Chapter 44

Trial (2)

As Meyer had pointed out previously, Holy Flame held overwhelming superiority over spirits. There was a reason he demanded Aiden use powerful Holy Flame as the ultimate strategy against spirits.

To the extent that, within the Holy Crown Kingdom, there existed departments and personnel dedicated solely to exorcism. No one would question their ‘expertise.’

Just like how people naturally dedicate themselves to what they’re good at, the nation with the most accumulated knowledge about spirits was also the Holy Crown Kingdom.

In that sense—

“Oh, you're saying the Warden of the Realm attacked the Lionhearted because we did something wrong first?”

“……”

“Is that it?”

“……”

“Doesn’t look that way to me, though?”

This line of testimony alone was enough to make the Minister of Administration cover his face in dismay.

It was as if the very pinnacle of expertise in dealing with spirits had suddenly entered the courtroom.

And when that expert treated everything they said as not even worth listening to, as nothing more than nonsense—it naturally doubled the problem…

‘…Even if I just leave it alone like this.’

Aiden tapped his cheek lightly as he looked at the Minister of Administration getting verbally beaten.

If things continued like this, their side would win, without question.

And there was no way someone would just sit back and let that happen.

“This is a one-sided bias, Your Holiness.”

In the midst of the exchange, such words suddenly dropped.

Though not loud, the voice had enough weight to cut off both the Minister of Administration and the Pontiff, drawing everyone’s attention.

“If you oppose merely for the sake of opposition, then your presence here as a witness holds no meaning.”

The prince said those words calmly.

The Pontiff snorted again, as he had before.

“Since when did you lot become so logical?”

“……”

“You want me to point out exactly what's wrong with your argument, one by one? Really?”

…Strictly speaking, it was an undeniably fierce warning.

Even while acting as a foreign sovereign making unreasonable claims, he was still maintaining a minimal line of decorum. If pushed beyond that, he couldn’t guarantee what would happen.

However, it was also clear that the person listening had no intention of backing down easily either.

“If you're someone carrying the weight of the Holy Crown Kingdom, you should display the dignity and behavior fitting of that role.”

The prince returned the words without so much as blinking.

“Not be used as someone else's mouthpiece.”

“……”

“A ruler must stand above all others. Without being swayed.”

The Pontiff’s lips twisted subtly.

“Prince.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“If you want to lecture me, how about carrying a nation on your back first?”

“……”

“You might not realize it, but the Crown Prince isn’t the Emperor. No matter what you say.”

“……”

To the silent prince, the Pontiff descended from the podium and walked toward him slowly.

A mischievous grin played on her lips, as if she had discovered an amusing new toy.

"You."

As that word fell, the prince's expression twisted.

Only Aiden, who saw the Holy Flame subtly rising around the Pontiff's body, understood what it meant.

It was the same thing he had experienced not long ago. The oppressive aura created merely by 'releasing' the Holy Flame.

Though no one else in the courtroom seemed affected, the prince was likely going through the same dreadful experience Aiden had endured before.

"You haven't yet taken on any real responsibility. Right?"

"……."

"It's fine to have ideals, but don't overstep your bounds."

With those words, and with each step she took—

The prince, drenched in cold sweat, collapsed forward onto the table. His pale face clearly showed how unwell he was.

And yet—

His glaring eyes did not waver from the Pontiff.

As if he had no intention of taking back what he had just said.

"……."

"……."

The odd standoff, incomprehensible to those around them, lasted for a short while.

Then the Pontiff chuckled lightly and withdrew her Holy Flame.

At the same time, the prince exhaled sharply as if something had burst from within him.

And above that, the Pontiff’s voice came, laced with amusement.

"Seventy points, maybe. Not bad."

"What do you think you’re doing?"

"The Emperor’s always so worried about his son, you see. I was just teasing him a bit."

As she said that, her gaze shifted sideways.

"If I hadn’t found someone scoring ninety not long ago, I might’ve liked you quite a bit too."

Her eyes shot straight toward Aiden, piercing through him, and he sighed inwardly.

'…This woman, seriously.'

Openly praising him while comparing him to the prince?

He already knew she wasn’t the type to care about appearances, but how many diplomatic disasters had she triggered just in this short span?

If not for her close relationship with the Emperor, the fallout would have been unimaginable…

To top it all off, the Pontiff now walked over to Aiden and held out a fist.

Aiden looked at the outstretched fist in confusion, clearly meant for a bump, while the Pontiff winked with one eye.

"This is how you do it, right?"

"……."

…This was practically an announcement to the entire world that everything she had just done had been in collaboration with him.

Everyone who heard that single remark now viewed Aiden as someone with personal connections to the Holy Crown Kingdom.

Of course—

'…If this is what she calls tying up loose ends…'

It didn’t seem like the kind of thing she'd just hand out like charity.

That line, spoken with a gleam in her eye, made things perfectly clear.

"I've done my part, so you'd better keep your promise."

Aiden let out a small laugh and lightly bumped his fist against the Pontiff’s.

He hadn’t expected to share such a casual gesture with the ruler of a nation.

"That's more than enough."

"Good, then."

Matching his words with a bright smile, the Pontiff snapped her fingers.

Holy Flame surged around her body like fire. To someone who didn’t understand, it might have looked like she was harming herself but it was a spatial teleportation technique through coordinate designation.

'…You can do that with Holy Flame too?'

At this rate, he might even see her freeze something with Holy Flame one day. That’s how versatile it was starting to feel.

"See you again."

With those words, her body vanished with a swoosh.

…In many ways, she was like a storm.

▣

By nature, the Pontiff was free to move as she pleased.

She was a person with such overwhelming power that she didn’t even need guards. So, unless she was tied down with official duties, she could wander anywhere, anytime.

