Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 493
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EP.493 Episode 493 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Second Trial ‘The Witch’ (1)
Episode 493 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Second Trial ‘The Witch’ (1)
– Elena
Ernheim is a trading city in the southern part of the United Kingdom of Castile.
Simply put, it is a port city in the southern part of the region that will be called Spain in the future, and the setting for the second ordeal.
The historical setting is 1382, the Reconquista in full swing in Spain.
I am Elena Gray.
He is the eldest son of the Gray family, who practically reigns as kings within Ernheim.
From here on out, I was confused.
Was there a city called ‘Ernheim’ in Spain?
What the heck is ‘Grey’s House’?
Actually, it seems meaningless to even consider the names of cities or families.
Because I am a person who has received the ‘talent’ recognized by the church and am a daughter who has received grace.
Simply put, she is a saint-like being recognized by the church.
This is medieval Spain, a place where miracle-working saints and saintesses exist.
*
In the setting of the trial, the grace I received is called ‘judgment’.
It is the power to reveal the truth of sin, find sinners, and judge them.
The blessing of justice is called ‘God’s grace’.
There was no separate setting for ominous imagination, but I think it was because the ‘Inheritance Seal’ notification appeared shortly after the trial began.
“The legacy is sealed and only blessings can be used….”
I guessed it deep down.
I got the blessing enhancement right before entering room 207, but it’s a bit weird when the blessing is sealed in the next trial.
But, I’m worried about Eunsol.
Because wealth and honor are of no use within the trials.
Isn’t it true that my sister is practically incompetent?
“Yes? A blessing?”
“Valentina, don’t worry about it, I’m just talking to myself.”
Let’s focus on my situation.
‘Elena Gray’ is a saint or judge with great authority within the city.
Although you don’t have to get involved in even the smallest things, if a major crime threatens the city, you have to step in and find the culprit and punish them.
There must be a reason the hotel gave me this position.
There will definitely be something that threatens the city, and there will be a ‘boss’ behind it.
*
What would it feel like to be in pre-modern medieval Europe?
Normally, I think it would bring to mind a very patriarchal atmosphere.
There is no way a woman in her early twenties like me could go against the wishes of my father, the Duke of Grey.
Isn’t it the life of most noble ladies to marry the person chosen by their father when the time comes?
This story has nothing to do with me.
Let us not forget that even in these times, Joan of Arc led the French army into battle.
It is an era in which the ‘authority of God’ surpasses even the authority of the ruler of the kingdom, Juan I, as well as his father, the Duke of Grey.
And I am a blessed daughter recognized by the church.
“Elena, I received a disturbing letter yesterday.”
“An anxious letter?”
Duke Grey, who had always reigned over Ernheim with a confident attitude, was now as frightened as a teenage boy.
“Have you heard of Tomás de Torquemada?”
Of course it’s the first time I’ve heard of it.
However, in this situation, it seems right to pretend to be surprised.
“Ah! That, that guy!”
“Phew… It looks like you’ve heard of that guy’s bad reputation.”
“sure!”
So who are you?
“Thomas the Inquisitor. Most Pure, Faithful Sword of the Holy See, Unwavering Will -”
Tomás de Torquemada.
The moment I heard the word ‘Inquisitor’, I started to feel uneasy.
“- And, some people call it this too.”
“…”
“Master of the stake. Enemy of witches.”
“Oh my god.”
By now, I can already feel what type of person Inquisitor Thomas is.
“He said he wanted to meet you.”
“…”
“… Be careful.”
*
The next day.
The man appeared through the torrential rain that had been pouring down since morning.
Tomás de Torquemada was a man as gloomy and ominous as the dark clouds that obscure the sky.
“Sir Thomas, welcome to the Grey household.”
“Thank you, but I don’t think I have very good news for you.”
“…”
Thomas made everyone uneasy from the very first sentence.
“Your Majesty, you have probably already received the letter, so let’s get straight to the point without wasting any time.”
“… Okay, I’ll listen.”
“We have received intelligence that there is a witch in Ernheim.”
“…”
“Please transfer full investigative and punitive powers throughout Ernheim.”
The demand to hand over complete investigative and criminal powers is essentially a request to hand over the judicial power itself.
Even if he were an inquisitor sent by the Vatican, wouldn’t it be more difficult to just say ‘yes’ in this situation?
“Sat, Judge Thomas. Let’s calm down and talk a little more. Suddenly, a witch? Ernheim has never been in chaos in the twenty-four years since I ruled.”
