The Heroines Who Framed Me Are Clinging to Me

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]

Chapter 55 - Heresy Inquisition (1)

The Holy Office.

The white temple of the Deus Church, where half the continent's faithful wish they could set foot.

There are three main types of entrances to this place.

One is the main gate, where ordinary believers gather, hoping for a chance to enter.

The entrance is usually packed with pilgrims from all over the continent, so it's mostly crowded with tourists.

The second entrance is reserved for members of the Holy Office, such as priests, staff, and high-ranking figures like the archbishops.

And the last entrance is...

— Clang!

"Move along!"

...The underground passage made for transporting criminals.

Just stepping inside made it feel several degrees colder, the chill seeping from the stone floor. Following the clanking footsteps of the guard priests, you couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down your spine.

'Well, at least it's cool in here. It was too hot outside.'

Holy Constantine was located too far to the south, after all.

As Lloyd muttered this to himself, Princess Yulia came up beside him.

"Lloyd!"

Her voice, though a whisper, was sharp enough to express her anger. Lloyd answered nonchalantly.

"Yes?"

"Don't 'yes' me!"

Zzzt.

The guard priest walking ahead glanced back at them, causing Yulia to awkwardly smile and lower her head.

"We didn’t restrain you because you’re cooperating, but if you make any more noise, we won’t offer any more leniency."

"Yes, we’re sorry."

The sight of a princess from the Empire smiling and apologizing to a foreign guard—it made Lloyd mutter to himself that the Empire had truly fallen far.

"This is your fault."

Yulia whispered as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Anyway, why on earth did you let yourself get caught like this?"

"Because this is the fastest and easiest way to get into the Holy Office. From now on, everything related to the succession battle is a race against time."

"...I suppose you’ll explain this time race later, but for now, isn’t this situation incredibly dangerous?"

Though the guard priests had taken their time, it was clear that an arrest order had already been issued across the entire Holy Office for Lloyd.

Someone must have been waiting for the right moment to capture him, and now he’d walked right into their hands.

It was an action Yulia couldn’t understand.

Wasn’t this the same as handing yourself over to the enemy?

"We’re not in any real danger."

"Why?"

"Because they can’t punish us for this."

"I really don’t want to keep asking ‘why,’ but why?"

"The Seven Kill Squad was a well-known criminal organization, wanted across the entire continent. We eliminated them. They can’t punish us for that. Not if they have any sense of justice."

Everyone knew the Seven Kill Squad was a criminal group.

So punishing them for dealing with such criminals wouldn’t be justifiable. Besides, the Holy Office was supposed to be a righteous, moral religious institution. Or so Lloyd argued.

Crack.

A vein popped on Yulia’s forehead.

She was clearly very angry.

"Lloyd. Don’t you think that’s too naive? These people are a political faction. They don’t interpret everything through a moral lens."

Had she placed too much trust in her advisor?

She hadn’t expected him to act so recklessly without any backup plan.

Lloyd usually made bold decisions but was always safe at the same time.

'Maybe the pressure’s getting to him.'@@novelbin@@

Maybe swapping bodies with Ortega had made him a bit impulsive and less intelligent...

"You’re not having disrespectful thoughts about me, are you?"

Lloyd’s sharp question made Yulia’s eyes roll in surprise.

"A-Ah, no?"

"You are. You definitely are."

"..."

"But you’re wrong. The reason I said we’re safe is precisely because there’s political manoeuvring involved."

"...Political?"

"Yes. Oops."

Lloyd leapt over a pile of red-stained stones on the ground, with Yulia and the village chief following carefully behind.

"It’s a long story, but to summarise: Whoever’s trying to catch us here in the Holy Office is connected to something very dirty. They’ll come at us aggressively like this, but..."

— Squeeeeak!

The loud sound of a heavy metal door opening cut off Lloyd’s words.

Beyond the door was a long hallway lined with rooms.

Anyone could tell these were interrogation chambers.

As Yulia and the village chief turned pale, Lloyd reassured them.

"Don’t worry. They won’t touch you recklessly. If it looks like they’re about to, just reveal your identity, Princess Yulia. And Chief, you can handle a little torture, right?"

"Well, yes... I beg your pardon?"

"Yeah. If things go south, just hold out. But don’t worry too much. Just tell them the truth about what happened."

Despite his words, Lloyd wasn’t too concerned about the village chief.

His past wasn’t ordinary, after all.

In the end, it didn’t matter who had dragged them into this—there was only one person with something to gain.

"You two, this way. And Lloyd, you’re over here!"

Lloyd grinned widely.

"See you all at the top."

◆

Unlike the left hallway Yulia and the village chief were led down, the right side had a much darker atmosphere.

The deeper they went, the nameplates on the doors shifted from "Interrogation Room" to "Torture Room."

What would come next if they went farther?

His curiosity was soon satisfied.

[Heresy Inquisition Room]

The guard priests shoved Lloyd inside and left, closing the door behind them.

"Hmm."

Lloyd looked around.

He didn’t need to use any special sensory skills to pick up the stench of blood ingrained in the room. One wall was adorned with tools like saws and hammers—definitely not the kind of equipment one would expect in a place like this.

