C52
The head maid wasn't the only one who regained composure thanks to Liena.
"Everyone, my client says he would like to apologize as a member of the Cassius family, where the witness works."
"I apologize for causing trouble."
Leandro humbled himself. Then he looked at me with sad eyes.
"Wife, I'm sorry. I had no idea you were going through such indignities. Even if you disqualify your husband, there is no excuse. But just give me a chance. I'll apologize in any way, as many times as I can, until you feel better."
Next, he spoke to the judge.
"I declare it here. The head maid, Marianne Neuer, is fired from today. Also, if my wife wishes, I plan to dismiss all other servants in the mansion."
Oh, come on.
"I swear with all my might. If I don't fulfill these words, I can be deprived not only of the successor position but also of the name Cassius."
The judge was startled.
"Are you sure? A public oath has legal effects."
"Yes. I will protect her no matter what."
Somehow, the more I refused, the worse person I became.
"Your Honor! The accused was a person who had no idea what was happening in his house. Even if he says he will fix it now..."
Sharon harshly refuted, but the lost victory wasn't easily recovered.
"The accused clearly did something wrong."
Farrell tried to use this momentum to open a gap.
"But everyone makes mistakes. The important thing is to admit your mistakes and not repeat them."
Unlike before, his attitude showed no aggression whatsoever. As if to finally speak honestly.
"Look at the precedent of every divorce trial held since the country's foundation."
My God, all of that? No matter how small the number of divorces was, it was a number that couldn't be ignored when added up.
"The most important thing in all those trials was the possibility of restoring relationships. At least the accused didn't commit any heinous crimes like extramarital affairs, assault, or verbal abuse. He also enriched the plaintiff economically."
The lawyer pleaded.
"Please, give the accused just one chance. Please."
"Mmm."
The judge fell silent and then spoke to me.
"The defendant and his defense said what they wanted to say to the plaintiff, but opportunities should be equal. If you have something you want to say, it would be best to do it."
I looked at Leandro. If that's what you want...
"This crazy man. He sticks to me like a leech and won't let go; I wish he would. This is because I had some kind of enemy in my past life. Don't look at me like you're a deer. I'll beat you up."
However, I couldn't bring out the words buried in my heart. Ah, what can I say to waste time?
Even after thinking about it dozens of times, the head butler was the only way to overcome the current unfavorable situation.
"Terence..."
Will he come? Can he come? Even if he had rescued the head butler, it wasn't clear if he could arrive in time. Perhaps it will end like this.
"No."
I decided to trust. Let's trust him. Terence will bring the butler with him. Because he said he would.
It was amazing. Thinking of him made me feel at ease. It became clear to me that what I had to do now was trust him and wait.
"Leandro, my thoughts haven't changed. I want a divorce. Lawyer Phillips said our relationship could be saved, but he's wrong. My trust in you is broken. There's no way to recover it."
"Wife."
"But if you cling to me in the name of love and don't let me go, that's violence. If you really love me, you should let me be happy."
And when I was thinking about what to say again. A thud, a strange sound, made me nervous.
"What?"
People looked at the source of the sound. At the end of the line of sight, there was a huge door.
Someone was knocking on the door of the courtroom. There was no need to think about who it was. Sharon urgently shouted.
"Your Honor! We request a new witness!"
The judge widened his eyes.
"Now?"
"Yes!"
"But everyone on the stand testified once."
"It's a new witness."
"Unfortunately, there's no time to waste calling new witnesses..."
"He's right outside that door."
"It's so sudden. It seems that almost everything contained in the complaint came to light during the trial."
Sharon stood before the judge, who seemed to have no intention of prolonging the trial, perhaps because he was tired.
"Isn't there a law that says everything must be recorded? It's like exposing our cards to the opponent."
"Hmm, that's also true. Since this is not a major violation of regulations, I will allow the summoning of a new witness."
The judge ordered the soldier guarding the door to open it.
"It's a futile effort. There's no way a trial that interests His Majesty will be prolonged for long."
Leandro murmured. It seemed they thought we were doing this just to waste time and move the trial to another day.
Farrell also added a comment.
"It's a burden even for the judge."
However, the two people couldn't help but widen their eyes and look at the person entering the courtroom with an expression of astonishment.
Indeed, someone else reacted first.
"Kayden!"
The Duke Cassius, who was among the audience, burst into anger and stood up.
"Why are you here?!"
The butler approached the speaker's table silently, with a contrasting static attitude. He took off his hat and politely bowed his head to the judge.
"Hello, my name is Kayden Moremo, and I am here as a witness."
The judge, puzzled by the strange behavior of Duke Cassius, responded belatedly.
"Oh, yes. Welcome. I have no information about the witness because he was brought here suddenly."
According to the regulations, to summon a witness, a witness request must be submitted to the court in advance.
If during the trial there is a need to summon a new witness, it must be postponed to another day, and a request must be submitted before that date.
However, we did not submit a witness request for the butler. There is a high probability that there are Cassius people among the court officials.
Sharon recommended not presenting him, considering the judge's personality and the special nature of this trial. This means that a judge who wants to end the trial quickly will be flexible. The prediction was correct.
"Excuse me, but would the witness like to introduce himself briefly?"
"For the past twenty years, I have worked as the butler in the Cassius mansion. I am one of the people who closely observed the marriage of the young Duke and Ethel-nim."
"I see, it's the head butler. Wait a moment, the head butler...?"
"That's correct."
"Did the witness work as the head butler of the Cassius family? But did you present yourself as a witness for the plaintiff?"
"Yes."
"Well, this is really surprising."
There was someone else who was very surprised.
"Kayden! How dare you?!"
The Duke Cassius, who was still there, shouted. Judging by the fact that tendons were protruding from his forehead and his face was turning red, he seemed angrier than ever before.
