A Fortune-telling Princess - Chapter 180

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Arsian’s assumption was correct—I hadn’t exerted my full strength.
Yet had time continued to flow even slightly longer, I would have had no room for such restraint.
‘The Demon Blade Swordmaster is certainly a formidable opponent.’
Just as I was contemplating whether to engage him properly, Jainer shook his head lightly at the sight of him turning away so anticlimactically.
“Camilla—is that one name truly all it takes to end everything?”
Recalling Arsian, who had already vanished without a trace as though he had no further business here, Jainer’s lips curved into a soft smile.
“There are irritating things scattered everywhere.”
* * *
“Tsk.”
Even after the council had concluded, Cardinal Stella remained seated in the chamber, clicking her tongue repeatedly.
‘So it simply passes over like this?’
Ever since Camilla had sent the Judgment Blade to the Papal See, the accusations of heresy against her had vanished entirely.
Today’s council, too, had ended inconclusively without any meaningful resolution.
‘I cannot allow this to stand.’
Cardinal Stella found her words from that day lodged in her throat like a thorn, utterly unbearable.
The clarity of her gaze as she had looked directly into my eyes, speaking of divine revelation, remained vividly before me.
‘Does she know everything?’
For reasons I could not fathom, she possessed far too precise knowledge of my transgressions.
‘A revelation?’
That was absolutely unbelievable. God would never teach her such things.
I have devoted my entire life to serving God with everything I possess. God would never abandon me merely for committing such trivial acts.
“How dare she.”
To attempt blackmail with information gleaned from who knows where—I wished to send the Heresy Inquisitors at once to seize her, but the matter had become troublesomely complicated.
Today, not a single person in the council had properly raised the matter concerning her.
Cardinal Stella clicked her tongue once more and slowly rose from her seat.
Remaining in the now-empty council chamber would not bring about the resolution of Camilla’s fate.
‘Should I handle this discreetly instead?’
If public punishment were impossible, then another method would have to be found.
I could not simply leave her be, deceiving the people with her false divine power. I had to ensure she never spoke such nonsense again.
‘But her status presents a problem.’
Touching the Sorpel Duchy—called the Imperial Guardian Houses—was a burden even for me.
I had heard that Duke Sorpel cherished her greatly, despite her not being his biological daughter. The complications were unavoidable.
Bang!
“Your Eminence!”
The council chamber door burst open as a priest rushed in urgently. Cardinal Stella’s brow furrowed immediately at the sight.
“Have you forgotten your station? I have always instructed you to maintain composure.”
“I-I apologize, Your Eminence.”
The young priest, who appeared to be in his early twenties, quickly bowed his head.
Yet he seemed to have something urgent to convey, and he hastily opened his mouth toward the Cardinal once more.
“Please, look at this.”
“…?”
“Posters like this around the Temple….”
A poster. Cardinal Stella’s expression hardened rapidly as she read through the contents written on it with displeasure in her eyes.
“What, what is this…!”
“Currently, posters like this have been plastered throughout the Temple.”
“Throughout?”
The poster contained extremely detailed accounts of everything I and the Temple had done.
Heinous acts—from Young Priests to priesthood candidates, countless individuals subjected to misconduct and sexual assault, driven to suicide!
…From Young Priests to priesthood candidates, countless individuals had been given humiliation and shame, driven to the point of suicide.
All of this occurred with the tacit approval of Cardinal Stella, a great elder of the Cult, and the Cardinal herself actively participated in these unethical acts….
“How dare anyone spread such nonsense!”
Cardinal Stella crumpled the poster and spewed out her fury.
“Tear down all the posters immediately!”
“Yes, understood.”
“Ugh.”
The priest rushed outside hastily. Cardinal Stella’s eyes, staring at the crumpled poster, trembled ceaselessly as though they had lost their place to rest.
But soon anger began to kindle in her gaze. She had to apprehend those who had posted these immediately.
“If I just catch those responsible….”
If she could extract a confession through torture that they had spread falsehoods, this entire matter would be cleanly erased from people’s memories.
“Yes, there’s nothing to worry about.”
But when a fortnight had passed, she was forced to painfully realize just how naive her thinking had been.
* * *
“Cardinal Stella, you must be well aware of the current situation.”
“What do you think?”
“It’s baseless rumor.”
Since the first day the posters appeared, identical posters had been plastered throughout the Temples located across the Empire without fail, day after day.
‘Damn it!’
Cardinal Stella mobilized every method at her disposal to catch those posting the posters.
She deployed Holy Knights as a matter of course and covertly commissioned intelligence organizations and assassination squads with massive sums of money to apprehend them.
But those who left no trace like ghosts, appearing and vanishing in an instant after posting their posters, could not be caught no matter what.
Even with surveillance throughout the night, posters would appear plastered everywhere by morning—it was truly maddening.
“Are the contents written on this poster truly baseless rumor?”
