Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: The End of Ambition (5)
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“Sir Cassius, it seems like Sir Sion and the other knights have been out of sight for a while now…….”
“They’re patrolling the area to check for anything unusual. They’ll be back soon.”
“I see. Understood.”
As he conversed with Atria, Cassius scanned his surroundings.
Of the five Holy Knights assigned to close protection duty, Sion and Liz were absent.
He had heard the details from Robel Aleyas, who had briefly left and returned, but knowing the situation only made him more uneasy.
‘Are we really sure we don’t need to evacuate people?’
If it were up to him, he’d want to at least get Atria to safety.
As he pondered what to do, Liz returned to the venue from wherever she had gone.
“Sir Liz……!”
Cassius hurried over to Liz and spoke to her.
“How did it go?”
“Everything’s been resolved.”
“Ah……!”
“You can rest easy. Sir Sion the Muwi Knight wrapped it all up.”
He hadn’t heard the full story, but that answer was enough.
If Sion had handled everything, they could truly relax.
“Thank you so much.”
“Please thank Sir Sion the Muwi Knight instead.”
Liz spoke in a calm voice.
“He did everything.”
Her tone carried pure admiration.
* * *
After the birthday party concluded successfully.
The Imperial Household Agency of the Holy Empire and the Imperial Guard Knights were turned completely upside down.
“The Dialogue Church’s archbishop was targeting Her Highness the Princess’s life?”
“And the acting branch leader of the Holy Knight Order’s Southern Branch was an accomplice?”
“But Sir Sion of the Holy Knight Order quietly took care of it all?”
During the party, hardly anyone had noticed the attackers’ assault.
The battle had taken place in the woods some distance from the venue, where Avilon Aleyas had arranged things beforehand, so only Archbishop Brishura’s subordinates were deployed there.
Some knights from the Southern Branch had sensed something amiss, but they had to stay put on Avilon’s orders.
In the end, the partygoers enjoyed themselves without a clue.
“How should we handle this……?”
“We can’t cover it up. Let’s make an official announcement from our side.”
“Agreed. We need to seize control of public opinion before rumors spread.”
The next morning, the Imperial Household Agency made a major announcement.
Her Highness the Princess’s birthday party had concluded successfully, and although assailants had attempted to disrupt it midway, the Holy Knights on guard duty had swiftly repelled them.
There were some criticisms about proceeding with the party so casually amid such a major incident, but the agency emphasized the Holy Knights’ flawless resolution with no casualties, effectively silencing the detractors.
However, they did not disclose that the attacker was the Dialogue Church’s archbishop or that Avilon Aleyas of the Southern Branch had collaborated.
This was at the Holy Knight Order’s request.
“Thank you for your consideration in various ways.”
“Not at all. Thanks to the Holy Knights, we were able to make Her Highness’s birthday party a success.”
“We plan to disband the rotten Southern Branch. From now on, headquarters will manage it directly, and we’ll work to restore trust.”
The purge knights investigating Gretus the branch leader’s death were suddenly swamped.
With Gretus followed by his son Avilon pulling off something so absurd and dying in the process, the entire Southern Branch needed a complete overhaul.
In the end, Helena, the Chief Inquisitor of the Heresy Inquisition, came down personally, conducted a full investigation, and decided to disband the Southern Branch.
Ironically, the downfall of the strongest branch among them bolstered the headquarters’ power.
* * *
“Thank you for your hard work, Sir Sion.”
Atria bowed her head to me after summoning me.
“The success of the birthday party was entirely thanks to you, Sir Sion.”
“Please raise your head, Your Highness.”
“No. This isn’t enough.”
Atria only lifted her head after a long moment.
“Without you, Sir Sion, this birthday party would have ended in disaster.”
“Even without me, Sir Cassius and the others would have repelled the attackers.”
“Even so, the party would have been halted, and everyone would have had to evacuate. Those of us who pushed to continue would have been in a very awkward position.”
“…….”
“But thanks to your sound judgment, Sir Sion, we were able to see the party through successfully.”
When Avilon fled with Brishura, I immediately instructed Robel to rush to Cassius and relay the message.
That attackers had appeared, but under no circumstances were they to halt the party.
“It was all thanks to your consideration, Sir Sion.”
“It’s hard to call it consideration. It was a gamble in a situation where Your Highness could have been in danger.”
“No, that’s not true.”
“Pardon?”
“You acted that way because you were confident, didn’t you, Sir Sion?”
Atria gazed at my face and smiled gently.
“You were certain you could neutralize the enemies swiftly without putting me in harm’s way.”
“…….”
“That confidence of yours is truly impressive.”
Atria’s voice held no flattery.
It felt like genuine admiration, making my face itch in a strange way.
She might be mature for her age, but she was still a ten-year-old girl. Even in my previous life, I’d never been sincerely looked up to by a child like this.
“Though I’m only the Third Princess and still young, I do hold some influence within the imperial family. If there’s ever anything I can help with, I’ll gladly lend my strength.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
“I mean it, so don’t hesitate to ask.”
Atria smiled as she spoke.
“You deserve some gain from this too, Sir Sion.”
“There will be rewards within the Holy Knight Order, so I’m fine.”
And I had already gained something.
This time, I absorbed mana from Avilon, who had 8th-circle power, and Brishura, who had 9th-circle.
