Chapter 93
Chapter 93. We Shall Return to a Handful of Ashes
The Chief Priest, who had been at a loss, finally sat down opposite Vinea. Avoiding her piercing gaze by lowering his eyes, he spoke.
“We didn’t come out like this without any evidence, Your Majesty.”
“Is Eurene Castallo’s whisper in the detached palace evidence that I stole and used Sefitiana?”
“Testimonies are pouring in from the nobles of Tessibania that His Majesty has changed as if he’s become a completely different person. Didn’t you think about how it would look to others when he took your side, even to the point of betraying blood ties?”
“So, are you saying I used Sefitiana to bewitch His Majesty?”
“You might have done even more than that. It’s God’s miracle, isn’t it? There’s nothing it can’t accomplish.”
Vinea snorted and twitched the fingertips resting on her knee.
“Go on, tell me more.”
“…We know that Your Majesty exploited a loophole in the confession potion. You said that after drinking the potion, you never took Sefitiana out of the basement. Well, can you answer the same way if asked whether nothing happened inside?”
So he noticed that. Even so, it wouldn’t change anything. If asked whether she had made a wish to ‘Sefitiana,’ she could gladly answer no to that critical question.
The Chief Priest’s brow furrowed at Vinea’s unwavering, direct gaze. Somehow, it felt like all his innermost thoughts were being read.
“What did you find?”
At Vinea’s short, sharp question, the Chief Priest spoke.
“Do you know how the temple confirms whether God’s miracle has descended to earth?”
The Chief Priest rose from his seat and took out a necklace with a small key from his bosom, then opened the drawer of the desk he had been sitting at earlier.
From inside, he brought out two small boxes and a bottle filled with clear water, then sat down in front of her again.
He opened the two boxes. One was filled with stones about the size of a thumbnail, while the other contained a palm-sized dry branch.
The Chief Priest took out a black stone from the first box and placed it on the table.
Then he lifted the sloshing bottle and removed the cork that was blocking the opening. Vinea, watching the bottle with sunken eyes in his stead, easily identified its contents.
“Holy water.”
It was what the Grand Priest had sprinkled on her head the day before the wedding ceremony, praying for God’s blessing. It was also what the priest in the artifact’s memory had been holding while verifying Sefitiana’s authenticity.
“That’s right. It’s the most easily accessible miracle of God for humans. Before moving the temple here, there was a small pond in the middle of the original land. A stream of water that suddenly gushed from the ground after lightning struck didn’t dry up even during a six-month drought. We bring it from there.”
After catching his breath for a moment, the Chief Priest raised his hand holding the bottle. A stream of clear water trickled down from the tilted bottle.
The black stone touched by the holy water soon made a crackling sound, emitted smoke, and then disappeared.
“This is the power of holy water that drives away the wicked. Among the widely known miracles of God, do you know the story of a barren land turning into a lush forest overnight?”
“The Forest of Igor Kingdom, the land where God’s miracle descended.”
“That’s right. It’s also the forest that was half burned down because a noble of the kingdom set it on fire, claiming his land had been encroached upon. Although it wasn’t made public, the man was found dead the next day in the middle of the remaining forest. Covered with these black stones.”
With a thud, he closed the box containing the stones. Next, he brought forward the dry branch that was in the other box.
“This is believed to be the first branch that grew in the Forest of Igor Kingdom.”
This time, the Chief Priest tilted the bottle over the branch. Like the black stone, the holy water touched the branch, but the phenomenon that followed was completely different from the stone.
The water that touched the branch began to emit a bright light.
A brilliant light. It easily outshone the sunlight coming through the window and brightly illuminated the not-so-small room.
After about five breaths’ worth of time, the light of the holy water gradually began to fade. When the light finally went out completely as if nothing had happened, the Chief Priest took his eyes off the branch and raised his head to look at Vinea.
“This light shone in the basement where Sefitiana was. It was the same no matter where we sprinkled the holy water – on the floor, walls, or ceiling.”
The priest put down the half-empty bottle on the table.
“This phenomenon wasn’t observed when Sefitiana was stored there. We were able to confirm it for the first time after you two visited the basement, and after Sefitiana disappeared. That’s when God’s miracle settled there.”
