A Transmigrator’s Privilege-Chapter 198
"However, I have never heard of such a thing."
But I had no chance to speak.
"Please listen."
As soon as the music stopped, a procession of priests dressed in immaculate attire entered the banquet hall.
They walked as if performing a sacred ritual, crossing the hall and heading toward us.
I had a strong feeling that a farce was about to unfold.
A middle-aged priest, who seemed to be the representative, spoke with respect.
"I am Priest Ivanots Senak. The kingdom has graciously provided a position of goodwill toward the Holy Kingdom's Sacred Scripture, and in turn, we have prepared a gift to foster harmony with the Holy Office."
"Gift?"
Queen Ravinosa asked as soon as she heard the word. Immediately, the lead priest received a large jewelry box that other priests had brought with them.
A strong sense of curiosity arose within me.
What could it be? Was there some sort of trap inside?
The representative priest opened the box and lifted its contents high.
"Huh?"
"Eek?"
The nobles, who were close enough to see the gift, gasped.
It was no wonder. What the representative priest had brought as a gift was...
<Is that... a skull? Ayleth, is that really a skull?>
It was a child's skull.
"......"
Naturally, Queen Ravinosa's face, as she looked down at it, was drained of color.
The atmosphere in the hall turned cold, and the priest's voice echoed through the silence.
Very kindly and melodiously.
As if giving a sermon.
"This is the skull of the boy whose soul was consecrated. We have prepared this in hopes that Her Majesty the Queen will atone daily, considering this to be Prince Reminic's skull."
"...What is this supposed to mean?"
"I am aware that Her Majesty the Queen feels much regret for past events. However, hatred only poisons the soul. Would it not be better to embrace the mistakes of some fanatics with a maternal love befitting a queen and cleanse your heart with forgiveness?"
"......"
Silent shock overwhelmed the room. But it was not over yet.
"As a servant of the divine, I humbly say this. Prince Reminic's early passing was surely the will of the gods."
"My son... died because it was the will of the gods?"
"Yes. To spare him from suffering in this life due to the karma and original sin from his past life, the gods took his life early. Had he lived, his life would have been filled with nothing but pain, a miserable existence..."
By now, it was difficult to keep my wits about me.
<This is insane!> [‘The Bitter Tongue of Balance’ can't stay silent in the face of such blasphemy.]
[‘The Eyes Watching the Chaos of the Universe’ says it’s a permanent halt.]
[‘The Architect of the Tower of Trials’ feels his senses slipping away.] The pious-sounding sermon was nothing more than an excuse to butcher people's hearts, under the guise of doctrine.
It was clear that Queen Ravinosa, who had faced such hypocritical malice head-on, could not remain unaffected. Her breath grew heavy.
I immediately identified the mastermind behind this farce.
A man in the banquet hall was hiding his smiling mouth behind a wine glass.
‘Prince Hadeil.’
It was obvious that he was trying to provoke Queen Ravinosa by touching her sore spot, intending to reignite hostility between the Holy Kingdom and the kingdom.
He had likely bribed someone of high rank in the church and set up this group of ignorant priests to manipulate the situation.
After all, these priests were real, and it would be hard for the church to deny their involvement in this affair.
Bang!
Ligares, unable to control his anger, flipped over the table.
"Hah! How dare you spout such nonsense in safety!"
"Third Prince, calm down."
Queen Ravinosa quietly warned her son.
She returned to her calm appearance, having regained her composure.
"Did you say you were Priest Ivanots?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"I understand the Holy Office’s intentions. It seems I have been rather lenient recently."
"Pardon?"
It was then that Queen Ravinosa issued a chilling order.
"Bring this Ivanots priest here. I will send his tongue as a gift to the Holy Office."
"Your Majesty?!"
"And hang all the priests in that procession on stakes. Let them atone for their original sin until they die."
"He, heek...!"
The priests, realizing their fate, were struck with terror.
Gone was the attitude of imposing a great mission under the authority of the Holy Office. They were now pale, crying and begging for their lives.
The nobles, wary of Queen Ravinosa’s gaze, cautiously withdrew.
They remembered how she had purged her political enemies before.
As expected, the Queen’s revenge was far from over.
"Come to think of it, there are still some people here whom I must show proper etiquette to."
She muttered to herself as if speaking to me.
"Bring the knights of the Sacred Scripture before me!"
"...!"
The sword of vengeance was now aimed at my companions.
Iphail, Hestio, and Ash were suddenly caught in a whirlwind of trouble.
"What—No, what is going on here?!"
"I've never heard anything about this!"
"This is strange. We must investigate... Ugh!"
The royal knights grabbed the three men and dragged them roughly.
"......"
Tesilid was the same. He was forcefully made to kneel at the front.
