Chapter 19 Murder Trial
Chapter 19
19.1
When old Pushin' White cried out, "I will accuse Countess Euridice Aquitus!"
There was a low uproar in the Judgment Square.
Judge Adelaide said calmly: "Pushin White, the plaintiff, please state your evidence - please be aware that unsubstantiated allegations are considered libel under the Hydebot Code."
Old Pushin White twisted his fingers, his lips trembled, and then he spoke with some difficulty.
"My daughter...Anne," said old Pushin, "is a maid, the Countess's maid. To be more precise, she was her maid before Euridice Aquitas and Lord Lorenz were engaged. Oh, you know, the Aquitas Merchants are very wealthy. Even though they are commoners, their daughters also have their own maids. The relationship between them has always been very close."
Many people knew about the relationship between Anne and Euridice; Judge Adelaide saw someone in the square nod unconsciously.
Old Pushin White said with great emotion, "But a month ago, Annie suddenly disappeared. I went to Oplensee Castle to look for her, but the housekeeper there only told me that Annie had resigned and left. How could that be possible?"
Old Poussin paused, as if extremely angry. "That's a complete lie! Anne has been Euridice Aquitus's maid since she was a child. Serving nobles is the only thing she knows how to do. She had no reason to leave her position so suddenly. Even if she left Oplenciburg, she should have told me that I was her only relative. But none of this happened. She left abruptly, without telling anyone, as if she had vanished. I've had a bad feeling ever since."
At this point, old Poussin couldn't help but choked up. "I have a bad feeling... But that's the Countess, a great noble whom we can't afford to offend. What can I do? I begged the butler painfully, hoping he would tell me about Anne, but no one paid any attention to me."
Judge Adelaide looked at the sad and angry old Pushin White with a frown on his face.
The judge had seen too many liars in the trial square, and she did not think that old Pushin White was a completely honest person; but not everyone had the experience of a judge. Adelaide saw that some people in the trial square had already revealed expressions of indignation and anger.
And old Pushin White was still making his own sad speech: "Until four Sundays ago, a fisherman fished up the shallows of the lower Oplency River——"
He paused, his fingers clenched into fists, a vein on his forehead faintly jumping, "They fished this out!"
Old Pushin White pointed his finger toward one side of the judge's bench.
The people in the square held their breath and looked towards the judge's stand as Old Pushin moved.
A brown suitcase lay quietly on a stone platform marked "Evidence".
It was a large leather suitcase, exquisitely crafted and designed, something only aristocrats could use; however, the suitcase itself had been soaked in the river for a long time, and the metal buckles were rusty and looked a bit dirty.
The two knights standing by the "evidence" glanced at Judge Adelaide, who nodded slightly. Then the two knights reached out their hands at the same time and carefully opened the suitcase.
The people in front of the Judgment Square exclaimed.
"It's blood...it's blood!"
The inside of the suitcase was covered with dark bloodstains.
In the center of the bloodstained suitcase was a dark blue maid's uniform stained with blood.
There was an uproar in the Judgment Square. Pushin White choked up and said, "A dark blue maid's dress... Only the head maid who serves the ladies and girls closely can have it! That size, that style, I can tell at a glance, it's my Anne..."
As old Pushin spoke, he suddenly raised his head!
"You said she resigned and left, but here are these clothes and this suitcase!"
He suddenly looked at Oulidsi, his eyes bloodshot, and said angrily, "This suitcase belongs exclusively to Countess Oulidsi. No one in the city of Opulensi dares to forge it! The rusty carved lock is engraved with the cursive initials of 'E.A.'"
"And," he turned and pointed to the other side of the judge, "the Duchess can testify that this box is indeed Euridice Arquitas's!"
Beatrice Caragaran looked surprised for a moment when her name was called; then, with a slight nod, she replied expressionlessly, "Anyone who lives in Opulenci Castle will recognize this. It's Euridice Arquitas's trunk."
