Hero’s Downfall Report

42 – Devotion with the Sword (17)

“As always, he poured painful words on me. However, I knew he wouldn’t be there. My father would be either in the imperial capital or at the headquarters of the White Blood Knights. Then, the shadow changed.”

“How?”

Instead of answering, Lily pulled Cain even tighter. As if afraid it would disappear if she let go.

“…An agent, lying dead next to my father. He resented me even in death. He shouted that he was dying because of me.

But I knew. That on the other side of the shadow, he was clashing with the knights of the Crimson Blade. I knew he would continue to resist even in this moment of fear. I believed he wouldn’t give up. Then the shadow shifted a little.

I saw him fighting the knight. The familiar fear and terror hadn’t completely disappeared, but just seeing him still fighting there, just knowing he was alive, you can’t imagine how relieved I was…”

“Lily. I…”

“You suffered and endured, didn’t you?”

Lily’s lips touched Cain’s forehead. In the warmth of a living person, Cain lost his words. The blurry and soft sensation filling his entire face made him reluctant to let go.

“Did you truly love that woman?”

Lily’s heart pounded fiercely. Like tearing open a letter that had to be opened despite the pain. But before she could say anything, Lily laughed.

“Even if it wasn’t because of the mission, would you have loved me?”

It felt like coercion. It seemed to be opening an escape route. Tell me it wasn’t true. Run away. The door is open, isn’t it? Like Beatrice did, Lily also opened a way to escape. Quickly, say it’s not true.

“It was because of the mission. It was because of the mission.”

Lily matched her lips to mine.

As if saying, let’s not talk about it anymore, let’s bury it down there. Like sealing it, pressing it deep into the corridor. Lily whispered with a gasp.

“That’s enough if it was about the mission. It was just a mission, wasn’t it? You didn’t intend for it. It was an accident. Just an accident.”

The dead woman in the ground. The living woman on top. The heart of the dead woman doesn’t beat. The chest of the living woman is warm.

Lily separated herself. She was trying to smile awkwardly. Cain also forced a smile. It was the most difficult smile.

“From now on, just be happy.”

– From now on, just be happy. Right, Kyros?

The voice of the dead woman echoed. Cain nodded. It was one answer for the two voices. Even with a heart chained, somehow, it might be possible to move forward.

Lily, who had become kinder, matched her lips again. It was much warmer and more intimate than before. As if probing through Cain’s middle with her fingers, she gently stroked the heart area with her palm.

“Yeah. Just be happy from now on…”

That should work. Cain tried hard to think. Yes. That’s what should happen. Cain shook his arm. The rope was still tied.

“But to be happy, you have to hold onto happiness. But my arms and legs are tightly bound… Could you please untie this? I want to go to the bathroom.”

Lily laughed with a chuckle. When she let down her headband, her wavy blonde hair fluttered. Lily untied Cain’s gown and revealed the upper body. She ran her fingers from between the breasts to the sternum. Above the navel, she twirled her fingers around.

“Please let me go to the bathroom.”

Cain laughed out loud. But Lily didn’t laugh. She was twisting one corner of her mouth.

“What kind of joke is that?”

“A joke? Is it like a joke?”

The twisted laughter disappeared altogether. The affectionate face became colder than ever. It was the coldest expression among the faces she had seen so far.

“I’m sorry. I’m a narrow-minded woman. But… what makes me a little angry is beyond my control. So, while grabbing the struggling arms and legs, kissing each bruise one by one, untangling with my hands, wiping every corner of the body with a towel… you were dreaming of a dead woman.”

“It was a nightmare. If it were a good dream, you would have appeared.”

Although he casually brushed it off, Lily still didn’t smile.

“I was most scared and fearful of losing you. You, on the other hand, seem more afraid of a dead woman coming back to life from the grave.”

Resentment filled Lily’s eyes. Like someone who has never been confirmed in her place by the person she loves. But Cain tilted his head.

“It was the same then. It’s the same now. I’ll protect you, and I’ll somehow save you. I know I’ll do that. That’s why I’m not afraid.”

“Is it because of the mission? Or is it because of the heart?”

“Are you telling me to see you get hurt?”

Lily’s hand moved to Cain’s neck. She gently stroked his cheek with her thumb, and then touched the pulse on the side of his neck.

“Am I a precious agent?”

“Of course.”

“Then.” Lily smiled sadly. “Am I a precious person?”

“Yeah.”

Lily approached. She whispered in Cain’s ear.

“Can I… be as important as that woman? Do I have a place in your heart, a qualification to stay?”

“More. Much more important. And…” Cain took a breath. “You are already special to me. You saved my life, took care of me last night, and if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have survived.”

“But. Why don’t you… give it to me?”

Lily backed away. She turned her body as cold as her tone. Whether it was a blurred speech or something she didn’t understand, Cain couldn’t tell.

“Let me go.”

Lily looked at Cain. Her eyes were wide open.

“What did you say?”

“Please, store, do, it.”

Cain repeated the request in a rhythmic manner.

Lily approached, sporting a satisfied smile. She untied the knot on his wrist, being careful to loosen it slowly to avoid any discomfort. There were slight marks, but it wasn’t painful.

Lily proceeded to untie his left ankle. However, she left the right one untouched, stood up, straightened the loose robe, and draped a cloak over it, standing in front of the door. She grabbed the doorknob but instead of turning it, she turned her body towards Cain. Her lips quivered, but she remained silent.

“Brother, someone like her has a deep and fiery soul. But once you turn your back, she won’t look back. Do you understand that about a woman with such a personality?”

Was it Voi’s words? Or was it Bomi’s? Cain recalled the words from the past. The knot was easily untied. After a moment of contemplation, Cain casually put on his coat. It wasn’t too late to follow Lily.

