Chapter 41: Small Judgment Meeting

Arriving at Central Church, Na Naya didn’t cuff Meng Linna.

They looked nothing like escort and suspect.

“Bishop, I’ve brought her.”

Task done, Na Naya stepped back, giving them space.

The bishop turned, eyeing uncuffed Meng Linna.

She glared at Na Naya.

“She’s a suspect. Why isn’t she restrained?”

Thinking her job was over, Na Naya braced herself.

“She was cooperative, so I skipped the cuffs for humanitarian reasons.”

“Absurd! Cuff her!”

With the regional bishop’s order, Na Naya had no choice.

“Raise your hands.”

“Okay—”

Knowing her life wasn’t at risk, Meng Linna complied lazily.

“You’re done here.”

The bishop started to dismiss Na Naya but glanced at Meng Linna’s smug expression.

“No, stay. As a saintess candidate, see the true face of vile criminals.”

Meng Linna bristled.

“Bishop, watch your words. I haven’t been judged guilty by the church, have I?”

Facing a disgraced nun’s defiance, the bishop barely cared.

She gave Meng Linna a cold glance, then turned to Na Naya, lecturing.

“See? Sharp-tongued. She’s playing nice to fool you.”

“You haven’t answered me.”

Meng Linna pressed.

“Has the church judged me guilty?”

“If you weren’t guilty, you wouldn’t be here.”

A typical nun would shut up under a bishop’s weight.

But Meng Linna, a former regional bishop, knew church rules inside out.

She wouldn’t back down.

“If you think I’m guilty, show me the verdict. Otherwise, you can’t prove it.”

She raised her cuffed hands, clinking loudly.

“Treating an innocent person as a criminal. Isn’t that blasphemy?”

“Silence!”

Accused of blasphemy, the bishop couldn’t ignore her.

“Guilt isn’t set by a verdict. It starts when you commit the crime.”

Meng Linna smirked.

“Then how do you prove I committed one?”

“The church will judge.”

“But it hasn’t, right?”

Meng Linna stepped closer, closing the gap.

“Or does Bishop think her word equals the church’s?”

The bishop realized this wasn’t some naive nun.

She was prepared.

No surprise from a duke’s daughter, mouthing off to a bishop.

The bishop stepped back, forcing a smile.

“My wording was off. Come, Miss Meng.”

“Much better.”

Meng Linna rattled her cuffs loudly, following slowly.

***

In the small meeting room, the judgment began after the bishop’s introduction.

Meng Linna was surprised by the panel.

For a low-rank nun like her, even if guilty, a local church would handle it.

A bishop might not even show up.

Sometimes, a priest would just pronounce the verdict.

Summoning her to Central Church was odd.

The panel was odder.

The Central Church bishop was busy.

Attending every minor nun’s case?

Unlikely.

Her presence was plausible.

But the others?

Familiar faces, including a cardinal.

All this for one nun?

From her past life’s slacking experience, Meng Linna doubted they cared about a minor case.

There was another reason.

Maybe targeting her father?

Her father, Duke Meng Ming, was the kingdom’s most powerful duke.

Directly challenging him was tough.

They’d start with odd angles.

But she’d cut ties with him.

They should know that.

Unable to figure it out, Meng Linna zoned out.

“…Thus, Nun Meng Linna sold counterfeit goods under the guise of ‘holy water,’ defrauding believers and tarnishing the church’s name. Any objections?”

What?

Meng Linna, briefly distracted, caught something wild.

“When did I sell holy water?”

Selling holy water was no small charge.

She slapped the table, standing to protest.

“Mind your emotions.”

A priest gestured for calm.

“If you dispute the charge, speak.”

“Fine.”

Meng Linna didn’t hold back.

“First, I never sold holy water or claimed my items were holy water or church-related. No tarnishing the church’s name. Second, I didn’t sell fakes or defraud anyone. Plus, Yanan has barely any church believers. No defrauding believers.”

She spoke firmly, but the bishops weren’t easily swayed.

The capital’s regional bishop countered.

“You claimed your potions heal wounds fast, like holy water. You didn’t call it holy water, but it could mislead consumers.”