Holy Nation – Revelation

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Lena got caught trying to assassinate the Pope?

“Am I hearing things?”

Jade’s brain refused to comprehend the bolt from the blue.

But Annie dragged Jade back to reality.

“No, you heard right. I don’t know the specifics yet, but they said Lena tried to assassinate the Pope in the Papal Chamber.”

“Come on, Annie, don’t joke around.”

Jade dismissed Annie’s words as a cruel prank.

There hadn’t been any signs or hints, and suddenly this happens?

It felt more realistic that all the Demon Legion Commanders had suddenly invaded the Holy Kingdom.

It was more reasonable to think Annie was teasing him.

“Is this some kind of prank you prepared with Lena? Even so, this joke is too much.”

There were things you just didn’t joke about. Talking about assassinating the Pope, even as a joke, was enough to get you arrested immediately.

If Annie apologized now, Jade could generously overlook this.

But Annie once again betrayed Jade’s expectations.

“Ugh… I know you’re taken aback, but do I look like I’m joking right now? I feel like I’m going crazy. I came out because it was noisy outside, and the Holy Knights were searching Lena’s room. When I asked what was going on, they said Lena tried to assassinate the Pope…”

“Is it true…?”

If Annie was saying this much, it wasn’t a lie.

She wasn’t the kind of friend who would joke like this.

‘…Assassination.’

Not just anything, but assassinating the Pope, no less.

The Lena that Jade knew would never do such a thing, nor would she even know how.

Something was definitely twisted.

“There’s no way Lena would do that. There must be some kind of misunderstanding.”

“Of course, I think so too. Lena trying to assassinate the Pope? That’s absurd. How could things get so twisted…”

“How did this happen?”

Jade tried to retrace the events of yesterday as much as possible.

This was definitely not a normal situation.

Yesterday evening, the Pope had summoned Lena separately. And Lena had headed to the Papal Chamber.

So far, there was no problem.

‘So, Lena tried to assassinate him while talking with the Pope?’

But Lena was definitely innocent.

If so, there was only one situation Jade could think of right now.

“Could it be that the Pope framed Lena?”

“I thought about that for a moment too… but it seems like too dangerous a guess.”

“If the Pope is playing tricks…”

If the guess was true, the situation was not simple.

Not long after arriving in the Holy Kingdom, Lena had clearly been caught up in something big.

And in a conspiracy with deep darkness hidden behind it.

Anxiety began to consume Jade’s mind.

What should I do? Defend Lena?

But if the situation was already irreversible…

-Clap!

“!!”

Jade snapped back to his senses at the sound of the clap.

“Jade, snap out of it.”

Annie had stretched out her arm and clapped her hands loudly in front of Jade’s eyes.

“It’s probably a problem we can still solve. But if it gets any later, it might be a disaster. Lord Antonio has already gone to argue, so let’s not do this and hurry to the Papal Chamber too.”

“…Let’s go.”

Jade started running towards the Papal Chamber, following Annie.

‘If I explain well, it’ll be okay.’

No.

It had to be.

**

When Jade arrived at the Papal Chamber, the door was wide open, and many people had arrived inside, making it quite noisy.

“So many people already…”

‘Lord Antonio, the Holy Knights… The Saintess and Cardinal Cassios, who I saw last time.’

Given the enormous incident of the Pope’s assassination attempt, it was clear that many people had gathered.

Jade first approached the Holy Knight standing at the entrance.

The Holy Knights near the entrance seemed to be standing guard in preparation for any possible situation.

“May I enter?”

“Ah, Hero. Of course, you may enter. Those inside are waiting for you.”

“Thank you. Annie, let’s go in. I think we need to hear what they’re saying first.”

“Yeah. Lead the way, Hero.”

Annie followed behind Jade as he went ahead.

As the two entered, Antonio was talking to the Pope.

Antonio slammed the desk in front of the Pope.

-Thump!

“I can’t believe it. Are you saying that Lena really tried to assassinate you, Pope?”

“Haa…. Lord Antonio, I am even more shocked by this. I still can’t believe that Lena wielded a sword against me.”

“…Then, the evidence. Is there clear evidence that Lena tried to assassinate you?”

“Evidence! Are you suggesting that His Holiness the Pope is lying, Lord Antonio?”

When Antonio demanded other evidence from the Pope, Cardinal Cassios, who was standing next to him, shouted at him.

“I am not doubting His Holiness the Pope. But even so, you can’t just imprison someone based on testimony alone.”

“Ha, the other Holy Knights here all saw Lena trying to assassinate His Holiness the Pope!”

“I cannot trust that testimony!”

“Are you insulting the Holy Knights of the Holy Kingdom?”

