Gunmage-Chapter 298: History of the enforcers

This is where enforcers come in. Their job is to protect the Jade Tower as a whole.

"I see,"

Lugh responded as Sela paused to catch her breath. She inhaled, shoulders rising and falling in a smooth rhythm, before preparing to continue.

Lugh waited patiently until she was done, then asked,

"This might not be directly related to the topic at hand, but... when you say a few rich people have the funds to hire their own security..."

"Oh, that?"

She cut in, picking up right where he trailed off.

Cassius assured him,

"You don’t need to worry. It is related to the topic."

Mirelle nodded as well, turning her full attention on Sela. The girl in question pursed her lips, then opened her mouth again and launched into yet another explanation.

"By ’rich people’ I’m naturally referring to the royal family and the church. And by ’security’ I mean the Inquisition and the royal guards."

"I can feel a story here,"

Lugh murmured.

Sela gave him a sheepish smile.

"Originally,"

She began,

"only one of those two had security that they used to—screw it. I don’t need that example now."

She cleared her throat, straightening slightly.

"Before, the royal guards were the ones responsible for safety. They protected us from external threats. But the church... didn’t like this one bit."

Lugh frowned. It wasn’t a real frown, but a practiced one—more an expression of confusion than genuine feeling.

Over the last few months, he’d learned how exceedingly useful facial expressions were in conversation, and had made it a point to practice them.

They still required conscious, deliberate effort, but at least he was making progress.

Sela noticed and asked,

"What?"

He blinked.

"The royal guards are protecting us... and the church doesn’t like that?"

"That sentence has all levels of wrong in it,"

He said flatly.

"Which part is right? Is it that the church doesn’t like protection—or that they just hate the royal guards?"

"Oh, that,"

She said, clearing her throat again before clarifying.

"For you to understand that, you first need to know one thing. Our magic society is one that can only exist in absolute secrecy.

For us to survive, we must remain obscure and hidden from all prying eyes. That’s why ’protection’ takes on another meaning."

Lugh tilted his head slightly, listening closely.

"For our continued existence,"

She continued,

"The magical civilizations must not know about us. That’s why, when we say protection, we don’t mean confronting external threats. We mean misdirection. Spies. Silencing witnesses. Killing traitors. Making sure everyone behaves in line."

"Oh. I see,"

Lugh said, nodding again.

"Naturally, the church didn’t like this—so they formed their own forces. The Inquisition.

Originally created to monitor the various branches of the Embercreed, they began extending their surveillance to Ophris’ magic society as a whole, running it parallel to the royal guards."

It was Cassius who spoke next.

"And the royal family just... let this happen?"

Sela blinked, slightly confused.

"I’m sorry,"

She said.

"But, aren’t you supposed to know about all this?"

He scratched the back of his head.

"You’re right. I am supposed to know."

He didn’t say anything else.

There was a long moment of silence.

"...And?"

Sela asked, almost snapping.

Cassius responded smoothly.

"That’s what I’m doing now. After your explanation, I will know. All is well and good."

She let out a slow sigh, exasperation evident in her posture. Then as if remembering something, she turned her gaze towards her sister.

"What?"

Mirelle asked defensively.

"...Nothing."

Sela looked back at Lugh, continuing her explanation without a change in expression.

"Anyway, the royal family was opposed to it—but it still happened. As a result, relations between the two parties are what you call... tense."

Lugh leaned forward slightly.

"My question is, how exactly did it happen? Was there a fight or something?"

The shadow of Draque’sill still loomed heavily in his memory. The image was carved deep in his mind.

But, the royal guards had a lot of elves. The difference in power couldn’t be that wide... could it?

Or were there others like the high cardinal? That would make sense.

Sela shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Either way, it’s important to note that the church had support."

"Support from who?"

Lugh asked.

"Well... from almost everyone."

"May I ask why?"

"You may,"

Sela replied before enlightening him.

"The thing is, in a complex society like this, concentrating power in one hand is a recipe for disaster. The king already holds the title of leader of the Jade Tower.

If the royal guards are solely in charge of upholding the law—which, in this context, means judging and executing any threats—then things could get tricky."

Lugh hummed in understanding, a few likely scenarios popping up in his head. Sela continued.

"The matter would always go the way they say it would. If they accuse a political rival of selling information to the magical civilizations, who could prove otherwise?

Best case scenario, you get dismissed. Worst case, you’re called an accomplice. The church, by adding another power into the mix, acts as a counterbalance."

"That was,"

She added,

"Until the enforcers were officially founded."

Lugh nodded again, then asked,

"So our family doesn’t have any ’private security’?"

Mirelle immediately responded.

"We don’t need it."

Cassius blinked, momentarily confused.

"Wait... weren’t the Von Heims the ones who created the enforcers?"

"Huh?"

Mirelle asked.

Sela smoothly cut in, rising from her seat and brushing dust off her clothes.

"No, we did not,"

She said.

"We—our ancestors—simply crafted the idea. A proposal in which each major family contributes their most outstanding talents to become enforcers."

"Oh. Interesting,"

Lugh murmured.

Sela added,

"For anyone to accept the proposal, we had to set an example. That’s probably why grandmother is an enforcer."

"And now we’re all trying to become enforcers,"

Lugh added.

"That’s right,"

She affirmed.

It was then that Lugh noticed something didn’t quite line up.

"Hold on,"

He said slowly.

"You just said each house has to contribute their greatest talent."

"That’s right,"

Sela replied.

"Then why—"

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l