Chapter 4

Originally, the reason the prince planned to break off his engagement at the graduation memorial party was because his father, the king, and his elder brother, the crown prince, were on a diplomatic trip to a neighboring country. This was to make arrangements for the extermination of the monsters that had been appearing in the border region between the two countries. However, this left the country in a situation where, for a short time, there were almost no authority figures higher than the second prince. The second prince intended to take advantage of this opportunity to act as he pleased.

In other words, he wanted to forcefully get rid of his fiancée, who was superior to him in every way and only brought him feelings of inferiority, whether she was by his side or not.

However, the prince was brought back to his senses by the words of the son of the chief justice. What would happen if his father, the king, returned and found out about this? Even if he managed to break off the engagement, it would be meaningless if the king later revoked it by royal decree. His plan to find fault with her to prevent this from happening had just been refuted by the son of the chief justice. In this situation, he even considered killing his fiancée... but the engagement itself was by royal decree. If he broke it off and then had her executed, he would surely face more than just a reprimand.

"Ah, ah. No, you see?"

The prince raised his voice feebly.

"Indeed, what you say has some merit. Perhaps I went a bit too far by invoking the royal decree. ...Yes, everyone, let's pretend this never happened."

That's impossible.

Everyone's gaze conveyed this, but the prince, imagining his father's terrifying face upon his return, did not hear it.

"Truly, lamentable."

At that moment, a voice suddenly rang out.

A clear, female voice.

Everyone in the room turned to the direction of the voice. The people on the dais looked to the stage, while the prince and his entourage looked behind them.

The grand door reserved for the royal family opened, and the queen stepped out.

"Mother..."

"Not 'Mother.' Call me 'Queen.'"

Everyone in the room, who had all bowed down at once, understood from these words that she stood there as the highest authority, entrusted with full power during the king's absence.

"I have heard the details. Without hearing your defense or thoroughly investigating the matter through the judiciary, you have acted in defiance of a royal decree. ━━ Prince, is that not so?"

"That, that is ━━"

"Is that not so?"

"......"

The prince did not answer.

He could not answer.

The queen sighed softly and repeatedly opened and closed the fan she held in her hand, a gesture indicating dissatisfaction among noblewomen.

"Very well, you may present your arguments in the court of law. The chief justice will deliver the judgment."

The grand doors of the hall opened, and several royal guards entered. The unspoken pressure that no one in the room would be allowed to escape made the lower-class student who had lied and the girl with the loose curls let out small screams.

"Furthermore, for your disgraceful act of invoking a royal decree only to immediately revoke it, I order you to be placed under house arrest."

"Wh-what...!"

"You will not leave your room until the investigation and interrogation are complete and the court is convened. This is a royal decree. Do you understand?"

"Y-yes..."

The prince hung his head in defeat and was led away by the royal guards. At the same time, the people in the room were questioned one by one, and the relevant parties were taken away one after another. The girl with the loose curls, the lower-class student who had lied, the prince's entourage, and of course, the son of the chief justice.

"Well then,"

From the dais, the queen looked down at the only remaining relevant party, the daughter of the marquis.

"I am very sorry for the trouble you have been put through. The facts will be revealed in court, but your engagement to the second prince will be dissolved due to the royal family's responsibility ━━ you are permitted to speak directly."

"Your words are too kind."

The daughter of the marquis replied and gracefully performed a lady's curtsy.

"I had been looking forward to the day you would become my daughter-in-law."

"I am sorry to disappoint you."

"It's all right. I apologize for binding you to such a foolish child."

"No, no, not at all."

The daughter of the marquis, who had just been released from her engagement to the second prince, replied with a trembling voice and shook her head.

Her appearance was so weak and pitiful that the queen ordered her to step back and had her maids prepare a room for her to rest.

The graduation memorial party ended in a chaotic atmosphere, halfway through.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

A thorough investigation and trial were conducted, with the chief justice presiding over the court. The crimes allegedly committed by the daughter of the marquis were all found to be false accusations. More accurately, while there were suspicions, there was insufficient evidence.

Of course, the engagement was dissolved due to the prince's fault. Since it was not annulled, compensation was paid to the marquis's family by the royal family, and the marquis stated that he would not hold the royal family further responsible, recognizing their sincerity.

On the other hand, the claims of the daughter of the baron, the girl with the loose curls, were all found to be false. The royal family had secretly assigned "shadows" to the second prince and his fiancée, and these shadows had also been monitoring the girl with the loose curls as she approached the second prince.

Her crimes were perjury before the royal family, defamation and insult of the daughter of the marquis, coercion of false testimony from her classmates, and attempting to improperly ingratiate herself with the royal family.

She was imprisoned as a criminal, and the baron's family went bankrupt due to the enormous compensation they had to pay.

The second son of the prime minister and the third son of the knight commander were both charged for blindly believing the words of the girl with the loose curls and siding with her without proper investigation. Their crimes were perjury, defamation, and insult. Additionally, they were disowned and stripped of their noble status for disgracing their families.

Their respective fiancées, of course, broke off their engagements due to their faults.

The second prince, after being placed under house arrest, was severely reprimanded by his father, the king, upon his return. He was made to write a complaint as proposed by the son of the chief justice. He was then dragged to court, not only losing the case miserably but also being charged with his own infidelity and defiance of the royal decree, leading to his disinheritance and confinement in the northern spire of the castle.

It is likely that after some time, his death from illness would be announced ━━ or so it is unknown.

The son of the chief justice was charged with defamation and insult of the daughter of the marquis but avoided the charge of perjury by realizing it at the last moment. His efforts to make fair and just judgments afterward were recognized, and he was given a suspended sentence. Additionally, due to the daughter of the marquis's plea for leniency, he was only reprimanded by his father and avoided disbarment or other penalties.