“We’ve arrived.”
The knight at the front spoke.
Inquisitor Godwin scanned the domain spread out before him. The buildings were worn, the roads unkempt, and the lord’s castle looked like a ruin. It was the picture of a failing land.
“To think I’d end up in a place like this,” Godwin muttered with displeasure.
“So it seems,” one of the knights agreed.
The knights of the Inquisition were counted among the elite of the Theos Church. They rarely had business in such backwaters.
“I hear Griffith doesn’t even have knights anymore,” Godwin remarked.
“No knights?”
“They disbanded the order—couldn’t afford to keep it.”
“So Priest Thomas fell to a beggar like that?”
“Yes.”
The knights shook their heads. The story was simple. The lord’s son had stirred up the townsfolk into a riot against the temple. A temple knight was killed, and Priest Thomas had been dragged off to the castle.
In name, a lord was the highest authority in his land. But in practice, no noble dared lay hands on a priest of the Theos faith. The Church was the state religion of the Holy Empire.
This was unprecedented, and so the Church had sent Godwin with a detachment of elite knights to see for themselves.
“How mad is this ‘Black Mage Lord,’ really?” one knight asked.
“You’ll know when you meet him.”
“They say he even sent a letter to the Inquisition.”
“I read it. He claimed his land’s priest had committed blasphemy, fraud, and insulted nobility. He asked us to come judge him.”
At that, the knights laughed.
“No matter how mad he is, he still fears us. He’s looking for a way out.”
“He must also know escape won’t be easy. Enough chatter—move out.”
“Yes, Inquisitor.”
Godwin led the men into the town.
“It’s the Inquisitor!”
“Hide! Quickly!”
At the sight of his insignia, villagers scattered, slipping into their homes until the streets were empty.
As expected.
In a small land like this, an Inquisitor of the Theos faith was as feared as the Angel of Death. Once marked, not even a lord or king could save you. If necessary, the Inquisition could invent charges and execute you.
“We’ll check the temple first,” Godwin said.
But when they arrived, the temple was intact—no signs of destruction.
He summoned an apprentice priest.
“Was it all repaired?”
“No, Inquisitor. Nothing was damaged to begin with.”
“Yet they said there was a riot.”
“There were protests outside, but they dispersed. Young Lord Edward controlled the townsfolk.”
…A clever one.
The temple was sacred ground. If rioters had forced their way in, they could all have been executed. But if they only protested and withdrew, there was no justification for punishment.
Godwin had assumed Edward was either a fool or insane. Now he felt uneasy.
“How did Priest Thomas get captured, then?”
“He tried to flee through the secret tunnel. He ran straight into Lord Edward.”
“Secret tunnel?”
“Yes, a passage dug to escape over the hill in emergencies.”
The apprentice pointed toward the hill behind the temple.
“I thought the villagers only protested?”
“They did. But Priest Thomas panicked…”
Godwin sighed.
Edward had understood the rules. He kept the people under control, knowing they must not breach the temple. Thomas would have been safe if he stayed. If he was afraid, he could have simply sent a messenger.
Instead, overcome by fear, he fled—and was caught.
So he knew. Edward knew Thomas’s nature. He even knew the secret tunnel.
Godwin recalled how Thomas had once boasted that Edward was a fool to be toyed with. But in truth, it was Thomas who had fallen into Edward’s hands.
What had seemed like a trivial mission might turn out troublesome after all.
“To the castle,” Godwin ordered.
They arrived at the Griffith castle.
“Welcome to Griffith.”
An elderly butler greeted them politely.
“Where is the baron?”
“Out traveling, sir.”
“What?”
“Lord Edward is acting in his stead. Please, this way.”
The knights exchanged confused looks but followed.
Though shabby outside, the interior was clean and well kept. The decorations were modest but orderly. Yet there were no guards in sight. That unsettled Godwin.
They were shown into the main hall.
“Welcome.”
Edward greeted them with a bright smile.
Godwin blinked. He had been told the boy was dying, yet Edward looked nothing like an invalid.
Tall, strikingly handsome, his violet eyes shone with life. His walk carried the vigor of youth and the dignity of noble blood.
A true heir of an old house, Godwin thought.
“I am Inquisitor Godwin,” he introduced.
“Welcome. We have a drawing room prepared, but it may not fit everyone—”
“No need. We didn’t come for courtesy. We came to question you. Where is Priest Thomas?”
The butler paled, but Edward remained calm.
“Even so, wouldn’t the drawing room be more comfortable for you, Inquisitor?”
“No.”
“As you wish. Frederick.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Bring the papers from the drawing room.”
“At once.”
While the butler left, Edward walked leisurely to the lord’s seat at the end of the hall and sat.
“Shall we seize him now?” a knight asked.
Godwin shook his head. Securing Priest Thomas came first.
Soon, Frederick returned with a heavy bundle of documents and handed them to Edward. Edward flipped through them, pulled some out, and tossed them at Godwin.
The papers scattered across the floor. The knights frowned.
“What is the meaning of this?” Godwin demanded.
“For years, your Church has illegally siphoned this land’s wealth. Those papers are the proof.”
Godwin bent and picked one up. He recognized the format and seals at once—they were genuine Church records.
Damn that fool Thomas.
