19. Decisive Evidence
“Charm—!?”
“I can’t remember anything—!!”
I could hear the voice of a man.
In spite of Kevin’s words, my head was blank.
‘Charm’, it was a controversial spell, one that was even considered a taboo in this kingdom—and even other kingdoms of great power. As of now, only a very small number of people could use the art.
It was even more unbelievable that a girl so young possessed the ability to use said art.
I didn’t really understand, but 75% sounded very concerning.
Because ‘Charm’ was a taboo, there was hardly any information about it left. I could hardly judge whether this number was high or low.
Kevin spread the roll of paper, turning a deaf ear to the venue’s uproar. Then, he started reading aloud the charges of Baroness Schmia.
“—phantom time of 2652 years, November 3; a dispute between Viscount Harvin and Count Bralia—it resulted in the death of five people including the maids and his nephew, and also the fifth son of the Count of Bralia. Baroness Schmia was charged for inciting said incident. Also, the fifth son of Earl Bralia’s fiancée fell into the waterfall basin—which was also suspected as her doing.”
To let everything sink in, Kevin halted his readings.
Eh, eh…?
I was so confused, I could barely say anything coherent.
For her to incite such an incident …wasn’t surprising.
She probably charmed the man with that innocent act of hers. But, she also pushed the fifth son’s fiancee into the waterfall basin…?
My head stopped suddenly.
I grasped my fan and stared at Kevin. The surrounding noise suddenly felt like a lie.
As Baroness Schmia stared at Kevin, she became as pale as a ghost…
I thought she was foolish and lacking in common sense, but for her to commit murder…?
Maybe, maybe the whole ‘pushed-into-the-waterfall’ thing was an accident?
My back froze.
Was that the truth, though?
His Highness said he had all the evidence—hence, she truly did it?
My breath stilled as the air in the venue became heavier.
“—phantom time of 2652, November 5; Earl Juvy was suspected of incriminating documents. Involved in it, was Baroness Schmia. She tore apart the engagement between Earl Juvy and his fiancée. Later, the fiancée was sent by him into prostitution, and was confirmed dead the following day.”
“…”
Following Kevin’s words, she became even paler.
In a place where graceful melodies would usually flow, no fun atmosphere or shred of joy could be found. Could this place even be called a venue?
It was suddenly a place where murder cases were announced. I couldn’t hide my confusion and bewilderment.
I felt the temperature of the venue dropping even lower. Of course I wanted to escape from there.
But no one, not even His Highness or Baroness Schmia could stop Kevin from reading the scroll—Kevin continued—there’s still more—!?
“—phantom time of year 2652, the same day on November 5, Duke Ophelia attempted to murder his own fiancée, Countess Mival, by strangulation. Again, it was Baroness Schmia who incited the tragedy. The evidence lies in the letters she exchanged with him.”
“…”
…They were irrefutable evidence.
Baroness Schmia was truly evil.
For her to be someone who would go that far…
…I didn’t know if I could still consider her as a person anymore…
Never would I have guessed this development…
Sure, I really disliked Baroness Schmia, I didn’t want to get involved with her—but, who would’ve thought that underneath, she was someone capable of doing such things?
To go to such an extent, did she hold a grudge against the whole world, or something? Nothing else could explain her behavior.
My heart went cold every time I heard the names of those who had lost their lives from a while ago.
Baroness Schmia… at this point, I no longer saw her as someone who loved to seek attention from men anymore… She was just, ‘doom’—yes, that was the word.
It was as if she was trying to destroy the world.
If those things mentioned before were repeated, the kingdom would eventually collapse and the politics would be in shambles. I was glad something was done before it could lead to that…
…no, not really. After all, there were those who had fallen victim, already…
I gazed at Kevin. I unconsciously clenched my fist. I could feel my nails digging into my palm.
The pain made me regain my composure a bit.
Without a care, Kevin continued, and further added to the line-up of Baroness Schmia’s charges.
“Do you have anything to say, Baroness Schmia?”
I realized that the charges had finished being read out loud. However, by that time, I was already thoroughly exhausted. Overlooking the vicinity, the number of women was small. Perhaps they couldn’t stand the brutal cases and left the venue. Many of the remaining ladies had pale faces. No wonder. There were words that were hard to hear, and there was also the fact that it happened to the same sex.
Even though I was educated to not let my facial expressions reveal what I actually felt, my face must have been pale. There were so many brutal and grim cases.
Baroness Schmia, with her eyes lowered, was turning blue. She was trembling, she could barely afford to stand.
“I, I know nothing of the sort—!! As if I would know anything pertaining to that—!! I’ve only heard of it today—!! I don’t know—!! Those things don’t involve me—!!”
