Now is the time to stand on your own
The sadness of becoming an orphan was not limited to the sadness of losing one’s parents.
“You son of a thief!”
“I didn’t steal it!”
Now there is no one to say no to the boy.
The reality of not being able to rely on anyone constantly exhausted young Vlad.
“Good luck! This is why people without parents are not allowed!”
The world trapped Vlad within its prejudices, and in the end, the young boy had no choice but to crush himself and adapt to the life of an orphan in the back alleys.
In this way, Vlad lived a life that was crumpled somewhere and had to look only one inch ahead.
However, there was one person who told the boy, who was now standing alone on the court, that it was not his fault.
“From now on, I will answer for Lord Vlad.”
He did so while hiding the boy who hesitated in answering behind his back.
He was a man who believed that it was a little too late, but not too late, to straighten the boy’s crumpled soul.
※※※※
“Of course, all his actions will continue to be accompanied by his voice. And I believe that voice comes from God above.”
Pierre’s question portrayed Vlad as a man with bad omens, but Andrea’s answer portrayed Vlad as a blessed man.
Although it was the same person, it looked so different depending on how you looked at it.
“I was of humble origins, with a prostitute as my mother. “Do you know that God’s blessing is so easy?”
God’s blessing for a mere orphan from a back alley.
If God’s blessing had truly been upon a man named Vlad, he would have been born into noble bloodline, not in a dirty back alley.
“Frausen, the founding king of the empire, also experienced many hardships at the bottom as the child of a fallen noble family. But what about it? In the end, he was blessed by God.”
While the bishop of the church looked at the spot where Vlad was born, the priest of the church looked at where the boy would go next.
Even though he was born in a humble place, Andrea was a person who believed that boys had the potential to shine more than anyone else.
“······Next question.”
Not only weapons made of metal are sharp.
Although it was not a sword, here in the church in Shoara, there were people holding sharp weapons and stabbing and blocking each other.
“Knight Vlad grew up in the back alleys of Shoara and has committed numerous crimes ever since. “Is this true?”
Steal, take, and sometimes kill.
Vlad clearly lived a life of sin.
“It was like a tragedy that I had no choice but to do to survive. “His sins are like emergency aid for his own survival.”
However, the boy clearly carried the coffin and nailed it for the poor woman and child.
No one approached them for fear of the curse, but only the boy approached them out of pity.
It certainly wasn’t Vlad’s fault that he couldn’t live the way he was born.
“Knight Vlad defeated an evil being and killed a dragon in less than a year after picking up the sword! “Is this something that can be understood through common sense?”
In less than a year, he awakened the Aurors, killed the dragon, and defeated the Knight of the West.
The boy’s growth, which does not make sense according to common sense, would certainly raise doubts when viewed from the outside.
“······.”
Andrea remembered that day for a moment before answering Pierre’s question.
Even though he was just a mercenary, the boy ran through the pitch-black night to do his duty.
That day, Vlad’s world, running through the night sky, was dazzlingly white no matter who saw it.
“······I am not the only one who has seen Lord Vlad’s shining world. “Bishop.”
And Andrea was not the only one who saw Vlad’s world.
“Here are testimonies collected from each family.”
Andrea grabbed the papers that Josef had given her and held them high.
The emblems of noble people engraved on each piece of paper.
All of the names written there were people who clearly saw Vlad’s potential.
“Duncan of Hainal, Justia of San Logino, and even Volkov of Baranov! “All of these people are testifying that all of their achievements so far were the achievements of a boy!”
In the end, the only person who can protect themselves is themselves.
Andrea was pulling Vlad out from Pierre’s clutches, but the rope he sent was made of the facts the boy had been accumulating all along.
Vlad stood in hellish doubt, but in the end he saved himself.
“······Knights’ testimonies. Confirmed.”
Pierre’s face hardened as he looked at the testimonies of the knights delivered by Andrea.
Doubts about sincerity, lowliness of origin, dishonorable crimes, and even doubts about created possibilities.
