“The ability of the Blanche family is to make contracts with non-human beings and command them. Accordingly, my ability is to command fairies, not monsters.”

“Pfft, fairies?”

Someone’s n*ked mockery echoed blatantly through the court, precisely because the court had been so quiet.

Soon, people began to snicker one by one.

“I suppose she’s gone mad facing execution.”

“Hmph, fairies. How brazenly she tells lies that even my son wouldn’t believe.”

But the commotion didn’t last long, ceasing instantly like turning a page.

“Sugar, prove your existence.”

That single monotone whisper from Belinda brought about a miracle.

Though no wind blew, her red hair gently waved once, and soon something peeked out from between her hair strands like parting a curtain.

Finger-sized with pointed ears.

This creature, with a lovely appearance as if it had jumped out of a fairy tale illustration, began to flutter its three pairs of transparent wings, circling above Belinda’s head.

“…A-A fairy!”

People had never seen a fairy with their own eyes, but upon encountering Sugar’s existence, they couldn’t help but realize.

That fairies truly exist.

Belinda smiled leisurely while seating Sugar on her finger.

“Fairies, who shun magic and evil, would never associate with those who use sinister powers like black magic or command monsters. If you still harbor doubts, then ask. Ask whether I have made a contract with this fairy.”

Since Belinda had proven her innocence by revealing a fairy before everyone, the judge couldn’t simply pass over without questioning.

‘He clearly said it was an ability to control monsters!’

Grinding his teeth toward Sybel, he reluctantly used the Eye of Truth.

“Belinda Blanche… I ask as God’s representative. Have you made a contract with a fairy?”

The High Priest’s pupils turned a brilliant gold as divine energy once again enveloped the court.

Belinda answered without hesitation this time as well.

“Yes, I have.”

The divine power once again discerned the truth.

The judge announced God’s will with a sigh.

“It is the truth.”

***

The seemingly flawless “Eye of Truth” had a weakness.

Ultimately, the one wielding divine power is human, and that person must be quick-witted.

In that sense, the High Priest’s head was nothing more than a useless ornament.

He had just made a mistake.

Like following bread crumbs found in a lost forest, instead of asking as I instructed, “Have you made a contract with a fairy?”, he should have asked whether I possessed “the ability to control fairies.”

But the Grand High Priest was a dull human, and in the end, like siblings in a fairy tale, he fell perfectly into a trap disguised as a sweet gingerbread house.

At that moment, someone sitting in the gallery rose from their seat and protested.

“That’s a lie! Use the Eye of Truth on me, Judge! Belinda definitely awakened the ability to control monsters!”

“Silence, silence! How dare you not only deny divine power but also presume to demand its use! If you cause any more disturbance, you will be charged with contempt of court and blasphemy.”

Fortunately, not all judicial officers had been bought by Sybel.

I watched Sybel coldly as he bit his lip and sat back down at the judicial officer’s stern words.

‘As I thought, he knew that Belinda had awakened the ability to control monsters.’

The circus accident I saw when I inherited Belinda’s memories through her second memory fragment.

From Belinda’s perspective, it seemed Sybel had saved her.

But the exhaustion and fatigue I, or rather, the Belinda I had become, felt that day was unusual.

Just like when magical power is depleted after being poured out completely.

‘That must have been when Belinda awakened her ability.’

The judge, who had barely restored order to the chaotic courtroom, looked down at me as if I were a troublesome matter.

The judicial officer standing to the judge’s left asked me.

“Both controlling monsters is true, and making a contract with a fairy is true. Does the defendant have an explanation for this?”

“Of course. Has the judicial officer heard this saying? That fairies bestow one blessing upon humans with whom they form a bond.”

I deliberately gave people time to digest my words before continuing.

“I received the blessing of enchantment from fairies. Controlling monsters isn’t through black magic but through the power of enchantment from the fairy’s blessing.”

“Controlling monsters through a fairy’s blessing! What sophistry! How do you intend to prove this?”

The judicial officer standing to the judge’s right, who had taken bribes from Sybel, hurriedly pressed me.

Making contracts with monsters to use them as limbs versus subduing monsters through contracts with sacred beings have different meanings.

The former could be argued to have roots in black magic, but the latter would be no different from sacred power that opposes magic.

From his perspective, needing to somehow frame me as a black mage, his blood must be running cold.

“When you’ve seen a sacred being with your own eyes, Judicial Officer, is proof really necessary? Also, I don’t need to separately prove that I received the blessing of enchantment from fairies.”

