The judge assigned to their case had at first wanted to dismiss it entirely by giving out compensation from the empire’s own funds for the damages at first. But because Cindy insisted on paying it herself, both the judge and the ‘victim’ were left feeling quite embarrassed and tangled, feeling like they were bullying an innocent little girl.
What made it even more awkward was that Cindy also pleaded with them for the favor of ‘allowing installments’. Had it not been for the fact that the judge had already talked about his ‘pardon’ before, people might even have suspected the girl was just trying to get more ‘pity’ points.
As it was, however, she became quite famous due to the live telecast of all trials, and even ended up catching the attention of the Prime Arbiter, Crystal.
Mindy wasn’t as naïve as her sister, so she naturally understood the blonde girl’s intentions in approaching her from the start.
With the justice system they were trying to develop, it couldn’t have been easy to find people with the right character for critical positions, and Crystal must definitely have seen the potential in her sister.
Of course, she still needed the right education and guidance first, but those were just minor issues.
The moment she looked into her eyes, however, Mindy knew she had been discovered.
The way Crystal’s expression changed from warm and gentle to shocked and wary made it unmistakable that even if she didn’t know everything… she knew enough.
For a moment, Mindy had even considered coming out herself and killing the girl before doing her best to escape, and she was glad that she hadn’t decided to do so in the end.
From that point on, the trajectory of her life changed completely.
Of course, whether she would have succeeded in even getting to her with Crystal’s tough security wasn’t completely certain, and the chances of making it out alive after that would definitely have been abysmal.
Mindy was sure that, regardless of the outcome, the Empress would definitely never have looked at her with that appreciative smile even if Crystal herself forgave her.
It was still a mystery to her how the Prime Arbiter had managed to guess there was something ‘wrong’ with Cindy right from the start, or why Empress Emilia believed in her so much. But these were questions she could always ask after completing her mission here first.
Of course, there was no way she would let Tom in on such things. It was enough to dispel some of his suspicions about her at this time to get him to focus on the task more efficiently, but if really tried to go further than that… well, it’s not like he really needed all ten of his fingers to write.
Tom gave her a half-convinced and half-skeptical look. “So it was only really coincidence through which you got in touch with the empress? And what happened then that made you switch your loyalty, love at first sight?”
Seeing him chuckle in amusement at his own ‘joke’, Mindy almost said yes, but managed to restrain herself just in time.
Recalling how the empress had chided her for throwing away her bright future ‘needlessly’ before agreeing to her request to follow and monitor Tom, she couldn’t help but smile in her heart.
’It’s funny… although my sister thinks of Crystal as her angel and Emilia as her goddess, in reality… it is the empress who cares about us more. To her ‘angel’, we are but another tool to serve her goddess, and the only thing she feels for us is a little bit of pity.’
In fact, it was also because of Emilia that she didn’t just end up becoming a ‘judge trainee’ as Crystal wanted, and instead got to delve into multiple ‘career lines’.
A more traditional schooling and mentoring for Cindy, and something that allowed a little more ‘adventure’ for Mindy.
”Since the two of them have their own talents, why not let them shine brighter?”
Those words still kept ringing in her mind and heart, every day, every night. For the first time in her life, Mindy felt that she was not just ‘useful’ to someone, but… valued. Cherished.
Of course, the feelings that the empress had for them weren’t particularly deep. She could tell.
For the Emilia, perhaps she was just another slightly rebellious child.
There was a hint of adoration and spoiling in her gaze when the gorgeous girl looked her way, but after seeing how the empress interacted with Crystal and the others, Mindy knew just how vast the difference in their ‘weight’ was in Emilia’s heart.
The Empress wanted her to have the path to success, but if she failed in the end… it would just be a pity. Her heart wouldn’t break. Maybe after some time, the crimson-haired beauty would even forget that someone like Mindy existed.
In the end, she ended up shaking her head with a sneer. “… I don’t want to waste more time on you, Tom. Call it coincidence or luck, whatever. Anyway, I knew the moment I met her that Emilia was definitely more worthy of my trust than… someone like you?”
Tom opened his mouth to protest, but snapped it shut just as quick. ‘Hate to admit it… but I can see her point. With a stupid and gullible leader like Emilia, the only thing one really needs to worry about is her getting bamboozled by others.’
”You know, I still used to be your guardian. At least show me some respect…” Tom grumbled, though his mind was already turning in a completely different direction.
’If you ignore her face, that little bitch Emilia is about as far from ‘perfect’ as one can possibly be, regardless of what all those dumb cunts keep saying. But thinking about it carefully… that’s exactly what makes her better as an ‘Empress’!’
At the very least, no one needed to worry about her doing something like what his own president did before, plotting so maliciously against both his own subordinates and his neighboring country while pretending to be so friendly like a snake.
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