‘Who is this man…?’
This was Asmail, who was considered an eccentric even within the Holy Palace. Yet, even to him, Lloyd stood out as an eccentric among eccentrics. No, calling him an eccentric didn’t fully capture his personality.
Madman. That seemed more fitting.
Asmail realized that at some point, the smile that always lingered on his lips had disappeared. A rare occurrence, as maintaining a smile was part of his persona.
“Are you asking me to… cooperate with you?”
“Yes, I want to find the Blood Cult agents hiding within the Holy Palace as well.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to gain some control over the Holy Palace.”
“Control… over the Holy Palace?”
Lloyd said something utterly nonsensical, with no sign of hesitation.
Did this man even realize he is an Inquisitor?
“Do you even know who you’re talking to?”
“Inquisitor.”
“Talking about controlling the Holy Palace is enough to have you charged with treason.”
“But you won’t do that.”
“…”
Lloyd brazenly stood up and approached Asmail.
“After all, you don’t care about the Holy King or the Holy Palace. You only serve Deus.”
“…”
“And right now, the person closest to the Holy King is Saintess Aria.”
“How far exactly do you….”
Lloyd shrugged.
“I just took a guess, but it seems you bit the bait.”
This man…
Asmail’s fist trembled slightly at Lloyd’s slyness, as if he were dancing on his nerves. Should he just hit him? Just once, without killing him? Then again, is there even a reason not to kill him?
Sensing Asmail’s thoughts, Lloyd spoke up as if reading his mind.
“I’m telling you this because our goals align.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to expose the Blood Cultists in the Holy Palace too.”
“And why would you want that?”
“Because I don’t like the Blood Cult.”
“Don’t lie. You just said you wanted to take control of the Holy Palace earlier.”
“Well, that’s also true.”
What kind of honesty is this?
Asmail felt his vision blur for a moment.
He stumbled and leaned on a desk for support, inadvertently finding himself agreeing.
As Lloyd said, Asmail served the Saintess.
Not the Holy King, not the Holy Palace.
As long as he could serve Deus, such institutions were meaningless shells.
After all, Asmail had personally received a revelation from Deus.
So naturally, he was drawn to the Saintess. She was the only other person, besides Asmail, to have received a revelation from Deus.
The person closest to Deus in the Holy Palace.
In Asmail’s eyes, that was Saintess Aria.
“If you help me, at least Aria won’t suffer. And we can deal with those troubling her recently.”
“I don’t even want to know how much you already know.”
“So wouldn’t it be better to make someone like me an ally rather than an enemy?”
“I could always just kill you, you know.”
As Asmail muttered this quietly—
—Bang!
The door to the interrogation room burst open.
Both Lloyd and Asmail turned to look.
Standing there was a skinny priest in his mid-thirties, holding what looked like a small mace, a torture device.
The priest seemed to have rushed over, panting heavily.
He finally caught his breath and looked around the room. His eyes widened as he glanced between Lloyd and Asmail.
“I-Inquisitor! What are you doing here?!”
Without a word, Asmail glanced at Lloyd. Lloyd merely shrugged his shoulders again.
The priest continued speaking.
“This is a wanted criminal! You must hand him over to us immediately!”
That’s right.
Asmail had intercepted Lloyd midway.
His objective was to verify if Lloyd was part of the Blood Cult. Now that it was confirmed he wasn’t, Asmail could hand him over without issue.
‘And then he’ll be smashed to death with that mace.’
Asmail knew. That blunt torture device was used when they wanted to “accidentally” kill someone during interrogation.
“Hurry and hand him over!”
Another demand.
Asmail walked over to Lloyd.
And without a word, he helped him to his feet.
“…Asmail?”
The priest asked in bewilderment.
Asmail opened his mouth.
“I’ve already finished the interrogation. He’s innocent.”
“What do you mean…?! This man is a wanted criminal for us…!”
The priest’s trembling words were cut off by Asmail.
“We, us. Who exactly is this ‘us’ you’re referring to?”
“…Excuse me?”
“The Holy Palace is an organization of those who serve Deus. So why are you dividing it into ‘us’ and ‘them’?”
