The Search for the Duchess’s Husband Chapter 104

Count Elysium shouted.

 

“Your Honor do not be deceived by false pleas. Please use your wisdom and uphold the authority of a family that has been disgraced.”

 

Calvin looked at the couple with an impassive expression.

 

“We have conducted an investigation to determine the truth of the case before the trial.”

 

Calvin personally visited Count Elysium and spoke with all the workers there. When he asked them if they had ever seen Count Elysium use violence, they all shook their heads and said they did not know.

 

It wasn’t that they didn’t know, it was that they avoided answering the question altogether.

 

Something was going on.

 

Suspicious, Calvin persisted, questioned several of the workers, and finally got his man.

 

“I have the testimony of five of the workers who worked for Count Elysium,” he said, “and they say that they heard him outside the gate and that he was violent.”

 

“How dare they tell such a lie!”

 

Count Elysium’s angry voice replied to Calvin in a steady tone.

 

“I cannot reveal that, for I was promised absolute secrecy and given an answer.”

 

As much as he trusted the most impartial judge in the capital, Calvin would keep her identity a secret.

 

“I will find them somehow, tear their mouths out, and that will be enough.”

 

Count Elysium said sternly.

 

“They haven’t given me their names, I haven’t seen them, and you’re the only one who’s heard their testimony, which is hardly credible enough to count as testimony.”

 

Calvin nodded obediently, even though it was a blow to the Inquisitor’s authority.

 

“I agree, so I did some more research to get a more accurate picture of what happened, and I finally found it. A man who saw the Count of Elysium’s attack with his own eyes and is willing to testify.”

 

Then came the astonishing words.

 

“It is none other than Miss Elizabeth of Elysium, the child of Count and Countess Elysium.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Calvin went to Freesia to ask her about the incident, and as she described her beating, she told him about Elizabeth.

 

“I…” she said, “was beaten in front of my child, and I decided to report it.”

 

Instead of feeling sorry for her, Calvin said the child had seen a terrible sight.

 

“So, she is the only witness who saw the Countess Elysium attacked with her own eyes.”

 

“……!”

 

“We can put your daughter on the stand as a witness. She’s still young, but her testimony will be less reliable.”

 

“You can’t do that!”

 

Freesia shouted in desperation.

 

“She has been hurt badly enough, and to put her through this in front of everyone is completely unacceptable.”

 

Calvin looked into her eyes, which were filled with surprise and even resentment.

 

“I won’t force you if you don’t want to, but would you allow me to ask Miss Elizabeth a few questions?”

 

Freesia hesitated, then nodded.

 

Calvin entered the room where Elizabeth was being held and looked around carefully.

 

Elizabeth was playing innocently with a princess doll. But the prince was in a box in the corner, the lid slammed shut.

 

Calvin took in the sight and went over to her.

 

“Hello, Liese.”

 

Calvin spent the next several hours playing with her.

 

At first, she was wary of him, but then she giggled. After making eye contact, Calvin asked.

 

“Liese, has your dad ever hit your mom?”

 

The brutally direct question stunned Freesia, who stood outside the open door, but Elizabeth replied calmly.

 

“Ugh. Mmm.”

 

“Do you remember where he hit her?”

 

“Mom’s back.”

 

“What did he hit her with?”

 

“With a horse whip.”

 

She understood the questions perfectly and gave accurate answers. Moreover, the answers matched Freesia’s testimony.

 

Calvin was convinced.

 

That this child was not imagining or lying.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“The Countess of Elysium refused to bring Miss Elizabeth before the tribunal; but Miss Elizabeth testified that the Count of Elysium had struck the Countess of Elysium with the whip of his horse.”

 

Calvin continued.

 

“I, the tribunal, in view of the many circumstances, find that the Count of Elysium did assault his wife.”

 

Funnily enough, no one in the tribunal, not even Count Elysium’s defenders, was surprised by Calvin’s words. They all thought it might have happened.

 

After all, this trial was not about whether he had struck or not.

 

It was about the punishment for hitting or not hitting.

 

Count Elysium, whose image as a doting husband had been ruined, knew this.

 

He no longer denied what he had done but said something else.

 

“I am deeply offended, and I will respect Your Honor’s decision, but even if it is true that I did strike my wife, it was only between family members. It’s none of the court’s business.”

 

It was the arrogance of a man in power. Calvin didn’t flinch, just nodded nonchalantly.

 

“Yes, I have thought about that. Because in the history of the Empire, no husband has ever been tried for beating his wife, and yet…”

 

Calvin held up a stack of papers.

 

“A petition to the court has arrived.”

 

The petition, with Artia von Edenberg’s name on the front, was from thirty-four women who had been beaten by their husbands.

 

It was the result of thirty-four days of persuasion, cajoling, and pleading.

 

Calvin said, “The authors of the petition said in unison that assault in the family is not an individual matter, but a social evil that needs to be corrected, and I couldn’t agree with them more.”

 

“……!”

 

Calvin’s voice, which had been calm the entire time, was strained.

 

“I rule. Austin von Elysium has habitually assaulted his wife, and that is a definite sin.”

 

The eyes of everyone in the courtroom widened.

 

“By its very nature, assaulting another person deserves a punishment commensurate with the offense. However, since the victim, Freesia von Elysium, does not wish to see her husband punished, I will impose this punishment.”

 

A straight voice, devoid of any personal emotion, filled the courtroom.

 

“You, Austin von Elysium, are hereby ordered to apologize sincerely to your wife and swear an oath that it will never happen again. If you break that oath, I will give you a direct punishment that fits the offense.”

 

In reality, the punishment was too mild to be called a punishment.

 

Nevertheless, Calvin’s punishment was a complete disruption of conventional wisdom.

 

People were so shocked they could hardly breathe.

 

Even Count Elysium forgot his dignity and opened his mouth, but then recovered himself and exclaimed.

 

“For a judge to be so biased as to be swayed by a bunch of hot-headed women, I cannot accept this verdict!”

 

“As a judge,” he replied, “I have been faithful to the idea of the law, which is to protect the people, and I have not judged the guilt or innocence of men or women. What you are telling me now is…”

 

Calvin looked down at Earl Elysium.

 

“…an insult to my judgment and a serious offense. Since it’s your first time, I’ll cut you some slack, but next time I’ll deal with you according to the law.”

 

There was a cold dignity in the young judge’s eyes.

 

The Count of Elysium gritted his teeth, realizing the odds were stacked against him if he tried to protest any further.

 

Calvin banged his gavel.

 

“This concludes the trial.”

 

As the trial ended, Artia, who had returned to her seat in the audience, rushed forward and embraced Freesia. In Artia’s arms, Freesia smiled through her tears.

 

Across the room, Count Elysium glared at the two women, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles shook.

 

They were a pair of stark contrasts.