Chapter 10: A Completely Legal Transaction Without Any Legal Flaws 5

The wealth that Maxim Archbishop had believed would undoubtedly become hers, yet was completely sold off to the Beden Guild within a mere week – she simply could not accept this reality.

‘No matter how capable the Beden Guild may be, there’s no way they could have prepared such funds in just a week’s time. From what I know, their available cash amounts to only about 10% at most, so how did this happen…’

However, despite the Church’s investigations and even petitions to the Lord, the only response they received was that there were no legal issues.

No matter how fiercely Maxim struggled, not a single coin of Santana’s wealth could be claimed.

As a result, after the agonizing investigations over the past few days, Archbishop Maxim finally had to acknowledge the reality.

She could never discern the method used, but Santana’s assets had indeed been completely acquired by the Beden Guild.

‘That wretched bastard… how dare he… how dare he leave behind such a slap in the face before his departure? Just you wait, to inflict such humiliation upon me, Archbishop Maxim, a servant of the Lord. I will have my vengeance, without fail!’

Considering her efforts until now, it was an unbearably infuriating and anguishing situation.

However, at this point, even as the Archbishop, learning of Santana’s whereabouts after his departure from the city was nearly impossible.

With his excommunication finalized and several days having passed since he and his accomplices had vanished, Santana and Cazeros had likely already fled to a place beyond her reach.

Any pursuit would be futile, and even if she miraculously discovered their location, she held no authority over them in other regions.

If they remained within the Church’s sphere of influence, she might still wield some connections, but if they had fled to the pagan lands in the east or the heretic territories in the north, there would be no recourse.

And decisively… unless Santana was a fool, there was no way he would remain in an area under the Church’s strong influence after being excommunicated and pulling off such a stunt.

Ultimately, even if she desired vengeance, the Archbishop had no means to achieve it.

Thus, for the time being, she could only nurse her meaningless and aimless desire for revenge while agonizing over the situation.

“Your Grace! A grave incident has occurred!”

“Haah… what is it? Why are you causing such a commotion?”

A clergy member burst through the door in a panic.

The Archbishop let out an exasperated sigh, her tone tinged with irritation over her current predicament.

However, immediately after…

The words from the clergy member’s mouth caused the Archbishop’s irritated expression to freeze.

The holy knights’ quarters

Originally purchased by Santana and provided for the holy knights’ free use, this place was now embroiled in an unforeseen crisis.

“Wh… What did you say?”

“Leave, you say… where are you telling us to leave to! This is a sacred place where the holy knights reside! How dare you merchants come here and spout such nonsense at us!”

The holy knights Nunne and Tine spoke with anger etched on their faces.

Behind them, numerous other holy knights stood with worried expressions.

However, facing them, the young Beden Guild branch manager, accompanied by armed escorts, arrogantly presented a document before them.

“Look here, holy knights. While that may have been true until recently, the situation has clearly changed, as you can see. The legal owner of this building is now the Beden Guild. Wasting time will do you no good, so obediently pack your belongings and leave.”

Unlike ordinary residences, this place was originally a warehouse converted into living quarters for the holy knights.

In modern terms, it was akin to temporarily residing in an agricultural storage facility built on agricultural land.

It did not seem to be Santana’s intention, and there were no issues while he was the owner, but now that the Beden Guild had become the proprietors, the situation had changed.

Unlike the tenants residing in residential buildings, the Guild had the authority to issue immediate eviction orders to the holy knights here, which they were promptly executing.

Naturally, the holy knights were vehemently resisting this sudden eviction order.

“That’s impossible! Whatever trickery that bastard Santana employed, you can’t expect us to leave this place for such a reason!”

“This is a sacred sanctuary for holy knights, not some place you merchants can meddle with as you please!”

Nunne and Tine drew their swords, responding aggressively.

Seeing some of the other holy knights joining their defiance, the branch manager let out a mocking laugh.

“Haha… well, I never thought even holy knights could be so ignorant of the world. Sacred ground or not, this land and building now belong to us, don’t they? With documents like these, how can you still object?”

“As if we care about such things! Regardless, this is the holy knights’ quarters, so take one step closer and you won’t be leaving unscathed!”

Faced with their unwavering defiance, the branch manager automatically furrowed his brow.

“What shall we do, Branch Manager?”

The escort captain asked in a tone tinged with resolve, hand on his sword hilt, as the opposition showed no signs of backing down.

Before making an immediate decision, the branch manager began to ponder for a moment.

The holy knights were resisting more fiercely than he had anticipated.

If he recklessly confronted them now, in the worst case, it could escalate into a bloody conflict.

Of course, even if such an incident occurred, the law and justification would be on their side, leaving little room for future issues. However, the problem was that the combat prowess of the holy knights before them could not be taken lightly.

Although they had superior numbers, the individual fighting abilities of the holy knights were a step above.

Not only were they skilled in swordsmanship, but they could also wield the sacred power of Aura, making them formidable opponents to engage in combat.

As the branch manager briefly hesitated, weighing his options in the standoff, that was when it happened.

“My, my… it seems the situation has become quite precarious.”

“! Ah… Miss.”

The next moment, Amalia’s voice suddenly rang out.

Simultaneously, the branch manager bowed his head slightly and stepped aside as Amalia calmly stepped forward, facing the holy knights with an unruffled expression.

“Tch…”

“Ugh…”

At the same time, the holy knights began to show far greater signs of unease compared to moments ago.

Nunne and Tine, too, appeared more subdued than before, but not solely due to the woman’s presence.

The reason they felt a deeper sense of unease now…

Was the army that had arrived alongside this “Miss” and completely surrounded the entire area.

Judging by their appearance, they did not seem to be mere merchant escorts, but rather troops brought forth from the Lord’s castle.

With the troops strategically deployed around them, Amalia addressed the holy knights before her in a casual tone.

“I’ve been informed of a crime – the illegal occupation of this building. As such, I have taken the exceptional measure of mobilizing the army with the Lord’s cooperation. It seems you are the perpetrators of this criminal act?”

“Cri… Criminals, you say?”

“Wh… What nonsense is this? We are merely guarding our sacred ground!”

“Surely you don’t intend to insult the Lord’s warriors? From where do you derive such audacity…”

The holy knights responded with bewilderment at Amalia’s words.

However, Amalia did not offer any reply, merely snapping her fingers lightly.

-Click!-

Simultaneously, the soldiers’ rifles were cocked, producing a sharp sound.

The instant they saw this, the holy knights froze stiffly. Facing them, Amalia spoke in a firm tone.

“If you persist in resisting or causing further disturbance, I have orders from the Lord to arrest you summarily in accordance with the law. I would appreciate your cooperation.”

“Tch…”

Amalia’s resolute voice left no room for argument.

Nunne and Tine, who had seemed ready to fight to the death defending this place moments ago, immediately sensed their lack of prospects and were the first to lower their weapons.

With the ringleaders swiftly surrendering, the other holy knights rapidly lost their will to resist. Ultimately, they could only obediently disarm themselves and depart while gathering their belongings.

“Damn it… how did it come to this for us…”

“What do we do now? We don’t even have a place to stay tonight…”

“…We have no choice… for now, we’ll have to seek shelter at the cathedral for a time.”

Nunne, Tine, and the other holy knights, suddenly rendered homeless overnight.

As they trudged away with their belongings, they keenly felt the absence of the departed Santana weighing heavily upon their hearts…

And the Archbishop Maxim, unexpectedly burdened with this responsibility, began to share the same sentiment.

Although… by now, it was already too late for everything.