“I will make no excuses for the reason that girl is with you. I accept all the blame to be placed on me,” Duke Huguenot said, apologizing to Rio with his head still pressed on the floor.
“Hold on a minute. What’s the meaning of this?” Christina asked with a dubious look. She had heard about the situation at the outdoor drill from Rio himself, but she didn’t know that Latifa was an assassin that had been sent after Rio.
“I will explain what happened. Duke Huguenot, please raise your head,” Rio said with a sigh.
“No, I do not deserve to do so.”
“Then I will refuse to speak.”
Despite Rio’s words, Duke Huguenot kept his head pressed against the floor, until...
“Raise your head, Huguenot.”
At Francois’s order, he finally stood up. Rio began speaking.
“Immediately after the events of the outdoor drill, I learned that the crime was to be pinned on me, so I bid farewell to Celia and fled the Beltrum Kingdom. My destination was the Yagumo region, where my parents were born, but I was attacked by an assassin around Amande. That assassin was Latifa.”
Christina and the others froze with startled expressions. Since Stewart had already admitted that Latifa was a slave of the Huguenot family, it was clear whose orders it had been.
“I fended her off and restrained her, but she was wearing a Collar of Submission and couldn’t defy her master’s orders. That’s why I removed her collar and freed her from slavery.”
“Then how did she end up as your sister?” Charlotte asked curiously.
“Back then, Latifa was no more than a nine-year-old child. As a werebeast, she had better physical abilities than a trained knight, but there was nowhere in the Strahl region for a werebeast child to settle permanently. So I took her with me on my journey, and we developed a brother-sister bond on the way.”
“What a lovely story. As expected of Sir Haruto.” Charlotte praised him with a cheerful grin. “In that case, what Sir Haruto did was justified self-defense. He has nothing to be blamed for in releasing Lady Latifa from slavery,” she added in support of Rio and Latifa.
“Huguenot, was it you who ordered the assassination?” Francois asked.
“Yes, that is the truth.”
“Do you have anything to say to defend yourself?”
“I do not.”
Duke Huguenot gracefully admitted his crime without making excuses. It wasn’t because he didn’t care—the look on his face said he knew there was no meaning in excuses at this point.
“At least state the reason you gave such an order.”
“At the time, the war against the Arbor faction had intensified significantly. I was aware my fool of a son’s testimony was questionable, but I chose to prioritize the stability of the political situation and used Sir Amakawa as a scapegoat. I sent that girl after him to eliminate the possibility of him returning to make an unfavorable testimony,” Duke Huguenot explained smoothly.
“How could you...” Flora mumbled in shock, at a loss for words from the events she had been unaware of. Christina also had a bitter look on her face.
“I-It’s a lie...” Stewart shook his head, unable to accept reality.
“It’s not a lie. This was all your— No, I have committed the same sin as my son. I will accept whatever punishment is decided.”
Duke Huguenot was about to direct his anger at Stewart but immediately gave up and hung his head.
“No! I won’t stand for this! I know he still has a guilty past hidden away!” Stewart yelled, struggling in vain.
“Silence! There isn’t a thing in his past that he has to feel guilty for,” Christina snapped sharply. It was an anger she rarely expressed with her usual calmness, but Stewart was on the brink of ruin, and he wasn’t about to falter at that.
“You’re all lying! I know Alphonse had to have been killed by him!”
“Alphonse? Why do you bring up that man’s name now?”
“Shortly after this man appeared before us, Alphonse vanished! The timing was no coincidence! It’s obvious he eliminated him to get his revenge against us!”
“What absolute nonsense...”
“This is no nonsense! If you just think about it, you’d realize it! Why do you all refuse to see how suspicious he is?! Ah, I see: It’s because you’re that desperate to borrow his power, isn’t it?!” Stewart scoffed at Christina as though he saw through her intentions.
“What are you saying?”
“You want to get on his good side now that he’s made it in life, don’t you? That’s why you’re willing to discard me, just like my father once did to him! You’re despicable— Guh?!”
Stewart, who had been shouting at the top of his lungs, was silenced by the pressure Vanessa placed on his back. He gasped for breath in agony.
“My apologies. I couldn’t bear to listen any longer. I believe the statement just now would also count as lèse-majesté,” Vanessa apologized with a frown.
“Your timing is appropriate,” Francois said. “I cannot imagine him digging his grave further to produce any more sins than this. All that’s left is to give a sentence, but...”
“An Honorary Knight is of high-ranking status equal to a count. When their honor is defamed unjustly, the gravest possible punishment is the death penalty, father,” Charlotte said, explaining the weight of the crime brightly.
Of course, Francois knew that already, but she had said it out loud on purpose to make Stewart aware of the weight of his crime. A light crime wouldn’t result in the death penalty, and because of the type of crime it was, it would require Rio to make an accusation as a victim first, but she purposefully failed to mention that—and the result was extremely effective.
“Guh...” The blood drained from Stewart’s face.
“Oh? Your complexion was fine just a moment ago. Are you suddenly feeling unwell? Please let up on the pressure a little.” Charlotte gave an order as though she was concerned, but it was clear to everyone that it was just for show.
“Right away.” Vanessa looked to Christina for confirmation, then loosened her hold on Stewart.