A Formal Charge

A paladin rushed inside.

Marchioness Scarlet’s carriage and the nobles following her waited motionless under the scorching sun for an answer. The number of onlookers watching the scene gradually increased. The faces of the paladins guarding the entrance were hard as stone.

Finally, the paladin who had run inside returned. As he whispered to his superior, the nodding paladin shouted loudly.

“Everyone may enter! But remember, no disturbance is permitted in the sacred Grand Temple!”

At last, the procession, led by the Marchioness’s carriage, slowly began to enter the Grand Temple. Jeha, mixed in with the crowd, stepped inside and curled the corners of his mouth.

Finally, a real crack had begun to form between the Grand Temple and the nobles of the Central Continent. And this was only the prelude.

The Marchioness’s carriage came to a halt in the center of the Grand Temple’s courtyard. The nobles dismounted from their horses and surrounded it as if escorting it. It was truly rare for nobles with such diverse interests to unite so tightly.

The ones who came out to greet them in the courtyard were high priests. Among them was Bishop Peressio, the eldest son of the Pope.

“Marchioness Scarlet, please come inside.”

Bishop Peressio stepped forward and said. But instead of following him, the Marchioness stood upright in place and shouted loudly.

“I am here today to formally charge the Inquisitor Casto, who falsely accused me of heresy by manipulating witnesses and evidence, with the crime of insulting a noble!”

Under the heavy atmosphere, the Marchioness’s voice rang clearly across the Grand Temple’s courtyard.

“Marchioness, please don’t do this here… Let’s go inside and talk.”

Bishop Peressio urged her with a troubled face. Then a young noble standing nearby stepped forward and spoke.

“We cannot retreat until we clearly see with our own eyes the insult and humiliation suffered by Marchioness Scarlet washed away. The Marchioness’s honor is our honor as nobles. Your Excellency, do not stand in our way!”

“That’s right!”

“We will stand with Marchioness Scarlet to the end!”

Voices of support rang out from all sides. Cold sweat gleamed on Bishop Peressio’s forehead. The Temple was truly backed into a corner.

“Please allow me and my party to formally file a charge before His Holiness the Pope. Until that happens, I will not budge from this spot.”

Marchioness Scarlet announced with her back straight.

Bishop Peressio swept his gaze over the nobles’ hard stares fixed on him, then whispered to a priest beside him. The priest, after hearing the whisper, turned and quickly disappeared into the temple. Another short wait began.

It was an unusually hot day. Everyone was sweating, but none complained and none moved. For nobles, protecting their honor and privileges was more important than life itself. No one intended to back down.

After a while, the priest came running back out. He whispered to Bishop Peressio. Bishop Peressio nodded and addressed the crowd.

“Considering the seriousness of the matter, His Holiness the Pope has agreed to receive all of you. Please follow me inside.”

A faint sense of victory appeared on the faces of the waiting nobles. When the nobles of Enkarosha united so tightly to pressure the Pope, the probability of getting what they wanted was extremely high.

Marchioness Scarlet took the lead, and the nobles naturally formed ranks, entering the Grand Temple.

Finally, the door to the papal audience chamber opened, and the party stepped into the vast, splendid room. The Pope sat in a dignified posture on a throne upon a high dais. On either side of him stood rows of high priests. As if aware of the gravity of the matter, all high priests, from the archbishop down, were present in full force.

Although the Pope sat in a high seat, the scene resembled a confrontation between the priests and the nobles. This was exactly what Hereis and Jeha had wanted. Jeha secretly exchanged glances with Hereis. In that brief flicker of an eye, he could tell that Hereis’s side was also ready.

“Your Holiness.”

Marchioness Scarlet stepped forward as the representative, kissed the Pope’s ring, and returned to her spot. Before the Pope could ask, she repeated her earlier statement in a clear voice.

“I am here today to formally charge the Inquisitor Casto, who falsely accused me of heresy by manipulating witnesses and evidence, with the crime of insulting a noble.”

At those bold and blatant words, the Pope’s aged face, which had maintained its composure, showed a slight crack. But Marchioness Scarlet proceeded without concern.

“Inquisitor Casto, a noble by birth, falsely accused me, and I had to endure the humiliation of a nude examination to prove my innocence. Yet, due to false witnesses and testimonies, I was convicted and nearly sentenced to public burning. If not for the bodies rising with God’s help to reveal Casto’s sins, I would not be standing here unharmed but would have been burned alive amidst every kind of insult. Therefore, I stand here to formally charge Inquisitor Casto with the crime of insulting a noble.”

The Pope remained silent. Instead, the white-bearded archbishop stepped forward.

“We understand well the injustice suffered by Marchioness Scarlet. Therefore, our Temple is conducting a thorough investigation of Inquisitor Casto and the false witnesses. When the results come out, we will punish them severely. Your honor will be restored if you just wait a little longer…”

“How will you punish them?”

Marchioness Scarlet interrupted the archbishop. The archbishop’s face, who as a high priest was always respected even by nobles, hardened slightly. But perhaps conscious of the nobles’ eyes on him, he soon opened his mouth with a magnanimous expression.

“If it is confirmed that they framed the Marchioness, they will be immediately excommunicated…”

“Will you have them burned at the stake, as I nearly was?”

Marchioness Scarlet interrupted again. This time, even the archbishop failed to maintain his composure.

“Marchioness Scarlet, I fully understand your anger, but there is no law in God’s statutes to burn a liar at the stake. He will be excommunicated and spend the rest of his life atoning for his sins in a monastery at the edge of the continent.”

The archbishop said soothingly. Marchioness Scarlet lifted her chin slightly.

“Inquisitor Casto insulted and humiliated a noble, and tried to kill him by framing him. At the very least, the crime of insulting a noble cannot be avoided.”

“Marchioness, that is a law of the secular world. Priest Casto is a man of God. We follow only God’s law.”

“Then excommunicate him and expel him from the Temple. As soon as he is excommunicated, I will have him bound and taken before His Imperial Majesty for punishment. The same goes for the false witnesses. They are commoners, not priests, so there is no problem punishing them for insulting a noble, is there?”

Marchioness Scarlet’s posture was straight, and her words were extremely firm. So too was the group of nobles standing behind her.

The high priests exchanged glances.

To them, Inquisitor Casto was already a lost cause. But whether he was dealt with by them or by the emperor and nobles made a world of difference. Until now, priests had completely evaded secular laws under the pretext of following only God’s law. However, if Casto were to be dealt with by the nobles this time, it would set a precedent that priests are not exempt from secular law.

“Marchioness Scarlet.”

The Pope, who had been sitting quietly until now, finally spoke. Everyone’s eyes turned to him at once.

“Then how about excommunicating Priest Casto and imprisoning him in an underground dungeon until he dies? Without any water or food, he will be made to recite prayers of repentance until death.”

The Pope’s words meant he would be imprisoned and starved to death. It meant that Casto would be killed, but within the Temple’s internal resolution.

Marchioness Scarlet shook her head as if there was nothing to consider.

“Excommunicating him is only natural. A person who committed such a grave sin can no longer be a servant of God. An excommunicated priest is the same as a commoner. He must be taken to the capital and put to death by beheading for the crime of insulting a noble.”

The Pope’s brow furrowed at such an uncompromising stance that offered no room for negotiation.

After staring at Marchioness Scarlet for a moment, the Pope turned his gaze to the nobles lined up behind her. The nobles, who usually felt honored even to have an audience with the Pope, now stood with straight backs and unyielding expressions, a rare sight.