Escaping the Mystery Hotel - Chapter 494
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EP.494 Episode 494 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Second Trial ‘The Witch’ (2)
Episode 494 – Room 207, The Gate Room – The Second Trial ‘The Witch’ (2)
– Elena
Early in the morning, it felt like 5am.
I woke up in the morning hearing a loud noise.
“Miss, Miss Elena!”
“Uhm, what -”
“Judge Thomas has already left!”
I came to my senses as if I had been splashed with cold water.
Are you leaving already?
At this time?
Without even telling me?
“No! The Duke told me to come with him – this is not the time, Valentina! Get ready to go out at once! And bring Pero with you!”
For a young lady from a noble family like me, it takes at least an hour to get ready for going out.
Today I didn’t have time for that, so I got on the carriage and set off in 15 minutes, even yelling.
Ominous thoughts constantly come to mind.
Acrid smoke, the stench of corpses.
Screaming people, poles towering everywhere.
Eunsol unnie burning above!
“Faster! Faster!”
“Miss, the road is rough -”
“Hey! What if 20 people get killed before we get downtown?”
“… Here~!”
— Beep!
“We have arrived!”
*
Fortunately for everyone, my ominous fantasy was not yet a reality.
“Hmm? Lady. I didn’t know you’d come so soon. Why don’t you sleep a little longer before you come?”
“…”
“Haha, I’ve often heard about the parrot on the shoulder. It’s said to be a mysterious bird… .”
Inquisitor Thomas Torquemada, who speaks sarcastically as if mocking me.
I was momentarily angry, but it was difficult to reason about it because nothing had happened yet.
I was more curious about what he was doing now.
“What is this?”
“As you can see, it is an official document. As soon as the sun rises, we must hold a ‘witch court,’ so we must first send out the document to various places in the city.”
“…”
According to information gathered late the previous night, there are two types of Inquisitors.
The first is the secret category.
These are people who send their minions to suspicious areas or hide themselves there and then search for evidence of corruption.
The second is the public category.
This refers to the method of investigating by having people accuse each other themselves after holding a ‘witch court’ in the center of the city.
Of course, the latter involves a much greater sacrifice of innocent people.
And Thomas was the second type.
“…”
Before entering room 207, I review the knowledge I memorized at the hotel.
How did the witch hunt, one of the darkest chapters of human history, proceed?
Religious fanaticism is usually blamed, and that is not wrong.
It is clear that it was the Vatican at the time that provided the justification for the witch hunt.
However, a large part of the ‘motive’ behind witch hunts in individual regions was money.
If the accuser succeeds in accusing the other person of being a witch and burning them to death, he or she can receive the witch’s property as a reward.
That’s why one of the main targets was wealthy widows, who had a lot to gain from their wealth but were powerless to defend themselves in court.
Yes, that’s right.
Ninety percent of the problems in human history always start with money.
Even in these medieval times, when capitalism had not yet been born, money was something that all mankind worshipped.
Knowing this knowledge, I spotted the problem as soon as I saw the notice Thomas had posted.
“Number 12, erase it.”
“That article is about rewards for reporting witches -”
I feel a subtle war of nerves, a battle of momentum.
“So, I have to erase it….”
“… reward those who work hard. This is a very old adage.”
That sounds plausible.
“For the love of money is a root of all evil, and those who desire it fornicate iniquity. Have you heard?”
“1 Timothy 6:10, I know, but the trial is real. Who would dare to bring an accusation if there was no compensation?”
“On the other hand, don’t you think that there might be people who make false accusations because of the reward?”
“What’s the problem with that? There may be some false accusations, but in the process, true accusations will emerge!”
I was speechless for a moment.
This crazy guy knows that false accusations can come out just for the money.
He is the one who knows but thinks that the sacrifice is inevitable!
For a moment, I thought seriously about it.
Should we just leave them to the witch hunt?
If this guy starts putting people on the stake, I can use justice too.
“…”
Just use the definition, kill the judge, and that’s it?
I don’t think it will work this way.
There’s no way a hotel could give you such an easy ordeal.
Let’s think rationally.
Given the circumstances, this guy may be a crazy lunatic, but he’s actually a normal human being.
So, it doesn’t seem like he’s a ‘boss’.
The boss is clearly something with a transcendent power that Eunsol and I would have a hard time handling even if we tried our best.
Could this be a priest of a false god or something?
I wondered what would happen if I killed this guy.
With the gruesome death of Cha Jin-cheol, the existence of ‘corruption’ itself has already been proven to the locals.
