Star-Embracing Swordmaster - Chapter 98

I forgive your sins (3)

In the back alleys that burned in the heat of the night, only miserable remnants remained.

A time for everyone, both those who worked and those who had fun, to find their shadow somewhere and fall asleep.

At that time, when the sun was not yet up, there were people who came in with the church flag.

“Everyone stop!”

Soldiers trample on trash in dirty back alleys.

The place they stopped was an inn run by Madame Marcella. It was the smile of a rose.

“We are sent by Pierre, Bishop of Shoara! “The owner of this place, open the door!”

Vlad the Knight ignored the indulgences issued by Bishop Pierre.

This was tantamount to ignoring God’s will and was a serious act that could be called blasphemy.

And here, in the smile of the rose, there were people who killed innocent people with him.

“If you don’t open the door now, you who are inside will also be treated as blasphemous!”

The voice of a paladin echoes in a quiet back alley.

It was God’s will that reached the place where salvation was most needed, but it was not a warm smile but a cold judgment.

“…Bring out the criminals here!”

The smile of a rose that does not flinch despite the paladin’s abstract commands.

The paladin standing under the sacred flag nodded as if everything went well.

Spear –

Commander –

The Bishop’s soldiers each drew their weapons and raised them towards the boy’s nest.

God’s arms are merciful, but his will is cold, so let all humans bow to him.

“Break down the door!”

Vlad grabbed a shining star, but its light was still too weak to protect not only himself but also those around him.

The hardships that come our way are like a typhoon and cannot be stopped with just two hands.

Ki-Iik-

That’s why people have to live by leaning on each other’s shoulders.

Like right now.

“You guys have a short temper.”

A man walks out from within a rose smile that is not lit by a single candle.

The man with the impressive scar on his half-shaved head looked like an unusual person wearing shiny plate armor.

“……Who are you?”

A man whose eyes never waver even as he walks towards dozens of soldiers.

“I am Josef’s knight Maxim.”

There is no one in this city who would not get out of the way upon hearing the bishop’s order.

Except for Josef, the mayor of Shoara.

“I’m sorry, but we are currently investigating Rose’s Smile first.

If the powers are so equal that it is difficult to compare them, then in the end, justification will come first.

And now, the person who first exercised judicial authority on the rose’s smile was Joseph’s knight Maxim, not the bishop’s paladin.

“The people here are suspected of blasphemy.”

“They are also suspected of murder.”

There is a line between the nobility and the church that must not be crossed.

However, since it was Bishop Pierre who broke the line first, Joseph would also have no reason to keep the implicit rules that had been in place.

“From now on, we will block the rose’s smile. “If you want to come in, get permission from the mayor.”

With Maxim’s words, Josef’s soldiers began pouring out of the rose’s smile.

Josef’s soldiers, ahead of the cause, pushed the bishop’s soldiers without hesitation and began to slowly expand their territory.

“…You’ll regret it, right?”

The anger of the Holy Knight who had lost his prey was fierce, but Maxim just smiled.

Josef’s knight Maxim.

He was one of the two knights who were attacked by the woman who shed black tears along with Cade.

Regrets can only happen while you are alive.

If it wasn’t for Vlad that day, Maxim wouldn’t be standing here right now.

“I’m in debt too, so there’s nothing I can do.”

The authority of the church was difficult for a single knight to handle, but Maxim volunteered that he would do it himself.

I thought I had to do this to repay the price of my life.

※※※※

A prison in the basement of City Hall.

Although it was still a place where you could feel the outside air through the small window, Vlad’s expression was dark.

“I guess you always told me to prepare for the next one?”

“…….”

Even though Vlad had ten mouths, he had nothing to say in response to Xayar’s words coming from outside the window.

“In the end, all the cleaning up after you was left to Joseph. “You idiot.”

In the end, it became no different from when I was a squire.

Because in this case, all responsibility for this falls on Master Josef.

“sorry.”

“…….”

Xayar was on the verge of burning inside the bars as he saw Vlad bowing his head and saying sorry.

Still, I can’t say much because this was more of a trap than a mistake.

‘You idiot.’

He’s a smart guy, and I know he wouldn’t have done something like this if he had had a bit more perspective.

However, the boy still lacked understanding of the world of nobles as well as the wider world, including the church.

Bishop Pierre had indeed chosen an appropriate subject.

“…Soon, I will go to church and testify. “Be prepared for that time.”

The justification is out there, so eventually you have to go to the church and explain it.

Pierre, who was a heresy inquisitor, had risen to the position of bishop due to his excellent interrogation skills, so it was obvious that it would be a harsh trial.

“…….”

Vlad looked at Xayar’s back as he was moving further and further away inside the bars.

[Don’t blame yourself. Because I did what I had to do.]

