The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 307
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 307
The priest shouted with excitement clearly written on his face.
“Leblaine Dubbled has been confined in the Imperial Palace Prison.”
“The Imperial Palace? Why?”
“She went to the Imperial Palace herself and confessed to being the mastermind behind the battle between the shrine and Dubbled, and Dubbled pressured the nobles to make her interrogation public.”
“A public interrogation… Why?”
“When the transparency of a public interrogation is in doubt, the interrogation is broadcast throughout the nation via demon realm. She must have been aiming for that.”
“…Is there something in the interrogation to reveal to the common people?”
“That’s right.”
Mina bit her nails.
‘What is she planning to do now.’
Leblaine was someone who couldn’t be underestimated.
‘What exactly is she trying to reveal… surely not.’
Mina’s expression hardened stiffly.
“That I possessed the body of Duchess Dubbled…”
“Pardon?”
“That’s the only thing there is. The only thing she can reveal to the common people to shake me!”
“But we can’t be certain that you are the target, Mina. Wouldn’t it be difficult to provide evidence?”
The priest continued with a furrowed brow.
“To prove that body is Lisette Dubbled’s flesh, she would need to demonstrate that Lisette’s bloodline and power mix.”
“…”
“But Lisette’s only bloodline consists entirely of the Three Dubbled Brothers. They all use mana. It means their power cannot mix with that body which possesses divine power.”
“No. There’s remaining bloodline.”
“…Pardon?”
“Reginald told me. That Grimoire Elder is Lisette Dubbled’s biological father.”
“…!”
“If there’s someone in the Grimoire family who possesses divine power, they could find out. That must be why Leblaine wants a public interrogation.”
Mina bit down hard on the soft flesh inside her mouth.
“That girl’s life goal is to ruin me.”
“Then…”
“We need to stop the public interrogation!”
“That’s impossible. There’s already been a petition from 40 nobles with voting rights in the State Council, and the Emperor has given his permission.”
“But…”
“However, does Dubbled know that Grimoire Elder is Lisette Dubbled’s biological father?”
“I don’t know. But since Grimoire knows that Lisette Dubbled is his biological child, we can’t be at ease.”
“Then why don’t you stay away for a while, Mina. If you don’t participate in the trial, it’s something that can’t be proven anyway.”
“Then people will start suspecting me!”
When Mina shouted angrily, the priest looked at her with a startled expression.
Mina flinched and hunched her shoulders.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get angry. I just don’t want to be manipulated by Leblaine’s schemes anymore… I can’t stand receiving people’s suspicious looks any longer.”
“…”
Crack, Mina bit her fingernails and then narrowed her eyes.
“What if we temporarily take those with divine power from Grimoire?”
“You want to kidnap the Grimoire branch family members?”
Mina shouted frantically.
“It’s not kidnapping, just temporarily taking them!”
“…”
“Temporarily, just temporarily… I’m not the same kind of person as Leblaine.”
The priest who had been staring at Mina soon bowed his waist.
“I will inform the Cardinals of Lady Mina’s wishes.”
“…Has His Holiness the Pope still not recovered?”
“There is nothing wrong with his health.”
“Then why hasn’t he done anything for me yet… No, never mind.”
“…”
Mina swallowed dry saliva and looked at the priest with a desperate expression.
“Please tell him that I trust His Holiness.”
“Yes.”
* * *
Imperial Palace Prison.
The Emperor sighed deeply as he looked at me, who seemed unbothered even inside the iron bars.
“Really, you child…”
“I have caused you worry, Your Majesty. I am truly sorry.”
The Emperor’s gaze fell on the remnants of meals scattered inside the iron bars.
I rolled my eyes around and quickly hid the banana peel behind my back. Then I smiled awkwardly.
“How will the interrogation proceed?”
“It will be a public interrogation as you wanted. Dubbled has been moving so diligently that you finally succeeded.”
When I bowed my head in respect, the Emperor sighed and turned his back, and I shouted to him as he was walking away.
“Your health is alright, isn’t it?”
Though the prison was too dark to see his complexion clearly, I could tell he was much thinner than usual.
“It’s because there’s never a day without worries. Recently, my biggest concerns are you and Dubbled.”
“I’m sorry.”
“This is as much help as I can give you.”
I stared intently at his back. He spoke in a low voice.
“Because I am the Emperor, I stand at the center, but I cannot participate in the battle.”
“I understand, Your Majesty.”
“However, ‘I’ will trust you.”
“….”
“You shall repay that trust with victory.”
“Yes.”
I bowed my head once more, and the Emperor took his leave.
In the prison after he departed, light seeped through a palm-sized window.
Four days passed like that.
The day of the public interrogation had arrived.
* * *
About ten minutes before the interrogation was to begin, the iron bars opened. An Imperial Palace soldier came to fetch me, and after looking around, he said.
