Her Royal Highness Seems to be Angry

When the trial ended and the appearance of the kings and defendants disappeared from the courtroom, the listening audience also began to withdraw in pieces.

One foot ahead of them like that, Leticiel was down the stairs connecting the third and second floors. It's okay to go home on a transfer, but even though it was a carriage, you can't just go home and disappear neglectfully.

Looking over the hall on the ground floor from the blowout upstairs, I saw a glimpse of the nobles trying to get home and the bureaucrats going outside on a small run to get to work after the trial. Some of them seem to have noticed this one, but they all look away awkwardly.

I guess that's because she's the blood of the defendants, but Leticiel doesn't particularly care just to shake her head small enough to do it.

"... oh, isn't it Master Drossel"

Going down to the hall, I heard him calling his name from behind. Turning around, Phantom stood on the dance floor of the central staircase, raising his hand small toward us.

"Uncle, are you coming home now?

"Oh, it seems prudent to stay at home until His Majesty chases you down."

He came all the way next to Leticiel, and Phantom took a long sigh. I think Leticiel said the same thing to the bureaucrat who was waiting beside the door when he left the private room.

"And I didn't see him, so I thought he was absent."

"I was listening in a private room at His Majesty's behest."

"I see."

Gradually, the hall began to fill with a back-to-trial audience. Leticiel and Phantom stop at the end of the hall to avoid getting in the way of traffic. I have a gaze that cares about you and this one, but I decided to ignore everything.

"... what did your uncle think? This trial."

I didn't see anything in particular to talk about, and Leticiel asked me that without difficulty. On that question, Phantom leans against the wall smiling.

"Thanks again, I think it was a reasonable trial. The Orthodox Court has uncovered all the charges against the Duke's house, and I guess all we have to do is wait for the final judgment."

Several stages exist in the trials in this country. The earlier judgment is called the Basic Judgment, after which meetings are held, including with judges, presiding judges and investigators, and decisions are taken.

If new exhibits are discovered during that grace period, the trial shall be reopened on those grounds for a modified trial. There is no limit to the number of times on this itinerary, and extreme stories, testimony or evidence can lead to any number of modified trials.

The mechanism is that once a final decision has been made, the judgment will be submitted to the King, and the defendant will be notified as a final judgment of any discretion, such as brief extenuation or special measures.

Since all the witness evidence has been exhausted this time, a grace period will be established according to the form, but there will probably be no amended trial, and the underlying trial will be the general thrust of the Orthodox Court.

After that, the Duke's trial will be completed once the final judgment to the individual has been notified. Until the case was resolved, we had some disturbances and some long struggles, but the end was quite modest.

"What will Master Drossel do now?

"I don't care, do I? I'll do whatever I want."

That's what Leticiel says without any particular distressing bare hands. In fact, even if you have no identity, you may not be banished from the king's capital, but it is trivial for Leticiel. Because if you can do research and whatever you want, that's fine.

"... Speaking of which, what did Krista look like during the trial?

Remembering a fu in the middle of talking about the treatment, Leticiel asked Phantom a question.

Leticiel was listening in the front position of the judges and could not read Christa's expression or anything else, so Phantom might know if he was in a position where he could see the Duke's face.

Even a thousand years ago, Leticiel had partitioned trials as a princess, but at that time the defendants reacted more like the Scarlos, some of whom strive to remain calm and scratch their feet, but at the end of the day they were wearing something out.

But Krista never messed up her emotions until the end. Her unusually sober sleigh has always bothered Leticiel.

"Master Krista..."

To Leticiel's question, Phantom put his arms together to think about it.

"I have no reason to know what Krista was thinking..."

So once the words were cut, Phantom loosened his arms and looked up at the high ceiling of the hall. And once I looked back at Leticiel now, I opened my mouth to say something hard.

"... for a moment when the last verdict was handed down, but that kid... was laughing"

Are there others who are punished and laughable at themselves? Leticiel opens his eyes incredibly, but reconsidered his thoughts by remembering a grand hindsight that seemed to have understood everything about Christa when he left.

"Dear Phantom, were you here?"

I wonder what the hell Krista was thinking and was there. With that in mind, a young man in an orthodox court uniform came to Phantom, drawing the crowd apart.

"I'll show you when I'm ready to see you"

"Okay, I'll be right there"

Nodding small, Phantom explained to Leticiel, who was strangely wearing his little neck, with a lonely grin somewhere.

"I'm going to see my brother-in-law. I think this will be the last time."

"Was I? Welcome."

"Ah."

Following the guide's bureaucrat, Phantom walks out into the back hallway. The figure is then quickly scratched off by the crowd crossing the hall.

"Hmm? Isn't that Drossel, long time no see"

Leticiel remained leaning against the wall even after Phantom left. There was someone there who had spoken.

…… School director? "

It was Lucas. It's also been weeks since I've seen him because he was definitely a bummer in the territory. It's quite unfamiliar and confusing because it's not the kind of light outfit you always see in school, but an aristocratic outfit with solid designs and decorations.

"The dean was here for trial, too."

