Chapter 96 - I forgive your sins (2)

God is everywhere.

However, His embrace doesn't reach everyone equally.

To those who are high, we lower them even further, and to those who have much, we give even more.

That was the image of God and the church that the people from below had ever seen.

"So, is this person innocent now?"

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

The priest responded to Vlad's question, closed his eyes, and began reciting a prayer in a reverential posture.

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

'...Just with this.'

Vlad couldn't understand.

All the sins of the black bear are forgiven with the paper held by the priest.

Can the tears shed by those who died in a false church be wiped away with just this piece of paper?

Then, who the hell will compensate for the black tears shed by Anna?

"Sin is something that can be forgiven at any time with a sincere heart, Mr. Vlad."

"…"

The priest sent by the bishop smiled kindly as he looked at Vlad, who was torn between anger and bewilderment, not knowing what to do.

"Now he's innocent."

Upon hearing a voice coming from his side, Vlad turned his head there, stunned.

"Because I've been forgiven by God. Isn't that what's done now?"

"...Forgiven?"

When he turned his head, Black Bear smiled slightly as he looked at Vlad, as if he had come to terms with it.

Now that the Church and indulgences have made him innocent, he might have the right to laugh.

The women he sold were locked in a dark place and died of fear, but the person who led them to death smiled.

This is wrong.

"...Can someone really be forgiven as long as they have a sincere heart, priest?"

"Of course, sir."

Is it really possible to become innocent of any sin if you're forgiven by God and the church?

"I understand."

In that case, I should also ask for forgiveness.

That day, while wiping away Anna's tears that couldn't even fall, I promised her that I would accept the payment in return.

"Mr. Vlad?"

"I confess my sins. Priest."

If you're where you should be, if you're standing at the moment you should be, don't hesitate.

If no one takes responsibility where it should be taken.

Then you will.

Because that's the Sword Master's code.

Crack!

"Thud!"

At that moment, dark red blood splattered on the priest's white robe.

No one could stop it because no one expected it.

No, even if someone had expected it, it was a decisive blow that couldn't be stopped.

"Ugh..."

Black Bear clutching his neck with eyes wide open in disbelief.

Blood was steadily dripping from his neck, which he held tightly.

"This, this...!"

"I am a sinner. Priest."

There was a knight who knelt before an astonished priest and confessed his sins.

He was the bearer of the faithful name bestowed by the priest Andreas and the bearer of the shining armor presented by the diocese of San Rogino.

"So, please, give me the opportunity to forgive my sins."

God's will comes as dazzling and splendid as the daytime sun, but sometimes, like now, it must shine at an angle.

When you arrive at a low and dirty place like an alley, even you will have to bow your head before entering.

***

It was a deep night when everyone should have been asleep, but Joseph and the knights were gathered in the mayor's office with serious expressions on their faces.

"It ended like this."

After hearing Gregory's report, Joseph sighed deeply, his eyelids heavy as if he were tired.

"Are you really saying you killed someone with impunity?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Joseph. I should have stopped him."

Gregory stood there with his head bowed, as if he really had nothing to say.

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

"I can't even imagine someone called Black Bear being granted impunity..."

"You're right."

Joseph, who had been sitting quietly with his hands clasped, silently lifted his head and opened his mouth.

"There's no way a mere clandestine leader could receive an indulgence from the bishop."

"But he definitely..."

"I suppose you let him go. You didn't catch him."

Joseph's dark eyes were unfocused, as if showing that he was deeply pondering.

However, even though there was no clear look, Joseph's eyes shone brighter than anyone else's here.

"They're spying on Bayezid."

Joseph's eyes shone with anger.

Everyone in this world is like that, but nobles in particular are angry because their things are being invaded.

Because we were born with the destiny of having everything taken from us if we give it away one by one.

"Where is Vlad now?"

"He's waiting outside the door."

"Good."

Although it was a foolish choice, that didn't mean the action wasn't understandable.

Besides, it was clear that the bishop had been targeting Vlad from the beginning, deliberately granting indulgence to the black bear.

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

"Arrest Knight Vlad right away."

Joseph's order suddenly resonated in the office.

Gregory and Bordan, who heard the order, looked at their lord with perplexed eyes.

"Mr. Joseph, Vlad now..."

"The charge is murder."

A decisive but ruthless command.

There was no tremor in Joseph's voice, as if he had already decided.

"It's all right."

Everyone couldn't move easily because of the shocking order, but only Jager stepped out without hesitation at Joseph's command.

