Chapter 97

I returned to the prison only after unlawfully collecting two rings presumed to be the Ring of Solomon, two jewel necklaces, and one platinum bracelet.

Upon returning to the prison, Albedo, who had been feigning sleep with his eyes closed, opened them and returned to his lizard form.

“Good work.”

《The things I do for my contractor.》

“Huh? What is it?”

《To think that I, who was once the King of Demons, am in such a pitiful state.》

Did he eat something bad while I was out? If not that, then⋯

“Did Fel visit while I was gone?”

《I would rather it have been him.》

Could there be a worse visitor than Fel? As I tilted my head, something flashed through my mind.

“Did the Pope come?”

《Yes. He kidnapped me.》

What on earth could that man want with me?

No, more importantly, His Holiness, the highest clergyman, had a private audience with someone accused of heresy?

My pockets were currently full from robbing the Pope’s vault, so I felt strangely guilty.

“What did he say?”

《He told me to admit to the charge of heresy.》

“Has that man finally gone mad?”

No, he still has some time before he goes mad.

Above all, as long as the Pope was the Pope, the probability of him going mad converged to zero.

He was a man mad with ambition. That was the phrase that defined the Pope.

“I feel like that’s not all.”

《He seemed to have found out about your power.》

Crap, crap, crap! My face went pale as I immediately started shaking the lizard.

“How on earth? Did you tell him?!”

《Kkyaak! I actually came back having lessened his suspicion, so what is this outrage!!》

“If not that, then how on earth did the Pope find out!!”

He’s as cunning as a fox, so it’s not like I hadn’t considered the possibility he’d find out, but this is just too sudden!

《He was guessing that you were the one who restored Ferdiel’s sight.》

“Ah… X-bal, I’m X-ed.”

That’s even worse!

I hurriedly set Albedo down on the floor as if I were throwing him.

“Albedo! I need you to hold on until this morning!!”

“What? The trial is─”

“I’ll definitely be there before the trial starts!! Just wait!!”

Something more urgent had come up. I had to run to Fel right now.

《Theo!》

Ignoring even Albedo’s restraining voice, I immediately turned around and threw myself out the window that had no bars.

Amidst the sensation of falling with the wind, I barely managed to support my body with the wind and ran to Fel’s room.

“I really didn’t want to do this!!”

「I look over Caelus’s surroundings.」

As I finished the sentence, my left field of vision blurred, and I saw the Pope heading somewhere.

The path I was introduced to last time is definitely the path to Fel.

“He’s going to confirm it himself.”

He’s unnecessarily diligent about things like this! Or is he planning to visit Fel at dawn to vent his anger?

Either way, it’s not very welcome─ before I even realized it, Benaya moved.

In an instant, Benaya drew her sword and threw it precisely at the spot Theo was looking at, and for a moment, Theo felt a pain as if his own eye was being stabbed.

He nearly let out a scream in the sky.

Hoo, hoo. After a deep breath, I started moving again. Don’t worry about them, just get to Fel as fast as possible.

* * *

“Benaya?”

The Pope called out to Benaya, who had suddenly stopped and thrown her sword at the empty air.

Benaya picked up the dagger that had flown towards the sky before quickly falling.

There was no trace of mana.

That would mean that no one was particularly spying on them, but what was that gaze just now?

“It seems I was mistaken. My apologies, Your Holiness.”

“No, it’s fine. You wouldn’t be mistaken, which means there was a rat peeking at us.”

I wonder if that rat is Theo Lisitoel. Or it could be Evan.

He’s the type of man who would do anything for his son.

“It seems you have had more on your mind lately.”

It was a careful question, each syllable laced with anxiety.

The Pope, who had been listening quietly, turned his body and forcefully slapped his cheek.

Smack! His hand flew in a straight line. The strong impact sent Benaya’s face sideways.

Benaya waited with a calm expression for the Pope’s next words.

“Since when were you in a position to worry about my well-being?”

“My apologies.”

“Know your place.”

“Yes.”

After the short conversation, the Pope headed to Fel’s room with long, unhesitating strides.

I wonder if Theo Lisitoel was really watching. Even if he was, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I wonder if he’ll be able to inform him of his visit in time?

It doesn’t matter whether he fails or succeeds.

Walking down the corridor, the Pope finally arrived at his destination.

As he opened the door, Ferdiel seemed to react to the sound and sat up.

“Is that… Your Holiness?”

I wonder if he really has regained his sight? The Pope’s method of confirmation was simple.

“Bring in what you’ve prepared.”

…what he’s prepared? What is he talking about?

Ferdiel blinked in tension. Whenever the Pope spoke like this, something bad always happened.

Benaya, who was briefly outside, came in holding something.

It was a human, gasping as if they were about to breathe their last. It was precisely the female priest the Pope had sent to watch over him.

“It seems this thing dared to sell your information to outsiders.”

“…‘This thing’?”

“Can’t you see with your own eyes?”

The Pope, who had approached him at some point, grabbed his shoulder.

Squeeze. Feeling the strong pressure, Ferdiel actually laughed.

“Shall I enhance my vision with holy power, Father?”

If he had truly regained his sight, he would never be able to show such an attitude.

