When Keldric arrived at the castle, Anshelm was already in a frothing rage.
Riding a horse is not as comfortable as it sounds. Unless you were used to riding, like Keldric, who had been trained by Sir Wolfen, or Alyssa, who was from the fallen nobility.
Anshelm’s joints were crushed in all but his right arm, and the rattling must have added to the pain.
“……What do we do now?”
“Hmm.”
Alyssa, standing in front of Anshelm’s flailing body, glanced at Keldric with a slight disapproving glance.
The sight of Anshelm in the form of a return shipment left Keldric at a loss for words.
“What, what is this?”
“Sir Keldric. How it happened.
Two of the castle’s resident soldiers approached, their expressions uncertain. Keldric opened his mouth, his expression impassive.
“You dare to insult my honor and that of Lord Hermann. You shall be thrown in the dungeon like the head of the artisans’ guild.”
“Ah, he…….”
There was no reason for the soldiers to listen to Keldric’s orders.
Even if Keldric was staying as a guest of Lord Hermann, his status was no more than that of a guest.
It was no different in terms of authority, and only Baron Yaven, Lord Hermann, or Lady Cassel, Hermann’s wife, could give orders to the soldiers.
“Lord Keldric, what has happened?”
Just then, Sir Hermann, who had just finished his meal in the inner chambers of the castle, spotted Keldric.
His gaze traveled straight down, and then landed on Anshelm, who was lying on the ground, biting into a bubble.
“What was that?”
His displeasure at Anshelm’s referring to him as ‘that’ was immediately apparent. The two soldiers who had approached Keldric swallowed nervously.
“My lord. I don’t have a lot of time to explain, but I’ll start with the bottom line……………. The head of the artisans’ guild was not a traitor.”
“That’s impossible……! Sir Keldric, what do you mean, if that’s the case, then who is the guilty party!”
All eyes turned to Anshelm on the floor, who hadn’t spoken first.
“The real traitor is this one. He’s as cunning as you say.”
“…… But, Sir Keldric. It’s hard to throw a man in jail without hard evidence, and he’s the head of the Mormon Guild.”
As it turned out, the head of the artisans’ guild was Sir Hermann, whom he’d managed to tuck away in the basement.
Keldric looked a little shaken.
There was a hint of disappointment in his expression, but he was willing to give the man another chance, since he was still dear Sir Hermann.
“Sir Hermann. I understand your confusion, but I want you to know that this time I personally extracted a confession from Anshelm.”
“That, that…….”
“I’d love to tell you the details, but I think it’s imperative that we get settled.”
“Oh, right, you guys can go now.”
The two soldiers quickly disappeared with a look on their faces that said, “I don’t know anything.
They were quick on their feet.
They were quick to recognize that Anshelm might end up like Sir Hermann and Lord Keldric, with his limbs crushed before his eyes.
in front of you.
“Ser Keldric. Go to my office.”
“Alyssa, you go in first.”
“Yes, sir. Lord Keldric.”
After escorting Alyssa back to her room in the father’s castle, Keldric strode after Lord Hermann.
Now, it was time to reveal who the bastards were.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
Sir Hermann didn’t believe Keldric at first.
He listened to Keldric’s story, but he was busy denying it, saying things like, “That can’t be true.
In Sir Hermann’s mind, the artisans’ guild leader, who he immediately thought had betrayed the city, was simply blinded by self-interest.
It was a sin enough to have tarnished Keldric’s honor in pursuit of his own self-interest, but not enough to have him imprisoned in a dungeon and tortured in the name of interrogation.
So Sir Hermann had the wrong man in prison, and to add insult to injury, the real traitor, Anshelm, was a pagan.
This was not the sort of thing that could be characterized as a small mistake. It was a clear failure to manage the city.
Lord Hermann could not help but deny Keldric’s words.
“Lord Hermann. I can understand your feelings, but isn’t the head of the artisans’ guild a little too loose for a traitor to the city?”
“That’s…………. true, but he was caught too stupidly for a man who dared to betray His Excellency and Belam.”
“The real culprit was Anshelm. The head of the Craftsmen’s Guild, for whatever reason, was taken in by Anshelm.”
