Chapter 47: Penalty: Death By Pyre
She looked past the spears and the banners, locking eyes with Malphas. The people noted that the Duchess didn’t look afraid, but rather, she looked annoyed...
"High Inquisitor," she said, her voice dripping boredom, "It is three in the morning. If you wanted to discuss religious implications of my work, you could have sent a letter."
Malphas sneered, his lip curling over yellowed teeth, "Duchess. You stand accused of High Heresy. You have built a monster that devours the peace of the earth. We are here to seize the engine and take you to the Capital for purification."
Evelina stepped closer to the bars of the gate, her [Merchant’s Eye] scanning the Inquisitor.
[Target: High Inquisitor Malphas]
[Status: Dehydrated/Fanatical/Hypocritical]
[Observation: Target’s canteen contains water with a 0.02% mineral trace that is a specific to the Alvarez subterranean aquifer]
Evelina tilted her head, "A demonic vacuum, you say? Stealing peace and what... bullshit..." She reached out and pointed a slender finger at the silver-tipped canteen hanging from Malphas’s saddle, "If you believe my machine is a demon, High Inquisitor, why are you currently drinking the water it produced?"
The silence that followed was deafening.
Malphas blanched, "This... this is consecrated water from the Capital’s cathedral!"
"Who are you kidding here?" Evelina countered, her voice sharpening. "That water has the specific mineral signature of the Iron-Claw Pass. Your so-called consecrated wells in the Capital turned to mud weeks ago. My people sold that batch to the Church’s provisioners four days ago at a 400% markup. You’ve been sustatining your ’divine’ journey on the very heresy you’re here to arrest."
Ace looked at Malphas with contempt, "Not that I ever found you pretty but right now... Your hypocrisy and your face both look equally ugly, Malphas."
Malphas’s eyes turned murderous. He realized he had lost the moral high ground in front of his own men. He slammed his staff against the ground.
"Enough!" he roared. "I hold a Warrant of sanctity! If the Duke refuses to comply, he is an accomplice to Heresy! The Empire will be stripped of its titles! The North will be declared abbhorent!"
Ace’s hand went back to his sword, his eyes turning cold, "Try it."
Evelina saw the numbers flickering in her peripheral vision.
[Warning: Immediate Conflict will result in: 85% chance of Imperial sanctions which will lead to 40% chance of North-South Civil War]
[Objective: Obtain legitimacy]
She placed a hand on Ace’s arm.
He looked at her, his jaw clenching. "Evelina, don’t. I can handle this for you..."
"I know you can,," she whispered, her voice uncharacteristically soft. "But a war right now won’t build the next ten pumps. We need the Emperor’s seal, not just this filthy thing’s blood."
She turned back to Malphas, "Fine. You want a trial? You’ll have one. But not in a dark cell. You can hold a trial of divine purity in the Capital, in the Great Cathedral, before the everyone."
Malphas paused, a predatory gleam in his eye, "A public trial? You sure are bold, witch."
"Well..." Evelina tilted her head, "If my engine is found helpful, the Church will officially endorse its installation across the Empire. If it is found demonic..." She paused, feeling Ace’s grip on her arm tighten until it was almost painful, "Then you can melt it down and use the iron for your crosses. And Victor and I will stand in the pyre. Then, only then, you can call me a witch!"
"Evelina!" Ace hissed, his voice full disbelief, "Are you insane?" His voice was as such that only she could hear him.
"Trust me" she murmured, looking up at him, "I never enter a contract I haven’t already won."
Malphas smiled then, "Agreed. You have two weeks to transport the Prototype to the Capital. If it does not prove its holy origin by performing a miracle in the Cathedral... you will wish the drought had killed you first."
The Inquisition retreated into the night, their red banners disappearing into the green gloom.
Ace didn’t let go of Evelina’s arm. He spun her around, his face a mask of fury and fear, "What have you done? You just gave them a legal path to kill you! I could have held them off! I could have fortified the pass!"
Evelina sighed, leaning her forehead against his chest for just a second. The exhaustion was finally catching up to her and her mind was very sluggish at the moment.
She barely had the strength to get on this man’s nerves or push him away.
"Ace... you can’t fight a religion with a sword. You fight it with a better miracle or these people will cling to you like pests. I need the trial to legitimize the technology. If we stay here, we’re just rebels. If we win in the Capital, then we’re the saviors of the world."
Ace looked down at her, his breathing heavy. He wanted to shake her, to lock her in the highest tower where the world couldn’t touch her.
But as he looked at the woman who was resting her onto his chest, a rare moment of closeness that he didn’t know how to handle, Ace felt his heart aching.
He reached up, his large hand cupping the back of her head, drawing her closer, "If they touch a hair on your head in that city," he whispered, his voice thick with a promise of absolute carnage, "I will burn the Capital to the ground myself. I don’t care about any of that. I care about you."
Evelina didn’t answer because amidst her exhaustion, his words barely registered in her mind.
[System Notification]
[Mission: Defeat the superstitions]
[Reward: 1000 Gold]
[Penalty: Death by pyre]
[Note: Target Ace’s protectiveness has evolved into obsessive guarding]
...
Deep in the Capital, Selene Snow watched the dry lightning crack across the sky. She had heard the news about the Inquisition’s move.
A satisfied laughter bubbled in her throat.
"Go on, sister," Selene whispered, pouring herself a glass of the very water Evelina had smuggled into the city, "Build your stage. I can’t wait to see you burn on it."
The war for the North had barely showed the signs of ending, but the war of evil minds had barely begun.
And this time, Evelina had to fight for her life.
