Not only Polo, but the priests who felt insulted by Kalos’ gaze and tone, which clearly pointed out that they were all wicked, turned red as ripe tomatoes.

Trope stepped forward to represent the priests.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding…”

“I saw it clearly with my own eyes, and you call it a misunderstanding?”

When Kalos coldly asked back, Trope closed his mouth. His head bowed respectfully on its own.

He quickly racked his brain to figure out how to overcome this difficulty, but no matter how much he thought, there was only one answer.

“I apologize, Your Grace.”

It was to prostrate himself and beg for forgiveness.

“We never dreamed there could be a wicked demon among us.”

“I-I’m not a demon!”

Polo, who had barely escaped from the brink of death and was half-dazed, focusing on breathing in fresh air, belatedly came to his senses at the word ‘demon’ and shouted.

At the same time, his fellow priests looked at Polo with contemptuous eyes.

Polo’s face hardened at the cold response from his fellow priests. His hands and feet trembled as he was overcome with fear that he might be branded a demon and killed if things continued like this.

“I-I am not a demon.”

The only person Polo could rely on now, abandoned by his fellow priests, was Kalos. Polo prostrated himself before Kalos, rubbing his hands like a fly.

“How could I, who have lived my whole life for God, possibly be a demon? Please, please believe in my innocence.”

Kalos smiled coldly.

“How can I believe you’re innocent when this is the result of a trial the priests trust so much?”

“T-That’s…”

Polo hesitated for a moment, at a loss for words, then cried out desperately.

“T-This trial was wrong! Something, something must have gone wrong, Your Grace!”

Despite the desperate cry, Kalos turned to Trope with an indifferent expression.

“That’s what he says, what do you think?”

“…”

Trope didn’t answer immediately and clenched his hands tightly together.

If the trial itself was wrong, it meant the result was wrong too, making Polo innocent.

But if that were the case, the other priests who prepared the witch trial, including bestowing holy power to the lake, could not avoid being held accountable for preparing a flawed trial.

Especially Trope, as the person in charge of this trial, would receive the harshest punishment.

That was part of why he hesitated, but the biggest reason was that he knew well this trial had not been wrong.

Even if it had been wrong, it was impossible for a person with hands and feet bound to fall into water and come back alive and well.

So Polo must surely be a demon.

“No.”

Trope, putting a period to his chain of thoughts, said firmly.

“The trial was not wrong. What’s wrong is that man.”

“Brother!”

When Polo called out urgently, Trope frowned deeply.

“How unpleasant for a demon to use such a title. It’s very displeasing.”

“I am not a demon!”

“Then explain how you were able to undo the handcuffs and stones on your hands and feet.”

“That’s…”

Polo also had no knowledge about that part, so he closed his mouth.

He too had resigned himself, thinking he would surely die, but at some point his hands and feet became free, and as soon as he realized this fact, his survival instinct kicked in and he rose to the surface.

When Polo couldn’t say anything, Trope snorted as if to say ‘See?’. The priests also pointed fingers at Polo.

Trope bowed deeply to Kalos again with a gloomy expression.

“As soon as we return to the temple, we will severely punish the demon. I’m truly sorry for showing you such an unsightly scene, Your Grace.”

Kalos replied in a bored voice.

“If you understand that, remove that fellow from my sight right now.”

It meant to leave Esper territory immediately.

They had come to expose Irene as a witch and execute her, but not only did they fail to achieve that goal, the temple’s reputation was damaged instead, putting the priests in a very awkward position.

First, we need to prevent this incident from becoming known to the world.

Fortunately, there was only Kalos, his guard knights, and Irene here, so if Kalos kept silent, it could be easily buried.

The problem was that the other party was the infamous Duke of Esper. He also had quite a bad relationship with the temple.

At times like this, making a deal would be more effective than making a request.

There was only one chance, he had to offer a deal condition that Kalos would have no choice but to accept.

What could that be? As Trope pondered, his gaze naturally turned to Irene standing next to Kalos.

Kalos frowned and blocked Irene from view.

…This might work.

Having come up with a good idea, Trope took a deep breath and spoke to Kalos in as calm a tone as possible.

“Even if we withdraw like this, the suspicions of witchcraft against Your Grace’s lover won’t disappear. So I’m saying this – if you bury this incident, we’ll write a witch trial confirmation certificate.”

A witch trial certificate. It was a certificate written by the priest who presided over a witch trial for those found innocent, which could completely clear suspicions of witchcraft.

The problem was that ninety-nine out of a hundred people die during witch trials and can’t receive this.

Anyway, it was ridiculous to offer a certificate without even conducting a trial.

“Is it okay to write something like that without even checking?”

At the sarcastic words, Trope flinched and pressed his lips together, then clasped his hands politely and answered.

