Chapter 130. Achievement (6)
In reality, Vellego had been disparaging K’s reputation with such a single-minded focus just a few days ago.
He had put quite an effort into informing others about K’s true nature.
But as anyone could see from his trembling alone, his efforts didn’t last long.
The high priest of the Order of Agnotia had cautioned him upon hearing of his actions.
– There are already many eyes watching you. Don’t act rashly.
What on earth is that guy, that he makes the higher-ups of the Order rally so hard in his defense?
Thud, thud –!
Even after clearing off his desk, he couldn’t contain his anger, taking harsh and ragged breaths.
Vellego suddenly turned his gaze to the window and took a deep breath.
A cloudy sky, heavily overcast, reflected his image in the window.
His attire consisted of a white robe for a priest adorned with a gold-embroidered belt around his waist.
This was the attire that proved Vellego was a junior priest.
“Hehe.”
Vellego had finally become a priest.
After failing to kidnap K, he had spent ten times the failed ransom – a hundred thousand Herr – to achieve this.
‘I may have used a lot of my personal savings, but…’
Now that he had become a priest, it didn’t seem like a big issue.
‘The treasury can be refilled again.’
This priest’s garb would make it possible.
Observing his reflection in the window, he began to feel better about the situation K had put him in.
As Vellego was caressing his satisfied belly with a smile, the office door suddenly burst open.
Alarmed by the unexpected intrusion, Vellego turned to the door.
And as soon as he identified the person standing there, his expression turned sour.
“What are you so startled about?”
Unlike the robust and healthy-looking Vellego, the figure was of slender build with a pallid complexion.
“Reitan Protoram!”
Reitan, the second son of the deceased Count Protoram and the current head of the Protoram family.
He was the brother who had practically banished Vellego from the family.
As Reitan appeared, the attendant, who had been conveying news about K, quickly fled the office.
He escaped before any misplaced wrath could befall him. Reitan was a person Vellego should best avoid confronting.
“What brings you here, you scoundrel!”
Vellego bared his teeth at Reitan, his voice brimming with anger as he glared at him fiercely.
The Chedaltman Castle, where Vellego was placed after being ordained, was a month’s journey away from Kimol, where Reitan resided.
This wasn’t a place one visits without reason.
“I couldn’t possibly say it’s to visit my brother.”
Reitan, with a weary sweep of his gaunt face, answered dryly, contrasting with Vellego’s sharp antagonism.
“I stopped by to pay respects to Priest Jernima.”
Vellego’s frown deepened.
‘Meeting with Priest Jernima?’
Wasn’t he the high-ranking priest in charge of the entire management of the Chedaltman Castle?
‘Why would Reitan meet him?’
Before Vellego could dwell on his suspicions, reitan clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
“I heard rumors that you squandered family wealth to become a priest.”
His words and demeanor reeked of disdain, and he looked at Vellego with contempt.
“Ah, truly, I never get used to my brother’s stupidity as time goes by.”
Though he had grown up with it and was weary of it, each encounter still left him simmering with indignation.
“Why waste money on something that’s crumbling?”
Even if aware of one’s own shortcomings, feeling it afresh through another’s eyes always brought spite to the surface.
“Why not feed the wretches in the slums, to at least stuff the bellies of those worse than dogs and pigs?”
Such condescending remarks pouring from his brother made Vellego’s blood boil, making it impossible to remain indifferent even after 30 years.
What vexed him more was the powerlessness instilled within him over time.
By now, he had subconsciously accepted his own foolishness and merely trembled at the barrage of insults.
“Anyway, don’t even think of using family assets for the temple’s affairs—that’s what I came to say.”
Reitan, with his arms crossed, shot Vellego a scathing look.
“Don’t contact the family, that’s what I mean. Do you understand?”
Despite hundreds or thousands of similar experiences, the humiliation never got easier, driving Vellego to quake with fury, his face flushed red.
And right then, there was a light rap on the door.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue at the interruption, reitan turned and exited the room without hearing Vellego’s reply.
He exited the office like he entered, flinging open the door and striding briskly out.
The apprentice priest standing at the doorway opened his eyes wide in surprise.
But once the apprentice saw Vellego’s expression, he quickly averted his gaze.
Choosing to act as if he hadn’t seen anything was a decision of prudence, knowing all too well the notorious enmity between the Protoram siblings.
Nobody wanted to be caught up in the conflicts of the nobility.
“P-Priest, the convict for judgment has arrived…”
Thus, pretending to be unaware, the apprentice mentioned the business that had brought him to Vellego.
“Aaargh!”
Ignoring the apprentice’s words, Vellego began hurling objects around the office in a fit of rage.
His own impotence against Reitan’s disdain had incensed him beyond what he could bear.
Acting like a madman was his desperate attempt to deny that.
Now, it was understandable why the attendant had fled without looking back earlier.
But such situations did not last long as usual.
“Huff, huff.”
After a moment, Vellego stopped and glanced at the door, panting heavily.
He locked eyes with the trembling apprentice priest outside.
At that moment, it reminded Vellego of the High Priest of the Order of Agnotia’s warning during his ordination.
The high priest of the Order of Agnotia had eyes as green as this apprentice’s.
– You must remain diligent in your duties.
A sharp rebuke for having bought his way into the clergy.
