[Vol. 8] Chapter 105: Mercy
"After that war, I didn’t form a special army using flying wings, not because I couldn’t, but because I had promised someone to not use her help for war unless really necessary. That didn’t mean I could never use it again."
“……”
At this point, Rudolph slowly calmed down from his shock and despair. He seemed to accept his failure, no longer acting as crazy and emotional as before. His eyes grew calm, and he gave a bitter smile and sighed.
"I had thought about that too. But even if you still had that equipment, it takes time to train soldiers and give them the gear. As long as you didn’t know our route right away, in theory, you still wouldn’t have had enough time to prepare."
He continued, “...Well, it doesn’t matter. Lost is lost. Now that I’m in the hands of Her Holiness the Pope, whatever you want to do with me is up to you. I... only have one question.”
As he spoke, his eyes turned to the deep crater created by the light that fell from the sky, where the golem had been destroyed, and all connection to it had vanished. His expression was complex.
As a former public officer, Edwina understood what he meant right away. She nodded slightly and said:
“You... really did get involved with some dangerous things. Originally, this matter didn’t need divine involvement, we could’ve handled it ourselves. But the creature you summoned was so unusual that it drew the goddess’s attention. That’s why she personally sent down the light of judgment.”
“To be honest, Rudolph, even when I learned that the Lombard family’s faith wasn’t true, I never planned to destroy you completely. I just wanted to strip your title and take most of your property. But now that you’ve committed such a serious crime, and even tried to use a forbidden creature hated by the goddess herself. It’s hard to show mercy.”
“If you still care about your family, I suggest you fully cooperate with the investigators. Tell them everything you know. Maybe... there’s still a small chance your family line can continue.”
“…What did you say?”
When Rudolph heard the word "continue", his already hopeless heart shook. He turned his head in disbelief, looking through bloodstained eyes at the Pope, who had just made such a surprising offer.
He knew this girl too well. Edwina Cecilia’s faith in the goddess was as strong as her power, maybe even stronger. People even called her a true fanatic.
She was smart, brave, and a great leader, even Rudolph had to admit that. But when it came to anything involving the goddess, especially those who dared disrespect or insult her, Edwina always gave the harshest punishments.
From what he knew about her, the Lombard family had no hope of escape. She would surely bring them all to trial without mercy.
And when it came to such firm beliefs, there was only one being who could possibly change her mind. Not her sister, the Saintess Frederica Cecilia, not her parents, not other church leaders.
Realizing this, Rudolph’s eyes suddenly lost focus. Even though he had already guessed the answer, he still muttered in disbelief:
"This... was the goddess’s will? Even after everything we did... she’s still willing to let our family survive?"
Edwina looked at the sinner before her with deep meaning in her eyes.
“That’s exactly why she is a true god. That’s why so many people in this world worship her with all their hearts.”
“All the things you valued so much... the things you chased no matter the cost... to her, they are like a child’s game.”
“Rudolph, the goddess knows everything. She sees everything. And yet, from beginning to end... she chooses to forgive and show kindness.”
Thud.
It was as if the belief he had held onto his whole life had suddenly been shattered. Completely broken in both body and spirit, Rudolph collapsed to his knees. His arms could no longer support his shaking body, and finally, he lowered his proud head in the direction where the holy light had fallen.
It was like confessing. Like crying. Like praying with deep faith. Trembling, he whispered words he had repeated many times before. But this time, they came truly from his heart.
“God… Oh God… I have sinned…”
………………………………………………
After that, Rudolph Lombard was taken into custody by the Holy Knights. He was charged with many crimes, including faking his faith, working with heretics, and intentionally causing trouble in the Holy Capital. More than a hundred people from the Lombard family, including close and distant relatives, bodyguards of all ranks, would all be carefully questioned and punished according to what they had done.
Miss Hongyan, who blocked the escape path of the Lombard family, was also taken in for investigation by the Holy Knights. Even though she stepped in to help with good intentions, it was still a fact that she had killed over ten of the Lombard family’s top fighters.
The Holy Empire is a country ruled by law. Killing people is always considered a serious crime. Even though Hongyan’s actions were close to self-defense, and those she killed were serious criminals, the Church still needed to ask many questions and fully understand everything before letting her go.
Of course, the final result would likely be a reward rather than punishment. But rules still needed to be followed. Pope Edwina personally promised Hongyan that everything would be handled fairly. So, Hongyan didn’t resist and agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
Edwina ordered the Holy Knights to take the captured people, the dead bodies, and the remaining goods from the Lombard family’s convoy back to Angel City. But she herself did not leave. Instead, she stayed behind alone at the battlefield, where the intense fighting had taken place and many signs of the battle still remained. She seemed to be quietly waiting for something.
Not long after, a beautiful woman with black hair and a white robe slowly descended from the sky. On her back were wings that looked soft and white, not mechanical. She smiled.
“That was quite a scene. That girl Hongyan… she’s actually getting pretty good with a sword~”
Edwina responded, “That Hongyan girl, you mentioned before that she was one of the two friends who came here with you from the Ancient Spirit Realm, right? I didn’t expect to run into her like this. Aren’t you going to go say hello?”
But the woman named Violet just shook her head.
“She and I having a past connection isn’t exactly a secret… but interfering directly with the Church’s internal affairs, especially something this important, should be known by as few people as possible.
Hongyan’s appearance in the Holy Capital is probably just because she wants to see the excitement around the gathering of the Chosen Heroes. If that’s the case… we’ll definitely meet again soon. No need to rush.”
As she spoke, the priestess turned and walked toward the deep hole where the giant creature, summoned by Rudolph, had been destroyed by her attack from the sky. Edwina quickly followed.
Standing at the edge, Violet looked down. The deep, blackened pit was more than ten meters deep. Inside, there was nothing left except traces of melting from the high-level spell [Roar of the Holy Flame]. The golem, once made of blue-green gas, was completely gone. Clearly burned to ashes by the intense heat.
Realizing this too, the holy knight beside her couldn’t help but ask curiously.
“Miss Violet, what exactly was that thing? I thought I could have handled it myself… but you came all this way to deal with it. Did you discover something special?”
Violet thought for a moment, then answered quietly.
“A discovery…? Well, you could say that, kind of.”