“A traitor?”
Lu Li's gaze dulled slightly as the image of that silver-haired girl slowly floated into his mind.
The girl had followed behind him in silence amidst a constant stream of whispering taunts—taunts that had all been directed at her because of him.
He could not blame others, nor could he blame the girl behind him, yet he had not wanted to see her endure any more humiliation on his account.
So he had turned around and spoken to her:
“Amore, you do not need to follow me, just as you do not need to chase an evening breeze destined to scatter. The path I walk is meant to bring Heaven to the mortal realm for all living beings, not a candle lit for you alone.”
He had thought she would return to a spring garden, to a realm of her own where she could grow free.
But she hadn't.
She had merely looked at him solemnly and said, “But beside you is my Heaven.”
The memory snapped to an abrupt end.
Lu Li felt a slight headache. Strictly speaking, Amore was a remnant problem from his predecessor's past, and there was no need for him to concern himself with that white-haired girl.
But the crux of the matter was that the longer he spent in this world, the more he felt that his relationship with his former self, Lucrezio Borgia, was neither one of subordination nor inheritance. Rather, it was as if they had been the same person all along, and he had simply awakened his past memories.
This point was largely verified: he had once been the Holy Son recognized by the mortal realm, and now he had become the Pope of the Holy Court—and the authority of the Pope derived directly from the Lord.
Furthermore, the initial consecration ceremony for crowning the Pope involved bathing in the Sacred Spring. That step certainly couldn't be just a simple purification or sublimation; it also served to verify both body and soul.
Therefore, those memories and emotions felt so real to him because they were real events—his own lived experiences.
Thus, he could no longer stand by and ignore that girl. Whatever happened, he would claim a seat at the Tribunal today!
“Your Holiness, it's time for your speech,” Anthelia whispered, reminding him.
Lu Li pulled himself back to reality and saw the academy headmaster smiling at him from the high platform.
She was also a bishop Lu Li recognized, who reportedly had been nominated to the College of Cardinals and would soon be promoted to Cardinal.
Under the watchful eyes of numerous believers and monks, the youth rose and walked step by step toward the stage.
“First, welcome all new students to Saint Clement Academy.”
Lu Li cleared his throat, drew close to the microphone, and immediately elicited warm applause with his opening words. Once the applause died down, he continued, “Finally, I wish all students, new and returning, a happy start to the semester!”
With those words, the youth turned around and quickly walked off the stage.
There was no grand rhetoric, nor any official pleasantries. In just two brief sentences, the Holy Court's new Pope concluded his address.
Silence fell over the crowd. Many hadn't even registered what had just happened until the first person began to applaud, followed by more and more joining in...
The headmaster of Saint Clement Academy, an old bishop of formidable power, stared with a bewildered expression at the youth's departing back.
“Strange... His Holiness's speech... was so... so...”
After pondering for a long while, she finally thought of a word to describe it: “...so unique?”
Meanwhile, Lu Li, who had left early, had already put the speech out of his mind. At this moment, there was clearly something far more important to take care of.
Anthelia hurriedly caught up with his footsteps. Before she could even ask, she heard him say, “To the Tribunal.”
“The Tribunal? Ah, right!”
Seeming to understand something, Anthelia quickly stepped forward and pulled open the carriage door for him.
“Your Holiness, are you going to observe? If you wish to observe, you need to apply in advance to the Tribunal's Secretariat.”
“No,” the youth replied.
Once he went, the Presiding Judge's seat would be his!
Anthelia seemed to realize something as her expression changed, and she hurriedly tried to dissuade him:
“Your Holiness, even you cannot act recklessly in the Tribunal!”
“Of course, I won't act recklessly,” Lu Li said with a smile.
Naturally, he wouldn't act recklessly; he was going to save his believer.
...
Before the sacred and majestic doors of the Tribunal, a line of text was carved in golden paint: You shall not show partiality, nor favor the high or low, nor fear any face, for judgment belongs to the Lord.
The knights escorting Amore maintained solemn expressions, looking straight ahead as they passed through the grand doors. Only Amore quietly stared at those words.
She had known long ago that this world was unfair, and that people were not created equal.
【God loves all people.】
Yet God's mercy and gaze had never fallen upon her.
No one had ever told her that her life shouldn't revolve around the orbit of another person, nor had anyone ever told her that she was meant to grow freely under the spring sun.
“Amore, formerly of the Third Order of the Templar Knights of the Holy Court, aged 1X.”
“According to Articles 17 and 34 of the Holy Court Code, you are accused of two major counts: betraying the doctrine and rebelling against the Holy Court, as well as murdering your comrades.”
“Amore! Do you plead guilty?”
Silence reigned within the Tribunal. The Presiding Judge struck the gavel, its thump-thump echoing like beating drums or rolling thunder.
“I am innocent.”
The girl was forced to her knees like a prisoner, held down tightly, yet even so, she argued back loudly.
The Presiding Judge's eyes narrowed, a flash of coldness in her gaze:
“On the Northland border front, you deliberately invoked the Holy Relic's true name, causing your power to rage out of control and resulting in the deaths of dozens of Templar Knights. The evidence is conclusive! Do you still dare to quibble?”
Invoking the Holy Relic's true name was a fact. Her power going out of control was a fact. The accidental deaths of her comrades were also a fact. Yet she did not believe she was in the wrong.
She had to survive. Only by surviving could she become one of the Twelve Sacred Knights. Only by surviving would she have the chance to stand by his side. Only by surviving... would she not lose him.
Everything was solely for him.
In a daze, the youth's face seemed to appear before her eyes once more.
His expression was solemn and earnest, his eyes seemingly saying: “Amore, return to the spring garden, return to the realm of free growth that belongs solely to you.”
“I am innocent.”
Amore gritted her teeth and slowly lowered her head, her silver-white hair falling down.
That wasn't what she wanted. It had never been.
An uproar broke out in the gallery. The onlookers exchanged glances, never expecting that even at this moment, the girl would still refuse to plead guilty.
“She's clearly a criminal!”
“Indeed, how can she pretend to be innocent?”
“Does she actually think she's some kind of hero?”
A noisy wave of discussion swept through the Tribunal. With a grim expression, the Presiding Judge struck the gavel sharply three times:
“Order!”
【But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.】
A severe glint flashed in the Presiding Judge's eyes. If she could not force Amore to bow her head and admit her guilt, how could she answer to the heroic souls of the knights who lay dead in pools of blood?
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