episode_0173

After celebrating Hayes’s birthday in a somewhat somber atmosphere, January 21st arrived after a few days.

Just last week, I had resolved myself to be tormented by the church throughout the year, since even the shortest trial takes several months.

“… Considering the fact that Baron Howard has disrupted public morals with vulgar behavior, I sentence him to 10 days of service at the monastery or a fine of 1 gold.”

– Bang, bang, bang!

My issue regarding heresy was resolved so quickly that it could be described as sloppy.

I was really relieved that it went over with a formal punishment and a formal trial, but I even began to doubt whether they had properly investigated.

So, on the way out after the trial, I subtly approached Bishop Bianca and asked.

“There’s nothing that comes up even if we investigate, and your social circle is too narrow, so there’s nothing to investigate. You have no friends, and hardly any families you meet closely… When I received the results, I even doubted whether you were really a noble. I even wondered if Count Hume and his wife had abused you. If you want to enjoy a more peaceful life in the future, I think it would be good to broaden your social circle.”

“Yes… Thank you for the advice…”

And I had to leave the courtroom as if fleeing, after hearing nagging that felt like being told to properly engage in social life.

“Keueung…”

My heart ached a little.

Still, I narrowly avoided a crisis that could have ended my life, so I felt at ease.

It seems like I’m facing a lot of crises in less than a year, but I guess that’s the destiny of a superstar.

Hoo~ Yare yare… Shouganai na…

– Chop! Chop!

I strongly slapped both cheeks, rebooting my mind that was spouting nonsense.

My mind was a bit too relaxed from the mental liberation I felt after a long time.

I’ve been to prison once in my life, but I have a strange history of never having received police investigation or trial, so I guess I was really stressed by the first investigation and trial.

It was different from last time, when I was caught straight from the production site and shoved into prison as if trading agricultural products directly.

They went to my family and asked about me, stormed into my workplace and met with each employee, contacted business partners and grilled them about any suspicious points, and even visited some customers and grilled them about clothes.

I felt sorry because people around me were embarrassed, wondering what was going on, and I wondered when the investigation would end.

And in the end, I was going crazy when I heard that Bishop Bianca had met with His Majesty the Emperor.

Elizabeth said there was no need to worry, but I didn’t know what the Emperor and the Bishop had talked about there, so as soon as I heard the news, my head went blank and my face turned pale.

Until before the investigation, I foolishly thought that I could confidently confront whoever came at me.

I realized that there’s a reason why people say not to do anything that would make you go to the police station.

But that’s all in the past.

Now, there’s no need to deliberately draw aggro for promotion, and there’s no need to spread my feet everywhere like a tentacle monster and try to sell to customers.

It means that if I just keep a low profile, I won’t have to go through this kind of thing.

“Heueuk~ Keueu…”

As I stretched and loosened my stiff back, a slight dizziness rose up.

Feeling slightly dazed and losing energy is both pleasant and unpleasant.

If I do it often, I get dizzy, but if I do it once in a while, it feels kind of good.

More than that, Emily’s birthday is in two days…

I’ve been too busy this year, so I haven’t prepared anything. What should I do?

I bought her shoes last year, gave her perfume the year before, and gave her a watch three years ago. What should I give her this year?

“Ah, damn it, nothing in my life is going right. Seriously…”

I don’t know who framed me as a heretic, but if I catch them, I’ll write their name ten times in red on a piece of paper in secret.

“Oops…”

I was startled and immediately erased the revenge plan from my mind.

I almost became a heretic who actually uses wicked magic, swept away by anger.

“Tsk…”

I clicked my tongue and got into the carriage parked in front of the courthouse.

I should forget about what’s already happened and pay more attention to what’s to come…

_

“… Considering the fact that Baron Howard has disrupted public morals with vulgar behavior, I sentence him to 10 days of service at the monastery or a fine of 1 gold.”

– Bang, bang, bang!

The sentence of the presiding judge of this trial and the Imperial Diocese Cardinal.

The heresy suspicion that occurred in the Imperial Capital for the first time in decades, the suspicion of heresy and sorcery, which is like treason to the church, ended too blandly.

“Hmm…”

Duke Illy, who witnessed the scene directly from the audience seats, let out a groan and had to make every effort to prevent his expression from collapsing.

Duke Illy could easily have predicted that it would end in such a futile conclusion.

It was an absurd suspicion and there was no evidence.

But heresy is fatal even if only rumors circulate, and even if only rumors circulate, all relatives are subjected to high-intensity investigations.

It is common sense that heresy is like a death sentence just to be involved in suspicion, and it takes years to get rid of the suspicion.

