The man slammed his hand on the table, and was so bewildered to the point where he lost the ability to speak momentarily.
He coughed in shock a few times before finally managing to force out some words.
I watched the sight without speaking nor acting because he would eventually calm down on his own.
"Y-you-", he managed to stutter out, but he saw my serious face and was reminded of my position.
I wasn't joking about this, and I wanted to make that clear to him.
He looked at me with an unbelieving expression, as if wanting to crack my expression off me and have me admit it was a joke.
But I stayed silent and made sure that that I my face didn't falter.
I was nervous because because of this request, but I couldn't be all jittery now.
Especially after making Onii-sama run around and do all that work, even if I was already presumed innocent because of the lack of poison.
And this was strategically a good move, because then I would be shattering a lot of Ivy's power.
It was a risky take though.
If The Temple came out innocent, I would be the laughingstock of society.
'The arrogant noble lady who thought she could go against The Temple itself.'
I could already think of the many names and impression I would give off afterwards.
I would lose all the honour and reputation I had grown over the years, just like that.
But it was better than doing nothing, just standing here and waiting for the guillotine to cut down on my neck.
As much as it could progress my survival, it could also cause a huge backlash if failed.
His eyes directly glanced at the amount of paper I was holding, and I understood that it was time to present evidence.
'Sir, before you start panicking again, would you please have a look at this?'
My mind instantly scribbled the thought of that, because it would deliver a hint of insult.
"If you would kindly read this, Sir."
I nodded and smiled, but inside I was fuming with anger because of the amount of politeness I had to put on.
Even I had to admit I didn't have the most patience in the world, and had quite a large amount of pride too.
I didn't like bowing my head and coaxing people in a gentle tone, because that would betray any thoughts of mine.
I admit that this pride of mine had not done me many favors, more hinderings.
I thought that I alone would be able to stand against all the male leads and Ivy, but that was not the case.
And for the time being, it seemed they didn't hate me that much. Yet.
I was on a good relationship with Ellios, perhaps even comrades on the topic of magic.
I trusted Onii-sama, and my admiration for him hasn't gone down a bit since I was born into this world.
Philip........that knight......other than his crazy strength, he had nothing else.
I truly didn't know what to feel on him, but I clearly understood that he respected me in some way.
Aaron might as well become a marionette, he was pretty enough for that and I couldn't tell any traces of emotions on his face other than the casual annoyance at other people.
He was cold-hearted and didn't care much about the world, but emotionless wasn't the word either.
I furrowed my brows at the final male lead, Albert.
He always put on a smile, it's explained that he was taught to put on that expression wherever he went.
I had the most complicated feelings about him.
The fact that the bright smile he put on everyday was fake made me wonder what his real personality was like.
He was shown as a gentle person when it came to Ivy, but was he really like that?
That gentle person could have ordered an execution of a person without batting an eyelash, you call that gentle?!
He was intelligent enough to work behind the scene's to Ivy's demise, how could he be the kind character described by Ivy.
It seemed that he really did care about Ivy's impression of him, because the otome game Ivy was very pure and naive.
Now that you say it like that, I almost felt bad for Ivy who doesn't even know her dear prince's real face.
And I never really have expected the prince to be different from what he was like in the otome game, just like all the other supporting characters.
With the exception of me and Ivy, of course.
It felt like everybody forgot how Ivy was the first semester, and decided that she was a pure flower like she should have been from the start as her default personality.
All the unnamed students only knew the difference between good and bad, cherishing Ivy and hating me.
I tried my best to be a good person while also maintaining my dignity and pride as a noble lady, but changing my fate wasn't so easy after all.
I wasn't going to act like a clean saint who only cared about other people, which was the path Ivy had decided to choose.
Just the thought of me giggling like a madman and acting like a feeble girl who's neck would snap with a slight push chilled me down to the spine.
How much dignity and pride would I have to swallow down to be turn into that very character?
Ivy, although I dislike you very much and would rather not have you popping up in my mind, I wonder how far you would go to accomplish your damnable goals.
I heard a light slap of paper hitting against the wooden table, and I looked up to check on his progress.
A big sigh filled the whole room, something that interrupted the harsh silence.
"Lady Roselyn, how........you know this is the Temple we're talking about, right?"
His eyes looked distraught as he stared at me.
I smiled, "Yes, I'm fully aware that this piece of evidence is against the Temple."
He gave me an understanding but at the same time confused look, as if this made sense in a logical way but he couldn't understand my intentions on doing this.
"I couldn't just stand there and watch innocent citizens of this country get harmed," I told him, and he slowly nodded back in a daze.
I was still human and I sincerely didn't want anybody to suffer, but this would also benefit me in the process.
"But please consider, even if it's just a bit. I want to keep this country safe and well."
For some reason, those words didn't feel like a lie at all.
I genuinely cared about the well being of people, even if it was just a bit.
I nodded once to excuse myself, and shut the door behind me.
Now I was completely sure he would comply to my request, seeing his expression as I left.
A tinge of hope lit up in me as the plan I had bet everything on began.