144 – Trial of the Paragon. (3)
The square was turned upside down. There was no other way to describe it.
Adrian had already anticipated this reaction. It was inevitable. The Holy Maiden openly declaring her love for someone was unprecedented.
Was that why? A peculiar sense of liberation spread through Adrian’s body.
Adrian did not shrink back. Despite feeling the sharp gazes of the people and noticing the pleased smiles of the Inquisitors.
She had merely stated the truth, something natural for a human to do.
Why should loving someone be such a subject of judgment? It was something incomprehensible in her understanding.
Adrian raised her head even higher.
With her dignified attitude, the smiles on the Inquisitors’ faces deepened. It was inevitable. To them, the Holy Maiden had simply walked into a trap of her own making.
However, that was their mistake.
The questions from the Inquisitors continued. What had she done at the Red Lantern District?
Adrian replied.
“I condemned those associated with the darkness of the Holy Empire. It was something I had contemplated for a long time, deemed necessary. Merely because I entered that place and because I love someone, connecting that to my status as a Holy Maiden is excessive.”
“Excessive. It is a crucial matter. The continuous history of purity, starting from the former Holy Maiden Maria Deus, may be shattered, and that is not important? Naturally, doubts about the Holy Maiden’s qualifications must arise.”
“The former Holy Maiden only stated that she would dedicate everything to the Holy Empire by her own choice, and she mentioned that future Saints and Holy Maidens do not need to follow the same path. Distorting the scriptures, isn’t that the doing of the Inquisitors rather than us?”
“Distorting the scriptures!”
“Then, if not distortion, what is it? I came here today without any resistance to eliminate the misinterpreted laws being spread.”
“Misinterpreted laws? What nonsense is this!”
“Is it not an evil law to prevent the Holy Maiden and Saint from loving someone?”
“The Holy Maiden and Saint are beings who receive God’s grace and must devote everything to God! Naturally, there should be no place for another in that. Is it not a given!”
The claims of the priests were as follows. No, the claims of the majority of the people of the Holy Empire were also the same.
The saint and the saintess must be idols. They cannot be individuals, nor can they pursue personal happiness.
Adrian looked at them, finally realizing why there were so many apparitions of saints and saintesses in the land of spirits.
People treated saintesses as tools. Idols. Just a flattering term. They did not see the saintesses and saints as human beings.
To elevate the prestige of the Holy Empire, to be loved by the gods. To be loved by the gods, they must always act nobly and not engage in trivial actions.
How many saintesses lost their freedom under the name of the rules of the saintess?
“Sigh.”
The saintess felt a bitter smile forming.
“A saintess must not love. Must not hold someone in her heart. Then, who said that? Even the esteemed saintess, Lady Maria, never said such a thing, so who did?”
“Well….”
The priests were speechless. They didn’t know where the words came from because they themselves didn’t know. No, they probably didn’t even think about it. Saintesses were convenient tools for them.
When the tool seemed to threaten them, did they adopt such a despicable attitude? Shouting like parrots that the saintess must remain pure without any evidence or reason. Like irrational and senseless authors.
With disgust, Adrian spoke to the priests. Each word was filled with emotion.
“Not from the Scriptures? No. In the first chapter of the Scriptures, it is written as follows: Love your neighbor. Love is the noblest virtue, the very force that allows humans to live.”
“….”
“However, the saints and saintesses who have dedicated themselves to the Holy Empire did not know love. They couldn’t even love. The Holy Empire blinded them. Is that right? How can someone who doesn’t know love, love others?”
The surrounding area began to buzz. The smiles on the priests’ faces gradually disappeared.
“Do not love. Remain pure. Do not go outside. The saintess should not act without the permission of the Holy Empire’s leadership. Of course, the position of the saintess comes with great responsibility as well as great rights. Do not be presumptuous. Understand. But trying to erase the individuality of a saintess, isn’t that your own greed?”
“Is the saintess’s purity a trivial matter?”
“It is not trivial. Will the sanctity diminish if purity is not preserved?”
“Well….”
“Or will the reverence for the gods disappear?”
They couldn’t say anything. Ordinary priests could establish families.
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“Other priests, even the priests, can marry in the Holy Empire. But why are only saintesses and saints not allowed to marry?”
No one answered.
“You must dedicate everything to the gods. It sounds like something that should be done, but it is not right. Beware of superstition. It is written in the Scriptures. If that is the will of the gods, why does the Holy Empire force superstition on the saintesses?”
“….”
The judges remained silent. Why they had to do that was a topic that no one had ever thought about. They had nothing but feeble excuses to offer, but even that was met with the stern gaze of the saintess who would not allow it, so the priests chose silence.
“I do not believe that I should be judged. As a human being, I am simply going through a natural process. Even though I carry a lot, I am just a seventeen-year-old girl.”
Seventeen. That’s right. Only then did the people of the Holy Empire look at the disheveled body of the saintess, dirtied by the filth and garbage they had thrown.
The pitiful girl, the girl who should have been protected by someone, was facing numerous evils. And… they were the ones sending those evils.
“Ah….”
A sigh was heard. Adrian realized that the sigh was the starting point of a counterattack. The priests, unable to even utter a feeble excuse, had to push forward now.
Foolish people. If they wanted to judge the saintess, they should have accused her of something other than purity. They should have had a serious offense to justify their actions. But the saintess had committed no wrong, and the priests were trying to judge her simply as a result of manipulation.
But the faithful were not as foolish as the priests thought. They could be swayed by manipulation, but when faced with the truth, they were people who could discern right from wrong.
The priests’ downfall was not thinking about that, and the result was the current situation of being unable to speak a word.
“To judge me solely based on my purity… the faces of those who put me on trial are equally serious.”
Adrian’s words changed the atmosphere in the judgment hall.
The priests’ faces stiffened at Adrian’s sudden outburst.
* * *
Chugikyeong, Andersen, scanned the atmosphere of the tribunal. It seemed that their efforts had ended in failure. Unintentionally, it was apparent that the atmosphere of the tribunal had shifted towards the Saint.
Moreover, he had to admit. The monks lacked sufficient justification to attack the Saint. The fear they felt upon encountering the Saint had seemingly led them to foolish choices.
But if they ended things here, they could just finish without any mishaps. While it might be impossible to strip the Saint of her position or weaken her power, they could at least anticipate what was to come.
The moment the Saint fell in love with someone, she might make the wrong choice.
Or perhaps, a way to destroy the person she loves.
Not a bad idea. They could uncover the Saint’s weaknesses. With a different, thorough preparation, they could corner the Saint.
However, Andersen’s plan was doomed to fail from the start.
Because of Adrian’s words.
The expressions of those on the judgment seat turned grave in an instant. That meant the Saint had detected their deceit.
“What is this nonsense?”
Unbelievable. It was thoroughly secured. Not a trace left for anyone to discover, yet how did the Saint detect their deceit?
The monks’ expressions began to darken rapidly.
“If you have a long tail, it will be stepped on. Unbeknownst to me and His Holiness, it seems the monks committed quite a significant sin.”
“Do the monks have any evidence of their wrongdoing? If not, refrain from baseless accusations.”
“Evidence? Of course, there is. Would I make such statements in the tribunal without any preparation?”
Adrian smiled faintly. It was a smile strikingly similar to the one the monks had been wearing just moments ago.
A smile that said things were going according to plan.
at least the end of tribunal can be seen