There was silence in the Judgment Square for a moment, and then an uproar broke out!
The missing maid, the bloody suitcase, the bloody clothes, the Duchess's testimony—
This is not defamation.
This is tangible evidence.
In the Judgment Square, someone shouted angrily:
"Goddess, she's a murderer!"
"Just because you're a noble, you can just kill commoners?"
"The Queen will not allow nobles to oppress citizens!"
"The murderer himself will receive the death penalty!"
"Yes, the death penalty!"
“…”
Euridice looked at Beatrice Karagaran and suddenly laughed.
She walked out slowly and clapped her hands slowly.
"Well, this scene was pretty good," she said leisurely. "Now, is it my turn?"
19.2
There were already signs of chaos in the trial square. County Judge Adelaide remained expressionless and coughed, "Quiet!"
The knights who were maintaining order drew out their swords with a "swish", and the bright swords reflected a dazzling light; the noise in the Judgment Square gradually died down.
"The trial continues," Adelaide said calmly. "The plaintiff has concluded his statement. Now it's the defendant's turn."
Olidesi stood in the middle of the Judgment Square and smiled. "Shall I make my statement? No need."
When she said this, not only was Judge Adelaide startled, but the Duchess and old Pushin also looked at her at the same time, and they were obviously a little surprised.
"Let's let Anne speak for herself," said Euridice.
Old Pushin White was startled and his face changed slightly.
He subconsciously looked around, trying to find Anne's figure——
"Why," said Euridice, half-smiling, "you heard that Anne is still alive, so why do you look so grim? Is this still our 'good father'?"
Old Pushin White turned around abruptly, his face livid. Judge Adelaide said, "This is not the time for questions or dialogue. Please continue your statement."
Olidisi smiled and spread out his palms: "Everyone, please look."
In her palm was an ordinary dead branch; however, when Judge Adelaide saw the dead branch, his expression changed slightly.
"This is... sacrificial smoke." said the judge.
"Yes." Olidisi smiled. "This is the sacrificial smoke of the Regnan eucalyptus tree. It can faithfully record and re-present everything that has happened."
When the word "sacrificial smoke" was uttered, even a noble like Beatrice Karagaran's expression changed slightly; a low noise was heard again in the Judgment Square.
"Sacrificial smoke?"
"Isn't that something from before the war? It's been used up a long time ago, right?"
"Besides the High Priest, is anyone else using it?"
After the "Sun, Moon, and Nine Lights" war that led to the founding of the empire a hundred years ago, the stock of sacrificial smoke gradually decreased and is now scarce. Nowadays, people rarely use sacrificial smoke outside of temple sacrifices.
However, everyone knows that the situation recorded by the "sacrificial smoke" cannot be tampered with and is very strong evidence.
"Well then," Euridsi said calmly. She slowly placed the sacrificial cigarette in her hand on the stone platform of "evidence", "let's listen to Anne's own statement -"
As she spoke, she nodded slightly, and the knights of the Order lit the sacrificial incense.
White smoke slowly rose, gradually forming an image in the air:
That was the image of Anne White.
The people in the Judgment Square watched with bated breath the movements of Anne White in the sacrificial smoke—
"Ah," someone recognized the scene, "that's old Pushin' White's dry goods store."
The fabric store was dimly lit, and it was obviously late at night when the shops were closing; Anne was sitting in the store wearing a waitress's clothes, with a look of deep fatigue on her face.
The person sitting opposite her was her father, Pushin White.
"He's willing to pay twenty gold coins!" Old Pushin said with an uncomfortably excited tone. "Just to sign a marriage contract with you, he's willing to pay twenty gold coins. He doesn't even want me to transfer the shop your mother left behind!"
"This man is fifty years old..." Anne said in disbelief, "and his oldest grandson can already walk!"
Old Pushin rubbed his hands. "That's twenty guineas, Anne. Twenty guineas!"