The priest stood there, speechless, as if his tongue had been tied.
“Who exactly belongs to your ‘us’?”
“…That, I…”
“You don’t need to answer. It’s obviously Archbishop Julius.”
“How… how did you….”
That’s how it’s done.
Using the technique he had just learned from Lloyd, “speaking assumptions as if they were truths”, Asmail extracted information and pulled Lloyd toward him.
“From now on, this person is my guest. He’s been falsely accused, so he deserves appropriate treatment.”
“Sir Asmail!”
“I will hear no more objections. Priest.”
Calling out the rank meant it was an order.
And Asmail was an Inquisitor, one of the highest authorities, just below the Holy King.
“…Understood.”
The situation was quickly resolved.
◆
In a city near the capital of the Britannia Empire.
Several luxurious carriages came to a halt at the Harold Trading Company’s Easton branch.
Crowds gathered to gawk at the rare sight of such a grand procession of carriages.
However, they soon scattered in fear.
“It’s the imperial crest!”
Someone had spotted the Estrid family emblem engraved on the side of one of the carriages. It was a symbol that only the imperial family could use. This meant that someone inside the carriage was a princess, prince, or even the emperor. Running away was the only reasonable response.
A single cough at the wrong moment could result in losing one’s head.
— Clunk.
The door of the carriage opened.
A violet shoe heel tapped the ground, followed by golden hair swaying in the breeze.
“We are honored to welcome you, Your Highness the Princess Aina.”
The branch manager of the Easton Harold Trading Company rushed out and bowed his head. Aina nodded slightly and entered the trading company building.
The corridor, though not overly extravagant, was decorated with high-quality wooden furnishings.
Aina walked confidently down the hallway and opened the door at the end without hesitation. Despite this rude act, the girl sitting inside the office spoke calmly.
“You’ve arrived, Princess.”
“Do you not even come out to greet me anymore, Claire?”
“Well, we’ve never exactly been on good terms, have we? Not since Lee Han died. We were merely in a business relationship.”
“That’s exactly what I’m curious about.”
Slide.
Aina pulled out a chair at the guest table and sat down, her voice growling as she continued.
“Why did you stop the sponsorship?”
“Oh, the sponsorship?”
Claire clapped her hands together, as if only just remembering.
“It didn’t seem worthwhile to maintain our relationship anymore.”
Aina froze for a moment, stunned by Claire’s bluntness.
“What… what kind of nonsense is that?”
“Exactly what I said. Our relationship is no longer valuable. Our partnership was always business, wasn’t it? I supported you for the throne, and I received the benefits in return.”
“Yes, but why…!”
“Because I don’t think you can ascend the throne anymore.”
“What?”
Aina’s mouth hung open in shock.
From her perspective, it was unbelievable.
After all, hadn’t they shared hardships together in the Hero’s Party? Claire had even been part of the plan to deal with Lee Han. Yes, that event had caused a rift between them, but even so… Aina still trusted Claire to some extent.
Or rather, it wasn’t trust, but a form of reliance. They both had the same goals and shared mutual benefits.
But now, Claire was betraying her.
Betraying her, a princess of the Empire.
“…Claire.”
“Yes, Princess?”
“Do you realize what you’re saying right now?”
“I do, perfectly.”
“Do you think you can grow your trading company without my support?”
“That would be difficult.”
“Then why?!”
Bang!
Aina slammed the table.
But Claire didn’t even blink.
“Why would you turn me into an enemy? You had a clear goal of expanding your trading company!”
Aina’s voice was filled with a threatening tone, but Claire remained calm as she responded.
“That’s not what matters anymore.”
“What?”
“What good is growing a trading company? In the end, I’d just be stuck collecting scraps from under your table.”
Claire adjusted her posture, her demeanor unbothered.
It was then that Aina realized something.
Claire was at peace. She was willing to turn Aina into an enemy without any hesitation. This behavior could be interpreted in multiple ways. Maybe she thought the value of being allied with the princess had diminished. Or, perhaps…
“Claire, you…”
Aina spoke in a trembling voice.
“You found Lee Han, haven’t you?”
