Chapter 27

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter Title: The Super Shy Kid is Looking for Dad 124

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"......Wait a minute."

As soon as Valentis finished speaking, Veil rose from his seat.

Raoul and Enzo pushed their chairs back as well.

As if ready to bolt the moment something went down.

Veil turned to the Lumen family with a calm expression.

"We have no idea what you're talking about. Sanctity of Oblivion? Never heard of it."

But Valentis offered no reply.

He simply drained the half-full glass of wine.

Tiye instinctively grasped the situation.

'The Grand Commander knows!'

She hurriedly shoved her hand under the table.

And slipped the Sanctity of Oblivion from her wrist up into her sleeve.

'He knows Tiye has the sacred artifact...!'

And that wasn't all.

'The Sanctity of Oblivion doesn't work on me.'

He seemed to remember everything, including the fact that Tiye had tried to erase his memory.

'Wh-what do I do...?'

Her heart began to pound fiercely.

Tiye looked at Basto with frightened eyes.

Now that her possession of the sacred artifact was exposed, would the Grand Commander try to take it back from her?

They'd always said the church would seize it if it was discovered.

'Then was that lie about showing us the organization chart too...?'

What if he'd really just called them here to arrest Tiye as a thief...!

That was when her mounting worries reached a peak.

"All byproducts from demon stone sieges must be reported to the church by principle."

Valentis spoke in a low, clipped voice.

He was now staring straight at the standing Veil.

"Especially special forms of spoils like sacred artifacts—they're under even stricter control. If you've obtained one, you must report it to the church and surrender it voluntarily. Otherwise, you'll be punished for blasphemy."

"What? We didn't know anything about that...!"

"Ignorance doesn't excuse canon law."

Valentis cut Veil off.

Then continued in an emotionless tone.

"Talochium is a nation ruled in the name of God. Canon law supersedes national law, and those who violate it are punished. No exceptions for accomplices or those who turn a blind eye."

In the end, silence blanketed the banquet hall.

Tiye glanced around in the stifling quiet where not even breathing could be heard.

Raoul and Enzo had already stood from their seats.

The black-haired one at the far end had been staring solely at Tiye for a while now.

Soon, Veil muttered a silent curse and eyed the three young lords across from him sharply.

Tiye could tell at once from that look.

'This is bad.'

That was the glint Veil got only when turning dire situations around.

So right now, Veil was plotting how to deal with the three Lumen brothers and the duke to get them out of the mansion.

Just like when he'd punched Reginald in the jaw!

"But I..."

However, Valentis spoke up again then.

He slowly turned his head, his inscrutable gray eyes fixing on Tiye.

"Have decided to become an accomplice in this matter instead of reporting you to the church."

In the frozen air.

Tiye's widely opened eyes blinked as her lips parted.

"Bear Hat...? Bear Hat knows...? Uwup."

Basto clapped a hand over Tiye's mouth in a flash.

"What does that mean?"

At that moment, Basto's heart was racing wildly.

And for good reason—he was prepared to scoop up Tiye and leap out the window at Veil's signal.

Blasphemy was a charge you never got tangled in, no matter what.

So when that word left the Grand Commander's lips, the mercenaries exchanged quick glances.

They'd resolved to escape the mansion, even if it meant bloodshed.

Of course, making enemies of the Lumen family was as good as a death sentence.

But.

'We have to get out first to smuggle Tiye away or whatever.'

But what had the Grand Commander just said?

Not "I'll report you to the church."

Not "I'll handle it internally."

"I'll become an accomplice"?

At Valentis's gesture, the butler brought over several thick bundles of tied documents.

"You must know this already. The Holy Knight Order's total organization chart is a church secret. It must never be shown to outsiders."

The butler plunked the materials down next to Tiye with a thud.

"But I have no intention of breaking my promise. Does this answer your concerns?"

Yet the silence in the banquet hall lingered stubbornly.

Meanwhile, Valentis's gaze settled plainly on Tiye.

"It probably won't be quick. So."

"......"

"Eat your fill first, then take your time searching for your father. It can take days."

Basto's hand slowly slipped from Tiye's mouth.

Tiye stared at Valentis in bewilderment.

The Grand Commander's sea-blue eyes didn't look like those of a liar.

The child asked cautiously.

"Th-then... is it okay for Tiye to keep the bracelet...?"

He was really going to overlook the fact that she had the Sanctity of Oblivion?

Valentis nodded.

"Yes. I promise it won't leak from my side."

"Even though Tiye tricked you, you'll show us the organization chart?"

"......Tricked me. You could see it that way, but in the end, it doesn't matter. As I said earlier, the Sanctity of Oblivion had no effect on me."

Tiye shut her mouth.

She hesitated a long while before adding her final question.

"'Cause Tiye's pitiful?"

Valentis stiffened briefly.

A flicker of surprise crossed the three young lords' faces opposite.

Tiye glanced hesitantly at her mercenaries, then asked again.

"You helpin' 'cause Tiye has no mom or dad an' it's sad?"

Valentis didn't answer.

He merely looked at her with an odd glint in his eye before replying after a long pause.

"No."

Then, as if nothing had happened, he lifted his wine glass again and added.

"To ease my own selfish guilt. Not because of you."

After the meal.

The Agaveert group moved to the grand conference hall, where the same bundles of documents from the banquet were laid out before them.

"This is the Holy Knight Order's total organization chart."

Tiye, with Basto to her right and Veil to her left, drew a short breath.

"Bound in eight volumes total. The first, second, and third cover knights affiliated with Talochium."

Tiye listened intently to the butler's explanation.

The old man had even placed blank paper and charcoal beside her for notes before stepping back.

"Then."

The conference hall door shut with a thud.

A few seconds later, Raoul exhaled the breath he'd been holding.

"Wh-what the hell is going on here...!"

The other mercenaries found it just as hard to believe.

As if speaking for them, Tiye was the only one who had properly enjoyed the meal back at the banquet.

Tension had ruined everyone's appetite.

"Not surrendering the artifact could've gotten us slapped with blasphemy?"

As expected, Basto voiced the question.

Enzo shook his head, claiming ignorance.

"No! Well, thinking about it... I'm not sure."

Sacred artifacts emerging from demon stones were exceedingly rare—countable on one hand.

Most had been found by Holy Knights, with only one instance by mercenaries.

"When Treibaga found theirs, they surrendered it to the church right away..."

So no one had anticipated that secretly keeping one would be such a grave "crime."

"Damn it, how the hell were we supposed to know about canon law or whatever!"

Veil snapped irritably.

As he said, it was unreasonable to expect laypeople uninvolved with knights or the faithful to know canon law.

"Why scare the kid with blasphemy threats, anyway..."

Blasphemy—the charge reserved solely for those who mocked or defied the divine.

Convicts were customarily transported to the central continent.

And none ever returned.

Only rumors swirled of their agonizing ends under horrific punishments.

"Anyway, the Lumen Grand Commander said he'd look the other way."

At Raoul's words, Enzo nodded.

"Right. I don't know exactly what 'becoming an accomplice' means, but..."

In the end, they all fell silent.

At the close of the quiet, Basto sighed and looked at Tiye.

"Tiye. You okay...?"

But by then, Tiye had already flipped to the third page of the documents.