Despite the comforting voice, Vlad could not easily shake off his gloomy feelings.

It was definitely the right thing to do, and even now that I’m in prison, I don’t think I did anything wrong, but in the end, it ended up like this.

“It was my fault.”

The world of back alleys and the world of knights are different.

Unlike a back alley where you must repay on the spot to avoid being looked down on, a knight’s anger must be like thick lava that can be used for the future.

A sword is sharp and must be heavy.

And it seemed like Vlad now knew what it meant to be heavy.

※※※※

“Is this why you bothered holding on for a week?”

Bishop Pierre was standing at the window, looking at the scene below.

There was a blond knight with his hands tied, crossing the square below and walking towards the church like a criminal.

Josef had been hugging Vlad persistently, ignoring his requests, but he probably couldn’t hold on any longer.

This was a fight for a cause, and even Josef would have been unable to bear this burden.

“That sounds pretty plausible.”

However, there were not only soldiers guarding Vlad as he was being escorted to the church.

“A guy like that deserves to die! “I heard they sold pregnant women!”

“I did my job, so why are you treating me like a criminal?”

“Do not insult our knight!”

Vlad of Shoara.

A person who was born and raised in the city of Shoara and is like a symbol of a self-made man who climbed up from the back alleys.

A knight named Vlad, who already made his name known at a young age, was clearly a source of pride for the citizens of Shoara.

“We cannot recognize bishops sent by the Vatican! “This is the North!”

“We want a bishop with northern blood!”

Not only the support for Vlad, but also the dissatisfaction with Pierre that occasionally pops up among people.

As Vlad’s march slowed down, the streets of Shoara were ringing loudly with voices echoing from everywhere.

“You’re trying hard.”

Pierre, who was seeing this, turned away from the window with a cold sneer.

How dare you try to sway yourself through the public sentiment of Shoara?

As expected, those who carry on Bayezid’s blood are beings that should not be viewed easily.

“Are all the Heretic Questioners ready?”

“I’m ready.”

However, no matter how hard you try, it is nothing more than a trick.

In the end, all of these things were nothing more than trivial things that would end in the face of the true name.

※※※※

Even though the situation was tense, Vlad did not neglect to look around and understand his surroundings.

“…….”

The sight of the surroundings made me feel a bit of pressure, even if it wasn’t the burden of the upcoming trial.

‘It looks like this.’

Even though I lived in Shoara my whole life, it was a place I had never been to.

Because the church was a place with too high a threshold for people who lived without it.

“Knight Vlad, please come forward.”

The judge of the church made in the form of a semicircle.

The place where the judge, Pierre, and the suspect, Vlad, would stand was in the very center of the court, and Josef and other officials, as well as the city’s influential people specially invited by the church, were to look down on them from above.

[These are Heresy Questioners. The crystal ball he is holding looks unusual.]

“…….”

Vlad turned his head and looked at the Inquisitors surrounding him.

A total of 8 interrogators.

They were all holding a crystal ball the size of a human head with both hands.

“…There are 8 people in total.”

“Even a witch hunt wouldn’t go this far. “This has gone too far.”

Josef frowned as he felt a bitter taste rising from above.

‘I guess I’ll have to consider the worst.’

We endured for a week and tried many ways to turn this trial to our advantage, but in the end, we ran out of time.

Now I had to prepare for the next move considering the worst outcome.

“Place your hand on the Bible, which contains the Word of God, and answer that you will tell only the truth. “Lord Vlad.”

Inside the church built in God’s name, Vlad placed his hand on the Bible.

“I will tell you only the truth.”

An oath is something you say with your mouth and keep with your conscience, but in the current situation, it will be expressed a little differently.

The congratulatory sentences filled with complex letters on the floor of the court will turn off the light of the crystal ball from the moment Vlad tells a lie.

“……”

Josef looked at Pierre standing in front of him with quietly burning eyes.

However, Pierre, who made eye contact, only had an expressionless coldness.

“I will now begin the trial of Lord Vlad, Bayezid’s knight.”

It was a sign of the beginning, but maybe it was already over.

The current trial was nothing more than a formality to achieve a set result,

and the result would not be a happy one for Vlad.

“Knight Vlad killed a man named Black Bear with an indulgence. “Is this true?”

After hearing the bishop’s question, Joseph clenched his hands without realizing it.

Now Pierre was accusing Vlad of the crime through an ordinary Judo newspaper.

“you’re right.”

“You admit that you have disobeyed God’s word. “…What is that?”

The answer was simply that he had killed a black bear, but according to Pierre’s interpretation, the boy became a person who ignored God’s will.

“I did not disobey God’s word!”

“Next question.”

One question, one answer.

With Vlad’s answer, an interrogator came out of the circle.

“Do you think that Knight Vlad has always made the right and just decision whenever he kills someone, as in this case?”

