The Shadowed Legacy of the Soulless Messenger [EN]: Chapter 332

#333. The Inquisition 3

“I am Sehnat, Bishop of the Northern Diocese of Saint Mallory. Are you the trainee knight, Azadin?”

Sehnat stated his position and looked down at Azadin.

“Yes.”

“Well then, the inquisition will begin its investigation and questioning of trainee knight Azadin. I, Sehnat, Bishop of the Northern Diocese of Saint Mallory, will lead the proceedings. Any objections?”

At that moment, Azadin raised his hand.

“Yes. Speak.”

“I have a question first. What is this inquisition about?”

“It’s about the unauthorized war with the Van Rung Kingdom and the invasion of Sandokar County. It will also be an inquiry into your overall actions.”

“That’s a very broad inquiry. Even now, Sandokar might be facing a threat from vampires. Could we perhaps narrow the scope of the inquiry? Calling a field commander to dig into trivial matters from decades ago… Isn’t that a waste of time?”

Everyone was taken aback by Azadin’s confident words.

An inquisition was usually a situation where the person summoned would tremble and not know what to do.

However, Azadin was criticizing the unproductive aspects of the inquisition with a nonchalant attitude.

He was far too composed for someone summoned to an inquisition.

“Sir Azadin. You have been summoned for the crime of unauthorized warfare. Waging war against the Van Rung Kingdom under the banner of the Knights is a serious offense punishable by burning at the stake. Frankly, you should be grateful that we’re even holding an inquisition instead of killing you on the spot.”

Bishop Sehnat insisted that Azadin had committed a capital offense.

Usually, even a passing mention of the death penalty would shock and overwhelm a person. But Azadin, who had been through thick and thin, calmly defended himself.

“So, let’s just focus on this unauthorized warfare part. Dragging it out is unproductive.”

“Nonsense! I’m saying that your crimes are so great that you should bow your head!”

“I’m claiming innocence, but you already think I’m guilty? Then why are we even having an inquisition?”

“Such impudence! Claiming innocence? After invading the Van Rung Kingdom and slaughtering their prince? You’re not only audacious but also shameless!”

“I wasn’t fighting against the legitimate Van Rung Kingdom. I was fighting against the vampires hiding within it.”

“Are you asking us to believe that absurd report that Prince Kalzmati of Van Rung was a vampire?”

“Well, considering the absurd things that are happening, like the children of the North and the Rescue Knights grinding up angel statues to be reborn as Celestials [beings of divine power], isn’t my statement much more believable? It seems like you, Bishop, have also made a deal to be reborn as a Celestial…”

“What?!”

Bishop Sehnat’s face hardened at Azadin’s counterattack.

He had never seen a subordinate so openly challenge him. Moreover, Azadin seemed to know the agreement between him and the North as if it were an open book.

Azadin had guessed, but from Bishop Sehnat’s reaction, he knew it was true.

The bishop’s hands trembled.

“You, you dare…”

“Isn’t the reason you’re holding this inquisition because you’re angry that your dirty secrets have been exposed and you’re taking it out on me? It seems like you didn’t even read the statements and just rushed here, excited to have a chance to beat me down. If you’re going to hold an inquisition, shouldn’t you start with the ones who ground up the angel statues? You’re letting them go and only applying strict standards to me. Your intentions are too obvious.”

“………”

The Tersio soldiers [elite soldiers of the Courage Order] and the Fire Guards who were gathered were startled. It was a fact that was not yet known to them, so few people properly understood what Azadin was saying at this inquisition.

But the problem was that they had already heard it.

“Um, Sir Azadin. Such confidential matters should not be discussed where there are so many ears…”

Prince Kalintz tried to stop Azadin.

“Then remove the troops.”

“…That’s also difficult.”

“Then shall we continue the inquisition in a broad direction? Not limited to this unauthorized warfare, but very broadly. Would you be satisfied if I spoke about everything I saw in Saint Mallory in front of everyone here?”

“………”

Bishop Sehnat was gasping for breath. This brat, this soulless blasphemer, this vile kin of the god-slaying family, was audaciously defying him, a bishop. But in reality, Azadin held the knife.

They couldn’t let Azadin speak as he pleased.

“…Let’s limit it to the unauthorized warfare part.”

Triodana urged the bishop to accept Azadin’s proposal. As a Celestial, he did not want the secrets of the Celestials to be revealed to the world.

“Very well. Limiting it to the unauthorized warfare part increases the possibility that this useless inquisition will end a little sooner.”

“Useless? Are you insulting the members of this inquisition?”

Triodana rebuked Azadin on behalf of the speechless Bishop Sehnat.

“Isn’t the key issue whether my testimony is true or not? But in fact, the Count of Sandokar asked for my help. If the Count of Sandokar is not a traitor to the Van Rung Kingdom, then my claim must be correct, and that’s why the Count of Sandokar would seek assistance, right?”

“There is suspicion that you forcibly annexed Sandokar with your military power.”

“Then send an investigation team to inspect the Sandokar area and ask the Count of Sandokar. The inquisition should be held after that. It seems like you are not prepared yet.”

