I Ended Up Saving the Duke Who Was Meant to Die - Chapter 8.4
Seeing this, Michaelo’s insides boiled. How could you be so composed? Rilke, who had escaped from the fence he had set up, had become more mature. The fact that the person by her side was Severus, not himself, made him even more furious.
If he had been the one to possess everything of Rilke, they would not have met this end. She would have lived seeing only good things within the fence of the temple. Imagining the world she had freely and beautifully imagined and been curious about.
“Did I say I would become the High Priest?”
Rilke tilted her head. The audience stirred at her words. They would naturally have thought it right for her to become the High Priest since she had healing power. But she was puzzled, saying it was something she had never even considered.
“You’re not becoming the High Priest? Isn’t it right that with that power, you should manage the temple and take care of us?”
“What is she talking about? Is she saying she won’t use that power for the people? She really is selfish and must be a witch. Perhaps the power she showed earlier was a lie she made up and now she’s trying to back out.”
People were confused. Yet they did not stop doubting Rilke. They demanded endless testing and proof, never satisfied.
“You don’t believe my story, yet you want to receive help from my power with a hopeful heart. What a petty mind.”
Rilke sneered. At her mockery, the man shouted again.
“We believed that was right. Did you think we would accept it straight away when you now say everything was wrong? Everyone here would agree with me, would you say otherwise? The fault lies with this country that made us believe so. How dare you transfer that to individuals!”
The man’s veins bulged in his neck. Rilke blinked her clear green eyes and spoke to the angry audience.
“Isn’t it because it was convenient for you, because it didn’t apply to you, that you believed it? If you’ve been told something is wrong, you should at least try to believe it from now on. Actually, I don’t care if you don’t believe it. As long as you don’t come to me begging for help when you’re dying.”
The man’s face turned pale at Rilke’s words. She continued without stopping.
“I have no intention of showing kindness as if it’s expected. I don’t think it’s right to use my power for others. Why should I?”
“But as the High Priest, you should naturally…”
“That’s exactly it. I have no intention of becoming the High Priest. I already have my position and duties as Duchess Blake. The family who believed in me and protected me is more precious to me.”
What did it matter what happened to others? They were people who didn’t care whether she lived or died. If she hadn’t possessed this power, she might have been tied to a stake and executed long ago.
“T-this is all because of the High Priest and the Imperial family! We must punish those people immediately and appease the Saint’s anger.”
People couldn’t hide their bewilderment at Rilke’s statement that she wouldn’t use her abilities for everyone’s benefit. Soon, the arrows of blame turned elsewhere. Michaelo chuckled at the increasingly ugly display.
“Hahaha! Rilke! This is the true nature of humans that I told you about! Do you still not regret it? Horribly, these people will never repent their sins. They’ve lived comfortably and have been conditioned to live that way…!”
Michaelo shouted, laughing like a madman. At his words, everyone in the courtroom became furious. They hurled insults, threw whatever they were holding, and poured out their resentment.
Bang bang!
The judge pounded his gavel again. While he understood the anger of many, at this rate, it would be difficult to proceed with the trial.
“I will have everyone except those involved leave the courtroom.”
People were outraged at the judge’s extreme decision. At Rilke’s single statement, they raised their voices desperately trying to prove their innocence, like people struggling to survive.
“Lady Rilke! I never believed in the High Priest from the beginning. Everyone only believed because they were brainwashed. Now that I’ve seen your power, I have no doubts!”
“Isn’t this happening because the High Priest did such terrible things?! That man is no different from the witches we so feared and despised! His head should be cut off immediately for all to see.”
“As this person says, that man has killed countless people, yet shamelessly acted like a saint. If other countries were to find out, it would be a disgrace to the Empire.”
“To think the Imperial family was involved, this is absolutely unacceptable. Our anger is justified, I believe.”
The guards dragged out one by one those who refused to leave. Those resisting and those trying to remove them quickly became entangled.
The courtroom quieted down some time later. The judge then summoned Ariche, a witness to another of Michaelo’s crimes, the Edenberg arson case.
At her appearance, cracks formed in Michaelo’s composed expression. His pupils shook violently at the appearance of someone who knew the truth of that day.
Eventually, he fixed his gaze on Rilke and spoke urgently.
“Only I saved you. Rilke, to me, family means myself.”
He revealed his blind emotions toward Rilke, but she didn’t even give him a glance. She just waited for the judge’s verdict while holding Severus’s hand.
The tragic accident of the Edenberg family was revealed, and Michaelo’s deeds were uncovered one by one. Emperor Keberos, who had turned a blind eye to it all, was dethroned. Originally, his son Gabriel, the heir to the throne, should have inherited it, but he too barely escaped execution and could not become Emperor. The same was true for Princess Serina. Instead, his cousin Armiro de Bellop took the throne.
“Impossible! There is no such law! This is nothing short of treason!”
“Treason? It was unavoidable for the sake of a righteous Empire.”
It was indeed a coup, but once they learned about the Emperor and the temple’s deeds, they couldn’t turn a blind eye. Without a trial, such a peaceful transfer of power would have been impossible. It was the best choice to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.
Michaelo pulled up the corners of his mouth even more upon hearing the Emperor’s punishment. He knew he would receive something worse.
“High Priest Michaelo will also be stripped of his position, and since he has lived at the cost of many lives, he should rightfully pay with the same.”
The judge sentenced him to death. He showed no sign of fear. Rather, his eyes flashed even more brightly as he looked at Rilke.
“Let’s end this now. It seems like a tiresome relationship.”
Even as Michaelo was dragged away by the guards, he kept his gaze fixed. Rilke also did not turn her eyes away from him. As if watching over his final moments, she stood there, staring intently at his retreating back as he left the courtroom.
