Chapter 472

Chapter Ninety-Five: The “Innocent” Suffering from Vengeful Flames Part 2

“Since you are nobility, why do you still live hiding in the inner keep?” Safirol retorted, then waved his hand to the knights on either side holding the young man, “That’s enough, let him stand.”

The knights responded by loosening their grip and stepping back. The young nobleman rubbed his arms, calling out somewhat aggrievedly, “I-I couldn’t help it!”

“They… those demons are evil and powerful. My father led the guard troops in an assault, but none of them returned! They are like hungry ghosts; they, they… I was just too scared, I was terrified…”

“Coward.”

A knight spat at the young man’s feet.

The young man immediately changed his expression, about to burst into anger, but Safirol’s questioning interrupted him: “So, you let heretics into the city?”

The nobleman’s face froze, he quickly shouted, “No! It wasn’t me! It was the captain of the guard who let them in! He saw my father dead and privately conspired with the demons, opened the gate on his own accord, he had long betrayed the Silent Castle—”

“Where is the captain of the guard?”

“The knight commander, that person has already been killed by Miss Sylvie,” replied one of the knights.

Safirol nodded, pondered for a moment, and looked back at the nobleman, “I ask you, in this Silent Castle, are there only these people behind you left?”

“That’s right—”

The man’s expression turned furious, gritting his teeth as he said, “After the demons entered the city, they looted everywhere, killing anyone they encountered, even toddlers… I didn’t want them to continue killing, but I was powerless to resist, so I led my personal guards to surrender…”

He reached out towards a group of kneeling people behind him, “Many of them are civilians from nearby villages, who lost their land due to heavy rains, homeless, starving, and forced to endure the demons’ coercion… That demon leader, Wethemir, forced them to come to the Silent Castle to plunder food. Many did not want to, but if they didn’t, they would be killed…”

The rain seemed to grow heavier, the nobleman’s silk robe was thin, he trembled in the downpour, his voice also quivered, sounding rather pitiful.

I stood not far away, watching and listening.

The nobleman continued, “Sir Knight Commander, what can we do… We, we could only temporarily compromise, only temporary endurance could first save our lives, and once we have saved our lives, we will have a chance to fight back… But before we found such an opportunity, you, you broke through the city walls and rushed in, you cleared those damned demons, and the demon leader fled in the chaos… Respected Knight Commander, please allow me to praise your bravery, it was you who saved our lives, the Alanser family will remember your kindness!”

The nobleman finished speaking and bowed to Safirol.

The knight commander showed no emotion.

“Hmm?”

He sat atop the horned beast, looking down at the nobleman, tilting his head slightly, as if the corner of his mouth curled upwards.

“You mentioned the Alanser family… Then let me ask you again. Where are the other members of the Alanser family… your mother, uncles, brothers and sisters?”

“They…”

The nobleman paused, his expression dazed, then muttered, “They… all died at the hands of the demons… They were killed by the demons… Ah…”

He covered his face, crying uncontrollably.

At this moment, a knight hurried over on his beast to Safirol’s side, whispered something into his ear.

Due to the heavy rain, I couldn’t hear their conversation clearly.

I only saw Safirol’s face change slightly, the meaningful smile on his lips instantly vanished, his eyes, which were flickering, narrowed slightly, staring intently at the grieving nobleman with a murderous look in his eyes.

What happened?

I was puzzled, subconsciously guessing what might have occurred.

Was it… the knights found the bodies? Or… something else…

“Hey.”

Safirol called out to the other party, the nobleman raised his head, he then calmly asked, “You said everyone in the Alanser family died, where are the bodies?”

The nobleman’s sobs suddenly stopped.

Then he wiped away his tears, saying intermittently, “In, in the rear mountain, the demons threw… the bodies into the rear mountain…”

Safirol dismounted from his beast.

He walked in front of the nobleman, his expression shifting, staring intently at the man’s face, asking each word clearly, “Are you sure?”

“I, I… I thought—”

“Look me in the eye, what did you think?”

“I… I saw them being killed by the demons, I’m not lying…”

“I ask you, where are the bodies!?”

Safirol’s angry shout startled the nobleman, causing him to step back two paces. His gaze darted around, looking very nervous, he clenched his fists, “I, I don’t know! How would I know where the demons threw the bodies! I didn’t want to help them handle it… We are all victims…”

I noticed that while the nobleman was speaking, his eyes inadvertently glanced inside the open gate of the inner keep… What was he observing?

This person was likely a pampered noble child, too inexperienced in concealing and pretending, showing almost no guile, even I could see through his lies at a glance.

What was he trying to hide?

“Very well.”

Safirol nodded, ignoring him, walking past the nobleman to stand in front of the crowd of kneeling people in the square.

“You!” he loudly demanded, “You! Is there anyone here who wants to say something to me?”

“You!”

The knight commander randomly pointed at a villager in the front row and asked, “Do you have anything to say?”

The man frantically shook his head, “My lord, I know nothing… They told me what to do, I didn’t know…”

“And you!”

Safirol pointed at another person.

“My lord, I, I am guilty… but I was coerced by the demons, I couldn’t help it… I beg the mercy of the gods…”

“What is your crime!”

