A Tale of One Deviant (Book One)

Chapter 157: The Trial of Earl de Libellule

     Who was the one that "tipped off" the Church? Who was the one, in their household, that had unleashed trauma and fear upon them all, just because they thought the earl was acting funny? Of course he was acting strange. His daughter left him. His wife left him. His children would not come back. Of course he was acting strange, but that didn't mean he was doing black magic. That didn't mean that the household had to fall as prey to the Church, again, only to end up with their reputation smudged and their nobles avoided by others in society.

     My hand dropped from the servant's shoulder. His boiling, stirring feelings of frustration were ones I was very familiar with after looking at so many other memories.

     Kiki...you're truly, truly frightening.

     It wasn't false. Most of it, anyway. The part about the earl doing black magic was true, but they didn't know that. The part about the Church having it out for them after a cardinal became a vegetable after visiting our household, after Knight took the glory of the Church by executing her own justice and making them look like sitting ducks, was true. It wasn't something I'd thought of before, so Kiki was terrifying for having been able to piece that together so immaculately and imbed it in their hearts.

     And the other part that was true...

     There was someone that tipped off the Church to the fact that the earl was doing black magic. I didn't know who it was, since no one was suspicious enough to have a finger pointed at them in any of the minds of the servants.

     That was what had caused such strong feelings of distrust amidst them all. Knowing for sure that someone did it, but seeing that no one is suspicious enough for us to know who did it, made them wary of everyone else. They likely would not rest until "that person" was found.

     I was kind of curious myself. Someone in the household of the de Libellules, a traitor? Someone with ties to the Church, after all the Church had put them through? Because it wasn't just in Koraco that the Church was making them jump through hoops. It was also at noble gatherings, the few that the earl went to, where he still had to face the shame of having the "Scarred Noble" for a daughter. It was also out to the war front, where priests were the overlords of soldiers, determining who lived and who died with their power to use holy magic to heal and purify and save.

     I remembered the first time I met Adoray and he didn't believe that I could heal anyone after that storm. He'd said that healing magic was something only capable of being used by priests from the Church, and that until those priests arrived, they could only use potions and other minor magics to alleviate pain, distress, etc. It was something I'd forgotten somewhere along the way, since I was always relying on my own healing Skills and racial traits to fix it for me, or casting it for other people.

     But in that world, the Church which gathered all those that could use holy magic and kept a tight leash on them, was the one that reigned supreme.

     That needs to change.

     Though, that didn't mean I had any means to change it, or any plans. Knight was taking down the Church bit by bit, but it was without upsetting social settings too much, so it was taking far longer than necessary. I could've just wiped them out in a night if they didn't unleash a bunch of apostles on me, but then Knight would get a horrible reputation, and then the king who contracted with her would suffer for it...and I couldn't do that to him. And I couldn't just end our contract and then go do it, because that was too obvious.

     Dang. Makes me wish I'd hit the Church with that blast with Tasega's help instead of firing all of that mana at nothing.

     Sure, it got rid of all of those vengeful souls trying to corrode me, and those apostles, but-