“I know this man!” A monk in the audience stood up and exclaimed, “He’s always in the monastery’s library!”

An elderly monk glared at the speaker and said slowly, "Could there be some misunderstanding? The San Sidlow Monastery has never had such an arsonist."

The knight nodded to the soldier behind him, who opened the cloth bag in his hand and emptied its contents.

Items such as flint, kerosene cans, and tinder fell to the ground, causing an uproar among the audience.

Awakened by the commotion, Karin groggily opened her eyes, shook her head with a splitting headache, and sat up straight. Her monk's hood slipped down to her shoulders, revealing her long, black hair to everyone's view.

"It's a woman!"

"The monk in this monastery is actually a woman!"

Shouts and laughter filled the air, and people looked at the monks with an indescribable sense of wicked amusement.

The monks, their faces flushed, remained silent, some even covering their faces with their robes.

However, one person in the audience, upon seeing Karin's appearance, did not join the commotion. Instead, he approached the court staff and whispered something to them.

The court staff rushed to the judge's bench, put their mouths close to Father Paul's ears, and whispered something to him for a while.

The interrogator, who had been listless and dejected, suddenly brightened up, as if he had been injected with adrenaline. He jumped up from the ground, grabbed the shoulder of the person next to him, and asked excitedly, "Really?!"

Having received an affirmative answer, Paul walked up to Todd with great interest, looked him in the eye, and asked loudly, "Todd, do you know this woman?"

Did the defendant have a relationship with this woman posing as a monk?

All the sounds in the hall gradually faded to silence because of the interrogator's question.

The person being questioned did not answer his question, but instead focused all his attention on the arson suspect and remained silent.

The priest took another step closer to the monk and whispered, "Women who impersonate clergy are to be burned at the stake!"

Todd's eyes flickered.

Paul stepped back and asked loudly, "Then let me ask you another question: Did you bring this woman into the convent?!"

The interrogator's question elicited whispers from the audience.

Gradually realizing the situation and her own predicament, Karin shook her head anxiously, trying to take all the blame upon herself, and shouted, "No! I don't know him!"

Todd closed his eyes in anguish.

Queen Mary glanced at the woman sitting on the ground, then at the defendant on the platform, and had a general idea of ​​what was going on. She folded her fan and placed it in her hands, softly saying, "One or two to die?"

Leaving aside the charge of premeditated arson, the mere fact that "a woman disguised as a nun entered the convent without permission" is enough to sentence her to death. The crucial question is whether Todd will admit that he hid this woman in the convent?

If he doesn't confess, the woman will naturally be executed, and he will only face criticism for his reputation; if he confesses, then both of them will die.

So, it's a question of "one or two die".

However, Queen Mary already had the answer in her heart.

Men have always been selfish creatures.

A father is willing to sacrifice his own daughter for the sake of his country.

Brothers, for the sake of power, are willing to abandon their own sister.

A husband, for the sake of saving face, may humiliate his wife.

Men are nothing more than that.

The queen gripped the folding fan tightly in her hand.

“That’s right, this sister is the one I brought into the convent…”

etc!

What did he just say?!

The queen stood frozen in place, her folding fan falling to the ground in bewilderment.

Todd's words were like stirring up a hornet's nest; the audience erupted in chaos. No one would have imagined that the seemingly innocent man, the righteous alchemist, would be harboring a woman in the sacred monastery!

People stood up and loudly criticized.

"Unclean!"

"Degeneration!"

Father Paul raised his hands and cried out to heaven, “I declare that Todd, as a clergyman, has committed blasphemy! He and this woman deserve to be burned at the stake!”

Seeing Huggins and his "acquaintances" lurking at the door, Todd shook his head slightly. Karin's tearful face made him clench his fists. Though his face remained calm, his chest burned with rage, and his mind raced.

The accusations against Karin were something he had never anticipated. And the most troublesome part was that the charge of "a woman impersonating a monk" was covered by witnesses and evidence, leaving no possibility of overturning the verdict. But Todd could never abandon Karin and choose to live on, not only because they were partners, but more so because of his own conscience.

If they want to save Karin while protecting themselves, they'll probably have no choice but to take risky and unconventional measures...

Todd stepped down from the judge's bench, came to Karin, pointed at her, and said, "This is a devout woman, a faithful believer."

The girl who had previously expressed her determination to "paint the walls in desperation" looked around in confusion upon hearing this, almost pointing at herself and asking, "Are you talking about me?"

“Her soul thirsts for the Father, her body yearns for the Holy Spirit, she wants to see the Lord’s power and glory, for His supreme love is more precious than her life!” The monk’s words made Karin frown deeply, forgetting to cry.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!