In the distant crowd.
The Diligence Saintess laughed so hard her whole body shook with mirth.
At the same time, the Diligence Saintess, Yegeerlinai, felt a twinge of envy and said, “Sister of Temperance, it seems you’ll need to fulfill your promise and reward our Chastity sister now!”
The Saint of Temperance, Lizberu, nodded.
She agreed to reward the Saint of Chastity.
Yegeerlinai asked, “Um, should we go see Chastity now?”
Lizberu replied, “Let’s wait a bit longer.”
The real show has only just begun!
They were here to back up their Chastity sister. But right now, it was the perfect opportunity for Aililan to be tempered, so there was no need to appear immediately.
On the street.
A heavily armored warhorse thundered past.
The Head Maid, Yarandale, swept aside her usual deference shown before Aililan; now, she revealed her forceful and decisive side—after all, she was the Saintess’s maid!
How did that saying go? In front of the Saintess, I’m the maid and won’t fault you for anything. But when the Saintess isn’t around, what should you call me? You should address me as Lady Yarandale, understand?
Arriving at the entrance to the Rinzheng Tribunal.
[Halt.]
[This is the Rinzheng Tribunal…]
‘Shing——’
Yarandale drew the longsword from her warhorse, pointing it directly at several Council Guards, and barked, “Insolent! I am the Head Maid of the Saint of Chastity. I’m acting under the Saintess’s orders—get out of my way, now!”
Yarandale swung her sword.
The guards hurriedly stepped aside.
From the look on the Head Maid’s face, if they dared to obstruct her, she wouldn’t hesitate to cut them all down.
Besides, they’d all heard about the incident with the Orcs—it was a bloody massacre, heads rolling everywhere! Who would dare anger those aligned with the Saintess now?
The warhorse charged into the tribunal with murderous intent.
Yarandale didn’t even bother dismounting, calling out loudly, “Relay the command of Saint Aililan! During the Orcs’ riot, you weren’t present; when the Saintess’s safety was threatened, you were still nowhere to be seen. Now that the crisis has been resolved, go clean up the grounds!”
Chairman Rolans of the Rinzheng Tribunal’s face darkened, his mustache almost blown up with anger.
He hadn’t participated in this incident, choosing to remain neutral.
Yet here was a horse trampling through the tribunal.
And it was only a maid.
Rolans, unable to contain his fury, said, “You’re trampling on the dignity of the tribunal! Do you realize this is a grave crime? Even as someone from the Saintess’s retinue, this cannot be tolerated!”
Yarandale hurled her longsword, planting it in front of the Chairman, and answered loudly, “Whatever crime you wish to charge me with is your business. I am here only to deliver the Saintess’s order. And what right do you have to judge me? In this world, only the Saintess can judge me. If she wants me to live, I’ll live. If she wants me dead, I’ll die.”
“You—” Rolans was livid.
“Hmph.” Yarandale snorted coldly and rode out of the tribunal.
The tribunal was in an uproar.
Some criticized Yarandale for her arrogance.
Others whispered about Aililan’s cruelty, killing so many Orcs in public.
In the end, all eyes turned to Chairman Rolans, waiting to hear what he would say.
However—
“What are you all looking at?”
“What’s there to see?”
Rolans ripped off his hat and threw it to the ground, seething with rage. “Didn’t you hear the Saintess’s words? Get moving and start cleaning! If there’s a single drop of blood or a scrap of flesh left in two hours, I’ll hold you all accountable.”
Life had become unbearable.
He could barely continue being Chairman.
And Aililan was a Saintess—there was simply no excuse to restrain her.
What really infuriated Rolans was that Wilma, Bishop of Emile Cathedral, was now acting like a total coward.
“Damn Wilma.”
“With all that’s happened, you still want to hide like a turtle? If I don’t pry off your shell today, I’ll take your surname!”
The Saintess had already gone mad. The Rinzheng Tribunal alone wouldn’t be enough; now, the only option was to drag the Cathedral into this mess as well.
Even if they didn’t dare to question Aililan’s actions, at the very least, they should work together to find some kind of compromise, right?
With this in mind—
The Chairman hurried to the Cathedral.
Just as Yarandale had stormed into the tribunal, Rolans, full of anger, charged into Emile Cathedral.
“Wilma.”
“Wilma, get out here!”
“……”
At last, Rolans found Wilma. The Bishop was kneeling before the statue, forehead pressed tightly to the ground, as if in devout prayer.
No matter how urgent the Chairman was—
Wilma remained unmoved.
She continued to kneel in devout prayer, speaking only—
“Chairman Rolans?”
“Wilma, at a time like this, you still have the mind to pray? Don’t you know there was a brutal massacre at the gates of Frezeya Manor…”
Wilma replied calmly, “It’s just a few Orcs dead. It’s not such a big deal.”
Rolans’s blood pressure soared, and he yelled, “You—you really think it’s not a big deal?”
“Chairman Rolans, I know you’re anxious, but don’t be. Why not join me in worship before the statue? God will truly bless you.”
“Wilma!”
“Kneel with me.”
“Wilma, you must be insane.”
Rolans flung his robes and turned to leave.
“Rolans, we’ve known each other for decades, haven’t we? If you trust me, then kneel here. Don’t go anywhere, don’t get involved. That’s my final advice to you.”
Rolans: ……
This isn’t normal, this is really not normal… Suddenly, it was as if something dawned on Rolans, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
‘Thud.’
Rolans also knelt on the ground.
“Wilma, tell me honestly—what’s really going on?”
“There’s nothing for me to tell you. All I can say is that this matter is beyond anything we can intervene in.”
“Is the Archbishop from the Fifth Wing Region coming?”
Wilma said, “Even if the Archbishop arrives, he’ll be kneeling here with us.”
Rolans: ……
Rolans thought for a moment, then lowered his head to the ground as well. They said bowing could cure headaches and itchy necks. He never used to believe it, but now, he did.
And besides—
Wilma, you really are a good person.
With all of Rolans’s political experience, he swore—if he just stayed kneeling here, the worst that could happen was he’d have to retire. That was still better than suddenly losing his head one day, wasn’t it?
Rolans sighed, “Never thought a Saintess would actually show up.”
Wilma said, “Correction—two.”
“Wilma, you contacted the Holy Land and didn’t even notify us? That’s really sly.”
“The Cathedral and your tribunal are supposed to check and balance each other. If I went along with you to bully the Saint of Chastity, there aren’t enough heads among the hundreds of clergy at Emile Cathedral to go around.”
“And do you know how many heads our tribunal will lose this time?”
“Not my problem. The moment they couldn’t tell a King from a Knave and dared bully the Saint of Chastity, their heads were already forfeit.”
“Are those two Saintesses easy to reason with?”
“How long do you think I’ve been kneeling here?”
Rolans thought it over.
And decided that kneeling here really wasn’t so bad—at least, his head didn’t ache, and his neck didn’t itch anymore.
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