Eventually, an interrogation hearing regarding Cardinal Stella was convened.
The Council Chamber, where even the Pope himself was present, was filled with heavy atmosphere. The Temple’s image had been completely tarnished by this poster incident.
She had been given a fortnight to prove her innocence, insisting she would clear herself, but the situation only worsened.
Demands to clarify this matter poured in from all sides, and the atmosphere among the faithful was grave.
“This is the machination of those trying to slander me!”
Had she been an ordinary priest or another member of the priesthood, an investigation would have proceeded immediately and a trial would have been held to determine guilt. But the accused was a Cardinal.
That was why she had been given time, and even now an emergency meeting was being held first to hear her statement.
“Merely bringing up this matter is itself an insult to the Lord!”
Yet the council made little progress. Cardinal Stella continued to assert his innocence with unwavering conviction.
There was no concrete evidence that he had committed any crime.
It was true that those mentioned in the proclamation had taken their own lives, but whether Cardinal Stella was the reason remained unknowable.
“There is one method available to us.”
At that moment, Cardinal Martio—who had remained silent throughout the entire council—finally spoke.
Though he held the rank of cardinal, he was a man who devoted himself primarily to missionary work alongside ordinary priests rather than presiding over official ceremonies.
“Has the Sword of Judgment not been returned?”
“The Sword of Judgment?”
“Surely you’re not suggesting we use that blade now?”
His words sent a ripple of unease through the Council Chamber. It was an object everyone knew of, yet none dared speak of openly.
“In ages past, the Sword of Judgment determined the sins of all the faithful.”
“B-but the authenticity of the Sword of Judgment remains uncertain…!”
“Then why not verify it now?”
“I beg your pardon?”
At Cardinal Martio’s measured words, the Council Chamber fell into sudden, profound silence.
He turned his gaze toward Pope Brisel, seated at the head of the table.
“My thought is this: rather than waste time in futility, why not settle this matter cleanly with the Sword of Judgment?”
“Hmm.”
The Pope, who had been deliberating for a moment, slowly nodded. It was not an unreasonable suggestion.
He had long wished to confirm whether the Sword of Judgment was genuine or false. The difficulty had been that no one came forward to wield it—but now fortune had intervened.
“Yes, that does seem the better course.”
At the Pope’s decision, those assembled expressed both apprehension and curiosity.
Everyone wondered whether the Sword of Judgment that Camilla had brought was truly the blade once wielded by Saint Arena.
Yet on the other hand, they feared what would come if the Sword of Judgment proved authentic.
For all who belonged to the Church would henceforth stand defenseless before its judgment.
“I share that opinion.”
Cardinal Stella agreed with those words.
At first, he had been inwardly startled by the suggestion to use the Sword of Judgment, but upon reflection, it seemed fortunate indeed.
He was certain the blade Camilla had sent was a forgery.
The Church had mobilized all its resources over countless ages and failed to find it. How could a mere noblewoman possibly have located it?
She had clearly sent a counterfeit to sow confusion among them.
‘This will settle everything quietly.’
What was there to fear if the Sword of Judgment was false? The powers described in the scriptures would never manifest.
This was actually an ideal opportunity to assert his innocence.
“The Sword of Judgment is ready.”
Shortly after, the Sword of Judgment was placed before Cardinal Stella. Without the slightest hesitation, he grasped it at once.
To show hesitation would be to confess one’s own guilt. He could not afford to display even a moment’s doubt.
“I am…”
Gripping the blade firmly in his hand, he declared with conviction.
“I am innocent of all charges. I have committed no act that defies the Lord God. I swear this upon the name of God.”
He concluded his pious words and gazed at the sword held in his right hand. As expected, the blade showed no reaction whatsoever——!
Whoooosh!
“…!”
Cardinal Stella’s mouth fell open in shock.
The Sword of Judgment vibrated as though alive, and brilliant light erupted forth in an instant.
“I, impossible!”
Cardinal Stella cried out loudly, denying the situation before her without thinking.
Yet no one heeded her outcry. All eyes and minds were seized entirely by the Sword of Judgment.
Could this truly be the Sword of Judgment? No, doubt was no longer possible.
How could one claim such sacred light and power to be false!
“Ugh… aaaah!”
Cardinal Stella immediately tried to hurl the sword away.
But her hand refused to obey her will. Not a single finger would move as she commanded.
In the next moment, her eyes widened in horror. Against her will, the blade moved toward her left chest.
“No, stop!”
Cardinal Stella understood at once what this meant.
The sword had rendered its judgment! To end her life!
Her face drained of all color as she cried out desperately.
“I! I have committed sins! Everything is true! All that is written there—I have done it all!”
It was said that if one confessed their sins and repented, the Sword of Judgment would surely forgive the guilty!
Cardinal Stella recalled this truth and began to speak it aloud.
“So please, forgive me…!”
But her confession had come far too late.
The Sword of Judgment did not cease its punishment, even at her desperate plea.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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