“……That’s right.”

I was where I was supposed to be, so I did what I had to do.

Black Bear was an ugly man who sold pregnant women, and no amount of indulgence could hide his wrongdoing.

“It’s a lie.”

However, at Vlad’s answer, one of the crystal balls the interrogator was holding lost its light.

“…!”

No one can always make the right decisions in life.

But Pierre always forced Vlad to lie by hiding unattainable standards, such as the best posture, in questions.

“This!”

“Next question.”

With the question just now, Vlad became the one who told a lie.

Although it was only two questions, the experienced Pierre was clearly pinpointing Vlad’s weaknesses.

“There was a report that a boy was struck by black lightning in a back alley in Shoara a year ago. “Is that boy you?”

Pierre begins to bend a man named Vlad to his will by distorting his intentions and asking deceptive questions.

His next question was aimed at disparaging the reputation Vlad had built by casting false suspicions.

“…….”

However, the question Pierre had prepared was one that had a bigger impact on Vlad than expected.

It was true that there was an unknown voice in the boy’s soul.

“…It’s true.”

“It came with an ominous omen.”

With the third answer, Vlad became a knight with an ominous omen.

From now on, all his achievements will be questioned.

“Perhaps you hear a voice after being struck by lightning? Was there a revelation of some unknown being?”

Pierre’s gray-white eyes were shining.

It doesn’t matter if you say no.

No matter what the answer to this question is, Vlad’s wounded and dented reputation will not shine as brightly as it does now.

“…….”

Vlad was not able to easily answer Pierre’s question.

Vlad was almost delirious at the sight of a new form of malice he had never experienced before.

“Why aren’t you answering?”

As Vlad began to hesitate, unable to give an easy answer, even the people in the audience began to whisper little by little.

To be precise, it was a clamor that started from influential people in the city who shared the same views as the bishop.

“If you were asking if I heard a voice….”

If you say yes, you will be considered an evil being, and if you say no, you will be lying.

No matter what I said, it was an irreparable dilemma.

[Say it’s right.]

A voice said, looking at Vlad who was hesitating.

The voice knew that in this case, telling a lie would be more fatal.

It would be better to at least make an excuse that he lost consciousness for a moment due to the aftereffects of being struck by lightning.

‘But…’

[It would be a lie to say no. If that happens, you won’t even have a chance to make an excuse.]

The worst case scenario would be if the identity of the voice is revealed in front of everyone watching.

However, the voice had already made up its mind from the moment it entered the courtroom.

[Don’t worry, just do it. I will never let my identity be revealed.]

“…….”

The interrogators who doubt him and the bishop who forces him to answer.

Vlad, faced with a dilemma, had to come up with some kind of answer.

bang-!

“Stop!”

The moment Vlad was about to open his mouth, a loud noise was heard from the entrance of the court.

The cold winter wind began to blow in from the wide open entrance.

“Stop the trial!”

People standing at open door.

An old priest who is panting and a deacon who still looks young.

And even Gregory, who was breathing a sigh of relief behind them.

“This trial is not fair!”

People who are late but not late have finally arrived here.

“Unauthorized people cannot enter!”

The guards blocked the man’s sudden intrusion, but were taken aback when they saw the white robes he was wearing.

Because the clothes he was wearing showed that he was a faithful servant of God.

“How dare you talk about your qualifications for trial in front of me!”

Pierre’s flow was interrupted by the sudden interruption, and he glared at the man who broke into the courtroom with shining eyes.

However, the man who had just entered the room was fully qualified to say that the current trial was not fair.

“I am the one who vouchsafes the name of Sir Vlad the Knight!”

Vlad of Shoara.

There was a person who picked up the name that was lying on the ground without anyone knowing and placed it in front of God’s name.

“If there was any doubt about his name, it should have gone through me first!”

When Vlad heard that he was his guarantor, he turned his head and looked towards where the entrance was.

There was a man hurriedly walking towards the judge without even being able to remove the snow chunks from his beard.

With the support of the young deacon, I took one weary step at a time.

“Priest…”

“Don’t say anything from now on.”

Andrea stood next to Vlad, still panting.

There was still a cold aura in each of his breaths.

“I will tell you for you.”

It was an unfair judge and a tilted trial.

But now that the weight has just been lifted for the boy, the trial begins to take on a new balance.

“…You ended up here.”

The face of the person he most wanted to see right now appeared in Pierre’s gray-white eyes.

He was the boy’s guarantor and a faithful priest recognized by everyone in the North.

“Long time no see. “Bishop Pierre.”

A man who followed the knight’s lead and crossed the snowy cold of the North Wind.

“Priest Andrew. Greetings.”

Priest Andrew.

He was a man who was willing to step on the scales for the boy he had vouched for.