Chapter 22 The Smiling Princess Part 2 4

 The Smiling Princess Part 2 4

 The slight pity I felt for Claudia as a woman dissipated when I saw the complicated expression on Wolfgang's face as he moved to the seat next to me.

"...Alexandra-sama, what punishment has God brought upon her?"

"I don't know what God's will is, but if I had to guess I'd say it's punishment for not being able to recognize everything that's wrong with you."

"I've always had a problem with not listening to things that didn't suit me, but I honestly didn't think it would go that far... and I used to be very careful about my surroundings... "

 Not that dress.

 I don't have that figure.

 Not that disfigurement of a noblewoman who would rather die than expose her breasts in public.

 Wolfgang's eyes are telling him.

 It must have been unbearable for Wolfgang, who has a taste for beautiful things.

 The fearful transformation of the woman he had once loved.

"She has said so many foolish things and acted so foolishly that His Majesty said there was a possibility of divine intervention and that she might have been ill in the first place. I arranged for her family to take the blame, not her, so I don't think it was the shock of being punished that caused her to become that way."

"The father-kun who spoiled her was stripped of his position as Lord Commander, wasn't he?"

"Yes. He was also stripped of his knighthood and is now a cripple."

 The Cantor family, except for the former Third Knight Commander who was the head of the family, behaved very gracefully and solemnly offered to give up their position and divorce themselves.

 The sisters were not disinherited and were allowed to have children.

 The brothers were also allowed to be knights and priests, although their status was lowered.

 The people around them seem to be sympathetic, except for a few heartless people.

 They say there's nothing that can be done in that flower garden.

"I have heard that the position of the head of the family has been revoked, and that Mrs. Wurzner will become the new head of the family, and that the Cantor Barony will strive with all its might to atone for the sins of her daughter and husband for their disrespect."

 This may have been a lenient decision, considering that the Wurzner family had ceased to exist.

 However, seeing the current situation of the former head of the family and Claudia, who seems to have become a cripple, it will be very difficult to clear his name, and many people will take it as a rather harsh decision.

"If the Cantor family wants to, I think they can choose to go to the Empire with us..."

"I have no feelings for anyone other than the two of you, so I would recommend it, but I don't think you are ready to die for the Emperor and the Empire."

"I see..."

 A punishment that doesn't allow you to understand just how sinful you've been.

 How can I redeem myself?

 He had loved her so much that he had insisted on nagging her.

 ...But it might be difficult to do so now that we've come this far.

"...Miss Claudia, I think, has spoiled herself too much."

"I was partly responsible for encouraging her indulgence... and I should have done more! I should have blamed her more. If I had done that, she might not have been exposed to such a horrible abomination."

"I'm sure your family and you were pushing the limits of blame, weren't you? But just as Diethfried did not listen to me or Randolph-sama's advice. Miss Claudia must have been living in a world that suited her. The world is different. I'm sorry. It's a very, very sad story, but I guess my words and yours didn't reach her."

"Well, yes... why didn't they listen to us? I still think about it in a corner of my mind, but maybe we should give up."

 Her sorrowful eyes narrowed sadly.

 Love may be lost, but feelings remain.

 Even if you try to cut them off, you cannot do so easily.

 It was difficult to deny even the person I had spent time with.

"...I'm a narrow-minded person, Alexandra-sama...the moment I saw her disfigured form, whatever feelings I had left disappeared. The only thing I had left was my physical appearance, but I think I can throw that away too."

 But it's not impossible, it seems.

 Seeing Wolfgang's fresh smile, Alexandra also thinks.

 There's no need to keep up appearances anymore.

"Next, Carla Ziege!"

 Ziege, who had been able to get out of the warding, would have asked Bartolomeos for leniency in the past, but now she was sitting sluggishly on the floor.

 The maid who had been her attendant held her arms and dragged her to the place of absolution.

"You are guilty of disrespect and infidelity for not conceiving a single child of the emperor despite being given the status of his only consort, and for continuing to pass off another man's seed as the emperor's. You are guilty of forcing the emperor to perform numerous magic tricks that could harm his body and soul, you are guilty of attempting to assassinate countless princesses, and so on. In addition to crimes related to the Imperial Family, there have been reports of embezzlement, fraud, and abuse."

 The sheer number of crimes he had been accused of for the first time in an official capacity caused the people around him to scream.

 Could it be someone from the Ziege family?

 Edeltraut was sorting through the mountain of reports, exasperated that he had been forced to do so many reckless and reckless things over the years, taking full advantage of the title of the birthplace of his side wife.

"You will be stripped of your entourage. All her assets will be returned to the state. She will be confined to the temple until her death. No contact with your son or daughter. If your children wish it, so be it, but they will not all wish it, will they?"

 Bartolomeus' gaze fell on the five children.

 All of them nodded their heads in agreement.

 Even Ferdinand and Sylvia, who were said to have been in active contact with Ziege.

"And the Ziege family, who took advantage of the folly of the guilty and abused the name of his wife to the fullest, were stripped of their family name and title. They were also ordered to give up their assets. Any relative of the family will be free of charge. Any child under the age of five may change his name through adoption."

 Other than that, there will be atonement for what you have devoured.

