Duchess Mecklen’s Elegant Revolt - Chapter 35 Part 5

Caroline, who had been fretting over the cost of settling in Bahama, let out a groan.

“As I thought, it’s best not to go to Bahama.”

Russell had recommended going to Bahama, but in truth, there was something about it she didn’t quite like.

Those Bahama people just couldn’t be trusted.

She couldn’t fully trust the nobles of her own country, Baden, let alone those of a foreign land.

What if they changed their minds and decided to sell her out?

‘I should limit the number of attendants, even if it’s a little inconvenient.’

Maybe it would be better to find a proper hideout and disappear instead.

Her wavering thoughts gradually settled into one conclusion.

Having made up her mind, Caroline was about to shout at Russell to turn the carriage around.

But suddenly, the carriage came to a stop.

“W-what?”

Had they already arrived?

As soon as Caroline turned her head in confusion, the carriage door burst open.

Startled by the pouring light, Caroline closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again.

“We’ve arrived.”

“……?”

The scenery beyond the wide-open door felt strangely familiar.

Caroline hesitated, unable to step outside the carriage right away.

However, Russell showed no sign of closing the door again.

It didn’t seem right to just sit there alone, so Caroline cautiously poked her head out.

“Welcome.”

“……!”

Just as her feet touched the ground, a familiar voice rang out.

Caroline snapped her head up and widened her eyes upon seeing the woman before her.

“…Why are you here?”

It was Eleanor.

Still dumbfounded, Caroline finally took in her surroundings properly.

No wonder it had felt familiar.

“You must’ve had a hard journey coming all this way.”

“W-what are you talking about?”

The place where she stood was the imperial palace.

And with the knights surrounding the carriage staring at her, Caroline turned in shock to get back inside.

But of course, they wouldn’t let her go so easily.

Two burly knights grabbed her arms and forcibly dragged her out.

Dragged right up to Eleanor, Caroline screamed out like a shriek.

“Ernst! Ernst!”

“The Duke of Mecklen is no longer your protector.”

She could no longer abuse her status as the Duke’s mother to order the knights around.

As Caroline shouted, Eleanor offered her a gentle smile.

“Ernst has already abandoned you.”

“Y-you…!”

She had known, but hearing it directly from Eleanor’s mouth made Caroline’s face flush red.

She struggled to resist, but the more she fought, the tighter the knights restrained her until there was no escape.

Forced to her knees, Caroline let out a sharp cry. “You think you’ll get away with doing this to me?”

“That clever mind of yours that worked so well when tormenting others… It seems you’ve grown too foolish to grasp the situation now that you’re the one on the receiving end.”

“W-what?”

“What makes you think you can raise your voice like that? This is the time when you should be begging me for your life.”

Her tone was calm and instructive, but her words were cold.

Unable to respond, Caroline closed her mouth.

Just as she said—Ernst had abandoned her, and she had no one left to rely on.

Here in the palace, she held no power.

‘Am I really supposed to beg that woman?’

“This can’t be happening…”

This kind of ending was something she had never once imagined.

Realizing her position in an instant, Caroline clutched her skirt with a pale face.

As she stood in a daze, Eleanor stepped closer and looked down at her from an angle.

“I’ve prepared a place for you in the palace.”

A place?

“The prison.”

“……!”

Without continuing the conversation, Eleanor gestured to the knights.

She meant for them to take the prisoner away.

Though Caroline screamed as she was dragged to the prison, there was no one to help her.

***

It had all happened in just one day.

The arrest of Marquis Delph that followed the purge.

The rumor, as if it had wings, quickly spread throughout the nobility.

That Director Eleanor was not dead, and that everything had been planned from the start.

As a result, the atmosphere in the palace shifted completely.

Nobles who had witnessed the grand purge disguised as a funeral trembled and bowed their heads whenever the Emperor and Eleanor passed.

The once arrogant Marquis Neto even cast aside his pride and poured out flattery.

With the opposition, including Marquis Delph, having collapsed, the balance of power naturally tilted in favor of the Emperor.

In this new wave of change, the nobles clearly understood whom they had to please.

“We received an outrageous amount of gifts again today.”

Looking at the boxes stacked in one corner of the office, Brianna clicked her tongue.

How would they ever check all of that?

At first, they had sent them back, but gifts arrived faster than they could return them.

And since the nobles who had their gifts returned misunderstood and sent even more, the amount had grown exponentially and became unmanageable.

Half giving up, Eleanor shook her head. “I should ask Henrik to sort it out for me.”

“Oh, then when is he coming?”

Remembering her last meeting with Henrik, Norah’s eyes sparkled.

“Please tell me in advance when he does. Talking with him is so much fun. I’d like to serve him some tea.”

“Isn’t that just him being forced to listen to your chatter?” Brianna grumbled from the side.

It was obvious Henrik was just enduring Norah’s endless chatter.

