Chapter 84
“What on earth is going on here?”
Inside the rattling carriage.
After safely finishing their business in the east, escorting Saint Devotio—who had been held hostage—back to his diocese, and preparing to return north, Eric and his group were suddenly forced to turn around.
Word had just arrived that Gregory had once again been summoned to the Holy See.
Even Bishop Fides didn’t know the full reason, so Eric, heading toward the capital, stopped by a village on the way and asked Malefica, who had just returned from gathering information at the local church.
“…Bishop Impietas submitted evidence to the Holy See claiming that Lord Gregory had colluded with the Demon King’s army.”
“Evidence of collusion with the Demon King’s army?”
At that response, Eric frowned deeply, unable to believe what he’d just heard.
Evidence? That Gregory had worked with the Demon King’s army?
How could such nonexistent “evidence” even be created?
“Yes. It’s almost certainly fabricated. But given the circumstances, the Holy See couldn’t just ignore it. And remember, the previous trial wasn’t officially dismissed—it was merely suspended. Plus, even the Sub-Demon King who led his army against Fort Castrum withdrew far too easily, which raised suspicions.”
“That’s absurd! Lord Gregory prevented massive losses and stopped the Demon King’s army—that’s not grounds for suspicion of collusion! What will they do if the Sub-Demon King or another one attacks again?”
Leona, who had been silently listening, raised her voice in outrage.
Malefica bit her lip bitterly, unable to disagree.
She knew it too.
This was ridiculous—an outright farce.
The political situation was already unstable, and even the Second Princess had publicly voiced support for Gregory.
Now, they were fabricating evidence to drag him back to trial?
That wasn’t just risking a bishopric—it was putting one’s life on the line.
“…In his stead, it seems Lady Isabella has gone to the northern border.”
“…Lady Isabella?”
What kind of scheme was this?
As Eric pondered the intentions of Impietas and his backers, his eyes went blank for a moment.
‘They sent Isabella—the inquisitor who was hunting Impietas’s trail of corruption—to the front lines?’
Instead of sending another cardinal or high priest, they had dispatched Isabella, an inquisitor, to the border.
That was anything but normal.
Even though inquisitors and priests both wielded divine power in service of the Goddess, their roles were completely different.
Priests specialized in protecting and healing allies, curing illnesses and status effects.
Inquisitors, however, were experts in torture and destruction, not in leading troops at the front.
‘So… they realized the raven was closing in on them.’
Eric clicked his tongue, finally understanding their reasoning.
They must have stirred up all this chaos just to get rid of Isabella.
If she stayed, she’d have caught Impietas red-handed before long and executed him on the spot—trial or not.
So from Impietas’s perspective, this was the only way out.
Even if he erased every trace of his corruption, having already submitted fake evidence against Gregory meant he couldn’t escape severe punishment anyway.
But if his plan was to flee altogether, this was… not a bad move.
As for the powers behind him—they must’ve decided that since things had spiraled out of control, they might as well drag Gregory away from the north to create an opening.
“…War will soon break out in the north,” Eric murmured.
Malefica nodded grimly.
Whether this was Impietas’s own doing or the work of his hidden masters, one thing was clear: the Demon King’s army would not waste the opportunity Impietas had created with his reckless act.
While Gregory awaited trial under arrest, war would come.
The northern lords knew this, of course—but they wouldn’t have enough time to prepare as they had before.
Worse still, the army of the Sub-Demon King that had gathered near Fort Castrum hadn’t even been confirmed to have disbanded.
“Where is Lord Gregory now?”
“Considering the time it would take for news of his arrest to reach the eastern diocese, he should’ve arrived at the capital by now.”
“Then the border must already be stirring.”
Since Bishop Impietas himself had personally brought the fabricated evidence to accuse Gregory, he likely traveled to the Holy See as well—to stand at the trial and defend his false claims.
That meant that until he reached the capital and secured his escape route, the Demon King’s army probably wouldn’t move.
‘Of course, they could abandon Impietas and attack the moment Gregory arrives at the Holy See… but if that were the case, Malefica’s report wouldn’t have been about Gregory’s trial—it would’ve been about an invasion.’
Not all Demon Kings carried plague and poison as the Sub-Demon King did, but given the forces still lurking near the border, his reappearance seemed certain.
And without Gregory, there would be no stopping him.
“Leona, how far are we from the Holy See?”
“If we ride without rest, we can arrive in three days.”
“Three days… hm.”
