I Ran Away And The Reverse Harem Started Chapter 136

Yvette slowly moved her blue eyes, as if trying to read my thoughts.
I met her gaze for a moment, then lowered my eyes.

“At the very least… I don’t want her to die peacefully. I want revenge. I want to make the rest of her life as miserable as what our parents went through. That’s why I asked Ms. Wilhelmina and Ms. Matilda for some help.”

“So, do you think it’ll help?”

“Yes, I got some good information. You’ll see it during today’s trial. I can’t explain in detail just yet, though.”

Yvette stared at me for a moment, then shrugged, arms crossed. She turned her head away with an indifferent expression.

“Fine. This is your trial too, after all. I’m sure you know what you’re doing. Let’s get back. You and I are both testifying, so we need to be there early.”

“Ah, yes.”

I had thought she would press me harder, but Yvette let it go immediately.

Somehow, it felt like she was trusting me—like she was watching to see how far I could go.

I quickly waved goodbye to Daniel, Colin, and Lucas. They too would be watching the trial from the gallery.

As I was about to follow Yvette, Daniel strode up, took my hand, and whispered low.

“Do well. I’ll be watching.”

For a brief moment, his fingers intertwined with mine. Then, in the blink of an eye, they slipped away softly.

His calm, steady gaze wasn’t filled with worry—it was filled with trust.

I hesitated for just a moment, then gave a firm nod.

Witnesses had to wait at the back of the courtroom beforehand. At that moment, the prosecutor who would be handling the trial approached. I had met her yesterday, and now again today.

“Hello, Ms. Wilhelmina.”

I greeted her cheerfully, and she nodded in return.

“The trial will begin shortly. When it comes time for witness testimony, you’ll both be called in order. Please testify as you’ve prepared. First, we’ll be questioning Ms. Yvette.”

“Yes.”

Yvette stepped to the end of the hallway, flipping through documents to review her testimony one last time. I glanced at Wilhelmina, and suddenly she asked,

“Shall we proceed just as we discussed yesterday with Senior, the three of us together?”

I parted my lips slightly, then nodded.

“Yes, please.”

Just before the trial began, Wilhelmina opened the door and entered the courtroom.

I stayed in the hallway, quietly steadying my breath.

“I can do this.”

Like a spell I was casting upon myself, I whispered the words.

The first and second acts of my life had been a little miserable, a little shabby. But the next would be different. I had many family and friends with me now.

And before the third act began, I was determined to bring my given task to a perfect close—for the sake of a new beginning.

 

 

****

 

 

 

The trial began, and the first one called forward was the defendant, Kazan Louis.

“The defendant ordered the kidnapping of Irene Büllosen, the second daughter of House Büllosen, born on the same day as Deborah Louis, in order to make the illegitimate Deborah into a Saint. Is that correct?”

“That never happened!”

Still hiccupping as if he’d drowned himself in drink until yesterday, Kazan answered.

Even though it was his own trial, he appeared utterly careless. His clothes and posture were disheveled, and at times he would burst out angrily at the prosecutor’s words—inviting nothing but the judge’s disapproval.

Wilhelmina, with a cold face, cast a brief glance at the drunken fool too dim to even grasp the seriousness of his situation.

“Never happened? Yet every testimony and piece of evidence points directly at you.”

First, I, Yvette, and Mother each gave brief statements about the circumstances at the time of the incident. Then, at Wilhelmina’s request, Rumiz was seated at the witness stand.

Wilhelmina began the questioning.

“Twenty years ago, while working as a maid in House Büllosen, you were approached by Kazan Louis, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“What did he ask of you?”

“He asked me to kidnap Lady Irene.”

“Could you be more specific?”

“…If I kidnapped Lady Irene, I was promised money. Enough for my family to live comfortably for ten years.”

“What else did he say as he gave you the money? Were there any other instructions besides the kidnapping?”

“He told me to kidnap Lady Irene… and kill her.”

At Rumiz’s words, the entire gallery erupted, reporters included.

Kidnapping was one thing, but a murder-for-hire? Even the face of the Büllosen Viscount in the gallery turned pale. He had nearly lost his second daughter forever.

Once the room had quieted again, Wilhelmina asked,

“So, did you kill her?”

“No. I couldn’t.”

“You couldn’t?”

“No matter what, I couldn’t bring myself to commit murder. So instead, I abandoned her in a small village at the far western edge of the kingdom.”

“And then?”

“…So that she could not be found, I wrote a new name on a slip of paper and placed it in her pocket.”

“That name was Rosieta Jensen, correct?”

“Yes.”

The journalists in the gallery quickly scribbled down the exchange.

After Rumiz stepped down, another man took the stand: Boris, the grandson of old man Mark, who ran a general store in Hollis Village.

“Witness, you testified that you were present when the Holis orphanage burned down ten years ago?”

“Yes. I was gathering mushrooms on the hillside nearby.”

“And you saw a suspicious stranger in the village, did you not?”

