Chapter 97. Time to Face the Past
2023.12.06.
The temple's carriage entered the mansion. The person who stepped down from the carriage was Miela.
"Where is the patient?"
"This way, please."
The butler who had been waiting for her guided her to the back garden of the mansion.
There, a tea party among noble ladies was in full swing, and cheerful laughter could be heard even from afar. It was hard to believe there was a patient present.
As Miela approached them, one of the noble ladies who spotted her scowled and gestured with her hand.
It was the mistress of this mansion, the Countess of Ronan.
"Phew, I almost died waiting."
Miela strode up to her side and offered a greeting with a gentle smile.
"Hello, my lady. Where are you feeling unwell?"
"I spilled tea water earlier and got burned. I tell you, my foot felt like it was burning from waiting so long."
When the maid who had been wrapping her foot with a cold-water-soaked towel stepped aside, red marks could be seen on the top of her foot. Though it was red, it didn't seem like a severe burn.
"Your fair skin has turned red. It must have been very painful. I'll heal it right away."
"No, really, I was about to be so offended. Do you know how much our family has donated to the temple, huh? It's too upsetting to be treated as an afterthought like this."
While even nobles wouldn't dare treat the Pope, called the Voice of God, carelessly, there were many commoners among the priests, so there was a tendency to subtly look down on them.
The Countess of Ronan was also picking faults, apparently displeased that she had been made to wait despite not having arrived that late.
But Miela smiled without any sign of taking offense.
"I'm well aware of how much you've donated to the temple and us, my lady. Even this dress I'm wearing is made from fabric you donated. I'm always grateful. I'm truly sorry for arriving late."
Hearing Miela's words, the noble ladies each reacted with surprise.
"Oh my, I heard the fabric for the priests' robes is quite expensive. The Ronan Count's family donated that?"
"I heard the Count's business was hugely successful this time, and the donation was also remarkably generous? As expected, the scale is different."
As the noble ladies heaped praise, the Countess of Ronan relaxed her expression as if she had never been picky with Miela.
"Ahem. Helping those who serve in accordance with God's will is only natural."
In truth, the story that the Ronan Count's family had donated fabric was something Miela had made up on the spot.
The Countess probably just told her subordinates to donate a certain amount of goods without knowing specifically what was donated.
Miela, who had lived in the temple since childhood and learned the ways of the world, knew well how to handle nobles.
Once the atmosphere settled and Miela began treating the Countess of Ronan, the noble ladies moved on to another topic.
"Anyway, tomorrow is the trial day, isn't it?"
"What trial?"
"The Empress Palace fire incident from ten years ago. Duke Delmark requested a retrial, didn't he?"
"Oh, right. That was tomorrow, wasn't it?"
"Then is that rumor from a few months ago all true? That the Duchess and the Duke uncovered the truth about the incident from ten years ago, and because of that, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager had her kidnapped."
"Now that you mention it, that makes sense. That's probably why the Duchess hasn't been making public appearances."
"But what will happen to the Duchess after the trial?"
"Wouldn't she cut ties with the imperial family?"
"No, setting the imperial family aside. If it's true that the late Empress was falsely accused, the Duchess would become the enemy of the Duke's family. Even if the Duke is fine with it, would his vassals just stand by and watch?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, saying, "That's true too." Then, one of the noble ladies spoke up.
"Oh my, then is that real?"
"About what?"
"I briefly stopped by my husband's trading company a while ago and saw goods being transported to the Delmark Duke's household. I took a peek at what they were, and would you believe it—it was the same spiritual medicine my husband got for me when I was pregnant with my first child."
"Spiritual medicine... is the Duchess ill?"
"I don't think she's ill, but rather pregnant. That spiritual medicine is famous for being good for expectant mothers."
At the talk of Blair's pregnancy, Miela's hand, which was treating the Countess of Ronan's foot, paused.
'Pregnant?'
If that story were true, Herdin would be completely tied down by Blair. Miela's heart began to pound anxiously.
"If that's true, it makes sense. The Duchess had something to rely on. Even if she's the daughter of an enemy, he wouldn't be able to cast out the woman carrying his child."
"That's if that child is truly the Duke's child."
At a noble lady's carelessly thrown remark, the atmosphere turned chilly.
While none of them were well-disposed toward Blair, she was still a princess. Everyone held back from openly damaging her reputation.
