Holy Idol [EN]: Chapter 867

867. To the Imperial Palace

Rembrary took the letter he had received and went to see the commander.

“Commander?”

When he opened the door, the commander was punching someone tied to a rope.

The commander spun around two-thirds of the way and stopped in front of Rembrary, holding out his hands.

“You have to do this to make a full rotation.”

The black magician, who had been hit by the commander, stared blankly.

The secretary bit her lip.

Rembrary stared blankly at the commander before handing him the letter.

“This has arrived.”

The commander gestured to the secretary to take the black magician away and approached Rembrary, asking,

“What is it?”

The secretary quickly dragged the heretic out through the side door.

Rembrary opened the letter and gave it to the commander.

“It’s a request for me to appear as a witness in Duke Ladderun’s trial.”

The commander quickly covered the letter.

“Duke Ladderun, the one who came here once and luckily went back, only to be caught in the secular world [the regular, non-religious world]?”

“That’s right.”

Rembrary put the letter in his pocket, envelope and all.

“Wasn’t it only a few years since he was caught? They’re only holding his trial now?”

The commander asked, puzzled, but soon realized the reason.

“Ah. Titles and status are important in the secular world. It seems there were many entanglements [complex relationships and influences].”

“If we leave in a week, we should arrive without being late.”

Rembrary didn’t give the commander a chance to change the subject.

“…….”

The commander stared at Rembrary for a moment before sighing.

“Are you going to go there?”

“Yes.”

“Is that the right choice? Isn’t he the one who has been constantly targeting you? If he sees you, he might do something desperate. He might even say harsh things. Things that would make you uncomfortable to hear.”

“I’m going.”

Rembrary said firmly, just like when he said he would come to the Florandia Temple instead of staying in the Great Temple.

But this time, the commander couldn’t be as happy as he was then.

* * *

While Rembrary packed his luggage and carried it to the carriage one by one, the Inquisitors followed him around, holding their hands up in the air.

They had a lot to say, but they knew it wouldn’t work, so they couldn’t open their mouths.

After carrying all the luggage, Rembrary closed the door of the carriage compartment and looked back at them, who were gathered in a crowd.

The Inquisitors looked as if Rembrary was abandoning them.

“I’m just going for a little while.”

Rembrary had no choice but to say a word.

About half of them brightened up a little at that one word.

“Of course.”

But about half of them still looked worried.

“Rembrary, isn’t it too dangerous…….”

They must still think of Rembrary as a child on tiptoes, climbing into the carriage.

“I’m not going to catch him, I’m going as a witness.”

Rembrary gave a reassuring smile and got into the carriage.

“It’s not dangerous at all.”

* * *

Rembrary was right.

They encountered monsters a few times along the way, but the carriage journey was generally smooth.

The paladins who had left with Rembrary tried to draw their swords when they saw the monsters, but when a long arm appeared over the carriage, they put their swords back in.

By the time the sword clicked into its scabbard, a halo was already emanating from inside the carriage.

The monsters stopped in their tracks. The paladins had no chance to fight.

The coachman, sitting with his back to the carriage, calmly continued to drive the carriage because the halo emanating from Rembrary didn’t dazzle him.

After moving like that for about 10 minutes, the surroundings became quiet again. It was the same even in the deepest forest.

“I don’t know why the Inquisitors are so worried about Rembrary.”

One paladin said slyly to his colleague when they camped in a village.

And a few days later, the carriage entered the capital of Libulen.

As the carriage moved along the familiar streets, Rembrary looked out the window at the nostalgic scenery.

The savory smell of bread wafted from all directions, and people were laughing and chatting in groups.

Everyone was so peaceful, as if the Demon King, demons, and black magicians had nothing to do with them.

The carriage stopped briefly in front of the gate, and after the identification was completed, it went back inside.

The carriage stopped on a wide, flat area leading to the main gate of the palace, and Rembrary opened the carriage door himself.

People were so busy that they didn’t seem to know who had returned.

Thanks to that, Rembrary was able to comfortably reminisce about his childhood.

“Did you come from the temple?”

But the quiet time was ended by a manager who appeared quickly.

“Your Highness Rembrary?!”

The manager, who had approached calmly, recognized Rembrary right away and shouted.

People who had been passing by without even looking at the carriage belatedly turned their heads.

“It’s Rembrary!”

“Rembrary is back!”

“Your Highness!”

“Oh my god, our baby is……!”

The palace people recognized Rembrary right away and whispered, then bowed almost simultaneously.

The paladins, who were receiving greetings along with Rembrary, hid their embarrassment with expressionless faces and looked at Rembrary.

They didn’t know what to do in this situation.

On the other hand, Rembrary was used to this situation, so he immediately waved to the people and walked to the main gate.

“I’ll take them.”

Some palace people ran up and took Rembrary’s luggage out of the carriage.

“I heard you might come.”

The manager followed two steps behind Rembrary and said in an excited voice.

“But you didn’t give us an answer, so everyone was divided on whether you would come or not.”

The manager seemed to be trying to guide Rembrary, but Rembrary kept walking into the familiar space without asking.

