115 – Deungyong – 4
I can hear voices murmuring at me from all directions. At this, one of the cardinals in charge of the proceedings spoke.
“Before we begin, I would like to point out one thing.”
With those words, the murmuring quieted down.
“Count Rochepol is wearing the clothes of the Holy Kingdom of Lydia. “Why are you dressed like that?”
That’s right. The reason people were making a fuss was because of my clothes. When I came here I was wearing Arcadia’s clothes, but now I am wearing Lydia’s clothes. And this was the show Salome was talking about.
“Before the fact that I am Arcadian and you are Lydians, I wanted to show you that we are all the same human beings. Some people compared the Arcadians to lions and the Lydians to sheep, but that is an incorrect comparison. When we wear the same clothes like this, it becomes difficult to tell them apart. Because we are all the same human beings. So there is no need to fight with each other. We can understand each other.”
The Cardinal of Bergamo looked at me with disgust at my acting, which was far from my true intentions. But other cardinals here and there burst out in amazement. This is truly correct. I wondered what would have happened if Count Rochepol had been angry at the assassination attempt, but he must have been glad that he wasn’t. It seemed that the show Salome had prepared was a success.
“The Count of Rochepol is very considerate. He thanks you on behalf of the people of the Holy Kingdom. Now, I would like to get into the agenda. “This is a story related to the assassination of Cardinal Urbino.”
At those words, the crowd became heavy. The cardinals were all just looking at my complexion. I managed my facial expression as best as I could and looked relaxed.
“According to the results of the city guard’s investigation, it was revealed that this suspect poisoned not only the cup of Cardinal Urbino but also the Count of Rochepol. Garrison Commander Sebastian de Jirón will explain this in detail.”
The one who took turns with the cardinal was Salome’s younger brother, Sebastian.
“A detailed investigation by the garrison revealed that both the wine of Cardinal Urbino and the wine of the Count of Rochepol contained poison. The criminal did not say the reason, but the city guard assumes that it was so that the assassination could be successful even if wine was mixed along the way. Also, given that they also tried to kill Cardinal Urbino, it is assumed that the culprit is someone who does not have a very good relationship with Cardinal Urbino.”
That is, they were people who were not of the same faction as Cardinal Urbino. The cardinals who were the main preachers were each waving their hands, saying it was not them. However, only Bergamo, the head of the main faction, remained calm.
“The servant who was poisoned with alcohol was a servant who had worked for the Urbino family for over 20 years. This means that the motive for the crime is unclear. He had been in favor with Cardinal Urbino all his life, and although he was not short of money, had not committed a crime, or had been vulnerable to anyone, he betrayed Cardinal Urbino and poisoned his master. “We investigated the motive for this crime, but nothing was found.”
It’s unfortunate that nothing has been revealed, but it was a pretty good decision to look into the motive for the crime. Once the motive for the crime is revealed, it is easy to find out who is behind the scenes.
“Currently, all investigations are in limbo. It has not been revealed at all for what purpose this person committed the crime or who instigated him, and there are no signs that it will ever be revealed. “It appears to have been a very carefully planned crime.”
I guess so. There is no way the next Seonghwang candidate’s plot could be so clumsy.
“That’s it.”
As Sebastian stepped down from the podium after saying that, the cardinals raised their voices and started pointing fingers. They say it’s okay if you don’t know anything. Sebastian silently came down from the podium even though he was cursed. And after a while.
“I believe the motive for the crime was religiousness.”
At Salome’s sudden words, the attention of those around her turned to her.
“Wait! The author is neither a cardinal nor a party to the assassination case. “What right do you have to be here?”
The Cardinal of Bergamo shouted that, but I answered instead.
“Miss Salome is my guide, a victim of an assassination case. I think that alone is enough to qualify for participation. Nevertheless, if you are not qualified enough to participate, I will speak for Miss Salome.”
“The country is running well.”
Bergamo could no longer argue, and Salome continued.
“It is said that Antonio, the culprit in this case, had a very strong religious faith and was a devout believer of the Lydian religion, to the point where he never once missed prayers every morning. Since he committed a murder prohibited by the precepts, people who know him say that it is quite shocking that he abandoned his faith. But I think he didn’t abandon his faith. Rather, he committed a crime for the sake of his religion.”
“He committed a crime for his religious beliefs?”
“He must have had his own cause. He is poisoning for the sake of the Lydia religion. That is why he sacrificed himself for the sake of the entire religion, even risking falling into hell. Like a martyr, for example.”
The cardinals looked at each other and debated. One of them shouted.
“Isn’t that just a guess?”
“I say this because I have some basis for it. Sebastian, the city guard commander, subjected him to various tortures to find out his motive for the crime, but it is said that he never uttered a single word even while bleeding all over his body. He is like a martyr ready to die. Would he show such indiscretion if the interest was simply bought for money? There must be something bigger.”
“Isn’t it possible that his family was taken hostage?”
“He is an orphan. He has no family or relatives. That’s probably why he was chosen as the executioner. Because he has nothing to lose.”
“Executioner?”
“Yes. To me, this crime appears to have been committed by a large organization. Otherwise, it would not be possible to proceed so smoothly from obtaining the poison to concealing the crime.”
“What kind of organization do you mean?”
“What is that… “
Salome looked at Cardinal Bergamo.
“I’ll leave it to your imagination.”
Then everyone’s eyes turned to Cardinal Bergamo.
‘It’s quite outrageous to push someone to this point without any evidence.’
Salome’s words lacked one crucial element. That was proof. It was good that she had properly organized the situation and reasoned with it, but there was no decisive solution. Nevertheless, Salome was driving Bergamo like a criminal even without a single decisive blow. Well, Bergamo might be the culprit. And that moment.
“Hmph, just in case he’s not of dirty blood, he’s quite capable of conspiring.”
While the cardinals were buzzing, Cardinal Bergamo came down alone.
“Everyone, listen carefully. “Let me put it bluntly, I am not a criminal.”
“What do you mean?”
“This is all an elaborate conspiracy. “So that anyone can see that I am the criminal.”
With that one word, the atmosphere of the cardinals became quiet as if water had been poured on them.
“Think about it carefully. They say it was a crime committed by a large organization, but for such a large organization, there is only one thing that comes to mind in my holy country. “The Heron family.”
“… “
The name of Hiron suddenly appeared. In other words, the argument was that the dark side of this matter was successful.
“From the prosperous Alejandro De Hiron to Sebastian De Hiron, the city defender. Most of the important positions in this country are held by the Hiron family. In such an environment, it wouldn’t be a big deal to accuse one person of being a criminal. “That’s not true!”
What the Cardinal of Bergamo pointed his finger at was the Holy Emperor Alexander, who was watching from afar. However, Alexander just quietly watched Cardinal Bergamo with an expression of incomprehensibility.
Cardinal Bergamo, who was embarrassed because there was no response, continued to speak.
“In the first place, they say that the executioner did not respond even to the arduous torture, but we cannot believe that. It is questionable whether the interrogation was conducted fairly. “We request that the perpetrator be brought here and interrogated again!”
The Cardinal of Bergamo took a deep breath and exchanged glances with the cardinals of his faction. And.
“We will decide by vote whether or not to call the executioner here.”
According to the host’s words, voting among the cardinals soon began. And the voting results…
“With a vote of 31 to 20, we will bring the executor here. “Sir Sebastian glasses.”
“Yes.”
After about 15 minutes, Sebastian started dragging a miserable man with scars all over his body. It was Antonio who carried out this poisoning incident.