“Did you just kill him for no reason?”
“Yes… During the interrogation, he suddenly grabbed a spear and attacked…”
*Thud thud.*
The blood-soaked cell.
As I looked around, a *sigh* escaped my lips.
This wasn’t just some ordinary bleeding when you neatly slice someone’s neck.
I’d have to flay all the skin off the body to get this level of bloodshed.
“They said he was a bad guy, but he suddenly attacked with a spear… He was actually cooperative in providing information. I just don’t understand why you killed him.”
“……”
The Inquisitor killed a follower of the Asylum during the interrogation.
Neither the Emperor nor I gave any approval for that.
Do they think that dealing with heresy is their jurisdiction?
‘Is this a threat…?’
It’s probably a warning and a show of force aimed at Aria, who wants to treat the Papal Palace like a back alley old man.
They want to show that the power of the Papal Palace is still strong.
Something feels off.
I kept getting the feeling that these guys were about to do something major.
Gustav already shot his annihilation cannon at the institution, but what insane thing is the Papal Palace about to pull off?
My heart was racing to the point that I was close to hypertension.
“Your Excellency is leaving the room.”
“Take care, Lord Hainkel.”
As I exited the prison, the guards lined up to see me off.
Your Excellency…
It’s not that I hate it, but there’s a bit of a burden in hearing it.
“Uh…?”
As I stepped out of the prison, a carriage was standing in front of me.
The door creaked open on its own, revealing a noblewoman in a fancy outfit.
She was sitting there with a large hat that covered half her face, and it seemed a bit suspicious.
‘Oh dear.’
[Jin]
[Real Name: Jane Watson]
[Gender: Female]
[Member of the Crow organization. Skilled in disguise.]
This damn girl.
Why is she again hovering around in front of me?
As I clenched my fist, my expression twisted into anger, and Jin seemed flustered, fidgeting around.
“W-wait! You’re not trying to kill me, right? Right?”
“Hearing you say that makes me want to kill you even more.”
“I’m really sorry about that time! I’m truly reflecting on it! I can’t believe I did something like that to someone who could become the very embodiment of state power…”
“……”
Reflecting, huh.
That means if I hadn’t reached my current position, you’d still be causing trouble.
She’s so annoying I kind of want to punch her right here and now.
“I really, really apologize… So I came to offer you some information as a gesture of my apology… You’re still not over it, are you?”
“I’ll listen and judge.”
But I still couldn’t kill Jin.
It’s true that I wield absolute power second only to the Emperor, but there are many nobles who might not like that.
The military reforms and the purge of the ministers had some justification behind them, so I managed to get through with minimal backlash. But if I were to kill a member of the Crow without any reason, it would flare up movements to bring me down.
This means I need to refrain from extreme actions unless absolutely necessary.
I boarded the carriage with a troubled expression.
*Thud.*
The door closed, and the carriage started moving.
“By the way, don’t you feel uneasy about that position of yours?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that ‘Regent’ position. It’s created by a minister who held power in the ancient times and appointed himself as such. It was a position that vanished after its holder tried to abolish the monarchy and turn it into a republic but ended up facing backlash and got executed… Doesn’t that feel like a prophecy about your future?”
“……”
Damn it.
I didn’t know there was such a foreboding origin.
It certainly did feel uneasy.
But I couldn’t show that.
“The past is just the past. My authority and duties differ entirely from that Regent. We only share the name. I won’t waste my time worrying about trivial things like that.”
“Hmm. You really are a severe realist, aren’t you?”
“I don’t intend to waste time chatting with you. Hurry up and hand over the information, then scram.”
“Wow, you’re really impatient…”
Jin murmured something before pulling something out of her bag.
It was a bundle of documents.
With a sly smile, she handed it over, and I glanced through the papers.
The documents were filled with meeting records.
As I looked at the names and frequently occurring words, I began to suspect—
“Don’t tell me… you infiltrated the Papal Palace?”
“Bingo.”
It was the content of the Papal Palace’s meetings.
Incredible.
I knew she was crazy, but I didn’t think the Crow had the audacity to infiltrate the Papal Palace and eavesdrop on a meeting chaired by the Pope.
If caught, the consequences would not end with execution.
The Pope is renowned for having long grudges; it wouldn’t be surprising if they wiped out an entire family.
Just showing this to me must have been an exceptionally tough decision.
It’s like Jin just handed me her life.
