“No, no! That’s not true, my lord! My daughter isn’t—!”
Hiding is pointless when there’s hardly any decent space in a farmhouse.
Whether it’s the corner of a barn, the back of a storage shed, or sometimes even a grain storage pit in the kitchen floor.
This house was no different.
It was a farming house of a tenant farmer growing oats, located a bit away from the town center.
The man dragged the woman down from the corner of the second-floor attic by her hair.
The woman screamed in pain, crying loudly.
A middle-aged man, realizing that wasn’t the case, clung to the man’s ankle and wouldn’t let go.
“Shut up. Whether it’s true or not will be judged by the Church of the Celestial God, so let go.”
Black armor.
A black helmet.
The man, wearing a black veil over that helmet, roughly yanked away the man holding onto his ankle and spoke in an emotionless tone that didn’t feel any ups or downs.
He tossed aside the woman he had dragged and said to another man dressed the same way.
“Take her away. The age matches, and the hair color is the same.”
“Yes. The hair color is nearly identical.”
Dull white hair—milk-colored.
As the woman struggled to rise from the ground, she begged the man.
“I-I’m really not her! I swear, I’m not…!”
The decree from the Church of the Celestial God seeking a girl with dull white hair, around twenty, had spread throughout the Duchy of Kapatia.
Along with it was the requirement for her to have orange or golden eyes.
The madness began in villages close to the Church Region.
From significantly sized towns on the map to tiny ones not even marked.
It wasn’t just the Inquisition headquarters in the Church Region.
All the inquisitors from the major cathedrals were mobilized for this large-scale search.
“I’ve told you repeatedly that the Celestial God will judge this. If you are innocent, you’ll be released, so come along.”
The woman with disheveled hair stood up hesitantly, leaving only tear marks on her soot-covered face.
Her father had heard the news first.
On his way back from selling some oats leftover after taxes, he learned that girls with milk-colored hair were being captured—
As soon as he got home, he hid his daughter in a corner of the attic, but that was of no use.
The inquisitors, already in the know, entered the house and found his daughter immediately.
When they scoffed at his claim that she wasn’t there and started searching the house, it didn’t take long for them to easily locate her.
The father, sprawled barefoot on the ground, cried woefully.
His daughter tried to smile at him while glancing back at him.
Being dragged away in a carriage filled with girls in the same predicament, with their cries echoing.
Silin, the daughter being dragged away in a carriage, her cries echoing.
And the father who couldn’t protect such a daughter.
“We’re not trying to kill your daughter, you know. I just can’t figure out why you’re acting this way.”
The Inquisition officer crouched down before the father, staring into his face.
Even though the dark-clad inquisitors spoke like that, their overwhelming presence was truth itself.
“Why are you so scared? Or could it be that you really are a heretic?”
“N-no, not at all! Absolutely not, my lord! How could I not understand the grace bestowed upon us by the Celestial God!”
“But then why are you so sad? You’re not a heretic, nor have you apostatized, and you haven’t denied the Celestial God either. I just can’t comprehend why you’re such a coward. Am I worrying too much?”
“Of course not, my lord! My family and I are all happy under the protection of the Celestial God!”
“Good, that’s how it should be. However, your daughter will need to go through some questioning, so we’ll return her as soon as it’s finished.”
Without acknowledging the father’s response, the Inquisition officer turned away.
It’s uncertain.
Whether she would return or not.
The Church of the Celestial God was like a beehive that had just been hit with a bucket of water.
Since that ancient time depicted in the Cathedral murals, where the Celestial God vanquished the Un-Celestial God, this was the first direct assault on the Church’s main body.
Moreover, the Pope, the symbol of the Church,
the Saint, representing the Celestial God,
and the Hero, who could be seen as the agent of divine punishment.
All three were gathered together when the apostate launched an attack,
followed by the Demon descending to wreak indiscriminate destruction upon the very heart of the Church.
During that conflict, the Hero and the Saint bravely confronted them, forcing the apostate and the Demon to flee,
and the Church, blessed by the Celestial God, protected the future of humanity.
—That’s what they say publicly now, but those who know the truth are stoking a fire within their hearts.
The chilling spark of fury.
An attack on the Church is an attack on the Celestial God.
The apostate, Yona.
The conspirator, Johannes Spilvan.
The follower, Kaiyak.
Portraits of the three have been distributed across every parish, lined up on the walls.
A promise was also made that whoever captures them would receive a reward so big it could last a lifetime.
Information about their whereabouts has been shared with neighboring countries, and without regard for any national grievances, the extradition agreement for the criminals began immediately.
The moment began immediately.
