Chapter 21 Murder Trial
Chapter 21
21.1
When Euridice struck the "Drum of Themis", the birds in the Judgment Square were startled and flew away with a "bang".
The breeze blew through the hem of Oulidsi's skirt, and the people in the square all showed expressions of shock.
Euridice cried out, "The commoner Euridice Aquitas, accuses the nobles Luce Ebrard and Beatrice Caragaran."
Duchess Beatrice Carragheran stood up suddenly, her fingers tightly clenched around her scepter, and her face suddenly changed.
Euridice's voice did not stop. She said loudly and quickly: "I want to accuse the Duke and Duchess of Abrad. I accuse them of bribing Pushin White, using animal blood to make perjury about the 'suitcase', and maliciously framing me with the intention of sentencing me to death!"
The moment Olidisi finished speaking, the crowd in the entire Judgment Square was like a pot of oil that finally began to boil, completely exploding with a huge splash:
"What is she doing?"
"She beat the drum of Themis... Isn't she the Countess? Can she beat the drum of Themis?"
"Hey, I forgot. Euridice Aquitas is also from a commoner family. Her mother is Sybil Aquitas of the Aquitas Chamber of Commerce. She is indeed a commoner."
"You hear, she's accusing the Duke and Duchess—what has this got to do with them?"
The Judgment Square was caught in a sudden storm. Duke Luce Abrad's face turned pale. He looked at Euridsi and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Judge Adelaide looked at the chaos in front of him and rubbed his forehead with a headache.
"Euridice Arquitas," said the judge, "are you aware that you are now—"
"—to file a complaint under the Hydebot Code," said Euridice.
Adelaide was speechless. Euridsi smiled and said, "During this trial, Lucé Ebrard and Beatrice Caragaran framed me with perjury, and my life is threatened. According to the Hydebot Code, I have the right to file a complaint against Lucé Ebrard and Beatrice Caragaran."
Judge Adelaide hesitated: "You..."
Euridice said softly, "I know that accusations without evidence are considered slander under the Hydebot Code. But I have solid evidence."
Olidisi said this, pointing directly to the stone platform marked "Evidence".
"That's the suitcase," she said.
Judge Adelaide actually understood what she meant.
Euridice said clearly, "We've used the 'human blood test kit' to prove that the blood on the suitcase is not Anne's. However, the suitcase is definitely mine. The initials 'E.A.' are written on it. It's absolutely true."
Olidesi's voice was not loud and her tone was very calm. However, when she spoke, the noise in the Judgment Square gradually died down, and people unconsciously began to listen to her carefully.
Olidisi said calmly: "Everyone knows that only people in the Oplensi Castle have the opportunity to obtain my suitcase. So..."
She raised her head and looked at the Duke and Duchess of Abrad.
"Then," she said, "the person who used the animal's blood to create false evidence against me must be someone inside Fort Oplensi."
21.2
When Oulidsi said, "The person who framed me must be someone inside the Opulensi Castle."
Everyone in the square looked towards Duke Luce Ebrard and Beatrice Karagaran.
County Judge Adelaide looked at Oulidsi and suddenly understood:
Olidisi wants to confront and fight back against the Ebrard family openly and directly.
For the first time since the trial began, Judge Adelaide showed a look of horror: "You..."
However, Euridsi no longer tried to persuade the judge; instead, she turned around and faced the citizens of Oprunsi in the judgment square.
"Citizens!" she cried, "You have seen it with your own eyes, and we have proved it with our own hands: someone within the Ebrard family has used a suitcase stained with animal blood to frame me!"
As Olidisi said this, someone in the square excitedly shouted, "Yes! This is a frame-up!"
Oledsi continued, "Since this is a frame-up against my life, do we need to find out the truth? Do we need justice?"
"Justice!" Someone in the square excitedly raised his fist and shouted, "Goddess Themis, we need justice!"
Olidisi turned around abruptly, looked directly at Judge Adelaide, and shouted, "They have the suitcase as 'evidence', and I have witnesses!"
In the Judgment Square, the emotions of a considerable number of people had been completely stirred by Euridice's potions and reversals. Even those who remained calm were drowned out by the excited voices, who shouted loudly, "Witnesses! We want to see Euridice Arquitas's witnesses!"
At this point in the trial, the square was in an uproar; in this situation, even the acting judge Adelaide could not say "no".
She could only say: "Who is your witness, Euridice Arquitas?"
Euridice remained silent, looking towards the knights around him. The judge also looked over and said in a deep voice, "Reynardel, Lynn, bring Euridice Aquitas's witness to the bench."
