Count Beerton emerged from the banquet hall.
He immediately headed to where Butler Henrik was.
At first, he intended to reprimand the butler, who had disappeared mid-preparation for the banquet.
However, the sight of Henrik that greeted the Count was utterly pathetic.
“What in the world happened to you?”
“C-Count Beerton…!”
Henrik called out to the Count in a hoarse voice.
The clothes he wore were torn to shreds, and the blood flowing from his head covered his entire face.
Not a single part of his body was unharmed.
The Count, so astonished by his appearance, approached Henrik.
“Count, this is not the time!”
When the Count arrived, Henrik confessed everything he had experienced.
He recounted every detail, starting from being kidnapped while preparing for the banquet.
“They kidnapped me using monsters!”
“The Church was behind it!”
However, as Henrik continued speaking, Count Beerton’s expression grew more troubled.
“Butler, can you take responsibility for those words? The Church orchestrated such a thing?”
Disbelief was evident in the Count’s stern voice.
Henrik, too, had expected that the Count would not believe him.
Who would immediately believe that the Church breeds monsters, kidnaps people, and tortures them?
Henrik himself probably wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t experienced it.
But this incident was undeniable fact.
Henrik had endured it all.
Even if the Count didn’t believe him immediately, as his butler, he had a duty to speak.
“It’s true! Count Beerton… Stop the banquet immediately! Don’t trust the Church!”
At his desperate cry, the Count briefly turned his head towards the banquet hall.
Inside the banquet hall were the Church’s envoys and nobles close to the Count.
Knights had been stationed in case of unforeseen circumstances, but some of the Church’s Paladins were also present, armed.
Although it was against etiquette, the Church couldn’t be treated as mere ordinary visitors, so it was unavoidable.
It was for this reason that Henrik urged Count Beerton to stop the banquet immediately.
But Henrik’s earnest plea did not reach the Count.
“Haha, hey Henrik.”
The Count’s voice turned cold.
“Are you perhaps siding with the Royalists?”
“W-What are you saying…!”
“Think about it. You disappear the day before the banquet, and then suddenly appear to pick a fight with the Church.”
Henrik shivered at the Count’s words.
It was a bad omen.
Even from Henrik’s perspective, the situation lined up too perfectly.
If he suddenly appeared and said such things, the other party would have no choice but to dismiss it as a preposterous tale.
The current reaction was perhaps to be expected.
‘Could it be that even this was anticipated?’
If so, the Church was truly a terrifying place.
Above all, what Henrik had seen and experienced was all true.
The more he felt wronged, the more desperately he pleaded.
“It-It’s true! Please, believe me!”
“Sigh…”
The Count, on the other hand, pressed his hand to his forehead.
‘Kidnapping and torturing the butler within the mansion…?’
And all of that was supposedly orchestrated by the White Church?
The Count found it so absurd that he couldn’t help but laugh.
The idea that the butler had betrayed him and sided with the Royalists seemed more plausible.
And it made more sense that he was trying to drive a wedge between the Count and the Church.
Even if his words were true, why would the Church have let the butler live?
It didn’t make sense.
“It seems you need to cool your head for a while. Guards, throw the butler into the underground prison!”
As the Count’s order fell, nearby soldiers seized Henrik.
But Henrik shouted, informing the Count,
“No…! The underground prison! My words are true! Count Beerton!”
Henrik tried to break free from the soldier’s grasp, but his old body couldn’t withstand the strength of the young soldier.
“Please, believe me-!”
Even as he was dragged away, Henrik wailed.
“Tsk.”
Seeing the butler being led away, Count Beerton clicked his tongue.
“It seems I’ll have to replace the butler soon.”
The Church kidnapped and tortured people?
No one would believe such a statement, and the idea that the Church raised monsters was simply out of the realm of imagination.
‘Tsk, the Church hates monsters the most. He’s talking nonsense.’
In reality, the Church detests monsters.
Moreover, if he were to antagonize the Church based solely on the butler’s words, all his plans would go to waste.
The Count glanced around briefly.
Fortunately, no one belonging to the Church was present.
Given that an Inquisitor was present at the banquet, he had to be even more careful with his words.
If he offended them, he might be accused of heresy.
Even a noble was in danger if labeled a heretic.
“This won’t do. Lock Henrik up and silence him! So he can’t say anything.”
It was important to control the tongues of those close to him first.
“And forget everything that just happened.”
In just a little while, the Sail Kingdom would fall into his hands.
He couldn’t let his plans be ruined by a single misspoken word.
The Count shook his head and walked back towards the banquet hall.
Then, he suddenly stopped.
“…Something bothers me.”
Still, Henrik had served him as a butler for a long time.
There was something that bothered him, too much to simply dismiss it as an absurd story.
The Count discreetly summoned a soldier.
