The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

As soon as Laria finished speaking, people all around clutched their heads.

An abnormal headache had struck them.

They looked dazed, as if trying to recall forgotten memories.

“That’s right…”

“Why did I forget?”

Laria’s statement became the trigger, and one by one, the sealed memories began to return.

A few years ago, Laria’s disappearance had been an incident that threw the capital into uproar. The Rohan family had distributed flyers throughout the Empire to find Laria.

However, even after quite a long time, they couldn’t find even a clue.

People assumed Laria had died.

Until she returned alive and well after half a year.

-How did they find her?

-She must have been through something terrible.

-Well, it’s obvious what must have happened.

-Poor thing.

All sorts of speculations ran rampant about Laria’s disappearance.

There were almost no people who purely sympathized with Laria.

Most people were just using the Rohan family’s misfortune as entertainment, talking as they pleased.

-She’s ruined for marriage now.

-I’m curious about what happened, should we invite her to a gathering?

Laria, who had become a subject of gossip, wanted to correct the rumors.

The first person Laria revealed her whereabouts to was the employee in charge of her bedroom.

-I suddenly turned into a fox and stayed at the Grand Duke’s residence all that time.

-Young miss… are you alright?

The employee thought something was wrong with Laria’s head.

Laria wanted to prove her words, but she couldn’t transform into a fox after leaving the Grand Duke’s residence.

There was no evidence to support her claim.

In the end, Laria had to pretend she couldn’t remember.

Even after that, the interest in Laria didn’t subside.

Everything else was fine, but seeing her family suffer was hard to bear.

So she began to rarely go out.

Staying at home made her family feel at ease… and she didn’t have to hear bad things.

Later, after her father sealed people’s memories, she became free. But she was afraid to go out because it felt like she could hear accusatory voices wherever she went.

Laria, naturally avoiding going out, gradually became isolated.

“…”

The past was repeating itself.

The looks of respect and reverence that had been directed at Laria until just now had already changed to different emotions.

The whispers coming from all directions made it hard to breathe.

As she tried to stay calm, a large palm rested on the back of her hand.

Looking up, she saw Zenox quietly gazing at her.

Zenox didn’t say anything.

But his eyes were firm, as if they would hold Laria no matter how much she wavered.

“She mocked the imperial citizens, so she must be severely punished.”

As the flow turned in his favor, Marquis Hashir spoke excitedly.

Laria calmly raised her hand.

“I would like to refute.”

“You may speak.”

At the judge’s permission, Laria opened her mouth.

“My father didn’t erase memories, he sealed them.”

Marquis Hashir claimed Theodore had erased memories, but there was a part that differed from the truth.

Theodore had sealed the memories of ‘Laria Rohan’s disappearance’ from people.

There was a big difference between completely losing something and being able to recover it.

Above all, the magic Theodore used was originally created for victims who had experienced painful events.

Some memories are sharper and more powerful than physical pain.

To the point of pushing oneself towards death in the end.

Originally, it was magic cast on people who wanted to forget memories, but Laria’s case was different.

Even if her own memories were erased, it was obvious she would suffer from gossip all her life because people would remember.

At Laria’s calm explanation, Marquis Hashir immediately lashed out.

“Erasing or sealing, it’s the same thing. If I hadn’t revealed it, people would never have known for their entire lives.”

The Marquis’s words once again stirred up diverse opinions.

No matter how harmless the magic was said to be, people couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

At that moment, Theodore stood up.

“It, it’s all my fault.”

At Theodore’s words, the noisy surroundings instantly fell silent.

His face was so pale it looked like he might collapse at any moment.

“I know it’s an unforgivable crime… but I couldn’t bear to watch my daughter suffer.”

Theodore’s trembling voice rang out particularly clearly.

“Laria… had to endure a painful time for so long. The disappearance… of a noble young lady… was an interesting topic, after all.”

The people who had been whispering about Laria as soon as their memories returned fell silent.

Seeing him lower his head like a criminal, Laria bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

Theodore had cast the spell for Laria and lost half of his magical power. Because he had pushed himself too hard, his magical power still hadn’t fully recovered even now.