I looked straight up at the judicial officer who had been nitpicking my every word, haughtily raising my head.

“Look at me and you’ll know. That fairy blessings exist.”

“….”

Naturally, the answer came as silence.

He probably had no counterargument.

‘Well, even I think Belinda’s appearance is fraudulently beautiful.’

Especially how beautiful I must look bathed in the sacred light streaming through the stained glass windows—just imagining it is thrilling.

“If you still must verify, then question me with divine power. I am always truthful before God.”

The destination of my gaze was, as from the beginning, the judge.

“Then ask your third and final question, Judge.”

“….”

I knew he wouldn’t easily open his mouth.

From the moment the first question of divine power wasn’t whether I was a black mage but whether I controlled monsters, the conclusion of this crude play was all but determined.

When the judge who should lead the trial remained silent, everyone began to watch him.

The judicial officer on the left, unable to bear the uncomfortable silence, urged the judge with a cough, but still the judge stubbornly remained silent.

He had already wasted two of his three question rights.

He probably couldn’t easily ask the final question.

‘Then I must force him to open his mouth.’

I spoke the words I had prepared for a very long time.

“For my final rebuttal, to prove I am not a black mage, I wish to reveal why Sybel Blanche reported me.”

At that moment, I could feel with my entire body that everyone’s eyes in the court turned to me.

Hiding my tension, I straightened my back and turned to look at Sybel Blanche sitting in the gallery.

“Sybel Blanche falsely reported me as a black mage because I know his original sin.”

“Sybel Blanche’s original sin?”

In an instant, the protagonist of the court changed.

Amidst the flood of gazes, Sybel glared at me with a fierce expression familiar to me but unfamiliar to others.

I savored Sybel’s expression to the fullest as I opened my mouth.

“He poisoned my uncle and father, Jonas Blanche.”

Regardless of its truth, the court became as chaotic as if it had been bombed.

“Lies! She’s telling vicious lies!”

“How dreadful!”

“Order! Everyone maintain order! This court is to judge whether Belinda Blanche is a black mage. The defendant should refrain from irrelevant rebuttals!”

“It is not irrelevant. As the defendant, I have the right to rebut why I was falsely accused of being a black mage. So, Judge.”

I looked straight up at the judge, who no longer even attempted to hide his expression of dismay.

“Use divine power to prove the innocence of a believer who trusts and follows God. Either ask me if I am a black mage or…”

I took a breath, as something like furious elation welled up within me.

Then I raised my voice so everyone present could hear.

“Ask whether I heard with these two ears Sybel Blanche’s confession that he poisoned Jonas Blanche. I am always prepared to give a truthful answer.”

“Give me… some time to consider.”

The judge chose to take a step back.

But I knew what choice he would make.

Because I trusted Sybel. More precisely, his obsession, meticulousness, and distrust toward humans.

He would have secured insurance in case the judge betrayed him.

From Sybel’s perspective, the worst betrayal the judge could commit would be to ask me with divine power whether I was a black mage.

Since the ability to control monsters differs from black magic, the Eye of Truth would naturally judge that I am not a black mage, and then all of Sybel’s plans would crumble like a sand castle swept away by waves.

‘So he probably took measures to ensure that the question could not be asked.’

A few minutes later, the judge, who seemed to have aged ten years in that short time, declared divine power.

“…I ask as God’s representative.”

The judge’s gaze swept the assembly before fixing on Sybel. After he briefly shook his head, he asked me.

“Belinda Blanche, did you hear Sybel Blanche confess to poisoning Jonas Blanche?”

Ah, finally.

A smile of victory played on my lips.

After savoring this moment thoroughly, I gave the same answer as always.

“Yes, I did.”

For a moment, a breathtaking silence fell, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

And then.

“…It is the truth.”

“Impossible!”

“My God, Lord in heaven!”

All three chances given by God had been used up.

The excitement that enveloped the court did not easily subside.

The judge and judicial officers seemed to have given up trying to calm people down, talking amongst themselves.

Soon, the result of the divine trial was announced.

“The Temple proves through the power bestowed upon us by our Lady Aria that Belinda Blanche has no connection to black magic, and that her ability to control monsters stems from a contract with a sacred being.”

Submitting to that judgment, I gracefully bowed.

“Merciful Aria gave me three opportunities to reveal the truth. What follows is not a matter for God to judge, but for human law to decide.”

Raising my head, I turned to Sybel and asked.

“Isn’t that right, Sybel?”

Finally, glancing at Rachel Dukoff, who had participated in the trial, I concluded.

“I’ll see you next in the royal court.”