In the alleyways burning in the heat of the night, only miserable remnants remained.
A moment for everyone, both those who worked and those who played, to find their shade somewhere and fall asleep.
At that moment, when the sun had not yet risen, there were people entering with the church's flag.
"Everyone stop!"
Soldiers trample the garbage in the dirty alleys.
The place where they stopped was an inn run by Madame Marcella. It was the smile of a Rose.
"We come on behalf of Pedro, Bishop of Soara!"
"The owner of this place, open the door!"
Knight Vlad ignored the indulgences granted by Bishop Pedro.
This was equivalent to ignoring the will of God and was a serious act that could be called blasphemy.
And here, in the smile of the rose, there were people who killed innocent people with him.
"If you don't open the door now, those inside will also be treated as blasphemers!"
The voice of a paladin echoes in a quiet alley.
It was the will of God that reached the place where salvation was most needed, but it was not a warm smile but a cold judgment.
"Bring the criminals here!"
The smile of a rose that remains unfazed despite the abstract orders of the paladin.
The paladin, who was under the sacred banner, nodded as if everything had gone well.
Shing!
Shing!
Each of the bishop's soldiers drew their weapons and raised them towards the boy's home.
God's arms are merciful, but His will is cold, so all humans must bow before Him.
"Break down the door!"
Vlad grabbed a shining star, but its light was still too weak to protect not only himself but also those around him.
The difficulties that come our way are like a typhoon and cannot be stopped with just two hands.
That's why people must live leaning on each other's shoulders.
Like right now.
"You have a bad temper."
A man emerges from inside with a smile that is not illuminated by a single candle.
The man with the impressive scar on his half-shaved head looked like an unusual person wearing bright plate armor.
"...Who are you?"
A man whose eyes never waver even as he walks towards dozens of soldiers.
"I am Mr. Joseph's knight, Maxim."
There is no one in this city who does not step aside upon hearing the bishop's command.
Except Joseph, the mayor of Soara.
"Sorry, but we are currently investigating the Smile of Rose first."
If the powers are so equal that it is difficult to compare them, in the end, justification will come first.
And now, the first person to exercise judicial authority over the smile of the rose was Maxim, Joseph's knight, not the bishop's paladin.
"The people here are suspected of blasphemy."
"They are also suspected of murder."
There is a line between nobility and the church that must not be crossed.
However, since it was Bishop Pedro who broke the line first, Joseph would have no reason to uphold the implicit rules that had been in place.
"From now on, we will block the Smile of Rose. If you want to enter, ask permission from the mayor."
With Maxim's words, Joseph's soldiers began to leave the Smile of Rose.
Joseph's soldiers, advancing the cause, pushed the bishop's soldiers without hesitation and began to slowly expand their territory.
"...You will regret this, won't you?"
The anger of the Holy Knight who had lost his prey was fierce, but Maxim just smiled.
Joseph's knight Maxim.
He was one of the two knights who were attacked by the woman who shed black tears along with Cade.
Regrets can only happen while you are alive.
If it weren't for Vlad that day, Maxim wouldn't be here right now.
"I owe something too, so there's nothing I can do."
The authority of the church was difficult to handle for a single knight, but Maxim volunteered to handle it himself.
I thought I had to do this to pay the price for my life.
***
A prison in the basement of the Town Hall.
Although it was still a place where one could feel the outside air through the small window, Vlad's expression was dark.
"I suppose I've told you to always be prepared for what's next?"
"..."
Even if Vlad had ten mouths, he had nothing to say in response to Jager's words coming from outside the window.
"In the end, all the cleanup after you was left to Mr. Joseph. Fool."
In the end, it wasn't any different from when I was a squire.
Because in this case, all the responsibility falls on Master Joseph.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
Jager was about to burn up inside the bars when he saw Vlad bow his head and apologize.
Still, I can't say much because this was more of a trap than a mistake.
'Fool.'
He's a smart guy, and I know he wouldn't have done something like this if he had a little more perspective.
However, the kid still lacked an understanding of the world of nobles and the rest of the world, including the church.
Indeed, Bishop Pedro had chosen an appropriate theme.
"…Sooner or later, you'll have to go to the church and testify. Be prepared for that moment."
The justification is there, so eventually you have to go to the church and explain it.
Pedro, who was an inquisitor of heresies, had risen to the position of bishop due to his excellent interrogation skills, so it was obvious it would be a tough trial.
"..."
Vlad watched for a long time as Jager's back, which was getting farther away from the bars.
[Don't blame yourself. Because you did what you had to do.]
Despite the comforting voice, Vlad couldn't easily shake off his somber feelings.
