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nTranslator: Latte Proofreader: Adulldoll

n‘Why is she suddenly holding a holy relic?’ Count Beauport thought as he stared in shock together with the other vassals.

nThey were agitated as they didn’t expect this situation in the slightest.

n“Divine Judgment…” Vincent murmured.

nHoly relics were extremely hard to find. They were usually found in unexpected places.

nHumans could not look for one. Rather, the holy relics would randomly appear on its own.

nOnce, it was buried under the sea. And at times, it was mixed in the trash.

nFor her to find such a relic… it could only be considered as a miracle.

nThe one chosen by the Gods.

nVincent was greatly astonished.

n‘She never fails to surprise me.’

n“The Divine Judgment? I’ve never heard of such a thing! What could that relic possibly do?” The count asked.

nHe was trying to conceal his anxiety and delay as much time as he could.

nVincent had already despised breathing in the same air as the count—hearing the count’s ignorant words only managed to irritate him even more.

nThe young lad answered, “When confessing in the face of God, one should always tell the truth. If one tries to deceive God, judgment will fall upon him, and he will be condemned for his sins.”

nGod’s Judgment.

nIn ancient times, the relic was used as a training tool for priests so that they could further obey the doctrine of God.

nBut in this situation, the holy relic has a different use.

nIt was to determine who was lying and who was telling the truth.

nThe vassals were in panic.

nThey did not know what to do.

n‘How is this possible?!’

nIt was like scattering ashes on the already cooked rice.

nThe tension in the basement was palpable.

nCount Beauport spoke, “J-judgment, but how…?”

nAt that moment, Aria moved her lips.

nLloyd, who was capable of lip-reading, delivered her words to the audience.

n“Let’s test it, shall we?”

n“…..!”

n“Ah, that’s right. We happen to have someone in front of us that could confirm its effectiveness,” he said in a mocking tone.

nLloyd continued to lead the situation in a comfortable manner.

n“I’ll ask you first, Vincent.”

nThe blonde boy bit his lips.

nAria approached the boy while holding the relic.

nVincent pulled out his hand and held the relic as well.

nHe was extremely nervous.

n“Are you a spy of the gutter rat?”

n“…No,” he replied in a subdued manner.

nOf course, nothing happened.

nVincent was vindicated.

nIn a matter of seconds.

nThe situation, which seemed unlikely to be overturned, was easily countered within a snap of the little girl’s fingers.

n“Have you ever harmed the House of Valentine, or have you ever been involved in a moment?”

n“No, never.”

nThe boy responded firmly with a little more confidence than before.

nHe was shaking before, but he had finally regained his composure.

nTristan, who had been silent all the time, finally spoke, “Why were you in the feeding den?”

n“That’s… I’m sorry, but I cannot answer that. However, I never did anything that would harm the house.”

n“Is that so…”

nThe situation was cleared up relatively fast.

nCount Beauport stared at the scene before him. He was too shocked to speak.

n‘This is preposterous!’

nAll of his hard work was ruined within minutes!

nHe couldn’t let this happen.

n‘That bloody blighter pisses me off! Does she have a grudge against my family? Why does she keep interfering with my plans?!’

nAt first, Count Beauport thought that Aria was of no threat. His son was ripped off his title because of her, but it was alright. It could have just been a coincidence after all.

nBut he was wrong. He was led to his defeat because he missed the chance to get rid of her beforehand.

nCount Beauport wanted to curse at the child, but he couldn’t do so with the presence of the three Valentine men in front of him.

n‘So what if it’s a holy relic?’

nFrom everyone’s reaction, it seemed that the holy relic was authentic. But the Count was bound to plant seeds of doubt.

n‘The holy relic could be a children’s toy for all I know!’

nIt was suspicious in the first place!

nA holy relic appearing out of nowhere… holding mysterious powers.

nAfter settling his thoughts, the count finally stepped forward.

n“But how are we to know if such a relic is indeed real? Isn’t it possible for people to pick up a twig, insert divine powers into it, and make it seem like one?” He brazenly asked.

nThe count had finally succeeded…

nSucceeded in proving himself a fool, that is.

nOnly idiots could not distinguish the difference between a holy relic and a branch.

nAt his outrageous claims, Lloyd grinned while slowly tilting his head.

nHe took the relic out of Vincent’s hand and handed it to the count.

n“Then why don’t Lord Beauport test the holy relic himself? Here… try to say ‘I am innocent.’”

n“I am innocent…” the count said as he pulled out his hand in order to receive the relic.

nHowever, as soon as he made contact with the holy relic, every inch of his body trembled. It felt as if he had just been struck by lightning.

nAfter the shock, his body stiffened, and he immediately collapsed.

n“Gasp—!“

nThe vassals surrounding him started to panic and quickly retreated back.

nMoments later, the count finally finished grasping the situation he was in.

