Chapter 25

Zero days until the trial.

Despite all the buildup and anticipation, the trial of one Livia Katherine Valentine ends almost as soon as it begins.

Back in commoners court, in the pillar room of the red hall, the crowd of onlookers was bursting at the scene. The set up was similar to three days prior, only a bigger crowd. As before, King Grail sits on his throne with the two Prince barracking him. The real difference was the barricades between the main walk way in the crowd had been placed to separate the two, and it took a while to get things under order once Livia made a grand entrance with her mother by her side, and her pregnant belly on full display.

The Duchess hadn’t been pleased with her daughter's choice. She had hoped to hide Livia’s pregnancy with a heavy, and wide gown, but Livia had refused and marched on ahead in a dress that draped over her stomach, showing it off despite her mother's furious glare.

And an entrance they had made.

Lynette, despite all her protests, easily stepped back into the role of a protective mother, keeping close to her daughters' side and glaring at anyone who so much as muttered their way. Daughter and mother kept their head up high as they walked in the center of the room with all eyes on them.

Eventually, the Duchess had to part ways with Livia and stand aside with the other nobles while the pregnant teen took her place at the front of the court.

She glanced around the room as the councilor Gibit announced the court was in session. She saw a lot of unfamiliar faces in the crowd of commoners, but a lot of familiar ones in the crowd of nobles. It seemed even the most distant of them had come out to see the spectacle come to a close. To gape and gawk at her.

Resisting the urge to sigh nosily, Livia pays attention to the proceedings.

It goes as she expected.

Many that had attended her debutante are called forth, and this takes up most of the time. After hearing statement, after statement she is amused and bitter on the number of people who suddenly speak up as witnesses in her favor. Knowing full well those same people had stood by as she had been accused, had even thrown more coal at the blazing fire.

How easy the tide could turn.

But Livia knew this would happen already.

So, she sits, and dazes off a bit, ignoring Amelia’s eyes staring at her, wide and round, and so very confused that girl was. Looking to her stomach and her face, then back up again. Livia completely ignores that imprudent little servant beside Amelia casting her anxious looks.

She tunes them all out.

Until she hears, “Miss Amelia, if you could give your statement next.”

And wasn’t that what everyone had been anticipating. The crowd, who had gone quiet and bored all but burst to live. Familiar mutters feel the air as Amelia walks to the front, her small hands twisting in her plain pink dress.

And what a sight that was. Pink hair with a pink dress.

Livia would liken her to a pig, but even pigs were cute compared to the cardboard that was Amelia.

“Miss Amelia, were you invited to Miss Livia Katrina Valentine debutante on twelfth month of last year, on the twentieth day?” The counselor asks, reading carefully from a script with large glasses.

Amelia shuffles a bit, her gaze on her feet, “Yes, I had been.”

“Is it true you had been poisoned that day?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“How?”

“A-A drink, milord. I took only a sip before the world had drawn black.”

“Had this poison ever been identified?”

“No, milord. I-uh. Well, I wouldn’t know.”

“Before this event, you claim that Miss Livia had tormented you when you two attended Aster Academy together?” The counselor asks, shuffling through papers and squinting at them before looking at her.

Amelia flinches a bit, going a bit pale before she nods, her mouth trembling.

“Miss Amelia, you must speak out loud. We cannot read your mind,” Councilor Gibit berates.

Amelia flinches again before taking a deep breath. When she looks up again, her blue eyes are full of determination.

“Y-yes, sorry. Um, yes, Miss Livia had bullied me when we at Aster Academy, almost the moment we met.”

“What sort of things had she done, Miss Amelia?”

“Oh, um...S-she would ruin my books, ripe up my homework, and spread mean and untrue rumor about me through the school. Uh, s-s-she would a-also yell at and mock me.”

“Has this torment ever became physical between the two of you?” The councilor has to raise his voice amongst the muttering crowd, and Livia can feel many heated glares directed at her back. Her face remains cool and impassive.

“Yes, milord. More than once, Miss Livia would slap me or trip me, causing me to fall down the stairs. U-um, there was this one instance where she did it in front of a lot of people,” Amelia says, curling up slightly as she fiddles with her hands.

“And this lasted for months, you said?”