Pierre had made a tight net to catch Vlad, but Priest Andrea’s defense was tearing the net he had made to pieces.
The dagger called truth that Andrea was holding was that sharp.
“······.”
Pierre looked at the interrogators surrounding Vlad.
The crystal balls went out with every question Pierre asked.
However, since Andrea arrived, not a single crystal ball has been extinguished, and now only one crystal ball remains in the circle.
‘In the end, should I take it out?’
If there was ever a time to bet, now is the time.
Pierre realized that he couldn’t put Vlad in a state where he couldn’t recover with just one question, so he decided to use a contingency plan.
Josef and Pierre were on opposite sides, but they still had one thing in common.
“Bring in what you have prepared!”
It means preparing for the worst.
According to Pierre’s instructions, the Holy Knights were bringing a large seal into the court.
An unidentifiable item brought directly by paladins, not priests or handymen.
The large wooden boxes surrounding the place clearly indicated that what was inside was something unusual.
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“I, Pierre, the judge of this trial, still have one question remaining.”
Pierre’s gray-white eyes were glaring at Andrea.
Things had become so troublesome because of that one priest who dared to go wild in front of the bishop.
“And rather than asking questions, I decided to clarify his suspicions through direct action.”
At Pierre’s signal, the interrogators began to unseal the large wooden box.
People holding their breath and interrogators tense.
“this······.”
When Andrea finally saw the revealed object, she couldn’t help but sigh.
“mirror?”
“Why the mirror all of a sudden?”
The object that came out of the large seal was a mirror.
And Andrea knew this mirror well.
“Instead of asking the last question, I will order that an exorcism be performed on Knight Vlad.”
Mirror of St. Marello.
Marello’s Mirror, an official holy relic designated by the Vatican, was a treasure known to reflect the entire truth of the person looking at it.
“Lord Vlad, if you are truly honorable, please accept my offer.”
And there is only one case when the Inquisitors use a holy relic.
It was a time to discover the existence of evil hidden within the human soul.
“This is ridiculous!”
There is a devil inside Vlad.
Pierre’s exorcism was an act that assumed that.
“You have proven his innocence with truthful answers so far, so why are you trying to perform an exorcism on Lord Vlad?”
And the current exorcism ritual will mark Vlad like a stigma and follow him around like a symbol of dishonor.
“Priest Andrew. “I have a duty to clarify even the slightest doubt.”
However, Pierre did not bring out the mirror of St. Marello simply to tarnish Vlad’s honor.
Vlad showed great hesitation when asked if he could hear voices.
Experienced Pierre did not miss the moment when the witness was shaken.
“but!”
“If his soul is pure, it is not enough to just sit down.”
Nothing was wrong, but it wasn’t right either.
It was clear that the current action itself was putting a huge burden on Vlad.
“······.”
Andrea had no choice but to look at the boy behind her with a helpless expression.
Pierre’s last resort was a struggle, and even Andrea, who tried his best to defend himself, could not stop it.
“Don’t worry. “It’s just an object that allows you to find something special that resides inside.”
Andrea believed that Vlad was a faithful person, so she thought that if she could get through this attempt, the trial could end safely.
“······.”
Andrea was one of the few people who saw through the boy’s true colors.
However, there was one side of Vlad that he had not noticed.
The boy was not the only one standing alone.
Even now, in his soul, there is a voice that has gone through trials and tribulations together.
Mirror of St. Marello.
Vlad’s eyes were trembling as he looked at the mirror.
“······.”
Pierre, who had been observing the situation quietly, was also looking at Vlad’s shaking eyes.
Maybe he’s really hiding something.
His inorganic eyes were shining little by little as he looked at Vlad.
※※※※
It was a moment of crisis when his identity might be revealed, but the sound he heard was calm.
Because from the moment this trial began, my voice was prepared.
[······Okay. Go forward.]
I remembered the voice.
The old blacksmith who gave the sword to the boy.
He hoped that his ugly sword would not catch Vlad’s ankle, and even though they had never spoken before, his voice felt a deep kinship with him.
‘but.’
[So far, I have told you everything I need to know.]
Vlad’s steps paused for a moment at the sudden voice’s answer.
However, the sharp eyes of the interrogators did not forgive Vlad’s hesitation.
[In order not to be reflected in that mirror, I have to dive into a deeper world.]
The voice had once before gone deeper into itself to avoid Andrea’s gaze.
However, what is in front of you is a holy relic that the Vatican is proud of.
In order to avoid the eyes of that great holy object, you will have to dive into a world that is incomparably deeper than before.
‘If so······.’
[The world of knights is as wide and deep as the sea. The world you have been unfolding so far has only been something you have dipped one foot into.]
Rutger flicked his sword, and Gregory stamped his foot.
Pablo, the knight who led Vlad’s world, clashed swords and shields.
All of those actions were like keys to lifting up one’s world from a deeper level.
[Now that the basics have been laid, it is time to move forward to a higher place.]
Vlad had just reached the world of knights, but there were still many stairs to climb.
However, from now on, being informed was no way to move forward.
The voice knew that now was the time for the boy to stand up for himself.
“Knight Vlad, open your eyes! And look in the mirror in front of you!”
“······.”
Vlad finally reached the mirror with heavy steps, but he could not easily look at it.
Because I knew what would happen if I opened my eyes now.
‘I’m still not good enough to reach that world.’
[But we will get there someday.]
‘It’s going to take a very long time. ‘I might not be able to do it for the rest of my life.’
I didn’t know it when I looked at it, but I knew it when I finally got there.
What kind of world you are dreaming of, and how high a wall you have to overcome to get to that world.
[I think it’s time to do it alone.]
However, the voice was determined and now was the moment to do it.
Just as the unadorned sword that has finished its work has been broken, it is time for the voice to leave its place as well.
[Until then, goodbye.]
The audience was noisy.
The sound of the interrogators praying gets louder and louder.
But even then, Vlad clearly heard.
A voice says goodbye.
“······all right.”
Standing in front of the mirror, Vlad lowered his head.
Because I could feel it because the worlds were touching each other.
That the world that had always protected him was sinking as if collapsing into the depths.
“What are you doing now?”
Pierre’s eyes began to shine as he looked at Vlad who was hesitating.
Maybe there really was something in the boy that she couldn’t help but look forward to.
“Open your eyes and look ahead! “Vlad!”
It was now so far down that he couldn’t feel it, but Vlad remembered.
What kind of world was the world that formed one’s roots?
The world of voices.
His world is full of storms and thunderstorms. And it was a world full of vivid white.
“······!”
I finally encountered the mirror of St. Marello.
In front of him, Vlad proudly opened his eyes and saw the remnants of the world that was in contact with him.
It was a white world that the voice left behind for the last time.
“That is…”
“The mirror… shines?”
The mirror that faced the boy was shining.
Pure white, as if it was about to explode.
“oh my god······.”
The faithful priest stands up and the inquisitors don’t know what to do.
And even Pierre is shocked by the unexpected results.
The boy’s world, which began with the relics of St. Marello, was pouring out of the courtroom as if it were about to explode.
“······You can’t see anything I did wrong.”
Lightning is created from clouds and starts from the sky.
White is a noble color and a color that only those without a single trace of shame can have.
The world of voices that formed the boy’s roots began in the sky.
“······But why are they messing around like this?”
The huge worlds always crushed the boy.
In the past, I would crumple without even being able to scream, but now I can scream out loud at least once.
“They said I didn’t do anything wrong!”
Kwakwang-! bang!
Along with the boy’s anger, lightning began to strike from the sky.
The white clouds that had suddenly gathered threw a bolt of lightning to the highest point of the false church.
Dang-dang-dang-
The boy did nothing wrong.
I just survived and did what I had to do.
And the final witness that proved his innocence was the voice that was always with Vlad.
In the city of Shoara, the bells announcing Vlad’s innocence began to ring loudly.
