Chapter 710: Forgotten
In the center of the main continent, Mount Shenglin.
On the top of the towering Holy Mountain, within the high service of the Holy Church, a full-scale collective judgment is taking place. At the top of this extremely large organization, the Church of the Radiant Light, many high-ranking cardinals and saints are gathered here at this moment to jointly judge Sister Mia.
This trial was initiated by the saint of the Tribunal, Cardinal Cramer. At the beginning, he was determined to win this trial, thinking that with solid evidence, he would be able to control the progress of the trial and guide it in the direction he wanted, convicting the criminal he identified. However, after the other cardinals, especially the Privy Councilor, spoke, the situation of the trial began to deviate greatly from Cramer's expectations.
"Saint Maiden... Oracle..."
Inside the chapel, Kramar, wearing the luxurious robes of a cardinal, sat in his seat. He gritted his teeth and looked at Atole not far away with a ruthless look, watching his petite colleague speak slowly and frankly.
"Don't be ridiculous. The Holy Church has been established for a thousand years... The position of the Secret Supervisor has been rotated many times, and I have never heard of any oracle from the Holy Saint? Secret Supervisor, you are not looking for an excuse to protect this sinful nun...
"Don't forget, forging an oracle is a more serious crime than attacking a saint!"
Kramar said this to Atolli in a questioning and warning tone, while Atolli sat in her seat and answered indifferently.
"Unlike saving Erebus, there is no conflict of interest between me and Sister Vanya. I have no reason to risk my life to protect her. I did receive an oracle that proved Sister Vanya's sincerity.
"Also, just because there were no oracles in the Secret Court before doesn't mean there won't be any now. Forging an oracle is indeed a crime against the Holy Church, but if you question the oracle without any reason like you did, your guilt won't be much lighter..."
Narrowing her eyes slightly, Atoli spoke slowly to Kramar. After listening to Atoli's words, Kramar paused, then turned his head and looked at Hilbert and Alberto who were sitting on the other side and had not expressed their opinions yet.
"The Holy War Priest... The Basic Priest... The Cultivation Priest... Do you also believe in this unprecedented oracle? Do you believe that in this holy religion, besides the Holy See, there are others who can communicate directly with the Lord?"
Kramer asked this directly to the other three cardinals, trying to win them over to his side. Alberto, whose face was covered and could not be seen clearly, was the first to speak in a calm tone without a trace of emotion.
"The will of God cannot be guessed. Since the Holy See originally agreed that the Secret Court should be independent of the Holy Church and secretly worship the 'Saint', the existence of the 'Saint' must be recognized by the Holy See. The 'Saint' must exist in the doctrines we accept and cannot be denied. And the possibility of the 'Saint' delivering a message also exists... However, since I don't know enough about the 'Saint', I still don't make any rash judgments.
"But regarding Sister Vanya's secret contact with the pagans, I don't think it's necessary to investigate too deeply. Currently, the Rosicrucian has not shown obvious cult characteristics. It has not carried out obvious missionary work... It is not appropriate to define it as an enemy cult. After all... they are probably backed by the ancient 'Revelation' from the First Dynasty."
Alberto spoke slowly, he acknowledged the existence of the Saint, but he did not make a clear determination on whether the Saint really delivered the message. His attitude in answering this time had already shown that he did not want to take sides on this matter.
Seeing Alberto's pretended neutral attitude, Kramar frowned slightly, then looked at Hilbert on the other side. At this moment, Hilbert touched his chin and thought for a while, then slowly spoke.
“It is difficult for us to tell whether the Saint’s oracle is true or false. After all, apart from the Holy See, no one knows more about the Saint’s existence than the Secret Supervisor.
"However... after receiving the oracle from the Holy Spirit, Sister Vanya used the Holy Staff correctly and indeed attracted a very high level of divine intervention, reversing Tivian's dangerous situation and preventing Putt from falling into the hands of the Lady of Pain... From this result that is beneficial to both the mortal world and the Holy Church, I tend to believe that this oracle is true."
Hilbert spoke so bluntly, and his words clearly expressed his intention to support Vanya. In the previous crisis of Tivian, it was he who did not believe Vanya's warning and used the holy staff, which led to the extreme deterioration of the situation in Tivian. Combined with the result after Vanya used the holy staff, Hilbert believed in Atole and Vanya.
