"Miss!"
Suddenly a dejected voice that I was already familiar with, came out of nowhere. The owner of the voice was none other than my personal maid, Sofia. Huh? I thought it would be hard for her to visit me, but she managed to come in just two days. I opened the prison gate excitedly upon seeing her. Sofia brought a large basket with her and hesitantly hugged me.
"Miss…are you okay?"
"I'm living pretty well here."
The surroundings inside my prison went through few changes in these two days. The worn-out bed stayed the same, but the bedsheet has changed into a clean new one. And also I got a sturdy desk and chair, even though they're old furnitures. Before Sofia's arrival, I sat at the desk and played a card game with Robert, one of the guards I beat last time.
"You won again, Sis?"
(T/L: he called her 'noona' which mean 'older sister'. In Korea, this is how a man called his older sister (between siblings and closed acquaintance). In this case, although Silla is much younger, they respect her as their elder hence the using of noona)
Gale, the second guard that also got beaten, was the guard who led Sofia to my prison. As soon as he entered the prison, he walked closer to me and Robert while letting out a small chuckle.
Sofia was really confused as to why they called me 'Sis'. It's nothing weird actually. Judging from their looks, they shouldn't call me 'Sis' but 'child'.
"Argh, don't mention it! Ol' sis didn't even hold back for once."
Robert grumbled while mixing up the cards on the desk. The only entertainment for holy knights was playing card games! You guys need another ten years of training in order to defeat me. I returned to the desk and sat then gave a signal for Sofia to come closer.
"How's the situation at the mansion?"
Sofia glanced a bit at the guards who were busy shuffling the cards and chattering, then answered, "… nothing has changed from before. It's as if Miss never existed in the first place."
"How about the Countess?"
"She didn't say anything to me other than ordering me to visit Miss."
The Countess herself sent Sofia here? Probably she wanted to know how I was doing since she didn't get any report from these two guards she had bribed.
"Tell her that my condition is really bad and that I've been lying sick, that you're afraid I won't make it this time."
"What?" With a disagreeing face, Sofia said, "Miss is perfectly fine, though?"
"It would help me if you said it like that."
It wouldn't do me any good if the Countess knew I was living just fine here, like a fish that returned to the ocean after getting caught. This fact could be used to make things harder for me in the trial and she would create more troublesome obstacles. That's why it would be better to let her assume my condition was bad. Who knows, maybe she would lower her guard on me. Well, even though it was unlikely for her to do that.
Sofia nodded although she didn't like the idea. "Fine. I will report as you've said. But…"
Suddenly her big eyes trembled with fear.
"The trial… there won't be any problems, right?"
How could it be as you said? No need to ask further, I'm totally cornered from all sides. Although I thought like that inside my heart, I didn't say it out loud. Instead, I smiled widely and patted Sofia's shoulder.
"It's okay. There won't be any problems. You don't have to worry about anything, so you can go home now and wait patiently for my return."
It seems like she will need to wait for about a year for my return. Nonetheless, I absolutely won't die. I never planned to die, not even in the slightest, and not even as little as an ant's shit because of this annoying problem.
I tried calming down Sofia until she finally left my jail after she anxiously staring at me for a quite while. As soon as she left, it was Gale's turn to give me a worried look while playing with the cards in his hands.
"Erm… are you really going to be fine?"
Woah, look at him! The brat had turned silly after getting beaten. He actually worried about me. I feel a bit proud.
"Nah… it's fine! I won't die easily. Don't worry!"
I'm having déjà vu; didn't I say exactly the same thing before entering the Demon King's castle? But well… I'm not completely dead, right? However, I feel bitter whenever I recall my comrades' tearful faces. This time I will do my best not to die.
***
The day of the trial…
Although all of this situation was the result of some kind of manipulation, a case with solid evidence and witnesses would normally immediately proceed to trial. Since most people didn't even know what had truly happened, the only thing the judge did was announce the guilty verdict.
The trial would be held at the Third Court, a special court where all trials for severe criminal cases are judged. I had been there before. Of course not as the suspect, but as the victim or the witness. I adhere the Goddess so I always lived my life in the right path. Well…but now here I am, standing on trial as the main suspect for a murder case… damn! I will sue all of them for defamation. A holy knight's dignity is much more valuable than any high noble's!
Ugh… I'm worried what the High Priest will say when he finds out about this. The Cardinal will reprimand me ruthlessly. Or… maybe I should just continue my life without exposing my identity ever?
Even if I were freed of the charges because I just tried to defend myself, I will still be put under surveillance for a year. The main suspect should be the Countess, but this bastard Cain also played a role in this mess. This is the second time that bastard Cain has succeeded in playing this trick on me. Haha.
There were only a few people who came to watch the trial inside the spacious court room. The judges and the court secretary sat in the middle and me as the suspect, sat on the left side under the public security forces surveillance. The right side was where the plaintiffs or witnesses and informants usually sat, but I don't see anyone except a prosecutor. Has he not arrived yet? I would be glad if he didn't come.
"The prosecutor hereby reporting to the trial that the murderer of Viscount Skyin Schwart is Silla Epheria."
As the prosecutor read out his report, the trial started.
Silla Epheria, the eldest daughter of Count Epheria, was not satisfied with her fiancé, Viscount Schwart. Right here, the servants from the Count's household came to testify, and suddenly Silla got a low-standing boyfriend out of nowhere. And now there's a lazy looking man appearing on the Countess' order and stating that Silla Epheria seduced the pitiful Viscount Schwart into the arranged inn. This is followed by the appearance of the inn owner and the waiters who were nowhere to be seen at that time. They testify that Viscount Schwart was brutally murdered in broad daylight.
And just like that, the trial continued. I stared at the new boyfriend I've never met in my whole life and other witnesses as if I was watching a theatrical play. Interesting… as long as I wasn't the protagonist though.
"Now we will hear the defense of Silla Epheria after we hear the last witness' testimony."
…, it was so neatly arranged that I was rendered speechless. Better focus on my escape plan then. The prosecutor looked at the witnesses list and his face turned panicky.
"Erm… Initially Sir Cain Silac, the Imperial Knight, would come as a witness, but… seems like suddenly he ran into an urgent matter when the trial was about to start."
"That means, the witnesses' testimonies end here?"
"It was written that someone will come on behalf of Sir Cain, but his name…"
At the same time, the door connected to the witness area, opened and a man walked inside. Everyone inside the court room, including me, looked at that man with widened eyes. That man was the bastard Cain's proxy?! Impossible!!!