Anne's fingers began to tremble. She stood up suddenly.
"I will never enter into an engagement with a man of fifty," she said. "I tell you, Pushin' White—I know you've lost your bet again. You think of giving me away as payment for a debt? You dream!"
Old Pushin seemed struck, filled with shame, anger, and humiliation. He stood up and pointed at Anne, "I'm your father! How could you be so disrespectful to your father? It's a disgrace! Without me, how could you survive in this ethereal land? I'm telling you, I'll take these twenty gold coins!"
The sacrificial smoke stops abruptly here.
The Judgment Square fell into an eerie silence, and old Pushin White's face turned pale.
However, Oulidisi smiled and took out another piece of sacrificial cigarette, saying softly, "Do you think this is the end? Oh, no, Annie has more to say."
As she spoke, she lit the second piece of sacrificial cigarette in her hand; the knights looked at Judge Adelaide, but Adelaide did not stop Euridsi's action.
A new piece of sacrificial smoke was re-ignited, and the picture changed. The beautiful Oplensi Castle appeared in the picture outlined by the sacrificial smoke:
Those familiar with Oplensee Castle knew that it was the south wing living room where Lorenz and Euridice lived. In the living room, Anne lay on Euridice's knees, crying silently.
"He wants to sell me," the waitress said. "He wants to sell me to pay off his gambling debts."
And Oulidsi asked her, "What do you want to do?"
Anne wiped her tears with the back of her hand, sat up straight, and looked determined.
"I'm leaving him," she said. "I'm going to leave him—I'm going to leave it all and have nothing to do with anybody named 'White'!"
“…”
The sacrificial smoke slowly dissipated.
The image of Anne White disappeared, and the people in the Judgment Square looked at each other in deathly silence.
In this silence, Euridice looked at Anne in the sacrificial smoke with a complicated expression:
This was originally the sacrificial record prepared by Euridice and Anne to be disclosed to the county judge in order to avoid Pushin White from using her marriage in exchange for money.
In her previous life, Anne had escaped Pushin's persecution with the help of these two pieces of sacrificial incense; however, this time, before she could use these two pieces of sacrificial incense, Anne was already... gone.
Olidisi closed her eyes slightly.
Everything in the Judgment Square faded away, and suddenly her own angry voice rang in her ears:
"I want you to go to the academy with me, teach you skills, and take you away from your gambler father. Everyone in the entire Void Continent can betray me, but you can't!"
Oledsi suddenly opened his eyes.
In the silence of the Judgment Square, Euridsi whispered, "Annie left Oplunsi to escape her father and live a free life."
As she spoke, her expression gradually became clearer.
"If she stayed in Oplenci, her father would have sold her to pay off his gambling debts. It was only a matter of time."
Euridsi said this, looking at Pushin White, her voice calm, without anger: "This is why she left Oplensi, and why I don't want to tell you where she went - the accusation coming from a despicable person like you really makes me laugh."
Euridice said this, and people in the Judgment Square began to whisper:
"It seems to be true that the sacrificial smoke cannot be tampered with..."
"Why, don't you know what kind of man old Pushin' White is? Annie from her family has stopped associating with him for a long time."
"Forcing your daughter to marry a fifty-year-old man, hey, this is too despicable."
"Pretending to be a loving father and daughter is truly speechless."
"I was almost fooled by him."
Pushin White's face turned pale; he saw that many people in the square were already looking at him unfriendlyly.
He looked unconsciously at Beatrice Carragaran.
The Duchess had a cold expression on her face. She didn't look at him, but just stared at the suitcase on the "evidence" stone platform.
Pushin White came back to himself with a start.
He gritted his teeth and shouted, "Eurydice Arquitas, you used the misunderstanding between Anne and me to fabricate a reason for Anne to leave! Regardless of the misunderstanding between Anne and me, this suitcase—this bloodstained suitcase—is real! How do you explain this suitcase?!"
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