CHAPTER 97

God is everywhere.

But His embrace does not reach everyone equally.

He descends first to the high, and gives more to those who have much.

That has been the image of God and the church that the people at the bottom have seen so far.

"Then is this person now innocent?"

"Of course. It's an indulgence issued directly by the bishop."

The priest answered Vlad's question, then closed his eyes and began to recite prayers with a devout posture.

His faithful appearance made anyone feel as if God's grace had truly reached this place.

'······Just with this.'

Vlad couldn't understand.

That all the sins of the black bear were forgiven with one piece of paper that the priest was holding.

Could the tears shed by those women dying in the false church be wiped away with just this one piece of paper?

Then who will compensate for the black tears Anna shed?

"Sin can always be forgiven with a faithful heart. Sir Vlad."

"······."

The priest sent by the bishop was smiling kindly as he looked at Vlad, who was angry and confused, not knowing what to do.

"I, I am innocent now."

Vlad turned his head towards the voice coming from beside him, dazed.

"Because I have been forgiven by God. Isn't it now done?"

"······Forgiven?"

Where Vlad turned his head, the black bear was smiling slightly as he looked at Vlad, as if he had come to terms with it.

Now that he has been declared innocent by the church and the indulgence, he must have the right to smile.

The women he sold were locked in a dark place and died in fear, but the person who drove them to death was smiling.

This was wrong.

"······Can anyone really be forgiven as long as they have a faithful heart? Priest?"

"Of course, Sir Knight."

Is it true that anyone can be acquitted of any sin as long as they receive forgiveness from God and the church?

"I see."

If that's the case, then I must seek forgiveness too.

I promised to wipe away Anna's tears that day when they couldn't flow, and in return, I must take responsibility.

"Sir Vlad?"

"I confess my sins, priest."

When no one is in the place where they should be,

When no one takes responsibility where they should,

Then it's up to you.

Because that's the discipline of a Swordmaster.

Swoosh-

"Ugh-!"

In an instant, blood sprayed onto the priest's white robe.

It couldn't be stopped because no one expected it.

Even if it had been expected, it was a decisive strike that could not be stopped.

"Guh······."

The black bear, eyes wide in disbelief, clutching his own throat.

Blood was pouring relentlessly from the neck he was forcibly holding.

"T-This is······!"

"I am a sinner, priest."

The knight knelt in front of an astonished priest and confessed his sins.

He was the one bearing the faithful name vouched for by Priest Andrea and the one wearing the shining armor gifted by San Rogino of the Northern Parish.

"So please give me the opportunity to repent."

The will of God shines brightly like the sun during the day, but sometimes it must be illuminated obliquely, as it is now.

Even when entering a lowly and humble place like an alley, one must bow their head in reverence as they enter.

※※※※

It was a late night when everyone should have been asleep, yet Josef and the knights gathered in the mayor's office with solemn expressions.

"So, it has come to this."

Josef, upon hearing Gregory's report, sighed deeply as if exhaustion weighed heavily upon him, pressing his temples.

"Did he really kill the one who received indulgence?"

"I'm sorry, Lord Josef. I should have intervened."

Gregory stood there, bowing his head as if he had nothing else to say.

Although Vlad was the primary responsible for this operation, Gregory, as a senior, also had his own responsibilities.

"It's unimaginable that someone like the Black Bear would come to receive indulgence."

"You're right."

Josef, sitting quietly with his clasped hands, raised his head quietly to speak.

"A mere alley boss like him wouldn't be able to receive the indulgence decreed by the bishop."

"But he surely--"

"He may have offered something. Not received."

Though Josef's black eyes didn't seem to focus as if lost in deep thought, his gaze, while not explicitly directed, seemed to shine brighter than anyone else's in the room.

"He's eyeing Bayezid."

Josef's eyes gleamed with anger.

While it might be true for anyone, nobles especially tend to get angry when their possessions are violated.

Born with the destiny to eventually lose everything if they keep giving away piece by piece.

"Where is Vlad now?"

"He's waiting outside the door."

"Good."

Even though it was a foolish choice, it didn't mean his actions were incomprehensible.

Furthermore, it was evident that the bishop had been targeting Vlad from the beginning, considering how he deliberately granted indulgence to the Black Bear.

That's why it had to be done this way.

"Arrest Knight Vlad immediately."

Josef's order echoed suddenly in the office.

Gregory and Vordan, who were listening to the command, looked at their lord with startled expressions.

"Lord Josef, right now, Vlad--"

"The charge is murder."

A firm and cold order.

Josef's voice carried no tremor, as if he had already made up his mind.

"Understood."

Everyone was unable to move easily due to the shocking order, but only Zayar went out without hesitation at Josef's command.

