บท 10: CH 10 ~ Hope
"Lady Dalton stands here today, accused of murdering the emperor's heir by the use of poisonous herbs,"
The emperor continued to speak and Eleanora stood motionless.
A suspicion rising in her heart as she quietly listened to his words.
"In doing so she also endangered the life of our future Queen, Lady Raven."
"The trial today will look at the evidence to determine whether she is guilty of this crime."
As soon as the emperor finished his words, Eleanora exhaled a heavy breathe.
She had guessed this outcome.
'Lady Raven?'
'So, she is the child who was kidnapped and lost from the Ravens duchy?'
The second child of Duke Raven was born a month before the emperor, who was a girl.
She was declared as death along with the duchess at that time.
But some said the baby was lost or kidnapped, which remained unsolved till now.
A cold sweat formed at the back of her neck.
'No wonder they looked familiar. Now no one will even look down at her because of her status.'
'A noble lady, who was kidnapped at birth, lived her life as a maid but still the emperor fall for her. The villainous empress tried to separate them but the story ended with the execution of the evil empress and she also found her real family. Who is the duke of an empire.'
'Such a beautiful fairytale story… I bet this will be printed at tomorrow's newspapers if I fail to prove my innocence.'
A sneer left from Eleanora's mouth as she imagined how the people will view them as.
'What a joke! This is nothing but a beautiful scheme to trap me from a long time ago, which I failed to see…'
Eleanora discreetly scanned her eyes around to see if she could spot Rena or Maria, but she couldn't find their familiar face anywhere.
It made her more nervous as every second ticked by and then the emperor's cold voice rang again.
"Do you swear, Lady Dalton, that you will tell the whole truth during this trial?"
The emperor asked, bringing her attention back to him.
Eleanora met his piercing bloody red eyes, a shiver going down her spine.
But she felt really unfamiliar with him and parted her cracked lips without breaking their eye contact.
"I do,"
Eleanora replied loudly and confidently.
And both of them stared at each other like there was no on around them.
"And how do you plead?"
The emperor asked without breaking their eye contact too, his eyes suddenly turned gloomy before they changed back to full of hatred again.
His sudden change made Eleanora break off their eye contact with a bitter feeling and held her breath painfully.
"Not guilty."
A murmur went through the trial hall in hushed voices but she ignored it.
'Surely they hadn't actually expected me to admit guilt to such a heinous act?'
"Very well,"
The emperor exclaimed as he puffed up his chest and looked away from her.
"We'll start by hearing the witness testimonies of those involved and any supporting evidence."
"The noble council heads and I shall vote and your sentence will be set."
Eleanora swallowed hard, her throat was feeling really dry.
But she didn't dare to ask for water at this moment, just to create another reason for the public to laugh at.
The trial started after that without further drama and the imperial doctor was called forth first to give a medical opinion and an overview about this herb involvement.
"The herb in question is Ephedrine,"
Doctor Andrews started as the herbs, which was supposedly found under Eleanora's bed was presented in front of him.
"I believe Lady Raven must have been giving this via means of ingestion. She lost the baby at three months but given her bad fortitude, her health was also a concern as she was given over dosage."
Another murmur went through the crowd as they heard the Doctor's testimony.
And Eleanora gritted her teeth against their voices, fidgeting with the hem of her dress as she was really afraid this time.
But it wasn't just one testimony.
Several came forward to discuss the evidence found.
The knight who had found the evidence was called upon next to recount his steps during the search of the empress's quarters.
"I found the herbs the doctor mentioned under former empress's bed. They were well hidden and I believe had been placed in order to conceal their location. There was also a letter obtained from her bed."
"It was addressed to her father, Former Duke of Dalton."
He read the contents of the letter aloud to the crowd to which they all began to chatter again.
And Eleanora bite her lips as she didn't like the idea of her letter being read out loud.
'Father,
I am really sorry, because I couldn't save you. Forgive me but I can't bear all this anymore, so I made a decision. I want to run away, leave everything behind and him. It was my biggest mistake to love someone who didn't loved me back.
I hate myself for sacrificing everything for that man, father.
Please forgive me for leaving you behind and run away alone.'
"SILENCE!!"
The emperor suddenly yelled to them all, instantly making them quieting down.
He looked really angry as his breathing became fast.
The emperor snatched the letter from the knight, before turning to Eleanora.
"Is this your handwriting, Lady Dalton?"
He asked between his gritted teeth and Eleanora nodded; as he would know if she was lying.
He had seen her handwriting many times before.
"Yes,"
Eleanora calmly admitted.
And she knew that she is one step closer to her dead because of this.
They have planned all this beforehand and she foolishly walked into their trap.
The emperor sneered silently as he put the letter into his suit pocket, instead of handing it to the other officials to see.
Eleanora showed no emotions and the emperor gestured the knight to continue with his testimony.
"In addition to the items recovered, we also found the former empress by the door as we entered."
"She was in possession of a bag with supplies and clothing. It is believed she had intended to run away that night."
"We also have several witnesses who can attest to her admitting to trying to run when we took her into custody."
The knight finished his testimony and the emperor gestured him to step down.
He placed his hands at his back, as he parted his thin lips to speak again.
"We will hear from Marquis Brayden Hill, my aid now."
As soon as the emperor mentioned his name, Sir Brayden stood on the podium next, his face stern.
Eleanora knew whatever he was going to say about her wouldn't be positive and she was right.
"The night when Lady Raven's pregnancy was announced there was an incident inside the main palace that several members witnessed."
"It was between lady Raven and the former empress. I believe this may have been a deliberate attempt to put stress on lady Raven and the baby, an act motivated by jealousy."
Marquis Brayden paused on his words and Eleanora couldn't believe that they had actually brought that conversation into evidence.
Did no one care to see things from her perspective?
Eleanora would like to see them act so calmly when their husband's impregnated other women.
She is certain most of them would have killed them without hesitation, yet she was being chastised for speaking to her harshly.
It was true though, she couldn't deny what he was saying.
Eleanora was angry and jealous of her.
Who wouldn't be in her shoes?
But to kill her child is unthinkable, an abomination. She also had lost two of her unborn babies before.
Eleanora unconsciously run her fingers on my stomach, but when she noticed the emperor's gaze on her, she immediately moved her hands from her stomach.
She doesn't want to let him know about her pregnancy.
And the emperor also averted his gaze, which made Eleanora grin bitterly.
'Suddenly, I really want him to badly regret his actions for treating me like this…'
Sir Brayden's testimony painted her in a horrible light, fueling the hostility in the air against Eleanora.
The emperor gestured him to step down too, before he spoke again with a clear voice.
"We have one final testimony for you all today; one I believe will determine the fate of this trial."
"This will be from Rena, The former empress's attendant."
The emperor informed and Eleanora's eyes looked up, as she finally found hope for survival…
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