Chapter 140
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 140
Ragged, gasping breaths echoed through the chamber.
Cardinal Milliod was panting heavily.
His pupils trembled uncontrollably.
The Cardinal stared down at the chains binding him.
After gazing at the pristine white restraints without a single blemish, he looked back at Hailon and muttered.
"...Me... a heretic?"
No one answered Milliod's words.
Everyone was too shocked to speak.
And Chesa was screaming internally as well.
'Oh no!'
I had already anticipated that Kieran and Hailon would corner Milliod.
But I never expected Hailon to reveal his own identity.
In the entire history of the Holy Empire, the Heresy Inquisitor had never once publicly exposed their existence.
The most exceptional and faithful among the Holy Knights were selected as the Heresy Inquisitor.
So it was common for people to speculate about who the Heresy Inquisitor might be based on their abilities.
To brazenly reveal one's identity like this was a violation of protocol.
Though an unprecedented scandal had erupted, Hailon himself remained composed.
Daren, positioned directly behind him, along with the accompanying Holy Knights and Heresy Inquisitors.
Not a single one showed any sign of disturbance.
As if they had known about the entire situation all along.
'The Holy King won't take this lying down.'
The Holy King despised Hailon slipping beyond his control.
Why would he deliberately expose himself and take such a risk?
As I pondered this, our eyes met—his blue gaze.
Those blue eyes were so transparent they seemed to glow with light.
The moment I recognized the unwavering conviction in those righteous eyes, I understood.
'It's because of me.'
The sole reason for his choice was me.
No matter how formidable a Heresy Inquisitor might be, shrouded in secrecy, they cannot wield true power.
To give me strength, he had done something no Heresy Inquisitor had ever attempted before.
Chained Milliod squeezed his eyes shut.
His Cardinal's robes were drenched with cold sweat pouring down his body.
Perspiration visibly streamed down his face.
Yet Milliod forced a hollow laugh, feigning composure.
"This... is an insult, Sir Hailon. What possible grounds do you have to...."
Of course, his trembling voice rendered the attempt ineffective.
Hailon answered not with words, but with a subtle flick of his fingers.
The taut chains snapped taut and yanked forward violently.
Bound Milliod tumbled forward helplessly.
Cardinal Milliod naturally fell to his knees, his face draining of color as humiliation washed over him.
Then a sharp, decisive voice cut through the air.
"Enough!"
Holy King Sianor emerged from between the Holy Knights.
"How dare you cause such a disturbance in the Grand Temple, which should be sacred, Hailon?"
He had abandoned even the pretense of his usual benevolent expression.
Sianor glared at Hailon with terrifying intensity.
Cardinal Milliod's heart soared at the Holy King's arrival.
He had absolute faith that the Holy King would save him.
"Cardinal Milliod borrowed the power of black magic. Having confirmed the crime, I merely condemn him as a Heresy Inquisitor."
"This is unjust!"
As Hailon stated the charges expressionlessly, Cardinal Milliod immediately protested.
"I can explain everything. I swear by God's name."
Sianor pressed his lips firmly together, his wrinkled eyes narrowing to slits.
His gaze moved slowly between Cardinal Milliod and Hailon.
The Grand Temple fell into a tense silence.
In the moment when no one dared speak hastily.
"Um, excuse me..."
A small, clear voice rang out in the quiet space.
Chesa, cradled in Kieran's arms, raised one hand with a bright gesture.
"I have something to say."
Everyone turned to stare at her bold action with wide eyes.
Chesa extended her short finger with a sharp motion.
All eyes followed her finger, directing their gaze toward Cardinal Milliod.
"That mister brought a demon here."
Cardinal Milliod's expression went blank as he was precisely identified.
Surrounded by people looking down at him, he stood half-dazed, his lips merely trembling.
And with an utterly foolish expression, he asked back.
"...Me?"
Everyone had witnessed the miracle Chesa had wrought—far too significant to dismiss as mere child's prattle.
It was an accusation that could not be ignored.
