Chapter 55. Calen Castle, Part XVI

At the testimony of Duke Martin, Sylvia shook her head to the point where her heart stopped beating.

"Then, is what the maid of His Highness said right?"

When Oswald pretended to be surprised and asked, Duke Martin shook his head. "I don't know who His Highness's maid is, so I have nothing to say about that. I'm just here to fix it, because I heard a different story from the scene I had witnessed."

Killian stared at Sylvia fiercely and asked Duke Martin, "Are you sure that the daughter of Viscount Chaister was beaten by someone other than a maid?"

"Yes, Your Highness. I saw it clearly. The person was wearing a hood, but it was a woman with a dress. So, I thought it was just a quarrel between the maids."

As the Duke's confirmation began to create murmurs inside the hall, Killian raised his hand to calm the crowd who talked noisily. "Lady Chaister, your words and the testimony of the Duke are quite different. What's the matter? I don't think that Duke Martin lied to you."

"Silvia, what the hell is going on here? Your Highness, something's wrong." Viscount Chaister scolded his daughter, who could not refute the testimony of a powerful figure who suddenly appeared.

"Stop, it's noisy. Lady Chaister, tell me the truth about what this is about."

Sylvia stood gaping like a fish, speechless. She had to say what she had prepared, just in case, to those who were waiting for her answer, but her mouth wouldn't move.

The Prince had always been unconcerned about the maids, and Sylvia had thought it would be easy to take off a maid from him, but she was suddenly distracted by the chatter around her, the horrifying gaze of the Prince, and the fear of what she had done.

She wanted to believe what the Baroness had said: "If things go wrong, I will take care of you." But she wondered if it would be possible for her to pull off such a trick against the Duke. If she admitted that the Duke was right here, she was dead!Sylvia wanted to look back at Pamela, who was behind her, but pressed on, "I don't know what Your Excellency saw, but I thought I was hit by the maid. It was dark and after I said that, suddenly someone hit me in the head. I was hit in the head, so I fell down, and I was assaulted so much that I could not even lift my face. That's why I thought, of course, the maid with me hit me."

Sylvia was quivering and finished speaking.

"Then why didn't you say that when the imprisoned woman complained of injustice, and when Albert told me what the maid had seen? After a witness shows up, you say that it was so dark that you saw it wrong. You wouldn't have insisted without having a plot in mind. Isn't that right, Your Highness?"

At Valerian's question, Killian's cool gaze turned to the crowd, and then he turned to Viscount Chaister.

"I will have to expiscate from now on."

Christine bit her lips as she looked at Killian, who was looking through the people with sharp eyes. She did not expect that Duke Martin had seen it yesterday. She was troubled enough to cry tears of disappointment, but she hoped that her show might have changed his mind a little.

Perhaps this could happen again in the future. It made her feel a little better when she thought she of what she could do to create such an opportunity. Christine looked carefully at the black-haired Prince on the high podium and painted in the day she sat next to him.

"Silvia Chaister, you testified earlier, as soon as you told her why she should not walk through the front gate, she hit your face in a straight line. And you showed me the bruise on your face. But now you said that you suddenly got hit in the head and you didn't know who hit you. How are you going to explain this, as your words are inconsistent?"

Killian questioned Sylvia gently, contrary to his earlier frightening attitude. However, there was no one who did not notice the warning contained in the friendly tone.

Sylvia glanced slightly at her father. Her eyes grew darker with the thought that she was endangering her family. She thought, 'If I get out of here safely, my father and the Baroness will do something,' and looked back because of that.

Seeing her father, who seemed to want answers from her, she looked up again at the Prince sitting on the podium. When their eyes met, the silver eyes flashed for a moment and curled finely. Shivering at the moment by a rare smile, Sylvia smiled face-to-face with anticipation. However, she was immediately frustrated by what he said.

"If you tell the truth, I will save your family. I promise. You had better not make my anger worse here."

Viscount Chaister himself couldn't believe what had happened just now. He thought the situation was twisted, and he hoped for an accurate explanation from his daughter's lips, but the situation was serious. He protested hurriedly, judging that he would be in trouble at this rate at the words of the Prince.

"Your Highness, what a terrible thing you mention! There was a misunderstanding because she didn't see it clearly, but you mention the demise of the family. There was no big incident, and just a commoner was put in jail for a while. It couldn't have been done on purpose. But you're persecuting my daughter and my family."

"Persecute...? An innocent woman would have lost her life in my castle, and it's not a big deal? And it happened just from a misunderstanding? That's what only you and your daughter would think among the people here. Isn't that right?"

Oswald replied quickly to Killian's words, "Your Highness, it's even more suspicious at the Viscount's insistence. No matter who hears it, it must have been designed to trap your maid, but he insists it's a misunderstanding. I doubt his intentions.

"Please put him in jail for now. Sylvia Chaister's fault is obvious, so we will have to find out gradually whether the Viscount is behind this, or if there is another one."

Sylvia turned blue at Duke Martin's words.

'Jail? No way! I need to talk with the Baroness once I get out of here!'

------

Pamela realized that the earlier unrest had become a reality when Duke Martin came alone and talked about what had happened yesterday.

When she had discussed this with Sylvia, she had told her to take an air of innocence and get out of the place if something went wrong, no matter what would happen. She had assured her that she would take care of everything after that. So, Sylvia would try to get out of here and meet her.

Now that she knew what would happen if she confessed the truth, Sylvia would try to hold out to the end. But it was unclear how long she would last. Pamela muttered as she looked at Sylvia's back in the middle of the hall.

"Just one chance, it will be okay, if I have just one chance..."

As she heard Pamela's murmur, Sylvia's body staggered and collapsed helplessly on the spot.

"Sylvia."

Killian raised his hand to stop Viscount Chaister, who was about to come running when he saw his fallen daughter.

"The Viscount, you and your daughter will be locked up in the castle, banned from contact until the facts are revealed. Take the two of them. Report me as soon as the sinner wakes up."

Killian watched the knights and maids take the Viscount and his daughter, then rose from his seat. Descending from the podium himself, he greeted Duke Martin, and went before Marquis Anais and stopped.

"Marquis Anais, I wonder if you know about the offer that your daughter proposed today."

When Killian asked, the Marquis looked back at Christine, as if he were wondering.

"Well, I guess you didn't hear it. Then let me just say it briefly. The Marquis, I don't want the Lady to lie for me, and I don't want to forgive her for trying to take another chance on the pretext of lying. So, you'll have to make sure I don't remind you of this in the future."

At the word "lie," the Marquis' face hardened. He looked at Christine, wondering what he was talking about, but she was looking at the Prince, who had come and spoken so aggressively.