Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 272

“Cardinal, should we wait here for news about Bishop Illia?”

Lobe, the head of the delegates, asked as he held up a recording device.

Essel was in charge of the investigation, but Lobe was responsible for recording and sending the information. He had to document everything, since he had been staying in Raftan Castle for a week.

If the recorded mission was seen as violating the faith or being unreasonable, Essel would be in big trouble.

‘I need to find proof of heresy or find someone to blame… and that someone can’t be me.’

Essel needed to fix his evil plan, both to keep his job and to save his life.

Remembering the Pope’s serious warning, Essel asked quietly, “What proof of heresy have you found?”

“There are some small things, but the knights keep stopping us from punishing them. Should we officially complain to the Order?”

“……No, wait on that.”

“Yes? How…….”

He couldn’t say that even if he complained, the Pope would ignore him. He didn’t want small heresies that could be seen differently. He needed something bigger.

In the end, Essel had to use another plan.

“Our real goal is to punish the heretics. Where are most of them?”

“In the McLaine territory, which is the base of this kingdom. But it started with the Swordmaster’s child.”

“Yes, that’s important. If we ask the Order for help to catch a small heretic now, it will take longer to catch the ones who really need to be punished. We need to think about the big picture. Don’t focus on small tasks.”

“……I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Yes, knowing is enough.

Maybe the Pope sent Lobe to guide him because Inquisitors don’t like new ideas.

But right now…

‘How can I get what I want and stay safe?’

What if he couldn’t find proof of heresy even in the McLaine territory?

Should he order someone to kill themselves?

Even if the Inquisitors were not open to other views, would they follow such an order?

‘What should I do? Is there a good way?’

Essel Fabrun couldn’t sleep well that night, just like he hadn’t for the past week since that event.

The next morning, he spoke with a determined look, “We must go to the McLaine territory.”

That became the plan for the investigation team and the Second Corps knights.

Neigh.

“Alright, alright, we’ll camp here tonight!”

It was the third day since they left Raftan territory for McLaine territory.

Unlike the trip from the capital to Raftan, the group moved slowly. The night before they arrived in McLaine, something unexpected occurred.

“Go! Use all your power to find and kill the heretics!”

Before setting up camp, the priests gathered as if to pray, but suddenly, they shouted and ran everywhere in the middle of the night.

The Swordmaster, who saw this from nearby, shouted to his knights, “Chase after the ones I assigned to you!”

The Swordmaster quickly appeared before Cardinal Essel.

“Cardinal Essel, what are you doing?”

Essel was happy to see his annoyed face.

“Huhu. You’re late, Swordmaster. There are many places to check, so I had to order them to act alone. Sorry for not telling you.”

If it were just them without the knights of the Fourth Corps, they couldn’t just knock out the Inquisitors and bring them back as they had done before.

‘It’s okay if we miss some.’

The Inquisitors had a lot of anger built up inside.

The Inquisitors, who had been pressured and punished by the knights, would not hesitate to start extreme questioning, even alone, just like in the old days when they decided people’s lives with total power.

If that happened, the knights of this kingdom, based on what they’ve done so far, wouldn’t do nothing.

– Find a reason that sounds good.

At least that goal would be reached, so Essel could smile calmly.

But the Swordmaster’s face became very serious.

“Using such strange methods, something really bad could happen.”

“Haha, something really bad? It sounds like you’re saying you’ll cause an accident, but I don’t think the Swordmaster would do something so foolish without a good reason.”

He could say that because he understood how the Swordmaster usually acts, after traveling together for over ten days.

He and his men would never hurt the investigation team.

‘Do you know how many people I’ve met and how many tricks I’ve used to get to this position? You shouldn’t have made me mad, Swordmaster.’

Essel trusted his judgment and showed the evil in his heart without hiding it.

“But you never know. If you kneel before me and apologize for being rude in the past, I might remember it and write a positive report.”

Of course, he didn’t plan to.

Essel smiled, even though he was sweating because of the Swordmaster’s look that could kill. Licking his lips and chuckling, he looked more like a back alley thug than a clergyman.

But that calmness didn’t last long.

Tap tap tap!

“Spread out and surround them. Capture all those wearing robes alive!”

A group running against the sunset was seen, making loud noises. Soon, armed knights circled around, following the loud voice.

Essel’s eyes widened in fear as he saw the fire flags waving above them.