Like ripples spreading across water after a stone is cast, turmoil rippled through the gathering.
Kieran exhaled softly and brushed Chesa's hair.
"I shall speak on the child's behalf."
His subtly gleaming crimson eyes were bewitching.
His low, powerful voice commanded everyone's attention.
"Cardinal Milliod employed heretical power—specifically black magic that defies God—to ensure his favored candidate triumphed in the Pure Child Prayer Ceremony. There is evidence that he attempted to hire a Black Mage Impostor from the Underworld."
Kieran regarded the Cardinal with cold disdain as he spoke.
"Since the Underworld Master himself has vouched for this, there can be no more certain proof than this."
It was the exact same words Cardinal Milliod had once hurled at Kieran when he had falsely accused him of impersonating a father.
"Furthermore."
Kieran methodically enumerated each of Cardinal Milliod's transgressions.
"You even brought monsters into Hilderd's Holy Sanctuary. As Count Basilian, I shall present evidence that Cardinal Milliod transported creatures from the Black Forest."
Kieran declared this while cradling Chesa in one arm, his other hand placed solemnly over his heart.
"I swear upon God's name that all of this is truth."
He swore by God's name, just as Cardinal Milliod had done.
Yet the oath of a Black Mage Impostor who believed in no god carried no weight whatsoever.
But to those ignorant of Kieran's true nature, his vow would feel devastatingly solemn.
Leaving Kieran to maintain his pious expression, I fixed my gaze upon Holy King Sianor.
"...."
The furrows etched across Sianor's brow deepened further.
He knew Kieran's accusation was false.
After all, the Holy King himself had been complicit in most of what Cardinal Milliod had done.
The reason for this theatrical display of transparent truth and lies was simple.
Because I knew exactly what choice the Holy King would make.
'You've given him the chance to pin the monster outbreak on someone else.'
It was an irresistibly tempting bait—a way to consolidate all his sordid failures onto another.
Dangling this delectable morsel before him, I barely managed to suppress the laughter that kept threatening to spill from my lips.
After a prolonged silence, Sianor spoke slowly, his voice hollow.
"...God above."
The Holy King clasped his hands together as if in prayer, pressing them briefly to his forehead before lowering them, struggling to contain his emotions.
"That you were the one who brought monsters into Hilderd...!"
A cry drenched in anguish tore through the Grand Temple.
"The trust we shared for decades blinded me. This failure is mine alone."
He wept openly, laying bare the pain of betrayal by one he had believed in.
Those gathered witnessed this spectacle, and many found themselves weeping alongside the Holy King.
Whispered prayers—"God above"—echoed throughout the chamber.
Watching the Holy King transform into the perfect victim, Cardinal Milliod blinked vacantly.
He, who had been frozen like a statue, slowly surveyed those around him.
Those who had once revered him now gazed down upon him with contempt.
As if struck by lightning, Cardinal Milliod shrieked.
"Why! Why! I am guilty only of loyalty—of serving the Holy King's will!"
He spoke the most truthful words of anyone present in that chamber.
Yet when no one believes you, even truth becomes a lie.
"Hailon."
Sianor commanded with finality.
"Take this wretch to the Heresy Interrogation Chamber at once."
Cardinal Milliod released a bestial scream.
He writhed and crawled toward Kieran's feet.
His eyes blazed crimson with burst blood vessels as he shrieked, veins bulging grotesquely in his neck.
"I laid hands upon a demon! And worse, *cough*, the Underworld Master's endorsement, no less—do you not fear divine punishment, you wretch? How dare you invoke the name of God while spouting such lies...!"
Bound in chains, he writhed obscenely like a worm, crawling forward as he spat curses.
Kieran regarded him with cold indifference, then hoisted Chesa onto his shoulder.
He knelt on one knee, bringing his gaze level with Miliod's.
"Why do you speak so, Miliod?"
Feigning sorrow, Kieran whispered softly, audible only to him.
"Not everything I said was a lie. There is one truth among them."
His narrow eyes curved with sinister grace.
"I am the Master."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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