Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 730

730. It Says It’s a Lie? Your Highness

Rembrary didn’t answer right away because he was eating a sausage. Of course, he wouldn’t have answered right away even if he hadn’t been eating a sausage.

Rembrary mumbled, staring blankly at the unfamiliar priest, and then offered his observation.

“Your clothes are unique.”

“This?”

The unfamiliar priest set aside his own question and addressed Rembrary’s comment first.

“It’s because I have to run fast and jump around a lot.”

The unfamiliar priest shifted his boots slightly forward so Rembrary could get a better look.

The other children sitting around Rembrary craned their necks to get a better view of the vestments, which resembled priestly robes but had a different design.

They were all curious and examined the unfamiliar priest’s long boots from every angle. On closer inspection, the unfamiliar priest was also carrying a small weapon at his waist.

“What’s that?”

When another child asked, the priest drew the dagger from his waist, twirled it effortlessly in his hand, and then returned it to its original position.

“Wow!”

The children exclaimed simultaneously.

The priest smiled and asked Rembrary again.

“Are you Rembrary?”

Rembrary nodded.

“Yes, I am.”

In the meantime, Liesel noticed the stranger’s visit and approached, inquiring.

“What brings an Inquisitor here?” (An Inquisitor is an official of the church responsible for investigating and suppressing heresy.)

Some of the children flinched at the word Inquisitor.

Rembrary overheard the tall, blond subordinate whisper to the friend sitting next to him.

“Inquisitors are said to pluck out the heads of heretics when they find them.”

“What’s a heretic?”

“People who don’t serve Redrin [the god they worship].”

Rembrary thought he wanted to eat another sausage.

The temple food had recently become a little better seasoned, but most of it was still too bland. But the sausages sold here had a strong, savory flavor that he liked.

The Inquisitor didn’t interest Rembrary as much as the sausage did.

“Is this the medical tent? I heard an interesting story near that large tent.”

Rembrary listened to the Inquisitor’s voice with one ear and let it out the other.

“An interesting story?”

“I heard there was an incident when the baby priests with angel wings were singing here.”

“No.”

“Some of them collapsed, and the people who collapsed had black handprints on their necks. They couldn’t be erased no matter how hard they tried, but they disappeared when the priests put divine power into them, didn’t they?”

“I don’t know.”

“Ah, is this priest not affiliated with the Florandia Temple?”

The barrage of questions the Inquisitor poured out on Liesel forcibly drew Rembrary’s attention.

Rembrary stared intently at the Inquisitor. He remembered that the Inquisitor had approached him earlier and asked for his name.

Next, he recalled the silver-haired man he had seen on the palace roof, covering people’s mouths.

Could what the Inquisitor was saying be related to that silver hair?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s unpleasant.”

Liesel said sharply, patting the children on their backs and urging them.

“Come on, get up, get up. Let’s go back. What strange people are coming here.”

The children quickly followed Liesel’s words.

Rembrary followed Liesel, glancing back as fireworks exploded with a bang behind him.

The Inquisitor, silhouetted against the fireworks, was staring at Rembrary.

When their eyes met, the Inquisitor smiled and waved.

“Let’s go, Rembrary.”

Liesel gently pulled Rembrary.

“Okay.”

Rembrary turned his head and followed Liesel.

* * *

Rembrary, who had returned during the festival, took off the wings he was carrying on his back, waited his turn, and went into the bathroom to wash thoroughly.

But when he came out, the atmosphere was unusual. Liesel was inside, and in front of him stood the Inquisitor he had met at the festival.

Next to him stood a familiar lay priest working at the Florandia Temple.

“Oh, there he is.”

The Inquisitor smiled, acknowledging Rembrary as he opened the bathroom door.

“Rembrary. Hello?”

Rembrary looked at Liesel, puzzled.

Liesel came to Rembrary, sent Rembrary behind him, and said in a sharp voice.

“Niran. Why did you bring this person to the children’s room without permission?”

Rembrary peeked out from Liesel’s arm.

The lay priest called Niran looked apologetic, then strode towards Rembrary and said.

“I’m sorry, Liesel. But all the people who recognized Rembrary as an ominous prince were attacked by demons and collapsed.

The guards and the lord are all in an uproar, wondering what’s going on. They keep asking our temple. We have to prepare an answer.”

“Niran!”

It sounded like a shout containing various meanings, but Rembrary couldn’t understand it.

Niran grabbed Rembrary’s arm, who was standing behind Liesel, with one hand and pulled him out roughly.

As Rembrary staggered and was dragged out, Liesel struck Niran’s arm.

“Ah.”

Niran’s eyes widened as if he didn’t expect Liesel to hit him.

Liesel sent Rembrary behind him again and glared at Niran.

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“Liesel, you’ve heard that it’s not nonsense. And I brought Seditor here for Rembrary’s sake.

I came for Rembrary’s sake too.”