If so, was Benaya mistaken from the beginning?

No, his loyal dog rarely made mistakes.

She might be lacking in other areas, but her nose was good. Her intuition was rarely wrong.

“Yes, try enhancing it.”

As the Pope’s nails were about to dig into his shoulder, Ferdiel, who was about to instinctively frown, wrapped his eyes in holy power.

Since his sight had returned thanks to Theo, he hadn’t done this kind of adjustment, so it felt quite awkward.

However, it was something he had done his whole life.

Even though it had been a while, he was not clumsy.

He slightly, just a little, brought back the sight he had hastily hidden.

As his vision returned, Fel was able to witness the scene before him.

That brief moment was enough to disrupt Fel’s breathing.

His pale eyes trembled like a beast’s. His body stiffened as he clenched his teeth.

The memories of the past that rushed over him in an instant turned his mind white.

“For the Sword of Doctrine to be so full of worry.”

The female priest, who until last night had been watching Fel under the Pope’s orders, was twitching on the floor with a half-dead expression.

Like an insect. Yes, like his sister who had died, covered in insects─

“You must answer, Fel.”

At times like this, the Pope would cast aside his usual stubbornness and firmly call him ‘Fel’.

As if to say that at any moment, by the Pope’s command, he could be returned to being the ‘Fel

’ who had lost his sister and all his friends from the orphanage.

He carved that fact into his soul, so that he would never, ever forget it.

“Yes, Your Holiness. M-my apologies.”

Bowing his head, Fel barely managed to string his words together.

Watching Fel, curled up as if he couldn’t bear it, trembling in fear and pain, was the Pope’s long-standing amusement.

“You’re not hiding anything from me, are you? It won’t do for your loyal knight to be on the verge of death like this.”

Hartain would gladly die for Fel.

Benaya, whether the successor meant to follow her lived or died, would willingly obey if the Pope deemed it his will.

“Of c-course not.”

He looked into the eyes groaning in pain. In those eyes where not a single speck of falsehood could be found, the Pope’s suspicion quietly died down.

Nodding in satisfaction, the Pope let go of his hand, and Fel ran to the female priest’s side and healed her with his trembling hands.

“You know how to clean up, don’t you?”

“I will… erase her memories.”

“Do not forget. Everything you have, I gave to you.”

With those last words, the Pope left.

Without forgetting to clean up until the very end, he called Hartain to take care of the female priest.

Now, this female priest would likely live the rest of her life under surveillance not far from here, having lost a part of her memory.

“Your Eminence.”

“I’m fine, so step back. It’s almost time for the trial.”

“……”

In the long silence, Fel read the sincere worry directed at him. But, at this very moment, that made Fel feel even more miserable.

“Please.”

At the softly spoken command that wasn’t quite a command, Hartain eventually withdrew.

“Young Master, what did you do with my request?”

“No, I heard you.”

Theo, who had been discreetly hiding in the closet, revealed himself at some point.

“I told you to go back. If that person, Benaya, had noticed, it wouldn’t have ended as a simple problem.”

Fel tried to put on a relaxed smile, but it was, as expected, too much for him.

The tips of his fingers trembled pathetically.

“This kind of thing isn’t a one or two-day affair, Young Master.”

“That’s the problem. I also hate holding another guy’s hand, but just bear with it.”

The hand that firmly grasped his was warm. It was Theo’s own way of showing consideration.

“What kind of person is that?”

“Why? Do you feel sorry for me?”

“That’s….”

Theo neither denied nor affirmed it.

He simply remained silent, looking at Fel with a calm expression.

“That female priest will eventually become evidence to prove the Pope’s evil deeds in the future anyway.”

“You mean she’s one of the victims you smuggled out?”

“Yes, something like that. There’s quite a number of them.”

Fel laughed self-deprecatingly.

The Pope knew all too well that his only weak spot was his sister, who had to die for none other than himself.

That’s why he always placed female priests who resembled her around him. To watch him at all times.

As if to say, if you try to escape that surveillance, I will kill the female priests who resemble your sister at any time.

He had committed such acts so casually, without blinking an eye.

“I’ve never once obsessed over the name Ferdiel, so the Pope’s threats are meaningless.”

“I know that.”

Rather, Fel considered his name to have been stolen.

“So you don’t need to feel anxious or sorry for me. Because─”

Fel casually wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes.

Nobly, as if to say that a few measly tears, or the trauma he would carry for a lifetime, could have no effect on him.

“In the end, I’ve resolved to surely bring judgment upon the Pope.”

“You’re strong.”

“If this is considered strong, then I guess so.”

Fel let out a laugh as if he were joking.

“Still, having someone by my side in a moment like this isn’t so bad after all.”

“Right. Don’t chase Hartain away next time. His eyes were saying, ‘I’m so worried about my master, I think I’m going to die.’”

“Hahaha. I’ll have to think about it next time. By the way, Theo.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

He certainly seemed to be in a better mood than before, which was a relief.

Theo relaxed and waited for Fel’s next words.

“It’s almost morning. Don’t you have to attend your trial?”

“…You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Albedo, I’m coming! Just hang in there a little longer!!

—————–

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