The Villainess is a Millionaire Solver - Chapter 132

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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 132

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Sion soon regained consciousness and, according to the Holy Order’s judgment, was immediately brought to trial.

“Let’s go.”

Duke Carnel set out with the elders, his face expressionless.

The estate entrance was in disarray. Sion’s belongings that had been confiscated by the Order had been returned.

“Head Butler, what should we do with these things?”

“Leave them for now.”

The employees who had been conversing quickly stepped aside when the Duke’s party appeared.

Duke Carnel passed by indifferently, then suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Between the carelessly stacked boxes, he could see the arm of a large teddy bear sticking out.

“Sigh…”

A heavy sigh escaped from among the elders.

They all remembered that doll well.

When Sion first came to the ducal mansion. When Duke Carnel asked what he wanted, the child had asked for a teddy bear.

When they bought him the biggest one, he was so delighted. He took it everywhere he went, and that image was burned into everyone’s memory.

The sight of that scrawny child dragging a teddy bear as tall as himself by one arm across the floor was still vivid in their minds.

“…Let’s go.”

Duke Carnel resumed walking.

Watching his hair and clothes flutter in the wind, the elders soon followed behind.

The courtroom where the Sacred Tribunal was held was filled with an especially heavy silence today.

Since this was a trial for a heretic who had dabbled in black magic, there was no jury this time. Only observers filled the seats.

Among them was Princess Violet.

The Holy Order had requested one observer from the imperial side. However, the Crown Prince and Second Prince replied that they were unable to attend due to unavoidable circumstances.

Therefore, the still young Violet came to attend with the Butler, who served as the imperial representative.

Though it wasn’t a comfortable situation, she had courageously and resolutely come out to fulfill her duty as a princess in her own way.

“All rise!”

When the priest shouted, everyone except the princess stood up from their seats.

Soon after, Ruellian, the presiding judge, appeared in a majestic manner with his pure white cloak fluttering.

“Your Honor.”

Everyone paid their respects to him. As always, Ruellian skipped the other ceremonies and went straight to the main point.

“Case number 264. Sion Michael Rosen has been accused of learning and using forbidden black magic. The accusing party is the Holy Order, and we have secured all evidence of this serious heretical act. Does the accused admit to the charges?”

Sion sat there in a daze, looking absent-minded, then answered.

“I admit it.”

The observer section stirred slightly. Ruellian looked around at the people.

“Any objections?”

Silence flowed. Duke Carnel and the elders were also just silently watching Sion.

“Then…”

Just as he was about to pronounce the sentence.

“Wait!”

A sharp voice echoed from outside.

The courtroom doors swung wide open on both sides. Someone stood there tall.

Exceptionally bright shining golden hair. Red rose-colored eyes that captured everyone’s attention.

That venomous beauty made even more menacing by the lavish adornments that flaunted wealth.

People were surprised.

“It’s Lady Aristina!”

“I wondered why she wasn’t in the observer section! A death sentence isn’t enough, so she’s here to crush him more thoroughly!”

“She’s truly ruthless! Ruthless!”

But…

When Aristina spread her arms, advisors appeared from both sides and put a black gown on her.

It was a lawyer’s gown.

“…?”

In front of the people staring with bewildered faces, Aristina declared.

“I will defend the accused!”

“What? Defense? Not additional charges but defense?”

“What on earth is she thinking?”

The murmuring from the observer section didn’t cease. They seemed to momentarily forget that this was a sacred courtroom.

‘Everyone must not have expected me to appear here.’

Seeing me leave at dawn, Duke Carnel probably thought I had no interest in my cousin’s trial.

But far from it. I had been too busy preparing in such a short time.

I spoke to Ruellian.

“Honorable Judge. Since I submitted the documents just before the deadline, they probably haven’t reached you yet. I submitted a piece of evidence to the Heresy Tribunal, and that evidence was approved, granting me qualification as defense counsel.”

“Evidence? What evidence do you speak of?”

“I will reveal that through a demonstration. You would only believe it if you saw it with your own eyes, Honorable Judge.”

I said this while looking toward the entrance.

At some point, two men were standing there.

Though they covered their entire bodies with black robes, people immediately recognized them with an “Oh?” Today they weren’t using their abilities to hide their identities.

“Demonstration assistant Andrew.”

“Demonstration assistant Jack.”

Aldensis and Zicren shamelessly claimed while passing through the observer section to come forward.

Princess Violet’s eyes widened as she stared at them.

“Brothers?”

The reason the Crown Prince and Second Prince couldn’t observe today was because of this.

I had asked them for help. Hadn’t I said I would grant them anything they wanted?

‘Originally I was going to use that opportunity for my own benefit, but it can’t be helped.’

I turned back toward Ruellian.

“Honorable Judge, I’ve heard that sometimes illusions are used for arguments or testimony for fair trials. Would it be acceptable for me to also use illusions to reveal the evidence I discovered?”

“Hmm…”

Ruellian nodded in approval.

Soon after, at the defense counsel’s request, the accused Sion was brought forward.

“Then I’ll begin.”

Aldensis snapped his fingers.

The next moment, a thick arrow flew from the back of the courtroom.

The observers were startled and dodged left and right.

Even though it was clearly an illusion, it was so realistic that they instinctively reacted that way.

But Sion alone showed no reaction at all.

If it had been a real arrow, everyone would have dodged and only he would have been hit.

I looked at Ruellian and said.

“The Order has probably verified this many times already. Sion has no survival instinct since he’s given up after his death sentence was confirmed, and as you can see, he’s completely incapacitated with restraints. But…”

When I turned my gaze to look at Zicren, he whistled once.

At that moment.

Sion, who had seemed lifeless like an inanimate object, suddenly changed.

His face contorted as he violently lunged toward Zicren.

“Calm down.”

When Aldensis simply caught him with one hand, Sion screamed and violently resisted. A blood-red mist rose from his body.

People cried out in surprise.

“What is that?”

“Unable to use black magic, he’s drawing on his own life force. In this state, it only damages himself and can’t harm anyone else.”

Aldensis said this and struck him, causing Sion to immediately calm down. Ruellian’s face hardened.

“What is the accused doing right now? Does he think summary execution is better than the death penalty?”

Sion hung his head low.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know why I’m acting like this either.”

“That’s exactly it.”

Zikren picked up on those words.

“Your Honor. The defendant didn’t act of his own will just now. I commanded him to do it.”

At those words, Sion’s head snapped up.

“…What?”

His expression showed he didn’t understand what he had just heard. The others looked the same way.

“You don’t understand? Well then, I’ll reveal that secret now.”

I approached Sion closely. Then I spoke to him as he looked at me with wavering eyes.

“You want to know what happened? Then take off your eyepatch in front of everyone. Just do that.”

“…”

“What could get worse at this point? Trust me and try taking it off.”

Sion hesitantly reached out and removed his eyepatch.

At that moment, the courtroom erupted in commotion.

Anyone in high society knew. The fact that Sion of House Rosen had been sold as a slave in childhood and completely lost one eye.

But that wasn’t the case.

The eye that had been hidden under the eyepatch maintained its original shape.

The problem was that it wasn’t a human eye.

Instead of a pupil, strange patterns flickered as it burned bright red—a monster’s eye.

“…?”

When people showed strange reactions, Sion also looked at his reflection through a shield decoration hanging on the wall. Then he was startled.

“Wh-what is this…?”

“It’s a demon eye.”

Zikren said.

“A magic item was implanted in his body without his knowledge and used to control him.”

“That’s correct.”

Aldensis continued the explanation.

“This absorbs the target’s life force to perfectly disguise itself as a body organ. Do you live your daily life feeling the presence of your internal organs? It’s like that, so the person himself can’t know, and even in this activated state, it won’t be detected by any sensors. The problem is how this magical device was inserted…”

“Think carefully, Sion. Didn’t someone put something in your eye?”

At my words, Sion blankly searched his memory.

“Three or four years ago, I think. My eye suddenly hurt so I went to see a doctor, and he said it would be good to insert a prosthetic to prevent the eyeball from continuing to collapse…”

“That’s exactly it!”

I raised my voice.

“Look, everyone. Sion was controlled by this demon eye to disregard life. I’m not saying he’s without guilt, but if it weren’t for this, he wouldn’t have done something so foolish as to attack innocent lives and dig his own grave.”

Saying that, I glanced at the spectator seats.

Violet had lifted her head at some point. She was staring intently at every word we said and every action we took.

I spoke to Ruellian again.

“Honorable Judge. What happens in cases like this? Given that it wasn’t voluntary but manipulation by another, isn’t there room for mitigating circumstances?”

Ruellian nodded.

“Originally I was going to seek the death penalty, but that was for the purpose of preventing additional harmful acts that might occur in the future… If it can be proven that the cause can be removed and completely corrected, then of course there’s room for mitigating circumstances.”

“Then I request that we remove that magical device through surgery and submit it as evidence, and resume the trial at that time.”

“That’s a reasonable request.”

At Ruellian’s words, Sion collapsed with a thud.

Even if the death penalty had been sought, his legs probably wouldn’t have given out like this.

He looked up at the ceiling mural with a distant, dazed expression. The courtroom was noisy enough to shake, but it seemed like he couldn’t hear any sound in his ears.

Duke Carnel and the elders looked at me with surprised faces.

“Aristina…”

“We can’t let our family produce a death row inmate.”

I replied curtly, when someone rushed out from the spectator seats.

“It’s because of me! Because I didn’t believe the Princess’s words, you did that on purpose to show me!”

Violet ran to me and hugged me. When she buried her face and then pulled away, clear tear marks in the shape of eyes, nose, and mouth were imprinted.

“Really! Do you know how much this dress costs to use it as a handkerchief? Even if you are a Princess…”

I gently patted the child’s back.

Aldensis and Zikren approached us.

Though they didn’t say it directly, they seemed to have roughly figured out what had happened between me, Violet, and Sion.

“I said those words because I wanted to do anything for the Princess, but to think you’d use even that opportunity for our sake.”

Aldensis grabbed my hand with a moved expression.

“Princess, you as a person are really…!”

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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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