Chapter 217: Intrigue
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 217: Intrigue
It was deep in the night. Duke Babel’s castle, too, was consumed by darkness.
Shadows danced whenever the wind wandering the halls stirred the candles on the walls. They seemed to cower at the sound of footsteps.
The tournament official, who had brought Duke Babel’s message, walked endlessly down the deserted corridor.
His steps came to a halt before a certain room, guarded by two knights in full armor.
They tried to pressure me with their cold stares, but it felt less intimidating than the oppressive darkness of the silent corridor.
True fear, after all, comes from beyond one’s perception.
“He is waiting for you.”
A guard opened the door, and the official stepped aside to clear the way. It seemed his role wasn’t over yet, as he followed me inside.
The room’s layout was simple. A fireplace stood in the center, flanked by trident-shaped candelabras on either wall.
Through an arched window on the side wall, a moon half-hidden by clouds was visible. With the added moonlight, the room was quite bright.
Duke Babel was seated on a sofa in front of the fireplace.
He was angled about forty-five degrees toward the hearth, so his face wasn’t clearly visible from the entrance where I stood. The backlighting didn’t help.
The sofa he sat on was the only piece of furniture. The remaining empty space was occupied by the two knights who had stopped the assassins earlier that day.
Their hands rested on the hilts of their swords as they glared at me with piercing eyes—a clear warning that any foolish move would cost me my head.
“Your Grace.”
The official who had followed me called out to Duke Babel and naturally took a position between the knights, as if that was his designated spot.
The other two knights moved to my left and right rear, forming a triangular encirclement.
Duke Babel turned the sofa to face me, then sat back down and looked at me. He was a middle-aged man with a well-groomed beard that reached his ears.
Unlike most nobles, he had a solid build, a sign that he hadn’t stopped training despite his advancing age.
The dim room made his clouded face seem even darker, but the light of intellect in his eyes shone all the brighter.
“What is your name?”
It was the same question he had asked the final three earlier today.
“I am Balak.”
Shing.
One of the knights drew his sword. He only let it hang by his side for now, but at the Duke’s command, it would fly straight for my neck.
This was a warning. A warning that lies would not be forgiven.
I feigned ignorance and maintained a calm demeanor. Duke Babel’s eyes flickered as he faced me, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Where are you from?”
“A small village at the southern edge of the continent, with fewer than a hundred households.”
Shing.
Another knight drew his sword. It seemed they had already thoroughly investigated my cover identity. As I pretended not to notice, Duke Babel’s smile deepened.
“Who do you work for?”
“I work for myself.”
Shing.
Even the official drew his sword. The three blades gleamed ominously, flickering with the candlelight.
Duke Babel rested his chin on his hand and looked at me askance. The shadow cast by the fireplace behind him made his deep smile look like its opposite.
“You’ve squandered all three chances. This is the last question. Is there any reason I shouldn’t capture and interrogate you?”
“I thought you called me to give me a prize…”
“A prize?”
“Since the final three were involved in an unfortunate incident, don’t I, the next in line, deserve the reward Your Grace promised?”
“What? Hahaha.”
Duke Babel clutched his stomach and laughed as if he’d heard the funniest thing in the world. Then he sank back into the sofa and looked up at me.
“Enough with the games. I know you entered this tournament with a hidden identity, just like the other three. What was your scheme? Were you, perhaps, after my head like them?”
“If I were, I wouldn’t have surrendered yesterday.”
“That’s what makes it more suspicious. If you knew the final three would fall like this, you must have anticipated that you would be able to face me as you are now.”
“That’s a forced conclusion.”
“And? What of it?”
Who would say a thing if Duke Babel, one of the Three Powers, decided to force his logic on a wandering champion with an uncertain identity?
That was the meaning behind his words.
At his signal, the three knights slowly raised their swords. Another glance, and the three blades would try to sever my neck.
“You already have many enemies. Do you intend to make another? One who is even stronger than your existing foes, at that.”
Duke Babel’s brow twitched.
“What are you talking about?”
“The final three’s joint attack was not coordinated. That means they were assassins sent by different enemies. The other two of the Three Powers might be behind it.”
“Are you saying the one behind you is stronger than the other two Powers?”
I nodded. It was time to reveal my identity.
The rumor that Duke Babel was using the tournament to recruit a guard knight was likely a fabrication he had started himself.
The dream attacks and the assassins made it clear that Vivian was not by his side.
But my efforts hadn’t been in vain. I had found Vivian’s trail.
Now, if I could uncover who was behind the assassins, I could track where Vivian was and what she was doing.
The problem was that the assassins were in Duke Babel’s hands. To gain his cooperation, revealing my identity was unavoidable.
“Yes. I am an Inquisitor.”
Of course, I couldn’t reveal my true identity. There was no guarantee there wasn’t a spy among them, and they could get other ideas.
We hadn’t built enough trust for me to reveal myself completely.
“...!”
Duke Babel’s face colored with bewilderment, as if the thought had never crossed his mind. The swords of two of the three knights wavered slightly.
The atmosphere changed in an instant. It was only natural. Hadn’t the Three Powers been united in their decision to deny the current Pope and declare a new faith for the southern continent?
Seeing as they were hostile to Vivian, it seemed they had temporarily joined hands to prevent the Pope from granting a cause so powerful it couldn’t be ignored.
I boldly walked past the swords and toward the window. The flustered knights, unsure of what to do, looked to Duke Babel.
