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Death’s Daughter Chapter 279

Author: FoodLovingPanda

CHAPTER 279: INTERROGATION

When the maids were finished dressing me up, I went with Vitou towards the castle entrance where a carriage was waiting to bring us to the arena.

“Nao-chan, are you sure you are going to be fine? I can still come up with a reason to make everyone leave. Or, at the very least, most of them disperse. Church authorities are one thing, but my citizens are another.”

“Don’t worry. In fact, it is better that there are other witnesses. If the Archbihops and the Church behind them don’t support this marriage, even if I pass the test, all they have to do is spread the word around that I failed it and you have a recipe for disaster.”

Now that I actually have to appear at my wedding, I really need all this to pass smoothly. I saw Vitou nodding in agreement and relaxing a bit.

When we arrived at the arena, I saw people waiting in the line to get inside. I didn’t know how many were already seated, but from one look, there should be two hundred just outside. It seems that Vitou’s efforts were not in vain.

“Your Highness, Duchess, please follow me to your seats.”

The two of us were brought to the area just below the King’s seat. There were less than half of the seats filled with people. I could see that one area was occupied exclusively by members of Dragon’s Descent. With them around, there is no need to worry about safety. They will ensure nothing goes wrong today. I gave them a hand signal and immediately they dispersed all around the arena sitting in different sections.

“What did you do just now?”

“Set up precautions. Vitou, you should let some guards in and make sure that unrest doesn’t appear. I just made some of my members keep an eye out for those looking to make trouble in this event.”

I don’t know if he decided to take my advice or not, because before I could get any sort of response I was called to the center of the stage below the seats.

“Duchess Maeda, please stand at the center of this contraption. As each of the Archbishops come in, they will ask you a question to determine your worth. You must be sincere and answer truthfully, otherwise you will suffer divine punishment.”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. I know what I need to do.”

I looked at this so-called ‘contraption’. It was a magic circle, no matter how you looked at it. The only difference is that this magic circle is made of cast iron and needs to be assembled to be usable. There were places where it could be folded up and dismantled. I really wanted to laugh out loud. What divine blessings? What approval of the Church? This farce is nothing but a glamorous magic trick.

I am not very proficient with magic circles, but there are bits and pieces that I understood about them. I glanced at the markings on the circle because I wanted to figure out what is the true purpose of it and what magic will it manifest once it is activated. However, the more I looked at it, the less sense it made to me. This was supposed to be a magic instrument that will show some sort of divine will, but all I could think of is one giant clock. If I saw this outside the ceremony, I would have sworn that the purpose of this magic circle is to show the time.

I wanted to input magic and see the effect for myself, but at that moment, the drums sounded and fanfares announced the arrival of the King and the twelve Archbishops. I also saw all twelve heroes present. This is the first time I saw them all together after a long time. I don’t know if it is because of the Archbishops or the tensions in the court, but from just one look I could see that only three Heroes were standing on the side of Vitou; Daisuke, Taichi and another hero that should be called Tanaka Ren. The rest were more inclined to stand next to the King, including my Hii-chan and his girlfriend.

“Archbishops, you can proceed with the questions. I will use the Sword of Light to ensure the truthfulness of the answers. Naoko-chan, you are about to enter our family. In order to do so, you must receive the blessings of the gods governing this world. Answer the questions and receive the blessings.”

I nodded and watched the first person come up and stand at the position of twelve o’ clock. The person was wearing brown robes and holding a piece of polished rock.

“I am the representative of Raz, god watching over all soil and earth. As a heathen you must show your worth to the Church if you want to be accepted by others. I ask you; have you worshipped the gods that have been deemed heretic?”

Heretic gods, who are they in the first place? Is Thanatos-sama considered as such? Well, it doesn’t matter as long as I don’t believe they are heretic. Actually, I don’t think I ever worshipped any god in the true matter of the meaning of that word. In that case, this is super easy to answer.

“No, I haven’t worshipped any such gods.”

There wasn’t a change in the expression of this Archbishop the entire time. I couldn’t tell if he was happy about this answer or not. Anyways, no matter what they ask, I will be ready for it.

“I am representative of Marasca, the goddess of harvest. I ask you; have you purposefully harmed any living being in the name of your god?”

The person with yellow robes that stood in the position of eleven o’clock asked his question. I looked at his beautiful face, but I soon found the expressionless features off putting. Casting a glance at the rest of them, they all felt the same. I suddenly lost all interest that I had for their looks. If they keep on looking like soulless puppets, there would be nothing to admire.

“Only the dead have suffered.”

I don’t like tossing Thanatos’s name around. As far as I remember the only person that was harmed in a way that can be said to be associated with Thanatos’s name is the ghost woman from the Temple of Rain.

“What kind of answer is that? I cannot give you blessing if you have defiled the rest and peace of the dead.”

“I exorcised a ghost that refused to pass on and let it return to the path of death. If you want vengeful spirits plaguing this world, I will gladly not bother with them, but don’t call me at a time when tragedy happens.”

The person kept silent and I counted it as a pass. I could see Vitou tapping his fingers nervously, but I knew there was no need to worry at all. I haven’t done anything wrong and they can’t condemn me for this reason. After all, the person was already long dead.