It was definitely the right thing to do, and even now that I'm in prison, I don't think I did anything wrong, but in the end, it ended up like this.
"It was my fault."
The world of alleys and the world of knights are different.
Unlike an alley where you have to pay on the spot to avoid being looked down upon, a knight's anger must be like thick lava that can be used for the future.
A sword is sharp and must be heavy.
And it seemed that Vlad now understood what it meant to be heavy.
***
"Is that why you resisted for a week?"
Bishop Pedro stood by the window, watching the scene below.
There was a blond knight with his hands tied, crossing the square below and walking towards the church like a criminal.
Joseph had been persistently holding onto Vlad, ignoring his pleas, but he probably couldn't bear it any longer.
It was a struggle for a cause, and not even Joseph could have borne that burden.
"That sounds quite plausible."
However, it wasn't just soldiers guarding Vlad as they escorted him to the church.
"That wretch should die already. He betrayed pregnant women!"
"I did my job, so why are you treating me like a criminal?"
"Don't insult our knight!"
Vlad of Soara.
A person born and raised in the city of Shoara and a symbol of a self-made man who rose from the alleys.
A knight named Vlad, who had already made a name for himself at a young age, was clearly a source of pride for the citizens of Soara.
"We cannot recognize bishops sent by the Vatican! This is the North!"
"We want a bishop with northern blood!"
Not only support for Vlad, but also discontent with Pedro that occasionally arose among the people.
As Vlad's march dwindled, the streets of Soara resounded loudly with voices echoing all around.
"You're trying hard."
Pedro, watching this, stepped away from the window with a cold grimace.
How dare you try to influence the public sentiment of Soara?
As expected, those who bear the blood of Bayezid are beings not easily seen.
"Are all the heretic interrogators ready?"
"I am ready."
However, no matter how hard you try, it's all just a ploy.
In the end, all these things were nothing more than trivial matters that would end up facing the true name.
***
Although the situation was tense, Vlad didn't stop looking around and understanding his surroundings.
"..."
The sight of his surroundings made him feel a bit of pressure, even if it wasn't the burden of the impending trial.
'It looks like this.'
Although I've lived in Soara all my life, it was a place I had never been to.
Because the church was a place with too high a threshold for people living without it.
"Knight Vlad, please come closer."
The church judge made a semicircular shape.
The place where Judge Pedro and the suspect Vlad would be was in the center of the court, and officials, including Joseph, and influential people from the city, who had been specially invited by the church, were to look down on them from above.
[These are the ones who interrogate about heresy. The crystal ball he's holding looks unusual.]
"..."
Vlad turned his head and saw the Inquisitors surrounding him.
A total of 8 interrogators.
They all held with both hands a crystal ball the size of a human head.
"...There are 8 people in total."
"Not even a witch hunt would go this far. This has gone too far."
Joseph frowned, feeling a bitter taste rising from above.
"I guess I'll have to consider the worst."
We held out for a week and tried many ways to exploit this trial, but in the end, we ran out of time.
Now I had to prepare for the next step considering the worst outcome.
"Place your hand on the Bible, which contains the Word of God, and respond that you will only speak the truth. Mr. Vlad."
Inside the church built in the name of God, Vlad placed his hand on the Bible.
"I will only speak the truth."
An oath is something said with the mouth and held with conscience, but in the current situation, it would be expressed a bit differently.
The complex characters' litany on the floor of the place would extinguish the light of the crystal ball from the moment Vlad uttered a lie.
"..."
Joseph looked at Pedro, who was in front of him with silently burning eyes.
However, Pedro, who made eye contact, only had an expressionless coldness.
"Now I will begin the trial of Mr. Vlad, the Knight of Bayezid."
It was a signal of the beginning, but perhaps it had already ended.
Because the current trial was nothing more than a formality to achieve a predetermined outcome.
And the outcome would not be happy for Vlad.
"Knight Vlad killed a man named Black Bear with an indulgence. Is this true?"
After hearing the bishop's question, Joseph clenched his fists unconsciously.
Now Pedro was accusing Vlad of the crime through a common and ordinary trial newspaper.
"You're right."
"You admit that you have disobeyed the word of God."
....What's that?
The response was simply that he had killed Black Bear, but according to Pedro's interpretation, the boy became someone who ignored God's will.
"I didn't disobey the word of God!"
"Next question."
One question, one answer.
With Vlad's answer, one interrogator stepped out of the circle.
"Do you believe that Knight Vlad has always made the right and just decision every time he kills someone, as in this case?"
"...That's right."
