**Chapter Ninety-Nine: Tea and Water at Moonlit Lake, Pine Forest Night (Part One)**
“Captain of Knights, I have to accuse Kevin Alanster of his crimes.”
The Lady turned to the Captain of Knights, her voice hoarse and choked, tear-streaked face cold and resolute. “On that day, those invading outsiders stormed the castle with refugees; Kevin Alanster led some soldiers to surrender first and assisted the outsiders in the cruel acts of looting, gathering food, killing, and dismemberment. He even revealed and ordered the sealing of the secret escape passage within the castle, resulting in no one being able to escape…”
“Mom—”
The Young Man cried out in despair.
But Lady Alanster paid no attention. “Kevin Alanster was the mastermind behind these atrocities. He was obedient to the Heretics and under their command, killed three maids who had served the Alanst family for over a decade and feasted upon their flesh. He later voluntarily drank the bl**d of a Demon as proof of his allegiance to the Heretics, gaining the power of demonic fire.”
“To curry favor with the invaders, Kevin Alanster organized the refugees to slaughter the elderly and children within the castle, including his own grandfather, the father of Lord Alanster. The bodies of the elderly were discarded on the mountainside, left to rot, while the dead children became the meal for new recruits of the Heretics just days later.”
“All young females and even underage girls within the castle were detained by Kevin Alanster and his rebel guards under the Heretics’ directive, tightly guarded in the dungeon. Kevin informed the Heretics of my and my daughter’s identities, leading to our confinement in a special cell where we were violated and abused for days. During this process, Kevin also participated, repeatedly assaulting his own sister with the Heretics until the noble Knights rescued us.”
“That is the full account of Kevin Alanster’s crimes.”
With that, Lady Alanster finished her statement.
Taking a deep breath, tears welling up, she finally turned her gaze towards her son, whose face was ashen.
“Additionally, as the matriarch of House Alanster, I hereby declare Kevin Alanster disowned from House Alanster and stripped of all rights to inherit the Silent Fortress. After Kevin’s d*ath, his tombstone and inscription shall not be returned to the Alanst family, nor shall he be buried in the Alanst family cemetery.”
The nobleman named Kevin had long since lost strength in his legs, barely able to stand with assistance from two knights. He looked at his mother’s icy, resolute expression, tears streaming down his face, lips trembling, making muffled sounds as if he wanted to argue, but nothing came out.
“To know but not act is folly; to act but lack courage is cowardice. The Alanst family may not be adept in warfare, but we must have the courage to take responsibility. You have committed such crimes; you must face the consequences… Kevin, this is the last lesson I can teach you.”
……..
As night fully descended, the executions began.
Following Safiros’s interrogations, with testimonies from the tormented women, every man who survived in the castle, without exception, had, under the Heretics’ guidance, killed their own kin, slaughtered innocent old and young, cooked the flesh of the deceased, and imprisoned and humiliated the young women of the castle, subjecting them to all sorts of tortures…
These survivors had violated the Church’s established “crimes against humanity” and were meant to be executed by hanging. However, due to the excessive number of offenders and insufficient gallows in the castle, they opted for beheading instead—a form of mercy.
Under the dim light of the moon, the executions took place, with heads rolling and a chorus of muffled cries filling the air.
The convicted refugees knelt in a row on the platform, knights behind them holding their swords high. At a command from the Captain, swords swiftly severed necks, bl**d spraying into the mist, pooling into a crimson river that flowed to the grass beyond.
Decapitated bodies softened and fell, quickly dragged away by cart, while the Captain ordered the next batch of offenders onto the platform. The trembling condemned were herded up by knights wielding pikes; some could barely walk, collapsing onto the platform, kneeling in front of the executioner, seemingly paralyzed by fear. One man, around thirty, began to wail loudly.
The heart-wrenching cries seemed to irritate the Captain; he pointed at the assembled offenders with a smirk, sneering, “If you could eat people, what else is there to fear?!”
With that, he raised his arm. “Prepare—”
“Execute!”
And yet again, heads fell like autumn leaves, bl**d splattering everywhere.
Outside the execution site, the violated women leaned against the windows of the inner castle, some standing silently beneath the fortress towers, watching. Some laughed, some clapped madly, while others clenched their fists in prayer, tears silently sliding down their cheeks.
Under the night sky, bodies were carted away from the execution ground to the pit of corpses discovered on the mountainside, their heads and bodies tossed together to rest with those they had killed.
I saw the nobleman named Kevin also brought to the execution platform; under Safiros’s orders, he was beheaded. It was hard to articulate my feelings—an uncomfortable tightness in my chest, a sense of powerlessness. I couldn’t summon sadness for the deaths of those before me; nor did I feel compelled to cheer. Just like the excuses they constructed for themselves, everyone here—victims, including those stripped of their humanity—all shared in the suffering.
Clowns.
Clowns.
