Chapter 76

Lehan, his time with Edelis interrupted, replied in a cold voice.

“What do you mean?”

“We know you have imprisoned the Saintess!”

“And?”

“What do you mean ‘and’! Such insolence—!”

“Ha!”

Not only the priests who had come into the Empire with the Saintess, but also those from the temples in the capital had all swarmed in to protest. As the Saintess had said, they were not going to give her up so easily.

“Is the ‘insolence’ you speak of the fact that you are protesting without having even requested an audience with the Emperor or obtained the right to speak?”

“T-that’s…”

“Or are you talking about imprisoning the one who ordered the assassination of the Empress?”

The priests had come in such a rush that they knew very little. They had simply run straight to the palace after hearing from someone who had witnessed the Saintess being dragged away. That witness—a noblewoman—had asked whether the Saintess could truly be capable of such a thing, yet her eyes had been heavy with doubt. Fearing that the clergy’s authority would plummet if they didn’t smooth things over quickly, the priests had hurried to the imperial palace. But now—what a thunderbolt this was.

“The Saintess would never do such a thing!”

Of them, the highest-ranking priest, Keres, stepped forward to defend her. The difference in build between Lehan, who wielded a sword, and a priest who only read scriptures was already immense. When Lehan advanced toward Keres with a menacing air, the priest looked even smaller.

“Berman Pasis. Quite a few have witnessed him frequently visiting the temple since the Saintess arrived. I’ve also heard he’s spoken with her in private many times.”

“What is strange about a believer visiting the temple? And the Saintess looks after all the faithful—”

“A believer who never visited that often before her arrival? And did all believers have as many private audiences as Berman Pasis?”

“There must be those who met with her even more. But Berman Pasis is an imperial knight, is he not? Why—”

“He was caught in the act of abducting the Empress and is now in the underground prison on a charge of attempted murder.”

Keres’s face turned pale. He could guess why the Emperor had linked such a heinous criminal—one who might be executed on the spot—to the Saintess. The other priests began murmuring in shock at the revelation. Afraid that their faith might waver, Keres raised his voice.

“The Saintess, who hears the voice of God and speaks His will, could not possibly have done such a thing!”

“Yet all circumstantial evidence points to her. The Empire does not imprison the Saintess without cause.”

“And if she truly has no connection to the crime, what will you do when it’s revealed you’ve wrongfully imprisoned her?”

“If she is truly, completely uninvolved, I will have the Holy Empire receive a great apology—in the name of the Emperor of the Cronad Empire.”

The priest’s expression shifted at that. An apology in the Emperor’s name would hardly mean a mere bow. Though most priests lived ascetically, there were those who coveted high positions—Keres among them, who had been raising his voice in hopes of catching the Saintess’s notice. Though they despised taking bribes from outsiders, they did not reject donations, and the Holy Empire itself was flexible enough that such things could help one’s rise.

“The price for the insolence shown to the Saintess, who came here herself to help when plague spread through the Empire, will be unimaginable.”

“That too will be included in the gratitude and apology—if she is blameless.”

“This matter will be reported to His Holiness the Pope!”

“As you please.”

Keres clutched his pounding heart, trying to calm himself. Should he rush to the Saintess and promise to free her, or report to the Pope first? Normally it would be the Pope—but with the Saintess, God’s messenger, here in person, she came first.

“Then we will see the Saintess before we go.”

“That will not be possible.”

“What do you mean, impossible?!”

“You wish to speak with someone accused of ordering the murder of an imperial family member? Are you her accomplices as well?”

“That’s outrageous!”

“Perhaps I should execute you as her accomplices, then apologize to the Holy Empire?”

Keres hurriedly clutched his neck, worried that a sword might really be swung at him. Dying now would be nothing but a pointless death.

“This too will be reported to His Holiness the Pope!”

Still fuming, Keres spoke, and Lehan waved them off as if bored.

“…You’re just letting them go like that?”

“Yes.”

“If even the Pope steps in…”

“That would not be bad.”

Lehan spoke with confidence, but Edelis didn’t understand. Wouldn’t it be more troublesome if the head of the Holy Empire got involved?

Berman Pasis was caught in the act, but it’s not as if the Saintess confessed.

Though she had been Empress for some time now, there was still so much she didn’t know.

The next day, Edelis went straight to the library. There was too much she didn’t know—about Princess Ariella, whom Berman Pasis so desperately wanted to meet, and about the current Pope, the so-called head of the Holy Empire. She searched books for information, but found nothing substantial.

The histories are nothing but slander about the deposed Emperor after the coup.

She wanted to learn about Princess Ariella, but the former Emperor had many wives and children, and there was no book describing each of them in detail. The Pope was the same—only vague praise like “merciful” and “spreads the Word to many lands.” Still, in searching for the Pope, she found something new about the Saintess: that she heard divine revelations more often than the Pope himself and could foresee the future. It wasn’t much—she was still shrouded in secrecy—but it was more than she’d known before, and that was something.

