Irene still didn’t fully trust Carlos.

No matter who looked at it, her life was in a dangerous situation, making it even more difficult to trust him.

Sure. It was indeed hard to trust, but why did his words soothe her anxiety?

“I don’t know.”

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t find an answer. The more she thought about it, the more her head ached.

It was because of that, and because Trope, who was praying and mumbling by the lake, came towards her, that Irene had no choice but to stop thinking.

Carlos hid Irene behind his back and stepped forward.

“Is it over?”

“Yes. All preparations are complete. Now we just have to take the witch.”

Carlos’s eyebrows raised.

“The fact that she’s a witch hasn’t been confirmed yet, has it?”

At the sight of his obviously displeased look, Trope hastily bowed his head in apology.

“I apologize. I misspoke.”

Despite his polite tone, Trope’s face was full of dissatisfaction.

It was certain that the woman was a witch, and Carlos, who denied it and insulted him, was displeasing.

The moment it was confirmed that the woman was a witch, he would ridicule him to his heart’s content.

Trope hid his sulky feelings and spoke in a gentle voice.

“We must finish the witch trial while the lake is imbued with sacred power, Your Grace.”

“Indeed.”

So they are going to have a witch trial. Irene clenched her lips.

Thanks to Carlos confidently telling her that nothing would happen, she was not anxious, but that did not mean she was not tense. The fact that he didn’t tell her anything about what he was going to do was also one reason for her tension.

“Shall we go?”

So when Irene asked sneakily as Carlos naturally embraced her waist,

“Are you really sure it’s okay?”

Carlos gently brushed the hair stuck to Irene’s face and asked back.

“Don’t you trust me?”

As Irene shook her head, Carlos smiled contentedly.

At the sight of such affectionate lovers, Trope seemed astonished and asked,

“He seems to be quite fond of you.”

A glance at Irene was not very gracious. Carlos pulled her closer into his embrace, skillfully shielding her from Trope’s gaze.

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she? Don’t you think so too?”

“Yes, well… She’s a rare beauty.”

Trope couldn’t deny this part.

“But do you know this, Your Grace? Witches are also very beautiful. They use their appearance to seduce humans.”

“Oh, that’s interesting. If I catch a witch later, make sure to show her to me.”

Trope was annoyed at Carlos’s answer, which completely ruled out the possibility that Irene was a witch.

“Do you know that Sir Silas and his family burned to death?”

“Yes.”

“In Silas’s territory, that witch….”

The moment Trope inadvertently used the word “witch,” a cold, threatening gaze struck him.

“…Her family also died because of the fire.”

Trope quickly changed his address.

“The fire spread, burning half of Silas’s territory. According to the townspeople, the flames were extraordinary, as if created by magic, very….”

“Stop the unnecessary talk.”

Carlos cut off Trope’s words as if he no longer wanted to listen, then threw a question.

“So, what are you going to do now?”

“This is a kind of witch trial….”

Trope explained earnestly, but Carlos let it go in one ear and out the other.

“…”

But Irene couldn’t. Trope’s words became sharp thorns, ruthlessly stabbing her skin.

The desire to flee immediately surged, but thanks to Carlos being by her side, she was able to stand her ground.

After finishing his lengthy explanation, Trope gestured, and the waiting priests approached.

“Since there’s not much time left….”

“Can you trust this trial method?”

Carlos again cut off Trope’s words to ask.
Trope suppressed his rising irritation from the repeated actions and answered,

“Of course. We have identified many witches in this way.”

“And many people have been innocently killed.”

“That’s….”

At a loss for words, Trope hesitated for a moment, then answered,

“We regret that part very much. That’s why we are running the witch trials with a sense of responsibility.”

Carlos sneered.

“Killing people and just resigning as a priest is taking responsibility? Even a passing dog wouldn’t laugh at such nonsense.”

The priests were outraged by the taunting words, but as their opponent was the notorious Duke Esper, they couldn’t say anything and swallowed their anger.

“I still don’t know if I can trust this trial.”

In other words, he wanted them to show something he could trust.

Trope felt Carlos’s suggestion was a trap, and didn’t know what to do, so he kept his mouth shut.

The reason he was tapping his foot impatiently inside was that there really wasn’t much time left.

“……What can we do to make you believe us?”

In the end, Trope had to ask, knowing it was a trap.

“I don’t know.”

Carlos drew out his words, pretending to ponder for a moment, then answered,

“I would like to see a demonstration.”

“A demonstration…?”

“Yes.”

Carlos’s lips relaxed slightly.

“I would like one of you to come forward and show that there is no problem with this trial method.”