Everyone Realized the Saint Was a Fake, but She Still Thought She Was Fooling Them - Chapter 28

At that moment, a voice echoed through the banquet hall.

“That’s not all, is it?”

“Ah, Ernst! And Wallace too.”

Lianna and Celeste turned toward the voice and were surprised.

“Lianna. And Celeste. You two, seriously… When did you even corner Lucilda? You really surprised me. You could’ve at least told me first.”

Wallace looked at Lianna and Celeste with a sharp gaze.

“We had our reasons for keeping quiet. More importantly, why are you here?”

When Lianna asked, Wallace’s expression turned serious.

“It’s about the person who stabbed Ernst.”

“Oh?”

The crown prince looked up.

Ernst gave a small nod, stepped forward, and spoke.

“Not long ago, I was suddenly stabbed at a royal ball. That attacker was also connected to Lucilda.”

The crown prince’s face lit up with amusement.

“I heard you were stabbed. But I thought the attacker hadn’t been caught.”

“Yes, they haven’t. Not yet.”

Ernst glanced at Lucilda. She shrank back.

The crown prince briefly glanced at Lucilda before turning his eyes back to Ernst.

“Not yet?”

“Yes. I wanted to expose the connection to Lucilda first.”

“I see. So, since you’re bringing this up now, that means you’ve found proof of their connection? Alright, let’s hear it. Who’s the attacker?”

The crown prince asked with an eager look on his face.

“It was Dustin, the second son of the Gilyard Baron family,” Wallace answered.

“Gilyard Baron family…?”

The crown prince tilted his head, unfamiliar with the name.

“Ah, I thought you might not know them. They’re a newly established baron family,” Ernst quickly explained.

The crown prince nodded.

“I see. So why did this man attack you?”

“Honestly, it’s embarrassing, but Dustin was in a relationship with my fiancée, Yelena. And it seems Yelena was quite devoted to him too.”

Ernst spoke hesitantly.

“Oh! So, a love triangle?”

The crown prince’s eyes widened.

Ernst quickly denied it.

“Ah, no, not at all. They just made it look like a love triangle to cover up the real crime. The truth is, Lucilda ordered Dustin to do it—to threaten me.”

The crown prince nodded in understanding.

“Ah, I see. Well, Lucilda did hate you quite a lot, Ernst.”

“Hate me? Isn’t that strange? If anything, I should be the one hating her! She was the one who demanded a huge bribe in exchange for approving the flood control project!”

Ernst protested.

The crown prince nodded in agreement.

“That’s exactly why she hates you—you refused her bribe.”

Ernst gave the crown prince a sharp look.

“Your Highness, you knew about Lucilda’s bribery?”

“Yeah, I knew.”

“Then why didn’t you stop her?”

“Because it was more interesting this way. You’re not the type to just accept injustice, right? I figured you’d fight back against Lucilda.”

The crown prince said it without a hint of guilt.

Ernst was speechless.

“…Well, you’re not wrong…”

“See? I didn’t even need to get involved.”

The crown prince grinned.

“You really are something! I ended up getting stabbed because of this, you know!”

“Yeah, I was a little shocked by that part too.”

“‘A little shocked’? That’s your response?!”

Ernst scolded the crown prince.

At that moment, Lucilda interrupted their off-topic conversation.

“Did Dustin admit to it? That he stabbed you?”

Ernst and the crown prince turned to look at Lucilda.

Her face was pale as if she had already received a death sentence. Her body trembled.

But Ernst felt no sympathy for her.

“Lucilda. Yes, Dustin admitted it. He said you ordered him to do everything.”

“B-but what if I say I never gave any orders to Dustin? What if he’s just lying?”

Lucilda whispered desperately.

Wallace responded calmly.

“It’s not a lie. Brode from the Stokely Count family is also willing to testify.”

“W-who is that…?”

Lucilda had never heard the name before and shook her head weakly.

Wallace explained.

“A friend of Dustin. He’s also acquainted with Lady Yelena.”

Dustin. Yelena… Another testimony against me…?

Lucilda realized there was no escape. She began to sob.

It’s over, she thought.

Then Wallace turned to Lianna.

“I had no idea you and Celeste were cornering Lucilda like this. And the holy mark was fake? Well, if Lucilda was already this cornered, I guess I didn’t even need to negotiate with Dustin.”

Even as he spoke, Wallace smiled, now that the case was solved.

“What about Dustin and Priest Wisledge?”

Lianna asked.

Wallace was surprised that Lianna knew Wisledge’s name, but he didn’t question her for now. Instead, he answered calmly.

“Both of them are in custody. Dustin already confessed to the stabbing, and we detained that priest too. We didn’t want him making contact with Lucilda and causing trouble. If he had warned her, she might’ve come up with some countermeasure. But in the end, it was good that we held him. Since he also broke the Saintess Law, Wisledge is a criminal too. Saved us some trouble, huh?”