Chapter 24: The Flayer, Rafama
He suddenly felt like he was now standing at a gambling table.
No, it shouldn't be called a gambling table.
He thought of the knights and warriors outside the church.
He had no other choice.
Once he figured that out, Corleon relaxed.
At least, this man had already named his price, a very generous one, even if it was only verbally.
"Then what happens after the war? Your title is only that of a Lord," Corleon asked.
Each noble title limited the size of territory one could possess, and as merely a Lord, Sir Pegira could not swallow an entire Viscount’s territory.
That would be intolerable among nobles—a violation of the rules.
"The succession struggle within the Patlin Family isn’t over yet, and I’ll choose to support the weaker one, Marquis Demitri. He’s a northern overlord, and in return, he’ll support me in becoming the new Viscount."
York Territory belonged to the North.
Marquis Demitri had the right to exert limited influence over everything in the North, and simply supporting a new Viscount posed no problem.
"Of course, Demitri also has no Faith, a greedy man. I’ll spend a large sum helping him secure the inheritance, and once he becomes the new Grand Duke, he’ll surely want to devour me. That’s when I’ll need your help, Priest Corleon," said Pegira.
He had laid out his confidence while also making a request of Corleon.
"Then what should I do for you?" Corleon said.
He no longer probed. He had no choice, and he didn’t want to refuse.
This was an opportunity—an opportunity that could loosen the constraints on both him and the Church.
"When I become the Lord of York, I’ll send my child to the church, to receive baptism and become an ordinary monk. I hope he can serve the Lord for life."
"And his child will also be sent to the church. I hope you can become her godfather, raise her as your own, and teach her well."
"But she will inherit my position in the future, so she won’t serve the Lord forever, and before my death, I don’t want her to know her identity."
"And in return, you may build a grand church. I hope it becomes a wonder of the continent, a place all church priests admire."
"You may expand your priesthood so that the Lord’s teachings may spread."
"You may recruit Guardians. They will be responsible for defending the church."
"You may recruit Brave Ones. I will allow them to judge the sinners who have violated the Lord’s commandments."
"I will grant you authority—beneath the Sacred Seat, you may enact the Lord’s laws."
"This is my promise to you."
Pegira stood up.
"Perhaps one day—or perhaps that day will never come—I will ask for your help."
"Until that day, all you need to do is maintain the operations of the church and diligently spread the Lord’s teachings."
…
Sir Pegira left, having made a simple transaction, leaving behind a chest.
A transaction from which Corleon needed to do nothing—just wait—and the reward would come.
Corleon could not understand why this noble would make a deal with him, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t find a reason.
In the end, he could only conclude that Pegira needed a church, and the Flower Church was the one chosen.
…
Together with George, they carried the chest left by Sir Pegira inside.
It was heavy and emitted a fragrant scent.
When they opened the chest, both Corleon and George’s expressions changed.
It was a corpse, coated in white powder, giving off the same fragrance they had just smelled.
The corpse’s throat had been bitten open, the skull crushed by a blunt weapon, and the chest deeply caved in.
"Rafama? They killed him?" George recognized the body in the chest, his face filled with anger.
"Calm down, George. Don’t let anger cloud your judgment," Corleon said, picking up a stack of parchment from the chest.
"Yes, Priest." George took two deep breaths and calmed down, then introduced Rafama to Corleon.
"Rafama was the captain of Lori’s guard. When the village was attacked by the necromancer, he defended the South Gate with me. But after dawn, when we headed for York Town, we never found him or his guards."
"Didn’t expect he had already been killed."
"Let me guess. When you were looking for him, you found a few guards at the South Gate killed by sharp blades, right?" Corleon looked at the parchment.
"Uh... yes." George also realized something.
"Flayer Rafama was the leader of a band of robbers active within York Territory. They lived by plundering passing caravans with extreme cruelty—he enjoyed skinning people and demanding ransom from the caravan owners."
"Four years ago, he was recruited by the Daniels Family and became the guard captain of Lori. His robber band also became guards."
"After becoming captain, they still often reverted to robbery, either succeeding or using the Daniels Family’s power to escape."
"They secretly murdered married men in Lori and forced their wives into prostitution. They arranged for people disguised as bandits to break into homes and rob property, and then, acting as guards, they would capture the 'bandits' to claim the lord’s reward."
"When the necromancer attacked Lori, they survived the battle but didn’t aid their patron, the Daniels Family. Instead, they killed the non-bandit members embedded among the guards and headed to York Town to inform."
"And the content of their report..." Corleon put away the parchment and looked at George, whose face had gone blank from the flood of revelations.
"George of the Flower Church is suspected of possessing a mysterious item, enabling a cripple to defeat hundreds of corpses alone—including a fully armed knight among them."
To defeat hundreds of corpses led by a fully armed knight in direct combat—this was far more absurd than when he had helped the Daniels Family.
At least the Daniels Family had inflicted some damage on the corpses, and more importantly, there hadn’t been a fully armed knight.
Such a George could still be regarded as a warrior meeting knight standards.
There were people like that in York Territory.
"But he was killed before reaching York Town."
The one who killed him was Sir Pegira’s men. As for whether the ones who ambushed them were living or dead...
"So that’s what happened. But I’m just an ordinary man, guided by the Lord," George couldn’t help but say.
"Yes, that was the Lord’s guidance. But to sinners like them, the Lord’s guidance is the most blinding," Corleon said.
"They are sinners. Their sins make them resist the Lord’s teachings, even attempting to defile the Lord’s Honor."
"So the Lord cast down His punishment upon them."
"They’re sinners? Yes, they are sinners!" George repeated, gradually recovering from his confusion.
"But the sinners are now gone, and the Lord is loving. So even sinners—we must help bury them so their souls may face the Lord’s judgment with dignity," said Corleon.
He wanted to divert George’s attention, for if George asked, "Why did Rafama want to report to the lord?"
Corleon truly wouldn’t know how to answer for the moment.
If George concluded that even the lord wished to defile the Lord’s Honor, with George’s unwavering Faith, he might storm the lord’s castle to judge him.
"Tonight, I will pray in the church and bring my questions to the Lord."
"I will close the church doors and only reopen them when the Morning Star rises tomorrow."
"No need to prepare dinner for me. The Lord will grant me Sacrament and Holy Water."
"So please, bury him in the cemetery."