The Bait
The atmosphere feels eerie.
“Be careful,” Melody said, kicking aside a stone that might have tripped me as I stepped down from the carriage. Thanks to her protective presence, I was able to walk with relative ease.
When we reached our destination, the air was far more ominous than I had expected.
“Ugh, the smell…”
I had grown used to most odors, but even I couldn’t help wrinkling my nose at this one.
“A familiar stench. Thick with the smell of blood and rotting human flesh,” Saul remarked casually. In contrast, both he and Melody seemed completely unfazed.
“This is exactly why I always say you must examine a scene thoroughly. Watch closely, my junior. When you can’t find any clues, revisiting the site is never a bad choice.”
“But you said there were clearly no traces left…”
“The Holy Knights didn’t investigate poorly. It simply wasn’t visible at the time. But once the power maintaining the concealment fades with time, it reveals itself. Just like that.”
A faint light spilled from the window, illuminating the wall. It felt as though the Sun God Himself was giving us a sign—revealing that something unholy dwelled here.
“This is…”
“Indeed. The symbol of the Evil God.”
“So Prince Loras truly joined hands with heretics.”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t properly heard the details because I’d been busy learning how to drive a carriage. I suddenly wanted to know the results of the investigation into Loras.
“What happened when you went to investigate Prince Loras? Did you find any connection to the heretics?”
“Looks like I’ll have to explain it now. Yes, very suspicious circumstances have come to light suggesting that Prince Loras is connected to the heretics. The people he’s been meeting with are quite questionable.”
If they were questionable people, it was easy to guess they were tied to the heretics.
“So they’re connected to heretics after all.”
“Exactly. Given how suspicious the situation already was, seeing this makes me wonder if we even need more concrete evidence.”
As I listened to Saul, I glanced at Melody and was momentarily startled.
She looks terrifying. No joke.
I knew she reacted sensitively to anything involving heretics, but I hadn’t expected her expression to become this murderous.
A vivid memory from the past flashed through my mind—the day I had to clean up the corpses of heretics she had slaughtered.
I suppose when it comes to heretics, it really is the Inquisitor’s job to step forward.
Saul had even said he wanted to see how well his junior could handle things. Since Melody respected him deeply, she probably wanted to show him a reliable side by resolving this matter cleanly.
“Since the charges against Prince Loras are clear, there’s no reason to delay. I will apprehend him immediately.”
Saul crossed his arms as if testing her. “And how exactly do you plan to do that? Storm the Deltrack Imperial Palace and demand they hand him over?”
“The evidence of heresy is irrefutable. They won’t be able to refuse.”
To avoid antagonizing the Holy Empire, handing over Loras would be the far cheaper price to pay. Especially now that the Labyrinth had opened, the Holy Empire held absolute dominance.
“So you’re just going to push through with brute force.”
Saul clicked his tongue, clearly displeased with the answer.
“You don’t like it?”
“That’s no way to handle things.”
“Please teach me.”
Despite her earnest request, Saul shook his head as if reluctant to explain. “No. The situation is very different from my time, so it’s only natural that methods have changed. This old man made an unnecessary comment. Pay it no mind.”
He knew perfectly well that saying something like that would only make her pay more attention. It was only natural that the pure-hearted Melody would be swayed by her wicked master’s tongue.
“Could you at least tell me what part was lacking? I truly wish to hear your esteemed opinion, Senior.”
“Hmm. Do you truly believe that dealing with Prince Loras would mean eliminating all the heretics who have begun stirring again?”
“That… would not be the case. He is likely only entangled with a portion of them.”
Capturing high-ranking heretics would be ideal, but they weren’t the type to move easily. There was no guarantee that catching Loras would drag them out into the open.
“Have you ever considered what Prince Loras represents to the heretics? They’ve been hiding like rats in the dark for so long, barely clinging to life. Now that the Labyrinth has opened, they are gathering once more, moving to regain their strength.”
“It’s been a long time since they last moved, so they must have prepared extensively while in hiding.”
Melody listened attentively to Saul’s words.
“Precisely. To such people, how great an opportunity must Prince Loras appear? Even those in power are not fools—they know exactly what it means to join hands with heretics.”