A report on this must have gone up to the Vatican.
If I kill the judge here, the situation will end?
It’s such a stupid story that the trial is over when the judge dies.
Well, then the next judge will come.
A crazier guy might come, or he might come with a powerful temple knight.
Maybe that temple knight is the boss.
“…”
If you think about it this way, would it be right to kill them?
Eventually, the ordeal will end when the boss is dealt with, and if the condition for the boss’s appearance is Thomas’ death…
My head hurts.
Originally, I wasn’t the type to worry this much.
You can kill Thomas whenever you want.
So, first of all, let’s proceed in a way that doesn’t kill.
Take pity on the people and reduce the sacrifice of innocent people.
Thomas is a man who is completely immune to such obvious statements.
Therefore, we need to think about ‘logic that this person can accept.’
“It was the year I turned 15.”
“… Hmm? What are you talking about all of a sudden -”
“One day, as I was praying at the foot of the cross as usual, I heard the voice of the great Lord.”
“…”
The gaze is slightly upward, as if listening to a voice coming from the sky.
It’s a scene where you recall memories of the past – albeit made up in real time – so you’d better close your eyes.
Let’s lower our voices a little. That way, it feels more emotional.
“Elena, my beloved daughter, I grant you a talent to establish justice in this land.”
“…”
“That day, my life was completely in the arms of the Lord.”
Are you surprised?
Are you impressed?
I’m on a different level from you?
You’re saying that I, who received a miracle directly from God, and you, a crazy guy who reads the Bible diligently, are fundamentally different?
— Bam!
When I gave him a hint by tapping him, the Inquisitor sighed and answered.
“Whew… That’s a touching story. I now know how much the Lord cherishes and loves Miss Elena.”
“So, do you know what I’m trying to say?”
“…”
“Delete the bounty item. After all, it’s up to the Gray family to decide what to do with the property recovered from criminals!”
“Your Majesty has delegated that authority to me.”
“My father allowed it, but I didn’t allow it.”
“Your authority was also given to you by the Duke -”
“Mistakenly! It was the Lord who set me on the rock, not the duke.”
So do as I say!
I have received God’s grace.
Does this sound ridiculous?
Then does it make sense for you to burn hundreds or thousands of people to death without any evidence?
“… You’re being unreasonable. Okay, I’ll accept it.”
In the end, the Inquisitor gave in to my words asserting the authority of God.
Of course, I had a feeling that this was not the end of the conflict, but the beginning.
*
As the sun rose high in the sky, a large crowd gathered at the witches’ court set up in the center of the city.
Rich, poor, men, women, old, children – all types of people gathered.
Among them, I found the familiar face of Eunsol.
“…”
“…”
Crossing gazes.
There were so many eyes watching me that I couldn’t pretend to know, so I just nodded my head.
“Ahem! Citizens of Ernheim, I am Thomas Torquemada, the Inquisitor of the Holy See.”
Crowds of people.
The ominous words, ‘Master of the Crematorium’ are heard here and there.
It’s a testament to how great Thomas’ notoriety is.
“The witch court begins now -”
“for a moment.”
I deliberately chose this timing to stop Thomas.
Now, I wanted to show everyone the scene where I stopped Thomas.
“…”
Take two steps forward and look down at the crowd.
Fear or wonder for the favored daughter.
A sticky gaze that feels like a longing for beauty or lust.
Well, I guess it’s fine.
What’s important is the fact that everyone’s eyes are on me.
“Anyone who tells lies in this court.”
A tense atmosphere.
“Remember that you must leave one of your limbs behind. Thomas, go ahead.”
“…The witch court begins!”
— Boom!
Revision.
*
In retrospect, eliminating rewards for reporting was an excellent decision.
If it were true history, there were many people who would have stood up and said, “That guy is a witch, this guy is a witch,” but they were just sitting there quietly.
Of course, there were quite a few people who spoke up.
“It was two, two months ago. One night, a cow came out and made a strange noise -”
Late at night, I heard a cow’s cry and checked to see if a man with beast-like appearance had run away.
It must be the guy next door, and he must have tried some tricky trick.
“… Isn’t that just a cattle thief?”
“Miss, if you had seen that beast of a bastard -”
“That must have happened because I was rolling around in the barn trying to steal a cow. Do you remember the face?”
They brought in the suspect for questioning, and as expected, he turned out to be just a cattle thief.
— Bang!
“Judgment. Cut off the thumb and ring finger.”
