"—so long as the wrongdoing is witnessed and acknowledged by a royal family member."
The count and countess stood frozen in disbelief.
They could barely comprehend what they were hearing. The princess—the Third Royal Princess—was willing to stand witness for… for this? For a complete nobody? For a man whose companions were slaves?
It had to be some kind of sick joke.
Count Hadrien Vexmore took a half-step forward, his mouth opening, then closing, then opening again. He was desperately fumbling for the right words. "Y-Your Highness!" he finally managed to utter with more strength in his tone than he would've preferred, "with all due respect, surely you cannot be serious. These… individuals are slaves. They're not protected under noble law. The laws of our kingdom, your kingdom, make that quite clear."
