#040

“Who is this person? How on earth are the gates guarded!”

Pellar scowled, enraged. As he waved his sleeve, the knights behind him belatedly rushed towards Cullen. Then, the knight standing by the door hurried out.

“Lord Marquess, the High Priest has arrived! This person is with the High Priest!”

The knight blocked Cullen, as if protecting Kiyen. Seeing that, Cullen’s brow furrowed slightly.

“The High Priest?”

“Did you just say High Priest?”

Those confronting Pellar murmured. Lasano slowly walked up to Cullen’s side. He whispered.

“I guess it would have been more effective if I had stepped forward first.”

“If you shut your mouth, I’ll consider it later.”

Laughing, he took off his robe. The moment his silver hair and red eyes were revealed, gasps echoed. Unlike the knight who recognized him too late, the people in the banquet hall immediately understood what Lasano’s coloring signified. Whispers spread like waves.

“Oh, Lord Aksha, thank you. High Priest, you have come to save us!”

“Please defeat those evil things. My brother was taken by those things…”

The banquet hall became noisy again. Avoiding the swarm of people rushing towards Lasano, Cullen moved aside. He slowly walked towards Pellar, who looked flustered. The knights standing in the middle, unsure what to do, looked back and forth between Pellar and Cullen.

“I’ll give you a chance to recall it yourself. The mine, and the kidnapping. Familiar words, aren’t they?”

Pellar’s face contorted. The word ‘kidnapping’ seemed to evoke something, and he pointed his finger at Cullen, roaring.

“What nonsense are you spouting, appearing out of nowhere? You must be crazy. Guards, seize this person!”

The knights hesitated. Someone said to Pellar.

“But just now, Sheon said he was with the High Priest…”

Then Pellar’s daughter shrieked.

“So what if he’s with them! He’s not the High Priest? Seize him at once, hurry!”

As the knights hesitated and moved to approach, Lasano warned.

“You will regret it if you lay a hand on him.”

Cullen glanced back. Lasano made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand. Though it was a joke towards Cullen, the knights who saw his gesture fell into confusion. Pellar’s daughter stepped forward brazenly.

“Who are you to interfere? Doesn’t the High Priest know anything about the situation here? What do you know in such a situation?”

Cullen wasn’t in the mood to explain things politely one by one.

“Why don’t you ask directly what your father did? Pellar, you committed dishonest and terrible acts to develop the mine. We have witnesses, and when Silfir Exion returns, you will be brought to trial based on this.”

As Silfir’s name was spoken, the crowd murmured. Even those who had welcomed the High Priest looked at Cullen with puzzled faces.

“Who are you to dare speak Silfir’s name so carelessly?”

“And what is it that Lord Pellar has done… Of course, it’s true he tried to seize the food, but it is Lord Pellar who is taking us in and protecting us now.”

Not everyone was a complete enemy, and some began to defend Pellar. Kiyen watched the people with a look of contempt. However, he didn’t seem like he would intervene. He was quietly observing the humans.

“You don’t need to know my identity. Isn’t one High Priest enough? Arne, please tell us what you experienced.”

They wouldn’t believe him anyway. Cullen didn’t have magnificent carriages or knights to prove his authority. The purple eyes, the mark of royalty, were hardly known, so it was unlikely anyone would recognize them like Lasano.

“Arne?”

“Arne? Isn’t he the priest who lives near the mine?”

People who recognized Arne began to appear. Gazes searching for him began to sweep the area. Cullen watched Arne, standing with a determined face between Lasano and Kiyen. He looked disgusted by the attention he was receiving.

He was timid by nature, so it was understandable, but this wasn’t the time for that.

“Arne?”

Then Pellar stepped forward.

He pushed through the knights, approached Arne, stared intently at his face, and shouted.

“You…! I remember your face. I thought you were dead, but you’re alive.”

Arne’s face grew paler upon meeting Pellar. He could see the black pouch holding a sword clutched tightly in the hand he’d turned behind his back.

Wait, a black pouch?

Cullen turned his head to look at Lasano’s waist. The pouch holding the sword Lasano had tied there was gone. In the meantime, Pellar spun around and shouted at the people. He pointed a finger at Arne.