Clowns.
I murmured the word thrice in my mind before turning away from the execution ground.
“Hey, Short Stuff!”
Upon reaching the gate of the inner castle, I heard Isaac call from behind me, and I turned around.
The bald giant, clad in golden armor, led a throng of knights emerging from the rain, the rumble of iron echoing, halting before me.
“What happened?”
The bald head inquired. I gestured towards the execution site. “They’re beheading.”
“…All of them?”
“Yep.”
“d*mn…”
Isaac muttered.
I looked up and asked, “What about you? Didn’t find the Heretic leader?”
Isaac shook his head lightly, spitting on the ground.
“That son of a g*n ran too fast. I followed the footprints of the secret passage and killed quite a few Heretics along the way, but that Weithermill—he was on the walls throwing fireballs at us. That b*stard… being behind such inhumane deeds must mean he’s a real clown’s follower.”
Since he was a clown’s person…
“Then we’ll meet eventually.”
We will k*ll them.
“When that time comes, I’ll twist off his head, and that little clown too, chop off their bits to feed the dogs, or my heart will never be at ease…” Isaac scratched his bald head. “Enough said. Our knights and the Faith Organization have nearly all entered the city; the last batch is just outside. The Pope is also there. I have to report the situation here. How about you, Short Stuff? Care to join me?”
“No, thanks.” I shook my head, pointing towards the castle entrance. “I’m going to see the Nuns, see if I can help.”
“Oh, thanks for your hard work.”
After my brief exchange with the bald head, I entered the inner castle.
Those women rescued from the dungeon, only a few lucky ones with mild injuries could go and witness the execution. The majority struggled to walk, now relegated to various rooms on the first and second floors of the castle, organized by the Nuns for temporary medical treatment.
Nuns had set up tents in the hall on the first floor, filled with medical supplies and instruments. Many Nuns were busy sorting and watching over these supplies. I wasn’t knowledgeable about healing but strolled over to ask if there were any simple errands I could run. The Nuns, seeing me, were somewhat awkward; how would they dare assign the esteemed Pope Knight to such trivial tasks? But they had no choice but to ask me to deliver some anti-inflammatory herbs.
I carried a bowl of dark herbal concoction, following the Nuns’ directions toward the designated room. From a distance, I could hear the pained moaning of a woman. As I reached the door, the sounds grew clearer. I pushed open the slightly ajar door, and my eyes immediately fell on a girl lying on a straw mat, desperately arching her body in struggle.
Her mouth was gagged, eyes bloodshot, her dress hiked up. In a quick glance, I saw her lower half was a mess of bloody wounds—clearly infected and festering.
The woman—or rather the girl—was writhing in unbearable pain. The Nuns seemed unable to hold her down, calling upon two knights to help. One held her legs, and the other her arms, allowing two Nuns to disinfect her wounds with alcohol. They seemed surprised to see me enter; one of them was familiar—the knight who had guided me earlier.
But there was no time for pleasantries. I quickly stepped forward, handing over the herbs to the Nuns, who started applying them to the girl’s wounds. The pain continued unabated, the girl twisting and turning violently, at times almost knocking the bowl over. It seemed the fabric in her mouth loosened slightly.
“Don’t… save me…”
“Let… me d*e…”
Muffled words, I caught the girl saying that.
Tears streamed down her face.
After a while, once the Nuns finished applying the medicine, the girl fell unconscious, no longer resisting. A Cleric came to cast a healing miracle over her, and only then did I step out with the knights, heading toward the hall.
“That girl, I heard she’s also from House Alanster. I don’t know her name—perhaps a distant relative. She’s only nineteen this year,” the guiding knight walked beside me, finally breaking the silence, looking up as if to sigh about something, “This land has been managed by House Alanster for centuries over a radius of three hundred kilometers.”
I turned to look at him.
The knight forced a stiff smile. “I heard that a long time ago, this place was a barren wasteland. It was the Alanst family that spent centuries transforming it into a beautiful and prosperous land. The pine forest we passed through was their painstaking handiwork.”
“The people of House Alanster have always loved peace and shunned conflict. I heard that the girls here are crafty, able to sing and dance, and many renowned florists, dancers, and landscape masters emerged from House Alanster, out of the Silent Fortress. They made this once-neglected place famous; everyone longed for the pine forests and lakes sung in the songs, with tea and moonlight… I’m no exception.”
“I once dreamed of visiting the Silent Fortress as a knight one day, standing on the high walls as in song, gazing at the beauty and prosperity of this land, falling in love with the beautiful, shy girls of House Alanster…”
“Such beautiful dreams are unlikely to come true now.”
The knight said, turning to look at me, a hint of apology on his face. “Sorry, Silvya; I’m feeling a bit off—it’s hard to hold back the thoughts.”
“It’s alright.”
I gently shook my head.
Unknowingly, the cries from outside had ceased.
