The Sinner Emilia, the Saintess, Current Archbishop
Crimes: Interfering in politics, monopolizing power, unjustly killing nobles, treason, colluding with the enemy, and even embezzling public property in the name of reform… and so on.
The lofty judge, speaking with authority, raised the gavel and struck it forcefully.
The sound echoed, one strike after another, as if pounding on the silver-haired girl standing at the defendant’s seat.
She remained silent, yet even under trial, her captivating charm continued to radiate.
Her moonlight-like silver hair cascaded to her waist, the tips shimmering with a faint icy blue glow.
Her blood-red pupils, like two solidified rubies, were embedded in her snow-white, breathtakingly beautiful face.
She stood quietly at the center of the courtroom, like a flawless ice sculpture, without any imperfections or flaws.
Only the soft clink of the silver chain around her neck betrayed a trace of life.
Her delicate hands gently rested in front of her tattered skirt, her slender wrists bound by heavy shackles.
Her brows were furrowed, and her rosy lips let out a sigh.
The sigh was not only out of helplessness but also due to issues with the system.
Helplessness… She had poured her heart and soul into this nation, benefiting both the country and its people, yet she ended up in such a pitiful state.
Why had she done these things?
Why had it come to this?
Then there was the system’s issue.
Thinking back, it had been twenty-four years since she and her good friend arrived in this game-like otherworld.
She had become the most beautiful heroine, without a doubt.
To bring her friend back home, she had no choice but to follow the system’s instructions, working hard to max out the affection points of the male protagonist.
From a young age, she had been in contact with the male protagonist—redeeming him, comforting him, saving him, adventuring together, growing up together, and even joining his hero party.
They defeated the Demon King, who was also her good friend.
Her friend, desperate to return home, had gone to extreme lengths, planning to destroy the world to gather the energy needed to go back.
Naturally, she couldn’t defeat the chosen male protagonist.
It wasn’t that she was unwilling to help her friend, but she knew there was a better way to return home.
However, the system’s rules forbade her from revealing this to anyone.
Otherwise, it would malfunction.
As for the system, after she successfully maxed out the male protagonist’s affection, it crashed.
Only recently had it recovered, only to inform her that it had made a mistake—she should have been攻略 (winning over) her good friend instead. Sigh, what a mess.
At this moment, the hall echoed with indignant discussions.
Commoners, nobles, and even her former friends pulled Emilia’s wandering thoughts back to reality.
Facing baseless accusations, she raised her blood-red eyes, gazing at the judge standing on his moral high ground and at the black-haired, black-eyed male protagonist beside him—Gerald, the former hero, now the Emperor of the Empire.
Having married the princess, he had rightfully inherited the throne.
He returned her gaze with an expressionless face.
She shook her head lightly, feeling a sense of helplessness.
She didn’t understand how they had come to this point.
If he had been willing to make her his empress, perhaps things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
His gaze still burned with intensity—after all, what one cannot have always stirs the heart.
“Silence!” the judge commanded.
“Emilia, do you plead guilty?”
The judge intervened, issuing the verdict with commanding authority, each word clear and forceful.
The evidence was deemed irrefutable, causing the crowd to erupt once more.
Accusations and malice filled the air.
“You call yourself a saintess? You’re nothing but a demon who devours without leaving bones!”
“It’s all your fault! You killed my family!”
“You betrayed everyone’s trust. Over the years, who knows how many innocent lives she’s taken, using her privileges and the Emperor’s trust!”
Some even threw objects at the girl—stones, eggs, personal belongings…
She remained silent, knowing that arguing was futile.
She quietly endured until a trickle of blood ran down her snow-white forehead.
It feels a bit uncomfortable, doesn’t it?
There’s also a sense of mental exhaustion.
All along, she poured her heart and soul into everything, only for those who benefited from her efforts to be swayed by a few words, misled by false evidence.
It’s too much.
And then there’s the male lead, standing by coldly, watching.
He’d rather believe outsiders than trust her, leaving an inexplicable heaviness in her heart…
This made her take a deep breath.
She had been hesitating about whether to leave—after all, over the years, there were some feelings, not to mention the sunk costs were too great.
But now, it wasn’t about hesitation anymore.
She simply had no reason or ability to stay, even if there was still some reluctance for the past and the beautiful memories here.
Soon, the judge added fuel to the fire.
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, he struck the gavel again, calling for silence.
He didn’t intervene immediately, merely letting the crowd vent and teach this “arrogant, foolish woman” a lesson.
Then, with a light cough, he acted as if nothing had happened, embodying justice as he judged the protector of so many years.
“Since the defendant neither explains nor speaks, we will assume you admit your crimes. According to the imperial laws you established, you should be beheaded. However, our great Emperor, Gerald, out of past affection, has commuted your sentence to exile.”
The crowd couldn’t help but marvel at the emperor’s mercy, their voices filled with sycophantic praise, as if celebrating the birth of a great emperor.
Taking advantage of this, Gerald stepped forward, head held high, basking in the adulation, in stark contrast to the disgraced silver-haired girl at the defendant’s stand.
But he raised his hand, pointing at her, his face showing a trace of helplessness and disgust.
“Emilia, behave yourself. Pray we never meet again.”
Yet she remained silent, meeting his words with a calm gaze, as if she didn’t care—or perhaps she was simply despairing.
This made Gerald uncomfortable, his brows furrowing tightly.
He spoke again, this time in a commanding tone, stepping closer to the girl.
“Speak.”
“I have nothing to say to you, Gerald. You’re such an idiot.”
Her long-delayed response came with a bitter laugh.
Blood dripped from her wounds on to the shackles of her handcuffs, staining her silver bangs red.
Yet, in this state, she possessed a different kind of beauty.
The young man before her, both familiar and unfamiliar, grabbed her by the collar and lifted her.
Her feet barely left the ground, her body suspended, with only her toes brushing the floor.
“Fine. Parade her through the streets, then throw her out at the capital’s gates to fend for herself. This is my final act of mercy. Let’s see how high and mighty you are then. Remember your place, Emilia. Killing you would only dirty my hands.”
With that, he flung her from the defendant’s stand.
She fell heavily to the ground from midair.
A flicker of pain crossed his eyes, but recalling her supposed deeds, he clenched his fists and felt no more pity.
Turning around, hands behind his back, he glanced at the girl and issued a command to the others: “Take her away. Parade her through the streets, then cast her out to fend for herself, never to return to the empire.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Soon, the streets erupted with commotion.
The iron cage rattled along the cobblestone road, its rusty bars containing the silver-haired girl.
She looked at the crowd around her—ignorant people cursing her without knowing the truth, venting their frustrations, while nobles in the shadows gloated.
She couldn’t understand: after everything she had done, who was it all for?
Rotten fruit cores and stones pelted her frail body like rain, causing faint stabs of pain.
The clanging of tin cans tied to the cart’s rear echoed, but it couldn’t drown out the crowd’s roars demanding her death, as if all their grievances were her doing.
As long as Emilia was gone, everything would be fine.
Amid the curses, she was driven out of the city and violently thrown from the cage.
The guards swarmed around her, reluctantly following the emperor’s orders.
With disdain, they unlocked the chains and shackles binding her hands and feet.
She was left alone, disheveled in the wind, moving forward in solitude.
She glanced back.
Never to be seen again.