Chapter 75. Pruning (2)
― Why did you betray us?
As those words flowed from Tenelon's tongue, Gerard's body tensed, and cold sweat began to trickle down his back.
The unpleasantness of the sticky sweat overcame me in a blink, but the words I heard were so shocking that I couldn't spare any thought for it.
"What, what on earth...?"
"Why did you consider betraying us? That's what I mean."
"I don't understand what you mean, Archbishop..."
"Nameless Band."
At the single word that Tenelon uttered, Gerard flinched.
'... Where did he hear that?'
Realizing the full scope of the situation and why the word "betrayal" had surfaced, Gerard began to think about whom Tenelon had heard about the "Nameless Band" from.
There was only one person who came to mind.
Yulian Cryphart Frason.
'That damned bastard!'
Gritting his teeth in rage, Gerard struggled to suppress his emotions and began to think about how to wiggle out of the current situation.
"I heard you were the actual owner of the Nameless Band."
"... Did you hear this from Yulian?"
'Don't fall for that bastard's lies.'
Just as he was about to say that—
"Why do you think that? I actually heard it from Dantes."
Startled by the unexpected name that came out of Tenelon's mouth, Gerard was taken aback.
Had Dantes, whom he vaguely trusted as a 'bishop', betrayed him?
No, it couldn't be.
There's a world of difference between someone being 'trustworthy' and actually 'trusting' them.
He hadn't told Dantes anything about the 'Nameless Band'.
After all, who in their right mind would reveal their secrets to someone they're competing with as a 'bishop'?
'Did Dantes investigate me?'
Gerard gritted his teeth tightly.
"I heard that the Nameless Band, which the Black Knight belongs to, went through your hands."
"Please wait! That was in the past! I've long severed ties with the Nameless Band!"
"Is that so?"
In response to the doubtful tone, Gerard nodded vigorously.
"Yes, it is."
"Is that so? What do you think?"
Tenelon, with a scarred face, turned his head.
Following his gaze, a masked figure emerged from a dark corner of the audience chamber.
'A woman?'
She was a small-built woman.
Her only remarkable feature was the 'mask' she wore.
'Could she be from the Nameless Band...?'
And Gerard knew well that the 'mask' symbolized the Nameless Band.
It was a tradition to disguise the identity of private soldiers deployed secretly.
"I heard that even recently, they acted on Gerard's orders. Is that correct?"
If the entire situation was meant to condemn me, there could only be one possible answer from her mouth.
"Yes, yes... that's correct."
As expected!
Gerard felt his mouth go dry.
"So it seems."
"Don't kid around! You wretch! Who put you up to this? Dantes? Or was it Barran's last wish!?"
A soft, yet powerful voice sliced through Gerard's sharp outburst.
"You shouldn't raise your voice like that, Sir Gerard. You're in the presence of Sir Tenelon."
It was Yulian, whose voice, though quiet, was undeniably strong.
He drew attention as he entered, playfully raising his index finger and placing it over his lips.
When he turned his sly smile towards me, Gerard winced.
Unlike his infamous nickname, 'Smiling Executioner', his demeanor was noble, and the faceless expression made me feel as if he could see right through me.
'You...!'
Seeing his calm demeanor, Gerard's anger surged.
***
'... I've come too far, haven't I?'
Doing my best to ignore Gerard's vicious glare, I watched the masked individual.
Although she hid her face as befitting the name 'Nameless Band', she could not conceal the 'Color of Fear' floating above her mask.
'Sorry about this.'
Her appearance matched her age.
After all, the trembling person was none other than Maier.
Even a genius who could handle spirits could be frightened by the overwhelming presence Tenelon exuded.
I was the one who called her.
Of course, not as 'Yulian' but through a 'Black Knight's' summon.
It was to aid in Barran's revenge, or so I had claimed.
"You're in the presence of Sir Tenelon. Shouldn't you know better than to raise your voice like that?"
Redirecting my gaze to Gerard, I placed a hand on Maier's shoulder.
