Chapter : 113

It did not take long to explain the events of the past.

The ritual committed by the Pope, a soft-hearted female priest caught up in it, the miracle born from her desperate prayer, and everything that happened after.

It was something that had occurred over a long period, yet it felt so short when put into words.

And yet the time you endured, which was close to torture, must have been so long, Fel.

“Does that mean the current Sword of Doctrine is—”

“Not the Pope’s biological son, Ferdiel, but the sole survivor, Fel.”

A survivor! Astonishment filled their eyes, but it was quickly replaced by another thought.

Did that mean the Sword of Doctrine’s origin was not from a historic family of priests, but a nameless orphan?

A sense of repulsion boiled among the priests.

The Sword of Doctrine was, literally, the one who wielded the sword of doctrine.

It was a position where no flaw was permitted.

“Ha.”

I had expected it, but the reaction was so obvious that I couldn’t even laugh.

Was the son of the sinful former Pope better than a nobody orphan?

What truly noble characters they were.

“Sir Ignos, a proper explanation—”

“If I were to explain further here, you would have no complaints even if I took your life, would you?”

“To think you pledged loyalty to one who is not a true Levian! Of all families, the Ignos family!”

“Have you forgotten the end that the great Ignos who pledged loyalty to a true Levian met?”

Hartain asked in a voice like a growling beast.

The ‘great Ignos’ Hartain referred to was Benaya.

Ahem, a few cleared their throats, but there were always those with unnecessary courage.

“Since Benaya walked the wrong path, shouldn’t the new head of the Ignos family walk the right one?

The Ignos family serves the Pope, not Levian.

It is only because for a very long time, Levian was the Pope that they served Levian until now.“

In the end, was he saying to serve whoever became the new Pope?

Really, nothing was deviating from my expectations, to the point where it was now baffling.

If he could not serve Fel, then the position of the Ignos family head and the title of a holy knight were all unnecessary.

Hartain’s entire life had already been dedicated to Fel.

“All of you, please shut up.”

A blonde woman coolly rebuked them.

The woman wearing glasses looked far too young to be among the cardinals.

It was a familiar face. It was impossible not to know.

How could ‘Tan’ not know the woman who was once with Elin?

“So, even after hearing that the Pope sacrificed nearly 100 children, the only thing that remains in your heads is the fact that His Eminence, the Sword of Doctrine, was a fake Ferdiel?”

“Cardinal Freya.”

A competent woman who had risen to the rank of cardinal in her thirties.

As if remembering her friend who never returned that day, Freya bit her lip and then spoke.

“I will take charge of handling all of this.”

“Isn’t that too heavy a responsibility for Cardinal Freya to bear?”

“If you don’t want to hear more vulgar curses come out of my mouth, then quietly leave it to me.”

At her declaration, no one could say another word. They all just watched her cautiously.

“Sir Ignos.”

“Yes, Cardinal Freya.”

“Let’s talk more when we get back.”

Freya let out a sigh, looked around the basement, and then squeezed her eyes shut.

* * *

And here was a certain great magician of the Empire whose head was aching for a different reason.

Hearing the full story of all the events belatedly, Evan felt his insides grow hot.

He didn’t think he had been this angry even when his wife was recklessly causing trouble all over the place.

“…You did a good job hiding all of that from your professor.”

Looking at his silent son, he really wanted to go to the Church and wreak havoc.

He wanted to threaten them that if they didn’t bring Caelus Levian and Fel, those two whelps, before him this instant, he would set the Church on fire.

Evan Lisitoel, who was once the very definition of hell for countless students at the Academy, was engulfed in a strong impulse to act on his temper.

“Father….”

But then, seeing his son cautiously watching his expression, the fact that his anger subsided a little annoyed him even more.

If he had loved his son just a little less, he would have placed that troublemaker son under house arrest.

Honey, no matter how I think about it, he definitely takes after you.

“Haa….”

Evan sighed as if the ground would collapse.

It was too late to blame anyone; it was all over.

The thought of him accusing himself through Zephyros made him want to grab the back of his neck a hundred times, but in the end, his innocence was proven.

“Lerwon Viden.”

“Yes, Professor!”

Lerwon, who had been sitting next to Theo and cautiously observing Evan, answered his call as if he had been waiting for it.

How many times had Theo been in danger because of this damn human?

He seriously considered whether he should just return him to Iris Viden, but in the end, he exercised patience once more.

Yes, this was all his past karma.

The karma from his youth, when he never tolerated anything and overturned everything as he pleased, had surely come back to him late.

“I’ll speak to Artemia, so go get a diagnosis.”

“…You won’t report me?”

“I am not so heartless a father as to render my son’s efforts futile.”

“Father…!”

“We’ll see about this during the vacation, Theo Lisitoel.”

At Evan’s call, Theo urgently looked at Lerwon.

Please save me, sunbaenim.

However, Lerwon cleanly ignored Theo’s gaze.

“Thank you, Professor.”

With a deep bow of gratitude, Lerwon fled with remarkable speed.

