A few hours earlier that morning.
“Priest Roland, there is a letter addressed to you.”
One of the priests, who had just returned with the morning mail, spoke to the group gathered at the breakfast table. Roland nodded, finishing his meager meal of a single piece of hard bread and a watery, liquidy soup.
“I was not expecting anyone to write to me...” he muttered.
He opened the letter as he walked toward the main statue of the Goddess. The first lines were pulled straight from the holy book of Hakionisum: “The holy warriors of the Goddess have always been just to those who accept their crimes; though she shall not forget, she shall lessen the burden of sin carried by such a man.”
Roland froze. His hands began to tremble as he turned to the next page: “Today, you will have a chance to make the wrongs right. I shall arrive with the sinner. If you confess, then I shall seek every means possible to save the children.”
He stood there, shaken to his core. It was not the fear of discovery or punishment that moved him; it was the desperate hope of a future for the children he so dearly loved. With a deep, heavy gulp, he looked up at the Goddess with newfound determination in his eyes.
Present, The Goddess’s Chapel
Priest Roland’s smile turned sober. He fell to his knees before Francesca, his head bowed in a sign of total surrender. “I shall answer for my crimes, but the children are innocent, Your Ladyship. Surely the Goddess’s will would be to forgive them.”
“It certainly would be,” Francesca replied calmly. “I just wish to know where the children are. That is all.”
“I... I don’t know, Your Ladyship,” Roland replied, his fists clenching as doubt flickered in his eyes. “We had sent our own paladins to find them, but to no avail yet. If you don’t know where they are, then I might have made a grave—”
“I don't know,” Francesca interrupted with a sharp smirk, “but by now, my husband should have found them.” She leaned slightly on her cane. “Now, why don’t you start from the beginning and confess everything?”
Though doubt still lingered, Roland began his tale. “As servants of the Goddess, we took in orphans to train as the next generation of holy men and women. We did so for years, long before Lord Miller was bestowed his title and lordship over this land.”
“The trouble began afterward.” Roland stood up, looking at the weathered statue of the Goddess. “The Goddess threw a tough trial at us. Once Lord Miller took his place, the Northern Central Church stopped sending us financial aid.”
“The Northern Central Church was afraid of the alliance between the First and Second Princes,” Francesca noted with a sigh. “They didn't want the factions turning their backs on the Church. So much for staying neutral.”
“Exactly. It became impossible to look after the children,” Roland continued. “Naturally, we went to House Ironwood for help. Since His Lordship had delegated household affairs to Lady Maria, it was only natural that we met with her.”
“She...” Roland hesitated, his voice failing him.
“She is no nobility,” Francesca scoffed. “It’s ‘Miss’ or nothing. I bet she offered to take the children in herself?”
Roland gulped and nodded. “Miss Maria assured us the children would have bright futures. After a long deliberation, we allowed them to be handed over to her. But... a month later, the silence began.”
He turned around, his expression dead serious. “No letters arrived. We heard nothing. When I personally went looking for them, Miss Maria showed me receipts and contracts claiming they had been hired into the households of the Ironwood vassals.”
“I don't imagine that convinced you,” Francesca questioned.
“It did not. We were suspicious, so we formally requested that the Central Church in the capital send experienced paladins to locate them. But the request was blocked.”
“Of course it was,” Francesca nodded. “Since Maria had the vassals issue official employment certificates, the law was on her side.”
“When Miss Maria found out we were investigating her...” Roland hesitated again.
Francesca finished his sentence bluntly. “She threatened to frame the children as criminals. She told you she’d have them jailed for embezzling from their masters, and using that as bait, she forced you to let her use the chapel’s storage for her own hidden wealth.”
“She promised to release them once the year ended,” Roland whispered.
Francesca stood up with a thump of her cane, her voice full of disdain. “As if she ever would. The children were used to embezzle the funds. Because they are small and unnoticed, she made them do all the dirty work so the blame would fall on them while she and her co-conspirators ran free.”
She turned her gaze toward the courtyard. “Do not worry. By now, my husband should have saved them. As for Maria...”
She side-eyed the priest. “How many paladins are currently stationed here?”
Courtyard, The Goddess’s Chapel
“Lady Maria, was it truly a wise decision to bring that ‘Lady’ here?” Keith asked, glancing nervously toward the main chapel as they reached the secluded storage building.
“Heh... she is but a stupid girl,” Maria chuckled, the sound grating and cold. She fumbled through her heavy ring of keys to find the one for the iron-bound door. “I insulted her to her face and it’s been a week since she arrived, yet she hasn’t made a single move to take my authority. She’s terrified.”
“I heard the same,” Madison added with a smug grin. “Word among the servants is that she’s been holed up in her room, trembling at the thought of facing you.” Alaric, however, didn't share their amusement. “Even so, I don't like having her on the grounds while we are here to split the earnings from the past year. It’s sloppy.”
“Oh, you worrywart!” Madison slapped Alaric on the shoulder. “That woman is nothing but a useless doll. What I’m more concerned about are the ledgers and the children. Have they been handled?”
“I staged a 'theft' at all three of our estates,” Keith replied confidently. “The children should have already escaped to that rat-infested house in the slums with the altered ledgers. We have the perfect story to explain why the original records are 'missing.'”
“My men should be arriving at the hideout soon to... dispose of them,” Alaric added with a dark nod.
At that moment, the lock clicked. Maria swung the door open, revealing a room packed with evidence of their year-long greed: barrels overflowing with coins and crates of luxury goods smuggled out under the guise of faked purchase receipts.
“It’s a shame,” Maria commented, stepping into the room. “If not for the excuse of a wife, Miller wouldn't have had any reason to demand the household authority back.”
“That woman is such a wet cat, she didn't even try to fight for it,” Madison said. “His Lordship is just desperate to get rid of your control, Lady Maria.”
“Enough about her,” Alaric interrupted, his eyes on the gold. “Is the transport route clear?”
“I just received word from His Grace, Duke LeonCraft,” Madison replied, a greedy spark in his eyes. “He will help hide our wealth in the priority gem carriages once we move the crates out of here.”
“Excellent. Let’s call the men to divide these three ways and get moving,” Keith clapped his hands in excitement. “Andrew! Get the men!”
They stood in silence for a minute. Then two. No response came.
“Is your knight captain deaf, Lord Keith?” Maria asked, her voice laced with sudden irritation.
Red-faced and fuming, Keith stormed back toward the door. “You bastard! What is taking you so long?!”
The moment he stepped outside, he froze. A cold, sharpened blade was pressed firmly against his throat.
“You... you... do you even understand what the hell you’re doing?!” Keith snapped, his voice cracking as he began shouting insults at the Paladin guards.
“Of course I do.”
A woman’s voice drifted through the courtyard, calm and piercingly clear. A few steps away, Francesca stood tall, her weight supported by her polished cane. Her expression wasn't one of a "wet cat" or a "useless doll", it was the face of a sharpened mountain fox.
“I am arresting you,” she said, her eyes locking onto the group huddled in the doorway. “You pathetic bags of human filth.”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter