"WHY IS she wearing a veil?"

"Is that the rumored lost prince? No wonder that the King of Monakre Kingdom finally stepped foot in the empire."

"Why is the second prince sitting at Lady Victoria's table?"

"Did she do it? Last time she was the one who was targeted, right?"

"Maybe it was all a farce. She's too far from the late Duchess."

Ha! Of course, I am different from the late Duchess. I was once named Talia, who ruled Saint Martin's High School, and I've fought social norms since I entered high school.

Lifting her veil, Tori stood up as King Elphaim Eckrett raised his hand to silence the murmurs that engulfed the courtroom. This also served as a signal to summon the accused to the center where she would defend her case.

She looked like a bride in black, no, with her red eyes she looked like a bride from hell. How cliché.

The King also nodded to another side, making Sabina rose from her seat as the victim of this trial. Victim, my ass.

Tori stood at the center of a hundred judging eyes. Her eyes glanced at the two kings for a split second, which did not go unnoticed by King Elphaim. The latter already knew that Victoria Rozenreff was the new member of the aristocratic faction.

Sabina, on the other hand, stood from her seat and faced the king with her anxious face. Sabina hunched her shoulders as she clutched her handkerchief to her chest.

You look like a female lead in this angle, dear sister.

"Lady Sabina Rozenreff and Lady Victoria Rozenreff, perform the oath of honestly."

What a load of bullshit.

The two ladies spoke the oath that every person who stood before the noble trial uttered. They placed their right hand to where their hearts laid and spoke at the same time.

"I, Victoria Rozenreff, first of my name and the eldest daughter of the House Rozenreff, pledge my noble name to only say the truth in the name of the Goddess Gaia and the Empire's Blessed Sun, King Elphaim Eckrett."

"I, Sabina Rozenreff, first of my name and the second daughter of the House Rozenreff, pledge my noble name to only say the truth in the name of the Goddess Gaia and the Empire's Blessed Sun, King Elphaim Eckrett."

After uttering her oath, Sabina sat again while Tori remained standing at the very center of the courtroom. "To present the evidence against the accused, I call the Marquess Zoliel to the center."

Marquess Zoliel immediately stood. His face held smug confidence as she walked towards the podium where Tori was standing like a statue. "At the night where Lady Sabina was poisoned with Arasthai, the knights found the locket where the poison was hidden in the room of Lady Victoria. Since we discovered immediately that Lady Sabina was poisoned, the entire Rozenreff estate became subject to a search warrant. Two hours later, the poison-covered locket was found in Lady Victoria's room. What gave Lady Victoria the motive to kill her sister is the fact that Duke Rozenreff summoned Lady Victoria on the afternoon of that day to tell her that Lady Sabina would inherit the Duchy. All the servants present at that time are the witnesses when Lady Victoria lashed out from the announcement." The cunning Marquess Zoliel was circling Tori. Every time his eyes met hers, Marquess Zoliel would give Tori a mocking smile. As if he's telling her that, she already lost the game.

Aah, I want to cherish your smug-looking face, Marquess Zoliel before I replace it with utter despair.

Chaos erupted inside the courtroom. The audience had something to say from the information they heard. They all looked at Sabina with sympathy as someone who suffered greatly at the hands of her evil half-sister. They also looked at Tori with disdain without even giving the latter a chance to defend herself.

"Then to defend the accused, I call Crown Prince Yei Lin to present the case."

Just like what the Marquess did, the crown prince also walked toward Tori as Marquess Zoliel retreated to the victim's table. The crown prince walked with elegance and confidence that every lady in the audience counted every step that he made. His dashing long black hair sparkled like a midnight sky when highlighted by the candle chandeliers above them. His princely suit with the Ming Country's sigil looked so fit and sexy with his tall and slim stature.

Look at that man candy walking straight to me. What's with these boys doing with my hormones today, huh? Hello, I'm being trialed here, you know, but my tits are saluting as if America's national anthem is being played.

