The Villainess turns the Hourglass
chapter-176

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

For a woman who had pushed her real father, she was shameless, and Aria laughed at it. ‘Yeah, so you had been using dirty tricks in the past, putting poison in my teacup.’

“… Someone who was shameless pushed my father. It’s not me, but she is the real culprit.”

“Stop lying!”

“Mielle, even now, reveal the true culprit and withdraw your perjury.”

“The real culprit is you, sister!”

“Stop. Stop it. This is the court.”

The two were ready to fight right away, so Frey spoke out and intervened. If Aria proved that she was not the real culprit, she did not have to fight hard because Mielle’s perjury would be confirmed.

“There’s evidence that I wasn’t in the mansion at that time.”

“… It’s a lie! Apparently, everyone saw you!”

When Aria said there was evidence that she was not in the Mansion, Mielle stared at the ladies behind her one by one and forced them to answer.

“Yes, right? You’ve seen her, haven’t you?” Mielle forced them to answer.

“… Yes, I saw her.”

“That’s right. I ran into her when she got back to the mansion.”

“I even talked to her.”

This time, the testimony came out without difficulty because they had seen her. They were genuine faces.

Aria smiled and said yes. “Yes, it’s true that I visited the mansion. By the way, did anyone see me after I went into the mansion?”

“…!”

“…”

“There was none, right? It was because I left the mansion right away.”

Although they were on Mielle’s side, there was no lady to help her by breaking the law or perjury. Moreover, most people seemed not to expect Aria’s rebuttal, as they believed Mielle’s argument.

“But it’s weird.”

Aria’s voice rang out in the court which had been cold in an instant, questioning what seemed to be really strange.

“Why don’t the two say anything, who said that they had seen me running away down the stairs?”

They testified that they had seen Aria push the Count down the stairs and run away, and it meant that they had seen Aria since she had entered the mansion. Still, why didn’t they say anything? Why couldn’t they relate Aria’s question to what they had seen?

“Well, that’s…!”

“… Oh, come to think of it, I saw you! We saw you… Yes…”

Aria kindly made them recognize what to answer, and at their awkward answers, all the audience in the court questioned their testimony. As Aria continued to refute it step by step, Frey asked her again about the facts,

“I’ll ask you again. Has anyone seen you leave the mansion?”

“No, unfortunately not. But no one ever saw me stay in the mansion except for Mielle, Median, and Wendy, who said they’ve seen me. Oh, and…”

There were two more. There were two lambs staring at her with very anxious eyes. Aria referred to them.

“My maids, Jessie and Annie, also saw me.”

“That, that’s right. My lady ordered me to clean up, and I finished cleaning and left the room.”

“I only saw her for a moment… I was not able to see her after I left the room because she said she was going to read.”

After all, there was no one who had seen Aria. As the atmosphere gradually flowed in the wrong direction for Mielle, her agent rose from his seat.

“I am the representative of Lady Roscent Mielle. I’ll speak for her, considering she’s still in shock.”

“Do that.”

When Frey’s permission fell, he immediately explained that Aria’s argument had a loophole.

“Lady Aria keeps insisting she wasn’t in the mansion, but there’s no way to prove that. And three ladies are saying that they saw Lady Aria push the Count down the stairs.”

“It certainly is.”

“So it is Lady Mielle’s testimony that is credible. Unfortunately, Lady Aria doesn’t have anything to refute or any witnesses.”

Everyone seemed to agree with him. The assertion of Mielle, who had certain witnesses, was accepted more.

“No, I’ll be a witness on that matter.”

But when the agent spoke that far, Asher, who had been watching it quietly, opened his mouth.

“As everyone already knows, she left the capital with me, and we just got back today.”

The representative was wary of him, who was refuting the clause one by one. This was because the Crown Prince was the one who had to refute it. Nevertheless, he cleared his throat for his job and rebutted with his eyes at a strange place.

“… It’ll be possible after the crime.”

“There is evidence to prove that Lady Aria was not in the mansion at that time.”

“Are, are you talking about evidence…?”

“Yes, evidence. We just returned after making a payment that was put on credit. I even have the receipt. God must have intended to help Lady Aria who was afflicted by injustice.”

Asher took a paper out of his arms. At Frey’s instruction, the document was handed over to the judge.

“It’s… a bill of credit?”

“Yes, I sneaked out of the capital with her and arrived in the next city, but I was too busy to prepare some money. That’s why I got credit and paid it back on my way back.”

‘The Crown Prince bought something on credit?’ The audience was in a state of confusion at the absurd evidence, and Mielle had a face that wanted to shout that it was a lie.

“Your Honor, I want you to pay attention to the date and time.”

At Asher’s words, Frey checked the date and time on the bill.

“… It’s eleven o’clock in the afternoon on the day of the incident.”

“Yes. If Lady Aria ran away after pushing the Count, it was impossible to move to the next city at that time. It’s a half-day ride to get there.”

Frey’s expression became brighter in the appearance of irrefutable evidence. The representative, who realized that if this were true, the seat of Mielle and Aria would be reversed, countered with a pale face.

“Your, Your Honor. Such evidence can be produced at will!”

“There are a number of witnesses, so I hope you check them out.”

“Ok, I’ll send someone over to check right away.”

Frey handed something down to the servant, who was waiting for her, and the servant, who checked it, left the court right away. In the quiet courtroom, Aria’s clear voice rang.

“Your Honor, I’ve got permits to and from the cities, and can I submit them in case?”

“… Of course. It’s also easy to calculate the time, so that’s a big piece of evidence.”

Frey’s face, confirming the permits, was quite serious. Still, the public opinion leaned toward Aria not being the real culprit although Frey was not asking for more evidence.

“Okay. Is this the end of both sides’ arguments? I’d like to adjourn for a moment to see if the evidence submitted by the Crown Prince is true.”

If the facts were confirmed, then the seats would be reversed this time. No, Mielle should go to Emma’s place of the seat, not Aria’s. She would be punished as much as Emma, who was executed and disappeared.

“Miss…”

The agent called for Mielle in a hurry. Sitting behind her, Isis had a pale face, trembling as if she wanted to run out of the courtroom at any moment. Cain was also nervous and clenched his fists to the point where his fingernails pierced through his palms’ flesh

Mielle was also agitated, but she soon recalled that Aria had been in the place where she herself had pushed the Count and gradually regained her composure.

There must be false evidence. It might have been just a way to drag time. It would all be nothing more than a hoax that would frighten her. At the moment the Count had fallen down the stairs, indeed Aria had been in the mansion.

Mielle, who was gradually regaining her reason, soon realized that she had another card—the conclusive evidence that Aria had been in the mansion.

“… No! There’s one more!”

She got up from her seat and held something in her hand. Aria, who measured it by opening her eyes thin, had a smile of satisfaction.

“There’s one more thing? What’s that?”

Frey asked back with a cold face. Already, she seemed to think Aria wasn’t the real culprit. The trial was not over yet, but it was due to the fact that the Crown Prince and Lady Aria had submitted certain evidence that could not be refuted by any evidence brought in.

“It’s my sister’s bracelet!”

Mielle took the broken bracelet out of her arms. As Frey’s eyes continued on what it did, Mielle hastened to add an explanation.

“It’s the bracelet my sister used to wear. She pushed my father down the stairs and dropped it on the way out in a hurry! I picked it up on the spot.”