Chapter 129
The Shocking Trial
Even before the trial began, the courtroom was chaotic. A huge crowd of spectators packed the courtroom, eager to witness the shocking trial.
Duke Astria had been accused of attempted murder, and the crime involved his adopted daughter, Eleanor.
There had been no scandal as shocking as this for years.
Moreover, the process leading up to the trial had been unusually fast, thanks to the Emperor’s active involvement, which only heightened the public’s interest.
As a result, people from all walks of life in Cardiff gathered to witness the trial, eager to see Duke Astria’s downfall with their own eyes.
When Eleanor entered the courtroom with Karsian, the audience fell silent. Dozens of eyes turned toward her at once.
A mix of sympathy, curiosity, mockery, and anger filled the air as those eyes focused on her. But Eleanor remained calm, standing still.
She had expected a large crowd, and it didn’t bother her. In fact, the more people there were, the better it was for her. The more witnesses to her father’s disgrace, the greater his shame would be.
‘Father, the people you’ve looked down on are here to see your disgrace.’
As Duke Astria was escorted into the courtroom by the guards, Eleanor bit her lip.
He had been so glorious, but in just a week, he looked pitiful. Seeing him in such a state nearly made her laugh. She barely suppressed her laughter, and a sound like a cough escaped her, but with the noise of the courtroom, no one seemed to notice.
However, surprisingly, at that moment, her eyes met Duke Astria’s.
His deep purple eyes flickered with emotion. Eleanor quickly raised her hand to cover her mouth. To others, she might have appeared scared, but her keen-eyed father would likely have realized that she was hiding a smile.
“I will now begin.”
After confirming the presence of all attendees, the judge announced the trial’s opening with the Emperor’s approval.
Twelve jurors took their oaths, and the judge proceeded to briefly explain the case.
Though it was a dull process, Eleanor found each sentence from the jurors fascinating. Each second felt like it dragged on, but she didn’t mind.
“The defendant has been abusing the victim for over ten years. He starved and imprisoned her, whipping her like a slave. When he discovered that she wasn’t his biological daughter, he attempted to murder her during a hunting trip.”
The prosecutor began speaking.
“Although the victim and the defendant are not blood-related, the victim is his legitimate adopted daughter. This is a case where a father tried to kill his daughter after years of abuse!”
“Lies!”
Suddenly, Duke Astria shouted, his rough voice interrupting the proceedings.
“How could a father try to kill his daughter? That’s impossible! There are cases where children kill their parents, but never a parent trying to kill their child! Eleanor, how could you do this to me? Even if you were jealous of your true position, how could you slander me, the one who raised you from the poorhouse?”
It was unexpected. Eleanor never thought her father would break decorum and shout like this.
‘Father is smart enough not to act without thinking. Is he trying to sway public opinion before the jurors?’
By mentioning things like “true position” and “the poorhouse,” he seemed to be laying the groundwork for a story. He was painting her as a fake noble, a commoner raised by him, trying to harm the good man who took her in.
It seemed to be working, as some of the jurors’ eyes wavered.
For jurors who were not nobles, social class mattered. People loved to categorize others. Commoners and the poor were viewed as distinctly different from the aristocracy, and that belief changed how they saw Eleanor. Instead of seeing her noble beauty, they now saw her as someone from a low background, possibly a liar.
“If a commoner’s blood runs through her veins, she could have made false accusations!” That was the view shared by those who believed in class hierarchies.
Moreover, the country of Juvnal emphasized the child’s duty to parents over the parent’s duty to children. While parricide was considered one of the worst crimes and severely punished, patricide was just a regular murder and not subject to harsher penalties.
Duke Astria was exploiting this atmosphere, claiming that his daughter was falsely accusing him.
“Silence the defendant!”
The judge quickly tried to quiet the Duke, but he had already made his point.
It was time for a change in tactics.
Eleanor quickly stood up.
“I’ll speak for myself.”
Her soft voice made the audience fall silent, leaning in to hear her words.