After all, he had suffered the pain of not believing in it before...
"madness……"
Listening to Hilbert's words, Kramar's brows furrowed even more. He seemed to have not expected that Hilbert would directly stand on Vanya's side in this matter. Looking at the increasingly bad situation on the scene, Kramar finally looked at the skinny and emaciated ascetic sitting cross-legged on the chair beside him.
"What Kishishu said makes sense... Since the Holy See does not allow the inheritance of the Saint's faith in the Secret Court, then the Saint must exist. The Holy See only claims to be the messenger of the Three Saints and has never claimed to be the representative of the Saint. Therefore, it is possible that the Saint bypassed the Holy See and directly issued oracles to others... It is hard to say whether it is possible or not...
"Here... I don't want to make any comment on this whole incident unless the Holy See makes a final decision..."
Marco sat cross-legged in his seat with his eyes almost closed, speaking slowly in a hoarse voice. His attitude was also very clear, that is, like Alberto, he was neutral and did not directly stand on Kramer's side.
Seeing that Marco, who used to be the one most likely to agree with his political views and stand on his side, now had such an attitude, Kramar's face suddenly sank. He stood there with a gloomy face, staring at Vanya with hostility and obvious anger in his eyes.
Unlike Kramar, who was gloomy, Vanya, who was kneeling in the middle of the cardinals, listened to the speeches of the cardinals one by one, and her originally tense face gradually relaxed. After listening to Marco's final statement, she breathed a sigh of relief. Amanda, who was sitting on the other side, smiled slightly after seeing the situation in front of her.
"It seems that the cardinals have almost confirmed their ideas. Why don't we start voting now to decide whether Sister Vanya is guilty and should be punished..."
Following Amanda's suggestion, Kramer interrogated Vanya a few more times. Vanya answered calmly without revealing any other flaws. After the interrogation was over, the cardinals in the Council of Cardinals began to vote together.
In the end, except for the Cardinal Amanda, who was temporarily restricted from voting because she had beaten Kramer directly before, the other 10 cardinals gave their own judgments on Vanya. Among them, the Cardinal Alberto of the Church and the Cardinal Marco of the Order chose to abstain from expressing their opinions, while the Cardinal Artori and the Cardinal Hilbert of the Holy War both voted that Vanya was not guilty. Only the Cardinal Kramer of the Judge insisted that Vanya was guilty and needed to be dealt with.
Even if Amanda was removed, the final vote was still less than one to one. This cardinals' meeting had reached the final conclusion that Vanya would not be held accountable for any crime. Such a conclusion made Vanya smile with relief.
"Thanks to God for His grace, I am grateful..."
Vanya bowed to the cardinals around her one by one. When bowing to Kramar, Vanya looked directly into his cold eyes.
Obviously, without Amanda's participation, the Cardinal Council still failed to convict Vanya this time, which was something Kramer had never thought of before.
"snort……"
Finally, before the Cardinals' Council was officially declared over, Kramer, with a gloomy face, glanced at his colleagues around him, snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves, and stood up and left.
As they watched Kramar's back leave, Amanda and Atole both had a meaningful look in their eyes. On the other side, after feeling Kramar's departure, Marco opened his eyes that had been closed. After squinting and staring at Kramar's back for a few seconds, he slowly closed his eyes again and returned to his previous meditation-like state.
…
Holy Mountain, the exclusive office area of the Salvation Court in the Holy Cathedral, Amanda's garden.
"Thank you for your help again..." In the small garden filled with the sound of birdsong and lush greenery, Vanya, dressed in a wedding gown, bowed respectfully to Amanda, who was sitting in the pavilion and had not yet taken off her cardinal robe. Amanda spoke slowly with a slight sigh.
"I don't have the power to vote this time. If you want to thank someone... you should thank the other cardinals the most. No matter if it's the Cardinal of the Basic Order and the Cardinal of the Discipline who abstained from voting, or the Cardinal of the Holy War and the Cardinal of the Secret Council who supported you, you should give them a chance to thank them individually... Especially the Cardinal of the Secret Council. If she hadn't insisted on testifying for you that the oracle was true this time, you wouldn't have gotten away with it so easily..."