The two knights responded, and Oridsi curled his lips and pointed to the front row of the crowd: "My witness is her."
The crowd in the square became restless, but the two silver-armored knights walked over with expressionless faces, and the crowd automatically made way, revealing the person Euridice Arquitas called "witness" -
She was a middle-aged woman wearing a brown satin vest and a soft hat. Although she was a commoner, she was dressed very respectably; her brown eyes were rolling around, looking very cunning and shrewd.
"Hey, it's her, Jon Wood." Someone recognized the woman in surprise. "Isn't she the owner of 'Wood's Gambling House'?"
Amidst the people's noisy discussions, the woman in the bonnet was escorted onto the trial platform by two knights.
Although the gambling house owner was being watched by everyone, she was not afraid at all. She even took off her soft hat with a smile and saluted Adelaide in the center of the judge's seat, saying, "Good day, Your Excellency the Judge."
Adelaide waved her hand, not caring about witness etiquette, and said directly: "Tell me."
"Ah," Jon Wood said with a smile, "Our Wood Casino is a legitimate casino that strictly abides by the Hydebot Code."
As she spoke, she looked at old Pushin White, who was almost forgotten by everyone, and said, "This Mr. White is a frequent guest of our Wood Casino."
Old Pushin White's face was pale and he said nothing - or rather, ever since Euridsi proved that the bloodstains in the suitcase were not human bloodstains, but animal bloodstains, Old Pushin White had been leaning aside with a dejected look on his face.
The gambling house owner Jon Wood drew people's attention back to Pushin White.
"In our gambling house," Jon said, "winning and losing are common occurrences. Mr. White has had bad luck with Yaolun in the past month. He's lost a lot of money at our Wood Casino and owes us quite a bit."
The gambling house owner said this, and Judge Adelaide nodded: "This is consistent with what Anne Poussin said in the sacrificial smoke."
The crowd booed softly, but Eurydice didn't criticize Old Pushin for being a gambler. She turned to Jon and said with a smile, "Oh, has Pushin White only lost money at Wood's Casino in the past month?"
Adelaide was startled and looked at Jon, who blinked slowly.
"Hey," the casino owner said in a slightly exaggerated tone, "In the past three moonless Sundays, something strange happened—"
She spread her hands and said, "In the past three moonless Sundays, Mr. Pushin White suddenly paid off all the huge debts he had previously owed."
When Jon said this, not only was Judge Adelaide slightly startled, but the discussions in the square were also filled with confusion and doubt:
"What does she mean?"
"Isn't old Pushin' White owed a dozen guineas? He's even going to sell Anne's engagement."
"How come he paid it off all of a sudden? His fabric store is completely out of business."
Adelaide frowned: "Jon Wood, please continue."
Jon spread his hands and said, "Mr. White really paid off all his debts all of a sudden. I have to say, Your Excellency, this is very surprising to me."
Olidesi smiled faintly: "A businessman with no business, a gambler who has to rely on selling his own daughter to pay off his debts, suddenly took out property worth twenty gold coins..."
She glanced around the square, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Where does he get the money?" she said.
The square was silent for a moment, and then everyone's eyes fell on Pushin White.
Old Pushin's face was pale, sweat was dripping down his forehead, and his body had begun to tremble.
Olidisi curled the corners of his mouth and said, "Jon."
The gambling den owner looked at her, and Euridice smiled and said, "Are all the things that Pushin White used to pay his debts—gold coins, silver coins, valuable gems and jewelry—still with you?"
Jon shrugged. "Yeah, there's a lot of stuff. It was delivered three moonless days ago, and I haven't had time to process it yet."
Oledsi smiled and turned to Judge Adelaide.
"Well, sir," she said, "we only have to see if there is any sign of the Abrad family on those gold and silver coins, and those beautiful gems and jewelry, to know where the money came from. After all—"
She blinked slightly. "After all, those valuable items custom-made by our 'honorable' Abrad family are all branded with the beautiful 'Starry Compass' emblem."
Olidisi's voice was not loud, but when he said this, it was as if a thunderclap had struck the square.
People looked at each other in bewilderment. Duke Ebrard subconsciously turned to look at the Duchess, while Beatrice Karagaran's face turned pale, and her fingers were tightly gripping the scepter in her hand, so tightly that the veins on the back of her hand popped out.
After experiencing all this suddenness, old Pushin White finally collapsed completely.
He suddenly cried out, "None of my business—none of my business!"
People looked over in shock, and old Pushin White broke down and cried, "It's none of my business. It's the Duke and Duchess of Ebrard! They bribed me with money to accuse Euridice Aquitus!"
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