Chapter 88 - Evidence
"What foolishness! I was attacked as well!"
In response to Lord Barba's pointed question, Thierry retorted with undisguised anger. That anger exposed his desperation.
"Thierry, be silent."
"But, Father..."
"Be silent!"
Desperation invites mistakes. Marquis Baphot was right to silence his son before he said anything careless. But that would not work in this inquiry. Alessandro had not only witnesses, but solid evidence as well.
"...Let us now hear testimony from the party involved, Marquis Rousel."
"Yes."
Responding to Lord Barba's call, Claude stood up. He then bowed to Alessandro.
"As you know, I have received numerous secret missions from His Majesty to investigate those plotting rebellion. However, I was always just short of catching them. Convinced that there was someone close to me leaking internal information, I fed several pieces of false intelligence to those I suspected. The individual who acted upon that false intelligence was Viscount Amady."
"That is merely a coincidence. I am saddened that you suspected me."
"I had reason to suspect, did I not? It was as if you were watching my every move, appearing wherever I went. But the secret missions from His Majesty I mentioned earlier were all decoys."
"What...?"
Thierry, who seemed to have regained his composure, apparently did not understand Claude's words. The spectators were in the same boat, so Claude began his explanation again.
"The secret missions I received from His Majesty had already been given to other loyal subjects several days prior. They carried out their duties while I was ostensibly on their trail. My movements were a signal for the enemy to move as well. Although a little more leeway would have been nice..."
Claude trailed off at the end with a grumble, and Alessandro smirked. It would have been safer to give Claude the order after the men in charge had already fulfilled their objectives, but he never gave the lead agents much breathing room. He had claimed it was to avoid suspicion, but there was no doubt Alessandro had enjoyed it. He seemed to be enjoying this inquiry as well.
"Unfortunately, it became an undeniable fact that Viscount Amady was leaking information to the rebels. Then, from a certain source, I learned of a plan to have me attacked by soldiers disguised as bandits. So I made a move first, and replaced the soldiers pretending to be bandits with my own men."
"Y-You could just make all of that up!"
"Yes, that's true. I could summon the one who ordered the attack on me and the one who feigned it as witnesses, but if the Viscount denies knowing them, it will only become a stalemate. Therefore, it would be best to present some definitive evidence."
As Claude said this, Marquis Baphot snorted. He seemed to think no such evidence would appear. The cautious marquis had likely destroyed any letters that could serve as physical proof and left no signature on any letters sent to his allies.
Lord Barba agreed with Claude's proposal, and they both looked to Alessandro for permission. Alessandro nodded his assent without a word. Following his signal, several ledgers and two letter boxes were carried in one after another. At the sight of the ledgers, Cole's face grew even paler.
Regarding the evidence, the individuals sitting as witnesses stood to provide detailed explanations. They appeared to be appealing to Alessandro about the rebels' crimes, but in reality, their words were directed at the spectators to establish the legitimacy of this inquiry.
As the evidence was presented piece by piece, the rebels slumped their shoulders, as if realizing they could no longer deny their guilt. In contrast to them, the spectators seemed to be growing excited. Perhaps it would have been different if this rebellion had resulted in much bloodshed, but to them, this inquiry was someone else's problem, and nothing more than a show. Amidst this, Marquis Baphot, against whom no evidence had yet been presented, remained composed, and Thierry followed his lead.
"Next, I will explain the letters contained within this box. We were able to obtain these with the assistance of the Marchioness Rousel, so may I ask the Marchioness to provide an explanation?"
"Yes. Of course."
Responding to the words of a law officer, Opal stood, and the hall buzzed with murmurs. They seemed surprised that a woman like Opal would speak in such a setting. Paying no mind to their reaction, Opal opened the letter box, took out a letter, and held it up so the wax seal and the sender's name were visible. The seal was, of course, broken, but if held together, the crest was faintly visible.
"These letters were all sent from Marquis Baphot to Marquis Saymes of Sosylle Kingdom."
"Nonsense! Those are forgeries!"
"It seems that until about a year ago, you stamped the wax seal with your signet, but recently, perhaps out of caution, you have not even written your name as the sender. However, the contents of the letters prove that you are the sender, Marquis."
Marquis Baphot, who had been putting on an air of composure, shot up as if jolted, pointing at Opal as he refuted her claim. But Opal continued without paying him any mind. The Marquis's sudden loss of composure surprised those around him, and they fell silent.
"The contents concern matters of gold smuggling and a request for a swift response with reinforcements when the rebellion was to take place. I will not read them aloud here, but His Majesty and the inquisitors have already reviewed them all. As I said earlier, the most recent ones not only lack a sender's name but also contain instructions to be burned after reading. However, it seems Marquis Saymes did not comply. Though they were partners, it appears there was no trust between them. He likely kept them in case something happened. Thanks to that, we were able to obtain them as evidence."
"That's a lie! I never wrote such things! It's someone's... Rousel, is this your conspiracy?!"
"To bring you down, I would not resort to such an elaborate scheme."
"What did you say...?"
Marquis Baphot, refusing to admit guilt, tried to shift the blame onto Claude for some reason. But Claude paid him no heed. The Marquis, not understanding at first, looked bewildered, then his face turned bright red.
"Do not get cocky, you young pup! You seduced that old fool Rousel, then wormed your way in with His Majesty, and then a woman with money...?!"
The Marquis's bitter rant was cut off by a ledger that came flying at him. Although he quickly covered his face, the corner of the ledger seemed to have hit his forehead, and the Marquis groaned in pain.
"Oh, my! A precious piece of evidence flew away!"
It was Opal, the one who had thrown the ledger, who feigned surprise. The people around her, even the Royal Knights, were so taken aback they could only stand there gaping. Into the silence, the sound of Claude and Alessandro, unable to hold it in any longer, bursting into laughter was the only thing that echoed through the great hall.