“I am one of Nuanok’s people.”
It seemed he was a Dubbled spy that the Duke had hidden in the palace.
“I will brief you on the interrogation chamber situation.”
There were a total of 9 observers, and the list was as follows.
【3 Cardinals】
Blasio, Ridalante, Stefano.
【3 Imperial Family Members】
Empress Dowager, Prince Adrian, Prince Andre.
【3 Nobles】
Duke Marche, Duke Grimoire, Duke Amitie.
‘It seems Duke Amitie was released at just the right time.’
I had expected they would call Duke Amitie to the public interrogation as a symbol of transparency.
If he didn’t appear, there would surely be people who found it suspicious.
If Duke Amitie, who receives the people’s love, disappeared, attention would focus on his whereabouts and the public interrogation could fall apart.
That’s why I ordered Empress Cecilia to release Duke Amitie before the public interrogation.
I had faith that Duke Amitie wouldn’t mention being kidnapped by me.
As long as it didn’t involve Mina, he was someone who would consider my wellbeing.
Even if that could be called hypocrisy.
‘I can count on three certain votes.’
Emeline’s biological father, ‘Cardinal Stefano’.
My maternal uncle, ‘Duke Grimoire’.
And ‘Adrian’.
The Empress Dowager is like a reed swaying in the wind, and it’s uncertain whether Duke Amitie will side with me when it comes to Mina. Even though Cardinal Blasio is friendly toward me, he’s still a person of the Neriad faith, so I can’t be at ease.
‘There’s a high chance I’ll lose in the vote.’
If that happens, I’ll be branded a war criminal and executed, or transferred to the shrine’s reformation facility.
‘In the end, the only way is to achieve my goal of revealing my identity during the public interrogation and make the trial itself fall apart.’
I nodded my head and said.
“Let’s go.”
As we left the prison, Imperial Guards and Court Mages came to escort me.
I made eye contact with Whale (fake Trigon) who was among them.
Whale nodded his head secretly, and I closed my eyes tightly.
I headed to the interrogation chamber, surrounded by Imperial Palace guards and Court Mages.
The massive stairs surrounding the interrogation chamber were packed with nobles and court officials.
“Leblaine Lisette Dubbled shall take her seat at the interrogation chair.”
The one in charge of the interrogation chamber was First Prince Andre.
I was led by the Imperial Guards to sit in the chair, and the full-scale interrogation began.
Andre asked with an indifferent expression while flipping through parchment.
“Is it certain that you are the one who caused the friction between the shrine and Dubbled?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He nodded his head and then continued reading the documents.
“You came directly to the Imperial Palace and revealed it yourself?”
Prince Andre crossed his arms and leaned back deeply against the backrest, muttering.
Then he muttered, “The culprit turned herself in, so why did they request an interrogation?”
I calmly looked around the interrogation chamber. My eyes met with Mina, who was looking at me with an anxious expression.
I slowly stood up from my seat and bowed my head.
“Your Majesty, I have lied.”
“What?”
“I have deceived the Imperial family.”
“….”
“I have made everyone waste their precious time with false confessions.”
“….”
Prince Andre shouted with a displeased expression.
“What on earth do you mean!”
“I am not the culprit of this battle.”
The interrogation chamber stirred greatly.
I raised my head again. My eyes met with Adrian in the observer’s section.
He hadn’t taken his eyes off me for even a moment.
‘This is strange.’
I smiled faintly.
‘Actually, I’m incredibly anxious and scared, but seeing you gives me courage.’
I looked at the broadcasting magical device floating in the air and said.
“The war between Dubbled and the shrine is not the first occurrence with this recent battle.”
“What did you say?”
“What….”
The expressions of the Cardinals and Mina froze, and the observers and nobles seated in their places began murmuring.
“Dubbled fought its first war with the shrine 17 years ago, and as a result had to lose the Duchess Dubbled, and the child she was pregnant with went missing.”
“…!”
The interrogation room erupted into chaos, and Mina muttered.
“Fourth Child? Fourth Child?”
She muttered in confusion. The reactions of others weren’t much different.
Prince Andre furrowed his brow and asked.
“That statement about the Temple attacking Dubbled for some reason, and Duchess Dubbled dying in the process. Can you take responsibility for it?”
“No.”
“Words you can’t even take responsibility for…!”
“It’s not that I can’t take responsibility, it’s that the causality is wrong!”
I shouted.
“The Temple came attacking specifically targeting the Duchess and the Fourth Child from the beginning!”
“Evidence!”
“I am. I am the evidence.”
“What nonsense are you….”
I gripped my skirt hem tightly. And shouted as if coughing up blood.
“Because it’s me!”
I couldn’t hold back the tears.
Because I remembered Mother dying, because I pitied Father who lived unable to die while longing for Mother.
“Because I am Dubbled’s Fourth Child!”
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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