I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 41
Flora’s counsel launched into a startling argument.
“Then one day, Miss Rene disappeared, and the plaintiff made every effort to find his precious daughter, yet ultimately failed to locate her.”
I nearly lost my composure.
I would stake my wrist that the Count of Flora had made no effort whatsoever to search for Rene.
“However, by pure chance, the plaintiff came across a photograph of Miss Rene in an illegal gossip publication. Only then did he discover that the defendant, Ernan Cleor, had taken Miss Rene under the pretense of guardianship.”
The opposing counsel’s drivel continued.
“The defendant is a third party with no blood relation to Miss Rene and has refused to return the child to the plaintiff without proper legal procedure, withholding her to this day.”
‘Hm.’
Refusal to return without proper procedure.
In other words, Ernan had kidnapped Rene.
‘Good grief.’
The absurdity was so complete I nearly laughed aloud.
“The defendant, Ernan Cleor, took the plaintiff’s daughter Miss Rene into his custody against the plaintiff’s wishes and assumed guardianship, which is a clear violation of the custody rights of the plaintiff Paulo Flora, the biological father of Miss Rene.”
With that, Flora’s counsel sought both designation of custody rights and damages for the violation thereof.
The Count and Countess of Flora had not merely sued Ernan—they were demanding substantial compensation for taking Rene and refusing to return her.
My blood pressure was actually improving.
“The defendant has committed no violation of the plaintiff’s custody rights,” Diego countered.
Diego rebutted them directly.
“Certainly, under Corvalue law, refusal to return a child without ‘proper’ procedure does constitute a violation of custody rights. However, this applies only when the child’s guardian is legally a ‘proper’ guardian.”
Corvalue law did not recognize as a legal guardian anyone who had merely cared for a child in practice; a legally proper guardian typically referred to a parent with Parental Rights or a legal guardian.
“At the time, the plaintiff Paulo Flora was neither the parent with Parental Rights nor a legal guardian of Miss Rene, and therefore the defendant’s guardianship cannot be construed as violating the plaintiff’s custody rights.”
So this was why Rene being an Illegitimate Child worked in our favor.
Moreover.
“The defendant, Ernan Cleor, first encountered Miss Rene at the residence of the lord of Jonas Territory—it was purely a chance meeting. At that time, Miss Rene’s body bore traces of serious physical violence requiring medical treatment.”
And therefore.
“The defendant concluded that Miss Rene was not receiving the protection of a proper guardian and established a legal guardianship to protect her directly. Accordingly, the opposing counsel’s assertion that the defendant intentionally refused to return Miss Rene without proper procedure is contrary to the facts.”
Diego thus argued that the defendant’s violation of custody rights did not stand, and that the resulting compensation claim should be dismissed.
“The defendant, in fact, brings forth the assertion that the plaintiff Paulo Flora committed Child Abuse against his daughter Miss Rene.”
“Your Honor, of course the plaintiff Paulo Flora was not a legal guardian of Miss Rene before she disappeared.”
The opposing counsel took the microphone.
Just as I wondered why they were conceding so readily, they dropped a bombshell.
“However, Civil Code Article 184 stipulates that ‘even if a biological father or mother did not previously exercise Parental Rights over their child or has lost such rights, they may petition for recovery of Parental Rights in the event of a dispute or judicial proceeding concerning custody rights.'”
‘……Ah?’
So the situation now was……
“Before this hearing date, the plaintiff Paulo Flora’s petition for recovery of Parental Rights regarding Miss Rene has already been granted.”
The Count of Flora had become a legal guardian.
“…….”
‘Stay calm.’
In Diego’s office, I had learned roughly how this trial would unfold.
At that time, I had also heard about this matter of “recovery of Parental Rights in custody disputes.”
That they would recover Parental Rights before the hearing date.
Diego had described it in these terms.
“A meaningless last-ditch effort.”
Because Ernan had become a legal guardian before the Count of Flora recovered his Parental Rights.
But even so, this was…
‘Why does such a law even exist.’
Recovery of Parental Rights by biological parents in custody disputes?
I would wager Korea has no such law.
‘It’s a miracle Ernan registered as Rene’s guardian the moment he arrived in the Capital.’
The Judge spoke.
“I have confirmed that the plaintiff has recovered Parental Rights over Miss Rene.”
My heart felt ready to burst from my chest with anxiety.
I glanced toward Diego’s profile, but his expression remained composed throughout.
“However, the fact that the defendant had not yet become a legal guardian at the time he met Miss Rene is something the plaintiff’s own counsel has now admitted. Is that not so?”
The opposing counsel’s mouth fell silent.
A meaningless last-ditch effort. Diego had been right.
“The plaintiff’s claim for compensation does not appear to be easily granted.”
In essence, dismissal in the judgment was now certain.
Sure enough, the Count of Flora’s complexion drained of color in real time before my eyes.
In fact, I had conducted a background investigation on Count Flora and knew exactly why he had filed the suit.
From the beginning, Count Flora’s true aim was to extract compensation from Ernan.
I was certain of it—they had never truly cared about custody rights at all.
In other words, now that the dismissal of the damages claim had become nearly inevitable,
Count Flora had lost the purpose of the lawsuit.
And it had happened less than ten minutes into the trial—pathetically swift.
* * *
Yet the trial continued.
Even with the damages claim dismissed, this remained a dispute over custody rights.
The opposing counsel rebutted Diego’s assertion that Rene had suffered abuse at the Flora Residence by presenting sworn statements from the household staff as evidence.
The statements bore the seals of servants testifying that Rene had been treated as a noblewoman of the Flora Family and had lived without suffering any physical harm.
‘Diego said they’d produce false testimony and fabricated evidence from their side. Looks like he wasn’t wrong.’
We hadn’t secured a single piece of evidence or testimony proving that Rene had been abused.
Now the crux of the trial had shifted to a single question: had Rene actually suffered abuse at the Flora Residence?
Though this world lacked a robust concept of child welfare, the courts of the Corvalue Empire nonetheless treated child abuse as a serious ground for disqualifying a guardian.
<The court views child abuse not as a moral failing, but as a threat to social order.>
<What exactly does that mean?>
<A child subjected to abuse and neglect is likely to fail in social adaptation, becoming a vagrant or criminal. This undermines social order itself, and the guardian is deemed to have failed in their duty to protect the child—grounds for stripping them of guardianship rights.>
‘So that’s how it works.’
If the abuse were found not to have occurred, both plaintiff and defendant would stand on nearly equal footing as Rene’s legal guardian. Even if Ernan had become the legal guardian first, the opposing side was still her biological father.
Again, the concept of child welfare in this world left much to be desired. Here, bloodline was proof that the biological parent owned the child.
<Art is brandy and blood is cord, aren’t they?>
<That cord binds my ankles. It becomes the shackle that holds me.>
Only then did I begin to understand Sarubia’s words.
It was at that moment Diego spoke.
“Your Honor, I request that the subject of the case, Miss Rene, be examined as a witness.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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