Chapter 94
And now, Violet was looking at Bella, who was bound and struggling.
“To think you were setting a trap for me—someone like you!”
Bella shouted.
“Why are you so aggrieved, Captain of the Knights? You were the one who set the trap first. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Reasonable, isn’t it?”
Violet had now become someone who spoke her mind quite well.
“I am the Captain of the Capital’s Royal Knights! I will board the carriage on my own! You wretches, do not touch me!”
From afar, the wailing Marlon was the first to be loaded onto the carriage.
“Mm!”
When Bella tried to shout more, the Inquisitors swiftly gagged her.
Bella, too, was placed into the carriage transporting criminals.
‘What a neat ending. Well, they did commit crimes worthy of arrest.’
Violet smoothed her dress once.
One of the Inquisitors approached her.
“Please ride in the carriage with us to the Inquisitors’ headquarters. Lord Ash will also be coming to the headquarters after he finishes sorting things out here.”
“And you are?”
The Inquisitor pulled back his hood to reveal his face.
He had short hair and a scar near his eyebrow. He was tall, solidly built, and gave off a steadfast impression.
“My name is Neive. I currently serve as the Head of the Inquisitors. I will escort you from now on.”
Violet nodded and boarded the carriage they had prepared.
“Is this the Inquisitors’ headquarters?”
“Yes.”
It was Violet’s first time here.
The headquarters was located a little away from the center of the city.
The area was filled with warehouses and small workshops usually owned by merchant guilds.
The building’s exterior was ordinary. However, once inside, she could feel that the interior was much larger and more spacious than expected.
“I’ve never been to this area before. It looks like quite an old building.”
“Yes, it has existed here for a long time. It belongs to the Grand Temple of Kaiserian. The entire building is also specially designed.”
“…I see.”
“Thanks to you, Violet, we were able to arrest a large number of cultists. The Night Shadow religion is particularly influential within Kaiserian and is notorious for being unsavory.”
Neive expressed his gratitude.
“It was nothing. Will securing the place where Bella confined me be helpful?”
Violet asked as she walked alongside Neive.
“Of course. It is no easy task to locate the headquarters of a demon-worshipping religion. After a week of surveillance, we have secured the identities of many related individuals as well. That alone is a great achievement.”
Neive replied.
He first guided Violet to a room labeled “Evidence Storage.”
Inside, all the belongings and clothes Violet had with her when she was imprisoned were carefully preserved.
Violet decided to collect her items on her way back later.
Neive kept the door open as he watched her.
“This is an important place where various pieces of evidence are stored. Is it alright to leave the door open?”
“Ah, my lord instructed me to be cautious in my conduct when I am with you, Lady Violet…”
“Pardon? What would I do… ambush the knights or something?”
At those words, Neive’s face turned pale and then red.
“That is not it. In any case, I cannot be alone in a sealed room with someone as esteemed as yourself.”
Neive cleared his throat as he spoke.
‘Is he naïve, or just strange?’
What exactly has Ash been telling his subordinates?
Just as Violet’s brows furrowed, another Inquisitor quietly approached through the open door.
When Neive stepped toward him, the Inquisitor whispered a few words and disappeared.
“Is something the matter?”
“It’s nothing serious. The woman we captured, Rosebella Elsha, is causing a commotion, saying she will not open her mouth unless she is allowed to confront you, Lady Violet.”
“It seemed like she had already finished saying everything earlier.”
“You do not need to see her if you would rather not. Our interrogation techniques are quite excellent.”
Violet thought for a moment.
“I’ll go for a moment. I’m also curious about who in the Shatra Holy Knights is involved with the Night Shadow religion.”
“The interrogation rooms are rather full of fools at the moment, so it may be quite noisy.”
Neive cautioned her. Violet followed him to the interrogation rooms.
The sight inside was something else.
Whether guilty or not, all those connected to the Shatra Holy Knights had been rounded up and locked inside the interrogation rooms.
