My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 39

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

Chapter 39
Truth is truth.
The Herb Expert admitted it with a trembling voice.
“H-however, using more than ten medicinal ingredients at once is a grave error. It is certain that the Duchess administered an extremely dangerous prescription to Her Highness the Princess!”
That statement was also flawed, yet the spectators nodded as though it were correct.
‘In this world, that’s what passes for truth.’
But I couldn’t simply surrender, so I pressed forward with unwavering conviction.
“Of course, carelessly combining medicinal ingredients is dangerous. To be precise, it becomes perilous only when incompatible herbs that are forbidden to mix are used together. However, if one combines herbs with excellent synergy, the effects can be truly remarkable….”
That was when it happened.
“Sigh.”
A low exhale echoed through the chamber.
My words died at that breath.
Not just I, but every eye in the Courtroom converged upon a single point.
A brief exhalation—nothing more—yet it seized everyone’s attention entirely. It was….
“How much longer must I endure this nonsense?”
It was the Empress’s sigh.
“Answer me, Chief Justice.”
“Y-yes, Your Majesty.”
“The Chief Justice delays judgment despite the Duchess’s guilt being abundantly clear. Do you find this matter so amusing?”
Bang! The Empress struck the wooden desk.
“The Empire’s Princess is dead!”
At the Empress’s fury, everyone hastily bowed their heads.
“How dare you administer a prescription like those used by heathens to imperial blood! This is an insult not merely to the Princess, but to the Imperial Family itself! Such a crime warrants the extermination of three generations!”
After her outburst, she drew a sharp breath. Then her voice descended with grave weight.
“His Imperial Majesty has graciously decided not to apply collective punishment, given the merits of House Valentino and House Adis.”
“….”
“Therefore, this matter shall end with punishment of the Duchess alone.”
I knew it would come to this. I smirked inwardly.
‘In this world, regardless of trials or anything else, the Imperial will takes absolute precedence.’
But what?
A prescription like heathens would use?
‘You were the one who came begging me to treat you in the first place!’
Yet the Empress spoke with solemn dignity, as though she harbored no such memory whatsoever.
“If you believe the Imperial judgment to be in error, speak now.”
“Your Majesty’s judgment is just.”
The Chief Justice rendered his verdict as though he had been waiting for this moment.
“For administering a dangerous prescription lacking safety assurance, thereby causing the death of Her Highness the Princess—a grave crime warranting the extermination of three generations under Imperial law—His Imperial Majesty has shown mercy. Therefore, taking this into consideration, I hereby pronounce a sentence of death upon Kanna Adis, Duchess of Valentino.”
Bang, bang, bang!
As he struck the desk, Knight Guards seized my arms.
Then.
“Die, Black Apostles!”
A shout erupted from the Spectator Gallery. I lifted my head slightly.
But with so many people present, I couldn’t tell who had cried out. I tried to ignore it, but….
“Yes, yes! Black Apostles! Dark-haired witch!”
“How dare you murder the Princess! Pay for your sins in death!”
“Heretics must die!”
That first shout had opened the floodgates, and the commoners’ curses poured down like a torrent.
I was dragged along by the Knight Guards, battered by their insults. I bowed my head low.
Everyone in this place believed I had broken down in tears, but….
‘What on earth is happening.’
In truth, I was merely concealing it.
This apathetic expression.
This tedious face.
‘Is nothing unfolding differently from my expectations?’
* * *
After being sentenced to death, I was locked away in the Prison once more.
‘At first, it was a noble-exclusive Prison.’
But now that I was a death-row inmate, perhaps that explained it.
I had been transferred to an exceptionally cold and damp Prison where the most heinous criminals were confined.
‘It’s freezing.’
Cold stone floors, walls, and ceiling with water droplets falling in a steady rhythm.
‘And they even took my clothes.’
They claimed that a criminal who murdered the Imperial Family had no right to wear silk, and stripped away my dress entirely.