"Sir Zayar, perhaps I should--"

"It's my fault for raising him poorly. I'll take responsibility."

Zayar's attitude was as resolute as Josef's command.

If the boy needs to be punished and beaten, it should be him doing it. It would be more comforting to do it himself than to watch someone else do it.

"....Damn."

Gregory sighed, imagining the situation unfolding outside the door.

The teacher is arresting his own student... 

He never expected such a situation.

If he had known it would come to this, he would never have sent Vlad upstairs alone.

"Sir Gregory."

"Yes."

However, Gregory had no room for regret.

"You also need to take responsibility as a participant in this matter."

"Yes, sir."

Josef was talking to Gregory with his mouth, but started scribbling and writing things down with his hands.

"So, go to Varna immediately."

"What?"

Gregory accepted the letter handed to him by Josef, standing there dumbfounded.

After gathering his wits, he looked at the envelope, on which was written the name "Priest Andrea."

"The sooner, the better."

"Okay, understood."

Something urgent was unfolding.

However, Josef was acting as if he had been waiting for this, so Gregory had no choice but to obey the command.

"Summon a mage, Sir Vordan. I need to contact my father and San Rogino."

"Got it."

"Also inform Maxim and Cade. Cancel all their missions and have them wait here."

"Yes."

War didn't merely begin with clashes of swords and spears.

The bishop of Shoara had now declared war on the legitimate Bayezid using Vlad as bait, and Josef chose a decisive battle rather than surrender in response.

"...So, you're making the first move."

He knew.

It would eventually come to this.

He had been pondering when the right time would be or whether he should move first.

This was the reason why Peter, the head of the family, sent Josef to Shoara instead of his eldest son, Rutger.

His second son might not have the talent for the sword, but he was born with sharpness no less than that, if not greater.

"It's probably for the best."

Inside the empty office, a young man with deep shadows under his eyes was now gleaming with a dark light.

Now was the time to possess it fully.

The city of Bayezid, unbound by anything.

※※※※

The towering spires symbolized closeness to the heavens, while the sprawling buildings represented expansiveness, all in the arms of God.

Although it was smaller than Varna, which had a strong religious flavor, the church in Shoara was also one of the largest buildings in the city, noticeable even to the ignorant.

"So, he cut him down without hesitation?"

"Yes, Lord Bishop."

The bishop's throne room was adorned with black and white tiles arranged in repetition. 

The bishop of Shoara was listening to the report of the priest there, where the craftsmen who built the church had made it with the utmost care.

"He turned out to be more fiery than I had heard."

The man in the red robe, his parched body looked unsightly, but his tall height, which seemed to be 2 meters, was sure to be intimidating to others.

"It seems shaking him up was the right move."

The priest in the white robe, who had directly delivered the indulgence to the Black Bear, stood with his head bowed, not daring to meet the bishop's gaze.

Bishop of Shoara. Pierre.

Currently, he wore a tranquil smile, but before becoming a bishop, he was notorious as a merciless inquisitor.

"Is he vouched for by Priest Andrea?"

"Yes, Lord Bishop."

Bishop Pierre closed his eyes, smiling as if he was truly satisfied with the answer he received.

Almost everyone closely associated with Vlad had been regarded as a thorn in his side.

"If all goes well, we might eliminate them all at once."

Despite not holding a high rank in the clergy, Priest Andrea was known throughout the North for his devoutness. 

Although he resided in Varna rather than in this city, Bishop Pierre had always found him discomforting.

Even though they are united by a single purpose, humans tend to conglomerate, but as organizations grow larger and broader, they inevitably resort to various compromises. 

In this sense, Andrea and Pierre were individuals on opposite sides.

"The gentlemen at the Vatican would be pleased."

While God's will is one, there are various ways to convey it. 

Pierre firmly believed that only his path truly aligned with God's will and never doubted it.

"Send someone to the new mayor. He needs to understand the folly of ignoring my indulgence."

Josef, the new mayor, might have expanded his influence with his own resolve, but Pierre could no longer tolerate it. It was time to assert his presence with sharp warnings.

"Tell the Heresy inquisitors to prepare as well."

"Understood."

Vlad would have fallen for Pierre's scheme at some point, if not now.

As a young, inexperienced knight, Vlad had always been under Pierre's watchful eye.

"Let's see his face."

There are no results without causes. 

That was the truth that Pierre felt painfully while working as a heresy inquisitor throughout his life.

"That brat claims to have been struck by a black lightning bolt."

No matter how talented he was, it was incomprehensible to Pierre's common sense that he was able to wield aura and become a knight in just one year.

Perhaps the boy's shining achievements harbored darker shadows than Pierre had expected.