I forgive your sins. (2)
God is everywhere.
However, his embrace does not reach everyone equally.
To come down first to those who are high, and to give more to those who have much.
That was the image of God and church that the people at the bottom had ever seen.
“So this person is now innocent?”
“of course. “It is an indulgence issued directly by the bishop.”
The priest answered Vlad’s question, closed his eyes, and began to recite a prayer in a reverential posture.
His faithful appearance made anyone feel as if God’s grace had truly reached this place.
‘…Just this one.’
Vlad couldn’t understand.
All of the black bear’s sins are forgiven with the piece of paper the priest is holding.
Can the tears of those who died in a false church be wiped away with just this single piece of paper?
So who on earth will compensate for the black tears Anna shed?
“Sin is something that can be forgiven at any time with a sincere heart. “Lord Vlad.”
“…….”
The priest the bishop had sent was smiling kindly as he looked at Vlad, who was standing between anger and embarrassment, not knowing what to do.
“I am now innocent.”
Hearing a voice coming from next to him, Vlad turned his head towards there in a daze.
“Because I have been forgiven by God. “Isn’t that done now?”
“……Forgiveness?”
Where I turned my head, a black bear was smiling slightly as he looked at Vlad, as if he had come to terms with it.
Now that he has been made innocent by the Church and indulgences, he may have the right to laugh.
The women he sold were locked in a dark place and died in fear, but the person who drove them to death was smiling.
This is wrong.
“……Is it really possible for anyone to be forgiven if they have a sincere heart? “Priest?”
“of course. Sir.”
Is it really possible to become innocent of any sin if you are forgiven by God and the church?
“okay.”
In that case, I should also ask for forgiveness.
That day, while wiping away Anna’s tears that couldn’t even fall, I promised that I would accept payment in return.
“Lord Vlad?”
“I confess my sins. “Priest.”
If no one is where they should be.
If no one takes responsibility where they should.
Then you do it.
Because that is the code of the Sword Master.
Gagging-
“Gagging-!”
At that moment, dark red blood splashed onto the priest’s white robes.
No one could stop it because no one expected it.
No, even if one had expected it, it was a decisive blow that could not be stopped.
“Off……”
A black bear clutching its own neck with its eyes wide in disbelief.
Blood was constantly leaking from his neck, which he was holding on to forcibly.
“This…!”
“I am a sinner. “Priest.”
There was a knight who knelt in front of an astonished priest and confessed his sins.
He was the bearer of the faithful name vouchsafed by Priest Andrea and the bearer of shining armor presented by the Northern Diocese of San Logino.
“So please give me a chance to forgive my sins.”
God’s will comes as dazzling and splendid as the daytime sun, but sometimes, like now, it must shine at an angle.
When you come to a low and ugly place like a back alley, even you will have to bow your head before entering.
※※※※
It was a deep night when everyone should have been asleep, but Josef and the knights were gathered in the mayor’s office with serious expressions.
“It ended up like this.”
After hearing Gregory’s report, Josef sighed deeply, weighing down his eyelids as if he was tired.
“Are you really saying you killed someone with impunity?”
“sorry. Mr. Josef. “I should have stopped you.”
Gregory just stood there with his head down, as if he really had nothing to say.
Although Vlad was primarily responsible for this operation, Gregory also had his own responsibilities as a senior.
“I can’t even imagine that someone named Black Bear would get away with impunity…”
“You’re right.”
Josef, who had been sitting quietly with his clasped hands, quietly raised his head and opened his mouth.
“There is no way that a mere back-alley leader could receive an indulgence from the bishop.”
“But he must have been…”
“He must have been given away. “I didn’t accept it.”
Josef’s dark eyes were unfocused, as if showing that he was thinking deeply.
However, even though there was no clear gaze, Josef’s eyes were shining brighter than anyone else here.
“You are spying on Bayezid.”
Josef’s eyes were shining with anger.
Everyone in this world is like that, but nobles in particular are angry about having their things invaded.
Because we were born with the destiny of having everything taken away if we give it away one by one.
“Where is Vlad now?”
“We’re waiting outside the door.”
“Good.”
Although it was a foolish choice, it did not mean that the action was not understandable.
Moreover, it was clear that the bishop had been targeting Vlad from the beginning, as he deliberately granted indulgence to the black bear.
That’s why you have to do it this way.
“Arrest Knight Vlad right now.”
Josef’s command suddenly echoed in the office.
Gregory and Bordan, who were listening to the command, looked at their master with puzzled eyes.
“Joseph, now Vlad…”
“The charge is murder.”
A resolute yet cold command.
There was no tremor in Josef’s voice, as if he had already decided.
“All right.”
Everyone was unable to move easily due to the shocking order, but only Zayar went out without hesitation at Josef’s command.
