Ch#124
"......Hold on."
The moment Valentis finished speaking, Veil rose from his seat.
Raoul and Enzo pushed their chairs back too.
As if ready to bolt the instant something happened.
Veil looked around at the Lumenen family with a calm face.
"We have no idea what you're talking about. Sanctity of Oblivion?"
But Valentis gave no reply.
He simply drank the wine that was about half full in his glass.
Tie instinctively grasped the situation.
'The Grand Commander knows!'
She quickly shoved her hand under the table.
And pushed the Sanctity of Oblivion on her wrist up into her sleeve.
'He knows all about Tie having the holy relic...!'
And not just that,
'The Sanctity of Oblivion doesn't work on me.'
He seemed to remember everything, even the fact that Tie had tried to erase his memory.
'Wh-what do I do?'
Her heart began pounding fiercely.
Tie looked at Basto with frightened eyes.
Now that her possession of the holy relic was exposed, would the Grand Commander try to take it from her?
They'd said the Church always confiscates holy relics when discovered.
'Then was the promise to show the organization chart a lie too...?'
What if he'd actually called her here to arrest her as a thief...!
As her worries grew in her head, it was then.
"All byproducts from sieging magic stones must be reported to the Church by principle."
Valentis said in a low, rigid voice.
He was already staring straight at Veil, who had stood up.
"Holy relics and other special forms of spoils are under even stricter control. If obtained, they must be reported to the Church and voluntarily surrendered. Otherwise, it's punishment for sacrilege."
"What? We didn't know anything about that...!"
"Ignorance is no excuse for holy law."
Valentis cut off Veil.
Then continued in an emotionless voice.
"Talochioum is a nation ruled under the name of God. Holy law supersedes national law, and those who violate it are punished. No exceptions for accomplices or those who turn a blind eye."
In the end, silence fell over the banquet hall.
Tie looked around in the stifling quiet where even breathing sounds were absent.
Raoul and Enzo had stood up at some point.
Lucarion at the far end had been staring only at Tie since moments ago.
Soon, Veil muttered a soundless curse and glared sharply at the three young masters across from him.
Seeing that look, Tie knew right away.
'This is bad.'
That glint in Veil's eyes only appeared when turning dire situations around.
Meaning Veil was now devising a way to deal with the three Lumenen young masters and the duke to escape the mansion.
Just like when he'd punched Reginald in the jaw!
"But I."
However, Valentis opened his mouth again then.
As he slowly turned his head, his inscrutable gray eyes fixed on Tie.
"Have chosen to become an accomplice in this matter instead of reporting you to the Church."
In the frozen air.
Tie's wide eyes parted her lips.
"Bear hat...? Bear hat's an ac-com-pli, eek."
Basto hurriedly clamped his hand over Tie's mouth.
"What does that mean?"
At this moment, Basto's heart was pounding wildly.
And rightly so—he'd been prepared to grab Tie and jump out the window at Veil's signal.
Sacrilege was a charge they absolutely could not get tangled in, no matter what.
So when that word left the Grand Commander's mouth, the members had quickly exchanged glances.
They'd resolved to escape the mansion, even if it meant bloodshed.
Of course, making an enemy of the Lumenen family was nearly suicidal.
But.
'We have to get out first to smuggle Tie away or whatever.'
But what had the Grand Commander just said?
Not 'I'll report you to the Church.'
Not 'I'll handle it myself.'
But 'I'll become an accomplice'?
At Valentis's gesture, the butler brought over several thick bundles of documents.
"You must know. The Holy Knight Order's full organization chart is a Church secret document. It must never be shown to outsiders."
The butler thumped the materials down next to Tie.
"But I have no intention of breaking my promise. That should answer your concerns."
Yet the silence hanging over the banquet hall showed no signs of lifting.
In the meantime, Valentis's gaze turned impassively to Tie.
"It probably won't be quick. So."
"......"
"Eat your fill first, then slowly search for your father. Take as many days as needed."
Basto's hand slowly fell from Tie's mouth.
Tie looked at Valentis with bewildered eyes.
The Grand Commander's sea-like eyes didn't seem like those of a liar.
The child cautiously asked.
"Th-then, is it okay for Tie to keep the bracelet...?"
He'd really overlook the fact that she had the Sanctity of Oblivion?
Valentis nodded.
"Yes. I promise no one on my side will leak that fact."
"Even though Tie tricked you, you'll still show the organization chart?"
"......Tricked. You could see it that way, but in the end, it doesn't matter. As I said earlier, the Sanctity of Oblivion didn't work on me."
Tie closed her mouth.
Then hesitated for a long while before adding her final question.
"Because you pity Tie?"
Valentis stiffened momentarily.
A hint of surprise flickered across the three young masters' faces opposite.
Tie glanced hesitantly at her members before asking again.
"Are you helping because you pity Tie for having no dad or mom?"
Valentis didn't answer.
He simply looked at Tie with a strange gaze before replying after a long pause.
"No."
Then, as if nothing had happened, he picked up his wine glass again and added.
"To ease my own personal guilt. Not because of you."
* * *
After the meal.
The materials from the banquet hall were placed before Agavert in the grand conference room.
"This is the Holy Knight Order's full organization chart."
Tie took a short breath, with Basto to her right and Veil to her left.
"Bound in 8 volumes total, the first, second, and third cover knights affiliated with Talochioum."
Tie listened intently to the butler's explanation.
The old butler had even placed blank paper and charcoal next to her for notes before stepping back.
"Then."
The conference room door thudded shut.
A few seconds later, Raoul exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
"Wh-what the hell is going on...!"
The other members found it just as hard to believe.
As if representing them, only Tie had properly enjoyed the meal in the banquet hall moments ago.
The rest couldn't eat properly from the tension.
"Was not turning in the holy relic really enough to slap us with sacrilege?"
As expected, Basto asked.
Enzo shook his head as if he didn't know.
"No! Well, now that I think about it... I'm not sure."
Holy relics emerging from magic stones had been extremely rare, countable on one hand.
Most were discovered by Holy Knights, with only one instance by mercenaries.
"When Trebaga found theirs, they voluntarily surrendered it to the Church right away..."
So no one had anticipated secretly possessing a holy relic would be such a grave 'crime.'
"Damn it, how were we supposed to know holy law or whatever?!"
Veil shouted irritably.
As he said, it was unreasonable for ordinary folk who weren't Holy Knights or believers to know holy law.
"Threatening a kid with sacrilege just to scare us..."
Sacrilege, the charge given only to those who insulted or defied God.
Prisoners with this charge were principle shipped to the central continent.
And none ever returned.
Only rumors abounded that they endured horrific punishments before painfully ending their lives.
"Anyway, the Lumenen Leader said he'd overlook it."
At Raoul's words, Enzo nodded.
"Yes. Though I don't know exactly what he meant by becoming an accomplice..."
In the end, everyone fell silent.
At the end of the silence, Basto sighed as he looked at Tie.
"Tie. Are you oka..."
But by then, Tie had already turned to the third page of the materials.