Avilon was on my level, so it didn’t help much, but destroying Brishura’s circles let me claim a substantial amount of her mana.
I was steadily approaching the 9th circle.
“But I still want to repay you, Sir Sion.”
“If you insist…… may I ask one favor?”
“What is it?”
Atria leaned forward eagerly, as if she’d been waiting.
“I’d like to mobilize the Imperial Guard Knights. Is that possible with Your Highness’s authority?”
Atria’s eyes widened in surprise.
* * *
“We’re already swamped investigating the Southern Branch thoroughly, and now we have to hold onto a big fish like that? Quite the burden.”
“Tell me about it.”
The purge knights peered into the prison cell, sealed off from the outside by various spells, murmuring among themselves.
Archbishop Brishura, captured as a prisoner, was locked inside.
“Sir Sion the Muwi Knight beat her to a pulp and neutralized her…… but she’s still worrisome.”
“She was more focused on research in the rear than combat. No need to be too scared.”
As the archbishop who had attempted to assassinate the princess, Brishura should have been held by the Holy Empire.
But the empire had objected first.
Detaining a Dialogue Church archbishop was a heavy burden for them.
Since they’d agreed not to publicize Brishura as the ringleader of the princess’s assassination attempt, her custody was handed over to the Holy Knight Order’s Heresy Inquisition.
“We should just execute the traitor right away.”
“Can’t do that. The Inquisition needs to interrogate her for Dialogue Church intel. Then hand her to the Holy Spirit Church for a religious trial and execution—that’s the proper procedure.”
“Will she even talk? High-ranking Dialogue Church clergy are useless even under torture.”
“They say they get special training. Still, we have to do what we can.”
“Capturing an archbishop alive…… Sir Sion the Muwi Knight earned a huge merit.”
Sion had racked up merits before, but to the purge knights of the Inquisition, this one was the biggest.
They’d captured a Dialogue Church archbishop alive, after all.
They had subjugated Archbishop Gerkus in the Western Great Forest last time, but that necromancer wasn’t an active archbishop, and they hadn’t captured him alive.
This time, it was a living archbishop—a monumental achievement.
“But an archbishop coming all the way down to the Southern Branch? That’s rare.”
“Yeah, maybe some strategic shift in the Dialogue Church? Suspicious.”
“Chief Inquisitor Helena will handle that judgment. Our job is to guard her well until we escort her to headquarters.”
Helena was due to arrive in a few days.
Until then, the purge knights’ mission was to keep Brishura securely locked up.
* * *
“Ugh…….”
Brishura groaned in her cell.
Her entire body throbbed with pain. During her escape, an unidentified attack had pierced her through.
The lingering drugs in her system had saved her life, but she wasn’t properly healed—her body was a wreck.
But the most despairing part wasn’t her physical damage.
“My circle…… my circles, what happened to them…….”
Her chest area, where her circles should be, was now empty.
As if shredded by a blade, only fragments remained—no trace of the nine circles.
She had possessed 9th-circle mana, but overnight, she’d fallen to zero.
“Why…… why did this happen…….”
Tears welled up.
She couldn’t even make drugs anymore. Mana was required in the process.
With her fighting power gone, Brishura had become truly powerless and worthless.
“Damn it, why did I end up like this…….”
Even as she cursed, she desperately sought hope.
The church wouldn’t abandon her like this.
As an archbishop, they’d try to rescue her.
Especially with the plan already in motion.
“Yes…… I can’t lose hope.”
The Holy Empire and Holy Knight Order knew nothing yet.
They were complacent, thinking they’d caught just her.
While they lounged in ignorance…… the Dialogue Church would be steadily advancing their preparations.
“When that time comes, that Sion Aleyas bastard……!”
The brat strutting around over capturing her.
She’d definitely get revenge on him, who still knew nothing.
* * *
‘It’s not over with Brishura.’
[What?]
Igzard sounded puzzled at my words.
‘Doesn’t it seem strange?’
[What does?]
‘Brishura’s a newcomer, but she’s still an archbishop. There’s no precedent in the last century for a Dialogue Church archbishop coming down to the southern region.’
[Hm…….]
The southern region was far from Dialogue Church headquarters.
Hard to infiltrate, hard to retreat from.
Unlike Archbishop Sapirus last time, who brought many subordinates, it was rare for a big shot like an archbishop to operate down south.
[Then why did she come?]
‘There must be other Dialogue Church executives who’ve sneaked into the south. Probably meant to link up with Brishura.’
[Ah, have Brishura kidnap Princess Atria, then proceed with the next phase! So what’s their real goal?]
‘If Princess Atria is kidnapped, the Holy Knight Order’s Southern Branch and Imperial Guard Knights will be tied up with that. What happens then?’
[The imperial palace’s defenses weaken!]
‘Exactly.’
The imperial palace.
The emperor’s residence, the Holy Empire’s most symbolic location.
‘Their real target is the imperial palace.’
[Those bold bastards……!]
If they’d scrapped the plan entirely, fine—but if they’re pushing forward, they’ll hurry.
With Helena coming from headquarters, success would be harder.
With the Southern Branch paralyzed by scandals, now’s the time to move.
‘They plan to turn the imperial palace into a sea of fire.’
But I’d already caught on.
It wouldn’t go their way.