Finally, the day of the trial arrived.
Westalia’s hair, which she’d dyed the day before, was now the same red it had been during her life in Lhumzia. She looked identical to the day she’d been executed as a villainess. Paige was shocked by Westalia’s change in hair color.
“Silver hair is disliked here because it’s seen as a sign of old age,” Westalia explained.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing. And no matter how much you want to hide it, to dye it red seems so...” Paige started before cutting herself off.
“My red hair was a symbol of friendship to me. At least, it used to be,” Westalia muttered a little sadly. “But never mind. You look great like that.”
Paige was wearing knight’s garb. She looked stately, like she belonged to a noble house. Paige placed her hand lightly on her chest and performed a knight’s salute. Her beauty in that outfit was breathtaking, like she’d just stepped out of a painting.
“It is a great honor for me to escort you, Your Highness,” Paige said.
“How wonderful!” Westalia said. “If you were a man I’d surely fall for you.”
With that, they headed to court.
The king, queen, and crown prince were all present at the trial. There was also a large number of people in the audience. Westalia was sitting on the side of the prosecution, with her hood drawn low over her face.
First, the accused, Delphine and Lily, began their arguments. When the judge read the charges, the two denied them all outright. Each of the two women pleaded their innocence so skillfully that it seemed as if they had been prepared by a novelist. They even had fake evidence and witnesses.
But then the tide began to turn. The first allegation was that Delphine was the one who had obtained the poison that Westalia had supposedly dosed Lily with. The prosecution presented documents showing Delphine’s dealings with the trading company from the Archaites Empire and the transaction with the poison. Delphine’s face, which up until then had been relaxed, grew pale.
“Th-That’s a lie! It’s some kind of conspiracy! There is no way I would let my precious daughter, Lily, drink even a trace amount of poison! And that company selling poisons in Archaites...Devorah? I’ve never heard of them before,” Delphine said.
Next, there was the allegation that Lily’s poisoning was an act of her own making in order to frame Westalia and take her out of the running for queen. The moment Lily stood up to present her case, she burst into tears.
“Th-There’s no way I would’ve done that to myself! Wes and I were best friends! I was the only one who kept encouraging her through all her years of isolation and education. I still can’t believe this happened,” Lily cried, taking out a handkerchief and wiping away her tears. Even the audience, moved by her performance, expressed sympathy. Only Westalia remained unmoved as she listened to Lily’s defense. The witnesses Lily had prepared, the ladies’ maids and daughters of other upstanding families, were also desperately defending her. They seemed to have no doubt that Lily was innocent, and all of their words seemed to come from their hearts. However, among Lily’s witnesses were a number of fakes as well. These ladies’ maids testified that they had served Westalia, but she had been cold and heartless toward her servants, and that she had been jealous of Princess Lily and spoken ill of her. Westalia had never met any of these women before.
They can say whatever they want because the dead can’t stand up for themselves, Westalia thought.
“I have never wanted to be queen. I had no motive to bring Wes down. She is still my best friend!” Lily said finally, appealing to the judge and the audience. She had sworn an oath not to lie when she took the stand, but that was all her words were.
But even as Lily won over the audience, Westalia laughed out loud.
“You really are something!” Westalia managed to get out between fits of laughter. It was the ultimate comedy. Both Lily’s crying face and her sullen demeanor were ridiculous to Westalia. People around her were bewildered by the sudden burst of laughter. Westalia quickly stood up from the prosecution’s side and took off her hood. Everyone could see her deep crimson hair, which looked as if it had been soaked in bright red blood. Lily’s gaze, when it met hers, was shocked.
“How are you...?” Lily stammered.
“I’ve come back from the depths of hell...or something. It’s been a long time. I’m impressed with your acting skills, as always. Why don’t you take to the stage?” Westalia asked, applauding Lily. Lily raised her eyebrows in displeasure. Westalia stepped closer to the other woman.
What’s the matter, Lily? You’ve grown pale and you’re starting to shake. You’ve been reunited with your dearest friend. You should be crying with happiness, Westalia thought.