“Gather all the knights in the mansion near the banquet hall.”
Even if the possibility was slim, there was no harm in being cautious.
With that, the Count re-entered the banquet hall.
He walked towards the spot where Priest Titan and Captain Gerard had been earlier.
“Hmm?”
But something was wrong.
A different atmosphere permeated the hall compared to before the Count left.
Most importantly, their expressions were not good.
‘Well, leaving in the middle of a banquet is rude.’
It was probably because he had left his seat during the banquet.
Leaving before the guests he had invited was a considerable discourtesy.
Count Beerton approached them with a smile to lighten the mood.
“Ah, my apologies. Haha, it turned out the servant made a mistake. I’ve already reprimanded him severely, so it should be fine now.”
“…”
However, Priest Titan remained seated with a stoic expression.
Captain Gerard beside him also had a grim expression.
‘What is it? It doesn’t seem to be because I left… Could they have heard Henrik’s words?’
After a moment of silence, Priest Titan opened his mouth.
“What do the nobles of the Kingdom, or rather, Count Beerton, think about the activities of our Church?”
The Count felt a chill at the sudden question from the priest.
‘What does that mean? Did they really hear the story?’
If he made any mistake in his answer now, all his efforts to appease the Church would go to waste.
“Haha… The Church’s activities? Naturally, I know that the Church is making efforts in various ways for the safety of the continent.”
It was a perfectly ordinary answer, not excessive.
He knew the Church was running rampant within the Kingdom, but no fool would state that fact as it was.
Count Beerton answered with the widest smile he could manage.
“Hmm, I see.”
Priest Titan’s expression changed subtly.
The Count breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it wasn’t the worst possible answer.
“Thank you, Count, for saying so. However, strange rumors have been heard in the Kingdom lately. Something about the Church persecuting the common people?”
The Count broke out in a cold sweat at the barrage of sharp questions.
It would be strange if such rumors weren’t heard when the Church was openly persecuting people.
But again, he couldn’t simply state the truth.
In any case, the Count had staked everything on the Church, so he had to defend them.
“Who dares to spread such monstrous lies!”
Count Beerton slammed his fist on the table.
He continued speaking with a thoroughly enraged expression.
“That is absolutely not true! Anyone who speaks such words is merely a heretic. I know well that the Church is always working beyond the Kingdom for the safety of the continent. Such accusations only harm the Kingdom. You need not worry.”
Priest Titan’s expression grew even darker.
“Heretics…”
Priest Titan’s voice deepened, and the atmosphere turned chilling.
“Then, as the Count says, our actions are indeed for the safety of the Kingdom, correct?”
“Ah, yes, yes. Exactly!”
The Count couldn’t shake off an uneasy feeling at the priest’s question.
‘What is it?’
The atmosphere seemed to grow heavier.
Despite the ornate music assaulting his ears, the Count had no time to pay attention.
Suddenly, he remembered what Henrik had said just a while ago.
‘Could it be…?’
Why was the butler’s words coming to mind?
‘What if what he said was true?’
No, that couldn’t be.
But for some reason, a sense of unease lingered in his mind.
The Count subtly lowered his left hand. And he discreetly made a gesture to summon a knight.
Regardless of the Count’s actions, Priest Titan continued to speak.
“I have heard the Count’s words well, that he is for the safety of the Kingdom. Then, what should be done if a threat to that safety appears?”
“A threat…? If such a being were to appear, they must be eliminated without question.”
“Hohoho.”
This time, Priest Titan simply let out a laugh at the Count’s reply.
However, that laughter was by no means a sign of affirmation.
“Since the Count says so, I shall speak directly.”
Count Beerton’s head began to ache.
Why was Priest Titan saying such things?
What was this heavy atmosphere?
Everything that had happened occurred after meeting Butler Henrik.
“Then, why are you acting against the Church?”
“What? What are you talking about-”
Before the Count could finish his words, Priest Titan’s body vanished backward at high speed.
At the same time, he subdued one of the Count’s knights stationed at the edge of the banquet hall.
*Crash-*
With immense force, the knight’s armor crumpled and he hit the wall.
“What is the meaning of this!”
The Count roared at the sudden turn of events.
Even if it was the Church, attacking a knight without reason crossed a line.
“Even if it is the Church, this is-”
But the Count’s words were cut short.
When Priest Titan removed the subdued knight’s helmet, an unimaginable identity was revealed.
Beyond the knight’s armor, a skeleton was visible.
“Huh?”
A Skeleton monster, clad in armor, was mimicking a knight.
The Count’s mind suddenly reeled.
Why was a monster wearing a knight’s armor?
No, more importantly, why was there a monster inside his mansion?
And then, Henrik’s words came back to him.
– The Church was breeding monsters!
– The Church was behind everything!
Count Beerton was not an idiot.