“Your Excellency! McLaine’s best knights have surrounded the Inquisitors.”

Soon, Louis shouting was heard from far away, and the two men’s faces changed a lot.

Smirk.

“It seems your plan failed.”

“Don’t tell me you planned this all along…….”

“What you can do is quite limited, isn’t it? I just got ready just in case.”

“N, no way! Don’t talk nonsense!”

“Nonsense?”

The Swordmaster, smirking, gave off a dangerous feeling and put his face right up to Essel’s.

“From today, you will only say what I tell you to say on the way back. If you say anything else, I will break one of your bones each time. You’re a Cardinal, so you should be able to heal that much on your own, right?”

Essel’s face turned pale.

But was it because he had been pushed too hard?

As if realizing something from the Swordmaster’s words, Essel shouted with a face full of anger.

“Until I return?! Th, that’s right! You can’t kill me anyway! Yes, you couldn’t kill me. Hehe. Do you think this kingdom will be safe even after treating me like this! Kneel down right now……!”

“Thank you for your concern, Your Eminence. But did I tell you to speak?”

Essel’s face turned white instantly at the calm reply.

And.

Crack!

“Aaaargh!”

The old Cardinal’s bones broke far too easily.

Thud.

The carriage shook violently as the wooden wheel hit a stone.

Clang.

Inside the carriage, with iron bars on one side, Illia, weak and chained up, was shaken hard by the bumpy ride, but she stayed still, eyes closed.

The Holy Knights, watching to see if the carriage would fall apart from the shaking, looked worried.

“She’s really tough.”

“I know. It’s been almost two months, and…….”

“As expected of a heretic…….”

Nine Holy Knights were sent.

If the Inquisitor was a judge on assignment, the Holy Knights were the knights who did the punishing after the judge decides.

Sending such Holy Knights to summon her was like saying they had already decided she was guilty, even before asking her questions.

However, unlike the worries of the leaders, Bishop Illia agreed to come when they called her and stayed calm and quiet even while being treated like a prisoner.

Also, what made the Holy Knights even more uneasy was the soft light around Bishop Illia’s head as she was being taken away so calmly.

“But does she really have the Holy Radiance…….”

The carriage bumped along the mountain road. Inside, Holy Knight Grant argued with young Joseph.

“It’s a trick of heresy! Don’t be swayed!”

“But it certainly feels holy…”

“Joseph! Are you not listening to me!?”

“But as time passes, the halo grows larger and larger.”

As Joseph spoke, the holy light that slowly grew around Ilia now covered the entire carriage she was riding in.

However, Grant, the person in charge of the transport, was even more stubborn than he looked.

“Ahem! I’m telling you, it’s all a trick of heresy!”

Joseph could not understand his senior’s words.

Could heresy really create such strong, holy power? It felt so real.

‘How can a heretic fabricate the power of God?’

Shouldn’t that mean the heretic is rather the one representing God’s will?

At the moment Joseph was having such a thought, which was extremely dangerous for a holy knight,

“Enemy!”

Thud.

He saw his senior collapsing with a sudden shout. And the masked men in front of him.

“How dare you!”

Joseph and his colleagues hurriedly drew their swords, but the three masked men moving faster than the eye could follow were beyond their ability to stop.

“Kuh…”

Suddenly, Joseph felt a hard hit on the back of his head. Everything went dark. As he fell, he saw one last thing. The masked man who hit him had eyes of different colors – one blue and one red.

“Bishop Ilia, are you alright?!”

At the familiar voice, Ilia, who hadn’t moved at all despite the sudden commotion, opened her eyes.

“Sir Viktor?”

“Yes, it is I, Bishop.”

There was no need to keep wearing a mask when they were on a deserted mountain road and had defeated all the holy knights.

Viktor unhesitatingly took off his mask and stood before Ilia.

“Is this His Majesty’s will? But this… I don’t think it’s a very good idea?”

Viktor looked at Ilia again. He was surprised by how calm she was. Even tied up like a prisoner, her face was peaceful. With the holy light above her, she even looked as comfortable as if she were in her own home.

‘Certainly…’

Thinking that she was no ordinary person, Viktor bowed his head.