As Keldric recounted Anshelm’s confession and his own suspicions, Sir Hermann grunted for a long time, then finally sighed deeply.
“Yes, I see. Anshelm was the bastard who betrayed you.”
“It was not his fault. How could a faithful and honorable knight such as yourself not see through the cunning schemes of a demon-possessed heathen?”
In that sense, Keldric’s recognition of the trick was not unwarranted, but he did save Sir Hermann’s dignity in the first place.
However, Sir Hermann doesn’t see it that way.
He was thrilled by Keldric’s condescending remarks.
“Sir…………! You’re right, it would take an equally wicked man to recognize such a sneaky, dirty trick!”
“Uh, well. Indeed.”
“Then, indeed, my discernment was not mistaken; he was an honorable and wise knight, like Gernhild of Kaldren!”
“……Does that make him so?”
“Of course it does, sir, for he is the……………. of this city. Nay, he is my benefactor!”
Keldric nodded, a little shakily. Sir Hermann’s bravado did not abate.
He spoke of being as honorable as Sir Gernhild of Kaldren, as faithful and wise as the furry knight of Andalosa, and all manner of knightly platitudes.
to gild Keldric’s name with all the rhetoric of knightly literature.
“To use such methods to extract a confession from Anshelm, Sir ……’s wisdom is astonishing, indeed, and a knightly act indeed!”
“Yes, yes. But more than that, I think we’d better get on with the story for Belam.”
Finally, Keldric cut off Sir Hermann’s endless stream of Kelvic ramblings.
It was one thing to sit and listen, but there was no one who wouldn’t be overwhelmed by the amount of gilding being applied in front of them.
“Well, yes, that’s more important. I apologize, my lord.”
Lord Hermann nodded, a little stiffly.
No matter how much credit Keldric deserved, it could wait until later.
“Sir Hermann. Before that……………. there’s one more thing I haven’t told you.”
“What is that?”
Keldric hesitated for a moment to speak.
Whether it was true or not was for Sir Hermann to decide, but it seemed worth mentioning that Sir Ulrich had died at Anshelm’s hands.
“Your honorable uncle……… Sir Ulrich of the honorable House of Hoenthuringen.”
“Ah, yes. Sir Ulrich. What did he do?”
“Apparently, it was Anshelm’s plan to poison him.”
Sir Hermann listened, dumbfounded, as Keldric continued his brief explanation.
And by the time Keldric was done, Sir Hermann’s eyes were already burning with a knight’s desire to kill.
“Aye, aye.”
“How would you do it?”
“Kill him, of course! They say there’s no proof, but the honorable Sir Keldric testifies, and there’s no need to doubt him! I
believe your word!”
Sir Hermann cried out excitedly, his hands clutching the scabbard at his waist as if he were ready to cut Anshelm’s head off.
trembling, clutching the hilt of his sword at his waist.
“Sir. First, calm down. I appreciate your respect for my honor, but we must follow protocol.”
“Whoa…………. You’re right, I’m embarrassed to admit I’m so easily provoked.”
Given the easily provoked nature of most knights during this time, Sir Hermann was a knight of the highest order.
Keldric patted Sir Hermann on the shoulder.
The head of the city’s largest guild had betrayed the city, so there would be plenty for Sir Hermann to deal with after the dust settled.
after all the dust settles.
“What are you going to do about the Mormon Merchants?”
“We’ll have to investigate all of their employees and peddlers, and I’m going to ask the Church for help with that.”
If the church sends inquisitors, it will be easier to determine if the Mormon merchants have been influenced by paganism.
If so, the Church’s influence in Belam would increase, and the Council’s influence would decrease slightly.
But regardless of their influence, Sir Hermann’s honor and influence would be greatly enhanced by the discovery of the city’s traitor.
Did Lord Hermann seemed content with that.
There was no knight who would dislike my growing influence.
“As for the Order itself…………. We’ll have to get rid of it, and start a new one.”
“Do you have any ideas?”
“As luck would have it, there’s a merchant who was introduced to me by Hoenthuringen Family. He’s interested in doing business in Velam, and I think it would be a good idea to give him a hand to give them a boost.”
