“Madeleine Argen, I have already completed the analysis of your handwriting in the letter.
Do you still intend to feign ignorance?”
Despite the Emperor's harsh tone, Madeleine did not back down.
Unlike the Grande Madame, who had witnesses and strong evidence against her, the letter was the only evidence pointing to Madeleine's guilt.
'This alone is not enough evidence to prove that I conspired with the Grand Lady.'
Madeleine soon spoke with a pitying expression.
"As the defense attorney stated, I was angry with Cornelia and used strong language in the speech.
I did not actually intend to hurt her."
The Emperor's face colored.
“So, you think it's okay to have such malicious feelings towards a member of the royal family?”
“It's common for siblings to express themselves harshly when they're close.
I was upset after an argument with Cornelia.”
Some nodded in agreement at Madeleine's words, but many still looked at her with cold suspicion.
Unmoved, Madeline continued tearfully.
“I admit my mistake in not being able to stop the Grand Lady, but I wasn’t part of her plan.
I really wasn’t.”
Although her motive was to terminate Cornelia's pregnancy, the consequences of the accident were severe enough that liability as a bystander could not be ignored.
However, it was still much less serious than the conspiracy charge.
'If it turns into a conspiracy charge...'
Of course, without finding Cornelia's body, the Emperor could not hastily execute her.
According to imperial law, murder required the 'corpse' of the victim.
'True, and there is no clear evidence proving my involvement in this incident either.'
While the chandelier fell from her family's jewelry store, there was no conclusive evidence linking Madeleine to it.
She bribed the doctor to ensure Cornelia's miscarriage was confirmed, but she never set foot in the doctor's office, so no charges could be brought against her.
Therefore, the only charge remaining against her was that of harboring malicious intent towards Cornelia.
Madeleine spoke, “Unlike the Grand Lady, I had no intention of harming Cornelia’s child...”
At that moment-
“Your Majesty, this miserable woman urged me to ensure the child’s death.”
Madeleine's eyes widened.
The grande dame, who had remained silent the whole time, stared at Madeleine as she said this.
'So this is how things will be?'
She considered the Grand Madame her mother-in-law and remained silent despite Marquis Philippe's constant questioning; If she was now trying to drag her along with her, the situation would be different.
At this point, Madeleine broke down in tears and said, “Grande Madame, why are you doing this to me?
This is all your doing...”
“I have proof of your conspiracy.”
Madeleine was stunned by the grand lady's words, and gasped.
'guide?
Could it be another letter…'
Madeleine shook her head.
No, it can't be.
Expecting things to get worse, the grand dame had ordered the maid to burn any such letters.
'Yes, if there had been another letter, Grand Lady Brant's maid would have revealed it earlier.'
While Madeleine was calming her nerves, the Emperor spoke.
“Well, what is this evidence?”
Then the eldest lady opened her mouth.
“When my daughter-in-law collapsed, Madeleine suggested going to the doctor at Bronze Street 4, near the jewelry store, because she had bribed the doctor there.”
“Do you know the purpose of her bribing him?”
“Yes, Madeleine sent me a letter.
She said that if Cornelia did not have an abortion, she would bribe a doctor to ensure that the child was destroyed for good.”
The Emperor turned to the knights of the Brant family, who were present as spectators, and asked, “I heard that you accompanied her on an outing.
Is that true?”
Chester nodded respectfully and replied, “Yes, Your Majesty, that is correct.”
“So, did Madeleine Argen actually lead you to Bronze Street 4?”
The knights of the Brant family who attended the trial confirmed the Grand Lady's words.
“Indeed, Mademoiselle Argen suggested going there.
However, the Duchess’ servant, Sardin, suggested taking a shortcut to the palace.”
Madeleine clenched her fists when she realized that she had not only told the Grand Lady but also Duke Brant's knights of the doctor's whereabouts.
'Damn, I should have dealt with that doctor after all...!'
If Madeleine had sent someone, either her father or her mother, to deal with the matter while she was in prison, this would not have happened.
She resented her father for not sending anyone, likely because of the public interest in the case.
The Emperor stared at Madeleine and spoke coldly.
“Marquis Philip, bring the relevant doctor immediately.
The trial will resume afterward.”
In the hours following the adjournment, Madeleine was going through hell.
'What will happen to me if this doctor confesses everything?'
Since the doctor was in the capital, it was only a matter of time before he was caught.
If the doctor confessed to the charges, like the Grand Lady, she would have to wait for the Emperor's decision with no way to escape.
In the worst case, she may lose her life.
