# 49
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At that moment, a great commotion swept through the Hartwin family mansion.
The court, anticipating the possibility of family members fleeing, sent its men in advance.
As soon as the knights infiltrated the palace and took control of it in an instant, fear began to creep into the faces of the Viscount and his wife.
Their bodies trembled, but their voices remained sharp and tense.
“Go away! Who dares to extend a hand?!”
“Why do you treat us like criminals?!”
The court knights surrounded them, preventing any chance of escape.
“Where's Jimmy Hartwin?”
One of the supervisors inspected the place with a sharp expression. Meanwhile, a young assistant called him from upstairs.
“Here is a locked room! What do we do?”
“Break the lock. He might be hiding behind it.”
The room referred to was Jimmy's private library.
Since Dana stole her key, Jimmy has put together an even bigger lock, not trusting his parents or anyone he lives with.
As the Viscountess tried to nervously attack the supervisors, she heard a stern voice.
“Assaulting an official employee adds a penalty to your list of crimes.”
penalty?
Her cheeks turned pale as if blood had been drawn from them. She wanted to escape.
She stared at the knight standing barring the door, but to no avail; The knights surround it from both sides.
Her features changed quickly, and she took on a soft, feigned tone.
“K—soon my son will arrive... When he comes, everything will be solved, believe me!”
But that was impossible.
She mentioned his name just to buy a few moments.
“Just come back...a big sum will arrive soon, you'll be sure!”
The supervisor did not move a single step. After checking Jimmy's absence, he nodded to his men.
“We'll take these two first.”
“Ahhh!”
“Just give us a few days!”
The Viscount and his wife were unable to resist in front of the force of knights, no matter how much they shouted or threw themves.
As the noise grew, the neighbors gathered around the place.
The sight of the Viscount and his wife being dragged to the ground, clinging on by their toes, until the last moment, ignited loud murmurs.
The ugly face of the nobility was always a tempting subject to watch.
“It seems that the Hartwin family has fallen into misfortune.”
“Those who lived for years at their daughter’s expense?”
The words severely damaged the family's reputation.
The Viscount could not bear the humiliation, so he shouted towards the spectators.
“What are you looking at?! Did you come to watch?!”
As he shouted, the crowd became more crowded.
And among them was...Jimmy.
After his fight with his parents, he kept going between bars every day.
He had no one left to borrow from, and no place to beg.
Since last night, he has been drowning in drink, cursing Dana, until he was expelled because he no longer had the money for a drink.
His vision faltered.
The ground moved under his feet as if it would fall on top of him. When he reached the palace with difficulty, he encountered a horrific scene.
His parents are forcefully dragged away in front of everyone's eyes.
He felt his body getting cold to the bone.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
The taste of alcohol and tension combined in his throat, leading him to nausea.
“Oof…”
Disgruntled eyes looked at him.
“If you're drunk, go sleep inside!”
Suddenly, someone pointed towards him.
“Isn’t that the son of the Hartwin family?”
There was silence.
Everyone is waiting for him to raise his head.
He was hunched over, his eyes moving nervously.
A strange hand approached him, accompanied by a low sound.
“Young man...”
His heart jumped violently. Terror gripped him, and all ability to think fled from him.
Run away, run away, run away.
A loud command hit his skull fiercely.
He slapped the hand extended towards him forcefully. The voice rang out, and he raised his head slightly.
“Yes...isn't he the Viscount's son...?”
The man did not finish his sentence.
Jimmy had gone mad.
He stumbled repeatedly and fell to the ground, but he did not stop.
He was just running... wherever there was no one.
The skin on his palms split when they hit the rough ground, but he felt nothing.
Holding his breath, he did not look back for a moment, fearing that he would discover someone following him.
***
Karl had arrived at the court first, and sat in the defense seat.
As soon as he saw Edwin and Dana entering, he rose to greet them.
Dana sat in the chair he had pulled out for her, a slight shadow of tension on her face.
Edwin sat next to her, holding her hand tightly.
Karl turned to them and said.
“This session will be held in private. No one is allowed to attend except those assigned to it.”
That is, there is no need to fear the spread of rumors. Edwin caught the meaning, and gave a small nod.
Dana was the only one who looked surprised.
“Is...this allowed?”
“……In some cases, yes. Especially when the hearing is scheduled in a hurry.”
Karl reassured her with words that seemed convincing, even though he felt guilty for lying.
“Okay then. I wanted it to be quiet.”
Dana smiled relieved.
At that moment, a loud noise echoed outside the hall.
"Dana! We need to see that hoe!"
“Ungrateful!”
The voice was familiar. A voice you hear today for the last time.
Then they arrived.
Dana stood up steadily, as if she had been prepared in advance.
As she expected, the wooden double door opened and the viscount couple entered.
The knights forced them to sit down.
It was clear at first sight how exhausted they were by fear.
“Today’s court appearance… Ah!”
Before the knight finished his report to the judge, the Viscount and his wife looked at Dana.
Their eyes rolled and they rushed towards her madly, but the strength of the knights was enough to push them back.
One of the knights grabbed the back of the viscount's neck, then plunged the hilt of his sword into his stomach.
“K…!”
The Viscount collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach, then his limp body was lifted up and returned to his seat.
Behind him, his wife raised her hand threateningly, emitting sharp insults.
The knights hurried to restrain her.
In that short moment, successive images flooded into Dana's head.
Her little body is being beaten in silence,
A little girl who doesn't even have the courage to cry out loud.
And I remembered Edwin's words that morning...
'You should have broken their hands.'
Dana did not break a wrist, but merely sent a wry smile at the Viscountess.
“Go ahead. Just try it. And I… I won’t stay silent anymore.”
cried the Viscountess in a frenzy breathless with rage.
It never occurred to her that Dana would offer any resistance.
For her, she was that naive girl who cried silently and endured the pain.
“Come here right now, slut!”
But Dana did not tremble. She kept staring at them with unbreakable stability.
“I'm no longer that girl...I'm no longer the Dana Hartwin you were trampling on.”
She directed her clear voice directly at them.
“I am not the one you insulted and humiliated.”
Dana stared at them with an intensity that cut through the air.
“You... you...!”
The Viscountess stammered, as if she was confronted for the first time with the reality that the victim she had always punished might one day raise her head.
Petty people...they are only good at stomping on the weak.
Dana took a long breath.
Something heavy was slowly loosening in her chest.
The judge alerted the Viscountess, and she remained silent, even though her hateful gaze continued to devour Dana.
But Dana did not look away.
There is no longer fear.
She faced her past directly, without being shaken.