Fallen Apostle Volume Two Chapter Four: Anti-Climax (2)

Father Barat's eyes narrowed. Though he had been expecting Leonidas' first reply, this second one had thrown him off of his plan.

"I can imagine where you wanted to go with this," Leonidas started.

"You're interrupting the proceedings." Father Barat cut him off.

"I'm not," Leonidas replied without skipping a beat. "Do you know why it is you taking control of these proceedings and not Deacon Bruthers?

"It is because a trial of this kind needs a representative of the people. As this involves the subjects of Her Holiness Yves, the bridge that connects the people to the Apostles must take control of the proceedings.

"This, by virtue of its practice, doesn't separate us as one above the other. In fact, it places us on equal footing.

"While the final decision remains yours, it also must be made under an Oath of Purification and under the scrutiny of a Blessing of the Heart.

"So, when I reply, I am not 'interrupting'. I am only providing my side of the events.

"Do you have anything to refute about these statements?"

The sudden reversal seemed to take the wind out of several sails. This sort of subtle and nuanced understanding of the situation wasn't something they had expected out of Leonidas. In fact, it wasn't something they expected out of themselves, either.

Trials like this one were rare and none here could recall the last. Even some of the Rardins had been fully expectant that it would be Deacon Bruthers taking the reins, until they learned of the reality.

Two older men, sitting by the Rardins, slightly opened their eyes when they heard Leonidas speak. Leonidas had already taken note of these; these two older gentlemen were the very same two that had left after Deacon Bruthers during the gathering.

By process of elimination, these two had to be the backbone of the Rardin family, their two Healers.

Leonidas' words seemed to have awakened them.

"… No, I have nothing to refute," Father Barat responded.

Leonidas nodded. "As I said previously, I can imagine where you wanted to go with this. That night, you saw me as well. Let alone these testimonies of others, you can corroborate their claims yourself. However, this simply doesn't prove anything."

Father Barat's lips pressed into a thin line. That was correct, this was exactly where he wanted to go with things. Of course, he had more evidence, but this was meant to be the pivot point that started the avalanche, only for Leonidas to suddenly sidestep.

"My body is extraordinarily fragile. Everyone knows that my father was a Lower Ogre and my mother was a Lower Half-Beast. I gained my father's heavy bones but my mother's delicate flesh. My being injured and bleeding is not a rare occurrence.

"What Sir Gauteron's report failed to mention is that that day, he also kicked me through the window of one of his shops. Not only did he do it with enough force to send what was my 200-kilogram-heavy body flying, but the glass shards I landed upon with such heavy weight were more than enough to lacerate my tender skin in more ways than I could count.

"Following this, he gave me a deadline to remove my mother's grave from his property, which I had no choice but to follow. I thought I would have to dig with my arms and hands, but I was lucky enough to find a shovel on the property which I took.

"In my poverty at the time, the prospect of a wooden shovel was already beyond me, let alone an iron one. So, I took it. I assumed someone of Sir Gauteron's stature wouldn't miss it."

Leonidas narrated everything from start to finish without pausing. But, when he mentioned the shovel, he could see Father Barat visibly freeze. As shocked as he had been toward Leonidas' previous negative answer, this one truly left him at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Leonidas was forced to hold back a sneer. As he thought, the shovel had been the smoking gun.

Back then, Leonidas couldn't help himself, he truly had been too poor. Lacroix and Bennett had both come with shovels of their own and he had even had the side of his head "kissed" by the back of one. His better judgment had told him that he should throw both shovels off the edge of the cliff along with both corpses, but he couldn't help his greed and he had taken it with him.

The sad part of this was that he had never needed it as Lady Eve had subsidized his weapon and armor. Now, it had become nothing more than an anchor his enemies were trying to use to drag him down. Regardless, it was an anchor he had seen and prepared for.

"What are you trying to say?"

Father Barat's words immediately came off as weak and lacking in assertion. Having been derailed from his planned line of questioning, he launched a meaningless probe. However, even toward such a thing, Leonidas' response was airtight.

"My meaning?" He furrowed his brows in confusion. "I'm not sure what you mean. Is there anything you would like clarification on?"

"… This shovel, you say you found it on the property?"

"Yes. I assume that with the wealth of the Rardin family, they didn't care enough to keep a strict check on their shovels."

"Where exactly did you find this shovel?"

"Within the patch of burnt forest left on Sir Gauteron's property. I did not have any place else to bury my mother so I used the ledge of the cliff, planning to return to retrieve her when I could. While I was checking for such a location before unearthing my mother, I found the shovel near the cliff's edge."

"What state was the shovel in?"

"I'm sorry, I fail to understand the relevance of this line of questioning."

Father Barat's jaw steeled. He knew that Leonidas was right. The moment he had mentioned the shovel, this had already shifted into a losing position for the Rardins.

Convicting an Apostle was a difficult thing to do. Only the testimony of a higher-Level Apostle or the obvious contradiction of a defendant could indict them. However, for this crime, there were no eyewitnesses and the main pitfall had been sidestepped by Leonidas already.

The expressions of the Rardins darkened. This was supposed to be a simple matter to handle but the variables had already become too numerous.

First, it was clear that Leonidas had the Blessing of Goddess Yves' Ambrosia.

Second, he was aware that he was of equal standing to Father Barat and not below, giving him more confidence and assertiveness.

And now, third, he had sidestepped maybe the largest pitfall they had prepared for him.

The shovel had long since been taken out of Leonidas' possession. After being isolated for two days, only to be directly brought here, they had thought it would be enough to drive him into a corner.

Father Barat looked down toward his scroll once more. The frown lines on his face seemed to have subtly increased, but given his stoic demeanor, it was difficult to tell.

After a few moments of silence, though, it was obvious to anyone that he was struggling with this next decision, trying to decide whether it was worth it to risk his own well-being or not.

In the end, he calmed. This was most definitely not the end.

"In the case of Butler Lacroix and Butler Bennett, I conclude that Apostle Leonidas is not guilty."

The verdict came from nowhere without the slightest hint of pushback. The only one who didn't seem surprised by it at all was Leonidas himself, while the likes of Deacon Bruthers and the two Healers of the Rardin family managed to keep up their stoic appearances merely by virtue of protecting their status.

"Moving on to the case of House Lady Beccerth… I conclude that Apostle Leonidas is not guilty."

When these words were spoken, Apostle Maw shot up, her mouth already prepared to release a tirade of curses, but it was the steel grip of Apostle Benet that kept her in place and reminded her of where they were. In the Sub-Shrine, no disrespect would be tolerated. It wasn't a privilege afforded to Father Barat, but rather one given to the statue that loomed to his back. There was a very formal process involved in an outside Apostle interjecting, and with Father Barat closing both cases, that time had passed.

A trial they had prepared for over the course of two days had ended in the most anti-climactic fashion possible.

However, Leonidas never got the chance to rejoice. When he returned to his living quarters, not only did he find his neatly arranged life ransacked, but the tome that had become an important centerpiece of his life was not where he had left it.