“It is His Majesty’s will, and it is also my will. If you wish, Bishop, I will release you from custody as is. I will also provide support so that you can go wherever you wish…”

“Judging by the fact that you didn’t break the cart right away, that’s not the main point, is it? The holy knights just seem to be unconscious. If it’s urgent, please tell me the main point first, Sir Viktor.”

Viktor was about to say more, but Ilia stopped him with a firm voice.

Then, a burst of laughter flowed from the mouth of one of the masked men behind Viktor.

“Commander Viktor. That’s why I told you not to say unnecessary things.”

“Viktor’s the one we’re here for, right? And I told you already, Viktor, enough talking.”

“Jorge, you never give up, do you? Sigh. Okay, okay, Commander. Do what you want.”

At that small commotion, Ilia’s eyes turned to them.

“Sir Viktor. Would you introduce the people behind you? They don’t seem to be ordinary people.”

Haa.

“The former commander of the Royal Knights, Sir Francisco Romero, and the vice-commander of the Maclane Knights, Sir Jorge…”

“They are now just adjutants of the 1st Corps. Serving His Majesty.”

Before Viktor’s words, which came out with a sigh, could finish, Francisco took off his mask.

“It is an honor to meet you, Saintess.”

Seeing him smiling as he stroked his mustache, Jorge also took off his mask. He was inwardly displeased with the attitude of his colleagues, who seemed to have no interest in maintaining secrecy, but after all, that wasn’t the most important thing in this mission anyway.

“It is also an honor to meet you, Saintess.”

“Saintess? That’s too much. To a priest being taken to the temple…”

Ilia shook her head with a bitter look, and Viktor, seeing that, burst out.

“Too much! In the slums of Gran, they have been calling you that for a long time. Even if it’s not the recent rumors, you deserve that title!”

“…Thank you, Sir Viktor.”

A smile appeared on Ilia’s face as she looked at the young knight who had joined her in volunteer work several times.

But her attitude remained unwavering.

“Then shall we hear the reason why you went to such lengths?”

“…His Majesty wants to know your will, Bishop.”

“His Majesty does?”

“Whether you intend to simply accept the religious interrogation, or whether you want to escape it by any means.”

“What does that mean?”

“You must have heard a lot about the temple being corrupt. No, aren’t you seeing it now? He asked me to ask if you have any intention of changing such a temple.”

“Haa… Does His Majesty intend to interfere with the temple’s affairs?”

Ilia’s face immediately hardened. A priest like her could not like the idea of a king interfering with the church’s power.

But Viktor continued to speak in a voice that did not waver in the slightest.

“He said that it is already an inevitable situation. The temple’s intimidation to shake the country has already gone too far.”

Ilia’s expression sank heavily as if she agreed with that fact alone.

“…If I want that?”

“He said he would connect you with someone who could be of great help within the central temple.”

“His Majesty does?”

It was a rhetorical question containing the meaning that although she didn’t ignore Logan, connections within the temple were another story. Did the young king have connections to the extent that he could interfere with the religious interrogation?

“Yes.”

Nevertheless, Viktor’s answer was firm.

“And Maclane is also making preparations to help you. If there is good response from both inside and outside the temple, I am confident that we can change the results of the interrogation that have already been decided. After arriving at the temple…”

As the confident voice continued, Ilia’s expression began to waver for the first time.

Joseph jumped up and grabbed his sword, but all he saw were his seniors with terribly crumpled expressions.

“Commander Grant. What on earth happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“Yes?”

“I said nothing happened! The heretical bishop is fine, and no one is dead.”

Grant glared angrily at Ilia through the bars. His face was already mean-looking, and now he looked even angrier. But Grant could not find out anything from her, who was still not moving.

Above all, this mission was quite important and dangerous.

‘Even His Holiness the Pope gave direct instructions. But you’re telling me you made this mistake?’

Grant’s hands trembled.

The moment a report came in that they were ambushed during the transfer and all lost consciousness, his life as the person in charge would be over, even if his subordinates were spared.

There was only one way.

“As you can see, nothing has changed. So let’s pretend today never happened.”

“Yes?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Then report it and we’ll all be ruined! You’ll be stuck as low knights forever! And me… I will be ruined!”

“Anyway! It didn’t happen. Got it!?”

As the holy knights nodded unknowingly at the pressure, Grant added in an irritable voice.

“From today, the heretic’s meals will be limited to one per day. And double the guard shifts!”

With that roar, the group began to move slowly again.