Such documents were meant to be locked in the temple vault, and destroyed in emergencies. They must never see the light of day.
“Intruding into the temple is blasphemy,” Godwin pressed.
“I intruded nowhere. Kindly Priest Thomas brought them out himself.”
Godwin clenched his jaw.
If he was going to run, he should have fled with nothing. Why carry this?
If Thomas were here, Godwin would have throttled him.
Edward’s voice rang through the hall.
“These papers prove your Church knew about the mana water here. Instead of paying fairly, you chose fraud. Tell me—does Theos call this justice?”
Godwin had no answer. He hadn’t come to argue.
“This man is a heretic obsessed with black magic,” he declared instead. “Seize him!”
The knights drew their swords in unison.
“What is this madness? Has the world ever seen such injustice?”
The butler suddenly stepped in.
Godwin narrowed his eyes. The old man’s bearing was sharper than expected.
“Frederick.”
Edward smiled as he spoke.
“I appreciate it, but this isn’t your place.”
“My lord!”
“Go on.”
Frederick reluctantly stepped aside.
“Tell me, Inquisitor,” Edward asked, “do those papers look genuine to you?”
Godwin signaled the knights to hold. He picked up the documents again and studied them closely.
A copy?
At first glance, they were identical to official Church records. But on closer inspection, the ink tone was slightly different.
“Where is the original?”
“A courier has it. By tomorrow, it will reach my mother’s family, House Lancer.”
The Count of Lancer was a great lord of the east—one of Aerok’s most powerful figures.
“And?”
“I asked them to deliver it to Her Majesty the Queen of Aerok if anything happens to me.”
The accusation that the Theos Church had systematically defrauded Aerok’s people and stolen their wealth would certainly cause a stir if it became public. But that was all.
“Pfft.”
The knights burst into laughter.
“Is this supposed to be a threat?”
A child was still a child. The Theos Church and the Holy Empire never saw Aerok as an equal partner. To them, Aerok was a subject, not a peer. Negotiations existed only to make governance more efficient. When necessary, they could always be crushed by force.
“You don’t seem to understand. We could erase this kingdom from the map whenever we wish.”
The Empire had simply never needed to. The Queen of Aerok served faithfully as their puppet.
“I see how the Church regards this kingdom.”
Edward still hadn’t lost his composure. Even when bluffing should have become impossible, he remained calm.
“I also wonder what High Priest Lef thinks of you, Inquisitor.”
Lef was the senior priest in charge of all Aerok’s dioceses—a man even Inquisitors treated as untouchable.
“What do you mean?”
“Did you think those were the only papers in my possession?”
Something about Edward’s unwavering calm unsettled Godwin. Anxiety crept in.
“Why do you think Priest Thomas carried Church documents when he tried to flee? The rule is to burn them or keep them locked away, isn’t it?”
“…What are you suggesting?”
“In truth, he didn’t mean to bring them. He was gathering the records most important to him, and the Church papers came along by accident.”
The uneasy feeling grew stronger.
“Now tell me, Inquisitor—what kind of records would a low-ranking priest, desperate to save his own position, consider vital? Naturally, the originals of those records are also with my courier. If anything happens to me, my uncle will make sure they reach High Priest Lef.”
Godwin’s face went pale. Edward’s words could not be allowed to spread further.
“For the last time,” Edward said, smiling faintly, “shall we move this to the drawing room?”
“Stand down,” Godwin ordered.
“Inquisitor?”
The knights looked confused, but Godwin did not take back his words.
“Stay here. I’ll go ahead.”
“A wise choice.”
Edward grinned and personally led Godwin into the drawing room.
Click.
The door shut behind them. Edward crossed the room and sat with his legs crossed on the sofa.
“Please, take a seat.”
Godwin lowered himself onto the sofa opposite.
“Five kilograms of mithril ore in 2520. Five dryad roots in 2518. Two bottles of salamander fire-wine in the same year. And that winter, a pair of high-grade sapphires…”
Edward recited, one by one, every bribe Godwin had taken from Priest Thomas.
“You’ve eaten well, haven’t you? You must be full.”
“Enough!” Godwin snapped.
The mana water stolen from Griffith was the Church’s doing. But the embezzlement—selling some of it to the locals—had been Thomas’s own scheme.
As Inquisitor, Godwin had the duty to audit low priests. Instead, he had taken bribes to look the other way.
Thomas, in his panic, had fled with the incriminating records. Likely he intended to use them to buy Godwin’s help.
One thing was certain: if those records ever reached the higher clergy, Godwin would not survive. The Church was lenient when its members exploited outsiders. But when its own assets were stolen, there was no mercy.
“What do you want?”
Godwin could not punish Edward. To do so would mean his own ruin.
Edward was no child. He was sharp, bold, and unafraid even before an Inquisitor.
“Priest Thomas’s excommunication.”
“What will you do with him?”
“Why do you need to know?”
Edward’s tone was openly arrogant. Godwin had no reply.
“You’ll also compensate my family and my people for their losses.”
“How much?”
“Five hundred thousand gold.”
“T-That’s—”
“In one payment.”
“Impossible!”
“Inquisitor.”
Edward leaned forward, his cold gaze locking with Godwin’s.
“I’m not negotiating.”
Godwin shivered before he even realized it.
Cliche Novel 