“Listen, everyone! This man holds a grudge against me and is fabricating lies. He is the son of a miner who incited a riot ten years ago.”

“Is that true?”

“You mean the young man who led those greedy commoners! I thought he was dead, but he’s alive as a priest…”

Those who had been opposing Pellar quickly united and surrounded Arne. Pellar, seizing the momentum, shouted.

“That’s right. I too am utterly shocked. Aren’t you ashamed? If you were resurrected by the goddess’s grace, shouldn’t you have lived thankfully and humbly, rather than lying to the High Priest? How dare you slander me, who has dedicated myself to the territory!”

The moment he heard the word “dedication,” anger flickered across Arne’s pale face. He glared with his brown eyes. His eyes, which had been naive despite his build, were now sharp with fury. He strode forward and shouted.

“How can you say such a thing!”

The pouch fell with a thud behind Arne. He was now gripping a sword with one hand. Kiyen was behind him, and since everyone’s gaze was fixed on Arne’s face, no one seemed to have noticed yet.

Cullen looked back at Lasano. Lasano, as usual, was smiling and observing the situation.

“Because of you, of all people, countless children died. How can you do that as a human being?”

“Children? What do you mean?”

At the word “children,” the short-haired woman with blonde hair who had been opposing Pellar before they entered stepped forward. Pellar, who had been so confident, faltered for a moment. He widened his eyes, scrutinizing Cullen and Lasano, then raised his voice further.

“Don’t believe this man!”

“If you are human, you shouldn’t have kidnapped such young children, locked them in the mines, and forced them to work!”

Kidnapped? At Arne’s words, a wave of shock rippled through the crowd. The unexpected word caused a great murmur.

The Larcial Empire had, since ancient times, prohibited the mobilization of those not yet of age for excessive labor. This was an act that drew contempt and condemnation from many. At least, that was the case ‘on the surface.’

“Shut your mouth!”

As Pellar shouted, he snatched a sword from a knight standing behind him.

“I can’t stand this any longer. How dare a mere commoner fabricate lies to insult me? I will personally execute you.”

Pellar, having snatched the knight’s sword, swayed for a moment. A longsword is heavy enough to wield with one hand, which was natural for someone untrained like Pellar. He cursed and then gripped the sword with both hands.

Holding the sword diagonally, Pellar moved swiftly towards Arne. As he raised the sword he had been dragging and swung it down, Arne moved.

Just as Cullen was about to step forward, Arne swung the hidden sword towards Pellar. A momentary fury mixed with his frightened expression.

“Aargh!”

Arne moved faster than Pellar, who was swinging his greatsword at an agonizingly slow pace. His agile body and muscles were not for nothing; despite the clumsy swing, Arne’s sword grazed the Marquess’s clothes. He let out a yelp and collapsed. The longsword clattered loudly on the floor.

“Kyaaaak!”

“Help! Oh, Father!”

In the blink of an eye, screams erupted. The hesitant knights, having made up their minds, rushed towards Arne.

“Seize him! It’s an assassination attempt!”

Several knights who rushed forward quickly subdued Arne. His arm was grabbed first. The knights, bending his shoulder back to subdue him, kicked Arne’s knees from behind, forcing him to kneel on the floor.

Damn Lasano. It was definitely Lasano who gave him the sword.

Unlike Cullen, who held the title of royalty, Arne was a commoner. Having swung a sword at a noble in such a public place with so many witnesses, his execution was sealed.

Those who had momentarily been swayed by Arne’s words began to criticize and curse him with menacing intensity.

“He must be a mad priest. To plot such a thing out of resentment towards Pellar…”

“You ungrateful wretch!”

“Let’s behead him at once!”

Jeers poured down. Arne, still kneeling, lifted his head. With reddened eyes, he glared at Pellar Exion.

Pellar, who had been making such a fuss over a mere graze on his clothes, hastily got up from where he had collapsed. His family, who had rushed over in surprise, frantically checked his body.

Seemingly offended, Pellar pushed his family away and strode towards Arne. His beard trembled visibly. With a ferocious expression, he grabbed Arne by the hair.

“I intended to leave enough of your dead family’s corpses to be buried, but that won’t do! I will cut off your limbs and feed you to the pigs, then personally watch you die!”

