Chapter 38
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: In the Storm's Wake
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Uneasy glances darted back and forth.
With the king's sudden decree and his abrupt departure from the courtroom, no one knew what to do next.
The only sounds were occasional urgent whispers exchanged between people leaning close to each other's ears.
I stood trembling in the center of the courtroom, barely holding myself up on shaking legs.
'Looks like I poked the wrong bear.'
The courtroom after the storm felt suffocating.
It had been a gamble.
I had to strike first before Helena Castor could shake the king again.
Provoking him was a fight worth taking—especially since it was my only option left.
And the gamble had paid off.
'But I didn't expect such a fierce reaction.'
After that long period of grief, the emotion the king showed was pure fire.
Those green eyes flashing with a chill that ran down my spine—they were still vivid in my mind.
That gaze directed at me.
A look that was hard to describe, piercing through me to something beyond.
Was the king angry at me?
Or was it aimed at something else?
I had no idea.
"Haa..."
I let out a small sigh. But the anxiety didn't fade.
My life was safe for now, but the future was uncertain.
I couldn't predict what the awakened king might do next.
'What do I do now?'
With an uneasy heart, I pondered what I should do.
Should I just quietly return to the southern border like this?
Or stay in the royal castle until further orders came?
'Maybe I should just submit my resignation.'
A disrespectful thought crossed my mind for the first time in ages.
Of course, the Director would never accept it.
At that moment, someone spoke loudly enough for everyone in the courtroom to hear.
"As you've all heard, the royal decree has been issued."
All eyes turned.
It was the Minister.
He raised his voice, his face barely regaining composure.
"Since it came directly from His Majesty King Rio Castor himself, it must be carried out without fail."
Before anyone else could act, Carton was already tidying up the situation.
The Minister pointed to the letter on the judge's desk.
"The trial is nullified. Therefore, the plaintiffs must immediately destroy the protest letter and all falsified evidence."
The plaintiffs stared at him without reaction.
They seemed utterly bewildered, not even discussing among themselves.
"Furthermore, any malicious perjury or pressure on the Central Officer using your positions will be seen as defying the royal decree. Take care."
At those words, I tilted my head slightly.
'That wasn't in the decree.'
The decree only covered nullifying the trial and the false evidence.
There was nothing about attacks on me.
But the Minister pressed on undeterred.
"Finally, the Holy Church pilgrimage delegation."
He looked at Mohaim.
"Captain of the 1st Paladin Order. Where is the delegation now?"
"..."
But Mohaim didn't answer.
He just stared blankly into the empty crystal orb, shock still etched on his face.
"Your Holiness..."
The captain's voice no longer held conviction.
Instead of the Church's resolute blade, only a confused old knight stood frozen.
"Captain Espirence!"
Only when his name was called did he snap out of it.
"Y-yes. Minister of Foreign Affairs."
"The delegation's location. Where?"
"R-right now... near the capital. We're set to depart as soon as the trial ends."
Carton spoke coldly at the now-impossible schedule.
"Send them word immediately. You have three days—leave our country via the southern border."
He added curtly.
"You're no exception, Captain. Depart."
At that, someone from the plaintiffs' side finally stood.
"Minister, even so, this is too sudden—"
"It's a royal decree, Inspection Bureau Chief."
The Minister cut him off sharply.
He glared at Bureau Chief Pierce.
"The decree you all live and die by."
The tactics they'd used up to now.
Through the queen.
He threw it right back at them.
"You must follow it to the letter. As you always have."
Pierce couldn't object anymore.
"...Understood."
No sooner had he replied than the Minister called the judge.
"Then we'll adjourn this session as well. Judge?"
"I-I'm listening."
"Declare the trial concluded."
Trial concluded.
A demand to declare a complete end.
There was no reason to refuse.
The judge complied immediately.
"...This trial is hereby declared null and void by royal decree. All documents will be destroyed and erased. No objections will be entertained."
Everyone listened in silence.
No one dared intervene.
And the final words.
"With this... the trial is terminated."
- Thud, thud, thud.
The dry hammer strikes echoed through the courtroom.
That was the end.
- Step, step.
One by one, people left the courtroom.
They vanished with complicated expressions, laden with worries about what would come next.
As I watched blankly, Haillin called from behind.
"Central Officer. Don't just stand there—come here."
She beckoned from the defendants' side.
As I approached, she said to the Minister.
"Well done, old timer. You wrapped it up neatly."
"If we dragged it out, they might twist the decree to their liking. Had to take the initiative."
That reminded me of a question I'd had earlier.
"Minister, but the part about not attacking me—wasn't that in the decree?"
The king's orders were just two.
Nullify the trial and expel the pilgrimage delegation.
Stretching it like that could invite suspicions of fabrication on our part.
Haillin answered.
"It depends on interpretation."
"Pardon?"
"It's not explicitly stated, but nullifying the trial carries heavy weight. It implies not to touch this innocent man for the time being."
When I still looked puzzled, she continued.
"Declaring the trial never happened means admitting the whole process was flawed. It's as good as the royals acknowledging a mistake on the queen's side."
Oh, I see.
In other words, the king had admitted the queen's fault.
No matter the reason, it was tantamount to blaming her faction.
'That's why he said that to the queen back then.'
- Never summon Us for such nonsense again, Queen. Never again.
I turned my gaze to the plaintiffs' side.
Only two remained, yet to leave the courtroom.
The queen and the 1st Paladin Order Captain.
My eyes met Helena's.
The woman colluding with the Pope.
The one who'd orchestrated all this to kill me.
