The Church's Influence (1)

Despite his intuition screaming to run from the embarrassment, Anaroth allowed himself to be dragged through the store by hand. After a while, he began to relax. He hadn't done anything so leisurely in nearly a month. Even Veridin's occasional comment didn't seem to annoy him as much. In fact, he was having fun.

The last place they stopped at was a small bookstore. The front of the store wasn't fancy, or even embellished. All it had was a single sign. Veridin pulled Anaroth into the store, telling Raven and the guards to stand outside. Once inside, the cleric perked up.

"Ah, Veridin welcome! Or should I call you 'your majesty' now?"

The woman behind the counter smiled warmly. She wore glasses and her black hair was tied up in a messy bun. Even when her eyes fell on Anaroth, her comforting gaze didn't change.

"Just call me as you always have. Do you have anything new to recommend?"

"I do, but shouldn't you introduce me to your friend first?"

Veridin glanced at Anaroth. "This is Anaroth, a close friend of mine."

"We aren't close," Anaroth corrected him.

She laughed softly. "I see. I've been expecting you to stop by again, so I have a few books here to recommend to you." She reached below the counter and procured a small stack of books. "This top one is about a young maiden who accidentally discovered the dark secret of a duke. And this next one is about a girl who gets kidnapped by a foreign prince. It's a lot like Deflowered, and I know you like that one."

Anaroth watched Veridin pick up and flip through the books. He looked between the two and felt as if he didn't belong here. He opened his pocket watch, and stared at the picture in the lid. He looked up when the cleric walked around the counter.

"You can take a look at those, but I have a few more you might like." She returned holding several more books and hoisted them onto the counter. She smiled and winked when she spoke, "I never recommended these to you but I have a strange feeling you might like them."

"What are they about?" Veridin set down the book he was holding.

"This one is about a prince falling in love with the young king of the enemy country!" She held the book up with a smile.

Anaroth flinched. Veridin glanced at him momentarily before speaking. "Is it interesting?"

"Of course! It has all the content you love in it. I think you'll like it."

Anaroth looked at Veridin with wide eyes. Veridin had his hand on his chin, lost in thought. Was this really the person he knew? He was seriously considering a book like that?!

"Alright. I'll take it. What about the others?"

"They're of similar style. This one is a butler that falls for his master: the head of a large merchant company. This one is a knight that runs away with the enemy commander, and this one…"

The rest of their conversation fell on Anaroth's deaf ears. He had thought that nothing would ever surprise him more than Veridin reading romance novels, but to think that he was willing to read romance novels starring men was beyond what Anaroth had expected. He stared at Veridin as they left the store. Could he be...? Anaroth shook his head. He couldn't see Veridin with anyone other than some peerless beauty with a matching attitude. There was no way Veridin could think about men that way, right?

"Anaroth, do you have anywhere else to go?"

Veridin's voice broke him free of his thoughts. "I was thinking about stopping by the church."

"Really? Alright."

Anaroth climbed into the carriage, still lost in his thoughts. He was still confused when he saw Veridin's mischievous smile. "Is there something wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing big. I'm just glad you accepted my offer this time."

"Offer?"

"It seems like you needed help getting on the carriage this time."

Anaroth froze. He scanned Veridin for a moment before sighing, "Is that something monumental?"

"I suppose not," Veridin grinned.

The carriage stopped in front of the church. As the two got off the carriage, they were met with strange looks. Veridin narrowed his eyes. He knew something was wrong.

"Let's find the saint quickly." Veridin walked up the steps, followed by Anaroth. As they approached the door, they were met with swords blocking their path. Veridin glanced at the two paladins in front of the door. "What is the meaning of this?"

"We cannot allow you into the church, your majesty."

"For what reason?"

The high priest opened the door, looking at Veridin with a darkened gaze. "A puppet being manipulated has to be exorcized Veridin."

"You're calling me a puppet? On what grounds?"

"The evidence is right behind you, is it not?"

Veridin spun around, seeing Anaroth clenching his jaw. The people nearby were also giving him accusatory glares. This was the high priest's plan. He had already wormed his words into the brains of the masses. Veridin turned around with a dry laugh. "What do you intend to do? There's no proof that I am a puppet, and there's no proof that I'm not."

"There is one way."

Veridin furrowed his brows. The high priest stepped out of the door, causing Anaroth and Veridin to step back. The paladin order filed out from behind Malas and surrounded the two. A priest raised a pair of cracked red and black handcuffs to the high priest. He raised them above his head, showing them to the growing crowd.

"These are handcuffs that have been blessed with the power to limit evil's influence! If you are truly not being possessed, this will prove everything, will it not?"

Veridin stared at the shackles with wide eyes. Blessed? What a farce! Those shackles were filled to the brim with mana which was actively interfering with the mana surrounding them. They were made to seal and prevent mana usage. The high priest was simply using fire to fight fire.

"You want to bind your own king? What a bold claim, your holiness! Is this not akin to treason?"

"Treason or not, it is your responsibility to quell the fears of your people is it not? There are many believers here now. If you wear these, it will prove your innocence."

Anaroth glanced at Veridin. He could tell that Veridin was looking for a way out of the situation that would end up favorable. Movement caught his eyes: The saint stepped out of the church with her hands clasped together.

"Veridin," She spoke, "Please put these suspicions to rest. Simply wear them with us to the square so that we may show the kingdom your innocence."

"Lilis…" Veridin grit his teeth. He had anticipated the saint being manipulated as well. The odd factor here was those strange handcuffs. What was Malas doing with mana? He glanced back at Anaroth. If this situation could end with him being the only one to be chained… "Alright. Allow me to prove my innocence."

Veridin held his hands out. Anaroth looked at Veridin, then the high priest. "Wait! If you're trying to prove that I didn't manipulate your king, shouldn't you be chaining me instead?"

"There is no need to be concerned." A priest opened the box he was holding to reveal another pair of shackles. "There is another pair for you."

Veridin's heart sank. His hands were visibly shaking, but he didn't lower them. If he retracted his statement now it would create an even bigger problem. He watched as his hands were bound with the cracked iron. As soon as the cuffs were fastened, his entire body felt as if it were being pressed into the ground. He gasped. He couldn't feel the mana flowing around him anymore. When he tried to use magic, a shock ran through his body and brain. His entire body felt sluggish and heavy. He glared up at the high priest.

"This is enough isn't it? There's no need to chain him as well!"

"It seems that his evil magic is still affecting you. Chain him."

"You–"

"It's fine. This will be quick." Anaroth raised his arms and Veridin looked over in dismay. Veridin watched in horror as the shackles were placed on his wrists. He slumped over with a pained expression before smiling at Veridin. "Now everything has been proven right?"

"Not quite." The high priest walked down the steps. "Take them to the town square!"

"This isn't what you said!" Veridin shouted at Malas.

"Isn't that what I said?" Lilis walked down the steps, stopping in front of him. "We will show the capital your innocence."

"Lilis, don't you sense that something is wrong here?" Veridin muttered.

She looked up at him sympathetically. "Bare with it Veridin. It won't be long until his holiness releases you. Take them away."

"Lilis! Are you going to live in his shadow forever?! When will you think for yourself for once!" Veridin shouted over the paladins.

The high priest put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry dear. You did the right thing."

Her knuckles turned white as she watched them get farther away. Veridin had always been the visage of justice in the kingdom. Was this truly the right thing to do?