Everything that had happened so far clicked into place.
Could it be that everything that had happened was the Church’s scheme?
‘They intended to trap me!’
But why? Why would they do such a thing?
Count Beerton quickly arrived at the answer.
‘From the beginning, they intended to subsume the Kingdom. They planned to eliminate not only the Royal family but all the nobles as well.’
The skeletons were armed as knights of the Beerton family.
Even now, the Church could declare Count Beerton a heretic and purge him.
If that was the Church’s will, it was not a problem that could be solved by standing idly by.
Further contemplation was unnecessary.
It was now crucial to act faster than the opponent.
Hadn’t he survived in this world of nobles, where they preyed on each other, precisely because of that?
“Knights! Draw your swords!”
The Count shouted as he raised his right hand.
And the knights, hearing their lord’s command, drew their swords.
As the knights drew their swords, the Church’s Paladins also drew theirs.
The situation escalated to a standoff, with swords drawn against each other.
“Kyaaak!”
“W-What is happening?!”
Oblivious nobles, enjoying the banquet, wore expressions of bewilderment.
They knew the atmosphere had been tense moments ago, but they were startled when knights suddenly drew their swords.
Tension filled the once joyous banquet hall.
The moment one side moved, their sword tips would be pointed at the other.
The swords gleamed, and a tense situation ensued, with neither side showing any intention of retreating.
Priest Titan was the first to break the heavy silence.
“Haha, Count.”
Once again, Priest Titan’s body moved swiftly.
He subdued a knight who had drawn his sword against the Church.
“What is this outrageous act!”
The Count protested, but Priest Titan remained unfazed.
Instead, he removed the subdued knight’s helmet.
“……!”
Similarly, inside the helmet was a skeleton.
“What in the-!”
“Did Count Beerton really raise monsters…?”
“I have nothing to do with this! I was merely invited by the Count!”
As this situation continued, confused voices erupted from the nobles close to the Count.
The Count was equally disoriented.
“H-Haha…”
He let out a hollow laugh.
The butler was right.
The Church bred monsters and used them.
This incident too must have been a trap to bring him down.
“You… intended to trap me from the beginning.”
When did they deploy the skeletons?
It must have taken considerable preparation to infiltrate them here.
If the Royal family had orchestrated this, it would be understandable, but how could the Church do it?
The Count blamed himself inwardly for not enforcing stricter discipline.
However, the Count had no intention of backing down meekly.
“All knights, reveal your identities!”
At the Count’s command, several armed knights revealed their faces. The knights who removed their helmets were all familiar faces.
Fortunately, it seemed not all the knights were monsters.
But there were also knights who disobeyed the Count’s order and did not remove their helmets.
‘They must be skeletons.’
Now it was certain.
The knights mimicking skeletons were not just one or two.
‘The insane Church has gone all out!’
The Count was enraged.
How dare they toy with him like this!
If he wanted to survive, he had to break through the current situation immediately.
If he continued like this, he would be declared a heretic and dragged to the Church.
Even if he got lucky, he would emerge crippled.
‘I can’t let this stand.’
He would subdue them immediately. And expose the Church’s misdeeds!
Even if it meant making the entire Church his enemy, it didn’t matter.
The Church’s image would undoubtedly fall because of this.
“All knights, subdue these heretics disguised as members of the Church!”
At the Count’s cry, knights waiting outside the banquet hall stormed in.
“Kill anyone who resists!”
The sound of clashing swords echoed from various places.
Tables were smashed, leaving bloodstains on the walls.
The food and utensils that had been enjoyed moments ago were scattered haphazardly on the floor.
The once joyous music instantaneously turned into screams filled with despair.
Brilliant red blood filled the banquet hall.
***
“Father.”
Princess Irena paid a visit to her father, the King.
King of Carendia was currently in a meeting.
However, the number of nobles attending the meeting was small.
Not all nobles belonged to the Aristocrat faction. A minority of nobles also belonged to the Royalist faction, supporting the King.
But the problem was that their numbers were dwindling day by day.
Beside the nobles were the King’s knights and others who assisted the Royal family, but their numbers were desperately insufficient.
It was a level of meeting that one would be ashamed to even call a meeting attended by the King.
“Yes, what is it?”
King Carendia replied with a placid tone.
Even as father and daughter, the title “Father” was inappropriate in a formal setting.
However, Princess Irena was as cold as ice at the moment.
Carendia sensed his daughter’s demeanor.
“I have something to tell Father.”
Princess Irena took a breath.
Hesitation?
There was no need to worry about such things anymore.
Considering what was to come, there was no time to look back.
It was only forward.
After a period of silence, Princess Irena finally opened her mouth.
“Count Beerton and the Church’s envoys have clashed.”
From now on, it was Princess Irena’s turn.
At the same time, armed knights entered behind the Princess.
