Ch.129Ill Fate (12)

Bördem sobbed, his face turning ashen.

“I-I don’t know… That much I truly don’t know… I don’t know… I’m sorry… I’m sorry for not knowing… I’m truly, truly sorry for not knowing… Please forgive me, please… please…”

Now he was even banging his forehead against the stone floor. Elisabet didn’t bat an eye. She turned her gaze away in disgust and looked at Kain. Kain nodded, indicating that this was enough.

“Bördem. Good Bördem. Among everything you’ve told us so far, is there anything you’re uncertain about but pretended to know, or anything you just made up?”

“N-no, there isn’t!”

Elisabet gave Kain a look. Kain went through the notes he had written down, questioning Bördem on each item.

Bördem admitted to exploiting the serfs on his estate. He also admitted to turning serfs into bandits, then attacking those same serfs-turned-bandits to extort their possessions.

The extorted goods were offered to the Elector of Reinhardt. It was to provide funds for the Elector’s “business” and to increase his own influence. This much Kain already knew.

But Bördem’s motives were more complex. It wasn’t simply to enhance his own reputation. His goal was to make the entire Black Forest like “Berta Village.” He wanted to establish Roberta as the ruler of the Black Forest.

As greedy as Bördem and Roberta were, they didn’t dare ask for territory to be divided. Territorial division involved not only splitting the land but also selecting and appointing someone to rule it.

Therefore, in the Empire, only the Emperor could divide land. This meant that even an Elector couldn’t arbitrarily split his territory and grant titles as he pleased.

What Bördem requested from the Elector was to expand Roberta’s “management” area a little more. And the Elector agreed to it.

Due to opposition from other nobles in the Electorate, Roberta couldn’t take over the entire Black Forest. But it was clear that she wielded extensive influence.

“But you’re saying you don’t actually know why Roberta wanted this?”

“I truly don’t know… truly…”

Kain slammed the table as if to say it was absurd, but Elisabet gently shook her head.

“He might genuinely not know.”

“Why is that?”

“Because he was enchanted by Roberta. He’s a greedy man. Such people have weak mental barriers and easily fall for such schemes. Not everyone in the world is like you…”

Instead of finishing her sentence, Elisabet winked one eye. Kain shook his head and approached the bars with the inkwell and documents.

“Put your fingerprint on each page. It’s evidence that you testified to all this and that it’s accurate.”

Bördem did as instructed, though trembling. Kain plucked a strand of hair from his shoulder and kept it. Elisabet signaled for Kain to step back. Kain hesitated.

“I…”

But the witch simply smiled warmly. Kain stepped back.

“Bördem. Good Bördem. You swear by the god of the Two-headed Eagle that there’s no falsehood?”

“Yes!”

“Then you are truly, truly a very bad boy, aren’t you?”

Bördem looked up at Elisabet, aghast. Feeling a chill, he clutched his groin and trembled violently.

“R-Roberta made me do it. Everything was Roberta’s orders!”

“Is that so? Was it also her order that you fathered countless illegitimate children? Among the women you violated were married women and maidens dreaming of marriage.

And having your subordinates beat and rape serfs who wouldn’t listen in the village square in broad daylight? And sending orphaned children to Roberta to be raised as priests of the Black Phoenix Faith?”

“Yes, that’s right! That’s right!”

“Can’t you hear it?”

Elisabet whispered, barely audible even to Kain. Bördem looked at her with bewildered eyes.

“What shall I do? The rats are coming, rustling and scurrying. What should I do? I can even hear them singing. ‘A liar’s belly is the finest delicacy in the world. Cut it into tooth-sized pieces and enjoy the feast.'”

“No, nooooo!”

Snap. Elisabet flicked her finger.

“Urghk!” Bördem rolled his eyes back and shoved his hand into his mouth. There was a cracking sound from his joints that had just begun to heal, but he seemed unable to care about that.

“Like a rutting pig stuck to a block of wood. Blocking your throat with your tongue makes it a bit better. Want to see more?”

“…No. That’s enough.”

“Good. Let’s go. It smells worse than a pigsty in here. I need to change my clothes before interrogating the next one. You should change too.”

Before leaving the interrogation room, Kain looked back at Bördem. Having given up on pulling out his tongue, he was now tearing at his own skin. He seemed to be trying to grab and throw away the imaginary rats gnawing at his body.

The sight of him tearing at himself while sitting in his own filth resembled the state of Bördem County itself.

* * * * *

Kain changed his clothes in his room. Discarding his smelly clothes made breathing much easier. When he went out into the corridor, he saw Elisabet in fresh clothes.

Her gait was quite smooth, though still a bit precarious. It was evidence that she was becoming accustomed to her daughter’s body.

As the interrogation wasn’t ready yet, the two sat on a bench outside the building to rest.

“Are you alright?”

At Kain’s question, Elisabet shook her head slightly.

“…Well. I’m not exactly at ease.”

“That man is the scum of humanity.”

“Such people exist everywhere. It’s not surprising. Witches and wizards, inquisitors and holy knights, serfs and nobles… it’s the same now as it was twenty years ago.

