Chapter 94 – 94 – Interrogation, Sentencing
It didn’t take long to get from the countryside near the border to the Grand Duke’s Palace at Linden.
This is thanks to the grand duke’s carriage, which is as luxurious as a royal palace. The moment they saw the little golden palace on wheels, the soldiers at all the gates smoothly opened the passage. Without going through any procedures or confirmations that might be necessary.
The Archduke, who was the one who got rid of all procedures due to his temper, seemed to be saddened by the fact that he had destroyed the guards who attacked him with all their might. He kept glancing at the soldiers outside, as if he wanted them to confirm his identity.
Of course, I don’t think he would have been able to solve something sharply even if the security guard stopped him. The same was true for the dignitaries gathered in the banquet hall of the Grand Duke’s Palace.
The vassals who had rushed to the summons from Barbo Lindborg and waited in advance looked shocked when they saw the captured Archduke Lindborg.
“I feel sorry for those who expected a banquet from the Grand Duke, but I will not express regret to those who are concerned about tragedy. I came with peaceful intentions.”
Rod smiled and looked around his audience. Instead of smiling at each other, the retainers glanced at the dragon horns on the Lord’s head.
“···How can I help you?”
“It would be nice if you could clear the table and make space.”
“For what…?”
“Interrogation. For all of you.”
———–
“Are you okay?”
Instead of answering, I waited with my hand out. Rod nodded his head. Lenny shrugged his shoulders and obediently handed me the interrogation tool.
I said, turning the hot iron once.
“This is the last time I’ll ask you in a good way. So, I hope all three of you think carefully before answering. Bisserk, Linden, and even us. What was the benefit of harming so many people? What are you guys aiming for? ?”
The Archduke sobs, and Christensen looks at the bald man.
And the blood-soaked bald head just smiles mockingly.
“There is a very good reason why I cannot answer you with either good or bad words.”
“Why did you take Adamantone with you? How can it be of help?”
“That happened.”
“They say you are with Villena’s father. Where is Villena’s father?”
“It’s where it needs to be.”
“You said Tena would do great things, right? What on earth does a pervert like you expect from her?”
“I’m hoping for what I should hope for.”
The lifting force is 10 times that of an ordinary person. It applies equally to any object.
The red-hot iron struck the vicar’s chin from bottom to top. The buried ashes splashed out brilliantly, leaving marks on the carpet.
It seems that Gunther Waldenhardt was not a superhuman either. The teeth that were shaking anxiously eventually fell out.
“Stop spinning your horse, you little bastard.”
Archduke Lindborg appears to be astonished at the evil committed by porters and the like against the parish priest.
And soon the vassals of the Grand Duke of Linden’s palace were astonished. Because Leni kicked the Archduke in the stomach, who was muttering about being rude and all.
Leni said, making the courtiers who were about to jump up sit back down with a look.
“If you don’t understand the situation, please come and discuss it.”
“Lenny, just be quiet for a moment. I’m talking to a big asshole.”
A vein pops out on Gunther’s head.
‘A person born into the karma of slavery.’ That’s what I said about the porter. I guess I was quite angry at being scolded and beaten by such a lowly person.
“Would you have that courage even without a dragon behind you, porter?”
“If you don’t, will I talk to you, you devil? You ran away.”
When Christensen let out a laugh, I turned the iron towards him. And immediately he slashed the Paladin’s thigh with a red iron.
There were quite pathetic screams, but even with my small-town sensibilities, I didn’t feel sorry for them. People are almost dying in droves, and people are talking about dying for good measure.
However, Gunter seemed to be the same as not feeling sympathy. I glared at the bald man, whose expression did not change even when he was attacked.
“What about you, Gunter? You keep running away in a mean way. If you’re confident, why don’t you speak up?”
“I will not listen to slave orders.”
“That’s absurd. Then, if a hero like me asks, are you going to answer?”
“Mansel Larion, the simpleton, has humbled himself to the level of the lowly and has lost his preeminence. He has no answer to that blood.”
Isil Rune, who respected his father, was very upset.
Likewise, I struck Isilun’s face on his behalf. It seems to be incredibly sturdy. It would have been normal for the bone to break first, but the neck of the iron rod was bent. Eshen was impressed.
“···I can’t do something like that either. How did you become so stubborn?”
Gunther, whose head had been sharply bent returned to its original position in a horrifying manner, looked at his rod while his blood was dripping.
“I’ll think about it when the king asks.”
But Rod, on the other hand, pretended not to hear what Gunter said.
Maybe we’re used to ignoring others, but we’re not used to being ignored? Gunteo again said that he would think about it if the king asked.
Rod, who was distracting him, looked down out the window he was leaning against and said.
“Should we also ask the person who seems to be the easiest to speak?
