Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Challenge, Reverse Trial! (2)
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Around the time suspicions about Dad's identity were starting to swirl like rising smoke, a priest by my side slowly stood up.
> “As you all know, I, as a priest, can prove that the ‘Yoter Merchant House’s paternity test kit’ is genuine.”
That was the moment I realized.
> ‘Ah, so this is the crown prince’s hidden trump card? No wonder the story felt a bit off-balance.’
None of this was just a simple plan to drag me in.
They had probably even anticipated the scenario where Dad would step in to protect me personally.
To counter that, if the priests vouched for the Yoter Merchant House’s paternity test results directly, the Mirmod family’s prestige—unable to properly verify their own daughter’s identity—would plummet to rock bottom.
And… .
> “If the priests vouch for it, what then, Dad?”
……It was also a scheme to slip their fabricated ‘fake daughter’ into the Mirmod family as a spy. No matter how Mirmod they were, they wouldn’t cast out blood kin—that was the calculation.
Going even further, the crown prince might have planned to play the benefactor who helped the Mirmod family find their ‘real daughter.’
I quietly reviewed the unfolding situation.
So, in truth, this operation had been a collaborative effort with my slightly shady, sucker of a dad.
I’d act as bait to enter the trial, let their paternity test kit “work” on me, then prove the kit was defective—that was the plan.
But now a priest had appeared to vouch for the kit, which could shatter my entire strategy.
However… .
> ‘No, that’s not it!’
I didn’t despair. Instead, I flashed a bright smile at Dad.
> ‘Now that their cards are all revealed, it’s time for us to go on the offensive.’
I grinned and eyed Dad’s bulging pocket.
Right there in that pocket was the secret weapon Dad and I had prepared.
***
At the very moment Sien in the courtroom was smiling like a victor, Matthias Mirmod smirked as he surveyed the scene.
For him now, the only annoyance was the soldiers clinging to his daughter’s side.
> “The priests vouch for it, huh. Yes, I’m curious to see how exactly.”
Edouard, the priest cowed by the pressure, stammered on.
> “Well, that is…….”
> “More importantly, get rid of the guards…… No, clear out the guards.”
Matthias decided against harsh words for Sien’s sake, her education in mind. Instead, he casually tilted his head.
The guards around Sien, well aware of Matthias’s notoriety, glanced at the crown prince. The crown prince gritted his teeth and nodded.
Just then, the guards holding Sien’s arms and the rest hesitated and fell back.
Matthias strolled toward the priest, questioning languidly.
> “Now, let me ask. Priest, how exactly do you plan to vouch for that paternity test kit?”
The crown prince, regaining his composure, twisted his expression.
> “……Don’t pressure Edouard the priest. There are ways.”
> “I’m merely asking what those ways are, Your Highness.”
> “We’ll use Edouard the priest’s divine power. His sacred abilities are renowned, after all.”
> “I’d like specifics.”
The crown prince seemed fully at ease now, descending step by step from the judge’s bench.
Objectively tall and well-built, he still looked puny next to Matthias. Perhaps feeling inferior about it, the crown prince furrowed his brows.
> “Edouard the priest will use his divine power to discern the kit’s authenticity. You wouldn’t ignore both the imperial administrator’s verification and a priest’s divine power, would you?”
Matthias tightened his lips. There had to be a reason the crown prince was pushing this far, but he couldn’t quite grasp it.
> ‘To eliminate Sien and tarnish the Mirmod family, he’s openly using the palace administrators and priests? Turning the Mirmods into outright enemies?’
It was an illogical development. There had to be some hidden motive behind this foolish display.
> “So Edouard the priest can discern authenticity with his divine power, it seems.”
Discernment.
To put it precisely, the ability to judge truth from falsehood.
Extremely rarely among those with divine power, some could distinguish truth from lies.
It was effectively used to detect lies in human speech, spot forgeries in art, or determine if an item was defective.
Edouard the priest paled stark white as he spoke.
> “It’s a well-known fact, but yes. That’s correct.”
> “Then go ahead. Use your divine power to verify that kit’s authenticity.”
Edouard’s hands trembled, but he soon rose.
> “Oh dear.”
Matthias smiled elegantly and drew a swan carving from his jacket’s inner pocket. The crown prince gestured indifferently with his chin.
> “……What the hell did you just pull out.”
His expression was arrogant, as if to say, *You think that’ll turn this around?*
Of course, he was right. If the priest used divine power to verify authenticity, how could anyone overturn it?
But… .
Matthias chuckled and shook the swan carving.
> “It’s a relic of the gods, Your Highness. Swear on it directly, Edouard.”
> “That…….”
In an instant, Edouard the priest’s face turned a mottled purple. The crown prince, oblivious, pressed him.
> “If that’s what it takes to believe, then do it. Swear on the relic of the gods, priest.”
The crown prince acted as if the oath was no big deal, but Edouard trembled violently. He seemed to realize what god’s relic the swan carving was. Matthias sneered coldly.
> “His Highness has permitted it.”
> “Th-that’s…….”
Edouard the priest couldn’t continue, so the crown prince asked uneasily.
> “What’s going on? Priest?”
> “……I…….”
The priest squeezed his eyes shut. Matthias tossed the swan carving high into the air and caught it again, laughing.
> “You can’t, can you?”
> “I…….”
Edouard, fumbling, wiped sweat repeatedly from his brow with the back of his hand. The crown prince spoke impatiently.
> “Why can’t you? Edouard the priest!”
He couldn’t comprehend why, despite the bribes between the priest and palace, refusal was even an option.
> “Because this swan carving is a genuine ancient god’s relic.”
Edouard raised a trembling hand to his dry face. The crown prince lifted his brows and whispered.
> “……What exactly does ‘ancient god’s relic’ mean?”
> “Anyone who speaks falsehood before this carving, swearing an oath to the god, dies.”
Those who swore an oath to the god on the swan relic and then lied would be torn to shreds.
Because of its infamous reputation, the swan carving was also called a relic of an evil god.
Its effect worked only once, after which it reverted to an ordinary swan carving—a risk.
But that one use was plenty for intimidation.
Matthias gazed at Edouard the priest with a satisfied smile, then shifted to Sien, who stared intently at him, her small fists clenched tight.
Yes, in truth, today’s victory wasn’t a big deal.
The real issue was… .
> ‘Sien told me this swan carving was hidden in the Mirmod family warehouse. As if she foresaw something like this.’
How had Sien known about the swan carving in the Mirmod warehouse? How had she known its power? He wanted to ask.
But then, the crown prince spoke up.
> “……Ridiculous nonsense. Edouard the priest, what’s the holdup?”
Before the full jury, Edouard the priest’s lips began to quiver.
> “I-I can’t…… I don’t want to d-die……!”
This alone was enough.
> “It seems the gods are saying Sien and I share the same blood.”
> “This is…… w-well, that is.”
> “Listen well, Edouard the priest. I don’t repeat myself.”
Edouard the priest and Matthias’s gazes clashed in the center. Edouard averted his eyes first.
Matthias strode gracefully to stand near Edouard. His hand clamped onto the priest’s throat, freezing there.
> “Not repeating yourself means, th-that is…….”
Matthias’s hand gripped Edouard’s throat. It was a light touch, barely raising veins in his cool hand, but enough for Edouard.
He’d angled it carefully so Sien, with her back turned, wouldn’t see.
> “Well, you seem to grasp it from this alone.”
Matthias tilted his head slightly.
He still wanted to appear as the good dad, the sucker dad, to Sien.
That way, she’d love and rely on him. He didn’t want to look like a trash villain dad. Even if Sien wanted that, a young child couldn’t yet fathom the weight of blood on his hands.
> “……E-even without the gods’ vouching, it doesn’t matter. Y-you’re coercing me.”
> “Coercion, yes. Coercion.”
There was still more to do.
Matthias fixed a cold gaze on Heinrich the high priest, trembling at the jury stand. But he wasn’t worth prolonged attention. Soon, his eyes shifted to the courtroom door.
Just then, the door creaked open cautiously once more.
> “……We, we have something to report. We’re from the duchy…….”
> “We’re from the Sheraf Merchant House.”
> “Why barge into a sacred trial uninvited!”
Matthias said lowly.
> “They’re here as witnesses for my daughter. What’s the problem?”
The Sheraf Merchant House people had arrived to testify precisely about the paternity test kit.
In their hands were tools to prove their technology.
> “We’ve come to properly verify the paternity test kit.”
> “……To do a real paternity test!”
The crown prince, who’d been grumbling quietly, raised his brows in retort.
> “……What?”
> “Because Count Yoter over there stole our technology to make fake paternity test kits!”
The words sent another wave of shock through the room. Count Yoter’s face drained white, as expected.