At the mention of his dead family, Arne bit his lip tightly. He looked around. No one sided with Arne. Lasano stood by as an observer, and the crowd cursed him.

Arne, glaring at Pellar with his hair held fast, turned his eyes towards Lasano.

“I am the one who stood by and watched Martin die. I am a clear sinner. But, High Priest…”

Arne spoke with a face that seemed to have lost its last spark of hope.

“Are the people who eat and sleep well, unaware that such things are happening, not guilty? Or are they also bystanders? Am I a lesser sinner than them?”

The smile gradually disappeared from Lasano’s face. Cullen slowly moved to Arne’s side.

“While we dug for stones and contracted lung disease, they only gained money. We died without seeing the daylight, having dug in the mines our entire lives. It was common to cough up blood from the dust entering our lungs. The pain is different from a common cold. Did anyone ever pray for us? Do they even know how salt is produced?”

The crowd fell silent for a moment. Someone with a softer heart closed their mouth, listening to Arne’s words. Pellar, as if unwilling to tolerate this, yelled at the knights.

“Enough of your rambling! What are you doing? Take this man who dared to threaten me and lock him up. I will personally go down later and sever his limbs!”

Kiyen turned to look at Cullen. However, he didn’t seem like he would intervene unless Cullen did.

The knights pulled Arne along. Arne, gripping the sword in his hand tightly, tried to resist with all his might and spoke to Lasano again.

“If this is the justice the goddess speaks of… Lasano, then I am not fit to be a priest. I cannot serve such a god. I am a sinner, but…”

Finally, with tears welling up in his eyes, Arne finished his words, glaring at the crowd.

“I am more upright than those who walk on the blood of my family. At least I know what sin I have committed.”

Lasano’s expression hardened for the first time. Pellar did not give Arne time to continue speaking. He released Arne’s hair and said coldly.

“Take him to the underground prison!”

“Understood, Pellar.”

Arne, as if resigned, turned his face towards Cullen’s direction. He whispered.

“I’m sorry, Cullen. But the children in the mountains are not guilty. I am ashamed, but please, take care of the children and bring them to the village. They are intelligent children…”

“Shut up!”

As if his anger was not yet appeased, Pellar stopped the knights who were escorting him and slapped Arne across the cheek. With a blow filled with rage, Arne’s mouth burst open. Blood pooled slightly on his lips.

“A mad commoner comes in and dares to…!”

Kiyen continued to stare at Cullen, as if judging something.

Seeing that gaze, Cullen recalled what he had decided before coming. Arne was someone with no connection to him. While he could take care of the children, there was no immediate need to save the man.

Yet, he felt disgusted.

That no one watching stepped forward, that everyone listened to those words and didn’t act. And that Kiyen, who had been used by such greed more than anyone, was witnessing this scene.

The moment Pellar was about to slap Arne again, Cullen moved first. With a speed incomparable to the knights, he quickly approached Pellar from behind and grabbed his arm.

“Who the hell…!”

Pellar, turning his head to shout, collapsed as Cullen expressionlessly twisted his arm. He didn’t stop there. He pressed down, pinning him so he couldn’t move. Pellar writhed and let out a scream of pain.

“Aargh!”

If it was human greed, Cullen was just as sick of it as Kiyen.

The noble, who had never learned swordsmanship, twisted his wrist as Cullen twisted his wrist, writhing helplessly. His wife raised her voice as if having a fit.

“Kill him at once! I can’t stand it anymore, they must all be in on it!”

“But he is with the High Priest…”

As others spoke to Lasano, Pellar’s wife shook her head and shouted.

“He might not be the High Priest! With such strange things happening, there could be someone impersonating the High Priest. Hurry, hurry!”

The people were easily swayed by her words, to a pathetic degree. Just as they had been swayed by Pellar’s words.

The other knights, with free hands, changed their target. Even the crowd began to look at Cullen with angry expressions. As he glared at them, about to draw his sword from his waist.

“Lower your sword.”

A voice echoed from the door. Someone stood beyond the door, which had opened at some point.

“He is of a noble bloodline incomparable to anyone here.”

Silfir Exion, accompanied by knights far more imposing than those Pellar had brought, commanded.