A Saint Who Was Adopted by the Grand Duke

Side Story 1: Judgement Day (I)

A prison located inside the central temple.

A loud voice came from the innermost room.

“Espitos. Please save me.”

There was a small square window inside the room, which allowed bright moonlight to seep in.

With clasped hands, Rabienne prayed earnestly, facing the moonlight.

“As you know, I have dedicated my whole life to you. I will give you the rest of my life. Please look over me.”

In the current Rabienne, it was impossible to find the figure that everyone had praised as beautiful.

Her hair was tousled, and her complexion was pale and her cheeks were sunken. All from the days she hadn’t eaten properly.

“I am confident that I can do better than Esther. Please give me one chance.”

After finishing her earnest prayer, Rabienne slowly opened her closed eyes.

Her blood-red eyes scanned the old, dirty mattress beside her with contempt.

“You’ll see. Once I get out, I won’t let all the people who made me this way off. Especially Esther, I will kill you first.”

Rabienne endured the painful reality by dreaming of her moment of revenge.

She did not give up hope that she would be able to return to the position of saint.

“I am here to give you water.”

Just in time, the priestess in charge of Rabienne came into the prison cell to refill the water.

She carefully pushed a water bottle in, avoiding Rabienne’s gaze.

Rabienne grabbed the priestess who had quickly finished her work and was about to leave. Urgently, she said,

“Wait a moment. Stop there.”

“W-What is it?”

The priestess’ voice trembled as she tried not to make eye contact with Rabienne.

“Can I get news of my father? Tell me what you know about the happenings outside.”

“…Sorry. There was an order not to inform anything.”

Rabienne’s eyes turned cold when her gentle coax failed.

“Don’t you know who I am? Are you ignoring me?”

“What? I-It’s not like that…”

“Even if I’m locked up, taking care of a kid like you is nothing. If you don’t answer, I won’t let you go.”

The pissed-off Rabienne shook the bars as she threatened her priestess.

The priestess was taken aback, and she pursed her lips before softly replying.

“I heard that the Duke of Brions is imprisoned in the Imperial Palace. The territory and all of his properties were temporarily confiscated by the imperial family.”

“What? Nonsense. Hasn’t it been a few days? And did you say my father is imprisoned? For what?”

Although the crime of impersonating a saint was great, it was not enough to confiscate the land and imprison the head of one of the four great families.

Greatly shocked by the news she had never expected, Rabienne slumped to the floor.

“That’s why you couldn’t come pick me up.”

And the long fingers holding the bars slipped.

After one final glance, the priestess went out of the prison as if she was running away.

A while later…

“Ahhhhhhhhhh!!”

Rabienne, who was curled up and had buried her head in her knees, finally couldn’t stand it and screamed like a lunatic.

The two knights guarding the hallway were startled by the screams and ran inside.

“What are you doing?”

“Can you let me out of here? I will remember you and keep you by my side for the rest of my life. Please.”

Rabienne pleaded. Amazingly, she had a pitiful expression, as if she had never gone on a rampage.

There were even tears in her eyes, to look as miserable as possible.

Faced with that appearance, knights were at a loss as to what to do.

“We can’t do that. Sorry.”

“I am locked up because of a misunderstanding. I will be released soon anyway.”

“We are just following orders.”

But when crying didn’t work, Rabienne’s patience grew thin.

She went out of control again and cursed at the knights.

“Get me out! I have to get out of here!! Let me meet my father!!”

The knights looking at Rabienne, who had turned ferocious in an instant, were now just bewildered.

“A public trial date has been set. Even if you don’t want to leave, you’ll be leaving soon, so please wait a bit.”

“Did you say… a public trial? You mean, I’ll be put in the square?”

Rabienne’s voice trailed off.

But the knights shook their heads, not answering her question.

“We are going to leave. And if you scream again, then we will have no choice but to gag you.”

“Do you know who I am! How dare you say that? What’s your name!”

The knights went out with Rabienne still running wild.

A deep sigh erupted at the same time from the two standing in the hallway.

“Ha… To think she was such a benevolent saint. I can’t believe it.”

“It’s the same for me. I used to adore her… Are the rumors my colleagues talked about really true?”

“Shh. There was a command to keep quiet about her. When the trial is held, the truth will come out.”

The knights who saw the other side of Rabienne, who was once the idol of all temple knights, clicked their tongues and plugged their ears.

★★★

Hudson, who was called ‘Duke Brions’ not too long ago, was imprisoned just like Rabienne.

The prison of the Imperial Palace was different, but the way he struggled because he couldn’t beat his anger was very similar to that of Rabienne.

“I can’t believe Catherine is the younger sister of the grand duchess.”

Hudson was shocked by what he learned in the Imperial Palace.