So many questions burned inside.
'Why on earth?'
What was religion worth to go this far?
Or was it something deeper that allied her with the Pope?
I didn't know.
For the first time, I called out to her.
"...Your Majesty."
I bowed briefly, like a greeting.
"..."
Instead of replying, she glanced at Erzena standing beside me.
A gaze laden with incredibly complex emotions.
Then she looked at the crystal orb Mohaim held.
Her reflection in the empty orb was distorted.
"Not yet..."
With that short mutter, Helena Castor turned sharply and left the courtroom.
- Click, click.
Leaving only the echo of her heels.
Haillin, watching her go, remarked.
"Now our queen will stay quiet for a while."
"You think so?"
"When her beloved husband speaks so firmly, she won't dare defy it."
She muttered with a hint of sly hope.
"I hope so, anyway. A showdown between Her Majesty and His Majesty would be quite the sight."
Words that could get us in trouble if overheard.
"But... there's one problem."
I answered honestly.
"Doesn't feel like there's just one problem right now, Director."
Things had spiraled too far.
Just the incidents from this trial alone numbered plenty.
But Haillin shook her head.
"Not that issue. This one."
She pointed to the person beside me.
"...You mean her?"
It was Erzena Selaph.
"We need to decide Erzena here's disposition."
"Disposition..."
Whether she should be expelled too.
Then Mohaim approached cautiously from the other side.
"Central Officer."
"...Captain Espirence."
"If it's not too much trouble, may I speak with the Saintess for a moment?"
His voice trembled.
The captain looked like he was searching for answers.
Gazing at the light pillar still shining on Erzena, he murmured.
"Lord God..."
Seeing that, the Director and I nodded.
'They have unfinished business.'
Erzena's current state must have left him with countless questions and shocks.
Including matters tied to the Pope.
"Yes. We'll step aside for a—"
But Erzena spoke faster than me.
"No."
Mohaim faltered at her firm refusal.
"Pardon?"
"I'm no longer the Saintess."
"What do you mean? Your divine power is so..."
She shook her head.
"Mohaim. I told you earlier. I've already dismissed myself. I'm just a nobody now."
"But..."
"Your mission was to protect the Saintess. But there's no Saintess anymore. So your duty is done."
She severed ties decisively.
Mohaim stared blankly, but she cut him off sharply.
"We share the same faith, but I'm not the Saintess. Go back now."
"...Then what will you do?"
The most honest question came.
Erzena looked at Mohaim and slowly opened her mouth.
"I'll reform the Church. From the very bottom."
Repeating the resolve she'd voiced in the trial.
"I... see."
He seemed to have more to say.
But in the end, he bowed and turned away.
This wasn't the time to linger.
He had to obey the decree and leave the country.
As Haillin watched Mohaim recede, she said.
"This is the issue left."
"Huh? Didn't that just resolve itself?"
As she'd said earlier, Erzena was no longer the Saintess.
Even as a Holy Church member, she wasn't part of the pilgrimage delegation.
She was in a gray area now.
Awkward to expel or exempt under the decree.
'She can stay here a bit longer.'
This place was safest to observe from.
But the Director shook her head, muttering.
"On paper, maybe not."
On paper?
That made me recall how Erzena had entered.
'Forced entry permit by royal decree.'
And it was recorded.
"...Entry records."
I remembered what I'd written.
[Saintess Erzena Selaph of the Holy Church]
I grimaced involuntarily.
"Damn."
"No matter how her status changed midway, on record, she's still the Saintess. She qualifies for expulsion."
True.
As long as the record stood, she was the Saintess.
"And with the decree issued, Erzena must leave. Within three days."
Just like Mohaim.
Everyone looked at Erzena.
After a brief silence, she gazed at the rippling divine power around her and murmured.
"No. It's for the best. I have words for the Pope anyway."
She glanced toward the door Mohaim had exited.
"This must be the path I must take. If it's God's will."
As she turned to go,
- Grab.
I seized her wrist without thinking.
"W-wait, Erzena."
"...Yes?"
"Don't go."
"..."
Haillin covered her mouth with both hands.
"Oh my. Young love."
Ignoring her nonsense, I asked Erzena.
"What do you plan to do, heading out alone like this?"
"What else? Correct the wrongs."
Her face full of determination, she continued.
"It's time to fix what the Pope twisted, the mistakes our Church made."
But I shook my head.
"Too dangerous."
Yes. Far too dangerous.
"Even knowing what the Pope is now, it'll take time for word to spread."
Acting now meant facing a massive gap in support.
Authority crumbles slowly. It rarely collapses all at once.
'And with his base crumbling, who knows how he'll lash out.'
A cornered man goes berserk.
Even stripped of divine power, unaware of the situation, he could use loyalists against her.
'I have to stop that.'
Erzena was burning with a sense of mission now.
No matter if God was with her, going alone was suicide.
Rushing south blindly could make things unmanageable.
Her golden eyes dropped to my hand on her wrist.
Then she looked up to meet mine.
"What do you want me to do then?"
A cautious question.
"Central Officer... you want me to stay?"
A faint hope tinged her words.
"Oh my. Oh my my my."
"Director, quiet."
Ignoring Haillin's dramatics again, I fell silent briefly.
How could I protect her?
What could I do?
I thought it over.
A dismissed Saintess.
An exile.
The Pope's adversary.
What fit Erzena's situation now?
Suddenly, an idea struck.
The only way to protect her without breaking rules.
"Erzena."
I called her name.
"...Apply for temporary asylum in the Crossroad Kingdom."