“But we have evidence.”
Kevin unfolded the documents, revealing an open letter contained in a clear, plastic, bag. There was also a bloodstained handkerchief. There were fine words written on the letter inside the plastic…
Kevin took it out with his white-gloved hand.
“How do you explain this?”
He said coldly to Baroness Schmia.
Baroness Schmia crumbled on the floor as she tried to regain her breath.
***T/N: Ooooh, a big grand reveal, it takes me aback, I never would’ve guessed this—YEAH, NO.
I NEVER WOULD’VE GUESSED THIS BECAUSE THERE’S NO BUILD UP PERTAINING TO THIS WHATSOEVER, DAMMIT!!!!!
YOU, YEAH, YOU, TIA ///SLAP HER WITH A SANDAL/// WHY ARE YOUR REACTIONS EQUALLY AS DUMB AS THE THOT!? HOW LACKING IN FORESIGHT CAN YOU BE!? A COMMON NOBLE GIRL WITH NO RELATION WHATSOEVER TO THE THRONE ACTING THIS SHELTERED I WOULD FORGIVE, BUT NOT THE FUTURE QUEEN. NOT, THE FUTURE QUEEN!!!! HOW COULD YOU NOT AWARE OF SUCH GRISLY MURDER CASES HAPPENING RIGHT IN THE NEIGHBOURING KINGDOM, WHAT THE F?
EITHER OUR PROTAGONIST IS JUST THAT UNRELIABLE OF A NARRATOR–I MEAN, GEEZ, THERE’S A LIMIT TO HOW UNRELIABLE YOU CAN MAKE YOUR NARRATOR BE–SHE’S THE SUPPOSED FUTURE QUEEN BUT SHE DIDN’T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST CLUE THE GIRL THAT RECENTLY VISITED HER TERRITORY MURDERED, LIKE, 812837831 PPL? DOES TIA HONESTLY THINK GATHERING INFORMATION AND NETWORKING ARE ONLY SOMETHING THAT YOU DO ONCE YOU BECOME QUEEN? THEN, WHAT A SHELTERED, PAMPERED LIFE SHE HAS BEEN LIVING.
Oh God, those reactions of her. 18 chapters of this story she hadn’t been giving a single fuck about what’s going on in her kingdom and relying on stupid gossips plus her presumptuous brain and you expect me to catch feelings that now she’s cowering for the sake of those fallen victims and feeling unease to be in her own kingdom and starting to see people in a different way? Bullshit!
“Even though I was educated to not let my facial expressions reveal what I actually felt, my face must have been pale.” Yeah it must have been! Cause you’re terrible at hiding your expressions, especially in front of good-looking princes!
You failed all those classes, didn’t you Tia?
Yeah, as I said on previous chapter, Tia is the worst choice for the future Queen…
Aaah yes, but Tiya is probably around 18 years old with very limited worldly knowledge. So her ignorance is understandable. There were some foreshadowing though but the readers were kept in the dark for the most part. Just like Tiya… Girl, if you won’t change that attitude of yours then the world will eat you up alive :))
They really should’ve looked for another person to be the queen. She’s totally incompetent.
Wait, it happened in a neighboring kingdom? They didn’t say that, did they? A queen’s role depends on what is acquired of them. Not every society has the queen ruling side-by-side with the king but is instead a political bond and the person who raises a successor. If you ever looked at the fate of Henry’s six wife you would learn soon that sometimes a Queen does not rule, and would only know national secrets when tied to the nation. She is the Duke’s daughter, not the queen yet. No one would give access to sensitive networking to a fiancee unless trusted and working or married. Especially if it was a marriage to a foreign noble or royal. This is probably a society where whoever is the one inheriting gets the power at least in terms of royalty. The girl is what, 17? And any of the matters where a noble was incited and forced to kill someone would be a scandal and covered! Anyone speculated to try and overthrow a kingdom would be assumed to have partners and trying to find and get all the rebels and enemies is important instead of leaving a root to grow back.
True stuff right here. Also, unlike 17/18 year olds in the modern time, they don’t have Internet access to be knowledgeable about the ways of the world. And if the author is going for the medieval culture then women in that period were brought up to be a “proper” prim and meek ladies whose only role is to support their husbands and give them heirs ? so it’s not surprising if she turns out to be like that
True, though since it is not our world’s medieval times it could be different on role acquisition but not everyone in the future gets what they will later, now. Internet for how the way works, can backfire but common sense and research helps avoid that!
I now have more confidence in my own skills as a writer. My theory I posted in the last chapter would have fit better than a murder mystery being solved and we are only present for the conclusion. At least it would just mean that there was a simple miscommunication which caused the mess.