Amanda said this to Vanya, and Vanya nodded respectfully in response.
"Vanya will never forget the kindness of the other cardinals today. If there is a chance, I will definitely repay them in the future..."
"There's no need for any repayment. You controlled the Holy Staff that day and turned the situation in Tivian around, so that we, the cardinal saints, didn't cause any disaster during the period when the Holy See was away. In a sense, this is our favor to you. As for me, I don't ask for anything in return..." Amanda continued, looking at Vanya in front of her with a focused and serious look.
"If I have to ask you to repay me for something... I hope that Sister Vanya will always be sincere in the interests of the Holy Church. Even though you are wandering on the edge of the Lord and other gods, I hope that you will always be on the Lord's side..."
Amanda spoke to Vanya in a meaningful tone. After listening to Amanda's words, Vanya paused slightly and then spoke seriously.
"Please rest assured, sir. Vanya will not do anything that will truly harm the Holy Church..." Vanya said to Amanda in front of her with an assuring tone. Hearing Vanya's response, Amanda couldn't help but nodded slightly, and then continued to speak.
"But this time I didn't expect... that the saint who usually exists as a symbol of the Secret Court would really appear in the world, nor did I expect that the saint recognized by the Holy See is actually the Queen of the Night Sky... The Rose Cross you touched is not only related to the belief in the Judge of Heaven... but also has a relationship with the Kingdom of Darkness. This is the most surprising thing, so this Rose Cross... what is the origin of it?"
Amanda said this in a somewhat strange tone, while Vanya in front of her also spoke bluntly.
"The Rosicrucian... is indeed very mysterious. Although I have come into contact with them, I still cannot really pry into their secrets. However... I can confirm that they are definitely not an evil cult. I can guarantee that their stance will never conflict with the Lord's morality. With their help, I have saved countless lives... They are definitely not an evil cult as Lord Kramer said..."
With a very confident tone, Vanya spoke directly to Amanda, and Amanda answered while picking up the tea on the stone table beside her and taking a sip.
"As far as the current situation is concerned, your judgment is not wrong... As far as the current trend of the secret world is concerned, there really shouldn't be obvious hostility between the Holy Church and the Rose. The Judge is also too sensitive about this matter."
Amanda expressed her views calmly while sipping tea, and Vanya couldn't help but ponder for a moment after hearing what Amanda said. After thinking for a while, she spoke again.
"Sir... Regarding the words of the Judge, Vanya has some opinions. I wonder if I should express them..."
Vanya said this. Listening to Vanya's words, Amanda looked at her and then continued to speak.
"It's okay to say it..."
"Yes, sir... Regarding the recent events, I can feel that the referee is targeting me. I know that this is actually his responsibility and I should understand it... But judging from his current performance, isn't it a bit too much? I always feel that the current referee is a little... well, unreasonably crazy..." Vanya said to Amanda while thinking. After listening to Vanya's words, Amanda paused slightly, then responded.
"For the position of the Inquisitor, fanaticism is necessary, and so is a strong suspicion. Even a little madness is understandable... But no matter fanaticism or madness, it should be based on loyalty to the Holy Church, loyalty to the Lord and the Holy See. And now Kramer seems to have begun to deviate from this direction. Rather than being loyal to the Holy Church, he is now more loyal to himself...
"As a referee, Kramer shouldn't be so blind to the current situation."
Amanda expressed her opinion in such a deep voice. After hearing Amanda's response, Vanya's expression froze, and then she continued to speak.
"Kramer now... In other words, wasn't Mr. Kramer like this before?"
After catching a hint from Amanda's words, Vanya asked curiously, and Amanda was also thinking about her answer.
"Well... In my impression, the current Kramar was also very fanatical in the past, and often neurotically suspicious and questioning various issues. But he was also very loyal to the Holy Church and the Holy See, had a basic sense of the overall situation, and could still clearly distinguish the urgency of things at critical moments.
