Volume 3 Chapter 60 It's Okay. I'll Blast You Away In Hell
"Wow, I can't believe that happened."
"That sounds just like Liz."
Annabelle looked surprised, while Cecilia seemed a bit annoyed. In front of the two, Liz smiled and said, "It's all in the past now."
Right now, Randy and the others were at the south gate of the capital, saying goodbye to Cecilia and her group as they headed home.
It had been about 2 weeks since the kingdom exposed the upper ranks of the Holy Church.
News spread quickly across the continent that the Holy Church had brainwashed the Saint, who is a symbol of the goddess, to try to overthrow the kingdom. This news shocked a lot of people.
The trial had already started, and the truth about the ghosts was revealed, which added to the shock. After all, it was the daughter of a current archbishop who discovered and wrote about it.
But not everything was good news.
Annabelle's father, Archbishop Ridley, was found to have misused Church funds to help the poor in the town, mainly orphans. In modern terms, you could call it embezzlement, but since he was using the money to support orphans, opinions about Archbishop Ridley were split.
Some people thought he should be punished for his actions.
Others believed he was just using the money for its intended purpose.
Because of the trouble that involved Annabelle and her father, Randy and Liz were apologizing early on.
──I'm sorry for dragging you into this.
Annabelle shook her head and smiled, saying, "No, no, it's fine."
──My father acted according to his heart.
Seeing Annabelle's strength made it clear why Randy and the others kept apologizing.
However, the situation that involved Annabelle and her father had quickly changed in the past few days. The kind and fair Archbishop Ridley was gaining support, and the fact that he used the funds for their original purpose was helping his case.
The negative opinions were being spread by other powerful figures in the Church who wanted to take him down, and the Marquis family exposed this shady behavior.
Archbishop Ridley's honest actions even brought out some hidden bad guys. In just a few days, his popularity soared.
For the kingdom, which wanted to control the Church, this was a bitter situation. But for Randy and the others, who thought they had caused trouble, it was a relief.
So today, everyone finally felt calm enough to gather under the pretense of seeing Cecilia off, and they shared their conversation with Catherine, which was the earlier exchange.
"By the way, from what I heard from Liza, she didn't seem to apologize at all."
Cecilia puffed out her cheeks, and Liz shook her head, saying, "It's okay."
"There's no way I could make 'her apologize in that situation'."
Looking up at the sky, Liz continued talking about Catherine, who was in a tricky position. Catherine was just starting to understand her reality. If she apologized now, it would just be a reaction to the moment.
"If Lady Catherine finds something irreplaceable within herself and truly stands on her own, then if she apologizes then, I might accept it."
With a troubled expression, Liz said, "Not being able to apologize and forgive in that moment shows she's still a child." But Annabelle and Cecilia understood the real reason Liz didn't want Catherine to apologize.
Catherine would definitely face challenges ahead. It was like paying for all the things she had done freely until now. At school, she didn't have the Crown Princes backing her up anymore. From now on, she would have to fight on her own.
In front of such trials, if she apologized and it was accepted, Catherine might develop a victim mentality of "I was forgiven, so why?" This could distort her sense of self and cloud her judgment.
So, without asking for an apology, she said in her own way, "Climb higher. Then I'll push you down."
This was to help her face the challenges ahead.
Cecilia and Annabelle exchanged glances at Liz's kindness and smiled, saying, "You're too nice," and "Yeah," with a bit of disbelief.
"I'm not too nice! I don't want to easily forgive Lady Catherine──."
Liz blushed, and the two of them smiled again, "Hehe."
"Leave it to me. As a Church member, I'll help Lady Catherine change."
Annabelle, smiling and clenching her fist, continued.
"Let's make Lady Catherine go through some experiences and get a real apology from her."
With Annabelle unusually excited, the conversation among the 3 girls got lively, while Randy and the others watched from a little distance.
"Lady Annabelle says that, but is it really okay?"
Luke tilted his head, and Randy frowned, asking, "What do you mean?"
"Saintly Lady... she set up Miss Elizabeth, right? And if she did it knowing that──."
"It doesn't matter."
Randy laughed through his nose and repeated, "It doesn't matter."
"It's reality. Even if you know some history, there's no guarantee everything will go as planned. So..."
"Using a little girl's nonsense, the ones who went along with it are the real guilty ones."
Luke sighed and added, "Anyway, that's pretty kind of you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Pouting, Randy muttered, "There are others who should really take responsibility," and turned his face away, as if he had nothing more to say.
Cory, not really understanding their conversation, tilted his head and asked Luke, "What do you mean?"
Luke explained the earlier conversation to him.
What Luke wanted to say was that Catherine knew Liz's fate and the people who would die because of it, and she pulled the trigger. He was talking about the rude soldiers or knight wannabes that Randy had kicked aside, but to Randy, that was their own fault, so he thought it didn't matter.
Sure, Catherine was the one who started it. But using that... no, hiding behind the Saint to satisfy their own desires were definitely the dirty adults.
In fact, if they hadn't attacked Liz at that moment, at least they wouldn't have died. Their foolishness could be blamed for their deaths.