Niran complained as if he was wronged, then rubbed the arm he had been hit by Liesel as if it hurt a lot.

“Think about it, Liesel. If Seditor here examines Rembrary and says there’s nothing wrong, Rembrary won’t be misunderstood for no reason, right?

If it’s revealed that there’s nothing wrong with Rembrary, we can tell the lord that what happened during our children’s singing order was just a coincidence, that the demons were like angels.

They didn’t want to listen to the apprentice priests’ songs, so they made a fuss. We can say that.”

The Inquisitor did not participate in Niran and Liesel’s argument at all.

He was just looking at Rembrary with the attitude that he had nothing to do with this issue.

Then, when Liesel and Niran stopped talking for a moment, he cleverly intervened.

“Liesel. Originally, I heard a rumor that there was a child with great divine power among the apprentice priests under Liesel.”

The Inquisitor finally took his eyes off Rembrary and looked at Liesel.

Liesel frowned.

“A rumor?”

“Yes. I also heard that Raidal is most likely to have great divine power.”

“……”

“Then I happened to hear this story. It’s not that I’ve never been interested in the story of the ominous prince. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t.

But after hearing the story that the higher-ups had hidden his location, I gave up on that part.

If the higher-ups are trying to hide the child, it means that the child is definitely not a problem.

I’m trying to examine Rembrary not because I heard a rumor, but because of this incident.”

The Inquisitor seemed to be persuading Liesel better than Niran. He slipped naturally in front of Rembrary.

“But according to the witnesses, people collapsed not when Rembrary was singing alone, but before he sang.

In this situation, it’s biased to suspect only Rembrary.”

The Inquisitor made eye contact with Liesel and pointed to the children in the room with his hand, asking.

“Then let’s ask all the children if they saw the culprit who made people collapse while singing.

The children were on stage, so they might have seen the culprit. How about this?”

At first glance, the Inquisitor’s words seemed appropriate.

But Rembrary saw the children in the same room moving away from him.

It was clear that the children’s wariness, which had faded over time, had risen again as a result of today’s events.

* * *

Because Heather, the head of the Florandia Temple, was away, the decision on this matter went to the second highest-ranking high priest.

Liesel wanted the high priest to kick out the unsettling Inquisitor.

But the high priest sided with Niran.

“Heather has gone to comfort the lord who was surprised by this incident and is still being held there. If we bring a proper answer, the lord will be relieved.”

Accordingly, the apprentice priests under Liesel’s care were sent to the night classroom to be examined by the Inquisitor.

Liesel couldn’t leave the children alone, so he followed them into the classroom, but this time he had no control.

Liesel frowned because he had heard the Inquisitor vaguely say what he was going to do to the children in front of the high priest, but he couldn’t rest assured.

On the other hand, the Inquisitor stood in front of the classroom and spoke to the children as if he were a friendly teacher.

“Okay, everyone, I’m going to ask you one question. Think about the answer in your heart, and then come out one by one and put your hand on my hand and answer.”

Then the oldest, tall blonde asked sullenly.

“Then what happens?”

“I can tell if you’re lying or not.”

Another child followed and asked again.

“Why do you find that out?”

The Inquisitor smiled instead of answering and asked.

“You sang on stage today. So when only the piano music was playing, you heard some people shouting strange words among the spectators.

You heard it, right?”

The children didn’t answer, but they nodded quietly.

The Inquisitor continued as if he knew it.

“Did anyone see those people or the people attacking them?”

When the children stared blankly, the Inquisitor added.

“If you saw it, you must tell me. The people who attacked them might be demons.”

At the word demon, the children were startled and began to buzz. Some bravely straightened their backs, but most were terrified.

Liesel was furious that the Inquisitor had bluntly spoken about such a sensitive issue.

But the Inquisitor had already finished explaining.

The Inquisitor held out his palm to the child sitting closest and said.

“Okay, will you answer and go first?”

The child approached the Inquisitor, placed his fist on his palm, and said.

“I was in the back row, so I couldn’t see the audience.”

The Inquisitor nodded.

“Yes, you’re telling the truth.”

Such things were repeated thereafter.

No matter what the children said, the Inquisitor only said, ‘You’re telling the truth.’

Rembrary couldn’t tell whether the Inquisitor could really distinguish between truth and falsehood or whether he was just saying nice things.

Then finally it was Rembrary’s turn.

Rembrary strode up, placed his palm on the Inquisitor’s palm, and said.

“I didn’t see it.”

In fact, he had seen the silver hair, but anyway, that silver hair had helped Rembrary that day. Since he had received help, he wanted to keep the secret even if he couldn’t repay it.

After speaking, Rembrary removed his hand and tried to return to his seat.

However, the Inquisitor, who had let the other children go willingly, grabbed Rembrary’s hand as he tried to remove it.

Puzzled, he looked up, and the Inquisitor said with a smile full of interest.

“It says it’s a lie? Your Highness.”