Even after arriving, Gregory’s trial wouldn’t begin immediately, so there was still some time.
And the Demon King’s army, if planning another full-scale assault, would also need time to mobilize.
“Cutting it close… but maybe, just maybe, we’ll return north before it’s too late.”
Impietas.
Whatever nerve he had to pull something this insane—
‘—I’ll crush it to dust soon enough.’
“What do you mean, what am I doing? Wasn’t Lord Gregory’s trial already over? Why summon him again!?”
“Evidence of wrongdoing by Saint Gregory was submitted from the north.”
The imperial capital.
In one corner stood a grand cathedral, towering over the surrounding buildings.
Having ridden nonstop, Eric arrived at the Holy See and immediately turned his head at the loud argument near the entrance.
“Evidence? Are you saying the Cardinal truly committed corruption?”
“We won’t know the details until the trial begins, but the documents submitted by Bishop Impietas reportedly contain Saint Gregory’s handwriting—and traces of demonic influence.”
Arguing at the gate were a holy knight in gleaming white armor and a familiar beauty with a graceful, alluring air.
Candidate Saint, Justia.
“You can’t accuse the Cardinal over something like that! Handwriting can be forged! The war isn’t even over yet—the north could be attacked again any moment!”
“Lady Justia, what is happening here?”
“What’s happening? Isn’t it obvious!? These stubborn, thick-headed old fools—oh, my lord?”
Eric, puzzled, had stepped closer.
Justia, who had been fuming, turned and froze mid-sentence when she saw him.
She had heard he went east after defending the fortress alongside Gregory against the Sub-Demon King’s army.
When had he returned to the capital?
“Lord Gregory has been called again for a holy trial,” she said.
“I’m aware.”
“A northern bishop submitted evidence that Lord Gregory colluded with the Demon King’s army!”
“I’m aware of that as well. That’s precisely why I came.”
For a moment, Justia blinked in surprise at his calm reply. Then she launched into a flurry of frustrated complaints about the nonsense happening at the Holy See.
Eric, who had once halted Gregory’s previous trial by involving the Second Princess at the last moment, was perhaps her last hope now.
“…Do you have some plan again? Because last time I trusted you and went around digging for information, those old men have been glaring daggers at me ever since!”
Her tone was desperate.
Ever since she began gathering information on Gregory’s trial to help Eric, she’d been marked.
True, her position had risen quickly after the last trial was suspended, but once Bishop Impietas produced new “evidence,” suspicion fell on her even harder than before.
“You don’t actually think Lord Gregory committed a crime… do you?” she whispered.
“Of course not. It’s all fabricated.”
Eric frowned as if the question itself were absurd.
“And don’t worry. I haven’t been idle either. You asked if I have a plan, didn’t you?”
Rustle—
With a confident smile, Eric reached into his coat and pulled out the item he’d received from Devotio the moment he heard of Gregory’s situation.
“Here it is. My plan.”
A thick stack of papers fluttered before Justia’s eyes.
He shook the document meaningfully, then approached the holy knight standing guard at the entrance.
“My apologies, but even a hero cannot enter during an ongoing trial,” the knight said firmly.
Even for the Church’s hero, protocol forbade entry without prior permission—especially someone known to be close to the defendant, Cardinal Gregory.
“Is that so? Then at least deliver this inside. Surely that’s allowed?”
“…Only that?”
“Only that,” Eric confirmed, handing the papers over.
He sighed slightly as the great doors remained closed before him.
A shame—he wouldn’t get to see Gregory’s or Impietas’s faces when they read it.
But it didn’t matter.
That document alone was enough to crush the trial.
“What did you just give them? What kind of plan is that?” Justia asked, wide-eyed.
“Nothing much,” Eric replied lightly. “Just a petition.”
A petition.
The only reason Gregory could even be put on holy trial despite being a cardinal was that—aside from the internal accusations—two other cardinals, from the south and west, had publicly denounced him.
“But now,” Eric continued, “that petition carries signatures from the entire eastern diocese, led by Cardinal Saint Devotio himself—stating that if Gregory’s faith is denied, they’ll all remove their vestments and leave the clergy.”
If another cardinal joined Gregory’s defense, the trial would collapse under its own weight.
The kingdom was already in turmoil from the Demon King’s invasions; if another high-ranking cleric risked everything to vouch for Gregory’s innocence, the Church couldn’t afford to expel them all—
Not while the eastern front still fought against the Demon King’s army.
And thus, with that single document, Eric had flipped the board once again.
