Rhodes Island does not exist.

"So you mean, if we were to recreate the scene, what would the scene have been like...?" The bishop pondered carefully, constructing his mental image as he spoke.

"The people in the hall were brutally murdered by the Agorians, and the methods included, but were not limited to, those I just mentioned," the doctor said. "In short, it seems highly unlikely that this young girl would have done such a thing."

“He was tortured to death by Agor… So, do you think there’s another possibility?” the bishop pondered.

"what?"

"They killed each other."

"You...???" The doctor was completely baffled and couldn't understand the bishop's guess. "What exactly are you trying to say? If you're trying to keep us in suspense or play a riddle, could you wait until you're done with your work?"

"No, it's nothing, just think of it as me overthinking." The bishop shook his head.

"I...I want to see him."

Just then, Levini's faint voice came from the other side of the table.

"What are you talking about?" The doctor turned his gaze to the poor girl.

“I want to see the healer… My trial should be over, right?” Her eyes were vacant, her body limp and lifeless, like a rag doll. “I want to go home, I want to go back to Asturias… I want to go back to my own home… or anywhere else… as long as the healer is here… as long as…”

“I am a doctor.” The church doctor pointed to himself with some doubt. “Besides, if you want to go to Asturias, you can’t do it without transportation. It’s too far.”

“No, no…” Levini blinked her lifeless eyes and shook her head. “What I want is a doctor… a doctor who can tell me stories…”

“Your trial is not over yet.” The bishop walked to Levini’s side and gently stroked her head with his large, kind hand. “And you can’t see your doctor now, because he is more suspicious than you, so he needs to be questioned more thoroughly before a result can be reached.”

"Then...when can I meet the doctor...?" Levini asked.

The questions she asked were almost entirely subconscious; after all, having experienced that devastating event, she probably couldn't even think rationally anymore.

“Once he’s out of the mystery, that should be enough,” the bishop replied. “Don’t worry, I believe he hasn’t done anything wrong, so he will definitely be acquitted and then he can come to your trial as a witness.”

"Huh? Why does she need a trial?" the doctor, unaware of the facts, asked. "Did she commit any crimes before?"

“Theft, blasphemy,” the bishop explained. “Blasphemy is unforgivable, and judgment must be taken.”

"But he's still so young, shouldn't we be a little more lenient?" the doctor asked again.

“That’s not the case.” The bishop shook his head. “When it comes to crime, the younger the criminal, the more severely they should be punished, because not doing so would be detrimental to their growth and would ultimately harm them.”

“Perhaps you are right,” the doctor nodded. “But who is this doctor she mentioned? Is he also in prison?”

“Ah, yes,” the bishop said. “He was a traveler from afar who came to Iberia to attend a trial—remember when I mentioned that one of Levini’s crimes was theft? The object of that theft was the doctor.”

"I see... wait a minute."

The doctor's expression initially showed sudden realization, but after further thought, it became utterly bewildered.

"Since she stole the doctor's things, why does she still seem so attached to him?" the doctor asked疑惑地. "Is there some kind of relationship between them?"

“No, as far as I know, that doesn’t exist. The immigration check also proved that the two were just strangers who met by chance and only got to know each other because of the robbery.” The bishop glanced at the dazed Levini and said, “I think Levini probably found something called kinship in him.”

"They are clearly robbers and victims?" the doctor asked in surprise.

"This is where human emotions lie, and it is also one of the most vulnerable parts of humanity," the bishop said with a smile. "Humans should be invincible, but because they have hearts and brains, they are full of weaknesses."

"The brain gives humans reason, while the heart gives them emotion."

"But both reason and emotion are the easiest to exploit and take advantage of."

"What are you saying?" The physician frowned, looking at the bishop before him.

"It's nothing, it's time to go home."

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the monthly pass from Commander Li Zheng (who is missing).

Chapter 94, Chapter Ninety-Three: Deep Sea Tales, Part Twenty-Nine: Unraveling the Mystery

At 3:35 PM, the trial began in prison.

The situation has now become a complete deadlock.

Moreover, he alone cannot break this deadlock.

The doctor understood perfectly.

In the land of Iberia, he was a stranger in a strange land, and even if he were murdered here, there would be no law to speak up for him.

Therefore, if these uninformed priests really intended to convict him and execute him as the cardinal's murderer, he would have no say in the matter.

"Levini".

But he was clearly more worried about Levini's situation than about himself.

After all, he was only a suspect in the murder of the cardinal, while Levini was the sole survivor of a massacre.

All those present in the courtroom were tortured to death, and the cardinal lay dead in the square. The only witnesses to this event were two outsiders who had just arrived the day before—something that seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it.

"that."

The doctor, with his hands resting on the iron bars of the cell, looked out the door at the disciplinary army captain—now his jailer—and asked a question.

"Can I ask to see Levini?"

"Of course not." The captain shook his head. "Who do you think you are now? If we could just let you meet with anyone, what would happen?"

"Then, may I know how she is doing now?" the doctor asked again. "I don't mean anything by it, I just hope she's safe and sound."

"If nothing unexpected happens, she should still be sleeping right now." The captain thought for a moment and replied, "The bishop just said that her mental state is very bad right now. Even the slightest stimulation would cause her to break down, so it's better for her to rest for a while."

"Thank you," the doctor said sincerely. "After all, she just went through such a scene... I think she really needs enough rest."

"Then I have another question." The doctor paused, then continued.

"Huh?" The captain glanced at him.

"Regarding the Cardinal's murder... is there any further progress?" The Doctor's tone was quite cautious, as if afraid of touching a nerve with the temporary jailer.

"Nothing."

The captain shook his head. "You are the first and only suspect right now, because there was no one else at the scene except you. If nothing unexpected happens, you will be taken to court within three days."