“Now Lord Xayar. “I would rather.”
“It’s my fault for raising you poorly, so I’ll take responsibility for it.”
Zayar’s attitude was as firm as Josef’s orders.
If the boy needs to be punished and beaten, it would be right for him to do it.
Because you will feel more comfortable doing it yourself rather than watching someone else do it.
“……this.”
Gregory sighed as he imagined what would happen outside the door.
A situation where a teacher arrests a student.
If I had known that things would turn out like this, I would never have sent Vlad upstairs alone.
“Lord Gregory.”
“yes.”
But Gregory had no time to regret.
“You, too, must take responsibility as a party to this incident.”
“you’re right.”
Josef was talking to Gregory with his mouth, but started scribbling and writing things down with his hands.
“So go to Varna right now.”
“yes?”
Gregory just stood there blankly as he accepted the letter Joseph handed him.
When I finally came to my senses, I looked at the envelope and saw that the name of Priest Andrea was written on it.
“The sooner the better.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Something is going on in a hurry.
However, Joseph was acting as if he had been waiting, so Gregory had no choice but to simply follow orders.
“Lord Bordan, call the wizard. “I need to contact my father and San Logino.”
“All right.”
“Tell Maxim and Cade as well. “From now on, cancel all their missions and have them stand by here.”
“yes.”
War did not begin solely with the clash of swords and spears.
The bishop of Shoara had now declared war on the legitimate Bayezid using Vlad as bait, and Josef chose a decisive battle rather than surrender in response.
“…In the end, you make the first move.”
I knew it.
That this is what will happen in the end.
I was just wondering when that time would come or if I should make the first move.
This was the reason why Peter, the head of the family, sent his eldest son, Josef, rather than Rutger, to Shoara.
Although his second son did not have the talent for a sword, he was born with an equal sharpness.
“It’s better.”
In the empty office, a young man with dark eyes was shining blackly.
Now is the time to have it all.
A perfect city of Bayezid that is not bound by anything.
※※※※
The tall bell tower symbolizes closeness to God in the sky, and the wide building symbolizes the breadth of His embrace.
Although it was smaller than Varna, which had a strong religious flavor, the church in Shoara was also one of the largest buildings in the city.
To ignorant people, nothing will be as clear as size.
“You cut it down without hesitation?”
“That’s right. “Bishop.”
The bishop’s throne room with repeated black and white tiles.
The bishop of Shoara was listening to the report of the priest he had sent there, where the craftsmen who built the church had made it with the utmost care.
“He was hotter than I heard.”
A man wearing red robes.
His parched body looked unsightly, but his tall height, which seemed to be 2 meters, was sure to be intimidating to others.
“I guess shaking that guy was the right thing to do.”
The white-robed priest who personally delivered the indulgence to the black bear simply stood with his head bowed, not daring to make eye contact with the bishop.
Bishop of Shoara. Pierre.
He was smiling peacefully now, but before he became a bishop, he was famous as a merciless inquisitor.
“That guy’s guarantor is Priest Andrea, right?” “That’s right.”
Bishop Pierre closed his eyes, smiling as if he was truly satisfied with the answer he received.
Because all of the people he had thought of as thorns in his eyes until now were closely connected to a knight named Vlad.
“If we do well, we can blow it all away in one go.”
A priest so faithful that everyone in the North knows him, even though he is not a high-ranking priest. Andrea.
Even though Andrea was in Varna and not in this city, Pierre was always uncomfortable with him.
Even if they are united for a single purpose, it is human habit that as the organization grows and expands, there is no choice but to join and gather here and there.
In that sense, Andrea and Pierre were people who were on opposite sides of each other.
“The nobles in the Vatican will like it.”
God’s will is one, but there are many ways to convey that will.
And Pierre was a man who had no doubt that the path he walked was the only path that could truly reach God’s will.
“Send someone to the new mayor. “I will have to lead the foolish knight who ignored my indulgence.”
The new mayor, Josef, may have been expanding his influence through his own determination, but he cannot be ignored any longer.
Now is the time to make your presence known with a sharp warning.
“Tell the Heresy Questioners to prepare as well.”
“All right.”
Vlad would have fallen for Pierre’s scheme at some point, if not now.
The young, inexperienced, and therefore foolish young knight was someone Pierre had been eyeing for a long time.
“Let’s see your face sometime.”
There is no effect without a cause.
That was the truth that I felt painfully while working as a heresy inquisitor throughout my life.
“The guy who was struck by black lightning.”
No matter how talented he was, it was incomprehensible to Pierre’s common sense that he was able to emit aura and become a knight in just one year.
Perhaps the brilliant achievements the boy had made so far had a dark shadow, just as Pierre had expected.
