ICTV - Chapter 111
I change The Villain
Edgar died.
When I first heard the news, I thought my ears were wrong. I closed my eyes for a moment and then opened them again. I asked Damien, who had become emaciated in one day.
"Is he really dead?"
Damian nodded.
"Yes, he's really dead."
"Yes, in cases like this, I didn't hear it wrong."
"Yes?"
I shook my head.
"No. Are you really okay? Your complexion doesn't look good." "
Oh, that's it. I..."
Damian paused and then washed his face dry.
"I can't say it's okay even if it's just empty words. In fact, I was the first to discover him."
"Ah."
"After checking on the Lady's condition and sending the relieved Mouchet back to his room, I found him on the way back. I was really glad that Mouchet wasn't there."
"...I see."
Damian smiled.
"But you don't have to worry so much, My Lady. I am a decent priest. Guiding the dying person to a comfortable place is one of our missions."
"Still...."
"This too will pass someday. You really don't have to worry about me. That's not what you should be worried about right now."
"What do you mean by that?"
Damian looked at my thoughts and said with an innocent face.
"I think you will have to stay at the temple for a while. We had to protect the Lady's safety, and a huge number of people had come."
I asked cautiously.
"Are you saying there was a riot?"
"..."
"There were riots."
Damian groaned again, rubbing his face with both hands.
"Toward the imperial palace."
Ah...
"The knights were sent in, but they were all completely lost their minds..."
"Wait."
I raised her hand to stop Damian.
"Is the story already known to the outside world?"
"Yes. Duke Serenity is very thorough. Before anyone could manipulate the incident, he quickly obtained a confession from the imperial knights and informed the people of the truth."
"Then do you understand that I am involved in the death of Lord Cridrian?"
"That's absolutely not the case, Lady Pale!"
Damian jumped up and denied it
"But you said he told people the truth. Then, of course, I was there."
"You don't have to worry about that, Lady Pale."
Damian said forcefully.
"Right now, we priests are the only ones who know the full truth. We plan to continue to do so in the future. I told you, Duke Serenity is a thorough person."
Damian announced in a low voice.
"Lord Credrian will officially be dead because of the imperial knights."
"... Yes?"
"It was already officially announced this morning."
Lord Credrian was fatally wounded by the imperial knights and was taken to the temple for treatment, but it was too late and he died.
"Young Lady is just a victim who was unluckily caught up in this incident after meeting for counseling. Oh, and while we were manipulating it, we also manipulated Duke Serenity's strangling of Lord Credrian to be the work of an assassin sent by the imperial family."
"That too...?"
"It's a good opportunity to restore Duke Serenity's honor. Duke Serenity is afraid that other people will also be in danger, so he will become a noble hero who deliberately framed the accusation. It's the same with the Young Lady."
Damian held my hand tightly.
"You really worked hard. No one can blame you two now."
"But is this really okay?"
"Of course it's okay. We have no choice but to do that anyway."
Damian confessed honestly.
"So far, our priests have been preaching to people that taking one's own life is the most foolish thing. However, if it is known that Lord Credrian, who is the symbol of our temple, committed suicide, our position will be diminished."
"..."
"The High Priest also strongly insisted that it is absolutely unacceptable for faith in the God of Harmonia to be shaken by this incident. That's why our priests came together and cooperated with DukeSerinity to make an official announcement."
Damian's hand on my knee gave me strength. Damian could barely speak in a trembling voice.
"It's a little pathetic for us to think about something like that when someone has died."
"There is no need to be pitiful."
I said clearly.
"You have to continue to live differently from Lord Credrian. Don't be too hard on yourself."
"Thank you for saying that, Young lady."
"What about Belial?"
"He is also in the temple now. He just went back in to have another meeting with the priests."
"Then I guess I couldn't rest at all. I'm worried."
"It's natural for you to be worried. Duke Serenity hasn't been able to sleep at all since yesterday."
At that time, someone shouted along with the sound of something breaking outside. Damian asked with earnestness.
"I'm sorry, please cover your ears. It looks like Belial isn't the only one who couldn't sleep."
"All the priests, including me, couldn't sleep. So everyone is on edge. I even saw a priest fighting with believers by the collar. The other priest who still had some sense of reason was able to stop him immediately, but I think that priest will explode soon as well. People are coming in non-stop."
"Now that I think about it, you said that there were a lot of people who came here other than the imperial palace, right?"
"Yes. To confirm the death of lord Credrian. In the future, they will probably come from other countries as well. He was the only one among the nobles who was kind and devoted to his subordinates."
"..."
"So many people rely on him, and wow!"
Damian stopped talking and mercilessly struck his left cheek with his palm. Rose was startled and grabbed Damian's wrist.
"Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"I'm sorry, Young Lady. I definitely didn't say that on purpose."
Damian repeatedly lowered his head.
"I definitely heard the truth from Duke Serenity, but it still doesn't feel real."
"It's okay."
"No, there are things I can and cannot say in front of the victim. Crucially, Lady Pale hasn't even regained her energy yet. I heard from the maid that you slept for more than 10 hours today. It's clear that your fatigue hasn't gone away yet."
"I usually sleep a lot."
"I keep being rude to you, My Lady. I will also slap myself on my right cheek."
"I keep telling you. I'm really fine. Leave that poor right cheek alone. I'm so grateful that you trusted us."
"Young Lady, what do you mean? Of course, you have to believe it. Lord Credrian's attitude towards his daughter before his death was strange to anyone. Anyone could tell that he had the face of someone in love. Lord Credrian also seemed to have no intention of hiding it."
"But there are still more priests who don't believe us."
"... My lady. I really don't know what to say."
Damian said with a sad face.
"I would like to apologize on his behalf, but that would be meaningless."
"That's right. It means nothing."
Damian forced himself to ask a question as if he wanted to lighten the mood.
"Hey, Young Lady. Is there anything else you're curious about?"
"Nо."
"Don't do that. I'll answer anything."
"What did the priests say?"
"Yes?"
Damian belatedly realized that he had dug his own grave. I demanded again.
"Please tell me in detail what the priests said. After seeing the priests' reactions, I will decide later whether to tell the truth to others or not."
"I really don't know what the other priests were talking about."
Everyone goes into the meeting except me.
I stared at Damian. Damian couldn't make eye contact with me. Damian finally confessed.
"Okay. I guess I really can't fool the Lady. The other priests say it is suspicious that the Young Lady is calm. If something like that had really happened, you would have been out of your mind, but you were so calm that it was rather suspicious. I suspect they may have used the Lord Credrian for political reasons."
"That's strange logic. And?"
"The innocent Lprd Credrian is toyed with by the vicious Lady Pale. Well, this is really disgusting. Do you want to keep hearing about it?"
"No. It's okay. That's enough."
"I will have to hide the truth for the rest of my life."
Even priests who had been training their whole lives were like this, so it was obvious how other people would react.
In any case, the people who will protect Edgar will protect him no matter what evidence they present. I didn't do anything wrong, but I don't want to get criticized for no reason.
"This incident made me think again about the profession of a priest. I was taught that a priest must always make neutral and accurate judgments, but no one can do that."
"Me too right now."
Damian said that he kept thinking of the words and actions that Lord Credrian said to him when he was having a hard time.
"That's natural since we are human. It would be great if people could always make accurate decisions. But that's impossible. Because we have different relationships, experiences, and thoughts."
"... Is that so?"
"Yes. There is absolutely no one who can always make accurate judgments. There are only people in the world who try to make accurate judgments and people who make their own judgments."
I patted Damian's shoulder.
"In that sense, you are doing well enough. I'm serious."
"I feel a little at ease. It's a bit bitter but I'm supposed to reassure the Young Lady."
"Don't worry about that either."
Then someone shouted again. I said with a tired face.
"Can you let me know as soon as the temple becomes quiet?"
"Of course, I should."
"I hope people return quickly. It's a little frustrating. My family must be worried about me too. My brother, in particular, will definitely be making a fuss. Belle won't want to eat again."
"Belle?"
"This is a weasel that I raised, and he can't get his energy back without me. "
"Wow, that's just like Duke Serenity."
Damian joked.
"Maybe it's because Lady Pale wasn't around, but he didn't seem to be in a good mood at all. I thought the Young Lady should go and comfort him. In fact, when I came here and took a quick look at the conference room, the atmosphere was very tense."
"All right. Where is Belial's room?"
Damian immediately broke down in tears as he showed me the location of the room.
"Please, please. I was so scared even though I just watched from afar. I hope no one dies again in the temple."
"Is it that bad?"
"It's serious! The atmosphere took a turn for the worse after finding out that the priests didn't believe the Lady's words!"
"All right. I will try to comfort him."
Damian requested earnestly.
"Can you keep my request like this a secret from Duke Serenity?"
"Yes. I'll keep it a secret, so go and rest. Now you look more tired than me."
"Thank you."
Damian was relieved and then looked at me again. I gestured.
"If you have anything else to say, say it."
"Actually, there's one more thing I want to tell you, but no. I changed my mind. I will talk to Mouchet more and tell you."
Damian stood up. I was about to lie down on the bed again when I called Damien to stop.
"Wait a minute."
"Yes, My Lady."
"Iris, is she okay now?"
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