"Now, Sir Jager. I'd prefer."

"It's my fault for raising you poorly, so I'll take responsibility for it."

Jager's attitude was as firm as Joseph's orders.

If the child needs to be punished and beaten, it would be right for him to do it.

Because you'll feel more comfortable doing it yourself than watching someone else do it.

"…Huff."

Gregory sighed at the thought of what would happen outside the door.

A situation where a master arrests a disciple.

If he had known things would end up like this, he would never have sent Vlad alone upstairs.

"Sir Gregory."

"Yes."

But Gregory had no time to repent.

"You must also take responsibility as part of this incident."

"You're right."

Joseph spoke to Gregory with his mouth, but he began to scribble and write things with his hands.

"So go to Varna right away."

"Yes?"

Gregory stood there, not understanding, as he accepted the letter Joseph handed him.

When I finally came to my senses, I looked at the envelope and saw that it was written the name of the priest Andreas.

"The sooner, the better."

"All right, I understand."

Something is going on in a hurry.

However, Joseph acted as if he had been waiting, so Gregory had no choice but to simply follow orders.

"Mr. Bordan, call the wizard. I need to communicate with my father and with San Rogino."

"Okay."

"Tell Maxim and Cade too. From now on, cancel all their missions and let them wait here."

"Yes."

War doesn't start solely with the clash of swords and spears.

The bishop of Soara had declared war on the legitimate Bayezid using Vlad as bait, and Joseph opted for a decisive battle instead of surrendering as a response.

"…In the end, you take the first step."

I knew it.

That this is what will happen in the end.

I wondered when that moment would come or if I should take the first step.

That was why Peter, the head of the family, sent his younger son, Joseph, instead of Rutiger, to Soara.

Although his second son had no talent for the sword, he was born with the same sharpness as a knight.

"It's better."

In the empty office, a young man with dark eyes shone darkly.

Now is the time to have it all.

A perfect city of Bayezid that is not bound by anything.

***

The tall bell tower symbolizes closeness to God in the sky, and the spacious building symbolizes the breadth of His embrace.

Although smaller than Varna, which had a strong religious flavor, the church of Soara was also one of the largest buildings in the city.

For the ignorant, nothing will be as clear as size.

"Did he cut him down without hesitation?"

"Yes, that's correct. Bishop."

The bishop's throne room with repeated white and black tiles.

The bishop of Soara was listening to the report from the priest sent there, where the artisans who built the church had been extremely careful.

"It turned out to be more aggressive than I expected."

A man dressed in a red robe.

His withered body seemed unpleasant, but his height, which appeared to be 2 meters, would surely intimidate others.

"I suppose shaking up that fellow was the right thing to do."

The priest dressed in white who personally delivered the indulgence to the black bear simply stood with his head bowed, not daring to make eye contact with the bishop.

Bishop of Soara. Pedro.

He was now smiling peacefully, but before becoming a bishop, he was famous as a ruthless inquisitor.

"The guarantor for that boy is the priest Andreas, correct?"

"That's right."

Bishop Pedro closed his eyes and smiled as if he were truly satisfied with the answer he received.

Because all the people he had considered thorns in his eyes so far were closely related to a knight named Vlad.

"If we play our cards right, we can destroy everything at once."

A priest so faithful that everyone in the North knows him, even though he is not a high-ranking priest. Andreas.

Although Andreas was in Varna and not in this city, Pedro always felt uneasy about him.

Even if they are united by a single purpose, it is a human habit that as the organization grows and expands, there is no choice but to come together here and there.

In that sense, Andreas and Pedro were people who were on opposite sides.

"The nobles of the Vatican will like it."

God's will is one, but there are many ways to convey that will.

And Pedro was a man who had no doubt that the path he had taken was the only one that could truly reach God's will.

"Send someone to the new mayor. I will have to lead the foolish knight who ignored my indulgence."

The new mayor, Joseph, may have been expanding his influence through his own determination, but he can no longer be ignored.

Now is the time to make his presence known with a clear warning.

"Tell the heresy interrogators to prepare as well."

"Understood."

Vlad would have fallen into Pedro's plan at some point, if not now.

The young, inexperienced, and therefore foolish knight was someone Pedro had been watching for a long time.

"We'll see your face at some point."

There is no effect without cause.

That was the truth Pedro painfully felt as he worked as an inquisitor of heresies throughout his life.

"The guy who was struck by a black lightning."

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

Perhaps the bright achievements the boy had achieved so far had a dark shadow, just as Pedro had hoped.

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