Caught right on the mark, Norah let out a sheepish laugh. “Lately, it’s been hard to see Lady Eleanor or Miss Brianna. Do you realize this is the first time we’ve all gathered like this in nine days since that incident?”

“Has it really been that long?”

“Of course. You might not have noticed because you were crying so much at the funeral, but I…”

“P-please stop!”

At the sudden mention of crying, Brianna’s face turned red.

Even now, it was an embarrassing memory. At the time—

Fanning herself and half-covering her face, Brianna muttered softly, “I really didn’t know. Even if secrecy was important, how could you all fool me so completely?”

Norah, who had returned late to the Western Palace, happened to meet with the Empress Dowager while she was devising the plan and was informed in advance.

But Brianna’s case was different.

Upon hearing the news of Eleanor’s marriage, she had been brimming with excitement to celebrate. Then, Eleanor suddenly vanished, and soon after came word of her death from heart failure. It had been like a bolt from the blue.

Still unable to forget the shock, Brianna teared up again.

“I really thought Lady Eleanor had died, and I…”

“I’m sorry, Miss Brianna.”

Eleanor quickly comforted her.

It was clearly her own mistake not to inform her ahead of time.

Seeing Brianna burst into tears after realizing she was alive at the funeral had deeply pained her.

Following Eleanor’s apology, Norah also apologized for taking the prank too far.

Finally calmed down, Brianna sniffled and drank her tea.

“So, will Marquis Delph be sentenced to death tomorrow?”

Norah, who had just pulled out a sweet biscuit, suddenly recalled and asked.

The trial was scheduled for tomorrow.

However, regardless of the proceedings, most people expected Marquis Delph to die anyway.

On the day of Eleanor’s funeral, all the nobles aligned with the Delph family had been wiped out in one blow, which had added weight to such predictions.

As she picked up a biscuit, Eleanor gave a small nod. “Yes. That decision will not be overturned.”

Norah shook her head slightly. “So he’s going to pay for his crimes. He talked so much—serves him right. It even made it into the papers, and the commoners were in an uproar. If we hadn’t caught him this time, they might’ve started protesting.”

“Would they really have gone that far?”

Brianna continued as she munched on a biscuit, “Until now, there’s never been a time when commoners led a noble to trial.”

The law was meant to be equal for all citizens, but reality was different.

Judges and jurors, who had great influence over verdicts, were mostly nobles.

On rare occasions, a commoner who had been lucky enough to graduate from the academy might serve as a juror, but it was uncommon.

After taking a sip of tea, Norah continued, “That’s why this outcome is better. He tried to poison Lady Eleanor of his own accord. If he’d just stayed quiet, things might’ve passed over vaguely—but he dug his own grave.”

“Still, even if he hadn’t tried to poison me, the purge would’ve happened anyway.”

“Huh?”

As Brianna and Norah conversed, Eleanor quietly interjected with a smile.

“This time, even I couldn’t stop His Majesty.”

“……?”

“In fact, I supported him.”

Brianna and Norah both stopped drinking their tea and stared at her, not fully grasping her words.

Without elaborating, Eleanor took a bite of a biscuit.

“It was just a matter of whether it came sooner or later.”

***

“Order in the court.”

The judge shouted several times toward the noisy crowd.

Even three hours before the trial began, there had been signs things would not be calm, and now the courtroom—supposed to be solemn—was a mess of noise.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the largest turnout in history.

Never before had so many spectators gathered for a public trial.

Late-arriving nobles didn’t even mind the trouble of standing.

Watching the unending influx of people, one of the court clerks clicked his tongue. “No seats left. Not a single one.”

Among the massive crowd were Duke Nestor and the other dukes.

“Are you really okay watching this?”

“……”

Seated at the highest position, Duke Nestor asked the Duke of Mecklen, Ernst, who sat beside him.

Ernst gave no reply and only stared straight ahead.

Pedro, who had come along with his father, chuckled and patted Ernst on the shoulder. “If it gets too much, just say so. You can lean on me.”

“Don’t say useless things.”

His reply was cold, but Ernst’s expression wasn’t any better.

This trial would determine how the Mecklen family would be judged and treated by the nobles.

He had braced himself, but facing it in reality was not easy.

Just as his lips twisted in discomfort—

“His Majesty the Emperor is entering!”

The herald announced the Emperor’s arrival.

All the nobles, including Ernst, rose and bowed toward the Emperor.

“That woman beside His Majesty—is she the one from the rumors…?”

“Yes. The star of this purge.”

Whispers could be heard here and there.

A blonde woman had, at some point, come to stand at the Emperor’s side as if it were only natural.

When someone mentioned the love triangle scandal from a few weeks ago, Ernst’s brow furrowed slightly before returning to normal.

“The attention is explosive.”

As she took her prepared seat, escorted by the Emperor, Eleanor whispered.

At that, Lennox let out a dry laugh.

“Well, that’s only natural—no one can guarantee they won’t be next.”