“Miss!”

Suddenly a dejected voice that I was already familiar with, came out of nowhere. The owner of the voice was none other than my personal maid, Sofia. Huh? I thought it would be hard for her to visit me, but in just two days she came. I opened the prison bar excitedly upon seeing her. Sofia brought a large basket with her and hesitantly hugged me.

“Miss…are you okay?”

“I lived pretty well here.”

The surroundings inside my prison went through few changes in these two days. The worn-out bed stayed the same, but the bedsheet has changed into a clean new one. And also I got a st.u.r.dy desk and chair even though they're old furnitures. Before Sofia's arrival, I sat on the desk and played a card game with Robert, one of the guards I beat last time.

“You won again, Sis?”

(T/L: he called her ‘noona' which mean ‘older sister'. In Korea, this is how a man called his older sister (between siblings and closed acquitance). In this case, although Silla is much younger, they respect her as their elder hence the using of noona)

Gale, the second guard that also got beaten, was the guard who lead Sofia to my prison. As soon as he entered the prison, he walked closer to me and Robert while letting out a small chuckle.

Sofia was really confused as to why they called me ‘Sis'. It's nothing weird actually. Judging from their looks, they shouldn't call me ‘Sis' but ‘child'.

“Argh, don't mention it! Ol' sis didn't even hold back for once.”

Robert grumbled while mixing up the cards on the desk. The only entertainment for holy knights was playing card games! You guys need another ten years of training in order to defeat me. I returned to the desk and sat then gave a signal for Sofia to come closer.

“How's the situation at the mansion?”

Sofia glanced a bit at the guards who were busy shuffling up the cards and chattering, then answered, “… nothing have changed from before. It was as if Miss never existed in the first place.”

“How about the Countess?”

“She didn't say anything to me other than ordered me to visit Miss.”

The Countess herself sent Sofia here? Probably she wanted to know about how I was doing since she didn't get any report from these two guards she had bribed.

“Tell her that my condition is really bad and have been lying sick that you're afraid I couldn't make it this time.”

“What?” With disagreeing face, Sofia said, “Miss is perfectly fine, though?”

“It would help me if you said like that.”

It wouldn't do me any good if the Countess knew I lived just fine here like a fish that returned to the ocean after getting caught. This fact could be used to make things harder for me in the trial and she would gave more troublesome obstacle. Thats why it would be better to let her a.s.sumed my condition was bad. Who knows, maybe she would lower her guard on me. Well, even though it was unlikely for her to do that.

Sofia nodded although she didn't like the idea. “Fine. I will report as you've said. But…”

Suddenly her big eyes trembled with fear.

“The trial… there won't be any problem, right?”

How could it be as you said? No need to ask further, I'm totally cornered from all side. Although I thought like that inside my heart, but I didn't say it out. Instead, I smiled widely and patted Sofia's shoulder.

“It's okay. There won't be any problem. You don't have to worry about anything, so you can go home now and wait patiently for my return.”

It seems like she need to wait for about a year for my return. Nonetheless, I absolutely won't die. I never planned to die, not even in the slightest and not even as little as an ant's s.h.i.+t because of this annoying problem.

I tried to make Sofia calmed down until she finally left my jail after she anxiously stared at me for a while. As soon as she left, now it was Gale that gave me a worried look while playing with the cards in his hands.

“Erm… are you really going to be fine?”

Woah, look at him! The brat had turned silly after getting beaten. He actually worried about me. I felt a bit proud.

“Nah… it's fine! I won't die easily. Don't worry!”

Looks like I said exactly the same thing before entering the Demon King's castle, but well… I'm not completely died, right? However, I felt bitter whenever I recalled my comrades tearful faces. This time I will do my best not to die.

The day of the trial…

Although all of these were the result of some kind of manipulations, but for a case with solid evidences and witnesses would immediately proceed for a trial. Since most people didn't even know what trully happened, the only thing the judge did was announcing the guilty verdict.

The trial would be held at the Third Court, a special court where all trials for severe criminal cases being judged. I had been there before. But of course not as the suspect, but as the victim or the witness. I adhere the G.o.ddess so I always lived my life in the right path. Well…but now here I am, standing in the trial as the main suspect for a murder case… d.a.m.n! I will sue all of them for defamation. A holy knight's dignity is much more valuable than any high n.o.ble's!

Ugh… I'm worried what the High Priest would say when he know about this. The Cardinal would reprimanded me ruthlessly. Or… maybe I should just continue my life without exposing my ident.i.ty ever?

Even if I was free of charge because I just tried to defend myself, I still would be put under surveillance for a year. The main suspect should be the Countess, but this b.a.s.t.a.r.d Cain also played a role in this mess. This was the second time that b.a.s.t.a.r.d Cain succeed playing this trick on me. Haha.

There were only a few people came to watch the trial inside the s.p.a.cious court room. The judges and the court secretary sat in the middle and me as the suspect, sat at the left side under the public security forces surveillance. The right side was where the plaintiffs or witnesses and informants sat, but I don't see anyone except a prosecutor. Has he not arrived yet? I would be glad if he didn't come.

“The prosecutor hereby reporting to the trial that the murderer of Viscount Skyin Schwart is Silla Epheria.”

As the prosecutor read out his report, the trial started.

Silla Epheria, the eldest daughter of Count Epheria, was not satisfied with her fiancee, Viscount Schwart. Right here, the servants from the Count's household came to testify, and suddenly Silla got a low-standing boyfriend out of nowhere. And there's a lazy looking man appeared on the Countess' order and stated that Silla Epheria seduced the pitiful Viscount Schwart into the arranged inn. Then followed by the appearance of the inn owner and the waiters who were nowhere to be seen at that time. They testified that Viscount Schwart was brutally murdered in broad daylight.

And just like that, the trial continued. I stared at the new boyfriend I've never met in my whole life and other witnesses as if I was watching a theater play. Interesting… as long as I wasn't the protagonist though.

“Now we will hear the defense of Silla Epheria after we heard the last witness' testimony.”

…, it was neatly arranged that I was rendered speechless. Better focus on my escape plan then. The prosecutor looked at the witnesses list and his face turned panic.

“Erm… Initially Sir Cain Silac, the Imperial Knight, would come as a witness, but… seems like suddenly he ran into an urgent matter when the trial was about to start.”

“That means, the witness' testimony ended here?”

“It was written that someone will come on behalf of Sir Cain, but his name…”

At the same time, the door connected to the witness area, opened and a man walked inside. Everyone inside the court room, including me, looked at that man with widen eyes. That man was the b.a.s.t.a.r.d Cain's proxy?! Impossible!!!