Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 26

Dreams of the Holy Knight - Chapter 26

As they got closer to the north, the hot and humid winds gradually became cooler.  When the sun went down and evening twilight fell, they reached Count Termel’s estate.  

The Termel estate, located on the way to the gate of the demon realm, had been ruled by Countess Susan Termel, who had been a close friend of Saint Adelaide.  Successors of the Termal family now guarded the area for generations since. 

When the Crown Princess and the party arrived, Count Termel greeted them with Sir Joseph, the commander of the 2nd Holy Knights, who was stationed here.  

“I see the Second Sun of the Empire.  I am grateful for your presence, Your highness the Crown Princess.”  

A small but sturdy middle-aged man knelt in front of the Crown Princess.  Evgena tapped the Count's shoulder tenderly and motioned for him to get up.  

“You always go through a lot of effort. Did you hear the news?”  

“Yes, and I also have something to report to you, so I was waiting for you.  Sir Joseph, please give us the report.”  

As the Count turned his gaze sideward, a large, blunt-looking silver-haired man came forward and bowed his head.  

“When we heard that the deposed prince had been hiding here, we searched the area and caught some suspicious people. They seem to be related to some capital aristocrat, so I think you'll have to check it out yourself."  

Liliana, who got out of her carriage holding Noel's arm, listened to Sir Joseph and looked at him.  

“What kind of people are they?”  

Joy filled Sir Joseph's gray eyes, who turned his gaze to face Liliana.  He knelt down towards her with a thrilled face.  He knelt down so hard that there was a thud from his knee as it hit the ground.  

“Joseph Signael greets the representative of the Goddess!”  

“May Valerie’s grace fill your sword.  Nice to meet you, Sir Joseph.”

“It is indescribable to say that I am thrilled to be able to see the Saintess.  I shall dedicate my whole body to light the path of the Saintess.  Don't worry, I will protect you with all my might in the name of the Goddess!"  

"Uh……  Thank you……  Sir Joseph.”  

Liliana was bewildered by Joseph's completely different attitude to her compared to the Crown Princess.  He even had tears welling up in his dazzling eyes, almost as if he was greeting the Goddess herself.  She felt a little burdened and smiled shyly, so Noel, who was next to her, looked at him with a dissatisfied look.  

“Sir Joseph, you are burdening the Saintess.”  

Noel was displeased at Joseph's passionate gaze reaching Liliana, but he knew very well that he was a fanatic who was crazy about the Goddess, so he quickly straightened his expression.  

“I apologize.  I was overwhelmed at meeting the Saintess for the first time.”  

“Didn’t the Saintsss ask you a question?  Who are they?”  

“Oh, yes.  They look to be a slave trader.  I don't know the details because he refused to open his mouth as if he was under a spell, but when he opened the suspicious looking wagon, there were many people with their hands and feet tied up.  The man who seemed to be the mastermind ran away but the man who seemed to be his subordinate was caught.”  

“Let’s go and see.”  

Evgena, who had approached them, hurriedly went.  When she went down to the dungeon with Sur Joseph and Count Termel, it seemed that there were dozens of people in the prison wearing restraints with shabby looking clothes.  The Count pointed to them.  

“It looks like they were taken as slaves but no matter how much you ask them, they will not answer so I have locked them up for now.”  

“There is a magic formula engraved on the restraints.  If you summon Velita and release the restraints, the spell will be broken.”  

At the words of the Crown Princess, one of the escort knights went outside to call Velita.

As Liliana continued down the dark prison corridor, she gasped in surprise when she saw a familiar face.  Ian's aide, who she remembered meeting while visiting Count Alphonse's house several times, was sitting in the prison with a gag on.  At being recognized, he faced Liliana with a dismayed look. 

"That person."  

“Do you know him?”  

"Yes.  He is an aide to Count Alphonse.”  

Hearing her words, Sir Joseph raised his eyebrows and pointed towards the prison.  A voice as large as his body resounded through the prison.  

"He's the mastermind's minion!  It was frustrating because he wouldn’t open his mouth but thanks to the Saintess, we finally know who was behind this.”  

“……  Count Alphonse must have been involved in the slave trade.  It’s been a while since slavery has been abolished, how dare an imperial aristocrat.”  

Evgena clenched her teeth and became angry.  Noel was also unable to hide the skyrocketing displeasure. He already hated how he was connected to Liliana but he did not expect him to be such trash standing next to a deposed prince that traded slaves. 

“Was the mastermind a blonde guy?”  

“Yes, he was wearing a mask, but his hair was golden.  I sent a squad to chase them down, but he ran away with those who appeared to be black wizards and we were unable to catch him.”  

"I see.  Good work Sir Joseph.  Count Alphonse has procured these people as sacrifices.”  

“It seems so your highness.  We don't know if this is the first time or not, so we need to find their base.”  

"It's late already so let's resume the search as soon as the sun comes up."  

