1st Recursion: Heir (3)

Unable to hold his anger, Count Hamlin stood up and pointed his finger at Ilya, screaming on top of his lungs, "Ridiculous! You just came out of nowhere, and now you're claiming you're the child of the Duke?! How demented can you be?!"

This time, Orelia didn't stop her husband from having an outburst. If anything, she wanted to shout at the Chief Justice for entertaining the lady's words.

'My niece, my nephews, and even my sister were killed in that fire! And you dare use their deaths for your benefit?! Hevelia's daughter died years ago and I saw that child's corpse! You're nothing but an imposter!'

Orelia settled on uttering her grievances only within her head. The fan she was holding cracked under her tightening grip. She was chewing on her lip so hard that a drop of blood trickled down her mouth.

In the intervening time, the Chief Justice and Ilya were in a world of their own. Their gazes were fixated on each other, their bodies unmoving.

Their silence remained for far too long, drawing the silence from everyone inside the hall. No matter what complaint nor question the onlookers tried to raise were left unanswered. With that being said, it's no use for them to continue.

Ultimately, the verdict would come from the Chief Justice -- a man known for conforming with logic rather than the voice of the nobles.

The staredown between Ilya and the Chief Justice lasted for quite a while.

No one dared to intrude.

No one even dared to make their breathing heard.

The nobles felt as if they were beginning to suffocate from the tension within the hall. Their faces scrunched up, mouths becoming agape.

While the unrest continued to grow, a scream erupted all of a sudden. Everyone turned their heads to see who it was and questions arose in their minds as they found out.

With her hands covering her ears, Leahmir Dantalion was kneeling on the floor while screaming her lungs out. The two men beside the lady merely stared at her, blankly and unmoving. On the other hand, Halkias, who previously looked unbothered, was sighing heavily in repeat.

Since he had already brought trouble for himself by personally escorting Ilya, Halkias wasn't planning on making another move that would garner him any attention. Under his tightly pursed lips, he was gritting his teeth with ferocity. The shrieking was soon drowned out by the ringing in his ears, making him snap his head to the side.

Halkias closed his eyes as he muttered under his breath, "Ah, my head is still pounding. Can that woman just stop? It's utterly maddening."

After a few seconds, he opened his eyes. Without hesitation, he began making his way towards the Leahmir. Withal, halfway into his saunter, he stopped.

Someone was ahead of him.

"There, there, we don't want to be clamorous now, do we?"

Halkias' eyebrows furrowed as he observed Ilya caressing Leahmir's head. Still, he stepped back and let her handle the situation. After all, Leahmir's screaming did lessen a tad.

Ilya knelt in front of Leahmir and held her face. She then forced the woman to look at her in the eye, smiling as she did so.

"Hush down, Lady Leahmir Dantallion. Everything is going to be fine."

Hearing Ilya comfort her, Leahmir quickly halted from wailing. She closed her mouth and grabbed Ilya's arms, her grip weak and trembling.

"Fi- fine? Really? Really?"

"Yes, so don't fret. Nothing is going to happen." Ilya lowered her voice, "For now, at least."

Leahmir dragged her knees to get close to Ilya, hugging her right away. As the woman began to cry, Ilya stroked her back to somehow appease her troubled heart. She didn't say a word, knowing that silence was better than being meddlesome.

The woman yielded herself to Ilya as if there's no one else who could take her place. It took more than several minutes for Leahmir to fully calm down. Unbeknownst to anyone, that was enough for the Chief Justice to make a decision. Well, except for one person.

Halkias noticed the way that the Chief Justice was looking at Ilya. He narrowed his eyes at the old man, but soon relaxed the muscles on his face.

'This is the extent of my involvement. Whatever happens from this moment on will not fall on my responsibility.' Halkias thought, subsequently diverting his gaze to Ilya and Leahmir.

Just as he did, he saw Ilya whispering something in Leahmir's ears. Thereafter, Leahmir's eyes turned wide open, almost as if they were going to jump out of their sockets. The woman's reaction made him raise a brow, the urge to pry visiting him. Even so, he held himself back.

"What-- What did you just-"

Before Leahmir could relay her query, Ilya stood up and went back to her spot. She didn't pay any more attention to the woman. She went on and bowed towards the Chief Justice.

"On behalf of Her Ladyship, I apologize for the ruckus that we've caused, Your honour."

"Ilya Gertrude,"

The Chief Justice's voice resonated loudly inside the hall, forcing everyone to heed his ensuing speech.

"Yes, Your honour,"

"How could you prove your legitimacy as the child of the late Duke Brahm Gertrude and Duchess Hevelia von Bismarck?"

Ilya took a deep breath, and replied, "As we all know, the Duke of Gertrude took in a new wife after my mother's passing. Although I was still grieving, I was willing to accept my father's lover and her children. Regrettably, I was the only one who had that sentiment."

She lowered her head for a moment, then closed her eyes. Ilya could feel the rims of her eyes heating up, so she bit her bottom lip to keep her composure. Once her serenity had returned, she looked at the Chief Justice again to continue her statement.

"Sorsiana Hamlin vehemently voiced her desire to drive me out of the succession. Of course, the Duke himself was in favour of her plans to make her eldest son, Horen Gertrude, the next head of the Gertrude Family. But that isn't my main concern, Your Honour."

"Then what is?" The Chief Justice asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"Didn't you find the circumstances of the death of the former Duchess suspicious?"

"I beg your pard--"

"There," Ilya said, her forefinger now pointed at the woman seething in anger, "Her Ladyship has all the answers, Your Honour."