But the Duke had yet to recover from his shock.
In that time, I stood with my back to the moon, which had emerged from behind the clouds to show its full form, and continued speaking to Duke Babel.
“I have come to this land under the command of His Holiness the Pope to root out the heretics.”
“The Pope who has fallen into the Emperor’s hands, you mean?”
“There’s a flaw in that statement. His Majesty is an apostle and savior sent by the Lord to restore the church from its corruption and the world from its chaos. How could the Pope, a human title, sit above him?”
“I see now. You’re a pawn of the Emperor.”
Duke Babel dismissed my words as a mere justification created to get his hands on the Pope.
Well, that was true, but sometimes lies become the truth.
I offered a smile.
“I heard you are being attacked by a witch.”
“And? What does that have to do with the current situation?”
“It has everything to do with it. Why would the witches, mortal enemies of His Imperial Majesty, go through the trouble of attacking a third party like you, Your Grace, instead of striking at the Emperor directly?”
“That’s…”
It seemed he had never considered it. Not because Duke Babel was a fool, but because he likely thought it wasn’t his problem.
Humans are creatures capable of terrifying indifference to matters that don’t concern them.
“And another thing. Why are the witches hostile to His Imperial Majesty?”
“Don’t tell me… their powers don’t work on him?”
Right. A man who had seized a position among the continent’s Three Powers couldn’t possibly be a fool. With just a few hints, Duke Babel had neared the truth.
A truth, however, that was tainted by a one percent lie.
“Of course. The witch’s wicked powers cannot dare approach His Imperial Majesty, who is under God’s protection. You could call him their natural enemy.”
“So it wasn’t that they didn’t attack, but that they couldn’t?”
“I can prove it. His Majesty can share the Lord’s protection. You’re having quite a bit of trouble with the witch’s attacks, are you not?”
“!!!”
The Duke had clearly suffered a great deal, as the change in his expression was plain to see.
After all, isn’t sleep deprivation the most draining form of torture? But he did not forget that he was the head of a major power.
“There must be a price. Is it, perhaps, an alliance?”
I shook my head.
“His Majesty does not desire an alliance.”
The final three had been infiltrated from different factions. That meant two of the Three Powers had launched an attack.
A cornered Duke Babel would have no choice but to ask for support as soon as an alliance was formed.
The problem was that the battle with the eastern continent was imminent, and I had no leeway either.
“You’ll just stand by and watch as the southern continent unites to resist?”
Duke Babel’s face was incredulous.
“Even so, you would be no match for His Imperial Majesty, the ruler of three continents. It would merely be a slight annoyance.”
“Hah… Then why did you try to approach me while hiding your identity?”
Duke Babel didn’t hide his look of dejection. It seemed he was finally feeling the difference in our stations.
If what I said was true, didn’t it mean that all his achievements, won through fierce competition, were meaningless to the Emperor?
“Did I not say? I came as an Inquisitor to deal with the witch.”
“I can’t believe you. All those who possess power desire more. It is human instinct.”
“Why would His Majesty act personally when the continent will fall into his hands on its own if he just waits?”
I needed to take custody of the assassins and investigate who was behind them. The problem was that he wouldn’t hand them over for free.
Since an alliance was impossible, I had to offer something else in return. I decided to offer greed, or rather, ambition.
“What do you mean?”
“His Majesty, the apostle of God, aims to restore peace to this land. However, human greed always causes problems. Thus, he has decided to take drastic measures. From the next generation onward, the Emperor will be elected.”
“Elected? Like a city mayor?”
“The ruling families of each continent who carry His Majesty’s blood will exercise the right to vote. It is a way to avoid direct conflict and maintain power for a long time.”
It was a method that shared a common thread with how Duke Babel had eliminated conflict through duels, so it would be easier for him to understand.
“The southern continent can also receive that opportunity.”
“What did you say?”
Duke Babel shot to his feet. I, who had expected a man of his stature to understand, offered a smile.
“There are only two conditions to obtain the right to vote. To be a descendant of His Majesty, and to be one of the leading powers on the continent. Currently, Your Grace is only lacking the first, and that is a problem that can be easily solved.”
If he met the conditions, it meant that the house of Duke Babel, which had divided a continent into three, could become the imperial family that ruled over four continents.
“That’s a sweet story. So sweet my teeth might rot.”
“That is why it is an opportunity.”
“You could just be a smooth-talking swindler. Isn’t this just a one-sided claim without a shred of evidence?”
“Then I will prove it to you.”
Without hesitation, I drew my sword. As if they had been waiting, three auras flared as their swords swung for my neck at once.
Duke Babel tried to stop them, but he wasn’t faster than the knights’ blades.
As if they had practiced joint attacks, the three swords formed a net, sealing off my escape routes.
I was surrounded on all sides. But when three metallic clangs rang out, the result was the complete opposite.
The three swords that had been aimed at my neck were rolling on the floor. My own sword had grazed the hands and wrists that held them.
Though they were only minor wounds, if I had put a little more force into it, their arms would have been severed completely.
The three knights, knowing this, had their faces harden like stone. In that moment, I retrieved my sword and faced Duke Babel once more.
“If my goal were assassination, I wouldn’t have needed such a troublesome process. And as I said before, His Majesty desires nothing from you, Your Grace.”
“How can a mere Inquisitor…?”
“Would they assign the mission of hunting a witch to some nobody?”