Ouroboros Record ~Circus of Oubeniel~

Proofreader: King of the End, and other fans

At the local courthouse, the visitor’s gallery was brimming with curious nobles, despite the sudden court session. Nobles are the kind of people who cannot turn away from gossips. It was a pitiful habit which without, they were unable to survive. It was because they might lose their position in society if they were unable to unravel each and every thread of information in society.

Uni did not hold any contempt for their behaviour. In fact, she was grateful.

All of them would now become witnesses to she and her master winning the court trial. They are the messengers who will rapidly spread the results of the court trial to the rest of the capital. As such, they absolutely had to win this trial.

While waiting for the trial to begin, she surveyed the faces in the court.

Count Cartan was sitting at the core of the defendant’s dock. He appeared to be agitated. He looked straight at her and was sending signals of disbelief. He had been called up as a defendant with very short notice and Uni, who he believed to be his daughter, was seated directly opposite him while in a maid uniform. All of these must be adding up to his confusion.

Marquis Lavallee was a witness on the defense side. He was whispering and berating the Count. Although he was acting as a fine old gramps who was concerned for the Count, sometimes she could sense irritation directed towards her. His plan which had almost been perfect was starting to come apart with this unexpected gap. Surely, he was upset by the current turn of events.

Josephine was sitting at the core of the plaintiff's side of the court. Her facial expression was bad. Was she starting to feel awkward about accusing her husband or did she feel confidence from her persuasive accusations? Well, her physical condition was not satisfactory, but if she overcame this, nothing else would matter, she thought.

And most importantly.

“Oh. It has been a week.”

A young man called out to her casually while sitting down.

Her most beloved master, Tullius Shernan Oubeniel.

(Master……!)

Her eyes became moist and she almost wanted to shrill in excitement. She was not allowed to serve him, unfortunately.

Everything rested upon this trial. Uni silently bowed as though she was praying for forgiveness.

※ ※ ※

Linus could hardly believe that they were playing such a hand. He had a stiff and unpleasant look on his face, as though a bug got into his mouth.

When he received news that Tullius was being summoned to the court, he rushed to the visitor galleries alongside with Simone.

Accordingly to their plan, the trial should be occurring 3 days from now, in order to officially recognise Anrietta Pola Cartan. After that, she was supposed to act as a bell on Tullius.

To think she would take her supposed father, Pierre Simon Cartan to court instead.

It was truly a bolt from the blue.

“What is the trial about?”

No matter how bewildered Simone was, it was not like Linus knew any better. He had chased after Tullius once he got the news that he had been summoned. He did not even have the time to gather more information.

“Well. The Count’s wife is the plaintiff. Which means this is a Cartan family’s internal dispute.”

“Then why would Tullius be a witness...”

That was the one thing that perplexed him. He was extremely certain that the only connection between Tullius and Count Cartan was Anrietta, the former slave named Uni. Thus, he could not figure out why he was currently siding with the Countess in a domestic family dispute within the Cartan family.

Linus could not help but think nonstop about these doubts. That was when an old noble entered the court wearing a set of gaudy lawyer robes. He sat on the highest seat reserved for the judge.

He was the presiding judge for this case. He sat upright, cleared his throat loudly and the courthouse became quiet.

“I declare the commencement of this trial.”

He spoke with dignity, fitting for a person in charge of administering the kingdom’s laws.

The judge paused for a few seconds, allowing everybody, the accused, the accusers and the visitors to take in what he had said. Then he prompted the prosecution lawyer.

“You may read the indictment.”

“Yes, sire.”

A young lawyer unravelled a roll of parchment.

“Pierre Simon Cartan, a Count of the kingdom. While holding such an authoritative position, he has been engaging in debauchery in recent years. Especially in the corruption of the moral good of the family, like a ball of yarn unwound.”

Basically, engaging in leisure amusement while having responsibility.

It was a stock excuse to bring down ostracised nobles. Obviously, nobles need to attend evening parties and garden parties to build rapport with other nobles. A noble must have met a political obstacle if he was being prosecuted based on such a reason. Well, this condition was applicable for Count Cartan, who belonged to a new generation of noble and had a scandal.

What Linus found incomprehensible was the fact that it was the Count’s wife suing him for it. While she was an incredibly jealous person, she was still the Count’s wife who had accompanied him through thick and thin. Hence, why would she be doing this?

“Additionally, Count Cartan is accused of stealing Marlan Viscount, Tullius Shernan Oubeniel’s slave.”

An uproar arose from the crowd.

Count Cartan face was flushed red, either because he was angered or because this was not what he had expected. All he did was to take back his daughter. Why was he now being criticised before everybody for stealing? Linus found it hard to swallow too.

Disregarding Cartan daughter’s insistence, she was definitely blood related to the Count. Even now, Linus found it hard to believe, but he confirmed it when looking through Marquis Lavallee’s investigation reports. If she was indeed blood related, then Count Cartan definitely had the rights to request her return. Even if she was the child of a mistress, it was still extremely inappropriate for her to be a slave.

Linus’ doubts were answered as the accusations continued.

“Furthermore, he is accused of lying that the slave is his child. He lied to reject returning the slave back to the Viscount. This greatly runs afoul of the laws of this kingdom.”

(What!?)

Linus was completely overwhelmed. Simone was similarly in some confusion but she was simply surprised. For somebody who knew the truth, his disbelief was way more than that.

Lied about the slave being his daughter?

If that was the truth then indeed, Count Cartan’s legitimacy would not hold weight. But Uni was Anrietta Pola Cartan. She was the Count’s child.

Calling that truth a lie was nothing but a pack of lies.

Count Cartan was infuriated. So much so that he was no longer red, but purplish. If this goes on, he might even suffer a stroke before the trial ends.

“He committed this barbaric act despite still having his main family. With the Count’s conduct, his ability to uphold responsibility is in question. As such, the Count’s wife has requested that her husband retire. That is all from the plaintiff, Josephine Louise Cartan.”

“You gotta be shitting me!”

Sure enough, as soon as the reading ended, the Count stood up and shouted. The claims made were all false and saying he tried to steal his own daughter was downright ridiculous. Of course, Linus found it incredulous that Uni was actually the child of a noble. But her age was consistent with Anrietta’s age. Moreover, she was bought by Tullius at around the same time she went missing.

It cannot simply be that these were just coincidences. What other motivations could the Count have other than to bring his daughter back to his family? It was impossible for the Count to have any other reasons.

The judge rang the wooden clapper bell.

“The accused is to remain silent until he is called.”

“Grr...”

The Count was indignant. But he did not return to his seat. He would be called to give his statement anyways.

The judge did not censure him further and continued.

“Well then. The accused may now voice his opinions.”