Even the servants had been dragged in for the time being. Some were crying in panic, clinging desperately.
There were even those blurting out information that hadn’t been asked for—such as the knights’ dinner menu—insisting they would confess everything they knew.
“Waaah, sob, sob… I truly had no idea! My only crime was diligently catering to the knights’ temperaments! They’re so ridiculously picky. Sob, my salary never even goes up, waaaah!”
The one sobbing most fearfully among them was Lota, the administrative officer of the Holy Knights.
Her round face was soaked in tears as she lamented, then pleaded that she had nothing to do with it. It was almost amusing to watch.
“I’m telling you, cultists usually have tattoos on their bodies or traces of exposure to demonic energy. Once that inspection is done, you can go home. Don’t get worked up and just speak calmly!”
It was so noisy that one of the interrogating Inquisitors had to shout like that.
It wasn’t only those people who were pitiful.
“No, I’m really wronged!”
The one shouting loudly was Juran.
“Ever since I got scolded by Grand Duke Ravens, I’ve been careful about everything—even how I walk and what I eat!”
Kyle, who was with him, also shouted in clear frustration.
“I haven’t even shared a single meal with that woman Bella! Does that make any sense? A newly appointed captain who doesn’t invite her subordinates to a single meal?”
“Can’t I at least apologize to Sir Violet Everdeen one more time? I can’t let my knightly career end like this!”
“My family back home is waiting for the money I send them!”
The two of them begged and raged as if they had rehearsed it, almost like a farce.
“You two have already been proven not to be affiliated with the cult through the recordings, so knock it off! Just answer the questions you’re asked!”
The investigator in charge of them looked equally exhausted.
‘Wow… The Inquisitors are human too.’
Seeing an Inquisitor slam the table and scold them in exasperation, Violet thought so.
In other words, Juran and Kyle were irritating enough to disrupt even an Inquisitor’s composure.
“The honor of the Shatra Holy Knights has fallen to the ground! At this rate, which knight order would even hire us? Isn’t there any way to erase the investigation records entirely?”
Kyle raised his voice, then pleaded at the end.
Watching the pathetic display of Juran and Kyle, Violet was utterly dumbfounded.
“From what Ash and I have observed so far, those three seem to be innocent.”
“That is correct. Even after some questioning, they appear to know nothing. However, since we must thoroughly investigate everyone, they are being detained temporarily.”
Neive said.
“Um… There’s a child named Asil, isn’t there? A young one. Does that child also undergo interrogation? He does odd jobs for the knights.”
Violet asked, concerned about Asil.
“The remaining individuals are being investigated upstairs. In principle, everyone connected to the Shatra Holy Knights must be investigated, so that child should be upstairs as well.”
“I see.”
She worried about the still-young Asil.
“Cultists do not act according to logic. Their principle of action is blind faith. Therefore, whether child or adult, we must be cautious. Everyone’s identity must be thoroughly verified, so I ask for your understanding.”
Neive said.
“I expected as much.”
“Still, in this case, Lord Ash has said that most of the servants appear innocent. The child you mentioned will not be treated harshly.”
Violet nodded.
After passing a large office, they came upon smaller rooms.
Secretive and small interrogation chambers connected like an anthill.
Ash was standing in front of one of them.
“Hello, Violet. You look especially pretty today.”
Ash grinned at Violet.
He was dressed in the black uniform of the Inquisitors.
“Ash, you really do suit the Inquisitor uniform better. White isn’t bad either, though.”
Violet replied calmly.
White was the color of the Shatra Holy Knights.
“Go on in. It seems she still has a lot she wants to say.”
When Violet opened the door and entered, Bella, handcuffed, stared at her with bloodshot eyes.
Ash followed her inside.
Grinding her teeth, Bella said,
“Hah, let me ask you one more thing. Just how! How did you eavesdrop on and record all those conversations?”
