Aktis froze, as her servant entered the room. Blond curls and a freckled face with wide blue eyes. The girl was frightened.
"Please introduce yourself and tell us about the Queen Dowager's behavior just before the welcome refreshments began." The legist's dispassionate voice was starting to send shivers down Aktis' spine.
"I'm Karisa, a servant." The girl nervously glanced at the people sitting on the council. "I serve your ladyship." She nodded at Aktis. "After arriving, we unpacked the chests of clothes, prepared water for you, and fixed your hair. As always, after a journey. The lady was sad, then nervous; when we left, she screamed and threw her glass." Karisa kept crumpling a piece of cloth in her hands and glanced at Aktis every now and then. "Well, I popped in because I thought I might need to do something, or bring something, and I asked if anything was wrong. The lady said not yet, but something would happen soon. And so it happened," She added quietly. Aktis felt the blood rush to her face, staining her cheeks a deep crimson. What a stupid goose. A thoughtless, gossiping girl.
"Tell me, Karisa..." Aktis began in a sharp tone.
"Just a moment, Queen Dowager," Aktis was interrupted by the legist. "Has the maid Karisa finished?"
"Yes, sir," The maid curtsied.
"Does the Queen Dowager wish to ask the maid Karisa a question?"
"Yes, sir," said Aktis, flushed with impatience. "How many times have you witnessed me scream or throw things around the room?"
"Several times, madam," the freckled Karisa agreed eagerly.
"Did people die every time?" Aktis stared at the maid's naive face.
"No, madam," The maid shook her head so vigorously that all the curls peeking out from under her white cap shook.
"Thank you, I have no more questions." Aktis's voice took on a high pitch. She was furious. Everything was going wrong. Facts can be stretched to any length, and that's exactly what was happening. "We thank the servant Karisa for her testimony and summon guard Harw."
A young guard in a black and red caftan entered the hall. He must have been one of the Emfer guards.
"Please introduce yourself and tell us about the princess's behavior after the assassination attempt," The legist observed Aktis, who was feeling increasingly nervous.
"My name is Harw, I am a guard. After the assassination attempt on the royal couple—Aktis didn't escape the change of name; they no longer spoke of poisoning, but of an assassination attempt—the queen dowager moved as far away from the scene as possible and then ordered her men to remove her as quickly as possible. She wanted to escape." The guard looked at Aktis accusingly.
"Is that all, guard Harw?"
"Yes."
"Thank you, does the queen dowager have any questions?" The eyes of the assembled group turned to Aktis again.
"Yes," Aktis began, her mind racing with thoughts. "Isn't such behavior normal when dealing with such chaos?" She spoke her thoughts aloud before she could organize them properly.
"I am a soldier, and such behavior is incomprehensible to me." Harw replied, fixing his cold gaze on Aktis. "In my profession, only cowards and traitors flee a place marked by death."
"Being a coward is not a crime." Aktis pointedly raised her head.
"No, that's not your crime, betrayal is." Harw's words were as sharp as a sword's point. Aktis had no doubt that this man had been prepared for this interrogation. A silence fell, broken by the legist presiding over the trial.
"If there are no further questions," she looked at Aktis, who shook her head. "Then we thank Guardian Harw for your testimony and call the final witness, the Dowager Duchess." After these words, silence fell; the people in the hall held their breath and watched the situation unfold with tension on their faces.
"I request the opportunity to testify on the spot," Setia said with a pained expression.
"Of course, Princess," the legist nodded understandingly. "Please tell me about the meeting with the Queen Dowager before the assassination attempt."
"The meeting took place in the audience hall," Setia began, closing her eyes as if recalling those moments. "My husband and I wanted to share the good news," the Princess's voice trembled, "and to discuss Fenigrid's future. During our conversation, I felt unwell, a common ailment for a pregnant woman. Tendred followed me out to see how I was feeling," the Princess wiped tears from her cheek. "When we returned, we finished our toast, and then all hell broke loose..." A lace handkerchief was brought into play. The Princess sobbed softly, then regained her composure and looked at Aktis with pained eyes. "Meanwhile, the Queen Dowager was left alone in the hall." Her words echoed among those gathered.