Silently, Vinea picked up the branch placed on the table. A few drops of holy water from the wet branch trickled down her fingertips to her elbow.
The holy water that had already confirmed God’s miracle once was now just ordinary water.
After putting the branch back down, Vinea picked up the bottle containing the holy water, which was a little less than half full.
The priest’s expression hardened slightly.
“Your Majesty.”
“Why, are you afraid to confirm now how God’s miracle will react to me?”
“The reason I showed you this is because, as one who serves God, I don’t want to live without knowing the miracle that descended to earth, God’s miracle, regardless of what purpose it was used for.”
Vinea let out a short laugh. The holy water in the bottle she held sloshed precariously, as if about to spill at any moment.
“So you dared to judge God’s will?”
“That was the Grand Priest…!”
The Chief Priest squeezed his eyes shut. After difficultly swallowing his words, he exhaled a long breath.
“…Didn’t you see it disappear without leaving even a handful of ashes?”
“Yes, I saw. Where else could there be a better means to prove my innocence?”
It was also an opportunity to confirm the answer to the question she had been searching for so long.
Before the Chief Priest could say anything more, Vinea poured the remaining holy water over her head.
* * *
“Where have you been to come only now, Chief Priest!”
The Chief Priest bowed his head at the Grand Priest’s thundering voice. With a pale complexion, the Chief Priest answered.
“I apologize. There was an urgent matter to handle…”
“Are you saying there’s something more important than carrying out God’s will? From now on, answer the call immediately without delay.”
“…Yes, I will do so.”
The Grand Priest picked up the pallium hanging on the wall and draped it over both shoulders. Long gold-painted cloth fell over the white fabric.
“Twenty nobles of the Tessibanian Empire are visiting the temple now.”
“For what reason?”
“It seems our efforts have finally paid off. They’ve requested a divine trial for the Empress.”
“A divine trial for Her Majesty the Empress… you say?”
“We’ll have to hear the details. Marquis Gendal, was it? He sent a message just now. He says we must immediately execute the Empress who has deceived God and the Tessibanian Imperial Family. It seems some trail has finally been caught.”
“Your Holiness, you must be more cautious. To execute the Empire’s Empress according to the temple’s rules rather than imperial law…”
“They say she used wicked tricks to put the Emperor in a state where he can neither die nor live, and has confined him in the Empress’s Palace. What more proof is needed? If we pour holy water on that body, it will probably disappear without leaving a trace.”
“Your Holiness…!”
“Chief Priest, you worry too much. When this is over, the status of Lord Urogia and the temple will be even higher. Believe me, God told me so.”
The Chief Priest swallowed hard and lowered his gaze.
God’s will, a human daring to convey it. How could this be possible?
Yes, at first, he too had the same thoughts as the Grand Priest. That elevating the status of the temple was equivalent to elevating God, and so they should turn a blind eye to the Grand Priest’s lies.
He remained silent even when they gathered all the sacred objects in the middle of the night and sprinkled holy water over them until the brilliant light finally extended beyond the bedroom. He remained silent when the Grand Priest told the temple priests that he had received a divine revelation because of it.
But how long could this continue in the face of God’s proof?
The Chief Priest couldn’t forget the scene he had witnessed in the office earlier.
The clear holy water pouring over the platinum blonde hair, the chilling eyes looking at him clearly, the changing air and light in the room, and then…
“…I have some business to attend to, so I’ll take my leave now, Your Holiness.”
“What? What are you saying now? Time is of the essence. Didn’t I tell you the nobles are coming!”
“There’s a more urgent matter I need to resolve. If you wish to reprimand me, please do so after the divine trial is over.”
Leaving behind the Grand Priest who was shouting angrily, the Chief Priest called out to a holy knight who was saluting him as he left.
“Gather all the holy knights in the temple right now.”
“All of them… you say?”
“Yes. The priests too. Bring everyone, without exception.”
Flustered by an order never given before, the holy knight nevertheless nodded. As he was about to leave to carry out the order, the Chief Priest stopped him once more.
“The holy knights should all be armed. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Sensing the gravity of the situation, the holy knight left hurriedly with a stern face.
Watching him leave, the Chief Priest raised his head with a deep sigh.
