Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Morgiana’s testimony quickly turned the courtroom into an uproar.

At the same time, Min-ha looked at Morgiana and High Priest Resitia in disbelief. It wasn’t enough that they had already accused her of trying to harm Grand Duchess Blaine and her two sons, they were now going to accuse her of trying to kill the Emperor.

She cried out desperately as she violently twisted her bound body.

“Your Majesty, I assure you once more that I’ve never cast such a curse, and I don’t even know how to write them, so how could I write an otherworldly letter and curse a person with it? That nun is now thoroughly framing me!”

“…Sister Morgiana, what you are about to say, given her status as a Duchess, could easily be construed as disrespectful to the royal family. Indeed, can you swear to God that there isn’t a single falsehood in your words?”

“Of course. How safe would I be to lie about such a thing?”

“Then, show me the evidence to prove your testimony. Can you do it?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Despite the Emperor’s stern warnings, Morgiana didn’t change her testimony. Rather, with a relaxed and seducing smile, she brushed a strand of her dark green hair and spoke to the High Priest Resitia.

“In order to do that, I’ll need the help of High Priest Resitia first. High Priest, would you please give me that bracelet?”

“Of course. Sir Arland, give this bracelet to Sister Morgiana.”

“Yes, High Priest.”

At her words, the High Priest soon handed the glass box containing the bracelet to the knight, who took it and handed it to Morgiana as she then bowed slightly toward the knight.

“Thank you.”

The next moment, she brazenly opened the glass tube and picked up the emerald bracelet before striding straight down the witness stand to where Min-ha was sitting, who was horrified by the expression on Morgiana’s face as she approached her.

…The way she stared at her now was like a viper staring down its prey.

Arriving in front of Min-ha, who was frozen in place by her expression, Morgiana held out the emerald bracelet she had placed in her palm and uttered.

“Look, Duchess Persen. Then, look at the sentence engraved on the inside of the bracelet.”

“….!”

“What do you think? It’s probably a ‘sentence’ that you can read?”

“…H-how—”

…How, how could this be?

As Morgiana said, the moment she saw the sentence engraved inside the emerald bracelet, Min-ha covered her mouth with the palm of her hand without even realizing it.

True to her word, she could read the words on the bracelet clearly. It was because the bracelet read, ‘I curse Grand Duchess of Blaine, Charles, Minuel, and the Emperor,’ in Korean.

‘Wh-what… how, how is Hangul here…?’

Her chest pounded loudly, and she broke out in a cold sweat as if her whole body had become her heart. As she gazed at it with trembling eyes and averted her gaze, Morgiana laughed as if she found it amusing to look down at Min-ha as if she knew everything.

“Why, can’t you read it?”

“…I-I’ve never seen this language before.”

“I see. Though I knew the Duchess would say that, so I’ve already prepared another piece of evidence.”

“….!”

“Sir Arland, bring that mirror over here!”

As though anticipating Min-ha’s answer, Morgiana smiled and turned away from her before ordering the knight who had led her to the witness stand to bring her a ‘mirror.’

Like he was waiting, the knight went out the door and, after a while, came into the courtroom with a mirror that seemed to be about thirty centimeters long. Min-ha frowned slightly at the mirror, which looked ordinary except for the fact that the corners were decorated with silver and jewels.

‘…What the hell is she trying to prove with this?’

Just when she thought she couldn’t figure out why, the Pope, who had been silent all along except when the trial started, pointed to the mirror and spoke.

“Sister Morgiana, what is that mirror?”

“This is called the mirror of the soul, Pope.”

“…A mirror that reflects the soul? What does that mean?”

“Hehe, it would be faster to show you once than to say a hundred times.”

It was a question that seemed to have the same thoughts as Min-ha.

At his question, Morgiana smiled slightly and suddenly held the mirror out in front of him before the Pope shouted back at her in a displeased voice.

“What are you doing?!”

“Look, Pope. Who is reflected in the mirror now?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Of course, my appearance is reflected, isn’t it?!”

“Yes, Pope. This mirror is nothing more than an ordinary mirror when it reflects an ordinary person. However, the story is different when the ‘wicked’ is revealed.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Now, look. This is the truth of the witch who deceived everyone by pretending to be the Duchess of Persen!”

With that, Morgiana stepped in front of Min-ha and held the mirror up to her.

