"How do you prove it?" the old priest asked sharply, "If you are innocent, why not let Lie Yan prove it?"
God judges!
Archbishop Rodri's expression changed suddenly.
He instantly understood what the other members of the Old God Sect were planning to do in the final blow—they were going to force the Queen to accept God's sentence, and it was the most dangerous fire sentence.
"no."
Archbishop Rodrik sternly shouted before the queen could answer.
He felt eyes from all directions falling on him, those eyes were full of surprise and uncertainty, and some of them contained anger and contempt that made him painful. The old priest who was confronting him pointed at him tremblingly, his eyes seemed to crack open his skull.
"Roderi..." He was even angrier than seeing the Queen, his lips twitched, "What are you doing?"
Archbishop Rodri's hand was hidden under the cloak, clenched tightly, he faced the person who guided him on the path of the gods.
——The old priest in front of me is the former deputy head of the Knights of the Temple, and also his...
tutor.
what is he doing What did he do? He had to.
The archbishop stood straight in front of the queen: "In 1272, at the Saint Nord Council, the Holy Father has declared that the God of Fire, the God of Cold Water, and the God of Hot Iron are all against the doctrine."
He's fighting against his mentor, he's becoming a total traitor...
"Divine Judgment is a fool's invention," he said word by word, rejecting the creed that he once believed in, feeling that the altar in the depths of his soul is cracking and disintegrating, and he is degrading like all the people who once spurned, "If If God ordained divine judgment, He would not decree that every city should have judges and justices of the peace, and those who deny the charges shall be proved guilty by witnesses, and God's judgment is secret and unobservable, if all future events have not yet been Sure, then what a monstrous folly to try to assert by abominable duels and follies.[1]”
"You have been seduced, Rodri." The former deputy head of the Templar Knights stared at him with his old but still sharp eyes, and said slowly, "I know you well, just like a father knows his children. The one who speaks for the temptress. You fall...you are the traitor!"
The wind blew the archbishop's dark monk smock, together with the teacher's accusation.
Under his eagle-winged browbones, steel-blue eyes fell on the cross on the spire of the church in the distance, every line of his face was stretched hard, and the wind blew his dark monk's smock.
The voice sounded, so strange that it was not like his own.
"Balder, do you dare to violate the teachings and override the authority of the gods?"
"What did you do to him?" The old priest Balder turned his eyes on Adele with hatred, "How dare you seduce a chosen one who should belong to God? Make him fall to this point?! You are like you mother as slutty…”
"Get out of the way, Rodri."
Adele stepped forward blankly.
After seeing Archbishop Rodri hesitated for a moment and took a step to the left, Baldr's gaze became more and more venomous, but before he spit out more curses, there was a crisp sword sound.
All exclaimed.
The queen snatched the sword from Earl Boluk, who was holding the sword next to him, at an unexpected speed. The national sword came out of its sheath with a clang, and pointed at the old priest Balder with a cold light.
The cursing stopped abruptly.
The heavy national sword was firmly held by the queen, the blade remained motionless, and the tip of the sword pointed directly at the throat of the old priest Balder. The sun fell on the long sword, and the tip of the sword glowed with a palpitating light.
"Are you planning to use a sword to cover up the truth?" the old priest said in a deep voice.
"No. My sword is only used to protect my people, but if someone betrays Roland and becomes an enemy of Roland, then he is my enemy. Although I am a woman, I will never hesitate to point my sword at him. The queen looked around at the people around her, and raised her voice, "Everyone, with the testimony of the gods, I accuse this person of encroaching on Roland's interests, and he is a disaster for the country!"
"Slander!! Absurd slander!"
Old Father Balder was furious.
"Slander?" The Queen held the sword, moved her wrist horizontally, and pointed the tip of the sword from him to "Brother John" behind him, "I know that you and your brother think you are devout, and the St. Lorraine monastery you formed has a hundred Thirteen monasteries joined. You worship the Holy Spirit and the fountain of baptism. Your allied brothers invaded the lake and forbade civilians from drawing water from the lake when the river dried up. Only by paying a lot of money can you get it from the 'Holy Spring' One and a half stars. Heinrich!"
Heinrich stepped forward.
"How many St. Lorraine monasteries belong to Horst County?"
"Eleven."
"How many mouthfuls of 'Holy Spring'?"
