March 22, 853, late morning. The courtroom was engulfed in chaos, exacerbated by the incident from the previous day and fuelled further by the sensationalized reports in the high society newspapers.

"This young man must be punished. To openly make a mockery out of nobility is ridiculous!" Duke Victor Duskwood thundered, his voice cutting through the clamor as he sought to uphold the goals of his faction.

"Yes, and where even is Count Sterling? He too has caused a big problem by not solving this issue in the closed-room trial. Why do we even continue funding that section of the academy? When was the last time we used it?" Count Lucious Blackthorn chimed in, expressing his discontent and questioning the allocation of funds to the academy.

"Wait, what do you mean by cutting funding for the academy? You just don't want to donate money to the academy, isn't that right?" retorted Viscount Roland Shadowbrook, steering the conversation in a different direction.

"I never said anything about the academy. Stop misrepresenting what I said. You know that's not what I said," Count Lucious Blackthorn clarified, engaging in a verbal skirmish with Viscount Roland Shadowbrook.

"Silence, both of you! We are derailing from the main topic. Can we stick to the agenda for once?" Duke Victor Duskwood bellowed, attempting to restore order to the chaotic proceedings.

Yet, as usual, the courtroom descended into further disarray, with the nobles engaging in heated exchanges, overshadowing any attempt to address the matters on the agenda. The scene mirrored the tumultuous nature of any parliamentary session, where personal interests and disputes often took precedence over the issues at hand.

Finally, after hours of pointless debates and a return to the main topic due to a lack of time, the Empress started addressing the issue personally.

"Order, order. Getting back to the original point at hand, we can all agree that Luke DeMontfort has, in fact, caused a lot of ruckuses and damaged the names of nobility. Not to mention the domestic violence on Lady Vivienne Sterling. I feel it is only right that we break up the engagement and punish Luke DeMontfort appropriately," the Empress declared, seeking resolution amidst the chaos.

The Emperor, however, was not ready to accept this without a fight. Aware of the inevitability of the engagement breakup and armed with information from Aurelia Vespera, he understood the delicate balance he needed to maintain to avoid arousing suspicion within the aristocratic faction.

"Empress, are you suggesting that we punish a noble based on unsubstantiated claims? What does 'credible allegations' even mean? Either it's allegations or there is credible evidence to back things up. This is my first time hearing this nonsense term 'credible allegation.' Not to mention the fact that you are attempting to meddle in the personal affairs of Count Sterling when they are not present here. And, of course, not to mention the blatant insult to House DeMontfort as you are discussing their heir without the DeMontforts present. Without any credible evidence or any input from the families themselves, how are you planning on implementing whatever decision you make? This is a blatant insult to two of the most prestigious houses in the empire. The least we can do here is talk to the families themselves, and as the only person from Count Sterling's house present here, why don't we ask his daughter Hailey Sterling for her opinion?" the Emperor reasoned, challenging the legitimacy of the proposed actions while carefully avoiding raising suspicion within the aristocratic faction.

Hailey, present in the royal court due to a shocking order, found herself in a baffling situation. She had never interfered in her sister's affairs, as doing so had consistently landed her in trouble within her family. Now, with her father and mother absent, confusion reigned. The fear of saying something that might lead to severe consequences gripped her, making her spine shiver at the thought of potential punishment.

Trying to navigate the situation, Hailey began, "Your Majesty, it is an honor to meet you," only to be rudely interrupted by the Empress with a curt, "Enough of the formalities, just get straight to the point." The Empress had delved into an inquiry about the relationship between the two sisters. Recognizing Hailey's proximity to House DeMontfort, the Empress decided to expedite proceedings, avoiding the spotlight on Hailey and of course not watering down her proposal fearing inputs from Hailey might be more favorable to Luke than Vivienne.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Getting straight to the point, my father and mother had to rush to our fiefdom on an emergency a couple of days before this incident took place. I can assure you that neither myself nor my family were aware of what was transpiring in the academy over the past couple of days due to an administrative emergency in the fiefdom. However, I assure you that my father, Count Bartholomew Sterling, is on his way back from the fiefdom. I would recommend and plead on behalf of our family not to make any decisions regarding the engagement or anything regarding what transpired in the academy without inputs from my father himself." Hailey expressed, attempting to provide context and request prudence in making decisions that could impact her family.

"Are you suggesting that we just let the name of nobility be dragged into the mud and let more rumors spread as Count Sterling takes his sweet time returning from the fiefdom? By that time, the information would have traveled all the way to the neighboring kingdom, and we would become a laughing stock," barged in Duke Victor Duskwood, attempting to apply pressure on Hailey.

The Emperor couldn't help but laugh internally. He knew well that the post in the High Society newspaper was orchestrated by the aristocratic faction. It was ironic how they discussed the name of aristocrats being dragged down when they decided to make things public. Deciding to end this whole facade, the Emperor replied, "That's enough, Duke Duskwood. Today's courtroom discussion itself was preposterous, considering the fact that neither head of the two families involved is present here. As the young lady pointed out, it is best if we wait for the Count to arrive and not make any rash decisions until then. Otherwise, we will look like tyrants trying to unjustly punish people. If we don't hold a fair trial for the aristocrats, the common folks would be even less inclined to believe that any trials we act upon are fair. So, in the best interest of the empire, this trial is adjourned and will be restarted once both family heads are present," firmly closing the possibility of attempts to pass a resolution on that day.