At Hilda's words, Madam Shirley's lips trembled.
'There's no way she can answer.'
Hilda had thoroughly made Madam Shirley's clothes using only backstitch and running stitch. But her own clothes were different. Since they were her own clothes, there was no need to limit herself to certain stitches.
'Moreover, the cutting method is completely different.'
It wasn't the type of cutting that used a whole piece of cloth with only the neck area cut out. Of course, she had usually used that kind of cutting for the clothes she normally wore. She hadn't intended to stand out.
But those clothes were made when she was young, and thinking it was good fabric she was handling after a long time, she had paid attention to the cutting from the start.
"You can naturally tell us, right?"
At Hilda's question, Madam Shirley became speechless and only looked at Hilda and Countess Catena. Countess Catena's expression filled with malice.
"Th-then can Your Highness tell us?"
"I don't need to say it, Countess."
"Why...!"
Countess Catena, who was about to say that, closed her mouth looking at Hilda's clothes. The evidence was that Hilda had presented clothes that resembled this outfit—no, were practically an upgraded version of the clothes they had presented as evidence.
"...N-naturally she should be able to say! Isn't that right!"
Countess Catena pressed Madam Shirley as if urging her. But Madam Shirley's face had already turned pale blue.
"She must have lied."
"Right, how brazen of her."
The sounds of giggling and whispering from around them reached their ears. Madam Shirley was already half out of her mind, and Countess Catena ground her teeth in humiliation.
"Lying, what lying! It's not true! I tell you it's not! This person!"
Countess Catena lashed out as if she would shake Madam Shirley. But how could she claim to know something she didn't know? It was Hilda's trap.
At first, she had thought about asking Madam Shirley to make clothes. But even if the truth was revealed that way, suspicions would inevitably arise. That way, the rumors couldn't be completely quelled.
'The best thing is to make them confess in front of people who will cover up the rumors again.'
So she had deliberately taken a troublesome approach. Even with sufficient law and evidence, people inevitably harbored doubts about things they couldn't verify directly. That's why Hilda had deliberately made similar clothes. It was a perfect opportunity since she also needed a design to popularize.
'No, more than that.'
Hilda didn't want people to only maintain appearances in front of the Crown Prince's authority. If she was taken lightly, it would be she who suffered. It was necessary work to establish dominance anyway.
'There's still a long way to go though.'
Hilda took her clothes from the maid. Slowly stroking the clothes, she showed a smile as if recalling memories. It was clothes that had left many memories for her.
"Answer, Madam Shirley."
"Y-Your Highness."
"I have now commanded you to answer as the Crown Princess of the Lumina Empire."
Hilda put strength into each and every word. The voices of the noble ladies who had been giggling and whispering in the hall completely died down. Everyone looked at Hilda with surprised expressions.
'The momentum when she spoke to the count's eldest son last time wasn't just a fluke.'
Because of her gentle and kind impression, they had completely forgotten about this aspect of Hilda even until this very moment.
At Hilda's sharp rebuke, Madam Shirley mumbled something with her mouth, then immediately prostrated herself on the spot.
"P-please spare me, Your Highness."
"Did I say I would kill you?"
"I-I have committed a mortal sin. Please, thinking of our past connection..."
"Past connection?"
Hilda frowned at those words. Had she and Madam Shirley been in a relationship where they shared affection? Absolutely not. Moreover, Hilda had learned facts she didn't want to know through this process.
"If you had any shame, you couldn't say such things, Madam Shirley."
"Y-Your Highness. Weren't you rumored to be the kindest person in the territory! Please...!"
"Aren't you confusing kindness with being soft?"
Hilda sighed and opened her mouth again.
"Also, the order is wrong. Shouldn't you first reveal what crime you committed?"
Madam Shirley's hands, prostrated on the floor, could be seen trembling violently. Countess Catena still seemed unable to grasp the situation, just watching with wide eyes.
"I-I am not Your Highness's teacher."
"And?"
"These clothes are also, as Your Highness said, clothes that Your Highness made in childhood."
With her words, the surroundings began to murmur.
"My goodness, how shameless..."
"Really, if she had any connection with Your Highness even in the past, she should consider it an honor... How presumptuous."
The noble ladies' words pierced Madam Shirley and Countess Catena like arrows. Not only that, but they read the atmosphere. They had to somehow catch an opportunity to say they hadn't believed such rumors about the Crown Princess.
Although Madam Shirley and Countess Catena had ruined the atmosphere, this gathering was strictly one that Hilda had arranged to select her maids. For nobles, becoming an imperial attendant or maid was a great honor.
Hilda was feeling all this commotion. It was partly because she had avoided society that she didn't want to mix with such untrustworthy people. As she looked around with a bitter smile, her eyes met with a woman who had been watching the situation motionlessly from a while ago. Her deep blue eyes were strangely concerning.
'Right now, I need to finish this first.'
Hilda, who had been looking at her as if entranced for a moment, immediately came to her senses and directed her gaze toward Countess Catena.
"Don't you have anything to say, Countess?"
"...I..."
"The House of Count Catena said this person was my teacher and that my words were false. Isn't that right?"
Hilda's tone was gentle but mixed with anger. Countess Catena repeated only "I, I" several times.
When she finally managed to open her mouth, she didn't look at Hilda. She pointed at Madam Shirley with glaring eyes.
