The story of the black silk female knight

"Then I'll stay here and work on these things for the next few days... I'll try to see if I can hire some architects from the Nora Merchant Guild from Yashilo at a lower price, and try to finish building the manor before you come back. Then we can soak in the hot springs in our own manor while listening to you tell stories."

"Okay, I'll be looking forward to it."

Valensa kissed Tia back, then waved and turned to leave.

……

When Valencia returned to the Cathedral of the Sun in the capital of Fran after walking the sacred path, the first thing she heard was Fran's somewhat gloating voice.

"Haha, so you got reported for bullying and causing trouble outside, huh?"

"Here..."

Fran chuckled and joked as she handed Valensa a document:

"This is the whistleblower's statement; he spoke quite convincingly."

"What about others?"

Valensa took the transcript, quickly glanced at it, and then casually asked a question.

"We're just waiting to testify against you as a witness."

Fran covered her mouth and giggled:

“We told him we had sent people to bring you back, and he seemed very excited, as if he was imagining you being in trouble.”

"Huh, what an idiot."

Valensa pursed her lips, thought for a few seconds, and then asked:

"What did Sister Lika and Sister Sera say?"

"They said that you can make all the decisions, after all, you are the inner paladin, and they have to listen to you in all matters related to cults within Fran."

Fran chuckled as she answered Valensa's question, then her expression turned serious:

"But you'd better not go too far. Even if he's really annoying, you need to have a good enough reason to get rid of him."

"Don't worry, I already have a plan."

Valensa answered confidently, and then waved her hand:

"Let's go, let's go to the interrogation room now, and have someone take him there too."

"Okay, I'll make arrangements right away."

Fran was originally trained by the Church of the Sun as a lieutenant-type talent. She is now mainly assisting Lika because Lika is acting as Valensa's inner paladin.

When Valensa officially becomes a Knight of the Temple, Fran will be her adjutant and secretary, which is why Rika arranged for Fran and Valensa to be partners from the very beginning.

After nearly two years of working together, Fran was already adept at cooperating with Valensa and immediately began skillfully arranging the interrogation, only to ask one last question with a smile at the end:

"By the way, what role do you plan to play at this trial? Defendant or presiding judge? If you want to pretend to be the defendant and play games with him, I can be the presiding judge to help you~"

"No need, I'll handle both the presiding judge and the defendant myself. Fran, you can bring a few of your sisters to record the proceedings and observe the proceedings."

"it is good."

The interrogation was quickly prepared.

Led by two serious-looking paladin ladies, Rosa Capton suppressed her nervousness and excitement as she entered the interrogation room of the Church of the Sun.

He had reported many nobles and military officers in his life, and testifying in court was like going home, but those were all in the military court or the guard post. This was the first time he had ever been to the interrogation room of the Church of the Sun.

This is a room inside the cathedral, about 300 square meters in size. Right in the middle of the wall opposite the door is a statue of the sun goddess.

Unlike the gentle, smiling goddess statue in the prayer room, the sun goddess statue in the interrogation room looked quite serious, with a cold expression.

But if you look closely into the goddess's eyes, you can see a hint of disdain, as if Her Majesty the goddess is looking at a pile of garbage.

Rosa Capton naturally didn't dare to stare at the goddess statue. He only glanced at it briefly before quickly lowering his head and sitting down in the witness stand on the left side of the door. At the same time, he looked expectantly at the empty chair on the right, imagining how satisfying it would be for that hateful female knight to sit there and be interrogated.

A few minutes later, Rosa Capton heard footsteps outside the door, the sound of paladin boots on the ground. There were at least five or six people, probably the presiding judge with the suspect.

Rosa Capton quickly sat up straight and mentally went over the lines he was going to say several times.

He knew very well that the despicable female knight was good at using sarcastic and obscure arguments, and this time he was determined to make that arrogant girl pay the price!

Valensa quickly walked ahead of several paladins, including Fran, and entered the interrogation room.

But she showed no intention of sitting in the dock. Instead, she walked all the way to the back of the interrogation room, where she sat in the presiding judge's seat, leaving Rosa Capton with a bewildered expression.

dong dong!

It was a bit of a shame there wasn't a gavel, so Valensa tapped the table twice with her hand, adopted a very authoritative expression, looked at Rosa Capeton, and asked that classic line:

"Who are you here? Why are you accusing me?"

Rosa Capton's ten fingers were trembling, he was dumbfounded, and the lines he had just been rehearsing in his mind were completely forgotten.

What's happening here?

who I am? where am I? What am I doing?

Snapped!

Stunned, Rosa Capton was jolted back to reality by the loud slam of her hand on the judge's table, only to see Valensa's face already contorted with rage.

"I'm asking you a question, why aren't you answering? Are you trying to mock me, the Church, or Her Majesty the Goddess?"

"No...of course not!"

Rosa Capton couldn't bear this charge. He stammered as he stood up, glaring at Valensa with a defiant look, took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth, saying:

"That's right! I'm going to report you! I'm reporting you for using violence to assault me! This is in front of Her Majesty the Goddess, do you dare to deny it?"

"Yes, I did beat you up."

Valensa admitted it without hesitation, but remained calm and instead smiled and asked in return:

"But fighting is a civil dispute. Even if you want to sue me, you should go to the police station. Why did you come to the Sun Church?"

"I……!"

Rosa Capton, who had years of experience in filing complaints, felt his heart pounding. He had a premonition that he had fallen into a deep pit this time.

But this was in front of the statue of the Sun Goddess, and even Valencia dared not lie, so Rosa Capton certainly dared not.

