### Chapter 14: Dinner Party (Part One)
About an hour ticked by as I patiently sat in front of the cell, listening to the Knight Commander babble on and on. His story was a rollercoaster of emotions, swinging wildly from excitement to rage. He started off a little hesitant, but eventually, all his pent-up thoughts came flooding out like a dam bursting.
Perhaps he had been carrying the heavy baggage of inner turmoil—the constant tug-of-war between good and evil—and had longed for someone like me to come along and lend an ear to his unchecked ramblings.
Throughout the whole ordeal, I barely interrupted him.
When the Knight Commander finally had his emotional outpouring in the rearview mirror, I casually chimed in, “I remember you mentioned that Angel hasn’t shown up in ages. What’s up with that?”
After venting all his frustrations, he seemed to fall into a daze, staring blankly into the darkness beyond the bars. It took a moment for him to muster a response: “I don’t know…”
“Don’t know?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Ah…”
He looked utterly defeated and his eyes were wandering. It was hard to tell what he was thinking, but he muttered, “The inner city of the Holy City has been sealed off for six months now. In the entire Abedoria archdiocese… aside from the occasional secret orders flying around, there’s been no news whatsoever.”
“The Pope, Cardinal Elena, even those upper-crust folks in the Holy Templars Council—none of them have shown their faces in public for what feels like forever…”
“So what you’re saying is…”
I took a moment to think and asked, “Angel and the others have been stuck in the Holy City Diocese for the last six months? Not a single step out?”
“Probably…”
The man didn’t sound too sure about it.
I pressed on, “So the prison keeping the Mother Deity captive, the Chain of Divine Lock you mentioned, is it also in this Diocese of yours?”
“Mm-hmm.”
He nodded.
Okay, now things were starting to seem a tad ominous.
“How chaotic is the Church on the inside right now?”
I was trying to untangle my muddled thoughts, thinking that Angel’s side was simply struggling to cope with the current mess. But if what the Knight Commander said was true, they were clearly in over their heads.
No wonder the Second Knights Order made cozy with the outlandish merchant nobles, boldly exploiting the southern borders of Silgaya under the guise of the Holy City’s tax laws. The knights were all about indulgence, and their “break it and buy a new one” mentality was stronger than ever. If this happened a few years back, the Commander’s head would probably be rolling by now.
“How chaotic?”
The Knight Commander chuckled ironically at my question.
This time, however, he wasn’t mocking me: “Those who are avoiding matters avoid matters; those who are raking in cash rake in cash; and those who are trying to do both are at each other’s throats. The Church’s court is practically a joke, judges and nobles are in cahoots; violating doctrines is no longer something to fear. The Rossius family has practically swallowed the entire Currency Exchange, and thanks to lack of oversight, they’ve finally revealed their long-hidden fangs…”
“Now there are only a handful of fools left who still want to do things right, stuck in this increasingly rotten quagmire, unable to make any progress… It’s been a whole year since we tried to get the news agency back on its feet, but no one wants to touch that hot potato… All these so-called ‘Saint Georges’ have been acting like they’re on a treasure hunt, only to end up hunting down skilled women in the end…”
His words dripped with an undertone of hopelessness.
Perhaps mounting a grand expedition to the Empire was all he had left.
But really—
Not long after, I shot him my final question.
“Where’s the Romani Doctor?”
…………
Stepping out of the cell, I spotted Aunt Bella waiting outside. She understood I didn’t want anyone overhearing our little tête-à-tête. After I emerged, she summoned the hunters on duty back and led me out of camp without a single extra question.
“Aunt Bella.”
Before leaving, I advised her, “Have the hunters of the Shanter Army keep an eye out. Once I return, we can’t let too many outsiders get wind of this.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Aunt Bella nodded.
As dusk settled and the sun dipped low, instead of heading straight back to the palace, I wrapped myself in my cloak and wandered aimlessly through the streets. I watched the citizens of Chelyrs, some chirpy and some grumpy, huddling in grime-covered corners to gossip about undisclosed matters. Many had already started their grim work, cleaning up the bl**d and bodies littering the streets while scavenging for coins or even food on the fallen soldiers.
The so-called “Operation Capture The Guilty Nobles” by the Northern Army and Royal City Army had somehow kicked off. In the distance, I caught sight of a disheveled woman sprinting out of a rather fancy mansion. Almost instantly, a soldier came barreling out of the place, yanking her by the hair, aiming to drag her back inside.
That soldier was cursing like a sailor: “You filthy hag, still got the gall to bite me! You think this is a joke… d*mn it, I’d rather be among these noble pigs than have to do the dirty work, but here I am, the great hero who saves you from starvation in the city…”
I recognized the soldier’s gear: a mix of iron and leather armor, and that could only mean he was from Shanter Castle’s Hunting Corps.
In that moment, I had an overwhelming urge to leap into action—step out with a Moon Step and deliver a punch that would turn his head into a fruit smoothie.
I had to show them what was acceptable and what lines they simply couldn’t cross.
Even in a war, some things are just unavoidable.
I almost went for it.
Just before I acted, I heard the distinctive sound of hooves coming from another street. A different crew of hunters was approaching, led by a captain sporting a nasty scar that looked oddly familiar; he was one of Hoover’s earliest followers in the Wolf Hunting Army.
As he witnessed the scene unfolding by the mansion, he swiftly dismounted and kicked the first soldier squarely in the chest. The power behind his kick sent the man, who was over six feet tall, flying back a good four to five meters. The poor guy had probably intended to greet the captain with a smile before that!
“If you want to pull stunts like this, you’d better get consent first! Do whatever you want, just make sure it isn’t forced. Do you think we’re kidding here? Was that just a casual suggestion?”
That poor soldier lay on the ground for ages, utterly stunned, before being dragged away by his fellow hunters.
“Which idiot brought this scumbag along? From today on, he’s not a part of the Northern Army anymore. That’s an order.”
A commanding voice echoed through the air, and after some contemplation, I decided not to intervene.
Staggering back as dusk deepened, I finally remembered that I needed to return to the palace.
It seemed Viki and my father had spent half the afternoon in meetings. When I arrived, I heard that the commanders had just dispersed, and after asking a few people around, I learned Her Majesty the Queen had left the palace for reasons unknown, while my father was also nowhere to be found. Only Mother lingered, having completed her meeting.
“Miss Peilo… ah, no! Princess…”
The hunter I questioned was young but had already been trailing behind Hoover in his work. He recognized me and appeared visibly nervous, stammering like a shy kid and avoiding my gaze. “Catherine… err, Queen Catherine, seems to be in the second-floor dining hall. She was asking for you a while ago… Maybe you should check it out?”
The dining hall…
I thought it over and nodded, acknowledging the information.