“If Prince Loras ascends to the throne, it would be no different from devouring an entire nation.”
“Correct. Therefore, they will pour everything into supporting him. So what should you do?”
Right now, Saul was telling Melody not to focus solely on resolving the immediate situation, but to use this as a chance to draw out even higher targets.
There was no way she wouldn’t understand something I had already grasped.
“You mean to use Prince Loras as bait.”
“Exactly! Of course, it’s not without risk. If Prince Loras truly becomes the successor to the Deltrack Empire by using the power of the heretics, he will become much harder to deal with. And you would have to watch people die while trying to lure out the high-ranking heretics. That would not be easy to endure.”
Saul pointed out that accepting a small number of sacrifices could prevent far greater losses.
Melody’s expression hardened, clearly troubled by that part.
“I believe even small sacrifices should not be ignored.”
“You’re not wrong. In fact, my method is cold and does not align with the will of the Sun God. But in my time, the heretics were making their final desperate stand. We even had comrades who willingly became heretics to cut off their breath.”
“!!”
It was no easy thing to turn away from someone begging for help right in front of you. But according to Saul, during his active years, that was sometimes necessary to draw out high-ranking heretics.
“They became heretics themselves? To act as spies?”
Once someone fell and became a heretic, there was no turning back. They had to accept the power of the Evil God into their bodies. And sadly, once something had been blackened, it could never be made white again.
“It was a choice made by giving up their own lives. Thanks to that friend, our operation succeeded. After completing his mission, he took his own life and returned to the embrace of God.”
Saul’s voice was filled with bitterness as he spoke of the past. It was only natural when remembering a dead comrade, but I felt a pang of regret that such sacrifices by his predecessors remained unknown.
“Was it truly necessary to keep what they did a secret? It saddens me that we must live without knowing the achievements of those who sacrificed themselves. They deserve far greater respect.”
“Enough. Those who fight for their country will inevitably become corrupted if they begin to crave honor.”
Saul shook his head, firmly stating that Inquisitors were meant to operate in the shadows, just as they did now. Melody seemed to agree, nodding silently.
“Well then, have you finished organizing your thoughts? What remains is your decision, junior.”
It seemed Saul intended to hand over the task he had originally planned to handle to Melody. I understood his desire to give his junior experience, but the thought of standing by while Loras colluded with heretics and tormented Princess Reciel and Princess Canaby made me deeply uncomfortable.
“I…”
Watching Melody’s conflicted expression, I spoke to Saul.
“Is that truly the only way? If you stepped in and resolved it yourself, you could handle everything without any sacrifices, couldn’t you?”
“Hm? You want me to do everything?”
“Yes. You said you would. Why are you changing your mind?”
“I’m not changing my mind, I just…”
“I know you want to give Melody a chance to gain experience. But it doesn’t have to be this particular incident, does it?”
If Loras gained power, both Reciel and Canaby would suffer.
“They probably haven’t invested everything in Loras. If we look into the situation in other empires, we should find people who stand out.”
“So you want me to just throw away this golden opportunity?”
“I already told you. The side I’m helping is the one Loras wants to kill. If we leave things as they are, I’ll be the one in trouble and danger. So please take care of it.”
“Good grief…”
Saul let out a sigh and shook his head as if he had a headache.
“Since Priest Arthur wishes it, it would be better to handle this quickly.”
Fortunately, Melody took my side. She must have felt uneasy about the idea of ignoring the continued appearance of victims. My words seemed to have helped her organize her thoughts.
“I’m not saying this for no reason. There’s a clear purpose behind it.”
Loras had a violent and cruel personality that made one suspect he might be a psychopath. And now he was even associating with heretics. There was no doubt that whatever he was planning would far exceed our imagination.
Loras and the heretics.
They fit far too well together. It’s a relationship where both sides stand to gain immensely.
He was the kind of man who could mercilessly lay hands on Canaby, who shared his blood. If Loras succeeded in eliminating Canaby, he would turn his blade—now without a target—against Reciel.
The “small sacrifice” that Saul had told us to overlook while he drew the bigger picture was none other than Princess Reciel.