The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1228

A few days went by as Ves remained under house arrest under the watchful eyes of the Protectors of the Faith and the Ylvainan Inquisition.

He didn’t dare do anything funny such as pulling out his System comm from his Inventory because such acts were far too conspicuous.

After meeting with the lawyers that Calabast assigned to him, Ves understood that aside from guiding him through the formalities, they weren’t very helpful.

"If Calsie was here, she’d probably suffer a stroke when she sees how awful the Ylvainan Inquisition conducts their trials." Gavin noted during his visit to the villa. It took a lot of effort to grant him permission to meet with Ves in the first place. "The inquisitors who drag people to trial have already judged them guilty. The tribunal is just a safeguard in case the evidence brought forth is too flimsy to pass the smell test. In practice, the inquisitors on the tribunal almost always side with the inquisitors who accuses someone of damaging the Ylvainan Faith." _{freёweɓnovel.com}

Ves nodded. "I’ve read up on their history. The inquisition and their kangaroo court is a relic of the First Calamity and the Great Flight. Back when the Ylvainan Faith was under constant attack, the fleeing refugees suffered many betrayals from their fellow Ylvainans. While there are many devout believers among their number, some of them weren’t as eager to die for their beliefs. While plenty of cowards renounced their faith and fled from the refugee fleets, a small number of them stabbed the Ylvainans in the back by sabotaging the ships or passing on information to their pursuers."

"Traitors need to be dealt with quickly."

"Yup. With how desperate the Ylvainans were trying to flee those star sectors, they couldn’t afford to hold proper trials. That is when the Ylvainan Inquisition came into being. They received a strong mandate to protect the Ylvainan Faith by rooting out traitors by any means necessary. And to their credit, they were remarkably effective, mostly due to the broad range of power at their disposal."

"And that has hardly changed after they settled down in the Komodo Star Sector." Gavin noted.

"The Poxco Dynasty turned the inquisition into their militant arm after the founding of the Protectorate. With such solid backing, the other factions in the state failed to diminish the power of the inquisition even after they were no longer as necessary as before."

This resulted in an anachronism that was the Ylvainan Inquisition. The conservative, tradition-bound citizens of the Protectorate really disliked rapid changes. Institutions dominated by the traditionalists virtually remained the same even after several centuries had passed!

"How is public opinion shaping up, Benny?" Ves asked.

He didn’t have access to the galactic net during his house arrest. He became completely dependent on others for outside news.

"Well, as we predicted, the traditionalist media outlets have turned most Ylvainans against you." Gavin shook his head. "The citizens of the Kesseling System are particularly furious at you. The holy relic that went missing is one of their most valuable cultural treasures. With the proof the inquisition has presented, the public is pretty much convinced you’re the mastermind!"

"Because I’m a faithless foreigner, right?" Ves asked sarcastically.

"The Ylvainans can’t imagine that one of their own would dare to desecrate the great prophet’s possessions. It’s much easier for them to believe that a foreigner who has no respect for their faith is responsible instead."

This was what the Ylvainan Inquisition wanted to publicize. As long as they succeeded in demonising Ves, the Curins and Kronons wouldn’t be able to back him up anymore.

However, the court of public opinion was a double-edged sword. In the right circumstances, the monster that the inquisition had unleashed might very well turn against their benefactor!

Ves smirked. "Have we succeeded in shifting public opinion."

"We have. The Curin Dynasty did everything possible to stoke the public into demanding the tribunal proceedings be made public. Even if most Ylvainans are indignant at you, the Curins took advantage of their fury by channeling that into demanding that your trial be broadcasted live! Right now, the inquisition is still sticking to their guns, but we expect they’ll cave within a day."

"Hehehe." Ves deviously chuckled. "Since the Inquisition tried so hard to turn my trial into a witch hunt, we might as well run with it and blow it out of proportion!"

Both of them saw a lot of advantages to shining a light on the usually murky tribunals of the inquisition.

While Ves cared more about the opportunity to present his case to the public, Gavin and the others on his side realized another advantage to holding the trial in public.

A smile appeared on Gavin’s face. "Now that the tribunal is on track on becoming public, the Ylvainan Inquisition can’t pull off their usual shenanigans. All their other tribunals took place behind closed doors, so they easily got away with any irregularities and miscarriages of justice. Together with replacing two of their inquisitors with real judges, your trial will probably be the fairest the Ylvainan Inquisition has ever held in their history!"

"That doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll be able to walk away, though." Ves sighed. "The ’evidence’ they presented is extremely compelling."

Gavin dropped his smile. "That’s true. The microscopic particles they found in your room have been verified more than a dozen times. They even matched it with samples taken from similar nutrient pack wrappers that the Attendants of Ylvaine kept in their collection. All of the findings point out that the particles definitely belong to the holy relic taken from the grand cathedral."

"I’m innocent!" Ves exclaimed for the umpteenth time! He was constantly wearing his mask of innocence during his stay in the villa. He wanted everyone who monitored his life signs to receive the impression that he wasn’t involved. "Why in the galaxy would I want to steal a nutrient pack wrapper of all things? I can get millions of them by ordering a container worth of nutrient packs!"

"The relic that went missing isn’t a normal nutrient pack wrapper."

"Nutrient packs should at least contain their original contents in order to be collectible." Ves peevishly muttered.

He still found it ridiculous that a worthless object turned into a priceless cultural heirloom because it used to belong to a great figure.

Yet Ves shouldn’t complain. He took advantage of the Ylvainan propensity to worship every object that was tangitably related to Prophet Ylvaine in order to refine a powerful spiritual fragment.

Not that he saw anything wrong with that right now. He was innocent!