My Husband Caught Me Having an Affair - Chapter 159

After Ethan returned to his seat, Thierry stepped up to the witness stand.

“According to the conversation the witness claimed to have had with Duke Girard earlier, it seems he never explicitly said the words ‘I will torture you’, correct?”

At that, I let out a faint, bitter smile.

“Answer the question, witness.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

At my reply, Thierry shrugged and turned away. “Then this testimony also proves that we cannot definitively determine Duke Girard’s true intent. That concludes my questi—”

“Are you serious?” I cut Thierry off and asked.

He turned back to face me.

“Duke Girard kidnapped and imprisoned me, and made threats clearly implying torture. He even summoned a torture expert and ordered him to interrogate me. And yet, just because he didn’t literally say the word ‘torture,’ you claim he had no intention to do so?”

Thierry’s brow furrowed. “The witness is here to provide testimony. No one asked for your personal opinions—”

“I’m speaking because the Young Duke of Girard continues to blatantly deny an obvious truth.”

Thierry turned to Emperor Henry VII. “Your Majesty. The witness is deviating from her role and causing disruption in the courtroom. I request that she be removed immediately.”

Ethan stood and said, “The witness is the direct victim and central figure in this case. I believe her perspective is relevant to understanding Duke Marlon Girard’s intent, which the Young Duke raised earlier.”

Henry VII silently looked between Ethan, Thierry, and me in turn, then opened his mouth. “Let her continue.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

I bowed to the Emperor along with Ethan.

“Please respond, Young Duke.”

“……”

Thierry stared at me in silence.

“Even if Duke Girard hinted at torture, that doesn’t necessarily prove he truly intended to carry it out. You said yourself he expressed reluctance to use harsh means on a woman. Doesn’t it make more sense to believe he only intended to frighten you?”

“If that were true, he should’ve given Toma Reggiani clearer instructions. Something like ‘Make it seem like you’re going to torture her, but don’t actually lay a hand on her.’”

“Still, it’s a fact that he never directly ordered torture, isn’t it?”

“Let’s say I tried to slap you across the face, but someone stopped me. Since I never said aloud, ‘I’m going to slap you,’ and you didn’t actually get hit, if I then claimed I had no intention of doing so, what would you say?”

“……”

Thierry paused.

“Go on. Would you accept my explanation and declare me innocent in that case?”

“…The example the witness just gave is purely hypothetical and has nothing to do with the case at hand.”

“I gave that example to show how absurd your argument sounds.”

I looked straight at Thierry.

“To make such childish, hair-splitting arguments in a court presided over by His Majesty is an affront to the Emperor himself. Because it assumes His Majesty would fall for such an obvious ploy.”

The courtroom murmured again. Thierry ground his teeth.

“Watch your words, witness. You stand before the Emperor.”

I turned to Henry VII and bowed. “If I overstepped, I apologize, Your Majesty. But I only meant to point out that the Young Duke seems unaware he’s showing you such disrespect.”

“……”

Henry VII remained silent, his face faintly stiff.

This was the very counterplay I had prepared against Thierry’s tactics.

The reason Thierry had been putting on such an obvious performance was because he knew the Emperor inwardly wished for a reason to pardon Girard.

So I had made sure, in front of everyone, to expose how absurd Thierry’s claims were and declared that ‘there’s no way the Emperor would be fooled by such nonsense.’

Now that I’d stated that so publicly, the Emperor could no longer use Thierry’s arguments as justification for leniency—doing so would be as good as admitting he was a foolish ruler.

It was a bold move, given that it poked at the Emperor’s pride, but it didn’t matter much. In this trial, Dumont had the overwhelming upper hand and the moral high ground.

Ethan still wore a neutral expression, but his eyes were different.

His gaze was fixed on me, radiating a subtle warmth.

‘As expected of you. Brilliant.’

Ethan’s eyes clearly said as much.

“Young Duke Girard. Do you have any further questions for the witness?”

To the Emperor’s inquiry, Thierry replied in a low voice, “…No, Your Majesty.”

Though Thierry was doing his best to keep his composure, it was clear he couldn’t completely hide his agitation.

“Duke of Dumont. Any more witnesses to call?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Ethan then called two more witnesses to the stand.

One was Liam Bernard, who had once been Camille’s alleged affair partner, and the other was Mathieu Anglade, a Girard intelligence agent who had ordered Vincent to kill Ethan under the guise of a sparring match.

Both had been hidden abroad to avoid Girard’s pursuit, but had just returned to the capital for today’s trial.

Liam testified that he was commissioned by Girard to approach the Duchess of Dumont and obtain the Dumont ledger. When the mission failed, Girard tried to kill him to silence him, and Dumont saved his life.

Mathieu testified in detail about the operations Marlon had ordered during his time in the intelligence division.

Thierry claimed their testimonies were lies, citing lack of evidence, but no one in the courtroom seemed convinced.

Not only had Thierry already lost credibility during his exchange with me, but Ethan had also come thoroughly prepared.

He cross-referenced the information he had extracted from Mathieu in a prior interrogation with separate evidence he had gathered, presenting credible proof to support every operation mentioned.

Meanwhile, the only rebuttal Thierry could offer was, ‘There’s no definitive proof.’

The atmosphere in the courtroom had already shifted completely in Ethan’s favor.

Then Thierry, who had been sitting with a hardened expression, suddenly raised his hand. “…Your Majesty. May I speak?”

“Speak.”

Thierry stood.

“Regardless of whether the claims made today by Duke Dumont about House Girard are true or not, there is one thing that must be made clear. As I said at the beginning of this trial, I had no involvement in any of these incidents.”

Thierry looked at the Emperor with earnest eyes as he continued, “My father, Duke Marlon Girard, kept all matters related to the intelligence division strictly confidential and told me nothing. Including the central matter of this trial, the kidnapping of the Duchess of Dumont—I am hearing all of this for the first time today.”

“……”

The Emperor silently listened.

“Therefore, I earnestly plead with Your Majesty. The crimes my father committed must of course be fully uncovered and punished. But as the current head of House Girard, if I am stripped of my title and lands for crimes I didn’t commit, would that not be too severe a punishment?”

Thierry placed a hand over his chest and continued, “I do not mean to completely deny my father’s sins as his son. Since he cowardly chose to flee, I fully intend to take responsibility for as much as I can. I only ask, in light of mitigating circumstances, that Your Majesty consider a more lenient sentence.”

Finishing his speech, he bowed deeply, wearing an air of reverent submission, as if leaving the rest to the Emperor’s judgment.

‘He changed tactics the moment things turned against him.’

It was a quick and nimble move. Admittedly, sticking to his original stance would have done nothing to shift the tide.

He acknowledged what had to be acknowledged but claimed that everything had been orchestrated solely by his father Marlon, and that he himself had known nothing. Under the circumstances, this was the best he could do—and likely something he had prepared for even before the trial began.

“…Hmm.”

The Emperor slowly stroked his beard. After watching the bowed Thierry for a moment, he finally spoke.

“Indeed, your argument is not without merit.”

“I am deeply grateful, Your Majesty.”

Thierry bowed again. He looked overwhelmed with emotion—but inwardly, he was surely smiling.

‘But it’s too soon to feel safe.’

Almost as if he had read my mind, Ethan rose from his seat and said, “Your Majesty, the Young Duke of Girard is lying.”