It was meant to calm her down, but...
'Ah...'
The 'Color of Fear' shook more fiercely.
"You knew that scoundrel was involved. Were you that hungry for the position of Archbishop!?"
"I'm not here for power. I don't care who sits as Archbishop."
Upon saying 'the mere position of Archbishop', the room's atmosphere turned icy.
The position of 'Archbishop' hadn't been succeeded yet, meaning Tenelon still held it.
That was likely the reason.
"Ah."
Fortunately, Tenelon appeared unaffected.
Rather, he nodded as if satisfied with what I had said.
If he had shown any offense, I would've tried to cool him off, but why did he react like that?
"And that's not the main point here."
Glancing at Tenelon, I continued.
"Sir Gerard, the issue is that you founded the 'Nameless Band' and neglected the Black Knight as its owner."
I began to bring back the slightly derailed topic, and Gerard looked at me with wide eyes of resentment.
"Furthermore, they said the Black Knight recently handed over a Soul Stone to the royal family. Was that your doing too, Sir Gerard?"
"I've never done such a thing!"
Of course not.
Because it was I who had handed the Soul Stone to the royal family as the Black Knight.
"How shameless of you. What more can you say in this situation?"
Realizing how such words might further provoke Gerard's temper, I continued.
'Red, it's red.'
As a result, the 〈Color of Negativity〉 hovering over Gerard became vividly red, embodying his anger.
"Aren't you too loyal to the Empire? Wasn't the Soul Stone handed to the royal family by the Black Knight the same one Sir Pintel secured?"
Ignoring his wrath, I mocked, accusing him more heavily.
"Is the Soul Stone handed over to the royal family really the one Pintel had procured?"
It was Tenelon who seemed most intrigued by my words. He stroked his scarred face and let out a sigh.
"If that's true, Gerard, I am even more disappointed in you."
"Absolutely not! Furthermore, there's no proof that the Soul Stone handed over by the Black Knight is the same as Pintel's, is there!?"
"Shall we verify it then?"
As I said that, I pulled out a 'Soul Stone' from my robe, and the first to express interest was Tenelon.
"Hmm? Is that the Soul Stone that the Black Knight entrusted to the royal family?"
"Yes, I was able to bring it with my authority."
"Impressive. Truly befitting someone of the highest order of Blind Eyes!"
"You're too kind."
Yes, it was too kind.
I was the one who entrusted the Soul Stone to Aileen.
And I was the one who retrieved it through the royal family....
"But once the verification is complete, it must be returned to the royal family. After all, its purpose here is merely to expose Sir Gerard's crimes."
"But how do we know it's Pintel's Soul Stone? How can it be proven?"
Watching Tenelon's skepticism, I smiled.
"Simple. We can ask the person himself, can't we?"
With those words, a man with a dignified expression entered through the entrance Gerard had come through.
"Pin... Pintel...?"
As anticipated, the man was Pintel.
He knelt before Tenelon, bowing as he greeted him.
"Monsignor Pintel, at your service, Sir Tenelon."
"Yes, Pintel. Is the Soul Stone that Yulian is holding the one that was taken from you by the Black Knight?"
Momentarily startled by Tenelon's bare face, Pintel soon calmed and began observing the Soul Stone I held intently.
"Uhm..."
He let out a short groan, scrutinizing the Soul Stone for a bit longer.
'Think carefully before answering, Pintel.'
This is your last chance for survival.
This Soul Stone isn't the one Pintel lost to the Black Knight. Pintel knows this too.
"Sir Pintel, is this the Soul Stone you obtained after raiding the caravan?"
Nonetheless, one thing was obvious: Pintel harbored a grudge against Gerard.
He belittled him with stinging words and even attempted to kill him with a dagger.
His demotion from 'bishop' to 'Monsignor' was, in large part, due to Gerard.
Therefore, even though the Soul Stone Pintel lost had been absorbed by me and thus no longer existed in this world...
"Yes, it is."
