Chapter 4: A Small Helping Hand 3

Cazeros showed a bewildered expression at my suggestion to leave together.

Regarding this, I began to appeal to her from a more practical perspective, in hopes of persuading her even a little.

“You must realize… the Archbishop will not simply let you be after you helped me in this matter. No matter how I think about it, I cannot just leave after you’ve suffered such an ordeal on my account.”

“Lord Santana…”

Cazeros hesitated at my words.

Whether her reaction was positive or negative, I couldn’t tell, but I judged that I needed to persuade her more firmly at this point.

“Moreover, it has pained me to see you face subtle discrimination all this time for being a foreigner. Rather than remain in a place that mistreats a kind person like you, why not come with me? At the very least… albeit an inadequate man, I can protect one person with my own hands.”

“!…..”

Cazeros fell silent for a moment, slightly lowering her head at my words.

Seeing this, I realized that from her perspective, this matter required considerable contemplation.

Essentially, my proposal was asking her to abandon her current position as a holy knight, along with everything else, to start her life over from scratch elsewhere.

Clearly, such a drastic suggestion would be difficult to accept, requiring her to discard her entire existing life.

However, to be frank, in this moment, I could think of no other practical recourse to save her.

‘To think my lack of talent in this area would cause such heartache…’

Had I been more appealing as a man or more skilled at dealing with women, I could have persuaded her in a more flexible manner.

However, having built walls around matters of romance in both my previous and current lives, the only approach I could offer was this blunt appeal based on practicality.

Thus, with a sense of bitterness from my perspective, I cautiously awaited her response.

At that moment…

“Are you… sincere about this?”

‘Huh?’

Cazeros asked me in a trembling voice.

Her reaction didn’t seem to contain any aversion, so with as much confidence as I could muster, I spoke to her in a clear voice.

“Yes, although… I may be inadequate in many ways, at the very least, I am confident I can protect one person.”

“Ah…”

Originally, my aim was not to save just one person, but to rescue the holy knights and the Church hurtling towards hell.

With that goal having turned to naught, I now wanted to protect this one person before me by my own hands, no matter what.

Thus, toward her, unaware of the peril she faced, I spoke with utmost sincerity…

And in response, she began to show a flushed, flustered expression, her beautiful blue eyes glistening as if holding back tears.

Gazing directly into my face with those mesmerizing azure orbs, Cazeros then spoke to me in a trembling voice.

“…Yes… Yes, I accept… If it’s with you… If it’s with Lord Santana, I’ll go anywhere!”

Her answer seemed tinged with profound joy.

Hearing this,

I began to wonder if she too had been living a difficult life here all this time, and would have welcomed any chance to escape this place.

‘Come to think of it, serving as a holy knight in this wretched environment must have been quite arduous. Especially having faced discrimination as a foreigner, and now firmly in the bad graces of her superiors…’

Thus, Cazeros agreed to my proposal far more readily than I had expected.

Feeling a deep sense of relief and gratitude at her actions, I cautiously extended my hand toward her.

“Thank you truly. Then, I shall rely on you from now on, Cazeros.”

“No, I should be the one saying that… Although inadequate, I shall rely on you, Lord Santana.”

As she took my outstretched hand, a bright smile bloomed on Cazeros’s face.

A smile of such breathtaking beauty…

Thanks to the blunders of Nunne and Tine, Santana had gained an opportunity to settle his assets.

However… regarding this matter, Archbishop Maxim was not particularly worried.

‘By now, that Santana must be desperately trying to liquidate his assets… but it’s an impossible task. No matter how much you thrash about, your vast wealth will inevitably become ours in the end.’

Although the cash would have to be given up, over 90% of the considerable wealth he had amassed consisted of land and buildings.

For some unknown reason, Santana had shown an unusual attachment to land and buildings.

And the Archbishop knew full well that in his current situation, Santana had no way to quickly dispose of such assets.

After six days had passed, all of his assets in this city would automatically become the property of the Church. Even if he tried to flee with the land and property deeds, those documents would lose all legal validity, becoming mere scraps of paper.

Furthermore, acquiring the considerable amount of land and buildings would require an immense sum of money, something few in this city could afford.

One might think he could simply sell the assets at a drastically low price, but that too was an impossible method.

Not for any other reason, but due to tax laws related to such transactions.

Generally, when trading between individuals, especially involving high-value assets like land or buildings, it was mandatory to report the transaction to the authorities and pay taxes.

The tax rate increased according to the transaction amount. For instance, when buying or selling a 10-talant (gold coin) building, a 5% tax of 5,000 silver coins would be due. However, for a 100-talant building, the 30% tax would amount to 30 talants.

In other words, the lower the transaction value, the lower the tax, but the higher the value, the more the tax increased exponentially.

The principle of “the more you earn, the more we take.”

Due to this, in the past, people had resorted to tricks like deliberately purchasing or selling properties at extremely low prices to evade taxes, only to pay the actual amount through other means later.

And… to prevent such practices, it was only natural that the current lords and monarchs governing each region had enacted laws prohibiting the sale of land and buildings below a certain minimum price.

In other words, even if Santana tried to sell his assets at rock-bottom prices to spite the Church, it would be legally impossible.

And if he were to conduct an illegal transaction or falsify records, and this came to light, the buyer would certainly be unable to claim legitimate ownership, making it unlikely anyone would agree to such a deal.

Moreover, in the current situation where the Archbishop and the Church were keeping a close watch, any attempt to hastily engage in transactions with the excommunicated Santana would be a burden in itself.

Thus, having assessed these facts in advance before taking action, the Archbishop recalled the arrogant man who had rejected her proposal, allowing a victorious smile to grace her lips.

‘Even though I had intended to specially acquire his talents and make full use of him… going so far as to show mercy by demanding only 40% of his profits as tribute, he dared to refuse?’

Despite being a holy knight, Santana had shown an innate knack for making money. As such, Archbishop Maxim had once devised a plan to profit greatly by utilizing his skills as a holy knight.

However, her attempt had become a mere blow to her pride when Santana flatly rejected her ‘merciful proposal’. From that point onward, she decided to slaughter the goose that laid the golden eggs named Santana.

She knew all too well that there was no more dangerous existence than a capable individual who refused to submit to authority.

No matter how talented, those who needed to be eliminated would be eliminated without hesitation – a necessary measure to avoid trouble.

Additionally, this purge process would satisfy her long-held desire for his wealth, which she had been salivating over.

‘Even the finest steed must be firmly slaughtered if it persistently tries to throw its master. That foolish wretch, ignorant of the world’s cruelty, will obediently become a lump of meat to slowly melt in my mouth and disappear.’