บท 17: Chapter 17: Court Proceedings III
Hugo's outburst did not only surprise Emily but everyone in the room. Well, save for the one actually being cursed at.
Emily watched Charlton's reaction, but he was still just standing there with a straight face, unfazed.
Hugo continued with his lashing, looking like a mad lunatic, especially with his unkept hair and stubble, wanting to tackle Charlton. Thankfully, his attorney and retinue were quick to hold him in place. Still, he shouted, "You think I am grateful about you coming here!? You think you're a hero now!? You piece of shit! I'd rather rot in prison than be indebted to a treacherous snake like you! You imbecile! You!!!!!"
The Duchess eyed their retinue and perhaps understanding what she meant, they forcefully guided Hugo out of the room while still shouting obscenities. Then, she turned to Charlton.
Emily could not hear the duchess dowager's words given the distance, but just by context, she could already guess what words must have been exchanged. The duchess looked at the prosecutor and Charlton again, she gave them a slight curtsy before eyeing her daughter to do the same. Afterwards, they both left the room.
Charlton was left standing with the prosecutor, and they exchanged more words. Emily wanted to call him a hypocrite because of being there and playing hero. At the same time, another part of her felt envious and infuriated for Leonard and Serena. Really, how nice of him to do this for Hugo but completely ignore Leonard and Serena's plight given their longer history.
Then again, if Leonard knew, she doesn't doubt that he would have had the same reaction as Hugo. Maybe… definitely he would not look nor sound like Hugo because Leonard was more polished and classier than that guy, but the sentiment would be the same.
Anyhow, Emily, curious while waiting, took her time to observe Charlton.
Although the Social Season began on the 1st of July and have been in full swing since, Emily has only attended two events so far due to her schedule and uninterest. On both occasions, she did not see Charlton, but that did not mean she did not hear about him.
Charlton was a popular figure amongst everyone ever since. When he was present, everyone would try to approach him, when he was not present, he would always be a topic of conversation. So, she learned about him having a current lover through gossip.
In any case, looking at Charlton's appearance, Emily would not deny that he still looked really good, if not better. He stood tall with broad shoulders, dressed impeccably in his household cavalry's officer uniform. His straight chestnut brown hair elegantly swept back from his face. His eyes a stormy shade of gray which contrasted perfectly with his slightly tanned skin. At side profile, she could appreciate the height of his nose and perfect jawline.
She did not want to sing praises to the man's handsomeness, but objectively speaking, physically, he was indeed, flawless. On that point, she could definitely understand why Serena, even after all that the man put her through, was crazy about him. To be fair, she also would not deny that once upon a time, she herself have been enamored with the man. Not that the late crown prince, Geoffrey, and her Leonard were lagging behind.
Emily shook her head. Leonard's case was next, and she did not know how to go about it. After watching the preliminary Hearing earlier, she could already expect how Leonard's would also go. However, she was sorely unprepared.
After her talk with Christopher, she did not even consult a Lawyer. She just thought about how to get Leonard off the case without actually having to go through it. So, she just planned about what steps to take, particularly getting Christopher on their side through Serena and preparing the documents signed by a doctor.
Now, she was unsure if the Judge would even allow her submitting these documents. She did not even have a defence lawyer with her. Should she try to look for Christopher now just to ask? She looked at the time, it was 9:53 am. If she were to even try, she would be late for the Hearing!
Just as Emily was panicking, she heard the door of the courtroom open. She turned around to see who it might be, and like a ray of hope coming after complete darkness, she saw the Minister of Justice himself, Marquis Christopher Cross.
--
Christopher was facing forward when he entered the room, so he did not notice Emily sitting at the right corner at the back. Instead, the first person in his line of sight had been Charlton.
He wondered what Charlton was doing there and the first question that came to mind was that did Emily, or even perhaps, Serena, ask him for help? He did not like the idea but did not show it on his face. Instead, he acted naturally as he stepped forward with a confident gait.
Meanwhile, Charlton, the prosecutor, and the other members of the court not taking a break also saw him. The ministry officials stood up to greet Christopher with a bow, to which, Christopher smiled, greeted back in a friendly way while gesturing them to sit down.
The ministry officials sat back down, but from time to time, they would look up from the documents they seemed to be reading to curiously glance at their minister. Well, he was their big boss, they were curious why he was there, and they also didn't want to seem like they were slacking.
Christopher did not mind the 'trying not to be obvious' stares but instead went ahead to greet Charlton who was standing beside a person who he recognized was Attorney Liam Cedric, a prosecutor working for the ministry.
Anyhow, Christopher addressed Charlton first. "I did not expect to see you here today, Charlton. To what, does the ministry owe the pleasure?"
--
TBC
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