People began to murmur, their voices growing louder and their anger seeping through them.
"Treason!"
"Murderer!"
"Poisoner!"
"Kill her!"
"Please be quiet, or we'll have the hall cleared," the legist decided to control the crowd. "Does the Queen Dowager wish to ask a few questions?"
The crowd's murmurs didn't subside completely. Aktis knew she couldn't count on any support; if she started questioning that one-eyed bitch, she'd gain nothing.
"No."
"Does the Queen Dowager wish to call her own witnesses?"
She could summon Jefre, but what if she said he was her traitorous killer? She truly found herself in an impossible situation.
"No."
"Then it's time for the accused Queen Dowager's closing argument." The legist rolled up the scroll and stepped aside. Aktis took a deep breath; this was her last chance.
"I came to Emfer at the invitation of the royal couple," she began confidently. "The meeting was meant to be peaceful; we were supposed to find solutions to certain problems together. However, instead of conversation, I witnessed a great tragedy. I was terrified and feared for my life, so I wanted to leave Emfer. My decision was based on fear and panic, not guilt. I am not a murderer or a poisoner, I am the queen sitting on the throne of Fenigrid, and it is this fact that is the reason for my accusation." "Aktis decided to go all out – the royal couple wanted to remove me from the throne and take my place. I am not responsible for Prince Tendred's death; the killer is on the loose, perhaps even here." She paused briefly for effect. "By defeating Tendred, I gain nothing but suspicion and this strange trial." Aktis spread her hands in a helpless gesture. "I am innocent; I am not responsible for my brother-in-law's death." Silence fell over the courtroom, the loud murmurs subsided. Aktis watched the councilors' faces; they were uncertain. Well, the lack of unanimous consent meant freedom for the accused aristocrat.
From the side came the shuffling of feet, someone pushing forward, and people gave way. Marvin was led to the center. He was pale and needed support. Moros, the well-known Aktis legist, followed.
"I beg your pardon, but at the last minute we have another witness. His testimony is very important."
The legist presiding over the trial looked at Marvin and nodded.
"Introduce yourself and testify to the truth."
"I am Marvin, legist," the newly arrived witness said with white lips and considerable effort. "I worked for Prince Tendred. For years, however, I have been in the service of the Queen Dowager, informing her of everything happening in Emfer. I also falsify the books and withdraw some of the money from the city treasury for my own needs and the Queen Dowager's."
The courtroom was silent.
"Do you have evidence to support your statements?" the legist asked.
"Yes, I have letters."
"Please show me." Moros approached the councilors and handed them three scrolls, then handed them to Aktis. She didn't need to unroll them; she knew they belonged to her.
"Do you confirm their authenticity?"
Aktis remained silent. No, that can't be true; she felt as if her entire world was crumbling around her. The murmur of voices grew louder again; she heard the legist repeat his question. How dare they attack and accuse her, Queen Fenigrid.
"For comparison, we have here the letters received from the Queen Dowager," Moros broke the silence. "Please see if you confirm their authenticity," He directed the question at the judges sitting in the council.
"Yes." The words sounded like the sound of an executioner's axe striking a stump.
"No, no, no, no!!!" Aktis's anger boiled. "This is all a cunning deception!! You have nothing on me, nothing but gossip and slander. A bunch of vulgar scoundrels!!! What right do you have to judge me at all? I am the queen, the queen!" "Do you hear me? It wasn't me who killed Tenderd, it was her!" she shouted, pointing accusingly at Setia.
The rest of the trial reached Aktis as if through a fog: shouts in the courtroom, councilors sentencing her to death for treason, Setia nodding her head. A scuffle with the guards and a march, no longer to the chambers, but to the dungeon cell. It had happened, that bitch had achieved her goal. Aktis heard the click of the lock closing, the guards' footsteps, and then silence.
Absolute silence.