After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

Until it was discovered by Uriel.

As the little girl finished her speech, the whole audience fell silent.

The reason is simple, because it is too outrageous.

The representative of the court sneered and said in a rather sarcastic tone:

"What a joke! Those who can have messages directly conveyed through dreams by the Supreme God Realm are all canonized as saints, and there are only 12 such people in the entire history! Now, you actually say that the goddess has dreamt of a little brat like you? And she did it every day for half a month, with long passages each time!? Haha ...

It sounds harsh, but the truth is right.

It's really nonsense to say that a god will teach you how to stealth step by step. It's also too cheap.

"Besides! Even if the goddess really wanted the hero Leah to do these things, couldn't she just send a dream or issue an order to her in person? Why would she go through a weird little brat like you?"

"I...I don't know either...but, but what I said is true, I..."

After being yelled at by the judge, the little girl took a few steps back in fear. After looking around, she grabbed Rosaline's clothes as if it were a life-saving straw.

Rosalyn immediately protected it behind her, facing the representative, and retorted:

"It's not wise to speculate on the goddess's intentions, Judge. Perhaps the goddess is just trying to take advantage of this opportunity to choose her new spokesperson? And—"

The white-haired hero gently poked the ground with the holy staff in his hand and looked at the audience sitting in the gallery around him with an inexplicable smile.

Including the Pope, they are all important figures in various departments of the Church.

"If it weren't for the goddess' instructions, who else could have provided such detailed intelligence? Even taking into account unexpected and fortuitous factors? Do you think that within every branch of the church, or even every squad of the Knights, there are people who have betrayed the church and are aiding Leah?!"

That is of course impossible.

Even if it is true, no one dares to admit it.

"you--"

The representative of the tribunal stood there with his mouth wide open, speechless.

Because this is the crux of the matter.

What? You said the story of a goddess sending down miracles from heaven is unreliable?

Yeah, that’s definitely not reliable.

So, could you please give me a plausible explanation?

The fact is, no one can give this explanation.

Just as the ancients could not explain thunder and lightning and regarded them as the wrath of God, when the existence of something is completely untouchable on a rational level, some kind of supernatural and powerful existence will naturally be regarded as the only answer.

Everyone was silent, and seeing that the atmosphere was slowly changing, Rosalyn bowed again and looked at the archbishop who was also stunned.

Smiling as usual, he said:

"Your Excellency, may I have my next witness?"

(There will be another chapter later)

Chapter 3 Defense of Innocence (2)

The opinions of Rosaline in the church are very polarized.

In the eyes of the church's senior leaders, she is mysterious and unpredictable. Although she is not as annoying as Leah, not many people are willing to deal with her.

But for the lower-level people in the church, it is a completely different matter.

He is kind and merciful, treating all believers equally regardless of their wealth, and always squeezes out his own personal time to help the sick or the wounded free of charge.

Such behavior made Rosaline appear exceptionally noble in the eyes of both civilians and the Crusaders.

That’s why there are organizations like the Pure White Saint, which can be described as one-way bootlickers.

This, in turn, would make some of the more hypersensitive church leaders dislike Rosaline even more.

But whether you like it or not, after the narration just now, no one present at the scene, whether or not they were directly involved in the trial, dared to treat her as a joke anymore. This is certain.

Therefore, as she requested to call a second witness, the whole room fell silent.

Even the archbishop who was in charge of presiding over the trial was so frightened that he dared not make a decision on his own. He secretly cast an inquiring look at the Pope on the side.

Only after seeing the latter nod silently did he dare to accept Rosaline's request.

Rosalyn then turned towards the entrance again and called out:

"It's time, please bring him in!"

Following the sound of heavy footsteps and the noise of wheels turning and rubbing against the ground, two fully armed knights came in, pushing a wheelchair.

The moment they saw the facial features of the person sitting on it clearly, the crowd of onlookers even went beyond discussing and directly developed into a riot.

The man, who was about forty years old, should have been quite strong in the past, but now he was weirdly thin and his complexion was abnormally bad.

He looks like he has just recovered from a serious illness, or even hasn't recovered yet.

His name is Colin, he is an archbishop and the current head of the Inquisition.

Nearly two months ago, while leading a team to Tafia to put pressure on the brave Aize, he was assassinated by a local civilian and was seriously injured and almost died on the spot.

Although he was lucky enough to survive thanks to Rosaline's treatment, he remained in a coma. Until just before the trial, he was still sleeping in the VIP ward of the church hospital and showed no intention of waking up.

But at this moment, he was sitting in a wheelchair. Although he was extremely weak and his mental and physical state were in the worst condition, his eyes were undoubtedly open.

As the wheelchair stopped beside Rosalyn, Colin grabbed the armrests and shakily stood up with the help of two knights.

Then, in a voice so unclear that it was almost inaudible, he said:

"I...Archbishop, I...I am guilty, I...I want to surrender myself..."

The archbishop was so shocked that even the gavel he raised due to the riot was involuntarily suspended in the air, not knowing whether to strike it or not.

Colin took advantage of this opportunity to continue his narration in a torrent of words, though weakly:

"Under my instructions, the Inquisition... intercepted the distress letter from the capital of the Kingdom of Arte... and allowed the blood plague... to spread... to spread..."

After the Royal Capital Incident, the Dukes' attempt to seize power temporarily failed, and the fact that the church's top brass cooperated with the nobles in ignoring the royal family's requests for help was brought to the fore.