“It must be because the Duke has been closed for 24 years.”
“…!”
For a moment, both Duke Gray and I were surprised.
Of course, the people around him were also surprised.
“Your Honor! Be courteous to the Duke!”
“Does this guy think this place is safe -”
“hey!”
My father is not just a village chief, but a high-ranking official who rules over all of Ernheim. So why are you going out like this?
“Your Majesty, I apologize for my rudeness. However, I have clear evidence of Ernheim’s corruption.”
“…speak.”
Clear evidence of corruption.
Soon, the Inquisitor motioned to his attendant to bring him the ‘box’.
— Boom!
“What is this?”
“This is evidence of heresy.”
“So, what is this -”
“See it with your own eyes.”
“…”
“Nothing dangerous will happen if you open the box.”
A box that rattles incessantly, as if there is something alive inside.
The duke opened the box with an anxious expression.
And then everyone freaked out.
“Eww! What the heck is this!”
“Whoa!”
“What a horror!”
“Father in heaven, take care of us in our misery -”
“Thomas! Explain what this is!”
Inside the box was a mass of flesh that was writhing ceaselessly.
At first glance, it looked like a chunk of meat with rigor mortis, but upon closer inspection, it looked like a heart.
The outside of the heart was covered with needle-like protrusions, and the blood vessels were twisted in all directions.
– It seems as if an unidentified evil force is messing with the human body.
“…Are you okay?”
“hmm?”
Suddenly, I felt that the surroundings had become quiet and raised my head.
Not only the deceased, but even my father was looking at me with wide eyes.
“…”
A deformed lump of flesh twisted by a monstrous force.
A heart that still beats even though the main body is already dead.
It is a sight that would startle even the most courageous person.
It was not a situation in which a young lady in her prime could remain calm, and observing the shape of the heart was even more strange.
The moment I was about to make an excuse, the inquisitor smiled faintly.
“Indeed, the blessed ones are different from ordinary ladies.”
“…”
“What did you feel?”
“Well, I would like to hear more from Judge Thomas. Why is this evidence of Ernheim’s corruption?”
“Willingly. Before I set out, there was a temple knight dispatched by the church in Ernheim.”
If you have a daughter as blessed as I am, you are bound to have a son too.
I’ve heard that many of the men who perform miracles recognized by the church become ‘temple knights’ and are charged with the power of the church.
“So?”
“Two days ago, my faithful son, Cha Jin-cheol, who received the grace of the Lord -”
“Eww!”
Suddenly Cha Jin-cheol?
“Why are you doing that?”
“… no.”
“…”
“…”
“The Knight of the Chajincheol Temple was brutally murdered. This heart is the ‘most intact’ piece of flesh we found in his body.”
Ah, ah, ah!
A series of questions that had been confusing me for the past few days were suddenly resolved.
Two days ago was the start of the second trial!
The fact that Mr. Jincheol died as soon as the ordeal began.
The fact that an incomprehensible force was twisting his body.
Something, something felt right.
If I could write a blessing, the ‘Egyptian Party’ before me might have written a legacy.
Miro summoned Mr. Jincheol to this time zone?
And Jincheol died when he used a star fragment without a blessing and his whole body became twisted?
“Ugh… .”
last.
Cain, who predicted all of these developments, left me a letter.
“I’m sorry. I think Elena and Eunsol will have to do the second trial together. Fighting! Fighting!”
too bad.
Jincheol is too much and Miro is too much!
If one of the three of us drops out as soon as we start, what are Eunsol and I supposed to do?
Same goes for Mr. Gain, if you had predicted it, you could have prepared for it –
As complex emotions surged up in me in an instant, people around me also reacted.
“…”
“Elena, you seem to be feeling uneasy after seeing such an ugly thing. Would you like a glass of wine?”
“are you okay.”
Fortunately, since the situation itself was difficult to maintain composure, no one thought it was strange.
Let’s calm down.
No one dies because they want to die, right?
It is clear that Jincheol did his best during the first ordeal and faced a huge crisis, but the accident happened.
It’s already over.
You have to accept it, because your dead comrades won’t come back even if you resent them.
…
Whatever the reason, the horrific mass of flesh that Thomas had just seen left quite a shock to everyone.
“Your Majesty, do you understand what I mean now?”
“… I understand.”
“I would like to hear a response to my request.”
Request from the Inquisitor.
A request to hand over all jurisdiction over Ernheim, a city ruled by the Duke of Grey.
It sounded ridiculous before, but now the mood has changed.
