The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 83.1

Chapter 83.1: Proof of Spring (5)

Cain narrowed his eyes, staring at Archbishop Barbetta.

‘Just how much does he know?’

Inside the Great Wall, the human world.

There are various countries, but the three main pillars are the Empire, the Holy See, and the City Alliance.

Among them, the Holy See held a unique position.

Its power was not as great as the Empire, but since the existence of divine power was proof of ‘God,’ their presence based on ‘God’ was bound to be great.

Even in remote Airian, half of the kingdom’s population followed the faith of the Holy See.

However, despite its power, the Holy See had made numerous mistakes and blunders throughout history due to its clumsy actions, and now sought to distance itself from realpolitik as much as possible.

‘But if they wanted to interfere in Airian’s politics, Archbishop Barbetta would be at the forefront.’

Sip—

After taking a sip of the slightly cooled tea, Cain shrugged.

“Who reported me this time? Witches seem to be quite popular in political offensives.”

If there was evidence of Chloe, his biological mother, being a witch, a heresy inquisitor would have already come.

If there was no evidence, there was no need to say anything.

Therefore, Cain responded brazenly.

Barbetta followed Cain’s actions, taking a sip of tea before nodding.

“It’s hard to find witches unless they reveal their powers themselves, so they are often used. There are ninety-nine witches promised in this world, but you can see that just the number of witch reports reaches thousands per year.”

“That means that the report against me and the report against my mother are meaningless.”

As Cain was about to pour more water, Barbetta looked up at the circular window high above.

“We cannot conduct witch trials recklessly. The easiest way to determine if a report is true or false is to track down who benefits from it.”

The early Holy See, possessing only power and lacking information, had made grave mistakes that remained scars on history.

Since then, the Holy See had continuously invested in information gathering, and now possessed such formidable intelligence capabilities that they could track down most informants immediately.

“For example, the report about Young Master Cain originated from Marquis Ross’s side, passing through seven stages before reaching the librarian of Mainus.”

Barbetta winked with his wrinkled eyes, concluding his statement.

It seemed he was not pleased with the idea of Cain being manipulated by Marquis Ross, considering he had revealed their scheme beforehand.

“However, the report about your mother was different.”

“Was the informant someone extraordinary?”

Barbetta lowered his head for a moment, fiddling with his teacup.

Unlike when he spoke of Marquis Ross, he seemed to hesitate.

The aroma of freshly brewed tea wafted through the room.

Whoosh—

However, the sound of the rain pouring even harder outside the wooden-shuttered window quickly drowned it out, and soon Barbetta raised his head to meet Cain’s violet eyes.

“Yes.”

“So you couldn’t ignore it?”

“And there was no one who could expect to benefit regardless of what happened to your mother. Rather, it would have been a loss for them.”

A person immediately flashed through Cain’s mind.

Someone from Lamaring, his mother Chloe’s family. Especially the old man who had been hiding behind the Elveknights sent by Ross.

“The Former Count, Weise Lamaring?”

Shake, shake—

Barbetta shook his head and spoke calmly.

“It would have been easier if it had been him. It’s not uncommon for parents or children to report each other when one becomes a witch.”

Cain knew this well.

Although he mainly interacted with nobles and witnessed mostly comfortable families, he was aware that unfortunate families were scattered everywhere.

While agreeing with Barbetta emotionally, Cain pierced through his intentions.

“You called me here to tell me from the beginning, so please stop beating around the bush.”

“Hybolt Rune Airian.”

“……!”

“The king of Airian, then and now.”

Cain’s eyes widened in an instant.

The name Barbetta uttered was significant enough to warrant such a reaction.

Cain reflexively looked northeast.

Towards the royal capital, Lindbloom.

The place where Oleciren had gone to confront Hybolt.

Since the history of the previous generation was twisted and complicated, it was certain that things would not go as she had boasted.

🔹🔹🔹

“I can meet him as his child, but he refuses to see me as the Crown Princess?”

Lindbloom’s royal palace, the White Palace.

The owner of the pure white palace, adorned with white flowers and gypsum flowers here and there, was Oleciren.

She frowned and asked.

The middle-aged knight standing opposite her nodded.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Sir Siker.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The Royal Knight Commander, Wayne Siker.

With Count Edmund gone, he was called the strongest knight in Airian, possessing an unwavering presence like a giant tree.

He was a knight who, if the scent of flowers surrounding the White Palace reached him, would turn it into the cold smell of iron.

Vanderbilt’s stature, who wielded a great sword, was so great that it was counted as one of the best even in Ethelred. His only flaw was that he was already too old.

On the other hand, Wayne Secker was like Vanderbilt without flaws.

“I am the First Princess of this country. Do you think it makes sense that I can’t see His Majesty the King as I please?”

He said what he had to say, regardless of what Oleciren said.

“His Majesty has ordered, and I am merely following it.”

Oleciren could roughly guess what King Hybolt was thinking.

The fact that he sent the most unreasonable Royal Knight Commander Wayne Siker, not any other court official, meant that he did not want to talk about it at all.

Thud—

She had anticipated this situation.

“Here is the Mage Tower Master’s guarantee. I officially request an audience.”

According to the laws of the kingdom, one could meet the King with the guarantee of one of the three: the Mage Tower Master, the Archbishop, or the Royal Knight Commander.

Therefore, she formally requested an audience…

Slide—

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