Of course, if I exposed this, I’m sure Jin would quit the Crow, disguise herself, and live happily ever after…
“Is this all you have to offer?”
“It’s not just about the meeting itself. Read the content carefully. There’s some pretty important information there.”
I started flipping through the meeting records, examining the details closely.
On the surface, it seemed trivial.
It was just about how to conduct the mass and some mundane discussions about adjusting the scale of charitable works.
But as I got further back, familiar names kept cropping up.
Iris von dem Flechette.
Discussions regarding her qualifications as a saintess were ongoing incessantly.
There were proposals everywhere to strip Iris of her saintess status, but they were all rejected for lacking sufficient justification.
However, one thing was clear.
The Papal Palace is not only displeased with Iris but is actively looking for ways to bring about her downfall.
“What do you think? Did you enjoy it?”
“It’s indeed valuable information.”
Where else could I get internal meeting notes from the Papal Palace?
I cannot deny that this is precious information.
I opened the window, flung the meeting records out, and activated Ignition Magic.
The records promptly *whoosh* turned to ashes, scattering into the street.
“Driver. Stop here.”
Our business is done now.
When the carriage came to a halt, I immediately pulled out a check from my inner pocket.
I used Flash Magic to write my name and the amount of 5 million Tirion on the check and tossed it on the floor.
“Uh… I said this was as an apology, but what’s this…?”
“Receiving something from you without any strings attached feels fundamentally wrong.”
“……”
No matter how I thought about it, I felt uneasy about being in debt to Jin.
I wasn’t short on money right now, and I had no reason to save it, so I thought of it as paying off bad luck and generously handed it over.
By the way, how many months’ worth of Emilia’s salary is 5 million Tirion…?
Thinking about that suddenly made me feel sorry for Emilia.
I turned my back on Jin and got off the carriage.
‘Could it be that the Inquisitors are aiming for Iris… ?’
I started to suspect the intent of the Papal Palace.
There’s no basis for tarnishing Iris’s character.
So if they send the Inquisitors to use force…?
It was a somewhat plausible scenario.
But targeting Iris isn’t going to be easy.
After all, Iris possesses Future Sight.
‘Let’s assign guards.’
Just in case, I decided to take out insurance.
*
“Something… feels awkward.”
In a quiet garden.
Trie was fully armed, sitting on a chair and glancing sideways.
There sat Iris, tilting her head with a smile.
“Is that so?”
“No, but suddenly having such a noisy knight escorting you… Doesn’t that feel burdensome?”
“It’s indeed unusual, but I don’t feel burdened at all.”
“……”
Trie couldn’t understand why she had to follow Iris around in such a getup.
She was simply complying with Schlus’s request to thoroughly guard Iris for the past few days.
What kind of forces would even try to touch a saintess?
Even mad fanatics would know that touching a saintess would lead to a miraculous alliance of the entire continent against them.
Could there really be anyone so bold?
“Thank you for going out of your way to guard me. I feel like I should do something in return—”
“No need. It’s just friends helping each other.”
Yet, Trie couldn’t shake her doubts.
What good was it to guard someone who had the lowest probability of being killed in the Empire?
“Ah, time’s up.”
Checking the clock, Trie drew a spell circle for Communication Magic and sent a powerful Mana Ripple toward the Imperial University.
This was required as a signal to be sent every hour on the hour by Schlus.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what this meant at all.
“What’s next on the agenda?”
“Um… I need to check on emergency patients, so I’ll go around the hospitals.”
“Huh? We just came back from the hospital earlier.”
“Patients don’t just come in the morning. We never know when an urgent patient might show up, so I plan to check at least three times a day.”
“I see…”
“Next, I think I’ll stop by the orphanage, and for dinner, there’ll be a family meeting, so I’ll have to attend at the mansion too. And I’ll be visiting the cathedral early in the morning for prayers…”
*Gag!*
Listening to her lineup made Trie feel sick.
Iris was much busier than she expected for someone they called a saintess.
I realized the Pope didn’t bestow the title of saintess lightly upon someone alive.
“A visitor wishes to see the saintess.”
“Huh?”
At that moment, a servant of Flechette stumbled in, looking flustered.
Something about him seemed strange.
He had a face that looked almost terrified.
“Do you know who it is?”
“I didn’t catch their name, but they said they were an Inquisitor sent from the Papal Palace…”
“……!”
*Clank!*
Trie reflexively grabbed the longsword leaning beside her.