It was then…

In an instant, a soft green light appeared in the mirror that reflected her, and Min-ha’s face in the mirror slowly began to distort.

The brilliant blonde hair that came down to the waist gradually darkened as the green eyes that shone like jewels gradually turned black, and the beautiful face, which gave a sharp impression when not smiling, slowly began to change into a round shape.

The moment the appearance changed and showed a ‘different face,’ Min-ha was so surprised that she spat out a scream to herself.

“This…”

‘It’s ‘me’.’

Black hair, dark eyes, round face, and big eyes. A moderately flat nose that gives an impression of goodness and slightly raised lips… If her eyes weren’t mistaken, what was reflected in the mirror now was the face of ‘Kim Min-ha’ from her previous life.

‘What is this…’

At that moment, she could feel her heart drop to the floor. It was the moment when a secret that had never been told to anyone except Seth was now revealed to the whole world. At the same time, High Priest Resitia, leaping down from the dais to the left, seeing Min-ha’s face in the mirror, turned and shouted as if appealing to the Emperor.

“Look, Your Majesty! According to Sister Morgiana, this mirror reflects the ‘soul’ contained within the body! So, if the soul in this body was really ‘Duchess Persen,’ then the face reflected in the mirror must also be ‘Duchess Persen’!”

“….”

“Though what we see in this mirror is the face of someone else entirely! In other words, the Duchess’s body is currently occupied by another world witch, and it’s this witch who has taken over the Duchess’s body and done an unimaginably heinous act!”

“N-no…! I didn’t do that! Why the hell would I do that? I don’t have any desire to harass the Grand Duchess, and I have nothing to gain by doing so!”

“That wasn’t all! This witch even made dolls with curses for the children as an excuse for presents at a banquet in Loengram Castle the other day!”

“It can’t be! Why would I do that to the children? I just gave them as an innocent gift!”

“Since ancient times, witches have used the souls of innocent children to commit evil, so it must have been for that purpose!”

“Then, did you find any signs of unclean magic being used on those dolls?”

“Of course! Your Majesty has looked in the mirror, too! This woman is a witch, a real sinner who needs no further trial!”

“….”

“Your Majesty, please punish that witch who dared to curse Grand Duchess of Blaine and her sons, and all those who helped her! Have pity on the Grand Duchess and her two sons, who are at the edge of death even now, and punish those sinners! As the High Priest and the father of the Grand Duchess, I beseech you!”

Even though she shouted harshly at High Priest Resitia’s argument, he dismissed her words at once. And as if that wasn’t enough, this time, he even made an unreasonable claim by bringing up the time she’d made her a doll at Loengram Castle.

Gazing at the Emperor, Min-ha sobbed and shook her head.

“…High Priest Resitia, have the witch and her vassals imprisoned in the dungeons immediately. I’ll pass judgment on the sinners tomorrow morning. Keep watch until then.”

“Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty. What are you doing, not dragging the sinners to the dungeons at once?!”

“Yes, High Priest!”

…Who did such a thing?

Even if it were so unfair, words wouldn’t even come out.

That was exactly how Min-ha was feeling right now. No matter how much she screamed her frustration, her words just bounced off the walls.

The courtroom became noisy with accusations against Min-ha daring to cast a curse spell on Grand Duchess Blaine and the children, while High Priest Resitia, who had accused her of being a witch until now, glared at her in disgust.

‘Seth…’

‘…If you were by my side right now, would I feel a little less sad and less hopeless?’

All she could think about was his face as she was dragged by the knights down a lightless hallway.

Meanwhile, Seth, under the watchful eye of the knights guarding the courtroom, waited anxiously for the Emperor to let him back into the courtroom where Min-ha’s trial was taking place.

‘D*mn it…’

It was his fault that he lost his temper and got carried away, and was removed from the courtroom. He should’ve stayed inside and protected her, but the atmosphere of the courtroom was so one-sided that he lost my cool.

Unable to contain his anger at the current situation, he slammed the wall in front of the courtroom.

“…As expected, I should’ve stopped her from appearing at the trial.”

At that time, he should have prevented her from doing that with the determination of committing treason when she let go of him and was taken by the imperial knights… No, even if he had to stand with her as a criminal, he should’ve brought his sword and knights to court.

…How hard it must be for her to be alone in there, with no one on her side.

Seth slammed his hand against the wall and beat himself up countless times.

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