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Chapter 203: It’s Fiery Hot on Both Sides

Charlotte Sorofya had never felt as stressed as she did at this very moment.

“Based on the rules of the ‘Rosa Merchant Confederacy’s Engagement Act’, there would indeed be no problems with the engagement contract between Miss Charlotte Sorofya and Mister Roel Ascart. However, according to Additional Clause 43a of ‘Saint Mesit Theocracy’s Engagement Act’, there is a maximum effective duration of 150 years to any engagement signed by the Theocracy’s nobles, and the engagement has to be fulfilled within three generations.”

Supreme Judge Karsted calmly dropped this bombshell in the meeting room, and its effects were immediately apparent. All of the lawyers on Rosa’s side gasped in astonishment, realizing that they had just made a fatal error. The auburn beauty sitting behind them also recoiled a little, unable to believe what she had just heard.

Charlotte and Roel’s engagement contract was barely a hundred years old, which meant that there was still some time before the clock would run out. However, the crux wasn’t here but the condition stating that the engagement had to be fulfilled within three generations.

Roel’s grandfather, Blanc Ascart, was only in his twenties when he aided Rosa in the nation founding, but the patriarch of the Sorofyas, Tindi Sorofya, was already in his sixties. While transcendents in this world were considered to be in their prime even in their sixties, it should be obvious to anyone that the two of them weren’t from the same generation.

When the engagement contract was signed, Tindi’s daughter was already in her forties and married, so it was clear that he wasn’t planning to marry her but his granddaughter. Unfortunately, Blanc was already married by then, so the engagement contract ended up being passed down further.

So, here came the problem.

Roel Ascart, as Blanc’s grandson, was within three generations, so the engagement contract still applied to him. Charlotte Sorofya, however, was Tindi’s great-granddaughter, making her the fourth generation.

In other words, the contract was voided in Charlotte’s generation.

When the investigation squad pulled this fact out, all of the lawyers on Rosa’s side froze up. No matter how glib of a tongue they had, there was no way they could argue over something as definite as this.

Bam!

The loud sound of a table being slammed came from Charlotte’s side.

“You must be joking with me!”

In a state of rage, she actually smashed the wooden table into pieces. She rose to her feet and glared at the golden-haired girl seated on the opposite end of the room.

On the other hand, Nora was much more relaxed. She unhurriedly picked up her teacup and took a sip before finally responding to Charlotte’s outburst.

“Is there anything wrong, Miss Charlotte?”

“Of course! Did you think that I wouldn’t read the Theocracy’s laws beforehand? There’s no such additional clause in the engagement act!”

“Are you resorting to denying reality now? Have you read the original version of ‘Saint Mesit Theocracy’s Engagement Act’? If not, you ought to hold your tongue or speak with utmost prudence. Our transcriber is penning down every remark you’re making here.

“Also, Miss Charlotte, you seem to be misunderstanding something here. I have never denied the engagement contract between the Ascarts and the Sorofyas. The only one I’m denying here is you.”

Nora thought about the words Charlotte had skewered her with the day before as she relished in her moment of vengeance.

“The hundred-year-old engagement contract between the Ascarts and the Sorofyas hold great historical meaning, so how could I possibly attempt to sully this piece of important legacy? All I’m asking for here is the proper fulfillment of this piece of legacy. I’m afraid that you simply don’t qualify, Miss Charlotte. Perhaps your aunts might want to consider it.”

“You!!!”

“Young miss, please calm down!”

Caloo immediately raised his hand to stop the completely enraged Charlotte. With his experience in the field, he knew that losing their tempers here wouldn’t do any good. Instead, what they had to do was to change their strategy.

“Judge Karsted, may I ask which year was Additional Clause 43a of the ‘Saint Mesit Theocracy’s Engagement Act’ passed? Have you brought the original bill here? Based on what I know, the Theocracy’s law books distributed within our Rosa Merchant Confederacy doesn’t contain such a clause.”

“The additional clause was appended to the engagement act 120 years ago, in the autumn of Third Epoch Year 890. There was a huge spike in intergenerational marriage frauds back then, and in order to uphold order within the Theocracy’s nobles, our legal department made some modifications to the engagement act, appending four additional clauses. Additional Clause 43a is one of them.”

Judge Karsted eloquently explained the context behind the additional clause so as to add credibility to his words, but Caloo wasn’t falling for it. He waved his hands grandly and bellowed furiously.

“Preposterous! Mind you, Judge Karsted, we’re standing in the sacred courtroom right now! You’re telling me that it has been 120 years since the Theocracy revised the engagement act? If that’s truly the case, why is this additional clause absent in the Theocracy’s law books sold in the market?”

“That’s because the law books distributed by the Theocracy are for the common citizens, whereas the additional clauses in the ‘Saint Mesit Theocracy’s Engagement Act’ are directed solely at the nobles. For this reason, these clauses have been excluded in the law books widely distributed. Over the past hundred years, this additional clause has been invoked in at least dozens of cases, so its existence is irrefutable.”

