I made all the preparations before the trial began.

With a sitting archbishop and a duke on my side, that’s more powerful than hiring a former high-profile lawyer.

With that level of backing, I could probably get away with murder in broad daylight with just a slap on the wrist.

Still, I was putting on a show, pretending I hadn’t made any preparations.

“Antonio, we don’t know when our guests will arrive, so we’ll keep all the staff we hired. And pay them as promised.”

“Yes, young master.”

“And the coffee is good, but what if we try offering juice made from fresh fruits, like lemon juice, instead?”

Antonio seemed a bit reluctant to answer, and he gave me a look that bordered on pity.

“Young master, are you sure? How could Bishop Christian accuse you of such a ridiculous crime…”

Since Christian took me and this café to church court, we’ve barely had any customers.

With a trial pending and no official backing, survival is going to be difficult.

If others got involved, it could tarnish their reputations as nobles too.

“It’s alright. Deus knows that I’m innocent, so there’s no need to worry. The church will surely clear me of all charges.”

But despite my words, I don’t trust the Tosca Empire, or rather, the Church of Deus.

I mean, there could be gods since I got reincarnated here, but these so-called clergymen—half of them have illegitimate children, and they launder identities to make them nobles.

Then they drag an innocent like me to a church trial to ruin me.

How am I supposed to trust the church?

“If you say so, young master. Just remember that we’re always praying for you.”

I may not deny the existence of gods in this world, but I doubt trusting Deus will solve anything for me.

Still, it feels nice to see genuine concern on Antonio’s face.

“This is a rosary we all chipped in to buy. Father Bio, who frequents the café, even blessed it for you. We hope it’ll help clear your name.”

It was a silver rosary, not something nobles would typically wear.

But if a priest blessed it, it must have cost them quite a bit.

Did the entire staff pool a week’s wages for this?

Twenty years after my reincarnation, and I actually feel a bit choked up.

All the employees were watching, cheering for me.

They said they were sure I’d be proven innocent, that a noble as kind as I am couldn’t possibly lack faith.

But there’s no way I could tell them.

That all of this was planned—an archbishop, a duke, and I have already set up the acquittal.

As for why I’m going through with this tiresome act…

Just then, the door burst open, and a group of people barged in.

“Is Fabio de Medici, owner of Café Medici, here?”

“Right here.”

“By order of Vice-Bishop Christian de Tolone, you are under arrest for corrupting the morals of the young with obscene influences! Resist, and you’ll be handed over to the inquisitors for defying the authority of the church!”

Normally, they wouldn’t arrest the second son of a noble in public like this.

That’s the rule of noble society.

But Christian must really despise me to break that taboo.

So, here I am, about to be dragged out in ropes for everyone to see.

“Arrest him!”

The priests quickly tied me up, binding me as if I were a traitor in some historical drama.

“Take him away!”

They dragged me straight to the church’s courtroom.

There, Vice-Bishop Christian and Baronet Valiano, who accused me, were waiting.

The other clergy members who would act as associate judges were also staring at me with disdain.

Christian had stacked the court with his own subordinates to ensure I’d be convicted.

The priest escorting me sneered.

“Master Medici.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Let’s end this peacefully. Just confess in court, and they’ll let you off with house arrest instead of execution. It’s a mercy from the vice-bishop himself.”

As if he wouldn’t love to have me executed but can’t deal with the backlash of killing the Medici baron’s second son over something like this.

Ridiculous. They’re about to get their heads bashed by the archbishop who will conveniently show up by the time the verdict is delivered.

“Deus stands with the righteous. My innocence will be revealed in court.”

“Oh, I see you’ve read a few verses, despite not attending the Academy.”

I spent twenty years in this world reading the scriptures whenever I had a chance.

People treat you with respect if you can quote the scriptures, after all.

“If you don’t confess, the vice-bishop may sentence you to be burned at the stake. Think carefully.”

Galileo’s trial was much the same.

Once marked as a heretic, you’d be interrogated by the church court.

After the interrogation, you’d be given a chance to repent. If you repent, your sentence is reduced significantly.

Galileo’s original sentence was the stake, but he was given lifelong house arrest instead.

Christian, seated at the highest position, soon permitted the audience to enter and declared the trial open.

In this empire, trials are entertainment, and nobles of all ages had gathered.

“Is the man who sets trends in Florence a heretic?”

That’s how the headlines would read back in Korea. No wonder they flocked here.

That’s exactly why I came here.

In a world where reputation is power, I came to earn the title of a fearless man who defends his beliefs even under the threat of death in a church trial.

“We shall begin the trial. Does the defendant, Fabio de Medici, admit to all charges?”

“I cannot admit to a single one.”

The nobles who were unaware of the details watched me with curious eyes.

“Very well, then let Baronet Valiano, the accuser, recite the charges himself.”

Valiano rose from his seat and began listing my alleged crimes one by one.

“The defendant, Fabio, opened an obscene establishment called Café Medici, corrupting the morals of the Empire’s capital, Florence!”

In the 21st century, something like public indecency would be a minor crime unless it involved assault or a sex crime.

But here, “corrupting morals” could get you killed.

It’s nearly as severe as murder.

“Those are the crimes I have witnessed and heard about. And to Vice-Bishop Christian, marriage is a sacred union decided by one’s parents, yet you have allowed men and women from noble families to meet at this café, where they brazenly fall in love and engage in depravity!”

The younger crowd in the audience responded with a chill.

“What’s this old coot talking about? Falling in love at a ball is fine, but not at a café?”

Meanwhile, a few old-timers seemed to agree.

“Marriage should be about family interests. These young people today have no sense of decency. In my day, we didn’t even think of such things.”

I can’t say much to these old men now, but...

Didn’t you all marry ladies for political alliances and keep them locked up at home while you showed off your virility to courtesans and maids?

Isn’t that the real indecency?

Deus teaches that men and women should become one flesh.

These hypocrites speak like pious believers but…

Vice-Bishop Christian made the sign of the cross, deeply affected by Valiano’s words.

“Oh, Lord, the world has truly reached its end…”

No, Christian, what’s really absurd is your head.

What kind of person assumes that men and women can’t talk without immediately thinking of indecency?

Fifty years old and still lustful, it seems.

“Yet, I shall fulfill my duties regardless.”

The vice-bishop slammed his staff on the ground.

“There are fifteen witnesses, besides Baronet Valiano, who have given similar testimony. Though we cannot summon them all, they have all pledged before Deus and submitted written statements.”

I didn’t need to see them to know their contents.

The logic would be nonsensical anyway.

But these witnesses are of high status, and in a society where status equates to credibility, protesting would be futile.

Not that it matters. The Archbishop of Florence will soon arrive and clear everything up.

All I have to do is put on a show of bravado, acting as noble as possible in the face of inevitable danger.

Pretend to be unfazed by the specter of death.

“Oh, Deus, please recognize my innocence.”