But she still had no information on the current Pope or Princess Ariella.

“If I want to know about them… should I ask people directly?”

Yet with the Saintess under arrest, suddenly showing interest in religion and asking about the Pope might earn her suspicion rather than answers. And since Lehan knew what had become of the imperial family, she doubted she could get any answers about Princess Ariella from others either.

So Edelis decided to write to her father for the first time in a while. As Marquis Brill, one of the Emperor’s loyal retainers, he would surely know the fate of the imperial family—and since he had remained in the capital while she had been in their domain, he would know more than she did. Most importantly, she trusted him completely. He would tell her far more than anyone else.

On fine stationery, in her graceful handwriting, she penned a simple greeting, asked after the family’s health and whether the plague had reached them, and included her questions.

“Get this to him as quickly as possible,” she told her attendant, handing over the letter along with some gold coins. The servant nodded vigorously.

Edelis leaned back into the sofa, waiting for her father’s reply.

“…”

Then she opened her eyes with a sigh.

“I forgot Father went down to the estate because of the plague.”

It would take a long time for any reply to arrive. Could they keep the Saintess imprisoned that long? Would Berman Pasis speak before then? Would the Holy Empire suddenly declare war? Not that they would likely win, but still…

After some thought, Edelis rose and headed for Lehan’s office. If she could hear from him first, then combine his account with her father’s information later, she would have a more complete picture.

When she reached the office next to the library, the head attendant standing guard outside looked at her in surprise.

“What is it?”

“Well, it’s just…”

Normally, he would have immediately announced the Empress’s arrival, but now he neither went in to inform Lehan nor sent her away—just fidgeted awkwardly.

“Is there another woman in there?”

“Of course not! Please, just take my head instead!”

The attendant leapt up in protest, but his refusal to open the door was still suspicious. Edelis narrowed her eyes, and at last the man spoke.

“Inside… is Sir Johannes Frache, Captain of the Imperial Knights.”

“Oh. That’s fine, open the door.”

“Mmhh…”

“It’s fine.”

It was well known that Sir Frache had harbored unrequited feelings for the Saintess. If the attendant was so reluctant to open the door, it probably wasn’t because any pleasant conversation was taking place.

The attendant was clearly torn—Lehan had ordered no one be admitted, but he had also once said the Empress’s orders were to be treated as his own.

The order not to admit anyone has been replaced by the order to open the door—so opening it should be fine… probably. I can use that as an excuse. If Her Majesty intervenes, His Majesty won’t punish me… probably…

Taking a deep breath, the attendant knocked twice.

“Did I not say to admit no one?”

“It’s me, Lehan.”

Edelis tried to slip the door open, but Lehan quickly stopped her.

“Please wait a moment, Edelis.”

“Why? I’m fine.”

“I am not fine.”

“Your Majesty, please, hear me out!”

“Shut your mouth, Johannes Frache.”

Lehan exhaled irritably. Normally, he hid his anger and stayed calm in front of Edelis, so she couldn’t help being curious. She pushed the door open a little more and peeked inside.

Lehan, hair swept back with one hand, was glaring furiously at Frache—and in his other hand was a sword. Even more shocking, Frache was kneeling before him.

“Sir… Sir Frache?!”

The duke and captain of the Imperial Knights—and Lehan’s longtime friend—on his knees was a sight that made Edelis rush into the room. At her entrance, Lehan dropped his sword in surprise, then quickly picked it up and sheathed it, still believing she feared blades.

“Edelis, could you come back a little later?”

“What exactly is going on here?”

“Your Majesty, I heard the Saintess is confined in the palace.”

As she had suspected, that was what Frache had come to discuss—though a part of her had hoped otherwise.

“And you know why she is?”

“The Saintess would never do such a thing, she—”

“You’ve heard from Lehan, haven’t you? The details of the incident. You were even the one who brought me back after I was kidnapped.”

“Someone else must be framing the Saintess. She would never—”

Just like the priests, Edelis thought. But knowing how much he cared for the Saintess, she could understand it. If someone had accused Lehan of murder…

Ah. Perhaps not the best example, she thought. Lehan had blood on his hands from his days as a gladiator, the coup that put him on the throne, and his suppression of rebels afterward—so it wasn’t quite the same.

“Sir Frache, you are both a duke of the Cronad Empire and Captain of the Imperial Knights. In an investigation, shouldn’t you consider all possibilities?”

“Your Majesty, I admit the Saintess could be suspected. But the evidence is lacking.”

“Then do you have another suspect in mind?”

“…”

“I myself woke up after fainting to find Lord Pasis there, but I believed there must be some reason he wouldn’t have abducted me.”

“Please—just once. Let me meet the Saintess. I will prove her innocence.”