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Chapter 01
Justitia clearly saw it. Just before Lumiela threw herself down the stairs, she made eye contact with Justitia and offered a faint smile.
By the time Justitia realized what was happening, Lumiela had already fallen down the staircase. Her fragile body tumbled down the steps before anyone could intervene.
“Aahh! Lady Lumiela!”
People rushed over at the sound of the scream, gasping in horror at the tragedy unfolding before them. Amid the commotion, someone shouted at the top of their lungs:
“The Saint pushed Lady Lumiela down the stairs!”
Everyone turned to stare at Justitia in shock. Soon, expressions of grim understanding crossed their faces—as if to say that Justitia was entirely capable of such an act.
After all, Justitia had a history of being caught multiple times trying to slander Lumiela.
Except Justitia was innocent. She urgently shook her head.
“No, I didn’t do this…!”
“Saint!”
Someone cut her off, barking furiously.
Justitia turned her head in flustered surprise to see King Alfonso striding up the stairs with a face twisted in rage.
Behind him, Lumiela was being carried away unconscious.
“Just how low are you willing to stoop? Last time, you slandered Lumiela by claiming she lied.”
It hadn’t been slander. Last time, Lumiela really had lied, claiming credit for something she never did.
Justitia had asserted her innocence and said it was strange for Lumiela to lie like that.
Yet no one believed Justitia.
“Were you so annoyed because Lumiela speaks only the truth? Is that why you tried to kill her this time?”
“How could Your Majesty say such a thing? I do not lie. You know that better than anyone…”
“Do I? Perhaps you’re using that rigid, upright image of yours to frame Lumiela.”
“What reason would I have to do that? I am Your Majesty’s fiancée and the Saint of Scalia.”
Justitia denied the charge firmly.
“This time as well, Lady Lumiela fell down the stairs on her own. Right before she tumbled, I clearly saw her look into my eyes and smile…!”
SLAP!
A sharp crack echoed as a sting burst across Justitia’s cheek. Stunned by the burning pain, she turned her face back slowly.
“How many times must I be disappointed in you?”
Her older brother, Duke Sergio Cassini, was staring down at her with eyes full of contempt.
“Are you framing the real deal just because you’re afraid of losing your place?”
“Framing her? Brother, that’s not true.”
“Silence, Justitia.”
Sergio cut her off in a ice-cold voice.
“By my authority as head of the family, I hereby excommunicate you from the Cassini Family. You are no longer a Cassini, nor are you my sister.”
A murmur rippled through the surrounding crowd at the sudden declaration. Even if disowning a member was within the family head’s rights, no one recklessly excommunicated a Saint like this.
Yet Alfonso merely stood by, silently endorsing the decision. Justitia could hardly believe what was happening.
“We should have done this from the start. Now that the real sister is back, we have no use for a fake.”
“…Fake.”
Muttering the word in hollow disbelief, Justitia asked in a voice thick with sorrow:
“Did you ever once consider me your sister?”
Sergio let out a cold smirk, leaning down close to Justitia’s face before replying:
“You know better than anyone that I never did.”
With that, Sergio turned away. Before following him, Alfonso paused as if remembering one last detail and left her with a warning:
“I intend to strictly hold you accountable for today’s incident later. Saint or not, the crime of harming a Cassini lady is by no means light.”
“…”
“Never commit such an act again. I say this for the sake of your own well-being.”
It sounded as though he were granting her one final pass. How absurd. She hadn’t done anything wrong in the first place.
Fortunately, Lumiela regained consciousness safely and expressed that she did not wish for Justitia to be punished.
Justitia requested a meeting with Lumiela to clear the air, but the attempt fell through when Lumiela refused out of apparent fear.
As the news spread, everyone praised Lumiela’s magnanimity while heaping abuse on Justitia.
“Everything originally belonged to Lady Lumiela anyway—both the title of Saint and the daughter of the Cassini family.”