"If there are people who can hold the Saintly Lady responsible──."
"Then it's only Lady Elizabeth, who almost got killed because of it."
Cory nodded seriously, and Luke agreed, "That's right." The country sent the people who were killed, and even if they were thugs dressed as soldiers, since the country decided and sent them, they should be the ones responsible for their deaths.
"Well, I don't know what Catherine thinks about it."
Randy stretched widely, stifling a yawn as he continued.
"Anyway, as for me, the dirty adults will have to pay for what they made Catherine not pay for."
Randy snorted, and Luke replied with a wry smile, "Just don't turn the capital into a wasteland."
"──Looks like things are getting lively over there, Randy."
"Not as much as yours."
Randy shrugged, and in front of him stood Liz and the others, as if their conversation had come to a pause.
"Lady Annabelle, I'm really sorry about Catherine this time."
Randy bowed his head like before, and Annabelle shook her head, saying, "N-no, it's fine."
"My father also said, 'You should light the way with the right light'."
Annabelle fidgeted, and Cecilia nodded, saying, "That's a verse from the scriptures." Randy wasn't interested in religion, but it seemed that the Church's teachings were deeply rooted in people's lives in this world, as even Cecilia knew about it.
In front of Randy, Annabelle opened her mouth, looking somehow apologetic.
"W-was it really okay for me?"
Randy tilted his head and asked Annabelle, who was looking up at him, "What's up?"
"Um, it's about the Church. From what I've heard about the [Tower of Time], the Church was formed──."
"Doesn't matter."
Suddenly, Ellie appeared and snorted, saying, "Then it doesn't matter."
"Sure, the way it started wasn't great, but..."
Ellie looked up at the sky with a distant gaze and began to talk about the Church. It was originally created by that arrogant guy based on Ellie's teachings from the past.
But the teachings themselves, as Ellie left them, are easy for people to accept.
Kindness to others.
Compassion.
Justice and love.
The doctrine that says, "We should treat each other with love and kindness, and let the light of justice guide our way. Kind acts can be a beacon of hope for someone, and compassion is the power that connects us all," is so famous that even Randy has heard of it.
"What I'm curious about is, even if he used it for his own gain, I can't believe that guy could create such teachings."
Ellie shrugged and continued, suggesting that the Church might have been formed after she spread curses and caused chaos. If the organization was really based on Ellie's teachings, it's hard to believe that people would worship the teachings of someone who caused so much trouble and spread curses.
"So, does that mean your best friend is hiding the truth?"
"Well... it's possible that it spread as a way to honor a cursed and feared figure..."
Did the organization left by that guy grow, or is it a different one? Either way, despite the twists and turns, it's true that what Ellie really wanted to convey has survived to this day.
"It's so naive that it makes me laugh now."
"Here you go again, acting tough."
Randy gave a wry smile, and Ellie pouted, saying, "I'm not acting tough!" The organization got so big that it ended up being used by bad people again, but the core ideas have been passed down, and everyone holds onto them in their hearts.
"This time, I just got rid of the fools who used my naive ideals... so you two, like a father and daughter, don't need to feel responsible."
Randy couldn't help but nod and say, "That's our first lady for you."
While Ellie made a face like she didn't want to hear it, Annabelle burst out laughing and said, "Okay, I get it," and bowed her head to Ellie.
"Lady Eleonora, thank you."
"Yes. Keep working hard."
Ellie nodded with satisfaction but suddenly looked up at the sky.
"Is this the price for using me...?"
Ellie muttered softly, probably thinking about that person who should really pay the price. It's impossible to make someone from 1200 years ago pay up.
"Anyway, it's pointless."
As Ellie shook her head, no one knew what to say... but then Ellie frowned.
"Why do you all look so gloomy?"
"Mainly because of you."
Randy frowned, and Ellie laughed, looking around at everyone.
"Don't worry about it. At this point, it doesn't matter."
With a hearty laugh, Ellie made Randy suddenly nod and say, "Leave it to me."
"When I get to the other side, I'll knock them out."
In true Randy fashion, he said something like that, and Ellie laughed, saying, "You fool. That's my job," before she vanished and switched to Liz.
"She said she's having so much fun right now, so she doesn't hold any grudges."
When Liz revealed Ellie's true feelings with a smile, everyone looked at each other and laughed. Ellie was probably making a big fuss inside Liz, but to Randy and the others, it was cute and funny.
"Well, it's about time for us to head out."
After laughing for a while, Cecilia smiled, her drill hair blowing in the north wind.
"Cecily, I'm coming to visit."
"Yes. I'll be waiting."
Next to them, Randy and Luke were bumping fists.
"Don't say you got rusty during the break..."
"Who are you talking to? Winter is the season for hiding in the mountains, right?"
Randy grinned, and Luke gave a wry smile, saying, "That's true..." as he took Cecilia's hand and led her to the carriage.
Randy and the others waved goodbye to Cecilia as she left in the carriage. Cory said he was going to a nearby store, so they parted ways. Then, they started walking towards the center to take Annabelle home.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)