Azadin pointed out the sloppiness of the inquisition. From the perspective of a fair trial, he was pointing out that the prosecution was not prepared at all.

Of course, the inquisition was not a fair trial in the first place.

It was a formality where the prosecution would keep raising suspicions, and the defendant would sincerely answer those suspicions, and then they would decide whether to punish or not, and if so, to what extent.

In other words, the moment one was caught in an inquisition, the accused had one foot on the gallows.

However, Azadin calmly asserted his innocence and shifted the burden of proof to the accuser.

Bishop Sehnat, who had barely caught his breath, roared in anger with a sound like a harpy.

“How rude! Know that you can be punished just for the disrespect you have shown to your superiors! Do you have no intention of clarifying the suspicions against you?”

“…Shouldn’t the one raising the suspicions prove them? In that case, I also suspect that Bishop Sehnat is colluding with the North and selling out the Rescue Knights in exchange for being reborn as a Celestial after death.”

“What?! You impudent fool! What are you doing! There’s no need to see any more! This man is a traitor! He is clearly a spy planted by the Herald Clan in the Knights!”

The enraged Bishop Sehnat jumped up and gave orders to those around him.

However, Triodana and Gares were in a difficult position.

Azadin’s remarks were clearly provocative and rebellious to the bishop. But…

He was telling the truth.

It was true that Bishop Sehnat had been seduced by the North with the promise of being reborn as a Celestial…

Then it was also likely true that Azadin was stopping the vampires of Van Rung in Sandokar.

Considering Azadin’s ability to suddenly appear and rescue the transport ships when they were about to be burned, killing Azadin would mean a huge sacrifice for the Rescue Knights.

No, his absence itself would be a loss of power and talent.

They didn’t want to fight him if possible.

“What are you doing! It’s an order! Shoot this man!”

The bishop ordered the soldiers when they hesitated.

The Tersio soldiers glanced at Gares.

Gares looked at them and the bishop, then gestured.

The Tersio soldiers stationed in the audience seats all aimed their guns at the defendant’s seat.

“So, you can just shoot and kill someone at the bishop’s whim without a proper trial? Aren’t you ashamed?”

Azadin mocked the bishop’s behavior.

“You brought this upon yourself! You impudent fool!”

“………”

But then, the Fireglyph soldiers guarding the inquisition hall, the Fire Guards, aimed their spears at the Tersio soldiers from behind.

“Stop it. I cannot tolerate a brawl in the courtroom within my jurisdiction.”

Prince Kalintz stepped forward.

“…Kalintz.”

Triodana was bewildered to see Prince Kalintz siding with Azadin in this situation.

He had clearly visited Kalintz separately before the inquisition and made his position clear, but Kalintz was siding with Azadin.

The Tersio soldiers of the Courage Order were startled when the Fire Guards aimed their spears at them. The Tersio Regiment, known for its terrifying power, had to fight with melee weapons at this close range.

The Fire Guards were behind them, so the advantage of firearms was lost.

“If you don’t all take your hands off the triggers, this courtroom will be stained with blood. What will you do?”

Prince Kalintz said, giving a hand signal, and the Fire Guards moved quickly and without any hesitation, as if they had been prepared to strike the Tersio soldiers from behind in case of an emergency.

No, Prince Kalintz had been on Azadin’s side from the beginning.

‘I told him to leave it to his brother, but he failed to win him over at all.’

Sir Gares knew that Triodana had arrived at Fireglyph first to win over Kalintz in advance. But the attempt to win him over had failed miserably.

‘There’s no point in shedding useless blood.’

Sir Gares knew that Prince Kalintz was serious and gestured to his men.

“Everyone, stop. I will not tolerate anyone fighting in the courtroom.”

When Sir Gares stopped them, the Tersio soldiers lowered their weapons. The Fire Guards also lowered their weapons upon seeing this.

“Then, Sir Azadin, please continue.”

Gares withdrew the Tersio soldiers and asked Azadin to continue speaking.

“You, you blasphemous fools!”

Bishop Sehnat was furious at Gares’s actions, which betrayed him.

From Bishop Sehnat’s point of view, Gares, Kalintz, and Azadin were all three committing insubordination, so he couldn’t stand it.

“Considering the hard work of the inquisition members who came from afar, I also showed sincerity, but at this moment, evil vampires will attack Sandokar, and I am worried that I will not be able to fulfill my duties because I am absent. Isn’t the most important mission of the Rescue Knights to protect innocent humans from the hands of evil? So, if you want to indict me, please gather more evidence first. Indicting someone based on suspicion and then trying to squeeze a confession out of the defendant is something that only uncivilized people would do, not the Rescue Knights. May I go now?”

“How dare you! Sir Azadin! I will continue the inquisition until you properly answer my suspicions! Sit down!”

It was when Bishop Sehnat shouted that.

“It’s a disaster!”

Zan, the squad leader of the Northern Aragasa [Prince Kalintz’s personal guard] and Prince Kalintz’s confidant, rushed into the inquisition hall in a hurry.