A Villainess' Lawyer - I'll Help You Get The Palimony You Deserve

Chapter Four: The Fall of the Heroine (Part Three)

She felt her heart go cold.

"M – me?"

Felicia Dahnes had just barely managed to squeak out a reply. From how fast it was beating, the anxious young lady felt as though her heart might burst out from her chest at any moment now. She hated it, she hated how the attention of the whole room had fallen on her now.

Rebecca nodded back at her, smiling as the young lady dropped her pointed hand, deciding instead to tuck it behind her back while she spoke.

"Now the listening device that Lady Clarissa received, am I correct in identifying it as the latest invention to be produced by your family's subsidiary company, Fletcher Innovations? A sound enhancing device that is marketed to be so immersive when in use that the listener would not even realise what goes on in the outside world around them, as all other senses are greatly reduced (and most definitely should never be worn when crossing a busy street or driving), correct?"

The freckled woman bobbed her head in agreement.

"And it was not supposed to have been leaked to the public before its launch three month from now?"

Biting her bottom lip, Felica could not deny Rebecca's statement as she nodded once more.

Raising a brow questioningly, Clarissa raised her hand to ask a question.

"Pardon my interruption, Lady Rebecca, but if this invention is not supposed to be launched yet... then how did you identify it so easily within a single glance?"

'Ah.'

"The final design may have yet to have been revealed, but the initial blueprint, design and concept of it had already been made public knowledge when the Dahnes family purchased the ownership rights to sell the device in the market. In doing so, creating a storm of rumours about the latest product that spread to all open ears in the Kingdom."

'Mine included.'

Satisfied with her response, Clarissa appeared to accept the answer with ease.

"I see... that would certainly explain why I had never even noticed Lady Lisa coming up the stairs."

Rebecca hummed a small tone of agreement.

'It truly was an extraordinary device, one that is considered a major advancement in this world.'

"Indeed, you were very much caught up in the world created by the device, Lady Clarissa – a good point for you by the way, Lady Felicia because it just proves that your family is not guilty of false advertising. Unfortunately, what's not so good for you, is that Fletcher Innovations and the Franklin Company has now all tragically become implicated in accusations against the Dukedom of Archibald. The Duchy with the strongest hold on the merchants and business trade market."

'A fatal business miscalculation, one that would certainly cost them.'

And Felica understood that very well herself.

Lisa could see the colour draining from the young lady's face, speaking up, she tried to intervene.

"Lady Rebecca, it's – "

"Lady Lisa, if you're going to tell me that this is once again 'a mere coincidence', I would advise you to stop right there. Yes, the first time, it was perhaps 'a mere coincidence' as you have said. But when it happens again, and again... you cannot help and wonder why these little coincidences keep happening, and when you do... you start to realise that things are never what they appear to be."

Rebecca cut her off, sharply before turning to the two young ladies whom she had previously cross examined.

"Wouldn't you agree so too, Lady Diana? Lady Amelia?"