Chapter 525

Karnius expressed his intention to accept Lacey’s conditions. Whatever his true feelings were, there was no better option in the current situation.

‘Once this negotiation is over, she won’t be able to drag this matter on any further. It’s not about exposing those who cooperated with the cultists, but rather revealing that she secured her own gains through backdoor deals.’

Karnius wrote down the agreed terms on the two pieces of paper Lacey had presented, signed them, and took one copy, feeling a sense of relief. If Lacey tried to bring this matter up again, he could use this document to drag her down like a vengeful spirit. They had each other’s weaknesses now.

“You’re agreeing more readily than I expected. I thought you’d cling more stubbornly to your position as a cardinal.”

“…It’s better than clinging to a position I can’t protect and losing everything.”

“Wise words. If only you had shown that wisdom before you came up with the foolish idea of using Belcus. Then this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.”

Lacey set down her empty teacup and sneered with a mocking tone. Karnius, inwardly vowing to repay her someday, stammered out an awkward excuse.

“…How could I have known that the leader of the cultists was Belcus? If I had known, I would have made a different decision.”

“I see. You knew the cultists were hiding, but you never imagined someone as dangerous as ‘Belcus of Discord’ was among them. Should I pity you?”

Karnius frowned deeply, suppressing his rising anger at the taunts of a woman decades younger than him.

“Enough! What’s the point of pity now…!”

“Well, now is exactly the time for pity.”

Lacey’s smile deepened. It was a spider-like smile, filled with venom, so chilling it sent shivers down one’s spine.

As Karnius instinctively flinched and tried to rise, Lacey dropped the teacup she had placed on the saucer, shattering it on the floor.

– *Crash!*

The exquisitely crafted porcelain teacup shattered into pieces, scattering sharp, clear sounds. The distant guard knights all turned their attention to the meeting table. The sound was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the dining hall.

Yes, by *everyone*.

– *Boom!*

Suddenly, the floor in various parts of the dining hall flipped open. From beneath, paladins in armor emerged. Their golden armor bore the emblem of a scale—the judges of the Astraea Church Order.

“What is this…?!”

Karnius stood up abruptly, his trembling eyes scanning the surroundings. Paladins emerging from beneath the solid stone floor. That alone was shocking, but if they had been paladins from the Elpinel Church Order, he wouldn’t have been this horrified. However, the appearance of the Astraea Church’s judges here was something he could never have imagined.

Lacey looked at him and laughed—a laugh full of contempt.

“Karnius Gustav. A filthy, shameless, and utterly foolish old man. Did you really think I would negotiate with a worm like you? You’re delusional. Elpinel does not compromise with evil, and neither do I. The conversation until now was merely groundwork to get you to confess your crimes in front of the judges. You must have been quite pleased thinking you could survive, but alas, it’s over.”

There was plenty of evidence, but with the possibility of manipulation, that alone wasn’t enough to judge a cardinal. So, Lacey had collaborated with Cardinal Ernliter to ambush the judges in the underground passage beneath the dining hall, leading Karnius to confess his actions through their conversation. Once Karnius, believing the negotiation was settled, confessed with his own words, there was no need for a trial. They could simply eliminate him here.

“What…?! You swore by Elpinel! You said you’d bury this matter if I agreed to your terms! Was it all a lie? A saintess of Elpinel, swearing falsely in the name of God?!”

Karnius shouted in a fit of rage. He had no intention of keeping his own oath sworn by Shaulite, but Lacey, as if to say that was unacceptable, replied.

“A lie? How could that be? You must be getting senile in your old age. Think carefully. I clearly swore that if you agreed to my terms, I would bury the matter. But… how can a corpse fulfill those terms? Supporting me or dissolving the Holy Sun Alliance—those are things you can only do if you’re alive. So, there’s no need to bury the matter. You’ll die here.”

Lacey smirked as she mocked Karnius.

“Elmain Staldorf was right. Karnius, your fate ends here.”

As if responding to her mockery, a familiar voice pierced Karnius’s ears.

“Ernliter… Zaisers…!”

Karnius gritted his teeth. Ernliter, the cardinal of the Astraea Church who had once formed the Holy Sun Alliance with him, was now glaring at him.

—

“How…! Was this whole meeting place a trap from the start?!”

For Karnius, this ambush was completely unexpected. He had been cautious, suspecting the meeting place might be a trap, and had the dining hall under constant surveillance day and night after receiving Lacey’s request. He had confirmed there were no suspicious movements before coming here.

‘Could there have been an underground passage…?!’

Karnius was certain. The ambush couldn’t have been set up before he started his surveillance. If Cardinal Ernliter had been absent for days, he would have noticed. In reality, the Astraea forces had arrived through the underground passage beneath the Holy City that Lacey had revealed.

