Ch.149Report on the Downfall of Diligence (14)

In the face of the unexpected situation, Sister Grace was crying and making a scene, while Brother Theodore appeared relatively calm.

That’s not to say he wasn’t resisting at all—he would silently glare at soldiers who pushed him or roughly shake off their grip.

Even hardened soldiers turned away from his penetrating gaze, but they quickly remembered their duty and pushed forward more forcefully.

When an officer with a feathered helmet appeared, Theodore shouted:

“Let me see Councilor Hans. I have at least that right!”

But the officer merely sneered in response.

“Brother Theodore. I might as well tell you now—I never liked you. A scrawny monk daring to intimidate Councilor Hans, and now resorting to threats!”

“What nonsense!”

“It’s all been exposed!” the officer proclaimed triumphantly. “Your filthy scheme with Sister Grace to trap Councilor Hans!”

It was exactly as Kain had scripted for Jakob beforehand.

If Jakob had followed instructions, he would have told the guards: “Brother Theodore and Sister Grace have been embezzling funds from the shelter, and when I discovered this, they imprisoned and threatened me. I tried to show mercy by giving them a chance to make things right, but he tried to kill me. I simply cannot tolerate such insolence.”

Had Theodore been generally well-liked, the guards might have hesitated to act. But his arrogance and rudeness were known throughout the city.

No one liked Theodore—neither the Emperor’s faction nor the nobles who supported the Elector.

In fact, they had been mocking Hans for being “like a dog on Theodore’s leash.”

When the arrest order came down, the guards mobilized without question. Some even remarked, “See, I knew it. He looks like a thief from head to toe.”

Already eager to act, and now with Hans’s own accusation added, the guards showed no mercy.

“How dare you, ack!”

Theodore couldn’t finish his sentence. The officer had jabbed him in the solar plexus with his baton.

“Where do you think you’re glaring? What are you waiting for? Tie them up tight and get them in the transport wagon! When is that inspector supposed to arrive?”

Only after the nun and monk were securely bound and loaded into the wagon did Kain and Maria appear.

Both wore comfortable civilian clothes. Kain carried an imperial sword and a walking stick, while Maria had hidden daggers throughout her clothing.

As the guards approached, Kain showed them the signet ring he had obtained from Jakob. The guards promptly escorted Kain to the officer.

“I’m Graham, secret inspector from the Imperial Treasury, and this is my assistant.” Kain presented his false identity. The officer looked him up and down suspiciously.

“I heard about you from Councilor Hans, but how did a Treasury inspector end up here?”

Kain gestured for the officer to come closer. Though hesitant, the officer leaned in.

“Didn’t Councilor Hans tell you? He personally sent a letter to the Treasury. He suspected donation funds were mysteriously leaking out but couldn’t pinpoint the issue.

And as you know, the City of Lombardt is imperial territory, and Councilor Hans is a member of the committee serving as acting mayor, so matters related to donations fall under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Treasury according to the edict issued by His Imperial Majesty Emperor Gratianus III, the wise and benevolent third emperor of the Empire…”

By this point, the officer was already overwhelmed. Perhaps he recalled the saying, “Five minutes with a Treasury official will make your blood run backward.”

“I understand. I understand,” the officer cut in.

“I already know the orders: ‘Arrest the two and hand them over to the Treasury inspector bearing the councilor’s seal.’ I don’t understand why it has to be so complicated.”

“Please don’t take offense. Security is paramount in these matters. And a fundamental aspect of security is making it difficult to see the complete picture. Look at that man. How much harm has he caused over the years?”

Kain lowered his voice to a whisper, as if wanting to befriend the officer.

“Moreover, we don’t know if he’s the mastermind or if someone else is behind him. And that person might have significant influence in this city.

If that’s the case, this Theodore will be back walking around freely. Do you want to see that again?”

It was an implication that Theodore might be controlled by either the Emperor’s faction or the Elector’s faction. The officer was clever enough to understand Kain’s meaning.

“No. I understand what you’re saying. You want to investigate and try them somewhere away from this city, where the influence of local people is less significant.”

“Exactly. Additionally, we’ll handle the transport ourselves. You don’t need to lend us soldiers. We’ll just use the transport wagon. And make sure those two are tied securely.”

The officer gladly accepted Kain’s proposal. If Kain hadn’t offered to handle the transport, the officer would have had to organize personnel, an escort, and a transfer plan, at least verbally.

But by handing it over to Kain, his work was done. He could wash his hands of the matter completely.

“Very well,” the officer nodded.