How many times had I saved him, for him to betray me like this!

“Theo.”

“…Yes.”

At his father’s call, Theo straightened his posture and looked at Evan.

Faced with a gaze full of worry, Theo kept his mouth shut. Truly… even with a hundred mouths, he had nothing to say.

“Father.”

“So, have you achieved everything you wanted?”

“Well… I suppose I’ve achieved it all.”

He had obtained the ring, and Fel and Tan’s long-laid plan had succeeded.

He had missed the Pope, but the Pope’s target would eventually be him, Theo.

If so, then he had achieved everything he wanted, without missing a single thing.

“Then that is enough.”

At Evan’s words, Theo’s eyes widened.

“Then during the vacation….”

“I will teach you magic during the vacation.”

This, too, was unexpected.

His already wide eyes grew even wider, as if it were impossible for them to get any bigger.

“I think I’ll feel a little more at ease if I do at least that much.”

Ah, so that was the problem.

Vacation starts right after the exams, so hell isn’t far away.

Damn it, I had an ominous feeling that I’d have to press X to pay my respects to the future.

* * *

“Fel.”

At the voice calling him, Fel turned his head.

“Your Eminence, Cardinal Freya.”

Freya strode over and stood next to Fel.

In front of them was a gravestone.

Fel would sometimes escape to this spot when he found it difficult to endure his life as Ferdiel.

If he stayed in front of the gravestone for a long while, forgetting everything, he would find the strength to live on.

[Elin, rests.]

A small gravestone engraved with just three words.

He thought that was all Elin had left behind.

A friend who had been accidentally caught up in the collapse of the orphanage.

Although she hadn’t thought the full story of the incident would be that simple, the truth was far crueler than Freya had expected.

“Elin, you left behind something more.”

Not a cold gravestone like this, but something warmer.

“Are you disappointed?”

Fel asked Freya.

Was he asking if she was disappointed that the thing Elin left behind was someone like him?

Freya placed a pure white flower in front of the gravestone.

“Of course not.”

The Pope had fallen at Fel’s hands.

In her final moments, Elin had achieved everything she wanted.

The life of the child she had wished for, and revenge on the Pope who had brought about this tragedy, all of it.

To be disappointed in the child who had accomplished that was absurd.

“Better than me, who didn’t even know the Pope was the enemy.”

“Cardinal Freya….”

“So what are your plans for the future?

You’re not thinking of staying in the Church, are you?”

The moment the secret of the basement was revealed, the Church could no longer be his sanctuary.

Gazes would follow him wherever he went.

Far from comforting the survivor of a tragedy, they would be busy watching him.

They would tremble, reminded of how much blood the Church had stepped on to enjoy its power.

Would they really leave a boy named ‘Fel’ alone?

“I’m planning to step down from the position of Sword of Doctrine and return to the Academy.”

“A good choice.”

Leaving the Church was something to be welcomed.

However, not even Freya, who had risen to the position of cardinal at a young age with her sharp intuition and brilliant mind, could have predicted the words that would follow.

“I can trust you with the role of the new Sword of Doctrine.”

“There might be some noise if you decide on a successor before you leave, you know?”

“The successor to the Sword of Doctrine is decided by the current Sword of Doctrine. It’s an old rule.”

Since they were people who clung to doctrine and rules to a boring extent, they wouldn’t oppose it, even if it was difficult to accept.

“Then, I’ll be in your care from now on. Your Eminence Freya, the Sword of Doctrine.”

Fel declared with a smile.

A rare look of bewilderment crossed Freya’s face.

Fel watched her expression with a somewhat amused feeling.

With Freya as the sword of doctrine, the Church was truly going to change in many, many ways. Without a doubt.

* * *

“Keuk!!”

Caelus, who had been forcibly dropped into the air from the teleportation, barely swallowed a groan.

“Damn Lisitoel!!!”

His voice was filled with rage.

That self-assured voice, that mocking smile, and the words that had ended everything swirled in his head.

“Theo, Theo, Theo!!!!!”

He should have killed him.

He absolutely should have killed that man with his own hands!!!

Caelus panted for breath.

If it hadn’t been for him, if he just hadn’t had the ring stolen, everything would have changed.

He wouldn’t have had to escape so wretchedly, nor would he have had to lose a useful piece like Benaya so pointlessly!

Indeed, the root of all this ruin was undoubtedly Theo Lisitoel.

“You have fallen so wretchedly.”

At the voice filled with pity from behind him, Caelus shouted roughly.

“Who’s there!!!”

“Does my identity matter to you who has lost everything?”

Heh heh, the sound of laughter echoed emptily in the forest.

“I have nothing to say to someone who won’t even reveal their face.”

“Are you not curious about the truth of the world?”

A puzzling question.

Caelus ignored it and tried to head in the opposite direction of the voice.

The truth of the world? More important to Caelus right now than such things was a way to get revenge on the brat who had shattered his life.

He had to find a way for him, who had lost everything, to rise again.

“This world is a game created for the amusement of others. Are you perhaps interested in this truth?”

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