Though the ordination had been grudgingly given due to internal political pressures, there was no intention to tolerate a tarnishing of the Order’s honor.
Having received such a pointed warning, failing in his assigned duties might mean he could be expelled anytime.
Therefore, what could he do?
“I’ll prepare and go, so tell them to wait!”
Even amidst his anger, he had no choice but to keep working.
“Y-Yes!”
The apprentice priest hurriedly scuttled off at Vellego’s barked command.
‘Having spent such a fortune to enter the Order, I cannot be expelled before I even get started.’
Thumping and stomping, Vellego headed to a side door connected from the office to the sacrificial room.
‘The sacrificial room.’
A place for priests to perform offerings to the god.
The purpose of these offerings was, of course, to use divine authority.
‘Tsk, it’s actually quite cumbersome.’
Unlike apostles, who are revered as agents of the gods and intrinsically possess divinity, priests require a few additional cumbersome steps to wield divine authority.
This entails performing rituals with offerings according to specific rules and formats.
Only through this process could one temporarily borrow the divine authority.
This was made possible by the fragment of divinity received during ordination.
In the common view, borrowing divine authority in this manner was often referred to as receiving a “blessing”.
Receiving such blessings repeatedly over tens of years leaves traces of divinity.
This is why the eyes of high-ranking priests or high priests were faintly tinged with gold.
Of course, this story had nothing to do with Vellego, who had just become a priest.
‘Should I place the wool on the east side?’
He was an utter beginner who had not fully mastered the rituals.
Therefore he relied on the manual given before ordination to clumsily prepare the offering.
He would have ideally completed the offering before the convict arrived to receive the blessing in advance.
But the unexpected visit from Reitan delayed him, necessitating haste.
Shortly after, Vellego lit the carefully prepared offering and recited the prayer of the Order of Agnotia.
At that moment, the sacred fire began to change.
The ordinary red flame began to glow softly with a golden hue.
As the flame grew smaller, it absorbed into Vellego, who had led the ritual.
“Whew.”
Having successfully received the blessing of Agnotia, Vellego rose to his feet.
“Ugh, yeah.”
It was now time for him to attend to his assigned duties.
Vellego exited the sacrificial room and hurried along the corridor.
Reaching the waiting room, Vellego was met by soldiers of the Security Corps who had brought the convict.
“Nice to meet you, Priest.”
The soldiers saluted him promptly upon his arrival.
Vellego’s mood, previously dirged to the ground by the unwelcome guest, lifted slightly.
“What about those to be judged?”
At Vellego’s query, delivered with an uptilted chin, the soldiers promptly pulled two men forward.
While the soldiers forced the men to their knees, Vellego gulped down his nervousness quietly.
“Whew.”
Regaining composure, Vellego stepped before the kneeling men.
Employing the blessing stored within his heart, Vellego’s eyes shimmered with gold.
The allegations against them had already been delivered in documents, so there was no need to ask much.
“Were you the ones who killed the innkeeper of Jagomita two days ago and fled with the loot?”
“N-No, sir!”
“We are innocent, sir!”
The two men, oppressed by the soldiers, responded with tearful voices.
An outsider, unknowing, might have been convinced that they were truly falsely accused.
Their pitiable, desperate demeanor seemed to warrant sympathy.
But, although human eyes and ears could be deceived, divine authority could not be tricked.
The authority of Agnotia, which discerned lies, deceit, betrayal, and hypocrisy, remained infallible as always.
“Urgh!”
No sooner had the men proclaimed their innocence than a horrendous stench emanated from them.
“T-They! Ugh! They are the criminals!”
Vellego shouted, having urgently pinched his nose shut.
This essentially amounted to a verdict of guilty against them.
“No, it’s not!”
“This bastard!”
Though a fierce protest ensued, the soldiers subdued them with kicks, bringing things to a close.
“Well done, Priest.”
“Urp, urgh….”
Nonetheless, despite the soldiers’ praises and flattery, Vellego could scarcely collect himself due to the lingering stench.
It was his second blessing.
Amongst those, the first had been during his ordination, which was merely ceremonial.
It was his maiden attempt to use actual authority to make a discernment.
Coming into direct contact with the stench of deceit was unbearably torturous.
Agnotia of Purity.
His authority discerned deception, deceit, betrayal, and hypocrisy at all times.
This led to the priests of Agnotia, along with priests of Finelpenia, to form close ties with the Security Corps.
Because the authority of Agnotia identified criminals while Finelpenia read the records left at crime scenes to aid investigation.
Collaborating with the Security Corps or Guards was practically the main task of both Orders.
‘It’s also a significant source of income for the two Orders.’
Charitable offerings were made to the Orders in exchange for completing assignments.
So, becoming a priest of Agnotia meant continuously encountering this stench.
Remembering this left Vellego despairing of his future prospects.
Ultimately, Vellego left the follow-up tasks to the apprentice priest and guards, storming out of the waiting room in a fit of pique.
He feared the unimaginable stench still lingered at the tip of his nose.
“Damn it, damn it….”
Still rubbing his sore nose, Vellego stopped as he caught a glimpse out the window.
Damned System
TL’s Corner:
Vellego is a small annoyance at this moment. But will he become a bigger annoyance in the future?