Heidi Yalter, who has just ascended the throne as queen, has been making a fuss about this matter these days, using her identity as a chosen hero to force the church to give her an explanation.

The church was in a state of panic, and a group of people were thinking about how to deal with it and how to share the blame.

Unexpectedly, someone came out and asked to take the blame.

And it's not over yet.

"Not only... me, but almost all of those in the Inquisition who were... killed in the previous riots were involved in covering up the... incident in the capital..."

"Also, we...we accepted...money from an imperial noble last month, so we purged a small local sect...and executed them on charges of heresy..."

"Last year, I ordered the execution of 315 heretics. Actually, 265 of them were... either innocent due to insufficient evidence or simply innocent. For the sake of the Inquisition's dignity, I still ordered their execution... executed them..."

"And that previous... suppression campaign in the north was also carried out at my behest... without any evidence... because they refused to cooperate with the Inquisition. So, I... I..."

……

……

……

One crime after another flowed out of his trembling lips like pouring water.

Because he had just woken up from a coma, he was very weak and his body was not coordinated. He even almost passed out several times or choked to death by his own saliva.

But he still said it all.

During this period, the venue was silent.

If all the information is true, then the Inquisition will instantly transform from a victim of the Holy City riots to a group of perverted murderers who are worth killing.

Such pressure even frightened the judge's representative, who had been jumping up and down since the beginning of the trial, and he huddled up in a ball, not daring to refute his superior's remarks.

Let the narrative continue.

The whole process lasted more than 30 minutes, during which the entire venue was silent.

"...All I remember is... these. If I were given a little more time... I... I could remember more, I... I... wuwu..."

As he said this, the madman and executioner who was feared by everyone in the church actually broke free from the two knights, knelt on the ground, curled up into a ball, and burst into tears.

"I... I am guilty. I have betrayed the goddess's trust... I... I can't. I must pay the price! My lord, please! Sentence me to death by burning! Or hanging or the guillotine will do! Quickly! Quickly!"

As he spoke, relying on strength from nowhere, the guy actually propped himself up and tried to rush onto the stage to grab the archbishop's clothes and force him to execute him.

He was held down by the knights on both sides and it took a lot of effort to drag him out.

It's a medical miracle.

Compared to his physical condition, what he said was even more jaw-dropping.

It is no longer a secret and is almost a common knowledge that the court persecutes innocent people and does nothing about their duties.

Among all the heads of the Inquisition, Colin is the most ruthless and anthropomorphic one. Compared to him, even many demons are considered merciful.

How could such a butcher weep bitterly for his crimes and even demand his own death?

The probability of the sun rising from the west may be greater.

Could it be that he was sleep deprived?

Amidst the stunned silence of countless people, Rosalyn remained composed, smiling and speaking slowly to the Archbishop:

"According to Mr. Colin, during the month he was in a coma, he personally listened to the teachings of the goddess and deeply regretted his actions. That's why he contacted me half an hour ago, hoping that I could help him repent."

"Ah...this..."

This time, the archbishop really didn't know what to say.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Rosalyn continued:

"Anyway, I believe Colin's account is sufficient to prove the grave sins of the Inquisition, and also sufficient to prove that those Inquisition personnel killed by Leah deserved their punishment. Do you agree with this statement?"

"Uh……"

I have no idea how to respond to this.

"Also, besides Colin, I have eleven other witnesses here who can prove that other church members who died in assassinations outside the Inquisition were also sinful heretics. I wonder if you would allow them to be summoned?"

"And!? Eleven!?"

The archbishop lost his composure and almost subconsciously slammed the table and stood up.

Just now, Colin, a witness, almost directly denied the legitimacy of the existence of the Inquisition. Whether this important department of the church can continue to survive has become a problem.

And there are actually eleven on Rosalyn's side.

If everyone follows this pace, then when this trial is over, it will not be a question of whether Leah is guilty, but whether the church can continue to exist.

And these are just human problems.

What’s even more terrible is the realm of gods.

Just like Leah's outrageous assassination, Colin's sudden 180-degree change and repentance cannot be explained by common sense.

Is there a possibility, just a possibility, that that crazy woman Leah really took action because she received the oracle from the goddess?

Is there a possibility that the gods really want those unfortunate people to die?

If this is true, then if this trial continues, will it directly incur the wrath of the gods, leading to even more severe divine punishment?

OK.

So, after a lot of hesitation, the Archbishop gritted his teeth and brought down the gavel almost immediately:

"Due to the emergence of a large amount of new evidence, the premise of this trial has changed. On behalf of the Church, I hereby declare that the trial is terminated immediately and a new investigation will be conducted! The trial will resume at a later date!"

With the testimony of the little girl and Colin, the logic that the gods are dissatisfied with the corrupt church and thus bring down divine punishment has been established.

As for the church, even if it's a bit rotten, everyone still believes in God. Once the above logic is established, no one will dare to disobey it.

Moreover, the Inquisition, which was responsible for executing Leah, will not have any say for a long time after this trial until it is reorganized.

If there is no plaintiff, what is the need for trial?

Therefore, Leah Alfred's acquittal has almost become a foregone conclusion.

The talk of temporarily suspending the investigation and retrial at a later date is nothing more than a formality to save face. The outcome of this incident is already determined.

In short, following the Archbishop's announcement, groups of church members who were attending the meeting left the cathedral as fast as they could, without even looking back, as if they were running for their lives.