Ch.198Revelation (12)

# The Guest Quarters

The guest quarters are in a secluded area. Located quite far from the main road of the fortress, there aren’t many people passing by.

Still, Kain and Maria stood in the passageway, speaking in hushed tones. An open area like this was actually better for spotting anyone who might be eavesdropping.

Carefully scanning their surroundings, Kain shared what he had discovered with Maria.

Laios joined the White Blood Knights at the age of thirteen. He was bigger and stronger than others, so it wasn’t much of a problem.

The issue was that he fell further behind as time passed. He was average in every aspect except for one area where he was dismally poor—unfortunately, that area was swordsmanship.

According to his instructors’ notes: “Completely devoid of talent. He might fare better swinging with his eyes closed.”

When swordsmanship proved impossible, they tried changing his weapon. Spear, axe, halberd, even rhomphaia. But none of them suited him. Even in the basic six-foot staff training that all novices undergo, he performed adequately as a child but fell behind more and more as he grew older.

He was diligent, had a good training attitude, and was popular for his kind personality that made him willing to take on difficult tasks, but that was it. In the end, the White Blood Knights are a warrior group. What could someone without even average talent hope to accomplish?

At sixteen, he failed the final promotion test to become an apprentice knight. He never managed to advance beyond being a novice.

“Laios truly had no talent. He either swung exactly as instructed or got impatient and broke his stance first. He seemed to lack any kind of intuition. As a result, at sixteen, he returned to his hometown and apparently joined the Children’s Crusade that same year.”

So Lily had seen it correctly. There were traces of White Blood Knights swordsmanship, but as she assessed, he would have been an apprentice at best.

“No talent, slow movements, a sword that won’t leave its scabbard, and even carrying a part of the Demon King inside him—yet he’s a ‘prophesied hero’? Is this some Imperial capital joke? It’s so unfunny it must be.”

Maria shook her head in disgust. But then an even more horrifying thought occurred to her.

“And his childhood friend from his hometown, whom he promised to protect but couldn’t, is the Demon King? And you two received a revelation that you would defeat the Demon King? Oh my, Two-headed Eagle. When will your feathers of mercy ever fall?”

Kain felt the same way. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t believe it was any kind of prophecy or revelation. It seemed more like someone with malicious intent had sent the two of them to the battlefield. They had even been fed Asas fruit.

“So where is his hometown?”

“Kerioth.”

“What?”

“It’s Kerioth. I’m certain.”

“That’s impossible. Kerioth is…”

Maria took a step back. Kain nodded gravely.

“That’s right. It’s where Günther the Patience is from. Northern Empire. Not the northernmost part, but still a barren, dry rural village.”

In the epic tales of the Seven Heroes, he was famous for always inserting the phrase, “In my hometown of Kerioth, we used to do it this way.” And that’s all people remember about Günther.

Writers gave him this personality because his role itself lacked any dramatic or substantial elements. He was just a country bumpkin and an illegitimate child of a lord, which made it difficult to create anything dramatic.

Günther was also known as a monk. More precisely, a hermit monk. All that was known about him was that he lived quietly tending to his garden in his hometown.

He was similar to Arianne in being a recluse, but different in many ways. Arianne was outwardly glamorous and lived in a city. But Günther had a much fainter presence.

In Maria’s memory, there was nothing special about Günther. He was literally just a hermit monk. He didn’t want to be an abbot or belong anywhere, preferring to live quietly. He was often introduced as an exemplary monk who turned his back on glory and chose the path of seclusion.

“The origins of the Children’s Crusade are said to be unclear. But I heard all the instigators were burned at the stake…”

Maria shook her head at Kain’s words.

“No, not all of them. Only three died. And they weren’t even monks.”

Maria shared what she had learned.

After the Fourth Crusade was bribed by Eastern Union money to stab the Empire—their fellow faith members—in the back, resulting in their excommunication, neither the Empire nor the Eastern Union had the resources or justification to launch a Fifth Crusade.

The Demon King literally terrified everything and devastated the land. The story goes that he focused solely on killing, rotting, and destroying. Lands touched by black shadows and smoke withered and died.

So taking such land would have been meaningless. There was no treasure to salvage, no serfs to take—just hardship.

If it had been in an era when there was romanticism or support for crusades, things might have been different, but those sentiments were shattered after the Fourth Crusade. Crusades were neither romantic nor idealistic. They were strictly business ventures driven by money. So no one would invest in a venture with nothing to gain.

But for the people in the northeast, it was different. If those shadows came, not only their livelihoods but their very lives would be in danger.

So people living near the Demon King’s territory sent requests for salvation to the world. Of course, massive funds were invested in this.

Only then did those living far from the northeast, like the Papal States, calculate how many armed soldiers they needed to send to maximize their profit.

“The Papal States just put on a show. They provided huge sums of money to the Eastern Union through the Southern Kingdom and collected hefty interest in return. To the Empire, they dispatched vocal monks to shape public opinion.”

Kain was familiar with that part of the story. But Maria’s tale went a step further, revealing something even more sordid.