"Oh, Christa is also a student at school. As a school representative."

Coming next to Leticiel, Lucas leans against the wall again in the same way and looks up at the ceiling. For a while, silence flowed between them.

"Is something wrong?

"What makes you think that?

"That's what's creating the vibe, you"

"... so on your face?

"If you take care of yourself for a year, you'll find out somehow in the air."

To Lucas, who says without incident, Leticiel unwittingly pulls his own cheek, but there was nothing in particular but pain.

"I was just thinking a little bit about Christa."

"Really? That's unusual."

"Yeah, because I heard she was laughing when they gave me the verdict"

When I heard that, Lucas also put his hand on his chin, and I see, I nodded small as I was somewhere convinced.

"She was unusually calm during the trial."

"Is that what the school director thinks?

"Ah. So some people in the audience thought that all of the cases were behind Christa's work."

But, well, and exhaling for a long time, Lucas dropped his gaze on the tile floor at his feet, smiling furiously and dropping a shadow on the side.

"I guess Krista will just be ready for everything as Krista. Otherwise we wouldn't be crossing such a dangerous bridge, or admitting our sins and accepting judgment ourselves."

"Right..."

Sure, if Krista was a mastermind, then she would be more like the Scarlos and elucidate. This even makes it seem like I acted to be repudiated by myself.

Besides, Krista is never stupid. You could have imagined what would happen if you let the first prince of the country take his own medication with no details. I threw and hit about myself. But I wanted to help Rochford, does that mean?

"Well, it's not something I can say that looks great... Then I'll go now, and you can go home."

That's what I left Leticiel to think about, and Lucas waved into his carriage again.

(... that? Isn't that the royal castle?

Leticiel twisted his neck for a moment but immediately stopped caring about Lucas' carriage, which ran in the opposite direction from the main gate.

"Are you here, Lucas?"

In the reception room at Viatrice Castle, Oswald muttered that way before the man he himself called.

"... I'm here now, Your Majesty"

"You don't have to look so hard. You should sit down."

"... thank you"

Lucas lowered his back to the couch across the street as he was urged, but his expression remained unchanged and rugged. He may be wondering what Oswald wants to say on this occasion.

"No one else has called your Lord here today"

Without preconditions, Oswald goes straight to business. There is a maximum of one week between the basic trial and the final trial. But there's no respite, so we need to start now, and it's not a lot of business in the first place.

"Lucas, I want you to succeed the Duke instead of the Philialeggis family"

Lucas said nothing to the words, and laid his eyes down with a long sigh. Holding both hands together on his knees, Oswald continues his words as he rides himself out of the couch a little bit.

"You are the only one who will succeed this Duke."

Yes, he's really the only one.

There are certainly many who deserve to be rewarded, but there are not many who want to take the seat of Duke vacated by scandal. Without merit or manners that would convince everyone, they could be given a back finger.

In that regard, Lucas has cited such merit that there is no complaining base in the war of eleven years ago, and it would be highly popular with the people, and the nobles would not be able to divulge their dissatisfaction with the murmur.

"... it is a great honor, but a duke is not worthy of a sinner like me, Your Majesty"

Lucas says so and shakes his head quietly beside him. Returning the body he was embarking on to its original position, Oswald stared at Lucas with red eyes. Eleven years ago, he had said the same thing and declined his promotion.

"There are a lot more meritorious than me. So..."

"Is your Lord still drawing on what was 11 years ago?

Lucas' dialogue, as he was about to say, was interrupted, however, by Oswald's brief inquiry. Lucas clutches his mouth, and Oswald still groans bossly.

"That case is not your Lord's responsibility. There's nothing to be upset about."

"... no, it still doesn't make a difference that my carelessness is the result of it"

Lucas' hand wandered around his left hip for a moment. There was nothing there to see, but there was supposed to be a sword down there.

"I know that your Lord feels a burden about that series of events. I've been responsible for cleaning things up."

After the end of the Sphilia War eleven years ago, Lucas retired from the National Army on the grounds of injury. As much as that's not the real reason, I know even Oswald admitted to his discharge.

"Still, we can't put bad others in this empty seat. I won't let anyone differ because it's a translated title"

Lucas has a reputation among the nobles as a virtuoso and is recognized for his strength in the army. Nobody will think about this promotion because of the tremendous popularity from the people. Whatever Oswald is thinking behind it.

"You know what, Lucas? Your Lord is most appropriate."

Above all, it fits best that Lucas succeeds me in the Duke position, also about the treatment she's going to be thinking about.

"... ok. If it's okay with me or something, I'll take it."

The look on Lucas's face, who answers so, was like a bitter, seemingly complicated one, unchanged.

While understanding his mood to a lesser extent, Oswald closed both eyelids so he wouldn't notice it.

After breaking up with both Phantom and Lucas, Leticiel decided to wait in the guest room because the carriage was not ready to pick him up yet.

Krista walked in from the front as Leticiel walked down the hallway on the first floor of the Orthodox Court to return to the first room she was guided to. Is it on the way to another room or something while two soldiers are holding off next door?