It was a result obtained by sacrificing his precious talent.

Laria still couldn’t even fathom what kind of feelings he must have had when he cast the spell. The only thing certain was that even if time were turned back, Theodore would make the same choice.

Even if it led to this outcome.

“I’m sorry… I will accept any punishment.”

Theodore lowered his head as if ready to accept any punishment.

Laria strained her eyes to hold back tears.

“I also condoned the truth, so I will be punished together.”

Laria’s words sent another ripple through the crowd.

Theodore looked at her with a distorted face, but Laria didn’t take back her words.

A heavy silence fell over the courtroom.

The one who broke the silence was the judge sitting in the highest seat.

“We will now proceed with the main trial.”

When Marquis Hashir tried to protest, a sharp glance fell on him.

At the look telling him not to obscure the essence, Marquis Hashir set his lips firmly.

The Marquis’s plan had been to drag Theodore down into the pit to lessen his own crimes.

To people, his own damage would seem greater than what the Grand Duke had suffered.

“Defendant Banesion Hashir, you have dealt with forbidden magic and cast a brainwashing spell on the Grand Duke of Krassium at Rubenta Krassium’s instigation. Is this correct?”

“No, it isn’t.”

Marquis Hashir promptly denied it.

There was no evidence anyway, and only Laria and Zenox had seen him deal with forbidden magic that day.

Rubenta was dead, so he was out of the question.

Above all, he was still the head of the Sorcery Office. Though his reputation had fallen, if he asserted his position, his claims would be accepted to some extent.

The Marquis glanced at Sienna, who was sitting like a doll in the seat next to him.

He believed Sienna would help him, so there was no way he would be sentenced to death.

As his anxiety faded, he asserted confidently as if he were truly innocent.

“I don’t understand why I’m being treated as a criminal when there’s no evidence I used forbidden magic.”

“Witness, please come forward.”

At the judge’s words, Ort, who had been in the back, awkwardly stepped forward.

Marquis Hashir’s face contorted upon seeing Ort.

Previously, he had summoned Ort to the prison, extracted all the information from him, and then ordered him to die through a brainwashing spell.

Yet he was alive and well. Could Laria Rohan have done something?

“I, I participated in brainwashing the Grand Duke as Banesion Hashir’s confidant.”

“This is just a one-sided claim. I don’t know this person well.”

As Marquis Hashir feigned ignorance, Ort shouted:

“What haven’t I done because of you, you bastard!”

“So, do you have any evidence?”

As Ort fell silent, Sienna answered:

“I do.”

For a moment, the Marquis thought he was hearing things.

Slowly turning his head, he saw Sienna with an expression he had never seen before.

“I will submit evidence that Banesion Hashir dealt with forbidden magic.”

Sienna immediately held out a bag as if the Marquis sitting next to her didn’t exist.

A knight standing nearby took the bag and handed it to the judge.

“This is evidence that he, my father, dealt with forbidden magic and conspired with Rubenta Krassium to put the Grand Duke of Krassium in a difficult situation.”

The bag was full of irrefutable evidence.

Contract with Rubenta Krassium, forbidden magic recipes written in the Marquis’s handwriting, journals, and so on.

It was perfect evidence incomparable to the clues Laria and Solike had painstakingly gathered.

“Sienna Hashir!!”

The Marquis, belatedly coming to his senses, lunged at Sienna.

However, he was quickly restrained by the knights nearby.

“You, how could you…!!”

The evidence he had told Sienna to burn had appeared intact before his eyes.

“He also dealt with forbidden magic during the duel with Laria Rohan, and fed me an elixir made with forbidden magic.”

“Shut up!”

The Marquis went berserk at Sienna’s revelation.

Though he cursed, saying he would tear her limb from limb and kill her right now, Sienna didn’t even blink.

She only smiled faintly as she watched her father collapse like a beast.

At that smile, the Marquis stopped abruptly.

Sienna was no longer Marquis Hashir’s obedient doll.

She was a proper person who had escaped from the display case.

And for the first time, she acted on what she herself thought was right, not someone else’s opinion.

“I hope you will impose a severe punishment.”