Chapter 156: The Holy Relic Doesn’t Lie [Part 4]

Elia didn’t move. I watched her from the corner of my eye, carefully observing the subtle changes in her expression. The beautiful Saintess stood beside the Holy Relic, her hands clasped elegantly before her waist. Her lips remained curved in that familiar, gentle smile, but the warmth had disappeared from her eyes.

She was calculating. If she immediately defended Darius, the believers would begin questioning her judgment. After all, the Holy Relic had reacted. If the Saintess dismissed that result simply because the accused happened to be her former companion, what would that say about the Temple’s impartiality?

Quite the dilemma.

Should she protect Darius?

Or should she protect the reputation she’d spent years cultivating?

Darius looked at her. This time, he didn’t merely call her name. He glared. It was a brief expression, barely noticeable beneath his increasingly strained composure. But I saw it. And more importantly, Elia saw it.

Her shoulders stiffened. The color drained from her cheeks, and for a fleeting moment, genuine panic flashed across her face.

That wasn’t the expression of a woman worried about her companion’s health. That was fear.

A silent threat, perhaps?

Something Darius knew?

Something she couldn’t afford to have exposed?

Elia finally stepped forward. "Everyone, please remain calm." Her voice was gentle, but I could hear the tension beneath it. "I will personally examine Sir Darius. There may be something wrong."

Something wrong?

I glanced toward the Holy Relic. It was still glowing.

"Perhaps," she continued, "someone has sabotaged him without his knowledge."

I slowly turned my head toward her. This time, I made absolutely certain that every ounce of disappointment showed on my face. "Elia..." I didn’t raise my voice. The quiet disbelief in that single word was enough to make several nearby spectators fall silent.

She looked at me. "Rey, please understand. I must investigate this carefully."

The murmuring around us grew louder.

"Sabotaged?"

"Can someone really do that to a Holy Knight?"

"Then why didn’t she say the same thing about Lord Rey?"

"Isn’t the Holy Relic supposed to be infallible?"

Every question was another tiny crack in the Temple’s beautiful marble facade.

I glanced toward Vera. The captain stood several steps away, her blue eyes fixed on Darius. Her expression was complicated. Rina’s brows were furrowed, while Nora and Syl exchanged uneasy glances. Maeve was watching the confrontation with an unusually sharp expression.

These women had escorted me here under the belief that the Light Temple was conducting a legitimate investigation. Now they were witnessing something rather different.

Elia clasped her hands together. "I promise I will examine Sir Darius thoroughly. If corruption truly exists within his body, I will do everything possible to cure him."

I stared at her. "Cure him? Elia, the proof is right there." I gestured toward the relic. "According to the Temple’s own standards, he should be taken before a Temple tribunal."

Her expression tightened. "Rey—"

"Isn’t that how this works?" I looked toward the assembled Holy Knights. "When someone is suspected of corruption, they’re detained, investigated, and judged. Isn’t that the procedure?"

Nobody answered.

Elia took a small step closer. "Something may have happened to Darius without his knowledge."

I tilted my head. "Like what?"

She hesitated. "Perhaps someone—"

"Corrupted him?" I smiled bitterly. "Are you suggesting that someone deliberately placed corrupted energy inside his body?"

"I haven’t said that."

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"Rey, I don’t—"

"Because if you’re planning to suggest that I’m responsible, the evidence says otherwise." I pointed toward the crystal. "The Holy Relic examined me twice. Both times, it found nothing."

Her eyes widened. "I wasn’t accusing you."

"Good." I nodded slowly. "Then we agree that the Holy Relic’s results should be respected."

Elia fell silent.

Checkmate.

At least for this particular argument. I could practically see her searching for another explanation. Perhaps she wanted to claim that the relic had malfunctioned. Unfortunately, that would raise another inconvenient question. If the Light Temple’s most sacred artifact couldn’t be trusted to identify corruption, why had they demanded that I submit to its examination? And if it could be trusted... Poor Darius.

I looked directly into Elia’s eyes. "It’s just a precaution. That’s what Darius told me, remember?" I tilted my head, my expression remaining cold. "So I’m doing the same. My statement is merely a precaution, too. Surely you don’t have a problem with that, do you?"

Elia opened her mouth. Nothing came out.

I held her gaze. Coldly. Without the slightest trace of the warmth Rey Valen had once shown her. Because this wasn’t merely about humiliating Darius. I wanted Elia to understand something. Every excuse she made for him was another admission that the rules had never been equal. Not for Rey. Not for the commoner who’d risen through talent and sacrifice.

Elia looked toward the crowd. Finally, she made her decision. "Take Sir Darius to the Purification Chamber."

Two Holy Knights immediately stepped forward. "Yes, Saintess!"

Darius’s expression darkened. "Elia—"

"I will examine you personally," she interrupted, her voice soft but firm. "Please cooperate."

He stared at her for several seconds. His jaw tightened. "Fine."

The guards positioned themselves beside him.

Darius followed them toward the cathedral’s eastern passage, his shoulders rigid beneath his armor.

I watched him leave and turned toward Elia.

She looked relieved. Apparently, she believed the worst of the confrontation had passed.

I approached her slowly. "Tell me, Elia... Is being a commoner a crime?" My voice remained quiet. Yet I made sure the crowd heard it. "Was that my mistake?"

"Rey, what are you talking about?"

I made a miserable little smile. "The Holy Knight deserves understanding. The Saintess deserves trust. But me?" I lowered my gaze. "Was I only useful because you needed someone to defeat the Dark Lord?"

Her eyes widened. "That’s not—"

"Was I just a tool?" I looked back at her. "Something you could use until the war was over? And now..." I let the words emerge slowly. "Now you want to erase me."

Her expression crumbled.