nNo matter how skillfully they tried to dig the trap, it was of no use in front of the relic.

n“I… deeply apologize. I apologize and acknowledge that everything was just a misunderstanding,” he smiled while breaking in a cold sweat.

nCount Beauport had made his choice.

nHe decided that he must get out of this situation quickly.

n“I shall pay for my sins. But please, Your Majesty… he confessed to being in the feeding den. I hope you understand that it was a misleading situation.”

nHowever, no one would sympathize with him.

n“If that were the case, then why would you brazenly come forward as if you had a virtuous sense of justice and loyalty to me?”

nEven a dog would laugh at how ridiculous his words were.

nTristan re-examined the data that Count Beauport presented as evidence.

nAt first, Tristan was blinded by the feeling of betrayal. So he hadn’t been able to scrutinize the documents. But now that the truth had come out, he could see a few loopholes.

nFor example, everything from Vincent’s trivial actions to his major downfall was documented.

n“It looks as though you are determined to strike him down even if you get caught.”

nHad Vincent not been silent when he was interrogated, the Grand Duke would have questioned his vassals before taking their bait.

n“Do you have any personal grudges towards the boy?”

n“I-I would never!”

nResentment.

nVincent contemplated for a moment, then spoke as soon as he remembered something.

n“Oh, since the Count’s intelligence quotient is low, I told him to go far away from this place. My words seem to have been quite a shock to him.”

nThe boy looked slightly apologetic.

nWell, not really. He did not feel any remorse for the man.

nThe count replied, finally admitting and reflecting on his words, “I-I didn’t understand back then! I just wanted you to face the truth, not hurt you!”

nWhat rubbish!

nOf course, he had indeed wished for the boy’s death when he heard his presumptuous words.

nHowever, the Count was not so discernable to accuse the Grand Duke’s second son just because he got mad.

n“Well, look at you now. If you wanted to accuse me as a spy, you should have invested more time.”

n“…Pardon?”

n“What I meant to say is that you shouldn’t drop it all at once. You should’ve made the Grand Duke doubt me little by little. Spilling the small mistakes first until he fully loses his trust in me.”

nVincent continued, “I feel like intelligence drops endlessly when I’m in the same space as you, Count.”

nAnd with that, Vincent finished his words.

nOf course, he understood why the count moved in a hurry. Still, he wanted to irritate him on purpose.

nThe situation was quickly reversed.

n‘Why, that rotten one! I know the reason why he crawled into the feeding den with his own two feet!’

nBut this time, Count Beauport couldn’t say anything.

nTalking about Vincent’s history would not change the situation, and it could only cost him to accidentally reveal his secrets.

n“Why do you hold a grudge against me? What kind of relationship do we have that you would pin all the blame against me?”

n“This is getting too long.”

nLloyd cut off the Count’s excuses that he repeated endlessly.

n“Just prove your innocence using this,” he said before throwing the relic towards him.

nThe Count stiffened as the relic fell accurately into his arms.

nHe felt suffocated.

nSuddenly, Aria grabbed Lloyd’s sleeves.

n“What?”

nLloyd frowned in annoyance.

nThe girl tilted her head so that he could look closely at her mouth.

nShe moved her lips.

n—Manipulation of the law.

n“Manipulation of the law…?”

nLloyd conveyed Aria’s words as it was, and when he realized what she meant, his expression became cold.

nHis eyes, which had a calm color like the night sky, gradually started brimming with anger.

n“…When revising the new legislation, the vassals used subtle vocabulary or added fake outdated data to manipulate the law,” he uttered, words as cold as ice.

nThe vassals forgot to breathe, and they wondered if they were actually dreaming.

nRather, they hoped they were dreaming.

n‘This does not make any sense!’

n‘It can’t be…?!’

n‘How did she find out? She’s just a child!’

nNobody noticed their corruption.

nThey should have never been caught.

nHowever, there was one person… who was suspicious of them and stepped on their tails.

nThat boy was…

nVincent.

nThe Second Young Master of Valentine realized that there was something wrong with the law.

nThat was why he was stuck in the library all the time, reading codification manuscripts.

nTo pinpoint the differences by comparing the old enactment with the new amendment.

nThe vassals who participated in the act were inevitably terrified when they heard of the young master’s move.

n‘So they decided to take him down first…’

nBut how in the world did the young miss figure that out?

n‘Did the second young master ever talk about it? To the extent that even the child knows?’

n‘But he shouldn’t have known until a lot of evidence was gathered!’

nThe secretary, Baron Stewart, was confused and gazed back at Vincent.

nHowever, the boy seemed as though he was also surprised.

nThus, the scribe stared back at Aria, stupefied as to how she knew of his plans.

n‘How in the world…?’

nAt one point, the scribe met Aria’s gaze.

nThen, his eyes popped out, and his jaws fell to the ground.

n‘Surely…!’

nThe document!

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