Only God

Eden's sudden remarks astonished everyone present at the trial. They exchanged puzzled looks and then refocused their attention back on Eden.

"I pity you..."

The priests couldn't comprehend the meaning behind his words.

Why would he say that? What is there to pity about us?

Casas, the Pastor, and Veldor, both elderly, watched Eden in the arena with tense expressions, with Veldor's fists clenched tightly, sweating.

"What does this mean..."

Veldor muttered to himself.

He looked towards Casas, the Pastor, who shook his head, apparently also at a loss as to what the statement really meant.

"Perhaps... he knows he will be judged a heretic and is simply playing the role of the desperate man,"

the Pastor Casas speculated after some thought.

Hearing his words, Veldor immediately became very anxious, clasping his hands together and rubbing them relentlessly. He prayed to God for mercy on the priest.

If he is truly judged to be a heretic...

Veldor thought of this and felt unspeakable anxiety.

According to Church law, a person judged to be a heretic was required to mend his ways within two months and renounce heretical thoughts. If he failed to reform in two months, he would be further judged according to the laws of the Empire and sentenced to exile, scourging, or even execution.

The two-month period to amend one's ways might seem generous.

But the law is not perfect; it always has loopholes that can be exploited.

Veldor felt that the Emperor would not truly give Eden two months. Constantine VI was very likely to order Eden locked up in a monastery, isolated from the outer world. By then, even if Eden truly repented and renounced his ways, the outside world would not know, and everything would be under the control of Constantine VI.

"It would be too late then, too late,"

Veldor said to himself.

But what could he do?

Eden's judgment as a heretic had become an inevitable conclusion.

"God, what should I do..."

Veldor murmured, hands clasped together.

God... did not seem to heed this prayer; in the expanse of the assembly hall, there was not the slightest show of divine power or sign.

The Emperor, from his lofty position, looked down at Eden. The priest's words had first surprised him and then filled him with rage.

"I pity you..." Constantine VI heard contempt in the priest's words.

How dare a mere priest speak this way?

The Emperor sneered.

Some priests were like this, considering themselves servants of God, full of conceit, thinking they can look down upon nobles, generals, monarchs who are far above them in status because of what they believe is heavenly grace. They completely forget their humble origins; either they are commoners, bastards, or younger sons with little inheritance to claim.

Constantine VI idly brushed the table in front of him, coldly observing the priest who was to be judged a heretic.

"You pity me? Pity us?"

Constantine VI said:

"It is I who should pity you, you who seeks our forgiveness and mercy."

After saying this, the Emperor couldn't help but find the priest laughable. This Eden, who spoke so brazenly, seemed like an ignorant madman, unaware of his own predicament, much less the gravity of his offense.

Eden stood still, and after a long time, he uttered a sentence,

"I am innocent."

None of the priests present were swayed by his words, just as the Emperor had declared earlier, no heretic would admit they are heretical.

They were waiting for the next sentence and every sentence that followed, which would all serve as evidence in the heresy judgment.

By now, those who sympathized with Eden dared not speak out for him any longer, and those who supported the Emperor accused Eden loudly and arrogantly of being misguided. Given time, he would become the Devil of the Church.

Eden raised his face, fixing his gaze upon the Emperor above,

"I seek neither forgiveness nor mercy from you, only God's forgiveness and mercy."

the priest said this.

His words immediately enraged some of the priests, who accused him of being presumptuous, and the noise of their voices was incessant.

The Emperor looked on at the scene with satisfaction.

At this point, the majority of the priests had taken his side, and almost all had ceased to openly speak for Eden. It was undoubtedly another victory for the authority.

Seeing this, the Emperor pressed his advantage, interrogating:

"I know, I can see it; you consider yourself a Prophet, a man endowed with a mission from God.

That's not unusual; many madmen think this way, many schemers behave like this, claiming that they bring new commandments for their own purposes.

But in truth, how many are Prophets, and how many are people with a mission from God?

Among those thousands of prophecies, how many are true?"

The Emperor's questioning was forceful, winning over countless priests with his words. He had all but secured a complete victory.

As for Eden, he just clung to what he saw as the truth, even those who pitied him were now rejected.

Pastor Casas couldn't help but feel pity for Eden, sighing repeatedly. If Eden had continued his silence as he had in the morning, he might have been released without charge.

"I did not consider myself a Prophet, nor did I see myself as a man with a mission from God."

Facing the Emperor's questions, Eden said,

"I was merely spreading the truth, and I know what my end will be, much like the martyrs of the Disciples' era, facing death and meeting a tragic demise."