Evidence

When the Dragon God’s Eye descended, a golden dragon soul soared from the top of the cathedral toward the sky, piercing a hole through the thick layers of clouds as a world-shaking dragon roar echoed through the heavens.

All dragon descendants who witnessed this sight or heard the sound knelt in the direction of the dragon soul without exception.

It was a suppression from the soul level; it was a majesty that belonged only to a deity.

The Dragon God descends, and ten thousand dragons bow.

The situation inside the cathedral was the same.

Whether it was the clergy, the Archbishop, the eight great nobles, or the previously overbearing Lady Elizabeth, every single one of them was currently kneeling respectfully on the ground to welcome the descent of the Dragon God’s Eye.

Among them, there was only one exception—Her Eminence “Aurelia,” who stood with her head tilted back and her eyes narrowed in a leisurely expression.

“Kneel down, quickly! When the Dragon God descends, any dragon descendant who does not bow is committing blasphemy.”

Delphina, already kneeling on the ground, suddenly noticed the little dragon girl still standing and hurriedly reminded her with an anxious expression.

However, hearing the reminder, “Aurelia” merely spared her a glance and continued to keep her head high, staring directly at that divine eye that brought forth such heavenly and earthly phenomena.

Seeing that Aurelia was completely indifferent, Delphina grew worried and wanted to warn her again, but Lady Elizabeth beside her suddenly grabbed her arm and hurriedly stopped her.

“Why are you advising her? She is your enemy! She is disrespectful to the Dragon God; I can’t wait for her to die sooner!”

Sensing the venomous gaze in her mother’s eyes, a flash of worry crossed Delphina’s gaze, but she ultimately gave up helplessly.

“Aurelia! You… what are you doing? Seeing the Dragon God’s great power, you still do not kneel in reverence? With this look of contempt for the deity, how can you still serve as the Saintess?”

At this moment, the Archbishop kneeling in the center also looked up to speak.

His words sounded like he was advising Aurelia for her own good, but if one were slightly more attentive, they would realize that this sentence was invisibly belittling her and implying her unfitness for the role.

On that kind-looking face, perhaps the heart was not so kind after all…

Hearing this, the surrounding people one after another spoke up in dissuasion or ridicule.

Large groups of clergy looked toward the still-standing Saintess and shook their heads with sighs or voiced their accusations.

However, “Aurelia” merely gave a faint smile at this scene.

“I am the Saintess personally designated by the Dragon God. I am also the only dragon descendant in the entire Great Dragon Divine Dynasty who can communicate directly with the Dragon God. How could you dragon descendants, who are unable to speak with Him, possibly know whether the Dragon God allows me, His Saintess, not to kneel?”

This single sentence shocked every dragon present, but they could only display indignant expressions on the surface; in reality, not a single one of them dared to utter a word of protest.

After all, the current Aurelia was indeed still the Saintess.

She was still the spokesperson for the authority of the divine; as long as she did not step down from her position, all rights of interpretation regarding the Dragon God belonged to her—unless the Dragon God’s Eye personally spoke.

But the Dragon God’s Eye was merely a manifestation of divine power used to distinguish truth from falsehood; it was a tool for trial and could not speak.

“Moreover, the Dragon God’s Eye is not the Dragon God Himself. If I remember correctly, the regulations of the Great Dragon Divine Dynasty state that the only person the Saintess must kneel to is the Dragon God Himself.”

“The Dragon God’s Eye is a portion of the Dragon God’s power. Whether I kneel or not—isn’t that for me, the Saintess, to decide?”

“Aurelia” turned her head and gave a mocking smile, not giving a single dragon present any face at all.

“You!”

The “Archbishop” finally could not maintain his superficial kindness; he reached out a hand and glared at her with furious eyes.

“What, does the Lord Archbishop feel dissatisfied with me? Do you want to personally step onto the field and have a go with me, the Saintess?”

The “Archbishop” was so angry that his blood boiled; his aged, flushed face looked as though he might leap up in rage at any moment and engage in a brawl with “Aurelia.”

