Chapter 53: The Witch’s Sin
The Wooden Donkey stopped before the Cross on the Execution Platform. A burly man, clad in thick leather clothes and wearing a leather mask, walked up. He looked exactly like the executioners from the Middle Ages I had imagined.
He carried the girl down from the Wooden Donkey. I noticed that the Wooden Donkey was covered in various strange and bizarre runes. I had no idea what their purpose was.
The guards who escorted the witch also dispersed around the execution platform. However, I observed that they seemed to be on bad terms with the knights and priests who had been guarding the execution ground earlier. They stood apart and made subtle expressions like snorting or rolling their eyes.
The executioner tied the witch to the iron Cross. As he loosened her restraints, all the guards nervously gripped the weapons at their waists or in their hands, as if ready for a fight.
Only when the girl was securely tied to the Cross and no longer struggling did they let out a sigh of relief.
I couldn’t help but want to mock their cowardice. They were all grown men. To face a young girl, who was defenseless and on the verge of death from torture, and still be so tense.
As usual, the execution would not commence immediately. The condemned had to be displayed for a period. The people openly stared at the girl’s entire body, their gazes sweeping back and forth. Even my own eyes were drawn to this pathetic girl.
She was truly beautiful. I daresay she was the most beautiful girl I had seen since I transmigrated. Even with all the beautiful women I had seen on television and the internet in my previous life, there were few who could compare to her.
Her white hair was exactly to my liking. Even with half her face obscured, I could tell she had a perfect face shape. I could imagine a pair of captivating, large eyes and perfect features beneath the eye mask.
Although her body was covered in wounds, her figure was still perfect, with excellent development. It was no wonder so many men in the audience, including Jayad, were staring intently.
I had heard that the more beautiful a girl was, the more likely she was to become a victim of witch hunts. Other girls would be envious of her beauty, and men who were resentful of not winning the hearts of their beloved would report them.
Greedy lords or jailers, coveting their beauty, would then accuse these girls of witchcraft on fabricated charges, causing them to suffer injustice and become victims of their desires. The ancients truly did not deceive me.
Before the time for execution arrived, there was, as usual, a public trial and a showy speech. At this moment, a person on the high platform of the VIP section loudly declared, “Now, please welcome our beloved Lord of Cando City, Baron Juan, to read out the witch’s crimes.”
The Lord of the City? I looked up at the high platform. A man with a pot belly stood there. His face seemed to be piled high with fat, and he needed the assistance of two attendants to stand up.
“Oh, oh!” The crowd below offered a perfunctory cheer, sparse and completely unorganized. It felt as if they were shouting randomly, with no real affection for the Lord of the City.
“To all the loyal citizens of Cando City, I, Juan Ista, am honored to announce that, with the full cooperation of the Church, we have apprehended another wicked witch. You can all rest easy now!” Baron Juan shouted loudly.
There was another round of cheers from the surroundings, but I felt it was more sarcastic than genuine. After all, in the past three days, I hadn’t felt Cando City was a place where one could rest easy. On the contrary, it was fraught with danger, and I felt completely unsafe.
“Regarding the crimes of this witch, uh…” An attendant beside him handed a long stack of folded paper to Baron Juan. Lines of text were densely written on it.
“This witch summoned a torrential rain last month, causing immense damage to this city. She researched forbidden Witchcraft at home, poured alchemical potions into the river, consecutively murdered girls at night, and offered parts of their bodies as sacrifices to Evil Spirits…”
