The audience chamber fell deathly silent as a calm voice rose from the side of the hall.

“Then allow me to testify.”

Every noble turned instantly.

Duchess Catherine Historia stepped forward.

The Iron Blood Duchess.

The woman’s mere presence tightened the atmosphere like a blade against the throat.

Crimson hair flowed down her back like strands of blood-red spider lilies. Ruby eyes swept across the chamber with cold indifference. Her dark-green dress moved elegantly with each step, silver embroidery glimmering beneath the chandelier light.

The moment she entered the center of the hall—

Several nobles lowered their heads instinctively.

Others stiffened.

Even Marquis Gregor faltered for a brief second.

Sweat gathered across the brows of his faction.

Everyone in the kingdom knew the stories.

Years ago, Catherine had personally ordered the execution of her husband, her parents, and multiple relatives.

after uncovering their involvement in embezzlement, kidnapping, and slave trafficking.

No hesitation.

No mercy.

Even King Valerius remained cautious around her influence.

The sharp sound of her heels echoed through the chamber as she stopped beside Azrael.

She bowed slightly toward the throne.

“Your Majesty.”

Then nodded respectfully toward Luna von Arondain before finally looking at Gregor.

“You wished to know how I would testify, Marquis?”

Her calm tone alone made the room tense.

Gregor straightened himself.

“…Indeed.”

Catherine folded her hands before her.

“My men were stationed around the castle during the duel.”

“They monitored every entrance, corridor, and surrounding sector.”

Her ruby eyes sharpened.

“No traces of forbidden magic.”

“No outside interference.”

“No enhancement drugs.”

Whispers spread immediately.

Gregor’s expression darkened.

“And if your men simply failed to notice it?”

The chamber froze.

Catherine slowly turned toward him.

The pressure radiating from her presence became suffocating.

“Marquis Gregor…”

Her voice remained soft.

Deadly soft.

“Do you truly believe I cannot distinguish the fundamentals of black magic?”

Panic rippled through Gregor’s faction.

Several nobles immediately avoided eye contact.

“…No, Duchess.”

“It seems,” Catherine replied quietly, “that you yourself lack understanding.”

Her gaze swept across the court.

“Then allow me to educate everyone personally.”

Unease spread instantly.

Then—

A maid appeared silently beside her.

Several nobles flinched.

The woman carried a small straw doll.

The whispers began immediately.

“A curse medium…”

“Forbidden arts…”

The maid attached several strands of hair onto the doll.

Gregor’s eyes narrowed.

“Duchess… what exactly are you doing?”

“Oh?”

Catherine smiled faintly.

“Teaching fundamentals.”

The maid began channeling mana into the doll.

Dark violet energy crawled across the straw surface like rotting veins.

Then—

She tightened her grip around the doll’s throat.

Count Mark collapsed instantly.

“Ghk—!”

His chair crashed backward.

He clawed desperately at his throat.

“I… can’t—!”

Panic exploded across the chamber.

Several nobles stood abruptly.

The violet glow intensified.

Sinister.

Violent.

Exactly as Gregor had described earlier.

“Duchess Historia!”

Valerius’s voice thundered through the hall.

“Stop this immediately.”

Catherine bowed gracefully.

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

She glanced toward the maid.

“Maria.”

The maid released the doll.

Count Mark collapsed to the floor coughing violently, dragging desperate breaths into his lungs.

Maria disappeared as silently as she had arrived.

Silence consumed the chamber.

Catherine calmly approached the trembling count and handed him a glass of water.

“Do you understand now…”

“…the fundamentals of forbidden magic?”

Count Mark accepted the glass with shaking hands.

Gregor’s jaw tightened.

“You went too far, Duchess.”

Catherine’s ruby eyes met his without fear.

“And your faction did not?”

Her voice sharpened slightly.

“Your nephew nearly beat that boy to death before the entire royal court.”

“And after losing…”

“You attempted to bury him beneath accusations to preserve your pride.”

Gregor clenched his fists.

“But the servant is still not fully cleared.”

Catherine smiled faintly.

“Patience, Marquis.”

With a flick of her fingers, several documents floated through the air and landed before the prime minister.

“We conducted a full magical examination of Azrael afterward.”

Chrome adjusted his glasses and read silently.

The chamber waited.

Breathless.

Then he looked up.

“The results are clear.”

No one moved.

“No traces of enhancement drugs.”

“No forbidden substances.”

A heavy silence settled over the court.

“Result: Negative.”

Catherine slowly turned back toward Gregor.

“All accusations have now been disproven.”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Your performance is over.”

Gregor’s expression darkened further, but he refused to back down.

“Even if the boy did not use enhancement drugs or forbidden magic…”

His sharp eyes turned toward me.

“…his very existence remains suspicious.”

Uneasy murmurs spread through the chamber once more.

“How can this court blindly trust a commoner whose origins are completely unknown?”

“He possesses no family records.”

“No bloodline.”

“No homeland.”

“And according to your own reports…”

His gaze narrowed.

“…he suffers from memory loss.”

The atmosphere inside the chamber tightened again.

“What if this is all deception?”

“What if the boy himself is connected to something dangerous?”

Several nobles exchanged uneasy glances.

Even members of the neutral faction frowned thoughtfully.

Gregor immediately pressed forward after noticing the shift.

“A mysterious child with no origins suddenly appears near the royal family…”

“Then awakens a sinister power unseen for thousands of years?”

His voice echoed sharply across the hall.

“And this court expects us to simply trust him?”

Silence followed.

Then—

“Azrael is innocent.”

Valerius finally spoke.

His voice echoed across the chamber with absolute authority.

The hall instantly fell silent.

The king’s gaze settled upon Gregor.

“From the beginning, your household sought to humiliate someone under the protection of the crown princess.”

“Your nephew publicly insulted Princess Luna.”

The pressure inside the chamber intensified.

“Do you understand how serious that offense truly is?”

Several nobles visibly paled.

“If I wished,” Valerius continued calmly, “I could have executed both of you where you stood.”

Even Gregor’s breathing faltered.

“But such actions would fracture the nobility.”

The king leaned slightly forward.

“And according to the terms of the duel…”

“…Valen was required to apologize to Princess Luna and Azrael.”

His eyes hardened.

“Since he remains unconscious…”

“…you will apologize in his place.”

Gregor’s eyes widened.

“Y-Your Majesty—”

The pressure from the throne exploded outward.

“You dare question my judgment?”

Gregor immediately bowed.

“…I humbly apologize to Princess Luna.”

Then reluctantly—

“To you as well… boy.”

The hatred in his eyes remained undisguised.

Without another word, Gregor turned and stormed from the chamber with the remnants of his faction following behind him.

Silence lingered after their departure.

I had stood at the center of the audience chamber through all of it.

And yet…

I had barely spoken a single word.

Before entering the hall, Luna had quietly told me:

“Leave this to us.”

And somehow…

They truly had.

The accusations against me were finally gone.