"Has he really gone that far off the deep end?" Jason was stunned.
Roland promptly rapped them both on the head. "What nonsense are you two talking about?"
"As long as you're all right—what happened to Avaritia?" Astra asked Roland. "You didn't kill that guy, did you?"
"No. He could take even more punishment than I expected. He's not human at all." Roland shook his head. "But it's not much of a problem. He should have quite a headache on his hands right now."
The Special Tribunal hastily assembled by the Senate.
"Avaritia, the Senate demands an explanation," a senator with an exceedingly arrogant expression said. "What exactly did you do at the Temple of Vesta?"
"Senator Superbia, I was attacked!" Still suffering from serious injuries, Avaritia could only recline in his chair as he spoke through gritted teeth. "It must have been the heretics! They attacked me, destroyed the Temple of Vesta, extinguished the Eternal Flame, and abducted the Vestal Virgins!"
"Oh." Superbia stood, walked over to Avaritia, and pulled aside his clothes to examine his injuries. Then he carefully wiped his hands with a silk handkerchief. "You certainly suffered grievous injuries—but we cannot rule out the possibility that you did this deliberately to divert our attention."
"Why would I lie to you?" Avaritia countered.
"To conceal your intentions." Superbia narrowed his eyes, his face full of disdain. "Heretics destroying the Temple of Vesta, extinguishing the Eternal Flame, and abducting the Vestal Virgins would all make sense—but why were you there?"
"I—I discovered signs of heretical activity there," Avaritia said, sounding somewhat guilty.
"How peculiar. How would an imperial governor, a Jew at that, discover signs of heretical activity in a Temple of Vesta?" Superbia drawled. "Or are you hiding something from us?"
"I think he wanted to do