“Haha, it would be good if you both calmed down.”

The Pope stopped the two, who seemed ready to start a fight at any moment. And he held out his hand towards the back of the two.

The Pope’s fingertips were pointing towards Jade, who was watching the situation.

“The Hero and Annie have arrived.”

Only then did the people in the room realize that Jade and Annie had arrived.

Antonio’s face brightened slightly when he saw the two.

“You’ve finally arrived.”

“I brought Jade. It was hard work because he didn’t respond no matter how much I shook him.”

“I’m sorry. I heard the news late, so I was a little late in coming.”

Jade quickly walked towards the Pope.

“Your Holiness, is everything I heard… true?”

In fact, Jade had hoped that he would be told that it was all wrong information, even now…

But that hope was shattered by the Pope nodding his head.

“It is true. You must have many questions about this. I will answer them all if you ask them one by one.”

“…Thank you.”

What was fortunate for Jade was that the Pope’s side did not seem to have any intention of controlling information about this matter.

“Where is Lena now?”

What Jade wanted to know first was Lena’s condition.

She might have been treated harshly in the process of being arrested.

“Lena is currently imprisoned in the Underground Prison of the Great Temple. It is originally a place where those who have been in contact with Demons or dangerous people are imprisoned. It is not often used now that the Great War is over, but…”

“Are you saying that Lena is imprisoned in such a dangerous place?”

“You don’t have to worry too much. For now, Lena is in the same condition as when she was arrested. No interrogation has taken place yet.”

I was worried that she would be subjected to terrible torture under the pretext of interrogation.

‘That’s a relief. Really, that’s a relief.’

Jade was able to breathe a sigh of relief at the words that Lena was safe.

“I would appreciate it if you could postpone the interrogation of Lena a little. I will prove Lena’s innocence no matter what.”

“I will try my best in that regard.”

“I would appreciate it.”

In fact, Jade wanted to argue with the Pope right now.

There was no way Lena would have done that, and this situation was either fabricated or a misunderstanding.

But if he rushed in recklessly, the situation might worsen.

‘If the Pope is behind this incident… the Pope is definitely not an easy person.’

In the end, Jade chose to extract as much information as possible from the Pope.

“Then, can I hear what happened?”

“I understand.”

The Pope began to explain to Jade, step by step, what had happened yesterday.

“First, I will tell you in chronological order. Yesterday evening, I summoned Lena to the Papal Chamber separately. And as time passed, Lena came to the Papal Chamber. That’s how we ended up talking alone. But suddenly, Lena tried to kill me.”

“Then, did Your Holiness the Pope get seriously injured by Lena’s sword?”

But for someone who had almost been assassinated by Lena, the Pope looked too unscathed in Jade’s eyes.

“That’s not the case. Fortunately, I was not injured thanks to the protective Artifact that I always carry with me.”

“Artifact…”

As expected of the Pope, he even has a powerful Artifact.

Jade tried to remember the newly acquired information while asking questions.

‘For now, the situation is as expected.’

The Pope’s explanation was similar to what Jade had guessed.

Did the Pope summon Lena from the beginning with the intention of framing her?

But how did he frame her?

The only suspicious part was the part where he talked with Lena.

There was definitely a small clue to this incident there.

“Why did Your Holiness the Pope summon Lena separately? Was the conversation you had with Lena yesterday something that only Lena had to hear?”

“Haha, it feels like I’m being interrogated by the Hero. Anyway, that’s right. It was a very important story.”

“Then, can you tell me and Annie what kind of conversation you had?”

If he hid this, Jade would have enough reason to suspect the Pope.

But the Pope did not try to hide it.

“Alright. Since the situation has become like this, I will tell you everything. Before that, would everyone except the Cardinals and the Hero’s party please leave?”

“I understand. Everyone, please leave quickly.”

At the Pope’s command, the Holy Knights and priests began to rush out.

-Thump.

With the Holy Knights who had left last, the door of the Papal Chamber closed.

Now, the only people left in the Papal Chamber were the Hero’s party, the Pope, the Cardinals, and Antonio.

“The story I am about to tell you is top secret. In fact, before the Hero arrived, The Saintess had a Revelation from the Goddess.”

The first thing the Pope brought up was an unexpected story.

A Revelation from the Goddess?

Jade felt that something was going strangely.

“What does that have to do with Lena?”

“You will understand when you hear the contents of the Revelation. Ah, would The Saintess like to tell us instead?”

“Yes. To briefly tell you the contents of the Revelation I received.”

At the Pope’s words, The Saintess, who had been standing quietly until now, took a step forward.

“There is someone hiding their identity inside the Hero’s party.”