Amazing grace... Tori wanted to laugh like crazy as she sang the anthem in her mind while observing the cliché type of prince walking towards her like he's on some runway.

Well then, let's see what you got, Kpop prince.

"Let me ask you this, Marquess Zoliel. Where did the knights find the locket?"

From his seat, the Marquess answered. "They found it hidden in the vase that was gifted to Lady Victoria."

"And where is the vase located specifically, Marquess Zoliel?"

The Marquess answered again after pondering for some time. "According to the knight of Castaña Duchy that we interrogated, the vase was located two meters away from the do—or ..."The Marquess finally caught on with the series of questions from Crown Prince Yei Lin.

Smiling slyly from the Marquess' response, the crown prince continued. "I present you our very first witness, the knight who found the locket, Sir Zulrich Lerkenstein."

From the other door where all witnesses would enter, the knight who found the locket came in wearing his determined face. The young knight was wearing the Castaña Duchy's uniform, his dirty blonde hair and chocolate eyes welcomed the stares of the high society.

Crown Prince Yei Lin turned to the newly arrived knight."Did you or did you not saw anyone inside the room of Lady Victoria Rozenreff?"

The gruff voice of Sir Zulrich immediately answered, "I only saw the sleeping Lady Victoria Rozenreff without any handmaidens and knights."

Chaos erupted for the third time inside the courtroom. It was taboo for a knight to come inside a lady's room, especially at night without her permission. Tori immediately glanced at her father. When their eyes met, Tori learned that he already realized that the knight was lying. A few minutes before they found the locket, the Duke saw her in the garden talking to Lily. Their eyes met, but because of their previous argument, she walked away. Nevertheless, he saw that she was far from asleep.

But will you say otherwise, father? You can't, can you? After all, as of this moment, you are being tormented with your memories with the late Duchess. Oh, my poor mother, you saw her in me in this dress, right? You remembered how her stiff body lay inside the fancy-looking coffin.

You will not dare to kill her again, will you? After all, that's the only reason why I wore this wretched black dress. Aiming for your weakness is the best, father dearest. You immediately become stupid to where you can be easily manipulated.

Sad red eyes met Tori's wicked eyes. She's giving the Duke a chance to defend Sabina once more, so she stared at his eyes.

The king interrupted, "You know it is against the codes of a knight to enter a maiden's room when she's asleep, right Sir Zulrick Lerkenstien? And you are also saying that at the time of the poisoning, the accused was sound asleep?"

The courtroom became silent as all of their attention turned to the young knight. "A knight pledged his allegiance to his masters. As a loyal knight to Castaña Duchy, I cannot dare to disobey my master. And yes, Your Majesty. The entire ordeal, Lady Victoria was already asleep as all of her handmaidens have already retired to their headquarters."

Tori, who was still observing her father, smiled triumphantly when she saw how Duke Luwen Rozenreff avoided her eyes as he looked elsewhere.

Aah, your love for the late Duchess will get you killed someday. Love, huh? Such a fickle thing, but it could even sway the hardest of men. This is the reason why I can't feel anything to anyone.

Gripping his throne, the king gritted his teeth with the knight's words and implications. "The Duke of Castaña Duchy was the one who ordered you?"

"That is a lie, Your Majesty!" The Duke stood from the audience with his protests ringing inside the courtroom.

"Silence, Duke Castaña! We are still interrogating."

The Duke of Castaña Duchy had no other choice but to sit down while the young knight answered by shaking his head first. "No, Your Majesty. The Duchess ordered me herself."

The fourth chaos erupted inside the courtroom, which was only silenced when Crown Prince Yei Lin finally raised his hand. "The evidence was presented to the royal court, but if you would bring out now to see the details, it was the replica of the necklace that the Duchess owns."

The king nodded to the chancellor to retrieve the evidence which was sealed away.

"What are you saying? I did not see the locket even once!" The Duchess was frantic as she stood up to appeal against the accusation. Sabina's worried face brought immeasurable joy to Tori, who was internally smirking.

