Ch.178Report on the Downfall of Charity (20)

Antonello and his men entered. They massaged Giuseppe’s hands and feet, carefully pouring diluted spirits into his mouth. Soon after, Giuseppe woke up coughing.

“Giuseppe Conlone?”

The prisoner hadn’t fully regained his senses. His black eyes were empty, his eye sockets sunken, and his hollow cheeks reminiscent of a skull.

The man who had seemed so large in the darkness was merely a swollen patient under the sunlight.

The prisoner looked around at everyone in the room. Eventually, his gaze stopped.

“Master Vito?”

A dry, cracked voice.

“Do you recognize me?”

“I remember you,” the prisoner answered, moistening his cracked lips with water. “I saw you often at the government office. I remember.”

“Giuseppe.” Vito leaned forward. “Let me get straight to the point. You’re safe. But from now on, everything you say and do will determine your fate. The more you cooperate, the better things will be for you. Do you understand?”

Giuseppe’s eyes gained some focus.

“Yes.”

The Stonemasons’ Guild Master gave Kain a nod. Kain nodded back.

Instead of asking questions immediately, he dipped his pen in ink, drew something on paper, and handed it over. Giuseppe frowned as he looked at it.

“The fruit of Asas.”

Kain bit his lip. The fruit that the Knight of the Scabbard, Laios and Ismene had stolen and eaten, the fruit he had seen in the memories he’d read when their swords clashed—it was indeed the fruit of Asas.

“Is it more potent than the Asas herb?”

At Kain’s question, Giuseppe closed his eyes tightly. He seemed to be searching his memory.

“The priests of the Stone-Fire Faith say this: If the fruit of Asas is the sun, then the Asas herb is like a candle. A thousand candles together cannot become the sun.”

“What is Asas?”

Antonello tilted his head. It seemed unfamiliar to the Venelucian native mercenary.

“It’s a plant that priests burn in stone vessels to gain inspiration and receive revelations. The followers experience dreams through the scent of the herb.”

“Dreams, you say.”

“Dreams of unity.” Giuseppe’s face showed ecstasy. He too knew about it. Because he was addicted.

“The lands of the heathens are barren, and life is difficult. Neighbors coveted what others had, and fathers stole food from their children’s bowls. Only after the Stone-Fire Faith arrived did such things stop, though the poverty of life couldn’t be completely eliminated.

So they gather once a week to become one through Asas. Everyone relaxes and gathers in the corridors to sing. Like heat haze rising to the sky, hoping the sun’s heat will burn away sins and sand will wash away the residue, they leave the corridors with lightened souls.

It’s like people climbing the stairway to god. Once you’ve glimpsed such a state, once you know there’s a world above this world, your mindset and behavior naturally change.”

But the light at the window had disappeared. Dark clouds seemed to be gathering from beyond the outer harbor. As the sunlight vanished, Giuseppe grew somber.

“That’s why the ritual is sacred. It should only be performed within the embrace of the foreign god, in their corridors.

Even birds that spread their wings and fly through the sky eventually come down to earth. How could humans without wings walk in the world above the world? It’s escapism. No different than spreading your arms and running through the wilderness, pretending to fly.”

Thick saliva dripped from Giuseppe’s mouth.

“Like you?”

The addict didn’t deny it.

* * * * *

Giuseppe couldn’t remember exactly when it began. He only knew for certain that it was during Niccolo Dandolo’s reign.

Niccolo had meticulously monitored foreign trade. As Venelucia’s political situation became unstable, nobles frequently smuggled their assets to the Empire and the Southern Kingdom.

Similarly, incoming cargo was also subject to inspection. Being the son of an herbalist, Giuseppe was tasked with identifying and inspecting plants and medicinal products coming from abroad.

Unlike weapons smuggling or gold and jewel trafficking, herbs rarely yielded significant findings. Because of this, Giuseppe often helped with miscellaneous tasks in other departments.

Nevertheless, he was treated well. Giuseppe’s educational training trips to the Empire, the Southern Kingdom, and the lands of the Stone-Fire Faith to study the world’s plants and herbs were a prime example.

“Of course, the real purpose was to steal seeds of crops that could be grown in Venelucia.”

And Giuseppe had accomplished such tasks admirably. However, he hadn’t paid much attention to the Asas herb worshipped by the heathens.

“Burning the herb itself doesn’t produce medicinal effects. It must be carefully dried and processed in a special way to enhance its potency.

And I didn’t see the need for a substance that clouds people’s vision. I wondered what meaning there could be in temporarily forgetting reality. I thought drinking moonshine would be better.”

Antonello nodded as if he understood.

“Anyway…”

There were many more things to learn about and divert. High-quality cotton, herbs that were good for internal diseases and easy to grow. That’s why he had forgotten about Asas. The memory resurfaced long after his return home, about two years ago.

“It was when Venelucia was turned upside down by the so-called Rose Revolution. Attempts to smuggle assets abroad were at their peak, and Niccolo Dandolo had ordered that all cargo be inspected without exception. As a result, everyone was busy with too much work. Then one day, we opened a shipment and found it full of dried herbs.”

“Asas.”

Kain murmured to himself. Giuseppe nodded.

“Yes. Unmistakably Asas herb. What was more shocking was that this cargo wasn’t coming into Venelucia but going out. It was completely illogical. I was so surprised that I looked for the owner of the shipment.”