How much time has passed?
Marquis Philippe returned, and the trial resumed.
“What happened?” asked the Emperor.
With a grim frown, Marquis Philip bowed his head.
“Your Majesty, the matter is… that the doctor was found dead.”
Madeleine couldn't believe her ears when she heard Marquis Philippe's words.
'What?'
At the same time, the Emperor suddenly got up.
Bam-!
“Explain in detail.”
“When I went to the doctor’s office, everyone inside was already dead.
There were no survivors or witnesses.”
At that, the Emperor gritted his teeth.
‘Is this the work of Marquis Arjen?’
He played with his daughter and performed, but the situation did not unfold as he had hoped.
'If the doctor had survived, we might have gained the upper hand.'
The Emperor thought that this sudden and unexpected turn of events would finally give him control over the Marquis of Argen.
However, he now had no choice but to proceed safely according to Cornelia's plan.
Cornelia's plan was to weaken the Marquis's power by using the commutation of Madeleine Arguin's sentence as leverage.
As the trial progressed, the Emperor felt his anger rising.
'I've been tolerant all this time, and yet they dare to touch my daughter?'
He had originally considered his daughter merely a tool—so worthless that he was willing to give her up to Eric Lennon Brant, a thorn in his side.
For this reason, he thought it wouldn't be a big deal to use it.
However, the fact that the dog he raised had bitten him was more disgusting than he expected.
He suddenly remembered how Cornelia had warned him to be careful of Arjen.
'Yes, I think she already knew the nature of these impudent people.'
Then the Emperor looked at Madeleine with a hard look and spoke.
“Due to unresolved suspicions, Madeleine Argen will be imprisoned in the Empire’s underground dungeon until her guilt is clear.”
Madeleine's expression, who until a few moments ago had expected a light punishment for conspiracy, turned grim.
“And as for Grand Madame Brant...”
While the Emperor was speaking, the courtroom was visibly shaken by the outcome of the trial.
Eric, who had been observing everything, clenched his fists tightly and stared at the Emperor with a penetrating gaze.
“Did you hear?
They stripped her of her noble title and sentenced her to life imprisonment.”
“Yes, and that is considering that the princess’s body was never found.”
“But still, the Grand Lady will definitely not rot in prison for the rest of her life… Ah, she is no longer a Grand Lady.”
“That's right.
Now she's just an ordinary citizen.”
“Also, they seized a significant portion of Brant’s assets.”
“Well, they say it's to make up for the princess's dowry.”
“My God, the princess’s dowry must be enormous… Were they trying to drive out such a wife?”
“That's true, but what about Miss Arjen?
There's still no news?”
“I heard they are still looking for evidence, but nothing concrete has emerged yet.”
The man listened with a frown as he frowned.
He tried to find evidence to prove Madeleine Arguin's guilt, but no evidence was found at all.
As if someone had deliberately destroyed it, like a doctor who suddenly died.
At that moment, the noblewomen started chattering again.
“Well, isn’t her situation devastating anyway?”
“True, there is no proof, but everyone knows that Madeleine Arjen is the villain who tried to eliminate Her Highness the Princess out of jealousy.”
The man who was listening to those words clenched his fists tightly.
'This is correct; Evidence doesn't matter.
'I will not let Madeleine Argen and those who hid the evidence get away with it.'
Quickly, the man moved briskly towards somewhere.
With graceful movements, he passed through the main gate of the palace without being noticed and reached the deep underground prison within the palace.
With the change of shift, the guards grumbled as they left the prison.
“Ah, that guy must be drinking again.
I have to go look for him.”
While the guard was cursing his late boss, the man did not miss the opportunity and quickly reached the deepest part of the prison.
The woman, who had fallen from being a noblewoman to an ordinary citizen, was there, sitting alone.
'How did I end up like this?'
She just wanted to discipline her fake, arrogant son and replace her daughter-in-law who she didn't like.
But with just one charge of attempted murder of an unborn child, she lost everything.
'decent.
As long as my son returns...'
At that moment-
“Mom.”
Bianca looked at the voice that called her.
A man was removing his hood, making Bianca's eyes widen.
“Eric!”
He was undoubtedly her son, with his blond hair, blue eyes, and strikingly handsome face.
Eric Lennon Brant, her real son, not the fake one.
She quickly approached the iron bars, extending her hand to touch her son's cheek.
But at that moment, her hand was violently pushed away.
"You must have been through a lot.
Not being able to tell the difference between real and fake."
At that sarcastic tone, Bianca's face contorted like the face of a demon.