Because everyone saw the ‘evidence of evil power’ with their own eyes.
“…”
Actually, it seems like an aftermath of what happened in ‘Ancient Egypt’, but that’s just my opinion, knowing everything.
To people of this era, no matter how you look at it, it’s just the devil’s intervention.
“Judge Thomas. I hereby grant you the power of investigation and punishment throughout Ernheim.”
“Thank you, Your Highness, for your active cooperation -”
“but!”
“…”
“Can the Gray family stand behind such an evil deed?”
“…”
“Elena!”
“yes.”
“Please. Together with the Inquisitor, punish the corrupt witch and restore peace to the city.”
“gladly.”
The meaning of the Grey Duke is simple.
I will grant your request, for I have found evidence of corruption, but act with my daughter who has received the grace of the Lord.
The Inquisitor also nodded.
“I am honored to be able to defend the city with my blessed daughter.”
It’s a beginning.
Oh, there’s one thing I have to do before that.
“Valentina, I have a favor to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“… I heard that there is a ‘foreign woman with a peculiar name’ near the port.”
“Oh, you mean ‘Lee Eun-sol’?”
“Can I forward this letter to him?”
“It’s not difficult. But, how can you -”
“Don’t ask, just pass on the letter.”
I should share the information I know with Eunsol.
*
– Lee Eun-sol
“…”
The facts written in the letter give me a headache.
Let’s leave aside the rough background setting.
What does it mean that Jincheol, who was in the position of ‘temple knight’, died as soon as the game started?
Let’s think calmly.
Because we have a hint from the dinner party.
This stage is not the ordinary Spain I know.
It is a world where Elena and Cha Jin-cheol, who received God’s grace, are naturally accepted.
If the grace of God exists, then the curse of the devil can also exist.
The witch hunts of reality are nothing more than a dark part of humanity’s history where innocent people were massacred, but the witch hunts of this world can be completely different.
If witches really exist, and if they are really plotting evil somewhere in Ernheim… .
Thinking like this, something came to mind naturally.
Regardless of Cha Jin-cheol’s death, it seems that Inquisitor Thomas would have come unconditionally.
The Vatican must have found evidence of witches through separate channels.
So, what changes did the death of Shinjeon Knight Cha Jin-cheol bring about?
It made the attitude of the inquisitors much more extreme.
“Mom, mom!”
“…”
“I’m hungry… .”
“Okay, Sophia. Just wait a minute.”
“huh!”
I think while stroking the head of Sophia, a girl with the setting of ‘daughter’.
What is my situation in the second ordeal?
The husband, who is said to have died 11 years ago and whose face I have never seen, was a wealthy merchant when he was alive.
I am the daughter of a Ming merchant that my husband met while doing business, so I am set up as an Asian.
To put it simply, she was a wealthy widow and an immigrant.
“ah.”
“mom?”
It’s perfect for being accused of being a witch.
The conditions are so perfect it’s laughable, aren’t they?
Perhaps because I felt uneasy, I unconsciously put my hand into my bosom and touched the beautiful blue brooch.
My precious treasure, created by the hands of greed that gathered together four times, is in a sense a legacy – a tool that is more trustworthy than the flute of peace.
Butterfly dream.
For a moment, I burst into laughter.
My precious tool that can summon nightmare butterflies to overpower humans, cause hallucinations, and even turn invisible.
Anyone can tell that this isn’t a witch’s belongings!
Even look at my eyes reflected in the mirror.
“… Even I think she’s a witch.”
“mom?”
I made up my mind.
By the way, who is the boss of the second trial?
***
Dark separate room.
Thomas, who had been praying on his knees with a devout attitude, rose up.
One of the attendants, Santiago, asked cautiously.
“Mr. Thomas, may I ask you a question?”
“Ask.”
“There are witches in this city. That’s a fact.”
“Yes.”
“But how can we distinguish between those who are fallen and those who are not?”
The moment he heard that, Thomas glared at the attendant, unable to hide his pitiful expression.
“You fool!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Santiago, listen carefully.”
“yes!”
“There are no innocents in a fallen city.”
“… yes?”
“A witch is a sinner because she is a witch, and a non-witch is a sinner because he concealed a witch.”
“If you didn’t know there was a witch -”
“Ignorance is no excuse,” says the Lord.
“…”
“Remember! How can a lowly human being talk about judgment? Judgment belongs solely to the Lord. Our job is to send them to judgment.”
“That means….”
“Let all who are suspicious be put on the stake. The Lord will separate the innocent, and the flames will escape.”