Lily backed up one step, two steps and then spoke, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “You...survived, Wes?”
Felix was the one who answered her. “I was the one who helped her survive. She’s an important witness for this trial. Presiding judge, on my word as the crown prince, I would like everyone to hear the victim Westalia Lejainne’s statement.”
“Wait!” Delphine shouted, pounding on the witness box with her fist, her brow furrowed. “I won’t allow that! To ignore the sentence issued by law and let the guilty live... That’s treason! Somebody get those two out of here!”
The guards started to move to obey Delphine’s order, but Felix held up his hand to stop them. “If Westalia is found guilty again, I will take the blame for disobeying the law and can be put to death by poisoning,” he said. The audience was stunned by his proclamation, and an immediate buzz broke out. Felix glared at Delphine as he continued speaking. “But if she were to be declared innocent, are you prepared to pay that same price?”
Delphine clenched her fists. Blood dripped onto the floor as her fingernails dug into her skin.
“Of course,” she said. “At that time I will drink whatever it is, be it poison or needles. Let’s hear what she has to say in her statement. But you know what happens if you aren’t innocent, right, Westalia Lejainne?!” Delphine’s angry shout echoed around the room, and the chattering crowd silenced. Even the judges cowered, overwhelmed by Delphine’s intimidating aura.
The corners of Westalia’s mouth turned upward in a pleasant smile. “You can do whatever you like with me. Presiding judge, the former queen has had her moment to speak. Will you allow me to present my arguments?”
“I-I’ll allow it.” The presiding judge was under Delphine’s thumb, but thanks to Felix’s help, Delphine had been provoked, as Westalia had hoped, and she was given the right to speak. The stage was set. All that remained was to convince the king, the queen, and the large audience of her innocence.
The trial is now in full swing. Are you ready, Lily? Westalia took the witness stand under the rapt eyes of the entire audience.
The first to come after Westalia was Delphine. The woman seemed to think Westalia had been dead and was quite surprised at her reappearance. Westalia could sense that Delphine was both surprised and terrified at the same time.
“N-Now is the time to turn back. You should think carefully about who it is you’re dealing with. You hid yourself in the royal villa for so long that your argument won’t amount to much,” Delphine spat at her.
“Is that a threat? And I didn’t hide there, I was imprisoned,” Westalia replied. She didn’t feel as threatened by the former queen’s power anymore. Her influence had been weakened by the herb hoarding scandal and the numerous gossip articles that were circulating in the royal court. Westalia brushed aside Delphine’s last attempts at intimidation and held up her hand to signal for the first witness to enter the room. It was Tonio, the janitor for the castle’s prison.
“Wh-Who is that...?” Delphine trembled as she spoke.
“This is my first witness, Tonio Hugo. Surely you remember him, Your Majesty?” Westalia spoke matter-of-factly.
“I-I don’t know any dirty men like that,” Delphine replied.
“My, I don’t know how you could say something like that after murdering his wife,” Westalia replied.
The audience became noisy again at the revelation of Delphine’s cruel deed.
“In her defense earlier, the former queen said that she had never heard of the Devorah Trading Company from Archaites. But five years ago, Tonio’s wife witnessed a transaction between the former queen and a representative of the company, and because she heard Delphine mutter the word ‘Devorah,’ she was killed to keep her mouth shut. Is that correct?” Westalia asked Tonio.
“Y-Yes, th-that’s right,” Tonio replied. He spoke passionately about what had occurred, as he had with Westalia previously. His wife, Carolina, had been poisoned to keep her quiet because she had merely overheard the word “Devorah.”
“Is there anything else you wanted to say, Tonio?” Westalia asked.
“I-I hate you! G-Give me back my wife!” Tonio finally began to cry. Westalia could feel the bitterness and regret he had been keeping inside for years.
“That’s a lie! That maidservant had a chronic disease and died of a stroke. I had nothing to do with it!” Delphine cried.
“No! Carolina was in perfect health; she never even got colds!” Tonio shouted back.
“Silence, silence, silence!” Delphine said.