200 years of love ~The noble lady, betrayed by the prince and banished to the past~ - Chapter 16

16.Absolution

There were three people standing in the trial room, two young men and a young woman, and all of them were dressed in flashy outfits.

“…… Cedric, why the hell did you summon me and Nora here?”

“I’d like to thank you all for coming here, brother- no…Ares Gilford, and the daughter of Baron Casval, Nora Casval.”

The second prince of the kingdom of Gilford, Cedric, casted a sharp glance at his brother and his new fiancée.

“You…What is your attitude towards your elder brother? I’m the first prince, the future king, so you better watch your mouth!”

“It is you who need to be careful. My arrogant elder brother and Miss Nora encouraged him to commit unforgivable crimes.”

“What are you talking about? You’re insulting me!”

“Th-that’s right! We have not committed any crime!”

Cedric ridiculed Ares and Nora for their arrogant attitude.

“How can you say such a thing when all of your actions are now clear as day. All of those blatant lies? What do you think about it, Lady Lunaria?”

“Ha? Lunaria? why would you bring the name of that dead woman?”

Ares spoke arrogantly as if Cedric were a fool, but suddenly, a beautiful girl with platinum blonde hair and lapis lazuli eyes appeared from behind the door of the trial room. And for some reason, the chief sorcerer of the royal court was holding her hand.

“Huh! Why is that woman here?!”

“You summoned her back, didn’t you? Without my permission!” Ares and Nora both screamed together.

“I gave them permission. Lunaria is innocent, and she was set up by you people.”

“How dare you?! You have no proof that we did anything!”

“I have proof.”

Cain stepped forward, alongside Cedric. He glared at the foolish man and woman with a piercing glare. He was so angry that his magic power leaked out of his body, and the air surrounding them became cold.

“I’ve looked into your history. You’re the ones who are trying to frame Lunaria for the attempted assassination of the prince. The evidence for embezzlement of the national treasury to pay tribute to that corrupted woman and the assassination attempt to poison His Majesty the King is all here. You cannot hide anymore.”

“No, no, no! You’re a sorcerer in the royal court and you’re plotting against me, the future king!”

“That’s right! You’re disrespectful to the future king! I’ll have you thrown in jail!! Where are the Kingsguard?”

Cedric let out an exhausted sigh.

“What a disgrace. To imagine that you would be acting like this at this time. There are no more knights of the royal guard for you, brother. And you are no longer the future king.”

“What?! You’re talking nonsense.”

“You’re the one who’s talking nonsense. Until now, I’ve been outnumbered by factions, but the Marquise of Farris and the Dukes of Lowell have both agreed to join my side. In addition, many noblemen who were fed up with your arrogant behaviour have also joined my side.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

“His Majesty the King has recovered from the detoxification process and has declared that the next king will be the second prince, me. Your fate has also been left in our hands to decide what to do with you. You, of course, will be disinherited and imprisoned for the rest of your life for various crimes, so be prepared for that. And you, Nora Casval, are also guilty of a felony. Your house is by now in ruins, and as the main culprit, you will be sentenced to be transferred to the past. Unlike Lunaria, there’s no way you’ll be summoned back, so please accept my condolences.”

“No way! You’re lying! I will be the next queen!” Ares and Nora collapsed on the spot, their faces twisted in despair. Their vision became blurry as they lost everything in mere seconds.

“It’s your fault, Lunaria! You’re the one who seduced the sorcerer and Cedric! You evil bitch!”

Ares, who had lost everything, turned his dark eyes filled with hatred and attacked Lunaria.

But the second that Ares’ right hand reached out to the defenseless Lunaria, who was frozen on spot and unable to move, a thick wall of ice appeared and an ice blade was thrusted at Ares’ stomach. Blood leaked from the Ares’ neck as the ice blade went through his stomach and came out of the other side.

“I will not allow you to harm Lunaria.”

Cain’s cold, golden eyes were filled with murderous intent. Ares fell on his backside as if deflated and began to mumble and repeat as if out of his mind, “I’m the king…I’m the king… I’m the king….”

At Cedric’s instruction, the Knights of the Kingsguard seized Ares and Nora and left the trial room.

“I’m sorry to have frightened you, Lunaria.”

Cain gently hugged Lunaria’s shoulders as if he was trying to comfort her.

“Ah! No, thank you for saving me.”

Lunaria looked up at Cain and smiled. Then, Cedric approached the two of them.

“I’m sorry about my brother. He will now be interrogated even more severely and there will be a public trial. But I doubt that his sentence will change. The disgrace that has been placed on Lady Lunaria will also be redeemed by announcing that she was innocent in the name of the new High Priestess.”

“Your Highness, thank you for everything.”

“If you want to thank me, tell the sorcerer over there. Thanks to his perfect evidence, I was able to win the succession battle and save your life.

“Really?”

“I thought Cain was only interested in improving his magic, but he suddenly interfered in the succession fight, and got the evidence. That explains why he was so cold to my brother. Now that I know how terrible it is to make an enemy of Cain, I’ll have to be careful from now on.”

Although Cedric made a joke out of it, Cain replied in all seriousness.

“As long as you don’t hurt Lunaria, we won’t be enemies. Also, thank you for your assistance.”

“I only took advantage of the favorable terms of exchange. Well, I ended up making a good connection and I look forward to your continued support.”

Cedric said that as he exited the trail room with the other knights.

“Now that we have no more use for this disgusting room. We should go too. There’s a place I want to take you.”

Mikhail took her hand, and left the room with Lunaria. Lunaria looked back at the Trial Room, which had been so terrifying before but now, it looked like nothing more than a quiet hall. The despair, the anger, and the fear of the day when she was accused of an innocent crime had all disappeared.