“I see. We’ll concede that Additional Clause 43a of the ‘Saint Mesit Theocracy’s Engagement Act’ does exist, but we cast suspicion on its timeline and enforceability. While we acknowledge that this additional clause was passed prior to the signing of the engagement contract, the ratification of the bill only occurred after that.

“Aside from that, in view that the engagement contract was signed in Rosa and not the Saint Mesit Theocracy, we believe that the additional clauses targeted toward the Theocracy’s nobles are not applicable to the Sorofya House.”

Caloo’s great reversal effectively bogged down the entire court proceeding once more. By this point, the lawyers on both sides had already gone red-eyed, unhesitatingly resorting to all sorts of underhanded tricks against one another. Even Supreme Judge Karsted was disgusted by how the Rosaian lawyers were picking at trivial details to force their case. He desperately emphasized the high degree of acknowledgment and enforceability of the law in the Theocracy, but Caloo simply turned a blind eye to it, focusing on just two points:

One, he demanded a document of acknowledgment from the Ascart House regarding the changes of the engagement act.

Two, he insisted that the Theocracy’s additional clauses shouldn’t apply to Rosaian nobles.

A heated debate continued to rage in the courtroom, riling up every single person present.

Behind the Rosaian lawyers, Charlotte felt her heart turning to ice. Regardless of the outcome, there was no denying that there was contention over her engagement contract with Roel now, and it could be said to be effectively nullified until they finally came to a conclusion. While her team of lawyers, through their sharp wits, were able to preserve the engagement contract, they were no longer able to legitimately demand its enforcement anymore.

With this, her greatest weapon had been crippled.

...

Meanwhile, in the Sorofyas’ estate, Alicia was equally heated as well.

When Andrew mentioned earlier that manifestations made out of life force could treat him too, Roel’s heart was immediately set at ease. He had vaguely felt a sense of resonance with the bird when Alicia conjured it earlier on, so he had no problem believing those words.

If he could absorb that bird, even if he didn’t shoot back to full health right away, he should at least recover by a fair amount.

A smile had already formed on his lips as he knew that things were finally going to work out now. After many days of debilitation, he couldn’t wait to recover and move around normally. Yet, the adorable bird he had entrusted his hopes to suddenly collapsed to the ground in the next moment.

???

Both Roel and Andrew were confounded.

Can a bird made solely out of life force actually die?

An incomprehensible question that they were doomed to never know the answer to floated in their minds. As implausible as the notion was, the creator of the bird, Alicia, was insisting on it, so there was nothing they could possibly say about it. In any case, the bird was gone.

Roel traded glances with Andrew. In the end, they could only conclude that Alicia’s control was lacking, resulting in her inability to control the bird for extended periods of time.

This begged a new question: How should Roel be treated then?

Regarding this, the guilt-ridden Alicia expressed her humble opinion.

Manifestation? No no no. Bodily fluids, let’s go!

“If I use the manifestation of life force, it could easily lead to an overdose. However, if we do it through my bodily fluids instead, I can control the amount of life force I’m infusing into Lord Brother,” said Alicia confidently.

Both Roel and Andrew carefully pondered those words before nodding in agreement.

It would indeed be much easier to control the amount of life force being transferred if there was a physical medium present. The easiest way to go about it was through bloodletting, but Roel couldn’t bear to see Alicia bleed, so he decided to back down and go with tears instead.

Well, it shouldn’t be much of a problem, right? While it isn’t good to say this out loud, Alicia does tear up quite often.

With such thoughts in mind, Roel heaved a sigh of relief and asked to start the treatment.

While Charlotte should be able to hold on with her thorough preparations, Roel would still prefer to recover his strength as soon as possible. He couldn’t possibly continue to hole himself up in the Hundred Birds Gallery. He would have to take the initiative to visit Carter in order to properly resolve this matter.

“We should try to slow the consumption of body fluids. If needed, we can dilute it with water. As much as possible, try to consume only as much life force as you require. That would be much better for your recovery.”

Andrew listed a few points for Roel and Alicia to take note of before taking his leave. This matter didn’t require much expertise anyway, so there was no need for him to intervene unnecessarily.

“Alicia, try to think of sad thoughts and squeeze out a few droplets of tears into this cup. We probably won’t need too much.”

Roel raised the wine cup in his hand, which was currently filled with Pamela wine, as he spoke. A glint flashed in Alicia’s eyes. She reached out to take the wine cup, and after staring at it for a moment, she suddenly gulped it down in a single mouthful.

Ah? Why did she suddenly drink the wine?

Roel was dumbfounded for a moment, but he soon rationalized it with ease.

Ah, she’s drinking alcohol to adjust her state of mind. It’s much easier to cry in a drunken state. Woah, she seems like a true professional!

While Roel was mentally nodding to himself, the silver-haired girl suddenly leaned in and sealed off his unguarded lips.