episode_0172

After finishing the interrogation of Baron Howard, I contacted his acquaintances through the priests to conduct additional investigations into him.

Three days passed as I meticulously met people connected to the Baron.

“Bishop.”

The priests, who had left as soon as the sun rose, returned sheepishly before lunchtime.

“What’s going on, everyone? Isn’t this the time when the investigation should be in full swing?”

“Well…”

I frowned, wondering why people who should be busy traveling between the Imperial Capital and the Empire had returned to the church. As I cast a sharp glance, the eldest priest gave an awkward smile and opened his mouth.

“The investigation into his acquaintances is finished.”

“Yes?”

I stared blankly at the priests, wondering if the word ‘finished’ had a meaning I didn’t know, and racked my brain.

There was no way that the investigation into his acquaintances could have been perfectly completed in just three days, or to be more precise, in 58 hours after finishing the interrogation of Baron Howard.

It might be possible if he were a commoner.

How extensive could a commoner’s network be?

But he is a nobleman.

Not just any nobleman, but the Emperor’s right-hand man, the core of the Empire’s north, and the second son of a family known as the scourge of the nomads.

He was someone whose position would warrant saying it was a quick finish even if it took three weeks, let alone three days.

“Humph.”

I snorted and shifted my gaze to the report the priests had placed on the desk.

Putting aside the fact that the report was completed in just a day or two, it was far too thin.

A volume that could not possibly come from investigating all of his acquaintances.

Ah, at this rate, they must have only finished investigating Baron Howard’s family.

“So, the investigation into the Baron’s family is finished?”

“No, we have finished investigating all those who have more than just a one-time encounter.”

“Does that make any sense? There’s no way you could meet that many people in three days…”

“After excluding customers, there weren’t many people who could be classified as knowing Baron Howard well; it was just family, business partners, and employees.”

“No friends either?”

“No.”

“Were there any in the past, but not now?”

“No, there simply aren’t any, there aren’t any people who could be called friends, either in the past or present. He was said to be popular with young ladies of his age, but none of them continued to interact with him.”

“Huh?”

No friends…?

Neither in the past nor now?

“Did Count Hume perhaps lock up and raise Howard? We don’t need to start investigating Count Hume, do we?”

“That’s not the case; rather, it was the Count who forcibly dragged him out because he didn’t want to come out.”

“Ahem…”

I barely swallowed the words ‘Is he even a nobleman?’ and managed to restrain the grimace that was about to contort my face.

“So, based on what we’ve learned from the priests’ stories, Baron Howard’s network is very, very narrow, and he had almost no interaction with people in the past, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“But this happened even though the family didn’t confine him and actively supported his social activities, right?”

“That’s right.”

“And he was popular with young ladies, but there was not a single case where he developed a deep relationship, right?”

“Yes.”

“But suddenly, he actively started engaging in external activities and captivated the hearts of His Imperial Majesty and Her Imperial Highness in just a few months, right?”

“Yes…”

I gave a faint smile, gritting my teeth at the sight of the priests nodding and answering ‘yes’ to whatever I asked.

“Priests, you’re not messing with me right now, are you?”

“We wish it were a joke too.”

“The ending doesn’t make any sense, even if he is the son of a powerful family, this doesn’t make sense, he didn’t really use black magic, did he?”

“Could it not be that he is a highly talented genius? He seems to have a deep affection for his family, so he may have hidden his abilities to prevent any noise during the succession process.”

“But why is he showing his abilities now? It’s true that he’s in the process of succeeding to the title, but the succession hasn’t been completely finalized yet.”

“We’re not sure about that either, but that part is not related to heresy.”

“That’s right…”

The common sense I had today has been thoroughly shattered.

Is it possible for a nobleman to have no one he can call a friend?

It’s possible.

Is it possible that he didn’t form any connections even though he regularly attended social events and received active support from his family?

That’s also possible.

Can he capture the hearts of the Emperor and Empress and rise to the core of power in just a few months with that?

Amazingly, it was possible.

It’s so suspicious, but the key parts are clean.

Is this how it feels to see a devil praising the Lord?

“Haa…”

Feeling a sense of unease, as if a demon were controlling my mind, I covered my forehead and lowered my head.

“Bishop, if the investigation is insufficient, we will expand the scope of the investigation to Atelier customers and people related to the Hume family.”

“No… there’s no need for that, it’s not related to heresy, as the priests said.”

“Understood.”

If it’s a family related to Count Hume, it’s practically the same as investigating all the nobles of the Empire.

Then it would take 1-2 years just for the investigation, and if we consider the trial, we would have to settle down in the Empire for several years and stir up trouble here and there.

The Empire will not tolerate that.

There is no justification or reason to go that far with mere suspicions of heresy.

So, it is right to end the investigation at this point.

“Then, let’s check the special notes.”

I picked up the report, turned past the cover and table of contents, and immediately opened the main section.

As it was written in a top-down style, the phrase ‘Very low possibility of heresy’ immediately caught my eye from the first line.

“Were there any strange parts related to heresy in the investigation results?”

There was no big difference from the results of the interrogation, so I could just close the report right away, but I still asked the question formally.

When it comes to heresy, it’s not enough to check as meticulously as it would annoy those around you.

