Chapter 39

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on February 6, 2025

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Chapter 39

#39. The Faith of the North (4)

Somewhere in the basement of the outer High City.

Uaaaaaaah!

Kiaaaaaaaaaak!

Once again, familiar screams filled this place that had recently been quiet.

A total of 41 adults—men and women—were being tortured here.

Among them were six viscounts directly involved, and 35 merchants, bureaucrats, knights, and adventurers who were either directly or indirectly implicated.

All of them were connected to the recent loss of mana force and the installation of the steles.

Aaaaaaah!

Kill meeee… Zebaal…

I already told you! I confessed everything!

Yet something about the torture was peculiar. There were exactly 41 chairs placed in the basement, matching the number of prisoners, and the 41 naked people were seated on them.

That was the extent of the torture. However, what stood out was the unpleasant-looking purple magic circle glowing beneath each chair.

Despite such minimal torture, blood streamed incessantly from almost every orifice of their bodies—their eyes, ears, noses, mouths, and even their anuses.

“Alright~ Got it~ Just endure a little longer, will ya?”

The witches of High City were pouring their mana into these purple magic circles, with each witch handling three or four at a time.

“Truly foolish. This is why one must be smart when doing evil deeds.”

Overseeing this torture was Isabel.

Known as the Grand Witch of Spring, she managed the affairs of High City and also served as the governess to Duchess Ariana of Northern Region.

“How could they even think of planting those steles in their own fiefs?”

Sitting on a dais slightly removed from the basement, she wore her usual plain old woman’s attire.

But her gaze and aura were entirely different from her usual self—cold, icy, and devoid of any mercy.

If Arad saw her now, he wouldn’t recognize her.

“At first, it seemed too obvious, so I suspected it might be a trick or a trap. But look at this—they were shamelessly practicing usury on their own subjects?”

Her muttering mixed with the screams from the basement, creating an eerie harmony.

“Or maybe they didn’t feel the need to hide it? They probably expected the entire northern region to collapse due to famine and rebellion?”

She continued listening to the screams with a bored expression.

The bored grand witch’s seat had six discarded masks nearby, used during their secret meetings.

How much time had passed?

One of the witches participating in the torture approached Isabel hurriedly and spoke.

“Ms. Isabel, we’ve learned everything.”

At the young witch’s words, Isabel opened her closed eyes and nodded.

“Empire, as expected?”

“Yes. Apparently, Astral, the head of Sigma, came personally this time.”

“Remarkable.”

“Yeah! It’s so infuriating!”

“They know all too well that neither us nor them can afford an all-out war, so they’re doing this.”

Isabel clicked her tongue while looking at the bloody confession documents.

“The reason for treason—is it still the same?”

“Yes, they complained about how High City excessively restricted fief taxes and meddled in internal affairs. They also lamented that their children studying abroad in the Empire weren’t treated properly as nobles.”

“Fools. Do they think the reason they aren’t treated like nobles in the Empire is because they don’t indulge in luxury?”

Hearing the witch’s words, Isabel chuckled softly.

No matter how much luxury they indulged in, it would be useless. To the Empire, poor northerners were dirty barbarians, and wealthy northerners were just barbarians worth exploiting.

“What should we do?”

The witches involved in the torture asked Isabel.

“First of all, thank you all for your help again this time. It’s truly commendable how you follow my orders.”

To their question, Isabel began by expressing her gratitude.

“Hehehehe~ We rarely get the chance to use black magic, so we just rushed over.”

“Ah, I thought so.”

The atmosphere in the basement warmed up for the first time.

“Anyway, it seems we’ve caught pretty much every rat that could be found in both High City and the north.”

Isabel stood up abruptly. She rolled up her skirt hem to avoid getting it soaked in blood like last time.

“Just tell the knights outside to execute these 41 people here.”

“What about their families?”

“In case of nobility, demote them to commoners, and ensure that no one in their family holds important positions for three generations. The Frosthaven knights are already handling this, so don’t worry about it.”

“Eh?! Even though it’s treason, is that really enough?”

“It’s Her Highness’s command.”

“Ahh!”

“If more blood is shed, the knights and bureaucrats of High City will also be implicated through collective punishment.”

Confusion flickered across the witches’ faces upon hearing Isabel’s words.

The motto of the north was “double the grace, tenfold the vengeance.”

This treatment of the treason felt somewhat weak compared to that creed.

“Come to think of it, wasn’t the previous incident resolved similarly?”

“When most of the participants were commoners, I thought it was understandable, but this time it’s the same?”

“Something feels… not very northern-like!”

At the witches’ words, Isabel smiled slyly and responded.

“I think so too.”

– Because revenge only begets more revenge. And I’m partly responsible for disappointing them.

Naturally, she recalled Ariana’s words from before she arrived here.

“Where is Her Ladyship right now?”

Thinking of Ariana, Isabel asked the maid standing at the entrance of the basement.

“She’s at the training ground.”

“Let’s go there then.”

“Yes.”

As the order from the Grand Witch and governess fell, the maids waiting at the entrance quickly moved into action.

“Th…ank…you…so…much…”

“Thank you for giving us death…

“Most of all, thank you for sparing our unrelated families….”

Just as Isabel was about to leave the basement, the voices of the prisoners reached her ears.

“Thank not me, but Her Highness.”

Leaving behind a cold reply, Isabel exited the torture chamber.

Lenslet…! Rune… Lenslet…

Voices praising the mercy of Her Highness echoed eerily through the basement.

* * *

Recently, Ariana had been experiencing times akin to a rollercoaster ride in Earth terms.

It had been eventful, busy, and filled with intense despair and joy.

And now, after all the upheaval…

“How blue the sky is.”

She felt a peace and satisfaction that no one else in the world could envy.

Though the betrayal of trusted subordinates left deep scars on her soul, Arad appeared as a new connection to embrace her.

‘Arad… Arad…’

Ariana silently repeated the name of the man who had saved her and the north, gifting her the current peace.

Could he really be a messenger sent by the zealous Lord of Lenslet?

‘Such random thoughts popping up—I guess my focus is slipping a bit.’

Thinking of Arad, Ariana wiped her sweat with a linen towel placed in the training ground and lowered the sword she was holding.

“…”

Then, closing her eyes, she placed both hands on her lower dantian where her womb was located.

She could feel the creation of a mana core within her dantian, which had been empty until recently.

Of course, its size was that of a grain of rice, and its roots were short and thin.

Compared to her previous mana core, it was like taking the first steps in walking. Its growth rate seemed a bit slow too.

Still, Ariana couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction because the energy, shape, and transparency of the mana were on a completely different level than her past core.

“Arad.”

Upon reflection, this was also thanks to Arad.

Who exactly was he? Why was he helping her and the north so actively?

With his abilities and skills, he could easily receive a title higher than Duke in the Empire.

“Hmm…”

Just imagining if Arad hadn’t appeared in the north made her shoulders tremble involuntarily, as if she’d just experienced a terrible nightmare.

“Huff!”

To shake off these random thoughts, she raised her sword again and focused mana on the blade.

Swish swish swish

A white sword aura enveloped the blade.

‘The color of my mana changed after reconstructing my dantian.’

Ariana absentmindedly stared at the sword aura resembling Mary’s hair color.

Her previous mana and sword aura were sapphire blue, but now they were pure white like snow.

“Miss, have you finished your practice?”

At that moment, Isabel’s voice rang out.

“Yeah, Grandma. That’s enough for today.”

Ariana quickly withdrew her mana and replied.

The change in the duke’s mana and sword aura was a secret known to only a select few in High City.

Therefore, it was better not to show it unnecessarily often.

“I’ll have the maids prepare water for washing.”

“Thanks. And… is that done?”

Ariana cautiously asked Isabel.

Glancing at her clothes briefly, this time Isabel seemed to have taken care, keeping them relatively neat. Still, the strong scent of blood couldn’t be concealed.

“Yes. The content was largely the same as when we first interrogated them.”

“Is that so?”

Of course, Ariana herself had participated in the initial interrogation of the traitors.

From them, she heard raw resentment from people who had nothing left to lose.

-If you’re going to do this, why don’t you rule alone!!

-Whenever you send executioners to cut down the authority of lords!

-How can we feed, clothe, and train our fief armies with only a 20% tax rate? What about me! My house?!

-Taxes aren’t enough; involving yourself in tolls is going too far! Too far!

-Look, Duchess! Are we nobles? Do we have the blue blood of nobility?!

-I was afraid… Afraid that my children, my grandchildren would experience the same humiliations I faced when they studied in the Empire!

-O Great Duchess of the North! How much I hate you! How much we hate you!

It was resentment she understood fully, but certainly not respect-worthy.

Because of this, after the first day, she stopped attending the interrogations.

She simply swung her sword to calm her mind.

“…”

Dark memories resurfaced, causing a brief silence between Isabel and Ariana.

“Right! The draft of the Lenslet Order doctrine has just been completed and brought here.”

To shake off this heavy silence, Isabel shifted the topic to capture her mistress’s attention.

“Ah, already? Shall I take a look?”

Fortunately, Ariana showed interest, prompting Isabel to signal the maid behind her.

Thus, a maid waiting nearby quietly handed over the neatly compiled doctrine.

“To think the unified religion of the north, which failed despite all efforts, is being achieved so easily… It’s almost anticlimactic.”

Accepting the book, Ariana said with a somewhat deflated smile.

“All this is thanks to you, Miss, and the zealous Lords.”

“My merit? This is all thanks to Arad… him.”

“Even if Arad’s help was significant, if we hadn’t been prepared, we wouldn’t have been able to make use of it. So, you should have some pride, Miss.”

“But is that okay?”

“Of course it is.”

“That’s true. If preparing meant chanting ‘Lenslet Rune Lenslet,’ then it was preparation indeed.”

Though it was a self-deprecating remark, Ariana’s expression softened because Isabel’s words sounded good to her.

Frankly, the northern leadership, though not in detail, had a rough idea about the secrets of religion and divine power.

Thus, they had been trying to establish a single religion in the north since the days of Ariana’s grandfather.

But it never worked.

For the stubborn and rebellious northern people of Ebai, asking them to abandon their ancestral gods—even by the much-respected House of Lenslet—felt like saying, “Who do you think you are?”

Until this time, everything changed with Mary’s blessing.

Thanks to Arad’s PR or viral strategy—or whatever it was—things turned around completely.

While heading to the bathroom, she read the revised doctrines of the Lenslet Order.

Though it went against proper royal etiquette, she didn’t care.

Time was always short when balancing two identities and rigorous training.

“What are these three doctrines? They’re even listed as the primary ones.”

Reading through the doctrines, Ariana suddenly noticed an item that seemed rather random and asked about it.

“It’s a doctrine added by Sir Arad.”

“Added by Arad?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm… Understood.”

Though random, since it was from Arad, it must have had a reason.