That common sense just collapsed before Duke Illy’s eyes.

One month.

Not a year, but a month.

It took only a month from when he heard the suspicious conversation, reported it to the church, and the investigation and trial were completed.

A speed so fast that you could believe that they didn’t even do the investigation, let alone doing it roughly.

“What should we do now…?”

The Duchess, who was watching the trial with Duke Illy, whispered in a faintly trembling voice and tightly grabbed her husband’s hand.

They failed to eliminate a powerful competitor.

The plan to prepare for the cost of slander for several years also collapsed.

And the church’s blue blade, which seemed like it would come in a few years, was already approaching their chins, presenting its sharp edge.

Duke Illy was confused and his mind was not working properly, but he was not so immature as to just stand still.

‘First, we have to get out of here.’

He was used to preparing for unexpected situations, so he took his wife’s hand and got up from his seat to escape to a place where he could regain peace and organize his thoughts.

“Wife, let’s go back to the family for now.”

“What’s next?”

“We’ll have to find a grave.”

“……”

Of course, even if he did that, there were not many cases of action that Duke Illy could take.

The only solution was to pretend that he felt suspicious and minimize the level of punishment as much as possible.

It was only necessary to get their stories straight in order to make the most of that only solution.

Therefore, the Duke hurried to his mansion as much as possible.

“Wife, be careful about your expression and mouth management on the way back. It’s over if you show even a little bit of suspicion.”

“Okay.”

The Duke restrained his wife’s mouth in order to reduce even the slightest possibility of making a mistake in the process, and forced his legs, which were trembling and not properly energized, to move towards the carriage.

“Thomas, bring the carriage right now… Thomas! Damn it, where did this guy go…!”

The Duke tried to ignore the anxiety rising up his spine at the fact that the coachman and butler, who had been ordered to wait in the carriage, were nowhere to be seen, and roughly opened the door of the carriage.

“Oh~”

“!”

When the carriage door opened, what came into Duke Illy’s eyes was a man who had invaded someone else’s carriage and was sitting comfortably with his legs crossed.

“Duke Illy, why are you so late? I was about to fall asleep waiting for you.”

The man, wearing a mask that seemed to be shaped like an owl’s face and wearing a smug smile, made eye contact with the Duke and spoke to him in a relaxed and friendly voice, twirling a short knife in his left hand.

“This…”

“Hiccup…!”

Owls and owls are symbols of the ‘Intelligence Department’, which takes charge of all the dirty work in the shadows, instead of the Knights.

Among them, the owl is a symbol given only to the leaders of the owls.

The Duke and his wife, who were high-ranking nobles and had been involved in politics for a long time, knew the identity of the mask all too well and froze in a state of panic.

“If you don’t mind, would you have some time to talk leisurely? Someone is quite upset about Baron Howard’s case. It seems they’ve gone too far because they’re too focused on political strife.”

“T, this, this time, everything, I, everything I did, the wife knows nothing about this.”

“Hmm… That’s still unknown. Depending on how the conversation with Your Excellency goes, this matter may be known only to Your Excellency, or it may be known to the Duchess.”

The result may vary depending on the conversation, not the evidence.

The Duke bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders at the threat that they would freely involve his family if he did not cooperate to their liking.

“… Yes, I will do anything, so please don’t touch my family, I beg you.”

“Your Excellency, it would be good to keep that mindset until the end.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

The masked man wiped the smile off his face and spoke in a chilling voice, looking over the Duke’s shoulder.

“Drag him away.”

“Yes.”

The men in owl masks, who had already approached the Duke from behind, grabbed the Duke’s arms and dragged him to a nearby rough carriage.

In an instant, only the man in the owl mask and the Duchess remained in the carriage and its surroundings.

“Then, Madam, I will safely escort you home. Would you like to get in the carriage?”

“I… I don’t want to…”

“If it’s difficult for you to get in the carriage, I can help you directly… But I recommend you come up on your own if possible.”

The man paused for a moment and gave a cynical smile to the Duchess, who was stiff as a mouse standing in front of a snake.

“I like cooperative people.”

“Haeu… Heueuk…”

A warning and a threat.

At the man’s words, the Duchess breathed heavily like a death row inmate being dragged to the execution ground and struggled to get into the carriage.

– Clatter!

Soon after the carriage door closed, a new middle-aged gentleman who appeared from somewhere naturally climbed onto the driver’s seat and grabbed the whip.

“Giddy up!”

With the gentleman’s whip, the carriage, which had been standing tall on the street, began to move forward smoothly.