The chancellor came back with the box. He brought the sealed box to the center where Tori and Crown Prince Yei Lin were standing. And with his gloved hand, he took the poison-laden necklace for everyone to see. Even the chancellor admitted to himself that he saw the Duchess wore the necklace during this banquet"Presenting the evidence that was used to hide the poison and was found by Sir Zulrick Lerkenstien."

The noble ladies from high society including Marchioness Susana gasped in shock as they recognized the jewelry that the chancellor was holding.

Of course, you will recognize it. It is the famous Black Jewel of the Sea.

"Duchess Castaña, do you have something to defend yourself?" King Elphaim regarded the fuming yet collected Duchess.

"How sure are you that it's mine and not some duplicate jewel used to frame me?"

Duke Castaña stay stilled as if he could not move from his seat from the shock of what he was hearing in the courtroom. He feared for the reputation of the glorious Castaña Duchy.

Crown Prince Yei Lin's glove-covered hand took the necklace from the chancellor and showed it more to the audience. "You all know that this is the exact image of the Black Jewel of the Sea. The authentic black pearls and huge cut black diamonds earned this jewelry the title of Black Jewel of the Sea. The Duke bought it for her wife to remind her of his astonishing cobalt eyes that are the trademark of the Castaña Family. There is only one piece of this jewelry in the world. But, to know if it is fake or not, you will only know by checking the back part of the largest black diamond of the necklace where the locket was hidden. It was originally made to keep the rouge, but now, it was used to keep the poison."

Laughing gracefully after Crown Prince Yei Lin's statement, the Duchess argued again to prove her innocence. "That is a good deduction, your highness. But that jewelry was stolen from me. Who knows? Lady Victoria asked someone to steal it from me? Her motive might be because she's jealous that I am the tutor of Lady Sabina."

Smiling like what the Duchess said was stupid enough to listen. "Why would Lady Victoria be jealous when she is being taught by the Queen herself? You are indeed the second most powerful woman in the empire, Duchess Castaña. But compared to Queen Aurina, your social standing differs like water and oil. Also, I have yet to present our last witness, Lady Elise Castaña!"

"Elise!"

"Lady Elise?"

The Duchess and Sabina's shocked voices buried all other gasps when the meek daughter of the Duchess entered the courtroom.

Aah, Lady Elise. I was right when I decided from the first time we met to use you. On this day, your life becomes meaningful, congratulations dear.

Tori's red eyes scanned the courtroom. Their judging eyes now shifted to the teary-eyed Duchess. Sadness, pain, anger, and betrayal all swirled in the Duchess' eyes as she gazed at her daughter who's now standing beside Prince Yei Lin.

Lady Elise's eyes never faltered as she looked at her mother.

"Lady Elise, is it true that the Black Jewel of the Sea was stolen?"The crown prince started interrogating the second witness.

With her eyes not leaving her mother's, Lady Elise spoke the new truth of this trial. "No. I saw her wearing that jewelry the afternoon of the incident. They were together with Lady Sabina that day before Lady Victoria arrived at the Rozenreff estate."

Marquess Zoliel interrupted the crown prince's questions. "If I may, Your Majesty?"

"Yes. Go ahead," King Elphaim replied.

"Lady Elise, what is the motive of your mother when she barely interacted with Lady Victoria?"

Elise glanced at her mother before looking at the Marquess. "Lady Victoria was the one who saved Lord Rowan Castaña from the slums. If it was not for her, it would not challenge her position."

Every eye shifted to the new lord, Rowan Castaña, who was sitting rigidly with the second prince and Crown Prince Allistair.

Crown Prince Yei Lin butted in. "Now tell me, what part of these shreds of evidence and witnesses' testimonies pointed at Lady Victoria as the culprit? Isn't she just a victim in this situation?" His eyes looked around before he stared at last at King Elphaim.

When will this end? I want to take a damn bath. Tori thought as she gave her best innocent look.