Chapter 72
News of a Death Reaches the Knights
Martin and the members who had left to hunt the Winter Queen returned to the garrison.
The other members who had stayed behind to wait initially welcomed the returning commander, but soon noticed something unusual.
“Huh? Deputy Commander Yulia and Lieutenant Karl aren’t here.”
Starting with that observation, confusion spread among the members.
“Y-yeah… where could they be?”
“Could it be…?”
“No, that can’t be. Lieutenant Karl usually fights from a distance, using his abilities safely. And Deputy Commander Yulia is strong, no need to even mention her. There’s no way something could have happened to either of them…”
Karl’s role was to stand back and heal other members with his abilities. He rarely got injured.
Yulia was similar. Though she often fought at the front, taking minor injuries, she had almost never been in life-threatening danger.
So the other members, seeing Yulia and Karl’s absence, refused to believe that any accident had occurred.
They simply could not accept the thought that such a thing had happened.
Yulia, who had always looked after everyone with a stern face, and Karl, who supported everyone with his friendly demeanor—how could they have met with an accident?
Martin quietly stood before the confused members. Then he spoke.
“Karl… has betrayed us.”
The previously chaotic members fell into a chilling silence at that one statement.
Martin continued.
“He allied with the enemy targeting Deputy Commander Yulia, kidnapped her using that enemy’s power, and tried to deceive us by making it appear as though she had died in an accident.”
“……”
“For this reason, with the full consent of the members who accompanied us on the mission, I, as the Commander, revoked Karl’s knightly title and executed him.”
In reality, Karl had taken his own life using poison, but that fact was not disclosed.
It would have been a tremendous disgrace for a knight to betray comrades and then passively commit suicide. Martin’s choice to conceal this was his final courtesy for Karl, who had saved countless members’ lives in the past.
“He will not return. And as for Yulia—”
Martin struggled to force the words out.
“According to our confirmation, Deputy Commander Yulia is currently beyond the Rift. Her abilities are sealed, and she carries no weapons.”
The previously chilling silence erupted into murmurs of unrest once more.
It was already chaotic enough that Karl had betrayed the team and faced execution.
Now, not only had Yulia been kidnapped, but for some reason she had ended up beyond the Rift.
The problem was not that she had entered the Rift.
The issue was that she went in unarmed and without her abilities.
The entire Silver Knights were veterans at dealing with the Rift, and they knew exactly what that implied.
Amidst the silence, someone muttered quietly.
“Then… she’s… already… dead…?”
Though only one person spoke aloud, everyone secretly thought the same thing:
Without weapons or abilities in the Rift, Yulia would already be dead.
The silence that followed was heavier than before.
Then, a calm voice broke the quiet.
“Deputy Commander is alive.”
Elma stepped forward, weaving through the members to stand before Martin, speaking again.
“She is not someone who would return easily. She is definitely alive. Alive… and waiting for our help.”
A sorrowful sigh escaped Elma’s lips immediately after she finished speaking.
To Elma, Yulia was irreplaceable. She had been a reliable senior, a colleague, an advisor, and a friend.
Elma could not yet accept that someone as radiant and strong as Yulia, who had guided her, could be dead.
“We must hurry. We need to rescue Deputy Commander Yulia quickly.”
Martin nodded at Elma’s words.
“I agree. There is no time to waste. Even now, beyond the Rift, Yulia is swallowing pain day by day—”
“Commander, I have something to report.”
Just as Martin was about to continue, a member interrupted.
“What is it?” Martin asked, slightly irritated.
“There was a suspicious person loitering nearby, so we detained him. He refuses to answer questions, which is suspicious. Would you like to interrogate him personally?”
“A suspicious person…?”
Could it be a spy sent by Ernhart? Or just a civilian?
Martin, considering the possibilities, asked quietly:
“Where is this suspicious person?”
“He’s restrained and confined for now, since his identity is unclear.”
“Show me.”
As Martin moved to leave, some members who were waiting for his speech called after him.
“C-Comander?”
“Are you just leaving?”
“Shouldn’t we go rescue Deputy Commander Yulia immediately?”
Martin looked back briefly.
“We’ll assemble a rescue team to head to the Rift soon. Until then, wait quietly.”
Although assembling a rescue team was more urgent than interrogating the suspicious person, Martin still felt compelled to meet him immediately.
Following the member’s guidance, Martin reached the armory where the restrained intruder was held.
The moment the unidentified man saw Martin, he shouted:
“Your Grace! I am not suspicious! I have something to tell only you quietly and have been waiting for the right moment!”
“Why should I listen to someone whose identity is unclear?”
“My identity… First, allow others to leave. It’s difficult to speak where many ears can hear.”
Martin gestured for the nearby members to leave.
Once alone with the man, he revealed himself:
“I am a priest from the Papal Palace. I came here under the Pope’s orders.”
“A priest…?”
Martin raised an eyebrow.
“If you truly came under the Pope’s orders, why were you wandering around without the protection of the Holy Knights?”
“Because His Holiness instructed me to meet you discreetly. I was warned not to reveal my identity to anyone.”
“I see.”
“So I dressed in plain clothes to avoid attention and left the Holy Knights I was escorted by in a nearby village.”
Martin stroked his chin again.
“Very well, assuming you truly are a priest sent by His Holiness, why was I to be met secretly?”
“You should have a letter in my possession. Since I am restrained, you can retrieve it directly and read it.”
“Why…?”
“It is a letter from Lady Yulia von Schwestern.”
Hearing the name, Martin froze.
“Lady von Schwestern is currently in the Papal Palace. However, she does not want her location to be known. Therefore, I brought this letter discreetly under the Pope’s orders.”
On the night Yulia entrusted the letter to Frit, she had stressed the utmost secrecy. She did not want anyone to know she was hiding in the Papal Palace—particularly not Ernhart.
“Is it true? Could this really be Yulia’s letter?”
Martin could not comprehend it. She wanted to remain hidden, unable to come in person, and yet sent this letter secretly. From whom was she hiding?
Martin reached into the priest’s cloak and indeed found a white envelope.
Was this really from Yulia? Or was someone impersonating her?
He opened the envelope with cautious suspicion.
“Yulia…”
It was indeed Yulia’s letter. Having read her reports after her Rift missions before, Martin recognized her handwriting.
The familiar handwriting filled the page completely.