“Yes. All the way up until the debutante.”

“I see,” The councilor Gibit shuffles around papers, nearly drops some, before he adjusts his glasses and all but shoves the paper under his nose to read the next part.

“And so, because of Miss Livia torment of you, when you were poisoned at her debutant, you had concluded that she was the one behind it?”

Amelia nodded readily, suddenly standing tall, “Yes, your highness. No one has hated me as much as she has, no one but she would have a motive to see me gone.”

Livia smiles then.

Oh.

Poor little Amelia. She had spoken too much.

The councilor Gibit stops reading, peaking over his papers with a frown, “Hmm? Motive? That isn’t in your statement. Miss Amelia, what motive would Miss Livia have in attacking you? Right here it states that you had no clue...”

Miss Amelia tenses, her eyes going round, “Oh! Uh..um,” She looks around the courtroom frantically, her head turning so she could make out her father and the old maid in the crowd.

“Miss Amelia, please face the front. We are in the middle of a proceeding,” Councilor Gibit says in a huff.

Amelia faces forward with her shoulders around her ears, “R-right, sorry.”

“Answer the question, so we can move further,” Councilor Gibit says, sounding impatient.

“Uh, I-I...I...”

“We are on a schedule, Miss Amelia.”

“I thought Miss Livia was jealous of me!” Amelia blurts out, her eyes squeezing shut.

Oh, how the masses enjoyed that statement. The onlookers instantly turned to one another and started whispering, eyes gleaming as if they were watching a particularly interesting play.

A sharp clang of the King's staff ended the swell of voices instantly.

It was a common dance at this point.

Livia shifts in her seat, trying to bring life to her numb butt as she resists to yawn. She had slept nearly the whole day away yesterday, and somehow, she was still tired. After finally slowing down after all these months, it felt like all her aches slammed into her at once and she was swamped with fatigue.

“Why would you think that?” Councilor Gibit asks, rather rudely.

“Um, well...”

Livia rolls her neck and blinks slowly. Suddenly, she really wanted to eat something sweet and spicey. She pats idly at her stomach, grimacing only a little as her son becomes active beneath her hand. Honestly, her child loved to get himself wedged in the most uncomfortable positions in her belly, and stayed there. She could tell he would be a little trouble maker already, and stubborn. No matter how she poked at him through her belly, he never moved from his spot, leaving her to endure it with a way to sappy smile.

“I, Orin, and Rodale got quite close during school. We became frien-”

“How dare you! That is Prince Orin and Crown Prince Rodale! They are above your station, and you must address them as such,” Councilor Gibit says angrily.

Amelia flinches, her face a bit confused, “Oh, um, so, Prince Rodale and Prince Orin were nice and kind to me, and we became friends. They helped me out a lot when I was new, um, I think Miss Livia didn’t like that?”

“Think? Weren’t you so sure before? We can’t have wishy-washy statements, Miss Amelia. Either you know or you don’t which is it?” The councilor huffed.

“Um...um, I’m sure she didn’t,” Amelia says.

Councilor Gibit squints at her, “Alright, and so Miss Livia was jealous that an unknown girl was becoming close to her fiancé, is that it?”

Amelia blushes, “We were just friends!”

Councilor Gibit doesn’t glance at her as he adds the new bit of information to her statement.

“Alright, and so, in conclusion, you thought Miss Livia had a good motive to poison you and thought she was the one based on that, correct?” The old man says.

Ameilia nods and deflates a bit, somehow feeling like she didn’t do as much as she hoped to.

“But in the end, you did not actually see Miss Livia poison the drink?”

“N-no.”

“She was also nowhere around you when you took it, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And it also had been confirmed that while she was not in your sight, she had been seen speaking to one Liliana Elizabeth Valentine on the balcony that night by multiple people.”

“I... her sister had been with her when I woke up,” Amelia says, unable to deny it.

“Hmm, well I think that concludes your testimony. Please exit on the left and return to your spot,” Councilor Gibit says, dismissing her.

Amelia quietly slunk to her family, on her way, she briefly makes contact with Livia's eyes. Despite not seeing the impassive mask change, she still flinches and quickens her pace.

“I call forth one Miss Mimi Con.”