"Dad, calm down!"
Liena, who was by his side, tried to dissuade him, but her daughter's voice didn't reach the Duke's ears.
"Have you betrayed me? Where the hell and what have you been doing all this time?!"
The judge warned.
"Duke Edmund Cassius, we are in the middle of a trial. Please stay still."
"Answer me! Did that woman entice you?"
The head butler, who was scolded so strongly and didn't even look back, was truly amazing.
In the end, the judge exploded. There were also limits to considering them as a family of meritorious subjects.
"Duke Edmund Cassius! And Princess Liena Cassius! I order you to leave here! Right now!"
Even Liena, who caused a commotion before and escaped unharmed, was tied up and had to leave.
"Kayden! Answer me!"
The guards approached the hesitant Duke Cassius, who had no intention of leaving.
"Duke, you shouldn't do this."
"Please forgive my rudeness."
Even if Duke Cassius is a high-ranking noble, he must follow the instructions of the judge presiding over the courtroom. If they didn't want to comply, the poor inspectors had to force them.
"I can't let this go! You there, how dare you touch my daughter's body? Do you want to die!"
It literally became chaos.
"Dad, please."
"Let's go out first. Okay? You're agitated."
Liena and Leheim managed to persuade Duke Cassius to reach the door.
"Kayden..."
The Duke couldn't take his eyes off the butler until the end and then left with his daughter. After a while, Leheim returned alone.
"Do we start questioning the witness now?"
"Now, wait a moment!"
Farrell, who had been stunned by the butler's appearance, intervened.
"Your Honor! Kayden Moremo disappeared suddenly a few days ago. There is a strong theory that she was kidnapped by hostile forces from the Cassius family."
Whatever testimony came out of the head butler's mouth, there was a high probability that it would be absolutely unfavorable to Leandro.
"If that is indeed the case, she is currently not in a state where she can testify..."
"What do you think, judge?"
Sharon asked the judge directly.
"Do you think there is any problem with the witness's ability to testify?"
"No. Although he seems a bit tired, the physical and health conditions of the witness seem normal."
So Farrell's efforts were in vain.
The head butler stood straight, and his eyes were clearer than I had ever seen before.
"I was not kidnapped. I left the Cassius territory on my own."
Leandro shrugged.
"Uncle, why...?"
Although he clearly seemed surprised, the head butler did not look at Leandro. Unfortunately for Leandro, who seemed to have something to say, it was now Sharon's turn.
"Witness, could you first tell me about the witness's experience regarding the marriage between the plaintiff and the defendant?"
"The little lady, no... Ethel-nim seemed unhappy. Everyone in the Cassius mansion, except Laura, treated her like a temporary stranger. Including me and the young Duke."
Although he was talking about a similar argument to Laura's, the weight he felt was different.
It was this deep. For the past few decades, he had served the family called Cassius.
"He was a lively person when he first arrived at the mansion, but it was clearly visible that he was gradually losing his vitality.
Sharon inquired about the employees' attitude towards me and whether Leandro was aware of my isolation situation in the house.
"That was by no means the way to treat the hostess of the house. It was completely different from when I served the previous duchess. The young duke was also fully aware of the situation. I had told him many times."
The head butler carefully selected only the responses that were favorable to me.
"How did the defendant react after hearing the witness's account?"
"He simply said he would take care of it and that I didn't have to worry about it."
Farrell stepped forward.
"Your Honor, this is all the information that came up before. My client acknowledged his negligence and promised to dismiss his employees."
Confidence returned to his face, as if he had decided there was nothing special in the butler's testimony.
"There's no need to question the witnesses further."
"That makes sense."
"No, not yet."
Sharon moved her index finger.
"In fact, we haven't revealed a single significant reason for our divorce."
"What? Are you saying there are more new problems?"
"Yes. Kayden Moremo is here to testify about that."
"Your Honor, this is a waste of time. The issues raised in the complaint have already been sufficiently discussed."
"Then, as I said before, there is no obligation to note everything in the complaint."
The judge nodded gently.
"That's right. Please say what it is."
"That is..."
Sharon looked at Leandro significantly and then opened her mouth.
"I am embarrassed to say this here. This is content that can greatly damage someone's reputation. Therefore, we request that the trial be closed to the public."
"Cl-closed?"
"Yes. Divorce trials are generally open trials, but isn't it possible to hold them privately under exceptional circumstances?"
The judge seemed embarrassed and simply played with his beard.
"But even if you suddenly say that..."
It might be impossible. This trial is not a typical case, and the judge himself won't be pleased with it.
Pfft. Farrell said, laughing loudly enough for us to hear.
"I was wondering what kind of trick he could use."
In the end, it seemed they decided this was all just a waste of time.
"Your Honor, we oppose the plaintiff's request. This trial is a hot topic in the world. If we make it private in the middle, it will only generate unpleasant suspicions."
"Are you sure you don't care?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Even if someone's reputation might be severely damaged? Very seriously."
Farrell openly snorted.
"I only know this. Young Duke Cassius fears nothing."
"Are you sure of what you said?"
While the spirit battle between the lawyers was tense, the judge also made a decision.
"It is not allowed. The plaintiff's argument alone does not determine that the conversion to private is necessary."
"It's a shame. This is not at all the situation we wanted."
"Then, what is the grave reason for the divorce?"
"The plaintiff, who has experienced the problem more vividly than anyone for the past two years, will reveal it directly."
The head butler stepped away from the speaker's table for a moment. I stood up from my seat and walked in front of him.
I felt the gaze of the people on me more clearly than when I was sitting at the manuscript table. It was the first time I was in this place, so I was a little nervous.
"My husband."
And even more so because what I am trying to say is this.
"My husband, Leandro Cassius, is having a significant issue conceiving an heir."