Chapter 8

After a brief break, during which Julia, who had been crying uncontrollably, was given some respite, the deliberation resumed once her sobs had subsided.

"Well... It seems a bit late now, but, Earl. Do you have any defense against Percival's response earlier?"

"―Of course, I do."

With that, the Earl glared at Margaret with all his might.

"It's all due to the foolish girl standing there. Margaret is the great sinner who deceived not only Lord Percival and us, but also the Crown Prince."

"That's quite an interesting claim. Could you please elaborate?"

"Understood."

After bowing his head respectfully, the Earl began to explain the sequence of events fluently, as if water flowing down a board.

He said—

Margaret had been mentally and physically abusing her sister Julia all along.

To protect herself from her terrifying sister, Julia had been doing as Margaret said.

Unfortunately, the Earl and his wife had failed to notice that Margaret was mistreating her sister and had left it unchecked.

In the midst of this, Margaret, desiring to become Percival's partner, had threatened her sister and managed to switch places with her at the wedding.

She had then pinned all her misdeeds, including her behavior in society, on Julia, and had successfully positioned herself as the victim, thereby ensnaring Percival.

The Earl's claim, in short, was a fabricated story that switched the roles of Julia and Margaret.

Despite being portrayed as the villain, Margaret's heart was completely calm. She no longer had any lingering attachment to the Earl's family. This realization was a significant gain for Margaret.

(I will never be bound by that family again—)

While thinking this, she felt a gaze and glanced to the side to see Percival looking at her with concern.

She had enough composure to return a gentle smile. In fact, it seemed that Percival was far more agitated by each word the Earl spoke, which made her more worried.

"―Therefore, everyone here has been ensnared by the wicked schemes of Margaret, the poison woman."

With that, the Earl turned his passionate gaze towards the Crown Prince.

"Even the incident with Viscount Moore earlier was due to Julia being flustered by Margaret's presence, leaving her no time to refute... But this is the truth!"

"Hmm, I understand your claim. However, there is a point that cannot be overlooked."

"―And what is that?"

"Of course, it's about the switch between the Wordsworth sisters. For over five months, no one except Percival noticed the switch. This is an abnormal situation, and that's why I can assert this."

Tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair, the Crown Prince asked solemnly,

"Earl, who cast the unique magic that enabled this switch?"

The Earl then broke into a broad smile, as if he was certain of victory.

"Of course, it was Margaret! Unfortunately, her unique magic, which strongly reflects our Wordsworth bloodline, is [Transformation]. It allows her to change her appearance into that of any Wordsworth bloodline member for as long as she wishes."

To digest this explanation, the Crown Prince placed a hand on his mouth and assumed a thoughtful pose.

"―In other words, Margaret can transform herself into any Wordsworth member or transform a Wordsworth member into herself, correct?"

"Exactly. As expected of Your Highness! You are truly wise!"

The Crown Prince smiled wryly at the Earl's obvious flattery. Then, he finally turned his gaze to the Stroud side, who had been listening silently.

"Percival, what do you think of the Earl's claim?"

"It's completely absurd. It's ridiculous to the extreme."

"Wh-What!? Your words are too harsh, Lord Percival!!"

The Earl's face turned blue with anger at the scathing words from the much younger Percival.

Looking at the Earl as if he were a speck of dust, Percival said in a cold voice,

"You should be the one to hold your tongue. I am restraining myself out of respect for Your Highness, but your claim is so baseless that it's not even worth listening to. Most of all, I cannot forgive the insult to my beloved Margaret. I had considered showing some leniency if you confessed your sins, but it seems all that was in vain."

Unlike the Earl, who was quick to anger, Percival's tone remained calm throughout, which made his words even more chilling.

Percival sighed and then turned to the Crown Prince.

"―By the way, Your Highness, I would like to ask about the registration of the Wordsworth Earl's unique magic."

"Wait! That's irrelevant now!!"

"It can't be irrelevant. If what you said is true, Margaret's unique magic is incredibly powerful. After all, it allows her to easily transform into another person, limited to her bloodline, and its versatility is self-evident."

"―That's true."

The Earl's face turned pale as the Crown Prince agreed.

Watching his reaction with a somewhat bored expression,

"However, that's strange. At least to my knowledge, Margaret Wordsworth's registered unique magic is [Color Change], which allows her to change the color of her hair and eyes."

The Crown Prince added more malicious words, like a predator cornering its prey.

If the Earl's earlier claim were true, it would mean that he had falsely reported Margaret's unique magic. Reporting unique magic to the country is the duty of the head of a noble family. Failing to report or providing false information carries severe penalties, and it cannot be excused by claiming someone else registered it.

"Earl, could you please explain this properly?"

"―That...!"

The Earl's smooth words faltered, perhaps because he hadn't expected the Crown Prince to already know about Margaret's unique magic.

Unique magic is classified as top-secret information, with strict restrictions on access. Margaret had only learned about it from Percival, who explained that to obtain permission to view specific items, one must submit formal documents to the country and receive approval from the King.

This applies even to the royal family. In other words, Percival had been in contact with the Crown Prince for quite some time and had laid the groundwork with the King for this deliberation.

The Earl finally realized this.

He had probably planned to manipulate Margaret's registration information after the deliberation, but his plan had fallen apart, and he fell silent.

However, a person who had not participated in the conversation until then suddenly spoke up.

"Oh, that's obvious. It's all due to Margaret's lies, of course."