Sir Ulrich’s death was beyond Hermann’s control, but it was still a tragedy caused by someone in Belam.
Sir Hermann could not help but feel indebted to Hoenthuringen Family.
“It will be all right.”
“I’m relieved to hear you say that. I suppose we’ll just have to deal with it as it is.”
“How do you plan to explain this to Lord Javen?”
“…… That, I don’t know. I suppose the honorable thing to do would be to tell him the truth…………”
It would be a great embarrassment to Sir Hermann.
Sir Hermann’s dignity would be in jeopardy if a knight he’d never seen before showed up and took care of a problem he should have taken care of is no longer true.
But lying to his lord didn’t make sense.
“Well, then, how about this?”
In the end, Keldric decided to save Sir Hermann’s face.
If he was going to help, he might as well see it through to the end.
“How?”
“First, tell Duke Javen that his lordship has found the traitor.”
“Well, that’s not true! It was Sir Keldric who found Anshelm’s guilt!”
The name Keldric didn’t make me feel any better.
However, if this continued, Sir Hermann’s authority was likely to suffer greatly.
“What a heathen….”
In his position as ruler of Belam, Hermann’s cooperation with the Church was crucial.
But now that Anshelm had been captured and accused of being a heretic, there was a strong possibility that his trial would be organized by the church.
a church-led trial.
Sir Hermann is the ruler of Belam, and it would be hard for him to say that he was unaware of the existence of pagans.
She would be at a loss for words..
If you think about it rationally, it’s pretty obvious. No idiot in the world would go around openly identifying as a pagan.
But for the Church, it doesn’t matter.
They have great doubts about Sir Hermann’s judgment and qualities, citing his failure to detect the infidels hiding in the city long ago, and they want to destroy the book.
will be ruined.
This is not to say that he condoned the paganism, but it was serious enough.
Even a Baron of Javen would be forced to look to the Church for authority, and there is nothing wrong with what the Church says.
If that happened, Cassel Family and Lord Hermann, with whom Keldric had made friends, would lose much of their authority in Belam, and possibly even their right to rule in Belam.
That would not be good for Keldric either.
“I hate to say it, but the Church will criticize you.”
“How could they? I am more faithful than anyone!”
“I do not doubt your faithfulness. But isn’t Anshelm a heretic?”
“Then ughh…….”
If Sir Gebhardt were to announce that he had discovered Anshelm’s daughter, as Sir Hermann had discovered Anshelm’s daughter, the church would have no place to hang its hat.
will have nowhere to hang the banner.
For Keldric, who actually captured Anshelm, this may seem like a small loss.
But in the long run, it’s better for Belam to be ruled by Cassel Family and Lord Hermann, with whom he has a close relationship.
“I see. I’ll do as you say.”
Eventually, Sir Hermann nodded, though reluctantly.
“Have you called the church?”
“The Inquisition is not far away. They will probably arrive sometime tomorrow.”
If so, the trial would most likely take place the very next day.
Keldric sensed the end of this tiresome traitorous saga was near.
☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩ ☩
“Lord Keldric! Sir Keldric!”
The morning after Anshelm was dragged away.
At the sound of my name being called, Keldric leapt out of bed, rubbing the stiffness out of his eyes from the early morning.
I straightened my hair and opened the door to find Lord Hermann standing there.
“Sir Hermann? What’s the matter? The trial is at noon………….”
“That’s not the problem!”
Sir Hermann looked exasperated. He looked nervous, and he was sweating profusely, as if he were chasing something.
“Calm down, what’s going on?”
“Anshelm, that devil’s bastard spread a rumor!”
“…….Rumors?”
Keldric felt a deep sense of unease. A rumor, he had no idea.
And not being able to guess was unsettling in itself.
“What kind of rumor, though?”
“The rumor that the bastard, how dare he, slept with my wife!”
“……what?”
“That bullshit rumor is all over the city!”
Keldric couldn’t help but look dumbfounded.
Just when we thought it was over, Anshelm, being the merchant that he is, had a trick up his sleeve.
Early in the morning, Belam stirred.