From now on i shall refer to you as Script Doctor
https://images.app.goo.gl/aLLr82bai9hRxAjHA
LET US ALL NOW DO A VICTORY DANCE!!!!!!!!
The THOT’s downfall is starting…….I am now starting to enjoy this situation……..come on now pin more deaths to her you can even add the death of the chicken I ate for dinner added to her crimes!!!! Tiarize should meet Bertia…..they are both nicknamed Tia and are both clueless future queens……
I know that everyone is concerned about how clueless and dumb Tiarize seems but there is something that everyone has failed to notice……I am going to quote the scene where something seems off…..
“Kevin unfolded the documents, revealing an open letter contained in a clear, plastic, bag. There was also a bloodstained handkerchief. There were fine words written on the letter inside the plastic…”
THEY HAVE A FRICKI’N PLASTIC BAG IN A STORY THAT IS SET IN A MAGICAL KINGDOM THAT HAS BITS OF MEDIEVAL PERIOD INCORPORATED ON IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I REPEAT THEY HAVE A PLASTIC BAG!!!!!!!!!!
Kasia pointed out the same thing.
As the editor, I was also just as shocked.
ITS NOT THAT I FAIL TO NOTICE THAT I AM JUST TIRED
AND CMON. THAT PLASTIC IS LESS DUMB THAN TIA
AND ITS A MAGICAL KINGDOM RITE. I ASSUME PLASTIC IS PART OF THE MAGIC
I see so I should change it to “many ignored” instead of “didn’t notice”…….but thinking of it there is a prime example of a plastic since the beginning. Its a plastic named Schmia who keeps on pretending to be innocent but is actually just a THOT
When the author tried to mindblown us by her list of crimes but instead mindblowned us bcs of the plastic.
HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!! EPIC FAIL!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!
They must also have finger-printing magic considering he wore gloves when handling the letter!!!
Ok I understand everything but plastic bag in medieval magic world? ? Thank you for the chapter ?
Do we really need to still watch this? It’s already in the unreasonable territory. No back story, unreliable narrator, unstable characters. Do we still remember the commoner kid? I mean, what happened to him? And why he was presented? Just to show that she loves commoner life? Also, so many murders, and even we don’t care. Why could we? Nothing to do with us, because is the first time it’s mentioned. And the magical ice sword now is just a justification for why charm magic exist. If ice swords, why not charm.
There really isn’t anything I like about Tia.
She’s passive, assumptive, is kind of incompetent, lacks a backbone and a bit stupid too…
Who decided she was qualified to be queen one day? She hasn’t shown qualities needed to be queen. She’s unconfident, bad with people, and she’s ill-informed of the current state of the kingdom. You’d think someone of her standing should have a decent intel network.
Pretty sure that a significant chunk of nobles in our history fit that description. Heck, being mediocre and incompetent is not a crime and what the fuck is this Queen training nonsense that japan invented
Woa… that plot twist didn’t had any type of build up at all. It can’t even be named as “PLOT twist”. lol
Tia seems to be more wise when she isn’t near that Thot and the Prince, I mean… when she was practicing with the sword at her territory, the narrative was better/smoother. But when she is near this two, “Dumb Tia” instantly appears. Is her brain melting or something? Maybe it becomes noodles when she encounter them…
Also, Tia’s a Duke’s Daughter but she totally lacks the attitude. She can’t deal with the Thot at all, her knowledge seems kinda poor too. Like Antoinette-sama said, a information network isn’t just a “queen’s thing”. lol
Hope it gets better for now on…
Well… Thanks for the Chapter! =)
… alright
I really wonder what the reason for this course of action is… All of this feel kind of random to me right now,.
Confused as fk
The best part of the chapters are your translator notes at the end. They satisfy me after reading chapters full of THOTS.
Honestly, this is too abrupt, there was zero build up for this scene, it’s just poor writing from the author
Yeah her being such a “woe is me” unreliable narrator makes this very difficult to really like her and the story as much. Of course there could be something that flips everything around, like this really is a reverse “villainess condemnation” and schmia could be innocent. There is the woman that Tia ran into and 35? chapters left…
If everything is true, I’m hoping this serves as a wakeup call for her to either buckle down to fulfill her role or break it off like she keeps whining about. If everything is false, I still hope the same but that she also does something instead of just this passive “I don’t know what’s going on??? I just make presumptions over everything without fact checking???” commentary. Even though plot wise things have been going as I suspected from the start (though could still be proven wrong), I can’t say it’s been that enjoyable because of Tia, which is unfortunate because this had potential.