[The history of the Shadow Corps actually isn’t that long.]

In a very short time, Marbas had learned an enormous amount about the Shadow Corps.

[At most, maybe around a hundred years?]

‘.......’

[But the strange thing is this: why would Papa even need a group like the Shadow Corps? Think about it.]

‘.......’

[Who is the Pope? The representative of a god. His duty is to conduct rituals, interpret doctrine, and deliver revelations. And yet.]

‘.......’

[A person in that position keeps a personal assassination unit. Suspicious. Extremely suspicious.]

Marbas emphasized it over and over again to Tie.

[Papa definitely has some kind of dirty secret. And a very filthy one at that.]

‘Dirty?’

[Yeah! Before I was sealed away, things were completely different. A personal military unit under the Pope? The doctrine itself clearly says.]

‘.......’

[Book of Purity, Chapter 2, Article 1. The Pope must not shed blood and must exist only as a mirror reflecting the will of god.]

‘.......’

[That means the Pope must never dirty his own hands. Because according to the doctrine, a holy person is someone who preserves life. Not someone who takes it.]

Someone who takes life.

And someone who preserves it.

That night, Tie asked Papa about what Marbas had told her.

“Papa. Did the Pope really kill a lot of people?”

Papa looked slightly surprised before answering.

“Did the corps members tell you that?”

“Nope, Marr did. He said Tie needs to know about the Pope so it won’t become dangerous later.”

Tesetan hugged Tie tightly and spoke quietly.

“That person truly harmed many innocent people. And during the Sacred Trials, there were many times when he was far crueler than necessary.”

“Then why is he still the Pope?”

“Mm?”

“Can’t they impeach him? Just kick him out.”

For some reason, Papa looked up at the ceiling before answering.

“......Those discussions probably came up many times. But they always ended in failure.”

“Why?”

“Because his holy power is too overwhelming. No one can deny the Pope’s superiority in that regard.”

Holy power was divine power that not just anyone could possess.

That was why the Pope’s power inspired worship and reverence in everyone.

“To remove Luciano, someone capable of taking his place would be necessary. But right now, no such person exists.”

“Does the Pope really have that much holy power......?”

“Yes. Tie, you know your grandmother, right?”

Tie’s grandmother.

Eleanor Richard was the woman who had displayed the greatest holy power in all of history.

But—

“Luciano surpassed even Tie’s grandmother.”

“.......”

“He surpassed even the saint who was once considered the strongest in history.”

At some point, Luciano had begun to seem as though he had ascended to the level of a god himself.

And proof of that was how, on the days the Pope appeared before the public, the streets filled with people like swarming ants.

Rumors spread across the entire continent that a single glance from Luciano was enough to cure any illness.

‘But...... still.’

Tie could not shake the unpleasant feeling lingering inside her.

The conference room of the Rewards Bureau.

When she looked up, she saw that Yvonne was still standing by the window.

Tie immediately ran toward her.

Then she climbed onto a chair and pointed at the button Yvonne had placed on the table.

“This is Papa!”

Bale flinched.

Even Basto approached the table with a serious expression.

“Marr told me. Only the Pope’s subordinates wear buttons like this. The Shadow Corps!”

“The Shadow...... The Shadow Corps?”

Bale frowned and looked at Tie.

“But the Shadow Corps are assassins.”

Basto spoke as well.

“Then why did they attack our carriage?”

Carriages were usually attacked for only two reasons.

Either they were transporting valuable supplies.

Or someone important inside needed to be eliminated.

But Agavert’s carriage matched neither condition.

Bale looked at Yvonne.

“Wait. You said the coachman tried to sell you. What does that mean?”

Yvonne’s face darkened.

As she gently stroked Noah’s back while he sat in her lap, she looked toward the younger children sobbing quietly in the corner.

“It happened this morning...... I think we were almost at the capital already.”

Yvonne’s eyes darkened calmly.

The memory of that morning rose vividly before her.

“Mister! How much longer until we arrive?”

Noah stuck his head out the carriage window and shouted.

