When all eyes turned to her, Riersha took a long, deep breath.
If she was being honest with herself, she wasn’t nervous.
If anything, her mind had grown remarkably calm — the moment she had been waiting for had finally arrived.
“I would like to make known a truth that everyone here should have known long ago. Please, allow me to speak for just a moment.”
It was only her pronunciation that fell short of what she wished. That, she could only lament.
The judge was silent for a moment before granting permission.
“If it won’t take long, please continue.”
“Everything Sonnet said earlier is true, Your Honor.”
“Can you take responsibility for that claim?”
“Yes. I swear it on my family name and house.”
The room erupted into noise almost instantly.
Voices broke out from every direction. Half the murmurs argued that Riersha was still far too young to understand the weight of her own words. The other half countered that since she had sworn on her family name, Sonnet’s testimony must be unquestionable fact.
When the commotion settled into something manageable, Riersha pressed on.
“Everyone here should know the contents of The Throne of Rübünesia. Many of you have probably seen it yourselves.”
She was certain that at least half the people present had attended a performance. She had heard that quite a few nobles had quietly slipped into the theater after rumors began circulating that the show would soon be shut down.
“What would you all do if the hidden prince depicted in that play actually existed?”
“…Well, now. That is an extraordinarily dangerous thing to say, Miss Arachrene. It is not something to be spoken carelessly.”
The judge let out a short, indulgent laugh and shook his head, answering with firm finality — his entire manner suggesting he considered the very idea impossible.
“But if it were true, what would happen?”
“If what you say is true, Miss Arachrene, then this new prince would need to be brought to the Imperial Palace immediately.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the Imperial throne must be contested fairly, and awarded to the most capable heir.”
That was the absolute principle of the Declair Empire’s Imperial House.
The throne was to be passed only to the most distinguished successor.
It was not a seat anyone could claim simply by virtue of being born first.
Riersha smiled brightly, as though she had been waiting for exactly those words.
“That’s right, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. And you, Miss Arachrene… have just made a reckless statement without a single shred of evidence. You could face severe punishment for contempt of the Imperial family. Lord Arachrene would do well to be more thorough in the education of his children.”
“I find that remark deeply unpleasant.”
Pernoa stepped forward at that moment, pulling Riersha firmly to his side.
A large hand settled over her shoulder without warning, and Riersha’s eyes went wide.
“Father?”
She looked up at him cautiously, startled.
He was clearly furious — had been for some time now, if she had to guess.
But when her gaze lingered on him, Pernoa reluctantly smoothed the crease between his brows.
“I teach my children never to wade into anything without certainty, regardless of the circumstances. There is nothing wrong with my approach to education.”
“…That is not what I meant to imply.”
“Is that so?”
“If I have given offense, I apologize. But the statement that was just made truly—”
“Who said there is no evidence?”
“…Are you saying there is evidence?”
“You have been looking for fault in every word since we began. I say this because it appears that Riersha’s testimony is being dismissed and doubted purely on account of her age.”
Pernoa finally let his displeasure show, no longer willing to contain it. The judge fell silent, his expression betraying that the remark had struck home.
It was true — he had not believed her. And Pernoa, who had pointed that out, spoke in a voice that had turned ice-cold.
“I would ask that you listen properly to what the heir of my house has to say. What is spoken from this point forward will represent the official position of House Arachrene.”
With that, Pernoa gave a gentle squeeze to the hand resting on Riersha’s shoulder, urging her to continue what had been interrupted.
“Ah — as that evidence… I call upon Prince Isierd Declair as my witness.”
Riersha had been staring at Pernoa the whole while, but she answered quickly.
“The witness will be brought in.”
A voice came from outside.
Everyone turned at once.
The courtroom doors swung open, and Isierd walked in.
When a boy with golden hair and blue eyes stepped through the threshold, every person in the room drew a sharp breath.
Silence.
And then shock.
Those two things said everything that needed to be said.
“H-h-h-how is he here…”
Duke Kineart, who had been clinging to disbelief until this very moment, muttered with a stupefied expression.
He had long suspected that it was House Arachrene who had taken Isierd. But it had never been a matter he could press carelessly — and he had certainly never imagined that the Arachrene family would be the ones to step forward and expose the truth so openly.
