The Former Holy Knight. Having Lost My Job and Childhood Friend, I Decided to Start a Dark Guild - Chapter 25

To capture a heretic, I had come to a part of the royal capital known as the back streets, an area notorious for its poor public order. According to the intelligence knight in charge, the high-profile heretic we were after was inside a tavern.

To be safe, I had the elite of the First Order of Holy Knights surround the tavern in the center of the capital. However, they were merely a precaution. We wouldn’t need to rely on their strength if things went as planned.

I entered the tavern with my aide, Lilith, by my side. The tavern was sparsely populated. The heretic we were after was quickly identified: “The Merchant of Death, Goethe.” Until I stepped into the tavern, he seemed to be leisurely enjoying his drink, but his body stiffened noticeably upon my entrance.

Goethe turned cautiously, his face a picture of astonishment upon seeing me. “Saintess Cecil!”

“You must understand the situation by now. Step down from your chair and kneel. You’re to be restrained.”

Since several civilians were present, I wanted to conclude the capture as peacefully as possible. However, my hopes were dashed by the foolish decisions of the heretic.

(A deployment of a heretic skill… a last-ditch effort?)

Reportedly, Goethe’s heretic skill, “The Merchant of Death,” allowed for the high-speed simultaneous creation of weapons. The report detailed how he could generate dozens of weapons around him and launch simultaneous attacks in unpredictable trajectories.

As described in the report, scythes, crescent blades, and greatswords appeared around Goethe, who was still seated.

(Surely, he doesn’t plan to fight us seriously. His aim must be clear: taking hostages to escape.)

“Lilith! Let’s finish this at once!”

Lilith drew her sword and soared towards Goethe. Meanwhile, I began chanting a holy spell. The spell I was chanting, the Prayer of Gethsemane, would completely rob Goethe of his physical freedom. With this, Goethe would be restrained, and the matter would be quickly resolved.

Lilith engaged in battle, ensuring that the weapons floating around Goethe did not harm civilians. True to her Sword Saint skill, her movements were fluid as she knocked down the guns.

With the completion of my chant, the holy spell activated, and Goethe’s body began to twist unnaturally. Every time his joints snapped out of place, the tavern was filled with the heretic’s screams. Eventually, Goethe turned pale and looked at me with wide eyes. “You monster…”

“The monster here is you, heretic. Have you considered how many citizens of the capital you’ve endangered?”

I manipulated Goethe’s body to kneel him on the ground forcibly. The weapons that had been floating around him also vanished.

The heretic, who had been selling powerful weapons to the Dark Guild, causing escalations in conflicts, now lay in a pitiful state before me.

“Heretic Goethe, crying now won’t help you. Your claims will be thoroughly heard at the heretic trial, so for now, just pray. Lilith, please proceed with the capture.”

“Saintess Cecil, the heretic, has been successfully apprehended.”

Receiving the report from Lilith, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had considered the possibility that Goethe’s heretic allies might attempt to rescue him, but it seemed we could complete our mission without incident.

As the tension dissipated, a scene I had witnessed just before storming the tavern crossed my mind. Just before the raid, I had seen a certain individual arm in arm with a man entering a suspicious building. I couldn’t see the man’s face, but the woman was unmistakably Sofia Gracier.

“Lilith, may I ask what that building is used for?”

When I inquired about the building Sofia and the man had entered, the always calm and collected Lilith blushed for some reason. “Saintess Cecil, perhaps it’s best not to know. Is it related to our mission?”

“It’s not mission-related, but I was curious. It looks like an inn, but what does the sign saying ‘Rest for three hours, two silver coins’ mean?”

“Ah, Saintess Cecil. Given your status, it might be better not to discuss such matters aloud, especially after capturing a heretic so impressively…”

“What does it mean?”

Lilith sighed once before whispering in my ear, leaving me to exclaim in surprise at her unexpected words.

“That doesn’t sound like a rest at all!”

My loud voice caused the knights wrapping up their duties to turn towards us all at once. I quickly returned to my usual expression.

The last thing I needed was for them to realize that their commander of the Holy Knights harbored such indecent thoughts.

Yet, my body betrayed me, reacting in its usual manner to the situation.

(Raymond, you did give me something troublesome to deal with.)

The aphrodisiac that Prince Raymond had made me drink was gradually eroding my sanity. Yet, contrary to what the prince had said, it didn’t make me forget about Leon. If anything, it had the opposite effect.

(Why do I direct such indecent desires toward Leon, especially after we’ve shared such pure love?)

Even now, the sight of the man Sofia was with, who bore a slight resemblance to Leon, had triggered inappropriate thoughts in me. I imagined Leon and I entering that dubious “love hotel” hand in hand and what would happen on the bed after that. I even imagined the conversation we’d have afterward.

(What’s with “We’ve become sexual knights, haven’t we?” That’s a chilly joke we’d never actually say…)

Such thoughts were the worst for both the commander of the Holy Knights and a saintess. Even though it was all in my imagination, I felt self-loathing for tarnishing Leon’s image.

Above all, I feared these desires might shift towards Raymond. If that happened, I wouldn’t be able to protect Leon.

I slapped my cheeks to refocus.

“So, what’s the status of the interrogation of the knights involved in Leon’s failed capture?”

It was clear from what Prince Raymond had said that a scheme had trapped Leon. In my absence, it was crucial to uncover how the Holy Knights had been commanded, so I instructed Lilith to question all involved knights.

“All the knights we interrogated uniformly claim that there was no plan to frame Leon as a criminal.”

“I suppose that’s the only answer they could give. There’s no doubt Nadale was in command?”

“Yes, that’s certain. All the knights involved were under Deputy Captain Nadale’s orders.”

Nadale had decades more career experience than I did, commanded several teams within the Holy Knights, and was known to have close ties with Prince Raymond. However, I never thought he would stoop to such dirty work.

The Nadale I knew was strict about rules and seemed the type to calmly reject even Prince Raymond’s orders if they were improper. What could have changed him so drastically?

“Anyway, inform the First Order of Holy Knights to report to me immediately if there’s any suspicious activity around Nadale. Also, Lilith, I need to go out, and I want you to accompany me.”

With that, I mounted my horse.

Lilith asked, “Saintess Cecil, where are we headed now?”

“To the LeBlanc family’s mansion. They’ve requested an explanation about the whole affair with Leon. You know, the LeBlanc family, with that young lady who was so fond of Leon. It seems I’m the only one who can handle this.”