In other words, I was now wearing nothing but a single slip dress.
‘They could at least provide a prisoner’s uniform. Do I have no human right to clothing?’
I crouched in the corner.
Cold. So cold. Freezing. I think I’m catching a chill.
I want to lie in my bed. My bed back home in Korea, not in this place. I want to curl up with my cat, Toto, and sleep….
Lost in such thoughts, I drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
How much time had passed?
“….”
An uncomfortable sensation stirred me awake.
Darkness had settled beyond the window. Dawn must have arrived. And….
“…!”
What a fright!
Beyond the iron bars stood a man.
An imposingly massive frame, crimson hair faintly illuminated by moonlight.
I blinked, wondering if I’d seen wrong, but it was indeed him.
“…Orsini?”
At that, the man’s lips twisted in the darkness.
“How pathetic.”
It really was Orsini!
I never imagined I’d see that face in this place.
When on earth had he been standing there?
“What are you doing here? Weren’t you supposed to be away on your training?”
“I rushed over to watch you die.”
“….”
That bastard.
I crumpled my expression and turned my head away.
“Ah, yes. You must have had a difficult journey coming from so far away.”
Then it suddenly occurred to me.
Someone I’d seen in the Spectator Gallery during today’s trial. Their face wasn’t clearly visible because they’d pulled their hood down so far, but….
“Did you happen to come watch the trial earlier?”
“You’ve shown nothing but arrogance, and now look at you.”
But Orsini didn’t answer my question. Instead, he sneered at me harshly.
Yet for some reason, he didn’t seem to be enjoying himself.
Finding that strange, I looked up at him again with a fixed gaze.
Indeed, Orsini wasn’t smiling.
Just glaring at me with a face twisted savagely.
“I always knew you’d end up like this. I knew you’d taint the family honor like filthy sewage someday.”
“Ah, what an impressive fortune teller you are. Why don’t you open a divination shop?”
Then Orsini gripped the bars with a sharp clang.
As he stepped closer, his face became more visible.
“How long do you plan to keep that arrogant air! Look at yourself!”
“What’s wrong with how I look?”
“If you have eyes, why don’t you look for yourself? A face beaten and bruised, dressed in rags like some street whore!”
Ah, yes. My appearance is rather poor, that’s true.
I acknowledged it readily.
“Why? Isn’t this the sight you wanted to see?”
“….”
“Look all you want. After today, you won’t get the chance again.”
I meant that I would never end up in such a state again.
But Orsini seemed to interpret it differently.
As if I meant that once I was executed, there would be no more chances to see me—a farewell of sorts.
The veins on the back of his hand gripping the bars became prominent. They trembled slightly.
“You’ll be executed soon.”
“I know.”
“Unless your father or that hollow husband of yours steps in, no one can stop this.”
“Of course not.”
“Damn it, you foolish woman! Have you completely lost your mind!”
Bang! He kicked the wall, spewing curses.
“Listen well, you filth. You’ll be dead by tomorrow. Do you understand? Dead!”
Kanna Adis gazed up at him steadily. I couldn’t fathom why he was thrashing about so desperately.
‘Could it be…’
A suspicion taking root in my mind, I let my shoulders droop as though sorrowful.
“I’m sorry, Orsini.”
“…What?”
“I have nothing to say in my defense.”
Orsini couldn’t respond immediately.
The shift in attitude was that abrupt. Here I was, speaking of my own death, yet wearing a bored expression—and now suddenly I was curling up like a delicate flower petal.
“I’m truly sorry for tarnishing the family’s honor. I never intended for this… because of me, House of Adis has incurred a debt to the Imperial Family. Especially to the Empress.”
This was what he wanted to hear.
As expected, Orsini, completely at a loss for words, simply stared at me while gripping the bars with white knuckles.
Seeing his vacant expression, I nearly clicked my tongue.
Tch, what an idiot. Falling for it again.
“…or so you thought?”
I let out a hollow laugh and leaned my back against the wall. I extended my middle finger and spoke.
“Not sorry at all. I have nothing to apologize to you for, so get lost.”

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