"Thirteen mouths."
"From April to now, how many people died outside the 'Holy Spring'?"
"Two hundred and seventy-one people."
Between the question and the answer, the previous noise of the crowd gradually subsided, and people's eyes moved among the Queen, Baldr, Heinrich, and Rodriguez.
"This is what you did for Roland." The queen pointed her sword at the last person, "You accuse me of causing the drought? I also accuse you of causing the drought! In the name of God, circle the 'Holy Spring'—quote It is you who are coming to the wrath of the gods!"
"No! This is your lie. Before joining, the brothers of St. Lorraine swore to be steadfast and poor—you are lying!" Old Father Bald staggered back, shaking his head vigorously.
The queen smiled contemptuously: "In this case, if the gods also bless you, why didn't you give them a rainstorm to prove your innocence?"
"The wind, rain, thunder, and thunder are all determined by the gods. How dare mortals try to speculate on the will of the gods?" Baldr retorted, "You don't want to use such sophistry to cover up your sins!"
"Sophistry?" The queen turned her wrist, and the national sword plunged down hard into the hard stone surface, "God chose His spokesperson in the world to rule the country for Him, and the monarch is blessed by His miracles. My people Don't be burdened by your sins—I will pray to the gods for my people to save the earth with the water of life."
There was a sudden silence all around, and even the old priest Balder looked at the queen in horror.
what is she doing? Is she crazy
Archbishop Rodri looked at the Queen in disbelief. He could hardly restrain the anger in his heart—he had clearly paved the safest path for her, and for this he did not hesitate to betray his former mentor and former brother, and bear the burden in front of the public. Charged with "traitor" and "degenerate".
But what did she choose? ! What on earth is she trying to do!
Archbishop Rodrik almost wanted to question on the spot, almost unable to restrain his anger and disappointment, but when he saw the queen, all words disappeared from his throat.
The wind blows across the royal road.
She folded her hands and put them on the sharp sword symbolizing the empire. The long skirt rolled like a fiercely unfolding battle flag, and the translucent veil was lifted by the wind. The broken diamonds on it reflected the brilliance of stars, illuminating the That pair of burning red eyes.
"Let God judge—
"Who is the criminal!"
……………
"I don't know what the hell you want to do!"
Almost as soon as the Queen returned to the Summer Palace, Archbishop Rodri couldn't help arguing with her. His face was pale with anger, and his voice seemed to be forced out of his throat.
"Don't you think it's funny? Look at me like a fool, stand up like a fool!"
"I didn't think it was funny," interrupted the Queen. "In fact, I'm very grateful to you for stepping up at that time, Rodri."
There was no smile on her face, and her tone was low that he had never heard before.
Archbishop Rodri's anger subsided a little, and he noticed that the queen's mood was completely different from before. He stopped, pursed his lips and looked at the queen standing in the corridor, and found that her gaze was always on the Santa Maria Cathedral—a trace of sadness was concealed under her calmness.
"Things may not have room for maneuver."
Archbishop Rodri paused, his voice softened involuntarily.
"The Pope is being plagued by rebellion in the Free Cities. If you assist the Pope in quelling the rebellion, he will be happy to sign a certificate for you..."
"There they are judging her." The queen said suddenly, she closed her eyes, and the group of people in black floated in front of her eyes - the mother was removed from the crown and stood under the dome, and more than ten years later, her daughter stood In the same place, accepting a similar fate, "they sentenced her to death, depriving her of her identity and honor."
The archbishop stopped talking, and he stood still.
He knew who the queen was talking about.
Sithonia Gray, she is the queen of Caerelli, a vassal of Roland, and she married Edmund III with Caereli.
She is an outstanding woman with extraordinary wisdom and beauty. At first Edmund III loved her and was willing to share his royal power with her. He listed her name after his own and signed the document together. That period was the most glorious period of the Roland Empire, and was once called the "Era of Two Kings".
Until the rebellion broke out in the Kaileli area, many nobles in the country who were dissatisfied with a foreign woman's interference in politics took the opportunity to build momentum. The queen was accused of committing "treason" and was seen as the source of the rebellion in order to confuse the king with witchcraft.
In the end, she died because of it.
The archbishop suddenly remembered the Queen's words in the confessional room of the Day Palace, "... I am the daughter of the twin kings, the king of Roland". Queen Sithonia has been dead for so many years, and only her daughter is left to stubbornly remember that glorious "Double King Era".