At that, the judge adjusted his spectacles and checked the evidence submitted just days earlier—evidence Roan had handed over to Rosieta and Wilhelmina.

Boris answered,

“Yes. He was dressed far too finely for our village.”

“Please describe him in detail for the court.”

“Well… his hair shone silver, and his eyes were violet. Such a peculiar eye color is unforgettable. It even reminded me of one of our village children. It’s not a common color, is it?”

“And?”

“He reeked of alcohol. As soon as he saw me, he struck my shoulder and bolted as if fleeing. I also thought I caught the smell of oil on him…”

“Was that man the defendant here?”

Boris turned toward the defendant’s bench, glanced at Kazan Louis, and then nodded firmly. Kazan gnashed his teeth, his face twisted in fury.

“Anything else unusual about him?”

“He was carrying a wooden club.”

Once Boris left, Wilhelmina summarized the testimonies.

“On the day the orphanage burned, a stranger entered the village. A nobleman—smelling of alcohol and oil, with a wooden club in hand.”

“…”

“Defendant, why were you in Hollis at that time?”

“…This is slander!”

Kazan Louis suddenly shouted, then grabbed his defense lawyer by the collar.

“You bastard, can’t you defend me properly? You’re supposed to be my lawyer!”

“L-let go of me!”

“I paid you so much money, you dog!”

“Defendant, sit down!”

The trial nearly descended into a brawl. Guards rushed in to pull Kazan off his lawyer by force.

Wilhelmina called Rumiz back to the stand.

“This letter shows that you never received the full payment from the defendant. Is that true?”

“Yes.”

“And when you didn’t receive the rest, what did you do?”

“I went to the baron and asked for the remaining payment.”

“And what happened?”

Rumiz paused, dredging up memories long buried.

“…He said he didn’t trust me.”

“In what way?”

“He doubted I had really gotten rid of the young lady.”

“And?”

“No matter how much I begged, he wouldn’t pay me. But I wasn’t exactly in a position to complain publicly, either. So I swallowed it.”

“You just endured it?”

“Yes. I had received half, after all. I thought perhaps someday I’d get the rest. But then… I was found out.”

“Found out?”

Rumiz glanced nervously around, her expression dark. She looked toward two people in the gallery—a man and woman who resembled her strongly—before speaking heavily.

“…Even after kidnapping Lady Irene, I continued to work for House Büllosen. I was anxious. Since I hadn’t killed her, I thought they might find her one day.”

Wilhelmina’s eyes twitched.

“Are you saying… you remained employed at House Büllosen for another ten years just to spy? To see whether they would find their daughter?”

“Yes.”

The gallery murmured at the shameless revelation. She had stolen their daughter, yet stayed by their side for years, watching their every move.

“What do you mean, ‘found out’?”

“Just that. The baron suspected me. I had kidnapped the child but was still working in their household… Eventually…”

Rumiz hesitated, then sighed deeply.

“It was after ten years had passed since the kidnapping. Suddenly, he said a report had come in—someone had seen the young lady.”

“Where?”

“He said there was a girl at Holis Orphanage who resembled her. The viscount planned to go there immediately.”

The courtroom froze as if drenched in cold water. The Büllosen Viscount in the gallery opened his eyes wide in shock.

“…What? Back then?”

His face turned ashen.

Even ten years later, the viscount had never given up searching for his second daughter. But after so long, leads had grown scarce. Then suddenly, word came from Holis—a place he had never been.

“They said they’d seen a child resembling the young lady in Holis. The name was different, but…”

“What name?”

“I heard ‘Rosie,’ but I can’t be certain. To know for sure, he would have had to go to Hollis himself.”

Eavesdropping from the next room as she dusted, Rumiz had felt her heart plummet. She didn’t know why the girl she had abandoned in the far west was in Hollis—but her instincts told her.

The ‘Rosie’ of Hollis was indeed the Irene she had abandoned.

At once, Rumiz had rushed to the baron.

“That’s when I confessed. That I hadn’t killed Lady Irene after all. But I also told him the viscount was on his way to Hollis to look for her.”

“…And what did the baron do?”

As memories she’d tried to bury resurfaced, Rumiz groaned, her face contorting. She stammered as she spoke.

“He flew into a rage, struck me across the face… and then stormed out. I tumbled down the stairs, lost consciousness, and only woke later that night.”

“So there is a possibility that the baron went to Hollis at that time?”

“Perhaps. I don’t know for certain. I didn’t follow him—I was unconscious.”

“Argh!”

At her words, the Büllosen Viscount clutched his chest and groaned in anguish.

“If only I’d been faster… If only I’d arrived before that man set the orphanage aflame, then I could have found Irene ten years ago!”

His bloodshot eyes turned toward the defendant’s bench, glaring at Baron Louis.

But the baron’s face showed only irritation at Rumiz’s testimony—no sign of guilt, not even the faintest hint of remorse.

“Viscount, it’s not your fault. Please, calm yourself.”

Jenny and the family doctor hurried to steady him.