“All right.”
Waldenhardt’s harpooned face. Christensen’s fully cooked thighs.
The Prince, who was wheezing and thankful that he was the only one alive, was startled when Eshen and Nidroga grabbed his shoulders.
I raised the iron as if I was going to stab it from top to bottom. And added delicately.
“We have a top-notch healer.”
“What?”
“So I’ll do just enough to avoid dying.”
The Archduke cried out to be allowed to speak. And he started blowing.
I don’t know. I only read a few books about the new law spread by Gunther and was fascinated by it.
“What law?”
“Aaaaah! A warrior is the mark of a king! A wizard is the mark of a nobleman! All other aptitudes are born with the mark of a servant!”
“You’re doing well, kid. Keep going.”
“I have nothing to boast about except that I am a descendant of a hero! I was proud to hear those words!”
It is said that in the distant past, innate aptitude determined one’s rank. In the days when warriors were rare, they would find him even in the countryside and make him a monarch or serve him as a royal son-in-law.
Of course, these days, as the population has increased and the power of society has become greater than the aptitude of each individual, there are many wizards who are not nobles, and many royals who are not from the hero family.
Did I not like being born into such a world? Gunter seems to have been quite serious about going back to the old days.
‘We must go back. ‘To the era of the law, where we were faithful to our roles assigned by the gods.’
Barbo, who was often looked down on because he was a descendant of a warrior but also a bandit warlord, was very enthusiastic about Gunther’s philosophy. Because it is proof that he, a descendant of a warrior and aptitude for being a hero, is better than anyone else.
And he actively wanted to use it as a justification to increase legitimacy and authority. By adding a little gore for the sake of directing.
Christensen, who came to the Principality of Linden and conveyed Gunther’s ideas, persuaded him.
‘So if I listen carefully, I’ll make connections with you, right?’
‘If the chaos caused by the soon-to-be-appearing Maguls becomes large enough, the Bishop of Waldenhardt will send Mithra’s army to help. Calling in reinforcements would be an achievement for the Archduke. The people who have been saved by the Archduke and the Bishop will follow the correct old laws. Linden will be reborn as a theocracy…’
“Wait for a sec.”
Sister Monica became thoughtful and asked a question. “Magul’s’? Fields? Are you saying that Magul’s are appearing in Linden again?”
Isilun Sunstorm asked a thoughtful question. “Magul is an invasion weapon sent from the demon world. Until the door between dimensions is opened and it appears, no one in this world can know its foreshadowing. But how did you predict that Magul would appear?”
Christensen, the contemplative schemer, shouted.
“I think you can survive if you blow it like that! You can’t shut it up!”
“But it hurts so much!”
The Grand Duke glared at me with eyes filled with resentment and remorse as I took off the soldering iron, saying that he should have believed me only after everything was lost.
This iron was taken from the torture chamber of the Grand Duke’s palace. He would have beaten someone with a hot iron, but it is very sad to see that he believes that he should be an exception.
As I raised the handle, which looked like it had been used to be brand new, again, the Archduke forced a flattering smile.
“Please.”
“Then keep going.”
“I understand. From what I heard, the gods hate the demon world, so if you deepen your correct faith, you will understand-“
“Tell them to stop talking nonsense. If that were the case, would we accept such a high amount of money in return for taking care of the demon cave? You didn’t want to pay that money either, so you tried to get rid of us, right?”
Nidroga sneered. And she shouted to Linden’s vassals who were watching with bated breath.
“Did you hear? They say there is a devil’s den all over Linden. The reason I knew but didn’t tell you was because I wanted the residences and hometowns of the Linden people, including you, to fall into ruin. Is there anyone other than the Archduke who is in collusion with this terrible crime?”
“Definitely not. Somehow, they went to look at villas in foreign countries!”
“I guess he’s the bandit’s son!”
“That damn dog!”
It’s impressive that everyone jumps up, seemingly forgetting the warning to sit down. One of the subjects who reacted particularly violently even took off his jacket and threw it away. The Archduke was frightened and grabbed a piece of sweat-soaked clothing to cover his head.
Morgan scoffed and shook her head.
“No one swears while looking at Rod’s feelings. I guess everyone really didn’t know?”
“How do you know?”
“I didn’t really emphasize it because I didn’t need to use it, but you said I was the child of a siren. If you listen closely to the vibrations in a person’s throat, you can feel the difference between the straight truth and a slightly trembling lie. My father is an adamantone. That’s why he made sure to have me attend interrogations and other things.”
“···Oh. That’s really amazing.”
“Thank you for the sincere compliment.”
Just as Morgan was grinning and stroking my head, the door to the banquet hall that she had closed burst open.
And the priests and paladins of Mithra came pouring in.