“But it seems those monks were given a kind of assignment. When people stopped joining the crusade after all the romanticism was shattered, the Papal States offered a reward.

They promised wealth and glory to those who recruited more people to the crusade. Of course, they didn’t say it so bluntly and used more elegant language, but that was the essence.

It was a travesty, they say. Forging documents and signatures was commonplace, and there were even cases of bribing lords to just add names. But the most vicious ones were those who recruited for the Children’s Crusade.

There were so many children who had lost their families due to frequent wars. Those clerics gathered the outcasts from such villages. The villages were happy to have one less mouth to feed, and the clerics were pleased to have made a recruitment.

Do you think there were only a few such people? No. There were many more. Those three who were executed were exceptionally notorious, so much so that even the Papal States couldn’t turn a blind eye. But if Günther was at the core…”

“Could Günther be that person?”

There was an edge to Kain’s tone.

“He might have given Laios and Ismene the revelation that they were ‘heroes,’ and created the Children’s Crusade around them, or at least established them as central figures. Anyway, all the children in the crusade apparently adored those two.”

“But, Kain, if that were the case, if he had deceived Laios and Ismene, wouldn’t they have killed Günther the Patience first, rather than Arius the Temperance? But I’ve never heard any story about him being attacked.”

Kain hadn’t either. Günther was known to have never left his hometown. The Imperial Security Bureau also considered his whereabouts relatively clear.

Besides, the White Blood Knights would have had people assigned to guard Günther. If there had been any issue with Günther’s safety, the White Blood Knights would have reported it.

But there was no such report. Günther is still alive.

“Could he be hiding behind a pseudonym, like Hans the Diligence did?”

“Even if he was hiding behind a pseudonym, I don’t think Laios wouldn’t recognize him. If they’re from the same hometown—well, Kerioth isn’t some big city. Even if he didn’t know his face well, he must have seen him at least once in passing.”

“We need to go to Kerioth,” Maria nodded. At the same time, she placed her hand on her waist.

“But why are you only telling me this? You haven’t told the genealogist, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Maria pulled Kain into her cabin.

* * * * *

The structure of the house wasn’t much different from Kain’s. But it retained more warmth. She must have generously used firewood, disliking the cold.

Kain followed Maria’s instructions and wrapped himself in a thin leather shawl. Maria sat on the bed and pulled a goose down blanket over herself.

“…Alright. Now I need to be a little angry with you.”

It seemed odd coming from someone wrapped in a blanket. Kain wanted to understand what this strange incongruity meant.

“What you asked the genealogist earlier. What were you thinking?”

“…About when the White Blood regulations could be changed?”

“Yes, that.” Maria hugged the blanket tighter. Being in the warm, cozy blanket seemed to soften her anger. As a result, her tone became more gentle.

“Is it because of Lily?”

Kain lowered his head. Maria seemed to understand why he had only told her about Laios’s whereabouts.

If he knew where Laios was, there would be no reason to stay at the White Blood fortress any longer. He could leave immediately without any issues. But that would mean leaving Lily behind.

“…Yes.”

“…I understand. Go get some sleep.”

Kain looked up and stared blankly at Maria. She wasn’t acting like her usual self. Normally, she would have at least cursed once.

“Go get some sleep. You look like you haven’t slept at all. Let’s think about how to get Lily out of this stone fortress tomorrow. We might be able to push for one more day, but we don’t have that much time.”

“…Sorry. I wasn’t being rational.”

Kain’s voice cracked. Maria even gave a faint smile.

“You have this side to you sometimes. When you focus deeply on something, you just jump right in. But you know, it’s not all bad. You must have sensed something.

And I’m also against Lily staying here any longer. The child is wasting away. Anyway, since we’ve finished our work, let’s find a way to get Lily out tomorrow. And for that, you need to sleep. You look like you’re about to collapse.”

Kain didn’t get up for a long time. It was almost embarrassing for Maria.

“Oh, what is it now?”

“…Nothing. Thank you.”

“Are you just saying that?”

Maria puffed her cheeks slightly. But soon she smiled and shook her head.

“…No. I’m just repaying a debt.”

“A debt?” Kain didn’t understand. “You owe me? Since when?”

Maria flopped down on the bed.

“…Never mind. Let’s talk about it later. I want to rest a bit before dinner too. Leave that leather shawl here. If you take it, I’ll come after you, seriously.”

But even after dinner, when she returned to think about it, no solution came to mind.

Putting in more firewood than yesterday and drinking warm water boiled in a kettle, Maria looked out at the white snow falling outside the window. It seemed to pile up layer by layer even if she closed her eyes for just a moment.

After watching the knights stop their training and move around in groups to clear the snow, Maria eventually got into bed and tried to sleep.

The next day, an envoy sent by the Emperor arrived. All training was temporarily suspended, and the White Blood fortress was enveloped in rare tranquility.

And Kain stared blankly at the man before him.

“…Boehm?”

“No, brother. Your eye for detail isn’t dead yet.”

It was Boehm, the older of the twin brothers from the Fourth Division.