“Since the real one who disappeared seven years ago has returned, it’s no wonder the imposter is anxious. Still, to think she’d push someone down the stairs…”
Before she knew it, Justitia had become the fake who envied and maligned the real deal.
“I am truly innocent, Archbishop. The seat of the Saint, the name Cassini… I am willing to lay them all down. I have never harbored malicious feelings toward Lady Lumiela.”
“If Your Holiness is truly innocent, God will know.”
“…You don’t believe me either, Archbishop?”
“Regardless of who you are, I am on your side, Saint.”
Archbishop Formoso grasped Justitia’s hands and spoke earnestly. Justitia stared at him with hurt eyes before eventually pulling her hands away and leaving.
Not long after.
“By royal decree, Saint Justitia shall be executed for attempting to poison Lady Lumiela Cassini.”
Justitia met her death—abandoned by her family, her fiancé, and the Church alike.
So…
‘You’re telling me I’ve become that Justitia?’
I looked into the mirror with a utterly deadpan expression. Reflected in the glass was a beautiful woman with hair shimmering like silver dyed in moonlight and eyes as blue as a clear lake.
Justitia. A gentle, upright Saint who didn’t know how to tell a lie. Consequently, she was helplessly taken in by the returning “real deal’s” schemes, ultimately losing everything and meeting a tragic end.
“Saint, you look truly beautiful today! I don’t think there’s ever been a Saint as gorgeous as you in the entire history of Scalia.”
Nora, her maid, was trying her best to cheer me up with a bright smile. Then she carefully added:
“Please try to avoid running into Lady Lumiela today if you can. It feels like bad things always happen whenever you get mixed up with her.”
‘This girl is surprisingly perceptive, isn’t she?’ As I looked at Nora with an impressed expression, she flinched and hurriedly continued:
“O-Of course, I’m not saying Lady Lumiela is a bad person! It’s just… strangely enough, whenever you’re around her, unfair situations keep happening to you.”
The original, gentle Justitia would have gently scolded Nora, telling her not to speak ill of Lumiela.
“You’re right.”
“Since I’m not the real Justitia.”
“You hit the nail on the head. The Cassini lady keeps making things up out of thin air to put me in difficult spots.”
Taken aback by the unexpected answer, Nora’s eyes went wide.
“Y-Yes! Exactly! Last time, she made it sound in front of everyone like you had left her behind in the slums to ride the carriage back alone! When in truth, you were hastily taking an injured child to the hospital.”
Just as Nora said, Lumiela constantly distorted the truth like this, making Justitia look like an awful person.
“I felt so frustrated watching you just let it slide back then…”
She had a point. Justitia never bothered to correct the facts until the problem spiraled out of control.
All while saying exasperating things like, ‘Well, it’s true that I rode the carriage alone.’
Because of that, even the people who used to believe in Saint Justitia gradually started trusting Lumiela’s words instead.
By the time Lumiela’s lies and distortions grew so severe that Justitia tried to set the record straight, it was already far too late.
“Exactly. I should have listened to you.”
Seriously, Justitia… It wasn’t like you lacked advisors. You had such a sharp maid by your side, yet you acted so soft-headed?
As I gave a candid nod, Nora looked at me as if she were seeing a stranger.
“You’re acting a bit unusual today.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. When I said something like this last time… you didn’t like it very much. You said that as a Saint, you should overlook other people’s minor faults.”
“I changed my mind. Spreading false information isn’t a minor fault.”
I replied nonchalantly.
“He who steals a pin will steal an ox. Who’s to say she won’t tell even bigger lies down the road?”
“That’s precisely what I’m saying!”
“Of course…”
I stared blankly just above Nora’s head and added one more thing.
“I still think Lumiela is a good person.”
The moment those words left my mouth—
[Lie detected.]
[Lie Gauge increased by 0.1%]
[Current Gauge: 0.1%]
Floating text appeared right before my eyes.