We both stopped from either side, often silent. The soldiers have no particular way of stopping them, and they are waiting jizzily.

"... good afternoon, sister"

It was Christa who opened her mouth first. There was a grin in her mouth, but it was somewhere self-derisive.

"Your sister thinks you're an idiot about me, too, doesn't she?

Leticiel, on the contrary, tilts his neck more with Kyoton to Krista, who abruptly says that.

"... why do you think so?

Sure, the relationship hasn't been particularly good so far, but Leticiel isn't going to let Krista get in the way as much as he thinks she's stupid.

"Oh, 'cause that's what you're all saying. They're twins, but it makes a big difference."

Ladies and gentlemen, do you mean the audience? I do feel like even when I was in the hall earlier, I was feeling a flickering glance from the audience returning from court.

"Even though you bear the same filialeggis name, your sister went the right way, and I stepped off the road," he said. Your sister thought the same thing, didn't she?

Pretending to be calm, Krista's tone was a little quick as she was in a hurry. Leticiel says pale without making a particular fool of herself.

"No, I don't think so."

I didn't even have the idea of making a fool of myself, to be exact. Leticiel just told the truth, but Krista laughed with a small nose with a hun.

"Your sister always does, doesn't she? I always say things that seem particularly clear on my face, behave like an exemplary person, and I show myself to be special. You hate me, don't you? You're on the inside, aren't you? Just like then......!

Krista's tone was getting faster and her voice tone was getting a little higher. Her story is unscrupulous and I'm not sure about Leticiel, but for the first time I feel like I've listened directly to Krista's mood.

(Hmmm... I really don't think that...)

Memories of Christa and I have remembered so far go through the back of my brain. I don't know when the “then" Krista is saying, but Leticiel didn't say anything and just kept listening to Krista.

I'm sure this is the 'Drossel' for Christa. 'Drossel' that Leticiel doesn't know, but I guess this is also what one 'Drossel' looks like.

"Again, everyone praises your sister. How come it's always you? Are you trying to tell me that everything I've done is for nothing? I hope your sister is praised by everyone that way. I just wanted to be recognized, but I just wanted to get over it, and no one understands what I'm thinking. Then what the hell has been my decade?!?

"... I don't know what you think, and I'd rather take that for granted. But you're not stupid or dumb. I know the consequences of my actions, and still, I wonder if you've moved your actions to execution?

It was somewhat understandable through events in the territory that the emotions between these twins were not just hatred. So it was an extremely simple question that Leticiel returned in response to the furious words that Krista spat.

……

At least it looked like Krista's eyes were ready. Taking silence as an affirmation, Leticiel continues the conversation.

I felt her attitude at trial, what Phantom told me, what I talked to Lucas, and the strength of her will from there as well. I know Krista liked Rochford, and I thought she devoted her life herself to helping Rochford.

"Surely from other people's point of view, your behavior may seem foolish. But if that's what you want, then maybe that's a happy ending. No right or wrong, I'm my justice, you pierced your justice. That's all."

…………

Krista says nothing. Instead, she had strengthened her ability to grab two arms, and she herself was squeezing her lips so that she could relax and do something.

"Besides, I don't think I hate you as much as you think I do"

Of course, if you ask me if I like it, I'll have to twist my neck, but I'm not going to impress Krista as badly as I used to because I remember fragments of my past, and I'm not going to be as indifferent as I used to be.

(The memories we used to play with haven't disappeared, and if you insist, it's normal)

Think back to many occasions when you confronted Christa after reincarnation. Yeah, I don't seem to remember remembering anything particularly disgusting or anything.

When Leticiel groaned so, Krista opened her eyes as unexpectedly and silenced herself as to what she thought.

"It's not something I can say anyway, but if I hate you, maybe I should just make you happy? I know that's the quickest way to get revenge."

I can't really remember who told me that, but back in the day...... I feel like someone has said that to Leticiel in a previous life.

Honestly, I had some glimpses of past memories and heard memorabilia, but Leticiel is still not able to have any special feelings for Christa.

Still, it doesn't taste good to hear Krista's emotions and say it goes through. In the meantime, pick the most difficult answer. Leticiel goes on to say.

"This is the end of the Duke's house, but life still goes on. I will live as I please, and you too should live as you wish"

"... right. Let me do that."

Listening to Leticiel's words, Krista narrowed her eyes slightly. The vine-colored eyes are surprisingly smug, from which the emotions cannot be read.

Eventually Krista closed her eyes and breathed, laughing small as she opened her eyes again. That's different from earlier self-derisive laughter and previous laughter, either reopened or given up look.

"I still don't like your sister."

"... right?

"Yeah. Well, good day to you."

As the word signaled, Leticiel and Krista slip away without seeing each other's faces.

Leticiel stopped and stared at Krista's back, distancing him for only a moment. Probably never see Krista again, but I had myself at ease with the last thing I could talk to her about.

With an indescribably complicated look on his face, he laid his hands on the door of the room with his eyes down as he contemplated, and Leticiel went inside. The sound of the door closing sounded small in the hallway.