“I, I assisted the demons, providing them with spare arrows during your siege…”

“Anything else!”

“No, my lord… ”

Huddled together, not just from cold or fear, his body trembled violently, his posture extremely submissive.

Saphiros ceased his interrogation.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. Those kneeling lowered their heads, no one daring to meet his eyes.

“You all seem quite in sync,” the knight captain sneered.

He walked back to the nobleman, looking him in the eye and spoke slowly, “There are two reasons for your synchronicity.”

“The first reason is that you are truly just a group of innocent people who know nothing. After the disaster victims entered the city, they behaved properly, did nothing, and knew nothing… The heretics were very merciful. Seeing how kind you all were, they felt moved and allowed you to stay in the city temporarily, provided food for you, and took good care of you.”

“As for you, your family was killed. When it was your turn, the heretics suddenly had a change of heart and realized that killing was wrong, so they spared your life. Seeing how pitiful you were, they provided food for you to live well… Look at your clothes; they are even clean. When we found you, your hair was neatly combed… Now it’s all messed up from the rain, showing that those heretics treated you much better than us. You didn’t suffer, right?”

The knight captain gently patted the man’s cheek.

“In fact, the demons you speak of have a compassionate heart and are willing to accommodate starving disaster victims. Even after they committed murder here, they didn’t want the disaster victims, or you, to be stained with blood… All evil deeds were done by those demons. You were well protected by them, so you really did nothing and knew nothing, hence you all remained silent.”

Saphiros looked at the trembling nobleman, his eyes narrowing, his cold smile intensifying.

“Is this first scenario… possible? You tell me.”

“…”

The nobleman remained silent.

The knight captain glanced at him for a moment, then extended two fingers.

“So, the second reason.”

His fingers pointed at the nobleman’s nose, then swept toward the kneeling crowd behind him.

“You, all of you… each and every one of you, did something that the demons recognized, which is why they accepted you. I guess it was an extremely detestable act, contrary to human ethics… yes, something that fits the heretical style. And now, you want to cover up such facts. None of you dare speak the truth because everyone is a co-conspirator, which is why you are still alive. Facing me, you can only remain silent.”

“Hey.”

Saphiros waved his hand in front of the dazed nobleman.

“Do you think it’s this first scenario? Or do you think I would believe it’s the other one?”

“…”

“…Not saying anything?”

“Fine, I’ll ask you two more questions.”

“First, our knights have just discovered that the granary in the city was almost emptied, leaving only a little wheat, coarse flour, and potatoes. However, when the knights checked the castle kitchen, they found out that you had meat for your last meal. Yes, there were also remnants of meat soup in some bowls on the walls, towers, and dining tables inside the castle. How do you explain that?”

“I don’t know… I don’t know…” the nobleman trembled, shaking his head repeatedly, “I really don’t know… It wasn’t me, I didn’t eat meat…”

Saphiros patted his shoulder and let out a cold laugh.

“Tsk, you’re practically confessing… Don’t worry, I haven’t finished yet… So, the second question. Where are the elderly, women, and children in this castle?”

As the knight captain spoke, his gaze wandered around the square, observing those kneeling in the pouring rain, trembling with fear.

“Your family members are all dead, so… what about their families?”

“Where are their women, children, and parents? Are they all dead too?”

“How coincidental, don’t you think…”

!!!

Saphiros’ words, though muffled by the rain, hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I turned my head to look at the crowd. Only then did I realize — all those kneeling here, including those who died in the previous chaos, were all young and strong men. The oldest might not even be forty. There were no elderly, women, or children!

Could it be…

My back grew cold, a sense of incredulity rising in my heart. I widened my eyes, looking at the silent bald man beside me, “Isaac…”

From the side, Saphiros roared, “Speak!”

Boom—

Suddenly, a muffled explosion came from inside the castle, causing the ground beneath our feet to tremble slightly.

What happened!

Are there still enemies?

I immediately became alert.

Clang clang clang—

The surrounding knights drew their swords, and the crowd kneeling in the rain erupted into chaos. Some tried to stand up and run but were quickly pinned down by the vigilant knights. The nobleman also attempted to escape but was grabbed by Saphiros by the back of his collar and thrown to the ground like a chicken.

The knight captain shouted, “Why are you running! What are you running for—”

“Watch these people. Anyone who tries to escape will be killed!”

Isaac gave orders to the knight beside him and then headed towards the inner castle. I hurriedly followed, taking out the leather case from my bag and preparing to take out Captain Gray. I noticed several knights rushing out from the main gate of the inner castle.

“What’s going on?” Isaac approached and asked.

“Sir Isaac, there’s a large cellar at the rear of the inner castle,” the leading knight reported with a solemn expression, “It seems to be a prison where we found many women, girls, and… bones.”

“Why was there an explosion?”

“Just some rats guarding the cellar. They tried to kill everyone inside when they were discovered but have been subdued now.”

“Take me to see it.”

As Isaac spoke, he was about to step into the inner castle’s main gate, but the leading knight hesitated, “Sir Isaac, perhaps you should let the nuns responsible for medical care go first.”