“…”
It’s harsh, but I guess it’s appropriate to punish him to this extent, since he’s a cattle thief.
Commoners had difficulty distinguishing between ordinary crimes and the work of witches.
Or, perhaps, while the court is open, he wants to resolve all the litigation that has been on his mind.
With the daughter of the Lord, who is known for discerning lies, and a human barbecue expert in one place, most suspects would confess their sins just by looking at her.
“Listen! My name is Matthias. I tell you without a single lie. My wife has been married for thirteen years -”
Matthias, a merchant who made a fortune through salt trading and married a wife who was famous for her beauty since childhood, lived a life without the envy of others.
However, a worry that has been bothering me for about 10 years has arisen.
The strange behavior of his wife, Isabella, that has been going on for over ten years is what is causing him concern.
Why do you leave the house and go somewhere every week or whenever your husband goes out?
I pressed him several times and asked him why, but all I got in response was nonsense that didn’t make sense.
Clearly, a wicked devil has possessed my wife!
“…”
“…”
Thomas and I were both speechless at the same time.
After a while, Thomas called the accuser’s wife.
“I, my husband, have had strange suspicions since long ago! I just enjoy the night breeze -”
“lie.”
“Eek!”
Lie detection activated!
When he warned me with a golden light in his eyes, not only my wife but also the general public all looked frightened.
“There’s no time, so tell me the truth quickly.”
Finally, she told her heartbreaking story with tears streaming down her face.
A hazy first love during my teenage years, an unforgettable encounter with an innocent boy whose body smelled like mint.
And, an unexpected marriage that took place according to the father’s will.
I thought it was fate and accepted it.
I believed it was accepted.
One day, while living like that, the faint feeling of my first love came back as a solid bank employee.
“Oh! That’s an affair!”
“…”
This woman speaks so interestingly.
It was just an affair story, but I got so into it that I almost shouted “not guilty!”
“Phew… .”
The heretic inquisitor sitting next to me sighed deeply, as if he had aged ten years.
It looks like you’re tired because only incidents that have nothing to do with witches or corruption keep popping up.
Finally, as he was about to wave his hand and sweep it away, the salt merchant, who was half out of his mind, shouted.
“Isabella! Isabella! Answer me clearly!”
“Matthias… .”
“Children, children! Who is the father of the children!”
At that moment, the entire courtroom stopped.
The townspeople who were watching the situation with an excited expression, as well as the Inquisitor who seemed to have flames flowing through his body instead of blood, opened his eyes wide and focused on Isabella’s mouth.
“All of them are your children! I swear to God, all three of them -”
Naturally, everyone’s eyes turn to me.
“…”
Everyone asked for an answer with their formless eyes.
Even the Inquisitor.
“… lie.”
“The second one, maybe not. But the other two kids -”
ah….
Please, Isabella.
Don’t give me a hard time.
“… lie.”
“Eek!”
“Eww! One, one! Do you mean I have even one child?”
“… Ah, maybe the first one is -”
I just lost my mind.
Wasn’t this a witch’s court?
It was so absurd that I sighed.
“Hey, miss!”
“…Valentina?”
“The person you sent a letter to the other day sent me a note!”
A note from Eunsol?
*
– Lee Eun-sol
Wasn’t this a witch court?
It’s fun, but I didn’t know it would turn out like this.
“…”
The inquisitor, with a weary look on his face, decreed that Isabella and her lover be all tied up in the square.
Elena, who was also wearing a tired expression next to her.
Watching the trial progress from earlier, I can see what Elena is thinking.
It seems that they are wary of the Inquisitor’s rampage and are trying to shed as little blood as possible.
However, unlike the locals who believed with ironclad certainty that there was a witch after seeing Cha Jin-cheol’s remains, Elena and I know that the flesh had nothing to do with the witch.
So, isn’t Elena trying to make the witch trials themselves meaningless?
“…”
Okay, I get what you’re thinking, but… .
Elena is fundamentally mistaken about one thing.
It seems like I’m slow to get this kind of information since I’m not in the city like you and only live in old mansions.
*
– Elena
I opened the note my sister sent me.
“Elena, witches and devil worshippers do exist.”
“…”
My head started hurting again.
A man with a cold expression who raises his hand as if he had been waiting.
“I accuse you!”
“Your name, the person you are accusing, and the reason. State them in that order.”
“I, Bruno, am a sausage maker for the nearby Pilita Monastery. And the accuser is!”
“Who is being accused of?”
“I’m Eunsol Lee! I’m a witch!”
It’s finally started.