"Three days...?" The doctor murmured as his hands slid down the bars of the cell.

"Don't get me wrong." The captain exhaled a puff of hot air from his nostrils. "I said within three days because the current courtroom will need at least two or three days to clean it up. If it weren't for that massacre, you could only stay here for half a day at most, and you'd be on the trial bench first thing tomorrow morning."

"So hasty?" the doctor asked in surprise. "Didn't you consider the possibility of indiscriminate killing and letting the murderer go unpunished? And... I mean, didn't you consider the possibility that the cardinal committed suicide?"

"What did you say……?"

The captain's eyes instantly sharpened like the hammer in his hand, radiating undisguised hostility.

"This is Iberia. Don't think you'll get away with this after insulting a high-ranking clergyman." His tone became as aggressive as his gaze. "Suicide is a grave sin under the law, and the soul will suffer endless torment after death. And yet you've accused His Holiness the Cardinal of such a heinous crime?"

"Don't get agitated." The doctor immediately waved his hand. "I was just suggesting a possibility, so you mean to say that such a possibility simply doesn't exist, right?"

“Of course!” The captain glared angrily at the doctor. “That’s a cardinal, and even if he weren’t a cardinal, but just an ordinary Iberian civilian, he would never do something so incredibly foolish.”

"I understand. I didn't mean to offend you. Please forgive me." The doctor clasped his hands together and bowed his head in apology to the captain. "I really didn't mean to slander the cardinal. I just wanted to ask for a simple possibility."

"Don't even think about the possibilities." The captain's tone became several times colder than before. "If there's no eyewitness testimony from a second person, you can expect to be on the gallows."

"Hey."

The doctor sighed deeply.

Today was supposed to be the day he met the person he had arranged to meet.

Not only will we not be able to meet, but we might also lose our own people.

Is this where our long-held ideals are destined to be buried?

While remarking on this, the doctor turned his gaze to the captain.

At this moment, he was clearly angry because of the doctor's words, and the earlobes on both sides of his face trembled up and down with the rhythm of his breathing.

It seems that the captain is a Liberian.

In fact, there were many Liberians in Iberia and Lateran, and the Liberians in Iberia far outnumbered the Agorians, becoming the dominant ethnic group in Iberia—although this was thanks to the Iberians' exclusion and expulsion of the Agorians.

So, when it comes to the expulsion of the Agorians, that's... and so on.

Thinking about this, the professor suddenly realized a problem.

“Captain,” the doctor’s voice was deep and clear, “may I ask you another question?”

"Ask." The captain's tone clearly lacked enthusiasm.

"When I was at the Cathedral of Afterglow, all the priests I saw seemed to be Liberians, and feathers even fell on the bishops... But why is the cardinal an Agorian?"

This is a problem that the doctor has only just realized.

Because when he saw the cardinal's body at noon, he ran to him and tried to help him, and at that time, he noticed that the cardinal's race was not Liberi but Argonaut.

Honestly, this is very strange, quite strange.

Since the clergy of Iberia were mostly Liberians, why was he, as the religious leader of Iberia, an Agor?

Although he didn't think this thought and idea could bring any change to his current predicament, at least the doctor wanted to figure out what the answer was behind this matter.

Since we're all going to die anyway, it's not too much to ask a few questions, right?

"You just insulted and slandered the cardinal, and now you want to dig up his past and stories, is that it?" The captain clearly had a lot of opinions about the doctor, and instead of answering, he asked two questions in return.

"I'm really just curious, but I don't know anything about it, so I can only ask you," the doctor said, clasping his hands together in a pleading manner.

“Then I’ll tell you—there’s no particular reason.” The captain glanced at the doctor and replied, “It’s because the cardinals are appointed by the Lateran Pope.”

-

Thank you segment.

Speaking of which, I saw some posts in the author group asking for votes. If I asked for votes, would you guys really give them to me?

Or are there any requirements or qualifications for requesting votes?

Chapter 95, Chapter Ninety-Four: Deep Sea Tales - The Other Side of the Thirty-Four Wall

There are often strange things in the world: some people you live with and have a close relationship with, but you never confide in them or tell them your true feelings; while others you just met and immediately feel like old friends, revealing all your secrets to each other as if in confession.

— Ivan Turgenev, *A Sportsman's Sketches*

Cardinals are appointed by the Lateran Pope.

This makes sense.

That makes perfect sense.

After all, who else besides the Lateran Pope has the power to appoint cardinals?

But the doctor knew that wasn't what he was asking.

After all, even the Pope cannot directly promote a lowly priest to cardinal. He must have achieved this through his own efforts and the influence of his reputation within the Church.

Otherwise, the people in the Iberian Church now—including the 50th cleric in front of him—would not respect and protect him so much.

In other words, as an Argaff, he must have paid a heavy price to climb to his current position.

However, the captain in front of him didn't seem to want to say anything more, so the doctor didn't dare to ask any more questions.

"Click."

Just then, the chain outside the door rattled.

This is a signal that someone has entered.

"How is the prisoner?"

The bishop pushed open the door to the cell and entered, speaking as he did so.

"We can take him to the court at any time, as long as they are ready." The captain saluted the bishop as he entered.

"Hello, Bishop." The doctor greeted the familiar face naturally.

"The courtroom should be cleaned up by tomorrow." Ignoring the doctor's call, the bishop continued to the captain, "Then just wait for further instructions."

"Yes," the captain replied.

"Furthermore, Lateran is unaware of the Cardinal's death." The bishop paused for a moment. "I plan to try the criminal and the girl together before issuing a report."

"I will follow your plans, sir." The captain lowered his head, speaking respectfully.

"Is Levini going to take the blame for what happened in the courtroom?" Upon hearing this, the doctor couldn't help but ask.