He was where he was supposed to be, so he did what he had to do.
Black Bear was a bastard who sold pregnant women, and no indulgence could hide his wrongdoings.
"It's a lie."
However, in the face of Vlad's answer, one of the crystal balls held by the interrogator lost its light.
"…!"
No one can always make the right decisions in life.
But Pedro forced Vlad to lie by hiding unattainable standards, such as always, always, the best attitude, within the question.
"What!"
"Next question."
With the question from a moment ago, Vlad became the one who told a lie.
Although it was only two questions, the experienced Pedro was clearly pointing out Vlad's weaknesses.
"There was a report that a boy was struck by a black lightning in an alley in Soara a year ago. Is that boy you?"
Pedro begins to subject a man named Vlad to his will by distorting his intentions and asking him deceitful questions.
His next question aimed to discredit the reputation Vlad had built by throwing false suspicions.
"…"
However, the question Pedro prepared had a greater impact on Vlad than expected.
It was true that there was an unknown voice in the boy's soul.
"…It's true."
"It came with an ominous omen."
With the third answer, Vlad became a knight with an ominous omen.
From now on, all his achievements will be questioned.
"Perhaps you hear a voice after being struck by lightning? Was there a revelation from some unknown being?"
Pedro's grayish eyes gleamed.
No matter if you say yes.
No matter what the answer to this question, Vlad's wounded and battered reputation will not shine as brightly as now.
"…"
Vlad couldn't easily respond to Pedro's questions.
Vlad was almost delirious seeing a new form of malice he had never experienced before.
"Why don't you answer?"
When Vlad began to hesitate, unable to give an easy answer, even the people in the audience began to whisper little by little.
To be precise, it was a clamor that arose from influential people in the city who shared the same views as the bishop.
"If you ask me if I heard a voice..."
If you say yes, you'll be considered an evil being, and if you say no, you'll be lying.
No matter what I said, it was an irreparable dilemma.
[Say it's true.]
Said the voice, watching Vlad who was hesitating.
The voice knew that in this case, telling a lie would be more fatal.
It would be better to at least make the excuse that I briefly lost consciousness due to the aftermath of being struck by lightning.
'But…'
[If you say no, it would be a lie. If that happens, there won't even be a chance to make excuses.]
The worst-case scenario would be when the identity of the voice is revealed in front of everyone.
However, the voice had already made a decision from the moment it entered the courtroom.
[Don't worry, just do it. I'll never let my identity be revealed.]
"…"
Inquisitors doubting him and a bishop forcing him to respond.
Vlad, facing a dilemma, had to find some kind of answer.
Boom!
"Stop!"
At the moment Vlad was about to speak, a loud noise was heard from the entrance of the church.
The cold winter wind began to blow in from the open entrance.
"Stop the trial!"
People standing at the open door.
An elderly priest gasping for breath and a deacon who still looked young.
And even Gregory, who breathed a sigh of relief behind them.
"This trial is not fair!"
Finally, latecomers but not too late have arrived here.
"You can't let unauthorized people in!"
The guards blocked the sudden intrusion of the man, but were surprised when they saw the white robe he was wearing.
Because the clothes he wore showed that he was a faithful servant of God.
"How dare you speak of your qualifications for the trial in front of me!"
Pedro's flow was interrupted by the sudden interruption, and he looked at the man who burst into the courtroom with shining eyes.
However, the man who had just entered the courtroom was fully qualified to say that the current trial was not fair.
"I am the one who grants the name of Mr. Vlad the Knight!"
Vlad of Soara.
There was someone who picked up the name that was lying on the ground without anyone knowing it and placed it in front of God's name.
"If there were any doubts about his name, it should have passed through me first!"
When Vlad heard that he was his guarantor, he turned his head and looked to where the entrance was.
There was a man hurrying to the judge without even being able to shake the snow off his beard.
With the support of the young deacon, he took one tired step at a time.
"Priest..."
"Don't say anything from now on."
Andreas stood next to Vlad, still panting.
There was still a cold aura in each of his breaths.
"I will speak for you."
It was an unfair judge and a biased trial.
But now that the boy has just lifted the weight off his shoulders, the trial begins to take on a new balance.
"At last, you came here."
The face of the person he most wanted to see at that moment appeared in Pedro's grayish-white eyes.
It was the guarantor of the boy and a faithful priest recognized by everyone in the North.
"Long time no see. Bishop Pedro."
A man who followed the example of the knight and crossed the snowy cold of the North Wind.
"Priest Andreas Greetings."
Priest Andreas.
He was a man who was willing to step onto the scale for the boy he had vouched for.
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