SWNOVELXO Chapter 389
“Two defendants. Do you have any further objections?”
“….”
“…None.”
“Understood.”
The eight bishops, the highest-ranking officials in the Holy Kingdom aside from the Archbishop, looked on during the trial proceedings.
One of them, Gelio Gelatin, watched the process unfold from above with a gentle smile.
“Heh… So, these two young clergymen have truly escaped the Holy Embrace of the Black Tentacle, have they? How very unfortunate.”
“Indeed.”
Gelio Gelatin, known for his gentle nature and advocacy for humanitarianism among the eight bishops, looked sorrowfully at the two defendants as the trial continued to sway towards a guilty verdict.
As he murmured his lament, the Beastkin Linest, with the appearance of a Black Lion seated beside him, quietly agreed in a tone devoid of emotion.
Five days had passed since Kurt and his companions were released from the detention center.
It had been ten days since they first set foot in the Holy Kingdom.
Daria and Aila were now just waiting for the final verdict.
However, the evidence and testimonies presented during the trial had all turned out to be detrimental to them, and amid the unfavorable tide of the proceedings, the two could hardly defend themselves while being pushed closer to the edge.
In those ten days, Kurt’s group had achieved nothing in their efforts to help Daria and Aila.
Even their attempts to testify in favor of the two saintly figures were disregarded, and they were initially refused acknowledgment as relevant parties.
The physical evidence they had prepared for the duo’s exoneration had also mysteriously vanished during the five days they were jailed.
Clues regarding the perpetrators behind this incident seemed to have been erased completely, as if those in charge had anticipated their investigation from the very beginning.
The hardships Kurt’s group had endured in their relentless efforts over the past five days were all for naught.
It was no surprise.
After all, the charges of apostasy against Daria and Aila had been fabricated by none other than a bishop of the Holy Kingdom, making it impossible for ordinary adventurers to handle such a situation.
Gelio Gelatin, while publicly regarded as the most moderate among the eight bishops, was well-known as a character who had greatly contributed to spreading the humanistic belief in absolute equality, insisting that there were no higher or lower beings.
And it was not a complete lie that he harbored those ideals.
However, one thing was hidden within his humanistic philosophy.
All human races are equal.
But some human races are just a bit more equal than others.
This was the reason why the ‘human’ bishop, Gelio Gelatin, secretly supported the Empire’s plans.
The Holy Kingdom was a nation for all, but the Empire was a nation for humans only.
“Daria and Aila. It would’ve been better if you hadn’t known anything from the start. I have no regrets for either of you… However, this is also necessary to create a world for humans. I will not forget your sacrifice.”
From the beginning, it was highly unlikely that the Spine Empire could successfully execute plans without attracting the attention of the Holy Kingdom.
The only reason the Spine Empire was able to keep its projects related to the Ancient Empire under wraps was due to a certain individual inside the Holy Kingdom concealing their actions.
If news about the ancient ruins discovered by Daria and Aila got out, it would inevitably reveal that it was a secret unit of the Empire behind the excavation, which would severely disrupt the Empire’s plans.
Therefore, the focus had to be diverted from Daria and Aila’s apostasy to delay the revelation of the Empire’s plans for as long as possible.
“Even when one of them rejected the terms of restraint and fled, I broke into a cold sweat… But in the end, she returned to the Holy Kingdom on her own.”
In the process, he had called on adventurers he met in Astram as reinforcements to turn the situation around, but as we can see in the ongoing trial, they never even made it close to the judge.
“In the end, even the heavens side with the Empire, with humans.”
Fabricated testimonies.
Fabricated evidence.
Concealed and distorted information.
“Based on the aforementioned evidence and testimonies, I will now deliver the final verdict.”
Just as the judge, holding the gavel, was about to render a decision that seemed preordained from the start—
BANG!
“Please hold on a moment!”
The door to the courtroom swung wide open to reveal Kurt and his group, who had been blocked from accessing the judge by Gelio.
“How did you get in here…!”
“This trial has been manipulated! Your Honor! This is the evidence!”
At the front of the group, a half-elf woman exclaimed as she thrust a hefty stack of documents towards the judge.
“What is the meaning of this…! An intrusion in this sacred courtroom! I will not allow it! Guards! Throw them out immediately!”
Gelio sensed something was wrong instinctively, although he couldn’t tell what was written in those documents—he immediately stood up from his watching area to throw them out.
“They must have been prevented from getting anywhere near the judge at all costs…! It can’t be helped! Since they are already here, I must use this intrusion as an excuse to deal with them too!”
“These individuals have been in collusion with the defendants! Guards, first throw them out of the courtroom and then detain them in prison!”
“And as long as they’re in prison, I can make it look like an accident or even suicide!”
However, Gelio’s plan never came to fruition.
It wasn’t because Kurt’s group had taken down all the guards.
The guards hadn’t moved at all from the beginning.
Only Gelio’s voice echoed in vain throughout the courtroom.
“What is the meaning of this! Why aren’t you removing them! They are insulting the laws and procedures of the Holy Kingdom!”
“…That’s your perspective.”
In the uncomfortable silence, Gelio received an unexpected response not from Kurt’s group, but from the seat right beside him.
It was Linest, the Black Lion Beastkin and also one of the eight bishops of the Holy Kingdom.
“W-What are you talking about… Linest? I don’t quite understand what you mean…”
“It’s quite simple. Apostate Gelio Gelatin. Your plans have been fully exposed. Even the fact that you’ve allied with the Empire.”
Initially denying Linest’s words, Gelio soon realized that denying would be futile and asked in a subdued voice.
“…Have you been laying a trap for me from the start?”
“Indeed. You may have thought you bound the travelers and obstructed their sight and hearing to keep them away from the heart of the incident, but in fact, they’d already made contact with us.”
“And we, having contacted them, secured evidence and testimonies to overturn this trial secretly while tracking the real culprits.”
As Linest gestured, the guards in the courtroom, who had previously ignored Gelio, began to move in unison to surround him.
“Surrender willingly. There are no allies for you here.”
“Hah… Ha ha…”
Surrounded entirely by guards and Linest, Gelio, who was accustomed to handling paperwork but lacked any physical strength, found no way to escape the encirclement.
“…I’ll ask you one last thing. When did you contact those adventurers? You had blocked any communication with other people in the Holy Kingdom aside from my subordinates.”
“Let’s call it lucky timing.”
At that moment, Kurt, who had managed to pass the documents to the judge and approached the spectator area, answered Gelio’s question.
“It was five days ago, just after we got out of the detention center…”
Kurt recalled that day as he spoke.
In fact, up until they had just gotten out of the detention center, Kurt and his group had been in despair, unable to find any solutions.
While they may have found some morale in eating gatsudon, there had still been no clear paths forward during that bleak moment.
Just when they had started seriously contemplating whether they needed to forcibly extricate the two, even if it meant opposing the Holy Kingdom, they were given a sudden twist of fate that allowed them to overturn the situation.