'Are they here to interrogate heretics, or create them?'

Lloyd couldn’t be sure of the room’s exact purpose, but he had a good guess who it belonged to.

A Heresy Inquisitor.

In the Holy Office, their role was to hunt down heretics—those who stood against the faith—and either convert or eliminate them. In the Empire, they were akin to the Emperor’s personal guard, but...

'These people are scarier because they’re fanatics.'

They were essentially the Holy Office’s killing machines.

Devout to the point that they would bite at you with their mouths even if all their limbs were cut off, as long as it was in the name of God.

Each of them was highly skilled, and it was said their combat ability rivalled that of a Knight Commander in the Empire.

Of course, there weren’t many of them—rumor had it that only two or three Heresy Inquisitors were currently active.

"They should be hunting the Blood Cult instead."

As Lloyd grumbled to himself, the door creaked open.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Am I late?"

A young, cheerful voice echoed through the room.

A boy appeared.

He looked about thirteen or fourteen years old.

Even for a boy his age, he was small and thin.

His golden hair, shining like the sun, seemed to illuminate the gloomy underground room.

"Nice to meet you. You’re Lloyd, right?"

The boy walked up and extended his hand.

Lloyd, feeling somewhat reluctant, took it.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Asmael. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to serve Deus here at the Holy Office."

"...Lloyd."

"Hahaha! I like you! You’re fun!"

The boy spun around once with a bright smile.

Just that alone made the hairs on Lloyd’s body stand on end.

It wasn’t fear—it was a primal reaction.

The kind that occurs when standing in front of an overwhelming force.

'Heresy Inquisitor Asmael.'

Lloyd searched his memory for any information about the boy. He vaguely remembered hearing about him. A story about a twelve-year-old who wiped out an entire village of Blood Cultists—including two of its leaders and his own parents.

The boy had shouted as he did it.

— For Deus!

After that, the boy’s whereabouts became unknown.

It was only natural.

Even if the act had been in God’s name, the Holy Office couldn’t protect him from the consequences.

A boy who worshipped Deus more devoutly than anyone but couldn’t become a priest due to his violent tendencies.

Now, the protagonist of that tragic yet untragic story was standing right in front of him.

With an innocent smile plastered across his face.

"Wow, you seem to have sharp eyes, Lloyd."

"People tell me that a lot."

"You don’t need to speak so formally. I’m younger than I look, after all."

"Alright, if you insist."

"You’re really dropping it right away, huh?"

Well, if he said to drop the formality, I’ll drop it.

Lloyd was good at following instructions when the situation called for it.

But there was still one problem...

'Why is this kid here to interrogate me?'

A Heresy Inquisitor.

Lloyd hadn’t expected someone of this caliber to be sent for him.

And for good reason—Heresy Inquisitors serve only those closest to Deus. In other words, they serve the Holy Emperor.

'The idea that the Holy Emperor could be in league with the Blood Cult... is too far-fetched.'

Lloyd had assumed that whoever had taken an interest in him was someone in the Holy Office secretly working with the Blood Cult.

He’d even let himself get captured to quickly identify the heretic within the Holy Office.

But now, an Inquisitor directly under the Holy Emperor had appeared?

'Things just got complicated.'

Trying to piece everything together, Lloyd’s head began to ache as he focused on Asmael.

"I’m innocent, by the way."

He might as well claim his innocence for now.

After all, this boy, despite his smiling face, could crush Lloyd in an instant.

That’s why dealing with crazed fanatics was always tricky.

"Is that so?"

Asmael casually flipped through the papers in his hand.

His persistent smile made it impossible to read his true thoughts, which only made Lloyd more uneasy.

"They say you’ve killed people."

"They were from the Seven Kill Squad, a notorious group of assassins that targeted important figures across the continent."

"Wow, that’s quite impressive. Taking down a criminal organisation like that."

"I just did what needed to be done."

"But killing is never good. It’s not like you have a licence to kill, do you?"

"If we’re going down that path, then the Holy Office has no right to punish me for something that happened in the Empire."

"That’s true."

Asmael flipped through the report without any further comment.

The smile on his face remained, as unsettling as ever.

"And besides. They were part of the Blood Cult."

"...The Blood Cult?"

Asmael’s eyes peeked over the report.

"Yes. We found the Blood Cult’s symbol on the shoulder of their leader, Ilsal."

Asmael was a devout follower of Deus.

And sure enough, the moment he heard about the Blood Cult, his eyes seemed to ignite with a burning intensity.

Heresy was something he could never forgive.

"You did well."

"Thanks. So, I’d appreciate it if you could untie me, and we could have a proper conversation."

Lloyd rattled the restraints binding his legs to the chair.

Asmael grinned.

"But you see."

"...?"

"This report says that you’re one of the Blood Cult members, Lloyd."

"...What?"

Before Lloyd could protest, Asmael stepped forward.

"Roll up your sleeve."

The sleeve, where the Blood Cult’s symbol was supposedly hidden.

"Do it before I tear it off myself."

Asmael’s expression shifted, his smile vanishing into something much more ominous.

[Translator - Peptobismol]

[Proofreader - Demon God]