty catches her eye…."
"Hey! What do you think of me? I understand your concern, but don't worry."
"All right."
Then Count Antonio brought in a woman whose face was completely covered with cotton thread.
Absurdly, there were six knights with strong physiques following her.
'Wow! If I had fought those guys on Earth, I would have lost without a doubt.'
It felt like a whole bunch of UFC heavyweight female fighters were rushing in.
I wondered how pretty she had to be to be so overprotective.
Soon, a voice as clear as a whistle rang through the conference room.
"I heard you were looking for me."
"…."
I looked at the woman without saying a word.
It wasn't because I was fascinated by the alluring and mysterious atmosphere.
It was just because of the holographic text that appeared before my eyes.