* * * * *

The moonlight was bright, revealing the uneven shadows of the road. The tightly bound monk and nun glared at Kain sitting across from them. But with the wagon bouncing up and down, they couldn’t speak.

Maria wasn’t an experienced driver. She seemed to be struggling just to stay on the wagon while the horses galloped at full speed.

And that was exactly what Kain had intended.

“Brother Theodore. No, Hans the Diligence.”

Hans stubbornly kept his mouth shut. Kain recited his history.

From con man to crusader, from crusader to hero, and then back to con man using a proxy. And his secret that others didn’t know.

“And high priest of the Black Phoenix Faith.”

Hans remained silent. Instead, Grace glared fiercely at Kain.

She looked as if she wanted to devour him if she could. Or perhaps she too was a priestess of the Black Phoenix Faith. Maybe both.

“I don’t know when you joined the Black Phoenix Faith. But it must have been right after you returned from capturing the Demon King.

You trained those abandoned children from the Children’s Crusade to become heretical priests. You made them recite prayers day and night without giving them food or water.”

Kain still vividly remembered what happened to the peasant children kidnapped from the Black Forest.

The starving, ragged children blindly offering prayers. And the two priests who slept leisurely while neglecting those children.

“After training the priests, you sent them all over the world. You placed them among discontented people, inciting division, hatred, and revenge.

Twisting the doctrine of the Life Tree Order. Emmaus. Masada. Magdeburg. The harm you’ve caused is immeasurable.”

Hans finally spoke.

“Did you suffer because of me?”

Kain didn’t answer. A smirk returned to Hans’s face.

“I asked if you suffered because of me.”

“No. I didn’t suffer because of you. But I know who did.

Arius. Arianne. William. Roberta suffered. And now it’s your turn. The Knight of the Scabbard will come to kill you.”

Hearing Kain’s words, Hans snickered. There was madness in that laughter.

“You idiot. You know nothing.”

Kain flung open the wagon door. “Aaaah!” Grace screamed, but Kain paid no attention. He grabbed Hans’s bound upper body and positioned him at the doorway.

With a thud, stones kicked up by the wagon wheels hit Hans’s face. Kain nudged Hans’s head toward the wheel. Hans resisted by leaning back, but with his body tied up, it was difficult.

A precarious moment. Kain pulled Hans back up and closed the wagon door. Blood flowed from his face where the stones had struck him.

“I’d be careful with my words if I were you, Hans. There’s no reason for me to tolerate you. If I really wanted to, I could just throw you out and be done with it.”

Hans’s mouth opened with difficulty.

“Who… who are you?”

“A mercenary.”

“Ha.” Hans’s shoulders shook. He narrowed his eyes as if understanding something.

“It’s you. ‘That man’ from the Monastery of St. Georgios. The black-haired, brown-eyed man who captured that foolish count and the dim-witted priest. The one who introduced himself as a mercenary hired by the Inquisition.”

A stream of blood flowed from Hans’s torn forehead to his mouth. But he didn’t seem to care at all. A drop of blood formed on his chin.

“But if I had known you were skilled enough to evade the escort, I would have approached more cautiously.”

So it was indeed this man who mobilized the escort and ordered the attack on Kain and Maria. Kain clenched and unclenched his fist.

“I could show you how I did it. But first, I want to know why. Why did you try to kill me?”

“Why would I bother killing someone like you?” Hans leaned his head against the wagon wall.

“Bördem was too deeply involved with Roberta. That stupid woman, obsessed with men. And that priest, he did too much in the Black Forest. You were just packaging, nothing more.”

“What did you do to them?”

Hans just snickered. ‘Killed them, probably.’ Kain flung open the wagon door again. Wind and stones flew in through the open door.

“Talk,” Kain demanded. “What were you doing? Why did you do it? What were you trying to gain? Tell me everything, leave nothing out.”

“You know nothing,” Hans muttered.

“I don’t know everything. But I know one thing for certain. What you and your six ‘companions’ did to a girl named Ismene in the Demon King’s wasteland.”

For the first time, the smile disappeared from Hans’s face. His previously confident demeanor was long gone. Like a lamp extinguished by a sudden gust of wind, only embers remained in his eyes.

Kain recognized that look. It was the distinctive grimness of someone who had given up and made a final decision.

That’s why Kain was able to catch Hans as he tried to throw himself out of the wagon.

However, just then the wagon jolted, and Kain couldn’t prevent Hans’s head from being thrown back, his unkempt hair tangling in the wagon’s spokes. When Kain forcibly pulled him up by the collar, Hans’s scalp had already been torn off.

Grace let out a single scream and fainted.