Unfortunately, the “Archbishop” still possessed his reason. Anger did not completely cloud his mind; no matter how much this seemingly disrespectful Saintess provoked him, he could not lose his composure now.

These were merely insignificant difficulties in the plan. Once they reached the later stages of the trial and the evidence of her crimes was fully presented, this arrogant Saintess would eventually be like a drowning dog, left to be handled however they pleased.

Suppressing his temper, the “Archbishop” simply lowered his head, refusing to let his gaze remain on the dragon girl who irritated him so.

Seeing the “Archbishop’s” reaction, “Aurelia” let out an imperceptible sigh. It would have been better if this Archbishop truly had been provoked enough to fight her.

The bigger and messier the situation became, the more advantageous it was for her current self. If he were to do something that violated the principles of his position out of anger, she could seize that handle to launch a counterattack.

Her gaze returned to the “Dragon God’s Eye” floating at the top of the cathedral. Selina narrowed her eyes slightly, having reached a conclusion in her heart.

She could be certain the old man was right—this “Dragon God’s Eye,” while possessing divinity, was definitely not power originating from the Dragon God.

Although Hestia was not following her and she could not get a definitive response, as the Saintess of the Goddess of Lampfire, her own perception and constitution had undergone certain changes through the nourishment of divine power.

At the very moment that “Dragon God’s Eye” rose, in a split second that no one else noticed, “Aurelia” keenly captured a fleeting demonic nature within that divine eye.

As expected, the Demon Goddess Lilith had taken action…

Although she hadn’t descended personally, this plan to erode the Dragon Tribe definitely involved the appearance of an Apostle-level powerhouse. Only an Apostle could use divine power to a certain extent.

Of course, she wasn’t the only one who noticed the abnormality. The shadow reflected on the ground behind the girl underwent a minute, imperceptible wriggle.

“Dragon God above, the descendants of the dragons are gathered here. We implore You to descend Your Divine Eye, using Your supreme divine power to help Your progeny distinguish good from evil, and using Your insight to make all falsehoods reveal their true forms!”

Having finished his bowing, the “Archbishop” first offered a devout eulogy toward the golden eyeball above his head.

The “Dragon God’s Eye” seemed to respond to his words; a pale golden ripple blossomed from within, and the sound of a faint, majestic dragon roar echoed in the air.

Having received permission, the eight great nobles who had been kneeling on the ground scrambled to their feet, presenting the evidence they had prepared in advance one after another.

“The Delconnor family accuses Saintess Aurelia of accepting bribes and illegally seizing the land of the common people…”

“The Cavendish family accuses Saintess Aurelia of wantonly demolishing local Dragon God cathedrals and blaspheming the deity…”

“The Flint family accuses Saintess Aurelia of colluding with foreign cultists and attempting to trade in the organs and blood of the Dragon Tribe…”

…

“The Casimir family accuses Saintess Aurelia of being promiscuous in character; as the Saintess, she has failed to maintain her chastity and has defiled the cathedral. Her crimes deserve punishment!”

The last to present evidence was, naturally, Lady Elizabeth. When she placed that thick stack of evidence on the altar table, she fixed a venomous glare in Aurelia’s direction before leaving.

Once the evidence was presented, the “Archbishop” heavily patted the stack of accusations, which was nearly half the height of a person. Finally, he questioned the girl with a stern expression.

“Aurelia, you have one last chance to confess your crimes in advance. If you give a truthful account, then this Archbishop can show leniency for the sake of your status as the former Saintess. But if you remain obstinate, then today…”

“This old man will have no choice but to punish you, a sinner, on behalf of the Dragon God!”

Even though the results of the trial had not yet come out, in the mouth of this kind-looking Archbishop, she had already become a “sinner.”

The girl looked around at the people with their varying expressions, her smile not quite reaching her eyes.

“I believe I made myself very clear, didn’t I? I do not admit to them. Since you all insist on making me plead guilty, then please, Archbishop, let the Dragon God Himself make me confess…”

“Aurelia” stood with her arms crossed, her pair of golden dragon pupils filled with nothing but defiance and unyielding spirit.