“Hahaha, we’re almost there, so hang in a little longer! Half a day more and we’ll arrive!”

Even though the child had already asked the same question countless times and it should have been irritating by now, the coachman only smiled kindly as he always had during the journey.

Yvonne pulled Noah back by the arm and sat him on her lap.

“Noah, stop that already. I told you not to bother the coachman. He’s tired.”

“But my butt hurts so much. I wanna get out......!”

“The more you complain, the longer the trip feels. Look, Sister Jeanne and Brother Ed are sitting quietly. Is Noah the only one going to make noise?”

Noah immediately pressed his lips shut.

Seeing his older brother and sister sitting quietly, the boy puffed out his cheeks.

Yvonne gently stroked his head.

“We’ll arrive tonight, eat something delicious, and get plenty of rest. You kept saying you wanted to see Brother Bale again, didn’t you, Noah?”

The moment Bale’s name came up, Noah’s face immediately brightened.

“......Yeah! We’re gonna see Brother Bale now?”

“Of course! And remember the mercenary leader Brother Bale works for? They say he’s a very kind and good person. Rich too, and strong. Apparently even stronger than Brother Bale.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Yep! And his house is so huge that even if all of us lived there together, there’d still be rooms left over.”

“Sister. That’s the King of the Dead, right?”

Jeanne, who had approached from the back carrying a book, spoke first.

Yvonne nodded proudly.

“Right. Right now they’re the most famous mercenary group in the entire Empire. Even on other continents, people are willing to do anything just to hire Agavert.”

“How did Brother end up in a group like that?”

“Seriously. Brother Bale is so awesome.”

Even Rozak and Ed, who had been pretending not to listen, joined the conversation.

Yvonne smiled as she looked at the younger children’s faces.

“So when we arrive, how should you behave?”

“Politely!”

“Especially in front of the King of the Dead. Under no circumstances, absolutely no circumstances, should you be rude to him, understand?”

“Yeah!”

“If he’s Brother Bale’s benefactor, then he’s our benefactor too. He even lent us this carriage.......”

And then—

Something jerked violently, and the carriage shook hard.

Eyes widening, Yvonne looked outside.

She saw the coachman climbing down from his horse.

“Um, your name’s Yvonne, right?”

Still smiling warmly, the coachman approached the window.

“I suddenly need to use the bathroom, so I think we’ll have to take a short detour onto a side road.”

He gestured toward a narrow path leading off to the side.

“The main road is too wide and crowded. Since I need to relieve myself and change clothes anyway, I figured it’d be better to go around.”

The coachman’s voice sounded very friendly.

But precisely because of that, something about him felt strange.

Yvonne smiled at first.

“Of course. You didn’t even need to tell me. Please do whatever’s comfortable for you.”

“Aw, come on now! You’re customers! Of course I should let you know beforehand!”

Laughing loudly, the coachman rested a hand on his waist.

“Then let’s get moving again...... Ah.”

But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly turned back with a slightly odd expression.

“Um, you already contacted that brother of yours, right?”

“Contacted him?”

“You know, to tell him you’re almost here. I heard you’re close like family. So I thought maybe he gave you at least one communication artifact.”

Yvonne fell silent.

She hadn’t imagined it.

Even now, the coachman’s eyes twitched rapidly in tiny movements.

Maintaining the most °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° innocent expression possible, Yvonne answered:

“Not yet! But I was planning to soon.”

The coachman blinked briefly.

“Ah, really? Well then, you definitely should. Absolutely should.” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Slowly looking around the surroundings, the coachman muttered:

“Let’s see...... Just tell him you’re near One Eyed Rock.”

But unlike his voice, his movements seemed strangely hurried and nervous as he climbed back onto the horse.

Soon the carriage began rattling forward again.

Yvonne silently stared at his back.

Rozak approached with a frown.

“Sis, why did you lie? We don’t even have a communication artifact.”

Yvonne did not answer.

She only looked seriously at the younger children and spoke quietly.

“......Everyone, get dressed.”