-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: 0003_57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Western Duke's voice tightened around Ariana's throat like a rope. Ariana swallowed hard, trying to step back, but she couldn't overcome the strength of the maids who held her arms firmly.
"If that 'good opportunity' happens to be a judge named Oatmeal, then you'd best abandon that hope."
Oatmeal.
The very situation Ariana had feared came to pass. The Western Duke knowing Oatmeal meant he had already taken action.
"You leaned on someone you shouldn't have. The Eastern Duke may be kind-hearted, but he's not clever enough to protect you. If only he had assigned a few guards to Oatmeal, Oatmeal wouldn't have committed suicide."
*He killed him, disguised as a suicide!*
She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut but held back.
She wanted to scream but swallowed it down.
"Oatmeal's body will be discovered soon enough. But you won't be around to see how that matter is handled. We'll be taking our cherished granddaughter, our beloved daughter, back to the Western Territory."
Ariana pressed her lips together.
The Western Duke smiled faintly, then straightened his back and ordered the maids.
"Pack your bags. We leave in an hour."
+++
Ariana sank onto the sofa as if thrown, squeezing her eyes shut.
A chill wind swept through her chest.
*Oatmeal is dead. The Western Duke must be so confident because he's already confirmed the body.*
Rachel would have just sent someone to kill him and then gleefully rushed to tell Ariana, but the Western Duke was different. He had sent someone, had him killed, and only told Ariana after receiving the report.
*I can't overturn the verdict.*
The Eastern Duke would not be able to reclaim Ariana's custody from Rachel. Even if he tried, it would be long after Ariana had passed away.
*I can't die like this.*
Becoming a princess of the Eastern Territory wasn't the only way. She might have to take a longer route, perhaps even bow her head to someone she disliked, but there was definitely another path.
Ariana subtly opened her eyes and surveyed her surroundings. The maid who had been closely guarding her, seemingly believing Ariana had given up, was now preparing to leave with the other maids.
Ariana quietly moved, groping the cushion where she had hidden the knife and fork earlier. Something hard touched her fingers.
*Thank goodness. The Western Duke didn't find this.*
Ariana rummaged through the cushion, pulled out the sharp objects, and quickly slipped them into her petticoat pocket.
To avoid being searched again, she sat quietly, lost in thought.
*First, I have to escape from the Western Duke.*
Ariana mentally pictured whether she would have a chance to escape.
*The Western Duke will ride in the carriage with me, just as he did when we came here. He won't take his eyes off me. But he didn't pay attention to where I was sitting. He must think that even if I open the carriage door and run, he can easily handle it.*
Ariana, having lost the trial, had become a child acting out to spite her parents. Even if Ariana jumped from the carriage, they could dismiss the situation with a "She's at it again" attitude.
Since Rachel had legitimately gained custody through the trial, there was no one who would try to help Ariana escape.
*But there's a way to make it impossible for them to easily handle the situation right there.*
The fork and knife hidden in her skirt.
If she used them well, an opportunity to escape would surely arise.
+++
Exactly one hour later, the Western Duke's carriage departed from the villa.
The streets were calm, as if Oatmeal's death hadn't yet been announced.
As the Western Duke's carriage rolled down the wide street, people stopped to watch it. In Sterion City, the Imperial Capital, no one was unaware of yesterday's trial.
Ariana sat in the carriage, staring blankly out the window.
The people outside the window cast unfavorable glances at Ariana.
*Not yet.*
She wanted to leap from the carriage right then and there.
She wanted to escape the suffocating gazes of the Western Duke and Rachel. But she endured.
There weren't enough people yet. She had to wait until they reached a busy district with a sufficient crowd.
*No one would help a villainess who jumped out on her own…*
Ariana moved the blunt knife to her outer skirt pocket for easy access.
*But someone would help a dying villainess.*
Her plan was to pull out the knife and stab herself in the abdomen the moment she jumped.
A perfectly fine Ariana could be dragged back into the carriage with a dismissive, "She's at it again," but they wouldn't be able to do that to an Ariana bleeding profusely.
*There's always a clinic in a busy district. People would find it suspicious if they bypassed a nearby clinic to return to the villa and call a doctor. The Western Duke is intelligent, so he'd consider that when acting.*
The Western Duke would take Ariana to a clinic. While she would undoubtedly still be under surveillance there, it would be easier to find an opportunity to escape than at the villa.
To avoid betraying her tension, Ariana maintained a blank stare, waiting for the carriage to enter the busy district.
+++
The Eastern Duke Russell paced restlessly in the drawing-room, waiting for news from Oatmeal. By now, there should have been a message from Oatmeal, but there was complete silence.
Tiador spoke.
"Russell, sit down. Your pacing won't change anything."
"How can I sit still? Rachel, we don't know what that woman might do to Ariana."
"Immediately after such a trial, she won't be able to do anything terrible to Ariana right away. The Western Duke wouldn't allow it."
"The Western Duke... his presence is precisely the problem."
Tiador clicked his tongue.
The Western Duke had ascended to his ducal position around the same time as Tiador, but even after Tiador had passed his title to his son, the Western Duke still held his own.
