"I'm innocent," Calista broke the ice.
Sitting among the high officials in the empire, Calista kept her face straight and looked at them in the eyes. "I killed no one. I have nothing more to say," she added.
Count Zara scoffed. "Liar. How dare you lie in the presence of the emperor?"
Calista turned her head and stared at the count. "How dare you accuse me in the presence of the emperor?" She raised her left brow and huffed. "I didn't come here to be the subject of your hate, Count Zara. Don't make me say things I don't want to say, especially now that you're not done grieving on your daughter's death."
"You claim that you're not the culprit, Lady Calista. How are you not?"
Calista's words convinced Duke Pazelle. He could already tell she was innocent. His ability told him so. How the crime was executed was the problem. Looking back at the body's condition when found at Lady Calista's party, it was clear that the victim was dead for a few days before it was discovered.
"How?" Calista rested her back. She crossed her legs and placed her arms on her knee. "If I were to kill someone, I would rather burn their body into ashes. With that, nobody could find out about it easily. Besides, it goes beyond my personality to kill someone inferior to me. Oh, please. I'm just saying that Lady Evangeline had a pretty face…"
Everyone frowned at Calista's remarks.
"... Not prettier than me though," she continued and smiled. "And just to make it clear to everyone here, I don't like Edmund Hayes so much to kill someone to get him. Nah, it's a waste of time."
"That's why you're using the Duke of Crown as a cover-up, right? You were devastated when a mere count's son rejected you. When you found out about my daughter's relationship with the person of your interest, you killed her." Count Zara slammed his hands on the table as he glared at Calista. "You killed my daughter out of jealousy, Lady Calista!"
"Count Zara," Duke La Forte called out. His expression turned dark as he ordered the count to settle. "Sit down. You can say all you want, but don't raise your voice," he warned.
"Tsk! You're taking your daughter's side, that's why," Count Zara mumbled under his breath.
Duke Pazelle cleared his throat. He was supposed to be the one doing the questioning. "Let's go back to the topic, Lady Calista." He examined Calista's reaction. "On the 17th of Mizleae, where were you and what were you doing?"
Calista shrugged. "I was home…bored…had nothing to do. Then Lady Evangeline came. Unannounced, of course. She never sent me a letter about her visit. But I spared her some of my precious time since I had nothing to do. We had tea and dessert." She paused and frowned. "Do I need to recall what kind of tea and dessert was served?"
"You do not need to," Duke Pazelle answered.
Flipping her hair back, Calista turned to Count Hayes, who had been quiet since she arrived. "I wonder what problems I caused the Count that made Lady Evangeline so worried about her lover? Maybe Count Hayes could share the details about it," she said, tilting her head to the side as she watched Count Hayes purse his lips.
"I have no idea about what Lady Calista has said. My family is doing well and we have no problems…at all," Count Hayes stated.
Calista shrugged. "That's what he said…Now that Lady Evangeline isn't here with us anymore, I have no means to ask her. Dead people don't talk, yeah?"
The emperor glanced over at Duke Pazelle. He bobbed his head, and the duke did the same.
"Another question, Lady Calista." Duke Pazelle briefly looked at Duke La Forte before continuing with his question. "Did Lady Evangeline leave the mansion after talking to you?"
Calista almost rolled her eyes. The letter said they were only going to ask questions about her interaction with Lady Evangeline, but she started feeling annoyed over time with the things she was asked about.
"She did. I have no reason to keep her after losing her mind," Calista replied. She took a deep breath and faced Duke Pazelle with confidence. She knew about the duke's ability. That's why she felt at ease talking about everything she knew when he was around.
"Lady Evangeline hurt herself. After telling her I'm not that smitten over Lord Edmund, you know, just like how rumors were exaggerated, she started screaming and hitting her head on the floor…" Calista said.
"You heard that? She just confessed to her crime! She hit my daughter's head on the floor!" Count Zara exclaimed, pointing a finger at the lady.
"I didn't," Calista responded. "She did. You can ask the maid who treated her wound and the knight who brought her home after the scene she made."
"Your Grace, we can't trust those people she mentioned. They're serving the lady and they could cover up for her if she wanted," Count Zara told Duke Pazelle.
Everyone started weighing Calista's words. Half of them believed that the lady was innocent, while the rest insisted she committed the crime.
"Duke Pazelle," the emperor called. "What do you think?"
As the head of the Pazelle Dutchy, Emanuel Pazelle possessed the ability to discern truth from others' words. He could always tell if someone was stating facts, even the percentage of truthfulness in another's words was visible in his eyes. His special ability was crucial in keeping peace and order in the empire, thus, they were given the title of 'The Peace Keeper'.
"Lady Calista…She's telling a hundred percent truth," Duke Pazelle confirmed. "However, Count Zara was the same.The two of them said what they knew and what they believed. Neither of them turned out to be a liar. The rest were accusations, but no lies."
Count Zara's brows met. He couldn't believe his ears. "Your Grace! You must be hiding something. How come you believe she's telling the truth?" He stood from his seat once again and pointed at Calista. "You're a criminal!"
Calista let out a sigh. "I have nothing to lower nobles like you, but you're a mere count, and you dared to question the Duke's words…you even called the Duke's daughter a criminal when The Peacekeeper said she was not lying. I'm tired of all this shit. Pointing fingers at me as the suspect when I have nothing to do about anyone's death. If words couldn't settle this mess, then let's do it in another way." Calista's eyes flared as she glared at Count Zara.
"Calista!"
Duke La Forte's voice echoed through Calista's head. If it weren't for him, she would have gone burning the official's head.
"Violence will not solve every problem," Duke La Forte noted as he gave his daughter a meaningful look. "You did your part telling what you know. Let The Peace Keeper take care of the rest," he added. The duke may not show it, but he was proud of his daughter. To remain calm despite the pressure of being the number one suspect was truly commendable, especially when Calista was from the family that commands the element of fire.
"Your father is right, Cali. Leave this matter with The Peace Keeper. We will find out who truly was the one behind Lady Evangeline's death," the emperor said. He always had a soft spot for Calista…the royal family always had.
"Does that mean I'm clear of suspicion?" Calista mumbled to herself. It was safe to assume that she would no longer be dragged in the case, but it wouldn't change the fact that her image was already tainted after the rumors and the headlines about her being the suspect spread across the empire.
'To hell with being the Perfect Saintess,' Calista thought and smirked. She was thinking…Maybe it was time for her to be herself—not a Saintess everyone revered. After all, she knew she wasn't perfect. People only believed she was because of her appearance. They judged her by her outer beauty without trying to know what she was like inside.
Calista didn't want that.
"Your Grace," Calista called, looking straight into Duke Pazelle's eyes. She always thought he looked like his son, whom she disliked. It took her a lot of courage to suppress her annoyance toward the Duke—simply because he reminded him of Samuel Pazelle, whom she wanted to kill whenever they saw each other.
"This case is not going to be solved unless you widen your range. I'm not saying I'm better than you are in this field…But have you ever tried questioning other people aside from me? Have you considered asking Lord Edmund's opinion about this matter? Lady Evangeline was his secret lover. Perhaps he knew something…"
"Something just between the two of them," Calista continued.