It was getting dark.
Archbishop Rodriguez didn't know what to say. He could recite all the scriptures, all the dogmas, and all the laws, but he couldn't recite even a word written by the bard. His throat was dry and he was at a loss for words.
"I don't trust other bishops."
The Queen turned her head to look at him, her tone became calm and strong again.
"You will preside over the prayer ceremony."
"good."
The archbishop lowered his eyes and said dryly that he felt as if he had swallowed a flame of bitter chagrin.
When they turned a corner, they saw Dalton standing in front of a thin column, looking at them with his back to the light. I don't know how long he stood there, the shadow was stretched very long by the sunlight together with the stone pillar, and his whole body was shrouded in a strange blood color.
Seeing him, the archbishop was startled, took the first step, and stood in front of the queen.
During the day, he finally remembered one thing. During the day, his protection of the queen probably exposed something... He also knew Dalton, the leader of the Church of New God, and knew his ability and decisive style. When he saw himself When protecting the queen, it is impossible not to guess who betrayed him in the previous rebellion.
The hand under the archbishop monk's cloak rested on the hilt of the sword.
"Your sword is definitely not as fast as my gun." Dalton raised his head slowly, with no expression on his face, "You should arrange a prayer ceremony instead of here, Mr. Bishop."
"You go." Adele ordered.
The archbishop stood straight on the spot, motionless, his eyes fixed on the flintlock on Dalton's waist.
Dalton sneered, took off the gun that was said to be with him for a moment, raised his hand and threw it into the garden on the left side of the corridor: "You should go and prepare for other things, Bishop."
"Go."
Adele repeated it.
The archbishop's hand was slowly removed from the hilt, and he passed Dalton with a cold face and a bit of anger that he didn't know.
Only the queen and Dalton were left in the corridor.
"Your sword skills are very good." After being silent for a while, Dalton said slowly, his voice so soft that it seemed to be whispering, "Perhaps you are also very familiar with the battlefield."
"I know all the battles that Roland has experienced in the past thirty years, when they started and ended, how many people participated in the battle, how many people were killed, and what kind of weapons were put into the battlefield." The Queen replied, and then asked, " Otherwise, why would I choose you?"
"You have no armor, but you have a sword in your heart."
"Is there anything else to ask?" The Queen looked at him.
"No, not anymore."
Dalton said.
... This is what he asked for. He hates those arrogant nobles who stick to the rules, mocks their tactics that should be eliminated, and resents that no one can understand his reforms.
He was wrong.
Someone knows, someone understands, someone who sees him the same way. But he, like the people he hated, ignored them with arrogance and prejudice... just like those two documents. Would things have been different if he had received the mandate signed on the 15th instead of the one on the 16th
"Go and examine those who have been arrested."
said the queen.
She walked forward without looking back, Dalton looked at her leaving shadow, and didn't have the courage to ask that question.
……………
The day of prayer has finally come.
August 28.
The sky was clear, not to mention dark clouds, not even a small wisp of white clouds, and the sun scorched the ground hot. The road from the summer palace to Santa Maria was almost full of people. When the queen walked across the stone road under the protection of the soldiers headed by Dalton, she could hear the buzzing whispers of the crowd.
"Heresy..."
"Witch... She lied, God didn't bless her."
…
When crossing the crossroads, several people dressed as monks held up the scriptures to her, and recited the words prohibiting women from preaching and asking women to obey.
Unmoved, the queen arrived at the cathedral.
Father Baldr and Brother John were already there, and when the Queen passed them by, she heard low-pitched mocking. The church was also full of people, nobles, ladies and ladies. Everyone watched closely as the queen walked in through the nave door, and Archbishop Rodrik was waiting for her at the altar.
The sun was so bright that even the light shining through the glass windows in the dome was very dazzling.
The structure of the church echoed with whispers, and the sun was so bright that almost everyone thought the end was sealed.
In those echoes, she heard her mother's name, which was associated with "witch", "witch", and "evil".
The queen mounts the altar.
Archbishop Rodri moved his lips a few times, trying to say something but unable to speak, he silently took the cloak that the Queen had untied. The queen wears a linen gown and no jewelry other than a crown.
She knelt before the statue amidst a murmur of discourse.
Start praying.