“It wouldn’t have mattered where. Did you forget? This place, the Holy City of Alhebron, is a city built by our church for the glory of Elpinel. There are countless secret passages and bases here that you wouldn’t know about.”

Lacey took a few steps back, spreading her arms and proudly declaring. While many passages had been closed after designating Alhebron as the capital of the Holy Kingdom and accepting ten other church orders, areas beyond the reach of those orders were still used as secret bases by the Elpinel Church Order. Though it was a secret of the Elpinel Church, sharing this much with the Astraea Church, now their ally, wasn’t a big issue. The Holy City was filled with even greater secrets.

Like the true reason Alhebron always maintained its pristine purity, and so on.

“Staldorf…!”

“It’s over, Karnius. Surrender quietly. The execution pyre awaits you. Couldn’t you at least face your end with the dignity of a cardinal?”

Lacey continued her mockery under the protection of Damien, Bels, and Richard, who had approached her. Her holy flames were eager for kindling.

“Give up, Karnius. If you resist, the holy legions of the Astraea and Elpinel Church Orders will march here.”

“Ernliter, shouldn’t you side with me?! How could you betray us and side with the Elpinel Church Order…!”

Cornered, Karnius lashed out at Ernliter. How could someone from the same Holy Sun Alliance cooperate with the Elpinel Church Order? To Ernliter, it was nonsense not worth considering.

“I betrayed you? How absurd. It was you who betrayed us. Blinded by ambition, you used the taxes of the faithful to fund the cultists, and now you dare speak of alliance with me?”

Ernliter glared at Karnius with the stern face of a judge delivering a death sentence.

“The Holy Sun Alliance—what a laughable name. It was neither holy, nor aligned with the sun, nor even an alliance.”

Each word was filled with contempt and hostility. Karnius realized there was no one on his side here. It was a perfect trap.

—

“Is this how it ends…! Perrien! Open a path! We must escape the Holy City!”

Cornered, Karnius finally resorted to his last resort. He planned to use Perrien’s strength to break through the judges’ encirclement and escape the Holy City to regroup.

The attention of the room turned to a red-haired man with his hand on his sword hilt.

Perrien de Genes. Karnius’s last insurance and the biggest wildcard in this situation, unexpected even by Lacey and Ernliter.

“Hmm…”

Perrien scanned the room with an expressionless face. The judges without Seilon, or the two high-ranking paladins of the Elpinel Church Order, were no concern, but the blond youth with his hand on the hilt of the greatsword on his back exuded a sharp aura.

‘The wingless Damien, they call him. I heard he and his wife defeated the heretic Eljure… If that’s the case, she must be hiding somewhere, aiming at us.’

Perrien’s right hand moved toward the hilt.

“Are you planning to resist?!”

“Don’t move! Draw your sword, and you’ll be shot on the spot!”

The judges reacted sharply. If Karnius was relying on this swordsman, he must be exceptionally skilled. With Seilon still recovering, they weren’t confident they could restrain him alone.

“Shoot me? You think you can?”

Perrien smirked and drew his sword without hesitation. The blade gleamed with a cold, silvery-blue light.

“Oathclere…!”

Seeing the blade, Lacey muttered the sword’s name. The golden hilt adorned with crystal carvings and the silvery-blue blade matched the descriptions in ancient texts.

Oathclere.

The sword of Olivier, one of the Twelve Knights of Emperor Carolus the Great.

“So it’s the Elpinel Church Order. You recognized it just by its appearance. That saves me the trouble of explaining.”

Perrien nodded, confirming Lacey’s muttering. The sword of oath in his hand radiated a fierce aura, proving Perrien’s lineage as a descendant of the Twelve Knights.

“Behold, Staldorf! Finding a descendant of the Twelve Knights isn’t your exclusive privilege! Just as you have Median, I have Perrien! Who can stop him now that your knight has fallen?!”

Karnius shouted loudly. Perrien was a masterpiece, born from repeated inbreeding within the Bien family’s branch, waiting for the rightful wielder of the oath sword. Though his pure skill was below Seilon’s, with the full power of Oathclere, he could even stand against Median.

Karnius’s only hope now was to rely on Perrien’s strength to escape this place.

“The Twelve Knights…!”

“Like Hashal…!”

Richard, Bels, and Damien drew their weapons. Though it was a perfect trap, if Karnius’s bold claims were true, they might be in danger.

Perrien smirked, raising Oathclere high—

– *Slash!*

“…Huh?”

In one strike, he cut down the guard knights who had come with Karnius. Three heads flew through the air, and blood gushed from the severed necks, staining the ceiling.

Everyone in the dining hall stared in shock at the floating heads of the knights.