“No, there weren’t any. I thought they were giving positive evaluations because they were acquaintances, so I additionally visited the Devonshire ducal family, which had a recent dispute, and asked various questions, but they resolutely denied the parts related to heresy.”

“Devonshire Ducal Family…”

I repeated the priest’s words and found the investigation record of March Duke, who had the most intense dispute with the Baron.

[‘That guy is rude and someone I want to get rid of, but he’s not crazy. Don’t try to shake the nobles of the Empire with rumors.’ He commented.]

“Oh…”

Even though it was clear that there had been some refinement, the blatant hostility was clearly revealed, but there was a firm belief that it was not heresy.

Even if it’s an opinion with a biased view that mixes patriotism and vigilance against the Holy Kingdom, it’s an answer that can’t be ignored.

It would have been enough to finish with ‘I don’t know,’ but they went out of their way to defend him.

“And are there any other opinions?”

“If I had to choose, most of the acquaintances said, ‘He’s not the kind of person who can lie skillfully, so if he were a heretic, we would have noticed and reported it first.’”

“Hmm~”

With those words, I closed the report.

There was no big difference from the interrogation results, so there was nothing more to see.

“Sterling Gong?”

I turned my head slightly and called out to the Imperial knight, who had been quietly observing the investigation process.

“Did you call me?”

The knight bowed slightly in a polite manner and approached.

“I would like to report the investigation results to His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Empire. Can you arrange a meeting?”

“Yes, I will report to my superiors as soon as I return to the Knights.”

“Thank you.”

_

The meeting with the Emperor of the Empire was arranged faster than I thought.

I clearly mentioned it today, and I received a reply that I was to enter the Imperial Palace this evening.

“I greet His Imperial Majesty, the Emperor of the Empire. I am Bianca Vitale di Luca, serving the Lord in the position of Inquisitor and Bishop of the Holy Kingdom.”

“Nice to meet you.”

It was embarrassing, but if I finished the work quickly, I could return to the Holy Kingdom early, so I immediately moved to the Imperial Palace and met the Emperor of the Empire in the dark audience room.

“So, you said the investigation results are out?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“That’s too fast. Did you investigate properly? I don’t want you to barge into the Empire like this, stir things up, and then investigate carelessly and have strange rumors spread.”

“There were so many absurd charges that the investigation didn’t take long.”

“It’s been a lot of trouble for you to come all the way to the Empire for an investigation that would have taken a week to complete.”

“I am truly sorry for that.”

“It’s a relief that you know.”

I apologized to the Emperor, who was being quite prickly from the start.

If Baron Howard had been a heretic, we could have made a big noise, but since he wasn’t a heretic, it was right for us to bow our heads.

“So, what are the results?”

When I readily bowed my head, the Emperor seemed to be in a better mood, stopped being grumpy, shrugged his shoulders once, and immediately got to the point.

“It has been concluded that there are no charges for any crimes other than indecency, and the indecency, which is somewhat problematic, will be concluded with a formal punishment such as community service or donation.”

“So, does that mean that all the charges related to Baron Howard’s heresy are slander?”

“Whether it was intentional or a misunderstanding, we would have to investigate the reporter to know, but it is true that they reported a crime that did not exist.”

“Hmm~”

The Emperor took a slouching posture and tapped the armrest of the throne with his finger.

“If it was a report due to a misunderstanding, what punishment will that person receive?”

“If there is no intentionality, they will receive the punishment of going on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land as a meaning of atonement.”

One might think that just going to the Holy Land is not a punishment, but basically, pilgrimages must be done on foot.

With the exception of crossing rivers or seas, you must move on foot no matter how far the distance.

If you were to travel from the Empire to the Holy Land on foot, it would take at least 6 months, and up to 2 years.

Of course, you have to walk back, so the actual time is twice that.

It can be said to be a very severe level of punishment for reporting something based on a simple misunderstanding.

“Weak, tsk tsk…”

But the Emperor said it was weak with an indifferent expression and clicked his tongue.

“Bishop, I don’t think pilgrimage is a weak punishment.”

“Bishop, it’s not a strong punishment either. Isn’t it too lenient to this damn guy who is causing division in the Empire with heresy? If that were a strong punishment, would they have dared to accuse someone of heresy without evidence?”

“That’s…”

It was hard to argue.

It was an act that could completely kill the opponent politically, but it felt light when you thought of it as just a pilgrimage.

“Then, what kind of ending does Your Imperial Majesty want?”

“I never want to take this matter lightly. If I were to pass this matter off as just a pilgrimage, wouldn’t everyone accuse others of heresy because of a ‘minor misunderstanding’?”

“I can’t manipulate the investigation results from the Holy Kingdom.”

“There’s no need for that. I just want you to turn a blind eye to whatever the Empire does to the reporter after all the investigations and trials are over.”

“Hmm…”

In principle, it was not right, but it was necessary to make some concessions for the Empire, which had shown a lot of consideration for the convenience of the Holy Kingdom this time.

There may be times when we need to ask for the Empire’s cooperation in the future, whenever that may be.

“If there is no harm to innocent people who are not involved in this incident, we can overlook an ‘unforeseen accident’ to some extent.”

“Very good.”

The Emperor nodded with a satisfied smile.

“Then, I hope you will quickly handle the remaining work and wrap up this matter.”

“Yes, I will do my best to resolve it within this month.”

“Well, I ask you to do so.”