* * * * *

Cain returned weapons and black clothes to the guard barracks.

He didn’t forget to write a brief progress report and hand it over to the well-groomed sergeant.

Although he acquired a diary, he mentioned that it would take time to decipher it due to the encrypted content. He also wrote about receiving a recommendation for a key figure in the organization from a reliable source.

However, he stated that he would inform them precisely about the extent of collaboration and the nature of the person after conducting further investigation. Reports from the guard should only focus on the current situation.

What was completed is completed, and what is in progress is in progress. The report on the fall of purity had to be sent along with the decrypted diary.

The guard provided him with merchant clothes. He returned the extravagant merchant attire to the luggage and returned it to the security bureau branch. Wearing it now would be risky as it had already been exposed.

While returning to the branch, he also picked up the bag he had left. Inside were relics salvaged from the Otranto Monastery to be handed over to Sister Heinrich.

At the agreed-upon location, Cain and Lily met the inquisitor Heinrich, wearing a straw hat.

Heinrich didn’t pretend to know. He slightly tilted his head. It was a signal to follow. They entered a clothing store, seemingly empty. The three took a seat at a reception table.

“It’s hot,” Heinrich took off his hat. “It’s a good place for a confidential conversation. The store owner and I have a distant relationship. Leaving that aside…”

A nun I saw in the adjacent room came out. She had dark chestnut hair. There were no visible wounds. Her footsteps were still light, and her stride was small.

Under the bright light, a deep shadow fell beneath her fierce and fierce gaze.

Beneath her stout nose, there were cynical, thin, and long lips. It was an impression that seemed dangerous, as if she would laugh mockingly even if she were hanging on a professor’s podium.

“I am Inquisitor Maria. A remarkable young woman, with many talents, and even before being officially appointed as an Inquisitor, she was highly regarded as an outstanding investigator. If it weren’t for Maria, the Usher Viscount case would not have been resolved.”

Cain nodded. Judging solely by the skills and dexterity she showed last night, she was undoubtedly an exceptional thief.

Taking the original documents of the Usher family was also Maria’s skill.

“Nice to meet you.”

Maria clicked her tongue. She seemed more like a street ruffian in a nun’s habit than a polite nun.

Naturally, she didn’t have particularly good feelings towards Cain. However, Cain and Lily still greeted her politely.

“And she is my daughter.”

Lily grabbed Cain’s hand tightly under the desk. She looked quite surprised. Inquisitor Maria stared at Heinrich as if she had heard something she couldn’t believe, but she didn’t say anything.

“…So you can rest assured about trust. But I think it’s about time to introduce… the investigator. This is a trustworthy place, so I will honestly tell you. You may have heard it yesterday, but His Holiness the Pope intends to simply cover up all of this.

Judge Malachia also knows that it is wrong, but his position is too high to actively do something. When your position is high, there are many eyes watching you.”

“But isn’t Father Heinrich also a high-ranking official?”

Heinrich burst into laughter at Cain’s question.

“High-ranking Inquisitors have some leeway. They can form their own investigation teams. And there are no limits to the scope of an Inquisitor’s investigation. Theoretically, no one can escape the suspicion of heresy…

But I won’t wield it recklessly, for fear of abuse. So…there’s nothing strange about ‘dispatching’ an investigator.”

Even so, the commotion last night was completely unnecessary. And I gave the orders, so I apologize for that.”

Heinrich bowed politely.

Cain was perplexed. Wasn’t it just this morning that they were fighting each other as if they were going to kill each other? Maria glanced at Cain and Lily coldly. Cain calmed them down and was able to hear the details.

Late last night, after Cain and Lily had returned, a letter arrived from the Papal Office. It instructed to compile all data on the seven heroes and prepare to send it to the Papal Office.

The reason was to proceed with the procedure for ‘Purification,’ and everything needed to be ‘actively and meticulously reviewed.’ Remarkably, they even mentioned sending someone directly to the carriage.

That wasn’t all. Haspel’s office was set to extract all the information. After all, the person who had gone to the scene of the ambush of the chaste knight William was among them.

Even this morning, a secretary from the Papal Office had arrived. They mentioned sealing Haspel’s office.

“Why go to such lengths?”

“The report on the destruction of the Otranto Monastery has reached the Papal Office.”

Heinrich explained slowly. Along with the letter, another one had arrived, containing more explicit and vivid contents.

Only the Inquisition knows specifically how the Otranto Blockade Monastery was destroyed.

However, the fact of its destruction itself is known to the Order of Mercy and the Papal Office. When there was no news, they sent their own investigators, and the ruins welcomed them warmly.

“Among those who entered my office yesterday, there are those who zealously follow His Holiness more than the Order. I can’t specify who, but I know that someone secretly sent a letter last night. Perhaps His Holiness will receive intelligence around this evening.

Even Grand Inquisitor Malachias is aware of this matter. After consulting with the head of the Inquisition, he concluded that it would be better to submit a proper report than to put up vague information or ambiguously conceal it.

And I will be the one writing that report. Because I was the first to hear about the downfall of the Otranto Monastery and the one who greeted both of you. And I have no intention of including anything about Haspel’s investigation. His ‘personal’ investigation is merely at the internal stage and will not be made public.”

It was a subtle statement.

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Believing Haspel’s suspicions as they were, it was an evasive maneuver, concealing it from the Papal Office, without feeling any conscience about the fact or abandoning the duty of obedience to superiors.

“So. Before all the information goes to the Papal Office, we need to hurry and complete a proper investigation. Especially since the matter is not yet over.”

“That was Father Haspel’s words. What exactly does that mean?”

“Demon King.”

Heinrich lowered his voice. Maria’s eyes also sparkled with curiosity.