His sly tongue brought to life a nonexistent Soul Stone, and that grave crime was pinned entirely on Gerard.
With all the acts of the 'Nameless Band' and 'Black Knight' becoming his own doing, a nervous sweat began to visibly drip down Gerard's face.
"I wasn't aware, Sir Gerard. I didn't know your loyalty to the royal family ran so deep."
Even if it wasn't true.
The atmosphere filled with doubt was already portraying Gerard as a traitor.
"It seems the 'Royal Dog' title fits Sir Gerard better than it does me. Huhut."
"No!! It's all lies!! Sir Tenelon!! Please believe me! I've never committed such acts!"
Desperately, Gerard tried to explain, but Tenelon's eyes remained icy.
"Gerard, I also knew you had been parading around under the name of Dawn Society behind my back. But I pretended not to know. Even when you threatened Pintel's life, I let it slide, thinking it might be beneficial to the Dawn Society."
"But that was..."
"However, this act cannot be overlooked. At the very least, you should not have become a royal dog."
Tenelon's scar-laden face was clearly expressing displeasure.
Though Gerard attempted to retort, Tenelon raised his hand, silencing him before continuing.
"Dantes, Pintel, and Yulian have all proven your guilt."
With Tenelon's sentence, Gerard's eyes darted around, trying to assess his surroundings. Watching him like a startled dog, I spoke softly.
"Sir Gerard, why do you glance about so frantically like a scared little puppy? Huhu."
Startled, he turned his gaze to me and ground his teeth, barking out.
"You damned... I'll kill you!"
"Me? Haha. Bold words. Go ahead, try."
As Gerard and I exchanged our tense words—
Thunk—!
With a sound of impact, Gerard screamed.
"ARGHHHH!!!"
Clutching his wounded shoulder, he turned to find Pintel sneering at him.
"Is this our tit for tat?"
What was embedded in Gerard's shoulder was Pintel's frequently used 'magic dagger'.
While Pintel seemed intent on beheading Gerard, he knew he couldn't deal a fatal blow until Tenelon's final decree was issued, so he settled for the shoulder.
"I'll kill you too!"
Gerard spat venomously, eyes bloodshot with anger as he glared at both me and Pintel.
But in this situation, his threats were anything but frightening.
"Where's the old Gerard who was once called the Madness of the West... How did he end up such a piece of trash?"
As Gerard seethed, Tenelon delivered the final sentence.
"Execute him."
At his emotionless command, the Monsignors behind closed in slowly on Gerard.
Sweating profusely, Gerard hurriedly took something out of his robe. It was a magic scroll.
"Did you think you'd escape?"
As Tenelon extended his right hand, a dark demonic energy began to pour out.
Yet, even before this, Gerard had already torn the scroll apart.
"You'll see."
With a blinding flash and a cliché villain's exit line, Gerard vanished.
Although, just before he disappeared, Tenelon's demonic energy scraped his arm.
Shink—
The sound of something slicing reached my ears.
"......"
Silence prevailed.
Tenelon looked at me with an inquisitive gaze.
"Yulian, why did you remain still?"
Oh no.
He noticed that I had let him escape on purpose.
I couldn't just say it was to prepare for my future plans, to exploit Gerard's revenge drive and weaken the Dawn Society.
So, I decided to make up an excuse.
"If it's a teleportation spell stored in a scroll, he won't survive."
"I suppose that's true."
It seemed Tenelon understood, as he nodded slightly.
Magic, like the world in 'Let's Kill the Demon King Now', could be stored in various mediums, including scrolls.
However, these scrolls could never become mainstream due to their significant dangers.
"What if he does survive?"
"Then, I will handle it myself."
Though I smiled softly, my expression must have appeared terrifying, as Pintel suddenly began to tremble.
Ah? Was I too menacing?
Yet Tenelon, seemingly content with my assurance, chuckled heartily and clapped.
"Hopefully, it won't come to that trouble."
Right... to be honest, I have no intention of dealing with it either.
Clacky's Corner:
Welp, that ended neatly.