When Tiador was the Eastern Duke, the Western Duke had not aimed his sharp blade at the Eastern Territory. He had concealed his true intentions and maintained a good relationship with Tiador.
However, as soon as Tiador stepped down from his ducal position, the Western Duke subtly began to reveal his dark intentions. When Russell grew wary, the Western Duke sent Rachel as a gesture of goodwill.
Lanster had suspected Rachel, but others foolishly trusted her. Remembering the good relationship they had maintained with the Western Duke, they accepted Rachel into the family without suspicion.
And this was the result.
They had fallen out of His Imperial Majesty's favor, their granddaughter had been taken, they had lived unaware of how terrible her life was, and now their granddaughter was about to be taken from them again.
"This won't do. Something must have happened!"
Just as Russell strode towards the drawing-room door, his trusted subordinate, who had gone out to check the situation, returned and announced in a hurried voice.
"The Western Duke is leaving the Capital!"
+++
More and more people became visible outside the window. A street densely packed with commercial buildings came into view.
*Here.*
They had finally entered the busy district.
She was afraid, knowing the pain that would soon be inflicted upon her body, but it wasn't as terrifying as returning to the Western Territory.
*The pain is temporary. If I don't escape now, it's death.*
Ariana steeled her resolve and threw herself towards the carriage door.
"Ah!"
Rachel reached out belatedly, but her hand merely brushed Ariana's skirt. Ariana flung the carriage door open and jumped out.
Before people could even react to Ariana suddenly jumping from the carriage, she pulled out the knife she had put in her skirt pocket.
A blunt knife, meant for cutting bread. Because it was blunt, it would be even more painful when it tore through her skin.
But she didn't hesitate.
She gripped the knife with both hands and plunged it straight into her abdomen. The blunt knife ripped through her skin. *Thud.* The pain came before the sound of tearing flesh. It hurt enough to make her body tremble, but she didn't stop.
When the knife was halfway embedded.
*Thump-thump-thump-thump—*
The sound of hooves pounded in her ears.
A sturdy brown horse galloped past Ariana, blocking the Western Duke's carriage.
Ariana suppressed a scream and looked up at the man on horseback. A red uniform embroidered with gold.
*Imperial Knights?*
She couldn't understand why Imperial Knights had appeared at this moment. The Western Duke and Rachel, who had gotten out to grab Ariana, were also staring up at the Imperial Knight with bewildered expressions.
*What do I do?*
She couldn't tell if the appearance of the Imperial Knight was a good thing or a bad thing.
She needed to decide whether to stab the knife deeper or to escape while the Western Duke and Rachel were distracted, but the intense pain made it impossible to think clearly.
*Run.*
For now, that seemed best.
Even if she were caught midway, they wouldn't force an Ariana with a knife in her stomach back into the carriage. The knife was still embedded, so she wasn't bleeding profusely yet, but if push came to shove, she could just pull it out.
As Ariana staggered to her feet, the knight spoke in a dignified voice.
"An Imperial Decree."
+++
At the same time, the Eastern Duke Russell, who was about to leave his mansion to stop the Western Duke, also found an Imperial Knight before him.
Russell and Tiador accepted the Imperial Decree from the Imperial Knight with expressions of disbelief.
+++
At the Imperial Knight's words, everyone present knelt. It was to receive the Imperial Decree. Only the Western Duke, the ruler of the Western Territory, remained standing, bowing his head as he waited for the knight to recite the decree.
"A witness who questioned the outcome of Ariana Bronte's custody trial has personally reported to His Imperial Majesty. His Imperial Majesty has commanded an immediate retrial. Rachel Bronte and Ariana Bronte are to appear before the Grand Court within one hour."
A witness who questioned the trial outcome.
Ariana couldn't understand what the Imperial Knight was talking about.
Questioning the outcome meant a witness for Ariana's side. But Ariana had used all the witnesses she could. There were no new witnesses left to testify for Ariana.
*Oatmeal? No, Oatmeal is dead. Even if he were alive, he wouldn't be enough to sway His Imperial Majesty. Who could it be?*
As soon as the Imperial Knight departed, the Western Duke whirled his head around and glared at Ariana. Ariana quickly adjusted her dress, hiding the knife stuck in her abdomen.
*I can't let this be discovered.*
Her escape plan had turned into a poison. If the Western Duke saw the knife in her stomach, he would use it as an excuse to delay the trial, find out who the new witness was, and eliminate them.
Ariana gritted her teeth and pushed the knife deeper, then used the voluminous folds of her sleeve to conceal the knife's handle.
The pain was so intense she felt she could faint at any moment, but she strained with all her might not to show it on her face, gazing at the Western Duke.
The Western Duke strode forward, grabbing Ariana's arm and pulling her up from where she had fallen to the ground. As her body moved, the knife shifted, sending a wave of pain so severe it wouldn't have been strange for her to faint.
The Western Duke, like a benevolent grandfather, brushed off Ariana's clothes and, embracing her with one arm, said.
"This worked out perfectly, didn't it?"
Anger seeped through the voice that came from between his clenched teeth.
Ariana endured the pain and replied casually.
"Not at all."
