The villainess will survive!

Part 67: Unexpected interruption

He gave off a very flashy sense, but nobody was surprised at his full-on uniform because he was the Crown Prince. 

He looked sideways at me, smiled, but said nothing back. 

Who could argue at the fact that he barged in the courtroom? 

They could only stare at him with some disdain in their eyes. 

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, why have you interrupted the session?" 

We all looked at my father, truly one of the few people that could actually talk to the future king like this. 

He was the Supreme Judge in this place, there was none that could talk back to him other than the king himself. 

Although even Albert storming in the trial was very impolite, I didn't think he would straight up barge in here. 

"Forgive me this once, but I truly have something to add", the prince responded with a smile. 

In this place resided the Duke, the Dukedom's heir and the seemingly future Queen. 

Did Albert want to get on the bad side of the Villinie family? 

If he dared to disrespect us like this, then his road up to taking the throne would be very, very bumpy. 

Even if he eventually sat on the high chair, with the biggest noble faction opposing him, he would not do very well. 

He should put a lot of effort into maintaining a good relationship with the dukedom. 

We held a lot of power in our hands, maybe even too much when you looked at the big picture. 

To Albert, gaining our approval of him was like more half of his mission done. 

The reason why Albert could not budge in and remove the engagement right away was because of Roselyn's backing. 

But once he found a good reason to discard her, even her own family could not object. 

This showed how well Albert knew to play his cards, and he was also aware that she had lost the favour of her big brother.

He was a very intelligent man who was not afraid to act, I realised. 

But I already had this idea stuck in the corner of my mind, just never bothered to look deeper into Albert's characterisation.

He could see social situations perfectly, but he was probably already doing this from a young age. 

Growing up as a crown prince likely put this kind of stress on people, I told myself. 

I glanced over the crown prince's shoulders and spotted a woman standing there with an obviously nervous expression. 

Although my face did not change, a small turmoil started in my head. 

What was she here for? Why did the Crown Prince bring her here?

And on top of that, with that anxious and tense face, it felt very fishy.

What was Albert truly planning to do this time?

Now that I had determined that he was a scheming little bastard, and quite good at it, my fear of him grew instantly. 

Perhaps Albert was betting that she would change the tides here? 

But even so, that's a big gamble and depends on how well her testimony is. 

My father would not bend to her words simply because she was behind the crown prince, although he would at least have to somewhat acknowledge it. 

Albert casually walked in a with a very imposing aura until he reached the judge's seat, and scooped out a few sheets of paper that I didn't notice under his arms. 

"Forgive me for my rude intrusion, but I really need the Duke to look at this." 

I held in my breath with an itch to know what was written on it.

The paper was simply too far away for me to read, and I couldn't make out anything except blurry lines filling it from top to bottom. 

Not wanting to look like a small child sticking her head out, I averted my eyes straightforward and waited for father's response. 

"Your highness, why did you choose this specific time to present it, and not earlier nor later?"

"I couldn't find a better than time than the present, so I simply had to." 

I clenched my fists at this blatant and shameless response, and mentally added "arrogant" under Albert's name. 

This response, in reality, was very discourteous, especially in front of the Grand Duke and many others. 

It was like saying, "I wanted to come at this time, so I did." 

But it put us into a lock hold, because my father could not decline the crown prince in front of so many people. 

Thus my father had to take this matter into consideration immediately. 

I looked at Onii-sama, who had clear and understanding eyes unlike mine. Was Onii-sama not worried that Albert would interfere with our trial?

After a whole period of silence in the courtroom, my father finally opened his mouth to speak. 

"The evidence is accepted, although I warn Your Highness to present it formally next time." 

"Understood and apologies, Your Grace," Albert said as he stepped back. 

My father turned to look at the expecting crowd, "New evidence has been presented against the Temple." 

I was about to open my mouth to question it, but then I repeated my father's statement a few more times in my head. 

New evidence??? Against the Temple???????

My father did not hesitate to say it, so it couldn't have been a mistake. 

I was doubting my own ears, but he made the fact that Albert handed evidence against the Temple clear. 

But if the Temple fell like this, how would Ivy be able to climb the social ladder?

Albert couldn't have gone stupid at this time, could he?

He wouldn't end up with beloved Ivy if he did this, unless he was trying to boost up his own reputation?

Did he already abandon the idea of being with Ivy and decide that moving up towards the throne was more important?

But worsening the Temple's situation at this time would not give him that much merit onto becoming king. 

It was not worth it, unless he somehow made the common people think he was the one that brought down the evil Temple. 

However, since me and my brother pointed the Temple's sins out first, we would be most recognised for this deed, unless Albert's sudden appearance made a mark on people's heart. 

Who wouldn't think that a handsome Crown Prince suddenly bursting into a trial was cool?

The possibility of this overshadowing me and Onii-sama's efforts was very likely. 

So.....he really chose boosting his reputation over Ivy?