In that light, the place she visited right after leaving the courtroom was definitely unbefitting of her status.

A dark, damp alley near the courtroom.

The Pontiff, who had transported herself there, let out a chuckle and spoke to someone standing hidden in the shadows.

"I know there are people in this country who see you as nothing more than a bug, but seriously, did you make this your nest or something?"

"……."

"What kind of damn girl likes places this dark and damp?"

"……."

No answer came back.

Only the quiet sound of an arm moving was heard.

In truth, when skin is sliced, there’s no sound. If you’re numb to pain for whatever reason, you wouldn’t even notice when it happened.

Even when the person across from her dragged a knife across her own neck, it didn’t make a sound.

"You."

The Pontiff spoke flatly, arms crossed.

"You still don’t feel anything, huh?"

"……."

At those words, the woman standing in the shadows slowly lifted her gaze to meet the Pontiff's.

Calling it gloomy wouldn’t quite be accurate.

What lay in her eyes was truly empty.

There was nothing. Nothing held value. Nothing held meaning—

Something stimulating.

Even pain, horror, or disgust would be fine.

Anything, as long as she could feel even a shard of sensation. Her gaze held a form of nihilism that had rotted all the way to the extreme.

"You’re still doing that kind of thing when Aiden’s not around."

It seemed she could act fairly normal in front of that man.

But without him around, she was hardly any better.

At her core, absolutely nothing had changed.

Katya Heinkel Craven was still a terrifyingly determined suicide hopeful.

"—Your Holiness."

Katya answered in a sullen voice.

"What's with the sudden show of concern?"

The moment she said that, Abigail III snapped her fingers.

…And immediately, Katya’s head snapped back with a ping.

It was a fierce blow, enough to make her neck bones crack audibly.

"Watch your mouth."

"……."

"I did teach you manners, didn’t I? Hm?"

"So how long are you going to keep playing that ridiculous mother role, anyway? It’s not like you even gave birth to me."

"Tch—"

The Pontiff widened her eyes and glared at her, and Katya averted her gaze with a bitter expression.

Like a rebellious teenager avoiding a fight she knows she can’t win.

Like a mother smacking her child across the back and the child flinching in response…

Or perhaps even worse.

"…Why the half-strength act now?"

Katya replied, clearly incredulous, as if she couldn’t believe someone who’d normally blow her head off without hesitation would stop at just this.

The Pontiff crossed her arms and responded.

"I was warned recently. There’s this guy who said if I mess with his friend, he’d come at me for real."

"……."

"I just came from seeing your friend."

"…Your Holiness."

Katya forced a smile onto her rigid face.

That kind of laugh—forced, with a hollow face—was nothing short of chilling.

"If you touch him, I’ll really go all in this time."

…Of course, the next moment, her head was pinged back again.

"I’m not going to, dumbass."

As Katya avoided eye contact, the Pontiff looked up at the sky and frowned.

"I just came to give a little warning. Protect him well."

"…Sorry, what?"

To be precise—

It felt like the Pontiff was looking not at the sky, but at something beyond it.

"I don’t think he’s lacking in any way. That guy just looks… 'interesting' to me."

At the very least—

If he made a single misstep, even that lunatic would find himself seriously burned.

"Try earning his favor. If he’s that important to you."

The sky.

And beyond it, watching the soul pulse—The Pontiff muttered those words as she watched.

▣

The trial had entered a lull. That was because the prince and the Minister of Administration had requested a recess.

Inside the waiting room, Noel, whose expression had clearly improved compared to earlier, was clinging to Aiden’s arm and shaking it enthusiastically.

"How—how did you do it?!"

"……."

"Of all people, you have ties with the Pontiff of the Holy Crown Kingdom?!"

"……."

…He understood it was something worth being surprised about.

But he really wished she would tone down her excitement a bit.

Each time she shook his arm like that, Aiden’s feet lifted slightly off the ground. He felt less like a person and more like a human-sized plush doll being flailed around…

"At this rate, the prince who brought up the charge of treason is going to take a serious blow. They're the ones who requested the recess because they had no way to counter that!"

Everything she said was absolutely correct.

It wasn’t just anyone—it was the Pontiff of the Holy Crown Kingdom herself who testified about the soul. Who could possibly object to that? The key piece of evidence behind their claim of the Lionhearted’s rebellion had been completely shattered.

"…Aiden?"

That was when Noel tilted her head, sensing something was off.

Despite having created this situation, Aiden didn’t look pleased in the slightest.

"Is something wrong? Did I say something I shouldn't have…?"

"No. Everything you said is correct, Sir Noel."

"Then why…?"

There wasn’t even really a “why” to explain.

Everything Noel had said was true, from start to finish. The prince had been completely cornered, and at this rate, their defeat was all but guaranteed.

And when he thought about it—

That very fact was the problem.

"Because this is just the beginning."

As he said that, Aiden handed her something.

It was the sword Noel always carried with her. He had retrieved it earlier for safekeeping.

"……."

As she blinked blankly, wondering why he was giving it to her, Aiden opened the window and looked up.

"I always think this, but both I and His Highness are the type to headbutt each other only after thinking several moves ahead."

"…Pardon?"

"Even if we end up on the back foot, we only start a fight when we’ve made sure we have a way to retreat safely."

Plans, calculations, contingencies, improvisation.

Whether it was Aiden or the prince, both had personalities that favored such things.

Which meant it was easy to predict what the other would do. All he had to do was ask himself—if I were in the prince’s shoes, what would I do now?

"So, if I were him in this situation—"

Aiden sighed as he looked up at the ‘fracture’ forming in the sky.

"—I’d flip the entire board."

The sky… was splitting open.