What concerns me is something else. That this witch-like fraud, this heretic of unparalleled lewdness, Roberta, was trying to raise successors.”

Kain didn’t understand that point either. What did it mean that Roberta was behind the Black Phoenix Faith? Elisabet furrowed her brow further.

“At least in my time… faith and belief weren’t used as weapons.”

“Weapons, you say?”

“I’m not talking about holy miracles or such things. At least people had faith back then. What they believed in differed, but they naturally determined how to live according to that faith.

Those who believed in the Two-headed Eagle lived their values and behaviors according to its teachings, and those who followed the Life Tree tried to walk its path. Even if not as strictly as priests…

But now, it’s as if… they’re using these as tools. Faith and belief should never be like that…”

“I’m not sure I understand the difference.”

“All teachings are about transcending oneself.” Elisabet placed her hand on her chest.

“Walking a path beyond yourself. Transforming yourself into something greater, whatever form it takes… But now it’s completely reversed. They’re changing, distorting, and twisting the great to suit their own tastes. It’s frightening, Kain.”

“Why is that?”

“It’s the same reason why amateur witches and wizards are persecuted. They twist the great powers of nature to their own liking and use them freely for their own purposes. Someone like Roberta surely wasn’t the first.”

A chill crept into Kain’s heart. Elisabet was right. Roberta was an exploiter in the guise of a savior. No, all of the Seven Heroes were the same.

And not just them. The people Kain had dealt with until now, the bandit knights he had taken down while in the Imperial Security Bureau. Weren’t they all people who wielded their authority, their glorious positions granted by the Emperor, according to their own greed?

But they couldn’t continue the conversation further. A guard called for them. It was a signal that the interrogation was ready.

* * * * *

The second priest who entered had eyes mixed with equal parts defiance and resignation. Kain looked at Elisabet, silently asking if he needed to leave again.

“No need. This child has already given up everything. That count from earlier firmly believed he would leave here unscathed, and probably had plans for revenge once he got out. When that hope was brutally crushed, he collapsed. But not this child. He’s already prostrated himself.”

“Then…”

“Beating or torture would be meaningless. Moreover, this child has already been cursed. He knows that both he and the count will die within a day or two. If people know there’s an end to pain, they can endure it.”

Yet Elisabet was all smiles. She seemed to be saying, “Just trust me.” Kain figured she must have something in mind and stepped back. He dipped his pen in ink and prepared to take notes.

“Black Phoenix. Right?”

The man didn’t answer Elisabet’s question. He just wore a twisted smile. But the witch didn’t get angry.

“Sometimes there are rotting trees. Rotting things are damp, so they need to be cleanly burned with fire. But even when burning, rotten things emit their dark innards.”

“…?”

The man tilted his head. Kain wondered if this was some kind of riddle. Elisabet continued without hesitation.

“That which embraces impurity and becomes stained black itself, that is the Black Phoenix. Embracing evil and burning oneself…”

“You spout well what you’ve picked up somewhere, little chick of the Two-headed Eagle.”

The man protested roughly. His tone suggested she shouldn’t pretend to know what she didn’t. Elisabet still didn’t get angry.

“Oh? What am I misunderstanding?”

“You don’t know anything correctly.” The man’s eyes reddened. “What outdated doctrine are you reciting?”

“Outdated…?” Elisabet’s eyes flickered. The man seemed to misunderstand that look.

“To still spout dusty old things as if they’re truth, truly worthy of being the Pope’s foot-washer. Someone like you should have been nothing more than a scapegoat for the papal office!”

“Poor Maria,” Elisabet whispered, just loud enough for Kain to hear.

“How much she must suffer, doing such harsh work…”

But the illusion was brief. Elisabet raised her chin.

“You’re talking without knowing much. They say someone more dangerous than one who hasn’t read a single book is one who has read only one… Well. It’s not entirely your fault. The one who taught you like that is even more…”

“…Take it back.”

The man’s eyes bulged. Kain looked at Elisabet in surprise. But Elisabet still seemed indifferent.

“You can tolerate insults to your parents but not to your teacher, is that it? But when a pig leads a herd of pigs… seeing your shallow level, your teacher’s achievements must not be that…”

“Damn it, take it back!” The man jumped up. He strained against the bars as if trying to push through them with his body. Naturally, they didn’t budge an inch. But Kain prepared for any eventuality.

“What do you know about my teacher! I may be lowly and ignorant, but my teacher is different! Someone like you has no right to speak of him!”

“Judging by what you’re doing, he doesn’t seem that impressive. You’re talking as if you know everything when you clearly don’t.”

The priest was agitated, while Elisabet remained nonchalant. Kain realized what she was trying to do. She was deliberately crushing the other’s pride, shooting him down by suggesting he knew nothing, to make him open up on his own.

When you provoke someone with “Are you really that great? You don’t seem like it,” people tend to start boasting about how wonderful they are. Because their pride is hurt.

It was incredibly effective on someone like this priest of the Black Phoenix Faith.