“Who was it?”

“It was cargo from the Venelucian Archdiocese.”

“What did you say?” Master Vito stood up abruptly in shock. “Didn’t you say Asas herb was a heathen item? Then why was it being shipped out under the name of the Venelucian Church?”

“I found that strange too. I thought someone must be impersonating the Church. So I searched for the person who sent the cargo. It wasn’t someone from the Church.”

“It must have been Leonardo’s mercenary.”

At Kain’s blunt remark, Giuseppe nodded.

“That’s right. I immediately had a private meeting with Leonardo. He offered me a drink.

‘You’re an excellent young man. You deserve it just as I did. Don’t you want to be a hero? A hero who can remain calm even before the Demon King.’

I was already quite drunk and couldn’t tell what was what. So thinking it was just another drink, I gulped it down. And then I…”

Tears flowed endlessly from Giuseppe’s eyes. Yet his face was filled with joy. It was brighter than the face of someone finally marrying the person they had waited for all their life.

“I saw the sun. The herb is a shadow. The existence of a shadow means there is light. Darkness proves the existence of light…”

“Get a hold of yourself.” Antonello gave him more spirits to drink, less diluted than before. Despite his convulsive coughing, Giuseppe barely regained his senses.

“After that, well, it’s as you see. I was accused of embezzlement. The charge was stealing Church property. I lived as I pleased on the Ship of Fools, making Asas and enjoying it with the people inside. I had no worries since Leonardo said he would take care of my family too.”

Master Vito trembled in dismay. He seemed shocked that such things were happening in Venelucia’s outer harbor.

“I wondered why Leonardo’s mercenary group was in charge of harbor patrol…”

While the harbor was managed by the guard, Leonardo’s guards were responsible for patrolling the waters near the territorial sea. Boarding the prisoners’ ships that no one wanted to board and monitoring the situation was one of their duties.

“I had no idea this was happening.”

“Giuseppe,” Kain urged. “What happened last night? Why were you beaten?”

“I don’t know.” Giuseppe’s eyes grew hazy again.

“Recently, the workload suddenly increased. It was more than we could handle even with all the Ships of Fools mobilized. When we increased the Asas rations to keep the prisoners working without sleep, they started dropping dead from exhaustion. And then yesterday, I was beaten like that. But what exactly happened?”

Vito stood up.

* * * * *

The interrogation was over. Antonello and his men loaded Giuseppe into Vito’s carriage.

“I must convene an emergency council. I need to speak to the Doge based on this man’s testimony. Now that the Charity Leonardo has clearly committed harmful acts, we cannot leave things as they are.”

“What do you plan to do?”

To Kain’s question, Vito answered firmly.

“We must mobilize the army. Arrest Leonardo’s gang and detain the Church.”

“Father Prolo, the priest and steward who reported Giuseppe, is not here. But I recommend seizing any information related to him.”

“I’ll remember that.”

“But if you issue a mobilization order, what about your daughter’s safety? And the other nobles and merchants held hostage by him…”

Vito’s face was anguished, but his answer came quickly.

“We must endure it. The welfare of the state must come before my personal safety. Any leader of Venelucia would think the same.”

“You…”

“I told you, didn’t I? What happened to Niccolo has simply happened to me as well.”

But his face was trembling as if about to crumble.

“However, the outcome is not yet determined. So we must use every means available. Iago, you’ve already done much, but I ask one more favor. Will you help prevent innocent people from being sacrificed?”

“On one more condition.”

“What is it?”

“Information about the Temperance Arius and Pearl Dock.”

“How could I possibly…?”

Vito was shocked, but soon bit his lip firmly.

“Very well. After this is over, we’ll meet again…”

Vito couldn’t finish his sentence. His gaze was fixed on the distant sky. Dark clouds from the outer harbor were covering Venelucia’s sky.

Dark clouds? Kain doubted his eyes. Could dark clouds hang this heavily?

Realizing something, Kain ran to the wall. He climbed it quickly as if it were a ladder. Standing on top of the wall, he could see the sea before Venelucia clearly.

The horizon was packed with ships. The ships were all tightly packed, heading straight “this way.”

Ships collided with ships. Those caught in between were literally crushed. But the larger vessels didn’t seem to mind if their sides were somewhat damaged.

The naval sailing ships from the inner harbor had been deployed, but they seemed at a loss about how to respond to such an absurd attack.

“The harbor!”

The Stonemasons’ Guild Master screamed. With that one word, Kain realized what was happening.

It was like forcibly stuffing a wooden block into a narrow bottle neck. It might resist for a while, but if pressed down with enough force, the bottle’s opening would eventually be blocked.

‘They plan to block the harbor with a belt of ships, then escape on separate hidden vessels!’

But how? How could they arrive so orderly? Venelucia’s harbor is vast. It’s impossible to mobilize such massive ships all at once.

The sky grew darker. As the piercing sun disappeared, visibility improved. Just as darkness ripens conspiracies, the details of what was happening at sea became clear to Kain’s eyes.

“The Ships of Fools.”

Outside the outer harbor, ships firmly connected by iron chains, without rudders or masts. Old galleys, but massive due to their age.

Sailing ships with fully spread sails, huge fishing vessels returning from the deep sea, and tugboats strong enough to pull ships were all pushing the Ships of Fools toward the inner harbor.

A wave of ships was crashing down on Venelucia.