He gritted her teeth, saying that if he had known Catherine was the grand duchess’ sister, he wouldn’t have treated her that way.

“Where did it go wrong?”

That he didn’t kill Catherine properly?

That he unfortunately had a child with her?

No, it was wrong to have met Catherine.

“I’m really unlucky. Damn it.”

Hudson pounded his fist on the floor, pondering if anyone could help him out.

However, now that his relationship with the temple had collapsed, there was no one willing to take the risk to save him.

“…Shit.”

Besides, even if there was someone, there was no way to contact them.

The knights were strictly guarding him so that no one could approach his prison cell.

After some time passed, a chuckle was heard from outside. Perhaps the knights were changing shifts.

Hudson raised his head and called out to the knight in the hallway.

“You there! Come here for a second.”

The knight, who at first tried to ignore it, had no choice but to enter with furrowed brows when the calls continued.

“What’s the matter?”

“What happened to my son and wife? Tell me some news about my estate.”

“I heard that the family members are being held in confinement at the mansion and awaiting punishment.”

“Did you say confinement?”

“Yes. Your territory and properties have already been returned to the Imperial Palace.”

Hearing the knight’s callous voice, Hudson gaped blankly.

“…It’s over. It’s really irreversible now. Damn it.”

Hudson, who did not know that his estate would be confiscated even though he was expelled from the four great families, was deep in despair.

★★★

Two weeks later.

Time flew by and it was now the day of the public trial for Rabienne and Hudson.

The sudden fall of the Duke of Brions had been the hottest topic in the empire lately.

Perhaps that was why so many people gathered in the central square of the capital where the trial was to take place.

It was reminiscent of a festival, but it was the first time in the history of the empire that so many people gathered at a public trial.

The news of the trial of the Brions family, one of the four great families that supported the empire, gathered people with a half-curious and half-concerned heart.

“I don’t know what the hell is going on. There’s an epidemic earlier this year, and now, the public trial of the duke…”

“Is the Brions family really going to disappear?”

“Please. No matter how much it is, it’s one of the four great families, can it go like that?”

“I heard that the territory has already been confiscated? There are rumors that the four great families will be reorganized into the three great families.”

“Even if that’s the case for the duke, what happened to the saint… It hasn’t been long since she was appointed.”

“I guess we will find out if we wait.”

Then, the murmuring onlookers sensed an unusual atmosphere and glanced back and shut their mouths.

The huge crowd split up by itself, and a path was created to allow a few people to pass.

“That’s interesting. I never told them to get out of the way. Why are they clearing a path?”

Dennis observed the people who stepped aside in disbelief.

Esther laughed, asking if he really didn’t know that.

“Because my older brothers and my dad stand out so much.”

“Do we stand out? We dressed as normally as possible?”

“We purposely hid the escorts. But we still stand out?”

“Yes. A lot.”

No matter how modestly they dressed, their natural appearance and atmosphere were different from those of ordinary people.

With every step they passed, people who had seen the grand ducal family were whispering in envy.

“Thanks to this, we came all the way to the front comfortably. It’s good.”

Esther smiled prettily and looked ahead. There was no one in the way, so she could see the podium very well.

When it was time for the trial, the judge climbed the stairs and sat down on a chair on the podium.

More nobles arrived in a similar fashion, and finally, the emperor appeared.

Receiving enthusiastic cheers from the citizens of the empire, he took a seat at the back of the podium.

‘Noah came too.’

Esther smiled happily when she saw Noah standing confidently behind the emperor.

“What are you smiling at?”

“Um, nothing…”

Esther, who was about to tell Deheen that Noah was there, quickly changed her words when Deheen’s eyes narrowed.

“I just feel good.”

“It’s understandable. It’s finally the day Rabienne gets her punishment, right? What better day could there be than this?”

“That’s right.”

Fortunately, it passed naturally thanks to Judy’s support.

It was then.

Boo-woo!

The trumpet sounded loudly to signal the beginning of the trial.

“That’s the sound of a specially-made trumpet. It’s even grander when I actually hear it.”

Dennis commented with shining eyes. He had been looking forward to seeing the public trial in person, which he had only read about in books.

At the same time, the sound of horses’ hooves was heard, and two jet-black carriages arrived by the podium.

The trial assistants opened the carriage doors and pulled out the occupants.

“Ah! It must be Rabienne.”

Her face was covered with a cloth, but she was instantly recognizable.

As Esther, slightly nervous, wet her lips, Dennis held out something with a rustle.

“Esther, ahhhh.”

“Ah?”

A snack made from fried corn slid into Esther’s mouth, which reflexively opened.

Ame: We’re starting the side stories off with a bang! Yay for Rabienne’s pov!