"I……"

He could only grit his teeth and continue, repeating the statement he had given during the previous interrogation:

"I suspect you're involved with a cult! You used witchcraft on me while you were beating me!"

"Yes, I did use a pupil technique when I beat you up."

Valensa smiled, the kind of smile a hunter gives when he sees a fat sheep have already stepped into his trap:

“But my eye technique only causes fear and intimidation to the target. Many bewitching spells can achieve similar effects. Why are you so sure that what I used is evil magic?”

"I have checked your file."

Valensa then beckoned to Fran, took a document from Fran, and tossed it directly in front of Rosa Capton:

"You've never been involved in any cult-related incidents, and you've never been exposed to evil magic. So, on what basis do you judge that the eye technique I used on you is evil magic? Hmm?"

Chapter 2 Valensa, you did a great job!

"I……"

Rosa Capton was sweating profusely.

He was adept at speculating about everything from a conspiracy theory perspective and collecting any possible evidence to report others, and he immediately saw through Valensa's sinister intentions.

While the Church of the Sun will not interfere in the internal affairs of human kingdoms, there is one thing in particular in which the Church of the Sun has the authority to act in a manner that transcends all national laws.

Combat cults.

Once someone is implicated in a cult and the evidence is conclusive, even the king's personal pleas will be useless; the power of life and death will be entirely in the hands of the Church of the Sun.

You absolutely must not answer this question! Otherwise, if you get involved with a cult, even just as a suspect, you're doomed!

After that beating, Rosa Capton knew very well how vengeful Valencia was; he was even dragged out of his house and beaten up that same day!

"I was just guessing!"

With a tense face and trembling teeth, Rosa Capeton quickly thought for a moment before managing to come up with an answer that was neither a lie nor a way to distance herself from the cult:

“I have no magical talent and know nothing about spells… The illusion created by your spell terrified me; it felt very evil, so I guessed you might have used sorcery.”

"I see~~"

Valensa deliberately drew out the last syllable, raised an eyebrow, and asked playfully:

"But you should have recognized me by then, right?"

"I……"

Rosa Capton frowned deeply, unable to immediately figure out what the trap was in this question. He glanced up at the stern-faced statue of the sun goddess behind Valensa and decided against lying.

"Yes, I recognized you at a glance... Although you had a black stocking over your head, you were completely undisguised elsewhere, and you were even wearing the paladin armor you wore when we met during the day."

"Pfft~"

It seemed that Valensa's image of wearing a black stocking hood but still dressed in the iconic paladin armor suddenly appeared in her mind, and Fran couldn't help but laugh out loud. The other paladins also covered their mouths, struggling to hold back their laughter.

Valensa didn't seem to care. Wearing black stockings on her head was just a ritual for doing bad things; she didn't actually intend to hide her identity.

She merely leaned forward slightly, pressing her chest fully against the trial table, scrutinizing Rosa Capeton with the gaze of a hunter examining prey in a trap:

"Since you recognized my identity back then, you should also know very well that I am a paladin serving Her Majesty the Goddess, right?"

That's quite interesting... What were you thinking when you suspected you were under a curse after being attacked by a paladin with a fear spell?

If you were a normal, devout believer, you would probably first suspect that you have been under some kind of special divine spell, right?

They'd prioritize questioning a noble paladin for colluding with a cult... In other words, are you questioning whether the Church of the Sun is harboring evil? Are you questioning Her Majesty the Goddess's poor judgment in choosing her subjects?

"I……!"

草

Rosa Capton was filled with shock and anger, and it took a lot of willpower for her to restrain herself from swearing at Valencia on the spot.

He finally understood Valencia's true intentions.

If someone were to be accused of questioning the goddess, it would be akin to colluding with a cult, especially if it fell into the hands of a paladin with whom they had a personal grudge. They would be severely punished, if not killed!

Rosa Capton's heart was ice-cold.

Now, he either has to admit that he recognized the sorcery based on his experience and knowledge, but that would mean he would be convicted of being involved with a cult, or at the very least, of harboring a criminal.

Alternatively, one could insist that identifying the spell as evil was just a guess, but that would be seen as questioning the goddess, a very heavy burden that could potentially crush someone.

A dilemma.

Rosa Capton racked her brains for several seconds, but still felt that the charge of being involved with a cult was more dangerous.

As for questioning the goddess... as long as you grit your teeth and don't admit it, does a paladin dare to torture her in front of the goddess statue?

"I have no intention of questioning Your Majesty the Goddess. This is merely the wild guess of an ignorant person after being frightened. I beg Your Majesty the Goddess to see the truth."

Rosa Capton completely ignored Valencia, the presiding judge, and knelt down before the statue of the goddess in a seemingly devout manner.

"Hehe...you really know how to be clever, alright, alright."

Valencia's smile deepened, and she looked at Rosa Capeton as if he were already dead.

"Since you don't trust me, the presiding judge, and want Her Majesty the Goddess to decide for you, then let's decide this matter in Her Majesty the Goddess's way."

According to the canon of the Church of the Sun, any believer who feels wronged can use baptism by holy flame to prove their innocence. "Since you are unwilling to accept my judgment, how about proving yourself through baptism by holy flame?"

"Baptism by Holy Flame?"

Rosa Capton's face grew even paler, and his expression suddenly became hesitant:

"This……"

"What? You're afraid to accept it?"

Valensa scoffed:

"As long as one's faith is sincere and one has a clear conscience, believers can bathe in the holy flame without being burned, and purify themselves of all negative states."