In Duke Kineart’s memory, Isierd Declair was a worthless, ignorant creature who could barely function as a human being. Nothing more than a beast left with only its base instincts, concerned solely with filling its empty stomach.
And since Lord Arachrene was a man who practically despised those he deemed useless, it had seemed obvious that Isierd would be discarded before long.
And yet—
Duke Kineart stared at Isierd entering the room with flawless Imperial etiquette, and could not conceal his shock.
“Th-this is absurd. Why would His Majesty the Emperor have chosen not to announce the existence of this prince? All of this is a fabrication contrived by House Arachrene. Based on appearances alone… what proof exists that this child carries Declair blood?!”
“Duke Kineart seems to be saying strange things.”
“…!”
“Something like that can be confirmed quite easily, right here and now. That is precisely why we brought the prince in person.”
Pernoa let out a short, contemptuous laugh.
The judge nodded along, somewhat reflexively.
The situation was undeniably outrageous and disorienting — but whether or not that boy carried Imperial blood was something that could indeed be verified without difficulty.
The divine blessing.
Anyone born of the Declair Imperial line came into the world carrying it in their body.
“Wh-what if that blessing is also fabricated? What then?!”
“You would do well to watch your words, Duke Kineart. At this rate, it will be you who commits the crime of contempt against the Imperial family.”
Pernoa offered the warning with a pleasant smile. Duke Kineart’s face flushed a violent red.
He was right.
Isierd was a true member of the Imperial family — and from this moment forward, every word needed to be chosen carefully.
No matter that he was the Emperor’s father-in-law, he could not claim immunity from the charge of insulting a member of the Imperial House.
Duke Kineart clamped his mouth shut, unable to offer a single rebuttal. Everyone watched Isierd with barely contained disbelief.
If this child truly was of Imperial blood, the social order of the Declair Empire was about to be upended entirely.
“I, Isierd Declair, swear in this place to speak only the truth, in good conscience, without a single word of falsehood.”
Isierd stood in the witness stand, raised his hand, and took the oath.
“No. No, no, no. This cannot be.”
Duke Kineart shook his head, apparently beyond caring how he appeared to others.
Isierd looked at him and allowed himself one small smile.
The situation was rather different from the past, when those eyes had always looked upon him with contempt.
It was a strange feeling.
Isierd opened his mouth to speak.
“My divine blessing…”
“The blessing?”
Every person in the room waited for nothing but his next words.
“Is, I’m afraid, somewhat damaged.”
“What does that mean? Damaged? A sacred divine blessing cannot be defiled by anything.”
“Ah, that’s true. Which is why…”
Isierd clicked his tongue and let his gaze settle on Duke Kineart.
“Someone was rather desperate to make it disappear. It may look a little unsightly as a result. That is why I used the word ‘damaged’ for convenience.”
Isierd began undoing the buttons of his shirt one by one.
Moments later, his collarbone was exposed — and with it, the horrifying expanse of burn scars beneath.
The marks of deliberate, repeated burns inflicted on the very same spot, again and again.
“Oh—!”
“Good heavens, that’s absolutely horrific.”
Sounds of breathless horror broke out from every direction.
Riersha squeezed her eyes shut.
I thought it would all be over the moment his divine blessing was shown…
It was not that simple.
This moment was no different from being forced to stand face to face with everything Isierd had endured.
“But why would a sacred divine blessing end up in such a state?”
“That is the question, isn’t it. And yet — didn’t he just say it? …That someone was desperately trying to make the blessing disappear.”
Which meant that someone had known of Isierd’s existence all along — and had known it for a very long time.
“I… I know from watching it. In the performance, the hidden prince escapes through tremendous hardship and survives… and the family he flees from… it was the House of Duke Kiane.”
“Surely not. If the House of Duke Kiane in the play is the one known for extraordinary skill in medicine…”
There was only one ducal house within the Declair Empire that fit that description.
The Empress’s maternal family.
House Kineart.
Cornered now, Duke Kineart stood with a face drained of all color, his fists clenched tight at his sides.
The atmosphere had turned so thoroughly against him that there was nothing left he could do.
Seizing the momentum, Riersha turned to the judge with her next request.
“And to confirm this matter without any further doubt — I call upon His Majesty the Emperor as a witness.”