Liliana, who was listening to their conversation, was also quietly angry.  She knew from experience that he was not a good person, but she didn't know that he was trading slaves.  He was a dirty bastard who, with a good natured face, committed all sorts of crimes behind his back.  She gritted her teeth towards him, thanking the Goddess for the timely manifestation of her powers.  Next time we meet, I won't let you go.  Ian Alphonse...….

As they climbed outside, Velita, who was sitting in the prison cell where the slaves were being held, shook the restraints.  Next to her was a group of exhausted-looking people, rubbing their red hands and feet.

“This is harder than I thought.  These black wizards have some tricks up their sleeves. It hurts my pride.”  

“Pleas, please save me……  Please save us!”  

At the sight of Evgena with golden eyes symbolizing the imperial family and Liliana in a saint's robe, those imprisoned started to yell.  They soon clung to the bars and began to wail, perhaps intuitively aware that they were figures of extraordinary status. 

“Please save us…….  We are not slaves.  It's unfair.  Heuk...…  Save us!”  

Inside the prison, where the screams never ceased, it was chaos.  Liliana went closer and focused on appeasing them. 

“Everyone, calm down!  We know you are not slaves.  Once we confirm that you are not accomplices, we will send you back to where you are from.”  

“Re, really?  Heuk...…  Are you really sending us back?”  

“I promise.  So calm down and please tell us in detail how you got here.”  

At her words, the oldest-looking woman pushed her face closer and shouted desperately.  

“We were all kidnapped and deceived by a loan shark and sold into debt.  I was dragged here without being able to say anything because of that restraint.  Please save me!  Heuk.”  

The woman continued her story.  The loan sharks colluded with the slave traders and persuaded them to lend money to those in poverty, and then urged them to multiply the interest rates by dozens.  Then, they had them sign a slave contract after saying that they would introduce them to a good job that would allow them to pay off their debt quickly.

The poor commoners were mostly illiterate so dozens and hundreds of them were sold into slavery without them knowing it.  

Some of the female prisoners were kidnapped on the street. Lilliana's hands trembled when she heard the story and became furious. 

“How could he do this?”  

“I will tell you everything I know!  Help me!"  

“If you heard anything, tell me.”  

The crown princess stepped forward and asked the screaming woman, and she began to stutter as she fumbled through her memory.  

"As we were led away, I think I heard them say that they were going to a cave. And, yes! I heard someone refer to a man as the Count. And something else about how a method has been figured out was mentioned!" 

“I am sure it is Count Alphonse.  We should contact the capital and search for the Count.  Noel, when the the sun rises, check the terrain for where a cave might be located.”  

"Yes, your highness."  

“My lady, it must have been hard for you to come all the way here, so it would be better to go up and rest.”  

“Oh, just a moment.  I will treat these people quickly and will go up.”  

Liliana rushed closely to the bars and unleashed her powers to heal people's wounds.  The people who saw their wounds caused along the way and by the restraints heal in an instant, widened their eyes in joy.  Sir Joseph, who was beside her, held his two hands together and said a prayer of emotion.  

“To be able to see the mighty power of the Saintess with these two eyes, I have no regrets even if I die now!”  

“Sa, Saintess……?  This person is a Saintess?” 

"Yes. It is the honor to your family that you have been healed by her hands."

“Thank you very much.  You saved us and gave us such grace.  Thank you very much……!  Heuk.”

As people bowed their heads in gratitude at Sir Joseph's words, Liliana shook her head and waved her hand.  Although she was a little burdened by people's admiration for her, the fact that she could help them, even in a small way, made her proud and made her unconsciously smile. 

“It’s nothing.  Once it is confirmed that you were not accomplices, you will be able to get out of prison soon enough.”  

“My lady, you need to go up and rest.”  

While Noel had a warm gaze, he urged her to rest as she was probably tired from traveling. 

Noel led Liliana’s tired body out of the dungeon.  

When she arrived at the room given to her by Count Termel and immersed herself in the bathtub, the fatigue that had accumulated for a week washed away at once.  She fell into a deep slumber as soon as she put on her robe and laid down on her bed.  

The next day, the Crown Princess and Noel's party prepared to search the area to find Calix's whereabouts.  Liliana wanted to go as well, but she met opposition from others.  They didn’t want to risk bringing the Saintess since it wasn’t to close the gates of the demon realm. 

Liliana was sullen but when she thought about it, although she had powers, she didn’t know how to fight, so she would become a hinderance in a crisis situation.  She agreed to remain with the Count and decided to enjoy her given rest.  

Liliana, who had been rolling around in her bed for a long time, quickly became bored and was swinging her feet around. When she came to the North, she thought it would be hectic and busy, but how could she be bored alone like this?  What was Noel doing now?  Was it dangerous?  She knew all too well that he was the strongest man in the Empire, but she was not at ease.  

* * * (read on pink-grapes.blogspot.com) 

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