Kissing Hellfire: Marry Me, Evil Lord
Chapter 96: Another witness

Chapter 96: Another witness

"I can barely hear your heartbeat. Are you that nervous?" Alec whispered to Lauren as they headed to the courtroom where the trial would be held.

"How can I not be?" She huffed. The anxiousness Lauren was feeling didn’t show on her face but deep down, it was eating her up. But she tried to maintain a straight face when they entered the courtroom.

The King was sitting on his throne and the Queen was beside him, eyeing Lauren sharply. Cassandra stood beside her mother, while the ministers were standing at either side of the courtroom.

Just in time, the doors opened and the chamberlain announced the arrival of the Supreme House.

Silence prevailed as eleven people in long black capes entered the room. Four of them were females while six were males, and most of them were middle-aged. The young woman who wore a red velvet dress under her cape darted her sea-green eyes to Lauren and although she never met the third princess of Evardin before, she immediately knew who Lauren was.

The King rose from his seat to acknowledge the presence of the Supreme House.

"It is my pleasure to meet you, King Martin," the young woman in a red dress curtsied. She smiled but it was nothing but a formality. "I am sure you find me unfamiliar, so allow me to introduce myself. I am Lord Eleazar’s daughter, Amber Hanley. Recently I have been dealing with Supreme House’s affairs on my father’s behalf, and I will supervise today’s court trial."

"Nice to meet you too, Lady Amber. It has been a while. I didn’t know Lord Eleazar’s daughter had grown up into such a fine young woman. Pardon me if the Supreme House needs to come here and deal with my kingdom’s state affairs, but things had become rather dire which require your humble assistance. Please," the King gestured the seats for the Supreme House.

The trial started shortly after the Supreme House had settled. Lady Amber proceeded with Lauren’s case first since it was about the death of a member of the royal family instead of jumping into the nullification of Alec’s title.

It was Cassandra who presented the evidence that was said to be found in a maid’s belongings. Some servants were also called for their testimonies of how they witnessed the maid’s confession. The King and the Queen attested to it as well, while Lauren was standing at the center of the courtroom as the alleged perpetrator of the crime, listening calmly even though her insides were recoiling in annoyance.

After they presented their witnesses, it was time for the accused’s voice to be heard.

"The servants said you have a close relationship with your maidservant. Do you affirm, Princess Lauren?"

Looking straight to the woman’s sea-green eyes who threw her the question, Lauren answered with a stoic face, "Yes, that is true. Sally was my maidservant for five years. During that time, she attended to most of my needs, so I was the most comfortable with her."

"On one of the servants’ testimonies, it was mentioned you were seen talking with your maidservant during the night of Prince Casper’s death. What did you talk about?"

"No, I did not talk to her at all. Mr. Ethan Sullivan who was with me the whole time can attest to that," Lauren said and Ethan stood from the accused’s witness stand.

"Do you have other witnesses who can support your claim?" An older man from the Supreme House asked after Ethan gave his testimony.

Lauren saw how Cassandra glanced at the accused side’s empty witness seats and noticed the arrogant look her half-sister had. Lauren knew Cassandra must be thinking that she only had Ethan to testify for her.

Standing by the side, Alec shot a look at the servant guarding the courtroom’s door. The servant nodded and opened the door.

A middle-aged woman entered and walked to the witness stand. Both Cassandra and the Queen’s eyes narrowed at the castle’s head maid who came to testify for Lauren.

"Tell us what you know," Lady Amber said.

The fidgeting maid swallowed hard before she spoke, "Princess Lauren’s maid wasn’t the one who killed Prince Casper. I know... because that night I saw who did it." Tears swelled in her eyes and her lips trembled as she continued to speak.

"I know I am risking my life with what I’m doing... but the past days my conscience has been haunting me. I have been restless, and I believe I have to speak the truth. When the guards sent back the Queen to her chamber that night, I saw Princess Cassandra enter Prince Casper’s room. After a while, she left and I went inside to check if the prince was awake so I could serve him soup like I usually do, but the horrible situation Prince Casper was in caught me by surprise. A knife was pierced on his chest."

"Nonsense!" Queen Thalia rose from her seat. "That is nonsense! My daughter could never do that to her own brother! This maid must have been bribed by that evil woman!" She pointed at Lauren.

"Careful with your words, Your Majesty," Alec walked toward the center of the courtroom and stopped beside Lauren. "Our dear Supreme House, you heard the maid say that she knew testifying would risk her life but she still chose to speak the truth. She had been working for the royal family for more than a decade now and had never spoken a word about the things that only the castle’s walls had witnessed. Do you think her loyalty could be bought?"

"They are making up stories!" Thalia was fuming mad.

"Let him in," Alec said and the doors opened again. This time, Cassandra lost her composure.

A man who was a known merchant all over the town entered the courtroom.

"This is Sawyer, a merchant who sells all sorts of drugs in the town," introduced Alec. "He also sells poisons. He is quite a businessman you see, and I believe he is well-acquainted with Princess Cassandra. Is that right, Sawyer?"

With his head down, the man nodded twice. "I-It’s true. The princess bought some drugs and poison from me back then... but I didn’t know she was a princess. She wore commoner clothes but right now..." The man raised his head and met Cassandra’s flaring eyes. "I know it was her."