The noble lady who noticed the atmosphere awkwardly laughed and belatedly tried to smooth things over.
"Oh, no. In romance novels, women sometimes get pregnant by another man to secure their position... I was just thinking out loud."
"That might actually be true..."
With those words, the tea table fell quiet for a moment, and Miela's murmur rang out particularly loudly.
The noble ladies who heard those words all turned their eyes to her at once. Like beasts that had found their prey.
"Priest, do you know something?"
"Oh, it's nothing. The treatment is all done, my lady. Please enjoy your time."
Miela waved her hands with a flustered face and stood up from her seat. At the same time, the Countess of Ronan urgently grabbed Miela's hand.
"You'll get sick if you only work all the time. Sit down and join in on our conversation, won't you?"
One corner of Miela's mouth subtly rose. This was the reaction she had been waiting for.
She looked at the noble ladies with a troubled expression and carefully began to speak.
"The truth is, a few months ago..."
* * *
"My lady, are you sure you'll be alright? If you feel even slightly burdened, please just don't go."
On the day of the trial, Lina worried like a mother putting her child by the riverside until the moment Blair boarded the carriage.
"Don't worry so much, Lina. I'm not as weak as you worry I am."
"But still..."
"I'll finish it well and return."
Blair held Lina's hand, which wouldn't let go of her, and coaxed her before getting into the carriage with Herdin.
Soon, the carriage departed.
Herdin rested his chin on his hand by the carriage window and looked at Blair across from him.
As always, she was looking out the window, but her hand was covering her stomach as if protecting it. It was a habit she had recently developed.
He had no idea what she was trying to protect her barely visible stomach from.
Herdin, who had been alternately looking at Blair and her stomach, opened his mouth.
"Blair."
Instead of an answer, Blair's gaze, which had been looking out the window, returned.
"If you feel even slightly unwell, you can return to the mansion first."
"Didn't you want me to testify at the trial?"
At Blair's innocent question, Herdin paused. He belatedly remembered that those were the words he had said to hold onto her.
As she pointed out, he was the one who ultimately led her to the trial, so his worrying now seemed somewhat ridiculous.
"...Because there was no child then."
"Don't worry. I'm attending not for your sake, but for Her Majesty the Empress."
Blair stated that her attendance at the trial was not by someone else's will but her own.
However, at the same time, it also meant that not a single trace of the purpose of doing it for him remained.
Those words without any attack power felt quite stinging to Herdin. But soon, he laughed at that fact.
Because ultimately, by having her, even that hatred and resentment could be entirely his. For now, that fact alone was enough.
A moment later, even the faintly echoing sound of wheels in the quiet carriage stopped.
The two got out of the carriage and entered the central building of the imperial palace where today's trial was being held.
Inside the building, many nobles who had come as jurors had already arrived and were entering.
Some noticed the two and nodded in greeting, while others hurried into the courtroom as if fleeing.
Even before the trial began, their attitudes clearly showed which side they would stand on.
"His Imperial Majesty enters!"
As the two entered the courtroom and sat down, the upper door opened and Ivan appeared. Katrina was beside him.
Although she was the subject of today's retrial, until the truth was revealed, she was in the position of the Emperor's mother.
Katrina sat with her usual noble demeanor, as if she were someone unrelated to this case. It was a seat looking down at Blair from directly above.
The intention of sitting there, across the opposite seats, was clearly visible to Herdin.
'Is she trying to provoke her daughter's sense of guilt?'
To a child, a mother is the law of the world, an absolute existence. The better the child, the harder it is to escape that absoluteness even in adulthood.
His wife, who must have grown up as a good daughter, would also feel guilt and resistance toward confronting the Empress Dowager.
However, unlike Herdin's worries, Blair kept her seat with a calm face. Without avoiding Katrina's gaze.
Her hand, as always, was quietly covering her stomach.
When all the jurors were seated and the doors of the courtroom closed, Ivan rose from his seat.
"Today, I stand here having heard the petition of the Duke of Delmark requesting a retrial of the Empress Palace fire incident from ten years ago. I express my gratitude to you all for sparing your not-inconsiderable time, and I hope that you will lend your discerning eyes so that no unjust accusations may remain, and no truth may be buried."
As the room fell silent, Ivan's solemn voice rang out.
"Now, the retrial of the Empress Palace fire incident shall begin."