What Rembrary found was the room he had lived in in the secular world.

“You remember everything.”

The manager muttered, feeling proud.

“Is there anything to forget?”

Rembrary answered lightly and asked.

“Where are Father and Mother?”

The paladins, who had followed him here without realizing it, widened their eyes, aware of Rembrary’s changed tone.

“They are in the audience chamber now. I will tell them as soon as the audience is over that Your Highness has returned.”

But the manager didn’t find Rembrary’s tone strange at all.

The paladins exchanged glances at the manager’s polite tone.

“Where are my brother and sister?”

Rembrary asked again.

“They are in class. I will tell them about Rembrary as soon as the class is over.”

The manager’s voice was proud.

The paladins felt that the Rembrary they had seen in the Inquisitorial Office and the current Rembrary were like different people.

“Ah, paladins.”

The manager, who seemed to have forgotten that they were here, turned around and called the paladins.

“Yes.”

When the three paladins answered at the same time, the manager smiled and pointed to the door.

“I will guide you to your room.”

“Our accommodation should not be far from Rembrary.”

One of the paladins lied without realizing it.

He hadn’t received any instructions regarding accommodation, but suddenly he felt the urge to protect Rembrary nearby.

He knew it didn’t make sense, but he was worried that if he lived far away from Rembrary, Rembrary would eventually try to stay in the secular world and only they would return.

It’s not that he doubted the faith of Rembrary, a high-ranking priest. But this place…… The paladin rolled his eyes around, keeping his head in place.

A groan-like exclamation flowed out involuntarily. This place was as splendid and beautiful as if all the wealth on earth had been gathered.

* * *

After the paladins left, Rembrary, who was left alone, slowly walked around the room, which was still the same as when he was a child.

As he stroked the furniture that didn’t even have dust on it as if it was cleaned every day, footsteps approached.

The footsteps seemed to be getting closer and closer, and then the door burst open. Even the question of whether he could come in was omitted.

“Rembrary!”

It was Rembrary’s brother and sister who came in. They shouted and ran to Rembrary at the same time.

Not long after, the Empress appeared, and not long after, the Emperor appeared.

“Oh my god, our Rembrary. I was worried because they said you couldn’t eat well in the temple. You’ve grown a lot taller.”

The Empress muttered, cupping Rembrary’s cheeks.

When the Empress let go of Rembrary to wipe away her tears, the Emperor, who had been waiting his turn, hugged his youngest child and sobbed again.

After the family members hugged and cried over Rembrary one by one, Rembrary stood away from them.

“Rembrary? What’s wrong?”

The brother asked, embarrassed by the sudden retreat of his younger sibling.

“I have something to show you.”

“What?”

Rembrary went further back, spread his arms, and turned on his halo.

“Look at this!”

* * *

For the next few days until the trial, Rembrary didn’t have a single hour to spend in his room.

One day he went on a picnic with his family, one day he went boating with his brother, and one day he went on a picnic with his sister.

He also visited the nanny and the nearby villa, and greeted the many nobles who came to greet Rembrary.

The nobles were very honored to see Rembrary, but the noble girls of Rembrary’s age were a little different.

The girls of Rembrary’s age came to greet him with their parents with light hearts, but when Rembrary smiled and spoke to them, they were shocked and babbled or kept their mouths shut shyly.

Even in the midst of this, Rembrary treated the patients who flocked to him after hearing the news of his arrival for two or three hours every day.

The paladins followed Rembrary’s schedule, admiring him at first, but gradually getting tired of him later.

By the time the trial day came, they were rather relieved.

* * *

Duke Ladderun’s trial was held in private, so no one unrelated could attend.

Rembrary walked to the courtroom connected to the palace, arriving exactly on time.

When he entered the innermost room of the two-story courtroom, he could see the Duke standing in the center of the front of the first floor with a gloomy expression.

Rembrary approached the place where the witnesses were gathered.

The Duke was on the first floor, and the place where the witnesses gathered was on the second floor, so the Duke didn’t see Rembrary enter.

Only the witnesses were horrified and greeted him as Rembrary approached.

As a commotion was about to break out because of this, Rembrary signaled the other witnesses to be quiet, leaned against the railing, and looked down.

Not long after, the trial began.

‘Even that guy’s momentum is waning. He used to be so arrogant and ignored people.’

He thought Duke Ladderun would refuse the trial, but surprisingly, the Duke answered the investigator’s questions diligently.

Rembrary was curious about the change, so he leaned more deeply against the railing.

Even with that small movement, the other witnesses stared blankly at Rembrary instead of the trial.

But it was in the middle of the trial. A manager who entered through the side door on the first floor hurriedly approached the judge and whispered something.

Their voices could not be heard, but the judge’s eyes widened.

“What is it?”

“Why is he like that?”

The witnesses, who had been distracted by Rembrary, belatedly whispered. Rembrary was also curious and stared intently at that side.

On the other hand, Duke Ladderun stood blankly as if he didn’t care what happened, and his expression didn’t change.

But the moment the manager who had suddenly entered left and someone walked in from there.

Duke Ladderun’s calm expression broke and his eyes widened as if they would pop out.