The maid in question looks like she will faint from a stray breeze and slowly makes her way to the front with trembling legs. She doesn’t dare look in Livia’s direction, afraid that she will be cursed just by sight alone.

“Now Miss Mimi, it is said that you are the main witness that placed Miss Livia as the main suspect,” Councilor Gibit says, staring at her over his script.

Mimi mouth opens and flaps it close and open for a few seconds before words come to her.

“Yes!” She squeals.

“Right, so, please tell us why you thought Miss Livia had poisoned Miss Amelia.”

“I-I-I-I...I-I saw her! I-I did! She w-was by the cups, the expensive ones! She did something with her hand to it! She stood there for a while!”

“...Is that it?” Councilor Gibit asks as the noise level in the room began to slowly rise. Even he looked a bit annoyed and dumbfounded.

Mimi leans forward with wild eyes, her voice getting louder as she waves her hands around, “It was her! I swear it was! She stood by the cups for a long time! Her hands were doing something to it! I saw it! It was the same cup that Miss Amelia took!”

“This is what condemned that poor girl?” Onlooker number one says.

“This was the final nail in the coffin?” Onlooker number two says.

“What poison was used? Was it just in Miss Amelia cup? Did anyone hand it to her? Why aren’t these questions being asked?” Onlooker number three said, turning to his friend who just shrugs.

“Man, this is rather shite,” Onlooker number four says, “I thought it would be a show!”

And on it went as the commoners discussed it amongst themselves, though it wasn’t just them. Livia could see the nobles also talking, heads shaking, eyebrows ticking up.

“So, just to clarify, you didn’t see Miss Livia actually put poison in the glass?” Councilor Gibit says, reading the line carefully before staring at Mimi.

“No...b-but I saw-” Mimi tries to say, pulling at her hair.

“And not once had you seen Miss Livia tinker with the punch or any other glass outside of the one time?”

“No, but I’m s-sure she did. She stood there-”

“That is all, you are dismissed,” Councilor Gibit cuts in, moving her statement to the back of the stack.

“Wait! No! I saw her! I did! Listen to me, she poisoned Amelia! She was the one!” Mimi shouts, turning to point at Livia.

“Please return to your seat,” Councilor Gibit says, sounding very annoyed.

“No!” Mimi shouts again, frantically shaking her head, “She did it! She did it! She did it!” She screams, jabbing her finger at Livia aggressively, “I’m right! I know she did it! Arrest her! Make her go back! She is evil! She is bad!” Mimi continues to rave even as guards descend on her. She runs from them, rambling all the way.

“Amelia is an angel! Livia is a devil! She needs to go AWAY! PUT HERE AWAY!”

Livia wasn’t sure rather to laugh in amusement or frown in irritation. Still, what a sight Mimi made. In the crowd, by her family, Amelia pales. She moves to go to her maids' side but is instantly stopped by her father.

A minute passes, and Mimi is still on the loose, running around like some crazy chicken as she evades capture as she tries to get someone, anyone, to believe her.

It was a right spectacle, and the crowd was very entertained.

All the while Mimi hurled accusation after accusation at Livia, her voice going hoarse from all her mad screeching.

“Devil! You are the devil! Go away, go away, GOAWAY! She poisoned Amelia! She did it! I saw! I SAW! No! Don’t touch me! Get away! Leave me alone! You need to get her! Capture the devil! I’m not evil! She was the one who did it! She almost killed an angel!!”

King Grail massages his temples, and snaps with a booming voice to the chasing guards, “How long does it take to capture one person! Hurry up!”

Meanwhile, the crowd was having a field day, openly laughing and pointing at Mimi.

Livia should be amused. She should be taking some sort of joy from this, but all it does it put a bad taste in her mouth. It did not take a genius to realize there was something mentally wrong with Mimi, and that she was in the middle of some sort of fit. As much as she would personally like to see the dumb girl suffer, this was not how she wanted it to go.

“Hmm, they are taking their sweet time, aren’t they? And what a grumpy face you are making. I would have thought you would have been pleased by this outcome,” Says a smooth voice dripping in ashy mirth.

Livia's head snaps around to suddenly come face to face with the third prince of Wisteria.