"I was only deceived by this person."
"Deceived?"
"Yes! Th-this person came to us saying she wanted to see a disciple who wouldn't reveal herself, so I only granted that request."
"It's unfair!"
"How dare you!"
Countess Catena shouted loudly to suppress Madam Shirley's words. But from Madam Shirley's position, this wasn't a time to be discriminating.
'At this rate, I'll die alone and helpless.'
Madam Shirley didn't want that. Originally, it was the House of Count Catena that had first approached her when she was just trying to spread some rumors—just rumors that the Crown Princess had made clothes—to make money.
Of course, it was also her choice to act believing only the words that it would never be discovered, blinded by not just money but also honor.
"Wasn't it the Countess who said it would never be found out!"
"Wh-what! How can you tell such lies! Don't you know gratitude!"
"Gratitude! What gratitude did you give me!"
"Just allowing you to sell clothes in the capital for the past month—isn't that gratitude!"
"You took half the profits!"
Those who had been coordinating with each other were busy tearing each other down in the face of the punishment about to be handed down. Hilda put her hand to her forehead watching this sight. Truly...
'What a mess, what a complete mess.'
Although she had expected it, there was no dignity or anything to be found. Hilda sighed deeply and opened her mouth.
"Enough. The crimes of both people are already as good as clear."
"Y-Your Highness! I'm being wronged!"
"I'm the one being wronged!"
Countess Catena also prostrated herself flat on the floor and poured out her grievances to Hilda. Hilda found these two people detestable. Especially Madam Shirley even more so.
"Jerfel."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Madam Shirley hasn't told all her crimes yet, right?"
"That's correct."
Jerfel nodded and turned to the next page of the documents he had prepared.
"What do you mean, Your Highness! I have confessed everything!"
"Well."
Hilda gave Jerfel a look as if telling him to speak. Jerfel opened his mouth with his usual smile. What Hilda had learned through this incident was something that made her feel even more betrayed.
"Madam Shirley did not properly pay for Your Highness's needlework."
"What do you mean by that! It's unfair! I always paid the proper amount!"
"The needlework fee she paid was at the standard level, which might not be problematic in some ways."
"That's right! It's unfair!"
At Jerfel's words, Madam Shirley protested.
"However, that would be the case when Madam didn't know the value of what Your Highness made."
"Th-that's..."
"According to our investigation, we confirmed that Madam Shirley sold clothes Your Highness made for at least twice the standard price, and up to five times at most. Am I wrong?"
"..."
When Hilda learned this fact, she was truly frustrated at her own ignorance of worldly affairs. She knew her needlework was better than others, but Madam Shirley always said this amount was already generous. Actually, during periods like the Founding Festival, she paid a bit more, so she just quietly believed it. But...
"Not paying fair wages for honest labor is also prohibited by national law. You weren't unaware of that, were you, Madam Shirley?"
At Jerfel's words, Madam Shirley couldn't say more. If she continued to claim it was unfair here, it would only add to her crimes, which she would know if she had any brains.
She wanted to finish everything herself to the end, but she couldn't. Lumina had laws, and determining punishments should be done in a courtroom, not in a place like this. Especially since there were heavy punishments like insulting royalty.
'At minimum, it would be confiscation of property and revocation of title.'
That's what Raymond had said. Also, Raymond intended to use this incident as an opportunity for warning. Hilda folded her clothes neatly and placed them aside, then looked at the two people and opened her mouth.
"Both of you are criminals of Lumina. It's not just the crime of insulting royalty."
"Wh-what do you mean..."
"Not just Madam Shirley, Countess Catena has also committed cruel acts against her employees."
"H-how do you..."
"I hope everyone else listens well too."
Hilda knew the weight of her words. This was work she was doing together with Raymond as Crown Princess. It was what he wanted, and also what she wanted.
"Until His late Majesty's time, wars never ceased on this continent, and it's true that the imperial family was somewhat neglectful of domestic affairs because of that."
At Hilda's words, the noble ladies exchanged glances with each other. Seeing their expressions weren't bright, they seemed to have somewhat expected Hilda's words.
"There were certainly things that were overlooked. But the imperial family clearly warned ten years ago. You cannot say you forgot."
None of the nobles could express disagreement with those words. Raymond had warned after cutting out the most rotten sprouts. It was as if he had given them a chance to correct themselves.
Hilda thought Raymond's ideals that he had told her were good. Actually, Lumina's laws were well-made down to the details. Even from her perspective, having lived a previous life, they were quite good.
But no matter how well-made the laws were, if they weren't observed, they would be meaningless. While Raymond resolved small matters bit by bit, he had always been looking for an opportunity to correct the bad practices and evils caused by the long war.
"So I speak here as Crown Princess. This is the last chance. Correct your behavior yourselves. Right..."
Hilda looked down at the two people prostrated flat.
"Because I don't want to see more people like these two."
Even though it was clearly a gentle tone, they felt their spines grow cold. All those gathered quietly folded their intentions to curry favor with the Crown Princess.
"Take these two away, Jerfel."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"Today should have been a place to build trust and enjoy ourselves, but the people here don't seem worthy of that."
With those words, Hilda turned around. Sighs of regret came from the mouths of those who remained. But Hilda also had exactly one person who remained in her memory.
'Who could it be?'
As Hilda left the tea party, she thought of that blue-eyed woman.