My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 156

Ethan rose from his seat. “I stand here today to indict Duke Marlon Girard and the House of Girard for the grave crimes they have committed. As everyone here is well aware, Duke Girard dared to abduct and imprison my wife.”

At Ethan’s words, all eyes in the courtroom turned to me. I looked back at Ethan with a calm expression.

“And that’s not all. He even attempted brutal torture to extract confidential information related to the House of Dumont from my wife. Had she not cleverly escaped that place, unspeakable things might have occurred.”

This speech had been prepared in advance, even rehearsed a few times. Yet every time Ethan reached this part, his voice inevitably trembled with anger. This time was no different.

“When he realized his crimes were about to be exposed, Duke Girard chose to flee. That alone is practically a confession. If he truly thought he could refute the charges, he wouldn’t have abandoned his title and fortune to save his own skin.”

Ethan’s voice sounded cold and emotionless, but it was filled with icy hatred and contempt.

“Moreover, Duke Girard and his intelligence division have, for decades, carried out countless covert operations against the House of Dumont. The vast majority of these violated imperial law.”

He picked up the documents placed on the table in front of him—so thick they could barely be held with one hand.

“This report details those crimes extensively. There are 38 confirmed cases backed by testimony, and it’s likely there are many more. Due to time constraints, I ask for your understanding that I cannot present each detail here.”

Ethan walked over to the Emperor’s seat and submitted the report. Without a word, the Emperor opened the document and skimmed through its contents.

“The House of Girard, one of the two great ducal houses alongside Dumont, should have worked for the peace and prosperity of the Empire. Instead, their ambition and envy drove them to commit these crimes—this cannot be tolerated.”

Still standing in the center of the courtroom, Ethan continued his speech. His voice, initially calm, now rang with firm conviction.

“Therefore, before His Majesty the Emperor and all present here, I indict the House of Girard. Their ducal title must be stripped, and the wealth they amassed through deceit must be confiscated, in order to restore the justice they mocked and scorned.”

Finishing his words, Ethan returned to his seat.

The Emperor turned his gaze to the opposite side—where Thierry Girard sat.

“Do you have a rebuttal to the Duke of Dumont’s claims?”

Thierry rose from his seat. “Thank you for granting me the opportunity to speak, Your Majesty. First, I would like to express my deepest regret for what the Duchess of Dumont suffered. As someone with a family of my own, I fully understand the Duke of Dumont’s anger.”

“Regret, is it,” Ethan muttered. His voice was ice-cold. “Quite the irresponsible statement. Are you trying to say you had nothing to do with any of this?”

“…My statement was not yet finished, Duke of Dumont. Interrupting without the Emperor’s permission is a show of disrespect to His Majesty, who presides over this court.”

At Thierry’s words, everyone turned to the Emperor.

“It’s fine. Go ahead and answer. I have a feeling the two of you will have much to say to each other, and it would be tiresome to ask for permission every time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. As you wish.”

Thierry bowed his head to the Emperor, then turned to Ethan.

“Of course I can’t claim I had nothing to do with it. After all, the Duke Marlon Girard you’re accusing is my father. But it is equally true that I had no knowledge of these events.”

Thierry continued speaking calmly.

“The intelligence division of the House of Girard was a private organization directly under my father. Every operation conceived and carried out by them was reported by the division chief directly to my father and kept strictly confidential—even from me, his heir.”

“You knew nothing at all?” Ethan asked, pronouncing each word slowly and clearly.

“That’s right. The agents currently under arrest can testify to that. Oh, and I heard that the recent kidnapping of the Duchess of Dumont was carried out independently of the intelligence division. Apparently, my father hired an outside organization to handle it.”

Thierry spoke with an unwavering expression.

“As his son, I apologize on his behalf for my father’s recklessness. Of course, I intend to take responsibility to the extent possible. However, I believe that stripping our title and confiscating all our assets, as the Duke of Dumont demands, is excessive. I respectfully ask His Majesty for a fair and merciful judgment.”

At those words, Ethan narrowed his eyes. “Excessive? Are you saying that even knowing your father kidnapped and tortured my wife, and was planning to kill her to eliminate the evidence?”

“That’s merely the Duke of Dumont’s speculation. It didn’t actually happen, and since my father isn’t present, there’s no way to prove it.”

Thierry replied shamelessly, with a composed demeanor.

“In fact, if we’re being precise, the claim that my father fled to avoid responsibility is also just the Duke of Dumont’s assertion. There’s no proof, so no one can know the truth. For all we know, the Duke of Dumont could have secretly assassinated my father and is lying about it now. That way, he could avoid being charged with murder while one-sidedly condemning the House of Girard.”

Murmurs rippled through the courtroom at Thierry’s words.

Ethan glared at Thierry with a chilling gaze. “Blood doesn’t lie, after all. You really are a snake.”

Thierry’s lips curled slightly at Ethan’s remark.

“Silence.”

The Emperor spoke in a stern voice.

“Duke of Dumont. Do you have any proof that Duke Girard fled?”

“When we raided the mansion where Duke Girard was holding my wife, we captured several staff and guards. Every single one of them testified the same thing. Just before I arrived, Duke Girard fled with his guards.”

At Ethan’s words, Thierry interjected, “All that proves is that my father left the estate. Whether he truly intended to flee, or whether the Dumont knights secretly captured and made him disappear—we can’t know.”

More murmuring erupted in the courtroom.

“He’s bolder than I expected,” Jacques whispered next to me.

“It’s probably all calculated. I’m guessing his main goal is to provoke Ethan and throw him off balance.”

“…Will he be okay?” Mael asked with concern. He, too, knew how much Ethan loathed the House of Girard.

“Don’t worry. He’ll be fine,” I said with conviction.

This was the moment Ethan had longed for over the past decade. There was no way he would be swayed by such obvious provocations and ruin everything.

Ethan had always been extremely calm and intelligent. He only ever lost control when someone he cared about was in danger.

Perhaps thinking he’d taken the advantage, Thierry stepped forward and raised his voice. “That’s not all. Even if it was to rescue your wife, your actions that night went too far. You led an armed force to raid Duke Girard’s estate in the dead of night and mercilessly cut down the guards who stood in your way. That’s a blatant violation of imperial law. How can someone guilty of such conduct dare accuse others of wrongdoing? I’m sure I’m not the only one here who’s thought the same. Am I wrong?”

Nobles in the courtroom began murmuring again, glancing at one another. Some even nodded, as if agreeing with him.

Ethan opened his mouth, his face expressionless. “There was no other way. All evidence pointed to Duke Girard having kidnapped my wife. Yet when I confronted him that day, he feigned ignorance and denied everything. As I said earlier, he planned to torture her for information and kill her to silence her.”

“And again, that’s nothing but the Duke of Dumont’s personal conjecture, without any proof,” Thierry said.

“I do have proof,” Ethan said in a low voice.

He continued, “Your Majesty. With your permission, I would like to call the first witness.”