“We would be grateful if you could think of it as compensation for the great discourtesy we committed against Your Grace.”

He still won’t acknowledge that Irene isn’t a witch.

Kalos didn’t like Trope’s attitude, but he didn’t say anything.

Because getting their acknowledgment wasn’t important.

What was important was receiving the certificate. That’s what Kalos had been aiming for from the start.

At this rate, things should proceed smoothly even after Jerdin arrives in Esper territory.

‘Everything’s going well.’

While one should be glad when things go according to plan, what was unsettling was that if ‘that person’ was involved in this incident, it shouldn’t be resolved so easily.

Is this really just an independent action by the temple with no connection to that person?

“Then let’s go back to the castle and write up the certificate.”

Kalos turned around, carrying the unresolved question in his heart.

*

Back at the castle, Kalos called only Trope to his office. His opinion was that there was no reason to bring in others when Trope was the one signing the certificate anyway.

Since they also had to watch over Polo, who had been judged a demon, Trope entered Kalos’ office alone.

In the office was not only Kalos but also Irene.

It was natural for her to be there as the subject of suspicion, but Trope didn’t like it and pressed his lips into a straight line.

At the same time, he wondered if it was really okay to write the certificate.

Issuing a witch trial confirmation certificate would make it impossible to conduct a witch trial on Irene later even if new suspicions arose, so it troubled him even more, but he soon concluded there was no choice.

It was far better than rumors spreading that a demon had emerged among the priests.

Kalos handed Trope high-quality parchment, a quill pen, and ink.

“Write it.”

Trope didn’t pick up the quill right away, but said to Kalos.

“Please write a note promising to keep your word first.”

It would be troublesome if Kalos changed his mind after issuing the certificate, so a note was absolutely necessary.

Trope had firmly resolved to push through with this even if Kalos was displeased, but unexpectedly, Kalos agreed without protest.

He wrote the note first, then wrote on the parchment according to the format of a witch trial confirmation certificate.

Finally, he poured special wax imbued with holy power and stamped his seal on it.

“Here it is.”

After confirming there were no issues with the certificate, Kalos showed it to Irene.

“If we announce this to the world, no one will be able to point fingers at you as a witch.”

Irene’s eyes grew slightly moist as she checked the certificate. Kalos gently wiped away the tears forming in the corners of her eyes and asked.

“Why are you crying when you’ve finally been cleared of false accusations?”

“…Because I’m happy.”

Irene hurriedly moved the precious certificate aside lest tears fall on it as she answered.

“I’m crying… because I’m so happy to be cleared of false charges.”

“Tears can come from happiness too. How interesting.”

At his teasing tone, Irene’s earlobes turned slightly red, and Kalos smiled softly as if finding it lovable.

Trope, who had suddenly become a third wheel, curled his lips in displeasure but looked at Kalos and Irene with unexpected eyes.

The Kalos of rumors was a cold-blooded demon who enjoyed eating human flesh and had neither blood nor tears.

But seeing him show such affection was strange. They say even the most violent tyrant becomes a gentle lamb before the woman he loves, but this felt too disconnected.

Could that woman really be a witch after all?

Perhaps she had bewitched Kalos, turning him into a gentle lamb.

“Why are you looking at us like that?”

As the frosty voice struck his eardrums, Trope came to his senses and shook his head vigorously.

“I-It’s nothing.”

Kalos looked at Trope with displeased eyes, then changed to a gentle gaze as he said to Irene.

“You must be tired, so go rest in your room for today. I’ll come to your room later.”

As soon as Irene left the office, Trope said in an earnest tone.

“Please make sure to keep your promise to bury this incident.”

Kalos’ eyebrows slanted.

“You wrote a note, yet you still don’t trust me?”

“Oh my, of course not! I was just checking to make sure.”

A servile expression came naturally. Trope hurriedly stood up and bowed deeply.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

Just as Trope turned around, the door opened and a man with deep golden hair like melted sun entered the office.

“It’s been a while, Master.”

That man was none other than Jerdin, the crown prince of the Luman Empire.

The temple’s relationship with the imperial family wasn’t as bad as with the Esper family, but it wasn’t good either.

It was an ambiguous relationship where they bickered trying to take each other’s power, but couldn’t completely destroy the other because they needed each other at times.

But now that the crown prince had appeared, Trope’s face turned pale blue.

“Who is this priest?”

When Jerdin looked at him, he bowed his head deeply, trembling. He had completely forgotten he should introduce himself.

‘It’ll be alright.’

Though startled by the crown prince’s sudden appearance, there was no need to worry. Jerdin wouldn’t know anything. Having just arrived, there was no way he could know.

“Ah, I heard a wicked being emerged among the priests, so you must have come because of that.”

Though he had hoped it would be alright, that hope was shattered not long after.