Ouroboros Record ~Circus of Oubeniel~

There were 6 witness who entered the courthouse. All of them were young women. The oldest among them looked to be in her early thirties at best, while the youngest was in her late teens. The rest of them were in their twenties. All of them looked attractive but their clothes were old and worn out. They were probably commoners. Standing out among them were two women with large scars on their face.

“Plaintiff. Who are these witnesses?”

To the judge's question, Josephine replied with a pale expression.

“They are all former maids who were expelled because they were unfaithful to their master.”

“What!?”

The Countess confession stirred the visitors again.

“To think she would seek help from these strange peo⁠—adulterers to censure her husband.”

“And this is the jealous Josephine we are talking about?”

“Just like the rumours, there were some of them with scars on their face. How dare she still use them as witnesses.”

The visitors could not hide their wonder and exchanged whispers around. The gathered witnesses were not as beautiful as Uni but they were all people which would make Josephine look much worse in comparison. And these people were all standing by the side of the Countess, so what exactly does it mean? Anybody who knows a fair bit about the situation would be very confused.

And eventually, some would come to the conclusion.

⁠The Countess and the victims were all standing against the Count. Perhaps it was the truth that the Count was involved in misconduct?

“...Objection!”

Just as the direction of the trial was changing, Marquis Lavallee raised his hand in objection.

“Judge. As you can see, the witnesses brought in are people who might be facing difficulties in their lifestyles. Do you not think the authenticity of their statements are in question?”

“Are you claiming that the plaintiff has bribed them?”

“Indeed.”

The Marquis nodded.

It was true that it was possible for these people with scanty livelihoods to be bribed ⁠— even by a person they hate. As a matter of fact, there was a person here who did not mind conspiring with the Countess even though she killed her mother.

“Objection unsustained.”

“What?”

The judge rejected the objection.

“Just because they are commoners and poor...well, it does make them susceptible to bribery. However, the same could be said of nobles too. Peerage, rank, formalities, social hierarchy, benefits...there are countless ways to get a person to bend their testimonies. We cannot have a trial if we were to reject people from the witness box just from this reasoning alone.”

It was a valid argument. While they should check for fake testimonies, possible bribery or contradictions, they cannot do so strictly, else the trial would be unable to progress.

Marquis Lavallee could not have come up with such an elementary excuse.

(What are you thinking, old man...)

Even Linus, who was the Marquis' ally by circumstances, felt confused.

Naturally, he did not think this was just a blunder. There must have been some deeper meaning behind it. But he has not understood it yet.

The Marquis sighed deeply. It appeared to be a forced sigh, but that was because Linus knew the Marquis’ tenacity regarding his schemes.

“Judge, surely you will not be ignoring the origins of these witnesses and make a judgement based on their testimonies, right?”

“Yes.”

“...Well, please excuse me then. Now that you say it, I think it is extremely reasonable.”

After making his token resistance, Lavallee returned to his seat.

The judge looked pleased. The judge probably had to be reserved in the presence of the Marquis. The High Court was the place where nobles were judged in accordance to the laws and authority of the kingdom. However, in practice, it was a tool to purge local nobles for the centralist faction. Even now, the Court was actively being used to purge nobles. He might have handed out unfair judgement on the instructions of Lavallee before. And now, Lavallee was trying to defend the accused. He must be happy that he could use sound logic to corner the other party’s argument.

(I dislike this geezer even more now.)

Of course, not as much as his loathing towards his brother.

“Witnesses. Please give your testimonies in order.”

“Y-yes...”

The former maids gave their testimonies in turns.

“No...”

The contents of their testimonies were enough to make Simone blush and that was all she could say to Linus.

The witnesses were not simply just reciting their testimonies with a detached expression. They were speaking in stutters and blushing, as though they were ashamed of themselves.

The actions of the Count towards them were truly outrageous.

“L-lies! I have never, never done such…!”

“Silence! Silence!”

The judge rang the wooden clapper countless of times to Count Cartan who insisted on his innocence.

Opinion towards Cartan within the courthouse was swiftly becoming cold. The women who were violated spoke without any hint of hiding anything. Perhaps it was not a lie that the Count has been committing such debauchery in his private life?

Such were the combined thoughts of the visitors.

And finally, Uni broke her silence and moved.

“Madam. It looks like master has not realised his faults.”

“Yes...”

As the Countess replied, her face grew pale. As expected, accusing her beloved husband like this was difficult given that she had been devoted to him for many years. Why do it then? Linus thought.

Josephine seemed like she might faint before the trial ended so Uni urged the judge.

“Now that it has come to this, I think it is foolish to continue with the other testimonies.”

Other testimonies?

Linus narrowly avoided voicing out his surprise. Was she trying to claim that there were more witnesses even after their concentrated artillery fire — the former maids?

The Countess, with her weak expression, seem to agree with Uni.

“Hmm… Judge. We brought other family members from the residence. Should they give their testimonies too?”

The others from the residence.

Speaking of which, this was a conspiracy to bring down Count Cartan. Unfaithfulness and misconduct were just the means to bring him down. If the goal was to switch the head of family, then those who would be implicated included the vassals of the Count family and the servants. These people would be more than willing to give their assistance in such a scenario.

If they were not, they would have already relayed the betrayal to the Count. And if the switching of head of family was successful, there were the risks of punishment for not helping.

“Let’s assess them. More witnesses from the plaintiff please.”

With the permission of the judge, the butlers of the residence entered the residence.

They all confirmed the testimonies of the maids and when they looked at Count Cartan, they looked pale, as though the world was about to end.

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