 The Zieges are a fertile family.

 There are dozens of them, including mistresses.

 Some of the women fainted. Some of the men collapsed.

 Those who tried to run out of the temple were quickly restrained by the knights.

"...Sinner. What do you have to say for yourself?"

 She doesn't respond.

 She just kept smiling at them.

 Her attendants, unable to hide their quizzical samaiko, bowed deeply to Bartolomeos, at least on behalf of their Lord.

"...Carla. Do you have any last words?"

 Since the family name is no longer available, she calls out only that name, perhaps for the first time.

"I love you, Bartolomeos."

 For a moment, her eyes take on a semblance of sanity.

 But it is only for a blink of an eye.

 Soon they reverted to the lascivious daze of a woman who has chosen madness.

"It's just like her not to apologize to us until the end."

 Ha! Snickering, Annemarie no longer called her mother.

 Of course, she wouldn't even recognize her.

"I don't love sinners. From the time she was my wife, from the time she said something disgraceful about Eleonora, she has become someone I cannot love or even feel for."

 Although she is looking at Bartolomeos, her eyes are looking at a different world, just like Claudia and Dietfried.

 He must not have heard Bartolomeos' last mercy.

 Locked inside the ward once more by her attendants, she had a smile on her face that made him want to turn away, wondering what was so pleasing to her.

"Next, Nikolaus Bot!"

 The bot, dressed as an easily recognizable sinner with magic shackles around his wrists, neck, and ankles, arrived at the scene of the absolution alone, his steps unsteady.

 He lies down on the floor and presses his forehead deeply against the floor.

 He seems to understand his crime better than the three of us.

"In addition to the crimes related to the imperial family, such as impregnating a concubine and falsely claiming that the child was the Emperor's child, repeatedly casting spells that could harm the Emperor's body and soul, treating the Imperial Princess like an experimental animal, and unleashing countless spells that would have resulted in her instant death if not for the blessings of the gods, there are also crimes related to the imperial family, such as the crimes of the Head of the Court Mage and the Head of the Mage Training Academy. In addition to the crimes related to the imperial family, there are reports that he used his position as head of the court mage and head of the mage training academy as bait to commit embezzlement, fraud, and other crimes, and that he abused his wife and daughter as well as the students of the mage academy.

 The bots really surprised me.

 He's never treated Alexandra as a human being, let alone as royalty.

 He was a magic freak.

 A life devoted entirely to magic would have turned him into a monster, unrecognizable as a man or a person.

 The way he treats his wife and daughters is something that Annemarie taught him and he was appalled by.

 He must not only have no sense of decency but even common sense.

 The people who are being judged as sinners have all lived in a world that suits them to the fullest extent.

 He is the one who, next to the Temple Head, has caused the destruction of many innocent people.

 His sins are too heavy to be atoned for.

"You are hereby stripped of your positions as head of the court mage and head of the mage training academy. All assets of the Votto family will be returned. You may keep your family name. You'll be treated as a commoner with a name. You will continue to wear your magic shackles until your death."

 Deprived of his position and wealth, deprived of the magic he had clung to to the point of losing himself, and left with nothing but his name, would the bots be able to survive?

 In the case of the bots, their original title was a special viscount without a territory.

 However, because he had held the honorable positions of Chief Court Mage and Director of the Mage Training Academy, he was treated as if he were a Marquis.

 But now he was treated as a disgraceful commoner with a name.

 If a commoner were given a name, it would be a great honor and he would be respected and treated well.

 But when a nobleman becomes a commoner with a name, that name means that the nobleman is not worthy of the name of his family, and he becomes an object of contempt and marginalization.

 Perhaps, from now on, they would have a hard time even earning their daily bread.

"Do you have any last words?"

 With Bartolomeos' words, the bot seemed to have broken some of his spell.

 He looked up and begged in desperation.

"Magic! Please make it possible for me to use magic! If I have magic, I can help everyone! We can make amends to those who caused us trouble! Please! Please! Please! Please make it possible for me to use magic again!"

"No... I will not allow you to use the magic that disgraced Alexandra."

Your Majesty!

you'll get a chance to remove it. But just because you're out of the grimoire doesn't mean you can't use magic. Wouldn't it be better to have the grimoire? It gives me an excuse."

Excuses, sir?

"I can't use magic because I'm sealed in the spellbook. The gods have not condemned us, you know."

 The bot's eyes widened beyond their limits in astonishment.

 A streak of blood ran down the edge of his eye.

"It was foolish of you to try to atone for your sins with the magic that disgraced Alexandra-sama. The gods will not allow you to cast a spell."

 Sylvia explained in a very calm voice.

 It seems that she can also hear the voice of God.

"Yes. Sylvia is right. Magical tools are expensive. If the country falls into chaos, the thugs will forcibly remove it and rob it. There are those who say his life will be dark even after it is over."

 After making tea for Alexandra and Martin, Sylvia and herself, Ferdinand talks about the future of the bots that God has ordained.

 The bots, realizing that their argument would not improve the situation, but rather worsen it, returned to their wards without further disfigurement.

 He must have realized that the time he could stay inside the ward was the safest time for him.

 His face was as white as paper.


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