I Ended Up Saving the Duke Who Was Meant to Die - Chapter 8.3
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Michaelo possessed weak holy power. It was so faint that it could be considered almost nonexistent. The reason he could become the High Priest was because he had maintained his position by exploiting the holy power of others.
He reached out to children who had nowhere to go or needed help, showed them kindness, and used their hearts to brainwash them. Naturally, the priests who grew up being taught that they should sacrifice themselves for him did not refuse his orders. Even if what he commanded was conventionally wrong, they couldn’t even think of defying Michaelo’s orders.
He went further by creating situations that made the priests feel they needed to repay his kindness and fostering a group mentality. Everyone at the temple was a member of the organization, but not many carried out his orders.
He created a community isolated from the outside world within the temple and instilled a sense of mission that they were performing secret tasks for him. He especially emphasized the protection of Irene, claiming she was indispensable to the temple.
The priests had come to accept the special treatment Irene received as natural because they were told that the moment she was taken away, the temple, their sanctuary, would disappear.
Michaelo’s existence and commands were that absolute within the temple.
He gained support from the Empire’s people through his image of caring for children. Some nobles who liked to show off to others gave generous donations to the temple. As a result, the temple accumulated more wealth, and the number of children increased.
Among them, those whose personal information could not be verified mostly lived underground, and they became Michaelo’s sacrifices. Every day, in a secret room, he would call those from underground and have them dress similarly to Rilke. It wasn’t like this from the beginning. Before discovering Irene, he treated children as elements to fill his power. However, the moment he encountered Irene, who appeared before him, Michaelo felt ecstasy. He envied her for having the power he wanted. At the same time, he wanted to make her his own. If he had that power, he would have lived a different life by now.
That longing created the delusion that by absorbing the power of those who looked like Irene, he might someday become similar to her. Michaelo wanted both her body and heart. At the same time, he wanted to become like her and be her equal. If he became similar to her, wouldn’t he be able to have the same heart? He thought they might understand and love each other.
T/n: Did he do what I think he did? Ugh, I want to puke…..(๑˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥)
Because he thought Irene wouldn’t leave his side like others, he didn’t act hastily. If he had known it would come to this, he should have done as he pleased with her. Or he should have killed her. If he had known she would stab him in the back while being by someone else’s side, he would have twisted Irene’s neck first and taken her power.
“The High Priest would never do that! Yes, this must be the witch’s trick to bring him down.”
People were divided in half.
“That devil of a man!”
“It’s sickening. With his beautiful appearance, he bewitched people and dragged everyone to hell!”
Those who cursed him and those who still believed in him blamed and slandered each other.
Michaelo sneered. It was they who had been deceived by that face and were willing to give everything, including their liver and gallbladder.
He raised his head to look at those who were reproaching him. When their eyes met, they flinched and hurriedly turned away.
‘Cowards who can’t even look me in the eye properly.’
They were clearly afraid of the power he still possessed. Michaelo quietly observed the situation in the courtroom.
Bang bang!
“Everyone, be quiet! If you cause a disturbance, you will be removed.”
The judge pounded his gavel. The voices of the crowd subsided at his threat. Only then did the judge clear his throat and speak to Rilke, who had come forward as a witness.
“Witness Irene von Blake, um, correction. Does Rilke von Blake swear to testify without a single lie?”
“…Yes, I swear.”
Rilke answered calmly. She didn’t even give Michaelo a glance. Feeling somewhat disappointed by this, he fixed his gaze on her.
“Tell us what you witnessed.”
“He seemed to want my power.”
“What is the reason you think so?”
“In the underground altar of the temple, priests who were brought to have their holy power taken away were sleeping with red wigs, identical to me.”
“Judge, do you believe this witch’s words? I don’t know how long we have to listen to the insane words of this ominous woman with red hair.”
Emperor Keberos raised his voice, hitting the desk. The Emperor was also put on trial for allegedly colluding with the High Priest. The Princess and Crown Prince sitting in the defendant’s seat added to his words, as if agreeing with him.
“Father is right. How can you believe that woman’s words…! We said we didn’t know what the High Priest was doing.”
The Princess objected with veins bulging in her neck. Watching this, Severus took out a dagger and cut his palm.
“I think there’s nothing more certain than confirming it before your eyes.”
Rilke urgently grabbed Severus’s bleeding hand. Then she naturally infused her power into it. Perhaps because the cut wasn’t deep, the bleeding quickly stopped, and soon the wound disappeared. Only then did people open their eyes wide at the miracle that had occurred before them and close their mouths. Someone with healing power was no different from a saint. Everyone had spread nonsensical words about her being ominous or a witch, and now they had anxious looks in their eyes, perhaps finally realizing their mistake.
“How do we know she’s not using some trick? Just as the High Priest has done, since she was under him, how can we be sure this woman isn’t using power to deceive people?”
“If that’s what you want to believe, there’s nothing I can do. No matter what I show or what truth I tell, you’ll deny it to hide your own mistakes.”
Rilke spoke with a cynical attitude. The face of the person who had been angry turned red at her indifferent appearance, showing she hadn’t expected anything from the beginning.
“Even if we were wrong, shouldn’t the High Priest embrace all of that! Is it right to rebuke people and expose their sins?!”
Michaelo smiled, seeing that his thoughts were not wrong. Humans don’t change easily. Most react like that man when their ugly sides are exposed. That was the world he believed in. The human nature he had seen so far was not much different. That’s why he had anticipated the reaction when Irene, no, Rilke revealed herself to everyone.
‘Rilke, look. This is the outside world I told you about.’
He wanted to show her clearly that this was what the world he had spoken of looked like, that what she had imagined and dreamed of didn’t exist, and that her choice was wrong.
Michaelo stared at Rilke with a sardonic smile. But she continued to look at those who were angry and in denial, without changing her expression.
Her green eyes, which seemed to hold the freshness of verdant foliage, sparkled even in this situation. Despite her indifferent expression, her eyes were alive. Without showing any sign of disappointment, she merely observed the situation without backing down.