Healers of Mithras with medals adorning their clothes. Paladins wonder how they walk so silently while wearing such heavy armor. And···.
“Bishop of Santeo.”
“···Waldenhardt Parish Bishop. Hello.”
There was even a priest wearing very high-looking black clothes, whose attire was identical to that of Waldenhardt.
While the Archduke became furious, his subjects, who had been throwing objects just now, froze.
I asked Morgan softly.
“Wait a minute. So did you even hear them coming?”
“Huh.”
“···Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why should I tell you?”
We glared at Morgan in shock. Morgan nodded his head, widening his eyes and grinning like a schemer.
Soon we started laughing and avoiding each other’s gaze. The Grand Duke, who had been happy, frowned at our reaction.
“What? They came on our side, why…?”
“Stupid bastard.”
As Christensen cursed through gritted teeth, the Archduke’s complexion turned the color of shit again.
Rod raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“That’s impressive speed. I didn’t expect it to come so quickly.”
“A lowly priest comes to see the master of all dragons. At that time, the people of Rhodes stopped by the main temple to make an offering, so fortunately, I was able to borrow the dragon’s back for help. And…”
The vicar of San Teo knelt down on one knee and kissed Rod’s finger. And he smiled slightly.
“Oh my gosh, please speak comfortably. When the person who has supported me since my time in theological college calls me, I have to show up at the right time. How can I bust my ass?”
“Well, I told you repeatedly to keep it a secret.”
“Are you saying it’s a secret? I always brag about it. Now that I look back, there’s no reason to brag or care about it.”
Rod and the Bishop of Santeo burst into bright laughter like old friends. Sister Monica blinked her eyes as if in a daze.
“So… I heard that, but… Did you really have connections to the Church of Mithras?”
“When you’re like my mother, it’s hard not to have any connections. There are people in important positions in all sorts of places who help and help each other.”
“···Didn’t you say that you would make the Church of Mithras pay?”
The Bishop of Santeo seemed to have listened to the small whispers that left behind deep-rooted resentment. He turned his head towards us and his sister flinched.
“The Church of Mithras does not run solely on the opinions of one or two people.”
“I see.”
“…But the bigger the body, the darker the shadow. The bigger the tree, the more maggots hiding in its roots. If you have been hurt by those who used the name of the sun as a weapon to do wrong, “As a true believer of Mithras, I deeply apologize.”
They seem to have guessed that the sister was a minority sect by looking at her priestly uniform, which had an ambiguous style. The Bishop of Santeo wrinkled his wrinkles as if he were sad.
“And today, as you probably already know, we will cut out the rotten parts of that faith. Come in, warrior.”
As Santeo held out his hand out the door, someone with a midday halo on his back walked in.
Leni and Nenya burst into laughter at the same time. The Paladin, wearing fancy ceremonial armor… Was someone we knew.
“As far as I remember, I have never died in front of you, but you act like you are looking at a dead person.”
“They all looked like they were dying. It’s nice to see them from behind.”
“You too, Bantai.”
Florica Waldenhardt, the apostate warrior who left the dragon’s nest, smiled brightly. She then waved her large scroll decorated with gold before us.
“I want to ask you how you are, and it looks like you have a lot of things you want to ask too. I have work to do.”
“I want to start by asking what the job is. Also the contents of the scroll.”
“It’s not difficult to show it. We have to unfold it anyway. Gunther Waldenhardt?”
Gunter didn’t answer. He just widens his eyes and smiles a menacing smile.
If you’re going to chew on people’s words from the front, I don’t know why you looked upset at Rod’s lack of response. Fucking bald bastard.
Perhaps familiar with her father’s behavior, Florica shouted loudly with a smile on her face.
“I know that many people behind the scenes agree with you, but the Holy Father believes that right is not determined by anger.”
“You have no right to dare say such a thing.”
“These are not my private words, but the will of the Holy Father, Gunther Waldenhardt.”
Florica rolled the scroll with the Pope’s execution letter written in fancy script on the floor and unfolded it.
Then she lifted the sword wrapped in a scroll. The moment the metal flashed, resembling the light of the noon sun, Isilun took a breath as if he recognized something.
“The warrior’s sword, the beginning of heaven and earth…?”
“What is that?”
“This is the warrior’s sword of the person who founded the Mithraic Church. There is a risk of damage, so I am not giving it to the warriors on the front lines right now, only…”
“Only?”
“I heard that it only shows itself to the world when it punishes heresy serious enough to be governed by a papal decree.”
When the Lord who got out of the way motioned as if to go quickly, the paladins showed their respect and ran straight to grab Gunther’s limbs. Then he made him kneel down on the scroll.
Florica walked next to her and raised her sword high.
“I sentence you to Excommūnicātiō, excommunication.”