There are eyes that see everywhere, and ears that listen everywhere.
The bishops, who could be considered the heads of the parishes, sent out messengers to every village included in their dioceses and promised substantial rewards for any reports of sightings.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that the entire Duchy of Kapatia was sharpening its blades against the three of them.
*
Through a hazy gaze, what appeared before her was pure white.
It was so foggy that she couldn’t see properly.
After blinking several times, she finally managed to focus, realizing she was looking up at a pristine white ceiling.
“…Whee… re… is this…?”
Her parched lips made a flapping noise every time she tried to speak.
Her mouth was completely dry; it felt like her tongue creaked every time it moved.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
A strange voice.
Following that voice, Scarlet’s blurry vision came into focus, revealing an unfamiliar woman.
A black nun’s habit. A black veil. A bright and cheerful expression.
“Who… are you…?”
“Oh dear, don’t exert yourself.”
The nun approached Scarlet with her smile intact, hugging her and helping her to sit up.
Her armor had been mysteriously removed, and she was dressed in patient’s clothing.
“Here, drink some water. Your mouth is completely dry.”
The cup that touched her lips was filled with cool water.
As her lips encountered the liquid, they eagerly absorbed the moisture, as if to say, “Where have you been my whole life?!”
The water that moistened her mouth spread throughout her entire body.
How could her body have desired moisture from so many places?
Like rain falling on parched earth, the moisture seeped in everywhere.
Only then did Scarlet fully gulp down a cup of water.
Funny enough, she finally felt alive.
“Oh my, you must have been really thirsty. I thought as much.”
“Th-thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Oh, and don’t move your hands just yet.”
Scarlet raised her hands from under the blanket.
Though she was told not to move, human psychology often works the opposite; the more you say no, the more they want to do it.
Her left hand was wrapped in pristine white bandages.
“I’m not sure what happened, but that wound doesn’t seem to heal. I mean, you’re a Saint, so maybe you’d know, but for us, doing our best to let it heal was all we could do. Still, it should be almost healed. Does it hurt?”
‘Why’s she talking so much?’
Scarlet let her words go in one ear and out the other as she tried to move her hand.
Though she felt a slight pull when moving it, just as the nun said, there wasn’t any pain.
There’s a bit of a tugging feeling when she moves as she says, but it doesn’t hurt.
“…I think I’m almost better. Where is this place?”
“It’s Karakuchia.”
“Karakuchia…?”
That’s a name I’ve never heard before.
Scarlet knows the map by heart, but this was new even for her.
‘Karakuchia… where on earth is that?’
“It’s a village that’s more skewed towards the Insturia mountain range from Sudmeshial. It’s such a small village that it probably won’t even show up on a map.”
Sudmeshial is a city located below the Infura Church Region, at the five o’clock direction.
It’s a big city, the capital of the Church Region, so it’s not too strange to have ended up near the Insturia mountains after passing it by.
Though, it’s not odd at all.
Once I left the Church Region, I galloped off without a care, so it’s not surprising I ended up in Sudmeshial.
“I’ve kept your armor and warhorse in a place that resembles a cathedral — uh, a sort of cathedral. So you don’t have to worry about that.”
“…then who are you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry for not introducing myself sooner.”
The nun removed the veil that was covering her head and bowed it slightly toward Scarlet.
Her voluminous milk-white hair flowed out from the veil, and her eyes curved like a crescent moon, forming a smile.
“I’m Serad. Just your average healer.”
Healer.
A healer, huh.
“We’re a really small village, so there aren’t any priests. We don’t even have a proper cathedral. This is just my shabby imitation made from some birch branches… well, that’s the kind of village it is.”
“…I see.”
Hearing that she was a healer almost made me grimace involuntarily.
But Scarlet managed to hold it in.
“Still, you really need to rest a bit. I won’t pry too much, but your condition doesn’t look good. Don’t overdo it.”
But this wasn’t the time for that.
Scarlet shook her head and tried to rise from the bed.
However, Serad pressed her body back down.
“You seem to be a knight of the cathedral, but how come you’re so stubborn even when you can’t overpower me? Just lie down.”
And indeed, it was true.
Without the armor, Scarlet was just a lady of her age.
Given her small frame, her natural strength wasn’t particularly impressive.
On the other hand, Serad was taller and had a stronger build, so when she pressed down on Scarlet, the latter had no choice but to lie back down on the bed.
“Rest a bit longer. I’ll go fetch you something to eat. Even if you’re a cathedral knight, overexerting yourself is bound to wear you out, you know?”
Serad beamed at her.
Scarlet couldn’t bring herself to smile.
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