With the courtroom now quiet, Eleanor spoke.
“A child must respect their parents. And I’ve always respected and loved my father, even when he starved me, beat me, and abused me. I endured for ten years without saying a word because of that love. A child always tries to forgive their parents, no matter what.”
She knew that directly contradicting her father’s claims wouldn’t work in her favor. So, she softened her voice and put on a sorrowful, sad expression, as though acknowledging the pain this situation caused her.
“But, honorable judge, the moment my father knew I wasn’t his real daughter, he took up the whip and punished me, thinking that a lowborn like me should be controlled with pain.”
Eleanor lifted the hem of her cream-colored skirt.
The sight of a lady revealing her bare legs in public shocked the audience, but when they saw her legs, their faces turned pale.
The marks of abuse were clear. Seeing it with their own eyes was far more shocking than hearing about it.
Eleanor had stayed at the Astria estate, willingly enduring the abuse, knowing it would provide irrefutable evidence of her suffering. She had intentionally marked her body to use it as proof.
Karsian would be upset if he knew, but at that time, her body was the best tool to use.
“My God, look at her legs…!”
“She’s ruined… completely ruined!”
“A father did this to his own daughter? Not even an animal would do this!”
The audience erupted in shock. Those in the front row started shouting, while those further back craned their necks to see her legs. The conversation turned to how unfortunate and pitiful she was.
“Even after being whipped repeatedly, I never reported my father. I remained silent and endured the pain because I wanted to repay his kindness in raising me.”
Eleanor paused, giving the audience a moment to absorb her words, before raising her voice once more.
“Yet despite all that, my father tried to kill me because I threatened him.”
The word “threatened” had a shocking effect. Everyone in the room froze in surprise, including Duke Astria, who glared at her fiercely, clearly not expecting this.
Eleanor hurried to explain.
“You all know about Baron Griffith, right? His belongings are in the Astria estate. Most of it was thrown away or burned, but I managed to keep a few items.”
As she said this, Duke Astria’s face turned pale.
“His belongings?”
A man in the audience suddenly stood up and pointed at her, his voice full of rage. He looked very much like Baron Griffith. He was the Baron’s father.
“What do you mean by that? The belongings of my son…!”
Eleanor turned to the jury, lowering her head, unable to meet the gaze of the man.
“Baron Griffith is dead.”
Despite the guilt she felt, her response was clear.
“My father had him dragged to the Astria estate, where he was tortured to death, in retaliation for the injury he caused to Duke Astria’s son.”
The courtroom fell silent. The jury and spectators were stunned into silence.
Suddenly, the sound of someone collapsing echoed through the room. The man who had stood up in outrage was now on the floor, and chaos erupted in the courtroom.
The judge quickly called for order, but it was clear this revelation had shocked everyone.
Duke Astria’s situation was now far worse. What had initially been attempted murder was now actual murder.
“I knew about this and called my father on the day of the hunting trip to advise him to confess. Even though he’s my father, I couldn’t let murder slide. I couldn’t accuse him, so I urged him to confess honorably. But he didn’t confess. Instead, he tried to kill me to silence me.”
“That’s a lie!” Duke Astria screamed, interrupting the proceedings again. Unlike before, his panic was obvious. He knew he was cornered.
After all her calculations, Eleanor had forced the truth out into the open. She had used her knowledge of her father’s teachings to bring him to this point.
“Once you understand the enemy’s situation, you push them into a place where they can’t defend themselves and go for the kill.”
Eleanor remembered this advice from her father. It had served her well.
“Thank you, Father.”
She whispered it under her breath, raising her voice one last time.
“The belongings of Baron Griffith are hidden in the wardrobe in my room at the Astria estate. I present this as evidence!”
A loud scream came from the audience. Baron Griffith’s father rushed at Duke Astria, but the guards stopped him.
The courtroom exploded into chaos again, and the judge, overwhelmed, declared a recess.
The Emperor didn’t waste any time and ordered his knights.
“Go to the Astria estate right now and search the place as she described!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
