### Chapter 496 – Room 207, The Gate Room – Second Trial ‘The Witch’ (4)
—
– Lee Eunsol
The moment I stepped outside to gather information, I was hit with a shocking sight.
Bruno, the one who accused me of being a witch, had been brutally murdered, and a talking cat—spinning a grin as if it was the protagonist of some bizarre circus—was advising me to flee.
Well, thanks to my experiences at the hotel, I managed to maintain my calm.
“Run already, will you?”
“… Who killed Bruno?”
“Meow!”
“Don’t suddenly make cat noises!”
“Meow~!”
“…”
Those red, murky eyes shone ominously, looking at me as if to say, “Why even ask such silly questions?”
Soon, claws long enough to seem capable of carving rocks began to grow.
“Was it you? Did you do it? Why?”
“Who cares?”
“What?”
“I just didn’t like him. Do I need a reason to kill someone I don’t like?”
“…”
There was a brutal edge to that childish tone. This monster right here killed Bruno and doesn’t even bother hiding it.
The witch’s familiar killed Bruno.
So who do people think is behind this?
Of course, me.
So the witch set me up. But why is her familiar warning me of outsiders while telling me to run?
“Sounds. I hear people coming. This is your last chance.”
“…”
First things first, I had to get out of here.
*
About an hour after returning home, the outside began to stir.
The sun had already set, and the night sky was pitch black, a time when the people of this era shouldn’t be so active without streetlights…
Torches flared up from all directions.
And more powerful than the flames was the emotional tide of hatred surrounding my home.
“What, what’s going on? What is happening?”
Valentina hurried out to assess the situation and then returned, slightly flustered.
If I had stepped out, the excited mob would’ve likely placed me right in front of the pyre, but Valentina was different.
“Lee Eunsol! B-Bruno is… Bruno is dead! He was even… dismembered while still alive!”
“….”
“Y-You must be the one…”
For a moment, she looked at me with a confused expression.
Does she really suspect that I killed that guy?
“…”
“…”
Just by looking at her eyes, I could sense her thoughts.
Unlike the excited crowd outside, Valentina knows me well. It’s just how it is.
After nearly ten years of knowing me, she understands.
Lee Eunsol is indeed the unlucky woman who caused her brother’s early death, but she’s not a witch who curses people to death.
“Do you think I killed Bruno?”
“… Don’t be ridiculous. A coward like you couldn’t even catch a chicken, let alone torture someone to death. That’s absurd. Just stay here. I’ll calm the people down.”
Soon, Valentina’s calm voice carried over from outside.
Of course, she didn’t have some remarkable skill to calm down a furious crowd.
After all, the witch trial would be held tomorrow.
The Inquisitor and Elena would surely pass judgment on the witch.
So if they were unhappy, they just needed to testify in court tomorrow.
“Hmm…”
It’s a pointless effort.
While I might avoid today’s danger for now, there’s hardly half a day left until the next witch trial.
— Clank!
The door to the next room opened, and a doll-like girl rushed toward me.
“Mom…! Mom…!”
“…”
“Why… why…?”
“Sophia, you should go back to sleep.”
“Why are people bothering mom? You haven’t hurt anyone!”
“Sophia, just explain everything to the Inquisitor tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“Of course! Didn’t Judge Thomas say during the first trial that I’m not a witch?”
“Phew…. Thank goodness…”
The relieved girl began to close her eyes and doze off on my lap.
“…”
There’s no doubt there’ll be an outpouring of accusations against me in the next trial.
Will the Inquisitor side with me again?
Not a chance.
“Hmm.”
Is it because my fate of being labeled a witch is sealed?
It oddly calms me.
After all, ordinary townsfolk of Ernhheim can’t truly push me into a crisis.
A witch?
Sure, even if I’m a real witch, what could they do about it?
They aren’t carrying guns and are armed only with sickles and pitchforks, right? Just a bunch of medieval folks who would freak out and flee at the sight of a few fainting folks.
So let’s take a step back and think.
From the perspective of the trial, there’s no need to get bogged down by the concept of “the falsely accused widow.”
The townsfolk trying to pin the label of a witch on me are merely illusions.
They truly lack the power to threaten me.
So, who is my real enemy?
Should I seek out the true witch and kill her?
…
But if the boss hasn’t shown up yet, what triggers the ‘boss’s appearance’?
“…”
I had an inkling.
I could sense how the scenario of the second trial was set up and what role “Thomas” played.
— Creak!
“What? Shouldn’t you be sleeping? Why are you in my room—”
“Valentina, I need a favor. Something I need to get across right now.”
“… At this hour?”
“Deliver a letter to Elena.”
“….”
“Don’t open it.”
“What do you think I am?”
Just as Valentina believes I’m not a witch, I wouldn’t assume she’d try to peek at the letter.
After all, as a loyal maid of a high noble, she would’ve received that much training.
Even if she did peek, she wouldn’t understand it.
Just before leaving, Valentina looked back at me.
“… Eunsol.”
“Yes?”
“You love Sophia, don’t you?”
“…”
“That was a dumb question. What mother wouldn’t love her child? I’m off.”
*
– Elena
The atmosphere of the second witch trial was entirely different from the previous one.
Back then, there were no casualties.
Livestock were sick, people had fallen ill, and a cat had spoken.
While bizarre phenomena, the first two were common occurrences that could happen without a witch, and the last one could just be attributed to a drunken person’s hallucination.
However, a person being horrifically murdered is an entirely different issue.
“That woman! That woman right there!”
“Honorable Judge Thomas! That witch has cursed the pious Bruno—”
“Ugh! Please, kill that witch!”
“I can’t live in fear every night!”
The crowd was extremely agitated, shouting for Lee Eunsol to be burned at the stake.
— Thud!
Thomas gently tapped the table with his wooden hammer.
“Everyone quiet! You’ve all said enough!”
He then turned to me and asked, “Miss Elena, what’s your opinion?”
“… When it comes to witch matters, wouldn’t it be best to let Judge Thomas take the lead?”
Did he interpret it as me saying he should take care of it? His eyes widened.
“Hmm? While that’s true, I didn’t expect you to say it.”
“…”
“I thought since you came from the Gray family, you would try to cover this up somehow.”
“…”
“Well then, I have three things to consider.”
Three things?
“Miss Elena, have you read the Malleus Maleficarum you borrowed the other day?”
“I have read it.”
“Do you understand how witches are characterized?”
“Generally, they have a troubled childhood. Thanks to that, many remain immature even after growing up and can be quite cruel.”
“You’ve understood that well. Then how does that young lady appear to you?”
“… Considering the situation, she seems quite calm, even though she could be set on fire.”
“That’s a temperament very different from typical witches. That’s my first thought.”
Typically, witches possess an immature yet cruel nature.
Growing up surrounded by hatred and having never received proper education, yet being powerful.
But Eunsol didn’t give off that vibe at all.
“Conversely, I have another thought. She seems too calm to be a typical person.”
“…”
“As Miss Elena said, right now she’s in a situation where she could be burned at the stake. In situations like this, even innocent individuals usually scream or cry in fear.”
“…”
“It could be that her calmness comes from confidence. If it’s my magical power, I could easily navigate through this ordeal. Even if Miss Elena were to judge her, she believes she could escape.”
Being quite composed and mature considered against the backdrop of witch behavior is my first thought.
The second thought is too little concern about the danger at hand.
“What’s the third?”
“I don’t like how this situation is unfolding. At this rate, it looks like we’ll just end with that one lady being burned.”
“What?”
You don’t like that it seems to end with just Eunsol being burned? What kind of nonsense is that?
“If everyone is accusing each other, we could ‘purify’ anyone suspicious. But since everyone is only accusing Eunsol, it’s disappointing that we only have one to burn.”
My blood pressure spiked in that moment.
Is it wrong to just shut down Thomas, who seems only to be thinking of burning people since Day One, and shout that this is the will of God?
I’m supposedly a sacred being blessed by the grace of God.
Even the Inquisitor Thomas couldn’t deny my authority in front of him; shouldn’t I use that?
…
I held it in.
I held it in, and held it in again.
I felt that simply ending this trial so easily didn’t sit right with me.
On further thought, the whole situation was quite peculiar.
“Who exactly is Thomas?”
A cruel fanatic.
Like the agents of the Administration Bureau, he has his own logic, but he’s fundamentally a violently extreme person.
Above all, someone trying to kill Eunsol.
He’s a typical villain I’ve seen many times in the curse room, but there’s a crucial twist involved.
“I can kill him anytime I decide…”
“Hmm? Miss Elena, what are you saying?”
“Nothing.”
If I chose, I could kill Thomas anytime.
The justification he speaks of is merely a form of delusional madness in my eyes, and the moment he tries to burn my sister, I’ll write my own justice.
That’s what perplexed me.
…
The letter my sister sent last night only added to my confusion.
“The Inquisitor seems like a trap. I have something to confirm, so don’t interfere in the trial.”
“…”
I understood the first sentence.
The thought that Thomas seems to be some sort of trap has also crossed my mind since the first day.
But what does she mean by “don’t interfere in the trial”?
Even if I actively engage, wouldn’t there be plenty of ways to save Eunsol?
For instance, I could have her in front of me declare, “I’m not a witch,” using my lie detection ability. I would then declare that testimony as the ‘truth’!
A single yet powerful declaration.
Based on my setup, my power derives from the grace of God, so the Inquisitor wouldn’t be able to argue that my abilities misfired.
What if I also add that I’d keep Eunsol safe in my mansion to watch over her?
That should calm a good portion of the townspeople’s fears and hostility.
…
Eunsol said she wanted to confirm something, so she told me not to lend a helping hand.
What could she want to confirm?
— Thud!
“I have listened to all the accusations from the witnesses! Now, I shall announce the verdict of the second witch trial!”
“…”
The Inquisitor cast a final glance my way.
He seemed to signal that if I had any objections, I could voice them now.
I just nodded, signaling him to proceed with his plan, making Thomas smirk slightly.
Perhaps, in his mind, he thought, “Ah, this blessed daughter really knows her stuff!”
— Thud!
“Verdict! The sinner Lee Eunsol is a witch. The witch’s crimes are as follows: casting malicious spells that caused 32 sheep, 6 donkeys, 9 horses, and 14 cows to fall ill. Cursing a pious young man to become sick, covering the nights with foul fog, and instilling fear with a talking cat!”
As I listened, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
So they’re blaming every single sick or dying animal in Ernhheim on my sister?
“Lastly, for the crime of heinously cursing the sausage maker Bruno! The sentence is burning at the stake. Bind her!”
Before long, the Inquisitor’s assistants brought thick ropes to start tying Eunsol.
“…”
I was starting to feel out of breath.
Sister, what are you thinking?
You’re not seriously contemplating being burned at the stake, are you?
Before I watch something like that happen, wouldn’t it be better just to kill the Inquisitor first—
— Meow~!
“Huh?”
A cat’s meow?
Did a cat just wander into the court—
— Thud!
A wet liquid splashed against my cheek.
When I turned to see, feeling the familiar texture of the sticky red liquid I had seen countless times at the hotel, I caught sight of the Inquisitor collapsing.
From every orifice—eyes, nose, mouth, ears—he was bleeding out as he fell.
Thomas’s end was so absurdly anticlimactic.
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