"In my first impression of the Cardinal Inquisitor, although he was not fanatical and unreasonable, he always had different opinions with me and often confronted me in the Council of Cardinals, but he would not develop to the extent of simply confronting for the sake of confrontation, and would not actively cooperate with the cult for the sake of power games... Now Kramer seems to have been completely overwhelmed by power and even began to forget the essence of his own duties. This is a clear change from his previous self."
Amanda told Vanya in a deep voice her opinion about Krama. After listening to her, Vanya couldn't help but ask curiously.
"The Judgment Center in the past... wasn't as extreme as it is now? Then, Sir, do you remember when the Judgment Center began to change significantly?"
"When did it start..." After listening to Vanya's question, Amanda began to recall and think, and after thinking for a while, her brows frowned slightly.
"Strange...when did it start?"
Amanda said this with a confused look on her face, and then continued to recall in depth. Seeing Amanda's reaction, Vanya also showed a look of doubt on her face.
…
Putte East Coast, Tivian.
At midnight on the 2nd floor of a street cafe in Tivian, somewhere in the northern part of the city, in a cubicle on the third floor facing the street, Dorothy, wearing a grey shirt, a small bow tie, and a high-waisted black skirt, was sitting here, drinking coffee and admiring the street scenery.
While sipping tea, Dorothy withdrew her gaze from the street and looked towards the seat opposite her. Sitting there at this moment was a blonde girl about her age, wearing a small dark windbreaker and a tilted hat. At this moment, she was looking at Dorothy with a smile.
"How...how do you feel about being in Tivian's upper circles these days? Are you adapting? How does it compare to Igwynte?" Dorothy spoke directly to the girl in front of her with a calm look, while the girl named Anna tilted her head and thought for a while before speaking directly.
"Hmm... I feel it's not so bad, teacher. The upper circles in Tivian are much bigger than those in Igwinter, and everyone has a higher status... There are more formalities, and the behavior is more flattering and extravagant... Even small gatherings are really grand, and the standards are completely incomparable to those in Igwinter.
"Of those social gatherings of nobles, I have only attended one or two that I felt were more important recently. However, since Tivian is still in a special period recently and many royal families have not yet lifted their house arrest, everyone who participated was quite reserved and nervous, and was unable to relax at all.
"How should I put it? Rather than coming here to have fun, those nobles came here to gather information. Many of them were afraid that the church's scrutiny would spread to them, so although this party was not large, the overall atmosphere was not very comfortable. The atmosphere was far worse than the one I attended in Igwinter. There was little focus in the entire party..."
Putting a finger under her chin, Anna thought for a while and spoke to Dorothy in front of her, and Dorothy continued to give a frank evaluation after listening.
"Then I guess... this rare 'focus' must be you..."
"Ah... that's about right..." Anna smiled as she listened to Dorothy's words, and then continued speaking.
"After all, I am too mysterious to the nobles of Tivian now. They can't understand why a small viscount can always be by the King's Soul's side to help him deal with affairs, and even give opinions to the people in the Secret Court. They don't know why I am in this position, but they think that I can provide them with the inside information they urgently need to know... So they surrounded me at those gatherings. To be honest, dealing with them is much more troublesome than dealing with the people of Igwinter..."
Anna responded to Dorothy in this way, with a slight sigh in between. Dorothy continued to speak after listening to it.
"After all, you are still a viscount in name only, so you have to directly offend some people of higher status. But it doesn't matter. After you have gone through the formal coronation ceremony and become a duke publicly, you won't have to pay attention to many people." Dorothy said as she took another sip of coffee and continued.
"By the way, when exactly is your enthronement ceremony scheduled?"
"Well... according to your majesty, it should be after the new king's coronation ceremony. After all, your majesty won't be here for long. For the entire Putt, the new king's enthronement is the most important thing. Everything else needs to be postponed." Anna responded to Dorothy bluntly. Dorothy nodded slightly after listening. Then she looked at the student in front of her and continued to speak.
"Then Charles IV should have made a decision about the new king."
Dorothy spoke to Anna in a slightly solemn tone, and Anna responded properly.
"Well, His Majesty finally accepted your advice and decided to enthrone Princess Isabel as the queen. Although this does not conform to Put's inheritance law, His Majesty still wants to follow the wishes of the God of Night."
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