I had to take in everything happening in an instant. From my seat, right next to Queen Ravinosa.
"Sacred Scripture."
Her voice, heavy with silence, reached my ears.
When I lazily rolled my eyes toward her, she spoke in a tone that might have seemed the gentlest of all her speeches.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
"Well, what will you do, Sacred Scripture?"
"......"
"You must prove the innocence of the Holy Kingdom. If you do not, things will become difficult."
...Ah, now it became clear.
What this cold woman’s true intentions were.
‘She knew about Hadeil’s scheme and played along. Using the situation to pressure me.’
Everything was part of Queen Ravinosa's plot.
Now it was her turn to threaten me.
"It won't be easy, but there is no need to worry. Purity is a virtue required of enemies, not allies."
"Allies, you say?"
"Yes. If Sacred Scripture becomes my ally, this matter can be resolved easily."
"......"
"So, you must answer me here and now. If you do not, I will have the owner of the Holy Sword beaten to death right in front of your eyes."
"......"
I couldn't help but take a sharp breath.
Queen Ravinosa’s tongue grew sharper.
"You may heal him with your divine power if you wish. As soon as the flesh heals on his bloodied back, I will have him beaten again. Heal and beat, heal and beat, we will repeat the process. You and I, together."
"......"
"Then healing will no longer be healing. How long will the owner of the Holy Sword endure the endless torture? I look forward to the moment when he begs you to let him die."
"Enough of that, mother."
I interrupted, unable to listen anymore.
Queen Ravinosa did not rebuke my rudeness. Instead, she looked pleased.
"Mother, you say...?"
At that moment, I felt a strong gaze coming from the front.
Tesilid, kneeling at the foot of the podium, was looking up at me with eyes that seemed as if they might shatter at any moment. [‘The Gourmet of Clichés’ shivers at Queen Ravinosa’s misunderstood affection.]
[‘The Scales Judging Souls’ enjoys the protagonist’s forlorn, abandoned /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ gaze.]
Regrettably, I could not enjoy it. Not at all.
I decided to end this quickly.
"I was supposed to pray a blessing first, but due to the disruption, the atmosphere has become awkward."
"Sacred Scripture?"
Queen Ravinosa looked puzzled at my calm tone. I didn’t look at her, instead glancing around the banquet hall.
"Now, everyone. I will offer a prayer for the safety of the royal family. Please focus."
I didn’t clasp my hands or close my eyes. I stood up confidently and shouted.
"As the representative of the divine, I propose a paternity test for the Winchester royal family!"
"What?"
My bold statement caused the hall to stir.
"Paternity test? What do you mean?"
Confused glances and questions came from all directions. I felt I should explain myself a bit more clearly.
"As I said, I request a paternity test for Queen Ravinosa here and for Sir Tesilid Arzent over there."
[‘The Gourmet of Clichés’ goes wild over the secret of birth!]
"What is this scheme?"
From a distance, Ligares growled at me as if he wanted to kill me.
Even without him, suspicious glances were everywhere.
Queen Ravinosa was no exception.
"I have two sons, Sacred Scripture."
"I know."
"Are you telling lies that will be easily exposed to escape the current situation? Unfortunately, the royal family has artifacts that can easily solve such problems."
"Unfortunately, I know all about those useful artifacts, Your Majesty."
I smiled faintly, and Queen Ravinosa let out a deep breath. After a while, she spoke.
"...You will be held accountable for the results."
Her threat felt like ice piercing my ears, but it didn’t faze me.
"Ah, what is this...?"
"Don’t worry, Terry. Trust me."
I gave Tesilid, who was still trying to hide his confusion, an encouraging smile.
In the meantime, the servants brought the artifact Queen Ravinosa had mentioned.
A large, spherical artifact was carefully placed on a velvet mat.
This artifact had been the royal family’s sentinel for the past hundred years, preventing cuckoos from hatching in their nest.
"Are you going to do this in front of everyone?"
"If it's proven false, how embarrassing..."
"But looking at Sacred Scripture’s confident attitude..."
"Shh, shh!"
When the nobles silenced themselves, the hall grew quiet.
The paternity test was presided over by the chief steward. He conducted the ceremony with even more reverence than the archbishop leading the mass.
"When the blood touches it, the artifact’s color will turn red depending on the closeness of the blood relation. Now, Queen Ravinosa, Sir Tesilid, please allow me to proceed."
With a sharp dagger, the steward cut the tips of Queen Ravinosa and Tesilid’s index fingers.
As drops of blood began to ooze out, they simultaneously fell onto the artifact.
"......!"
"......!"
The moonstone-like sphere turned bright red with blood.
There was no doubt—it was clear proof of direct blood relation.
