The Warden of The Witches-Chapter 228:

The moment Aiden had the thought, he realized he was jumping to conclusions too hastily.

The Blood Moon Cult wouldn't be shadowing the Bountiful Mother cult without some understanding of their movements. They had to know at least a little about what the Bountiful Mother cult was up to.

Norse’s actions didn’t quite add up either. If he was here to gather intelligence, he should be keeping a low profile.

Engaging in acts of blood-feeding like this was bound to catch the attention of the inquisition if it went on too long. Doing such things in a state so closely watched by the inquisition, and right within the city, was highly unusual.

If he were simply feeding to satisfy his own desires, he should at least be cautious enough to head to the outskirts, no matter how confident he felt.

“Let me ask you,” Aiden said, “are you snatching people and feeding on them here because the cult ordered it, or is this your own idea?”

“Eh?” Norse looked genuinely surprised, as if Aiden had seen right through him. “Well... yes, the cult did instruct me to...”

“Come on, seriously?” Kyle’s expression was full of disbelief. “It looks more like you just wanted to have a taste yourself.”

“It’s true!” Norse protested loudly. “He ordered us to stay here… and to drink human blood regularly. He even checks us to see if we smell like we’ve fed.”

“Oh? ‘He’? ‘Us’?” Kyle narrowed his eyes. “So, you’re not the only one involved?”

“Besides me, there are three others… all vampires,” Norse replied.

“And who is this ‘he’?”

“He’s a superior in the cult who monitors me, a vampire of higher rank than me—at least a Duke, I’d guess. I’m practically forced to work under him!” Norse answered.

Hearing this, an idea suddenly dawned on Aiden: this guy might just be bait.

“How much do you know about this overseer? His name? What does he look like?” Aiden asked.

“I-I don’t know.” Norse answered cautiously.

“Want to find out what it’s like to have a heart skewered?” Kyle sneered, glaring menacingly at Norse.

Norse froze in terror. “I really don’t know! He always keeps his face hidden and never tells us his name! He only visits our hideouts periodically to make sure we’re doing our jobs!”

The more Aiden listened, the more it confirmed his suspicions.

The B-ranked fugitive before them was clearly carrying out his mission in a clueless, haphazard manner. It seemed like the Blood Moon Cult didn’t expect him to uncover anything substantial at all. Rather, they probably just wanted him to stir up enough trouble to catch the attention of the inquisition.

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And this guy had only recently joined the cult himself, drawn in by tempting offers and then coerced by stronger vampires into doing such things…

It felt more and more like he was just a decoy, a distraction for something bigger brewing beneath the surface, Aiden thought to himself.

Kyle tried questioning Norse a few more times, but it was the same story—Norse knew almost nothing. Each time Kyle showed doubt or threatened him, Norse grew visibly nervous, but still, he couldn’t offer any useful information.

Finally, Aiden lost patience. “Alright, it’s clear we’re not going to get anything worthwhile out of him. Let’s hand him over to the inquisition.”

There was no point in further questioning. With the inquisition interrogation techniques, they might be able to extract something new.

“Uh…” Kyle hesitated briefly, realizing he, too, had no better ideas for getting intel out of Norse, and finally agreed with Aiden. “Fine, then…”

He glanced down at Norse’s head on the floor, reached out to manipulate the blood on his hand into thin threads, wrapped them around Norse’s head, and pulled it back into his grip. With a quick motion, he reattached the head to the severed neck.

“Done!” Kyle announced with a satisfied look, but then he frowned. “Something feels… off.”

“It’s backwards,” Aiden pointed out.

“Oh, sorry, my bad.” Kyle grinned at Norse, rotating his head to face the right way.

Norse’s cheeks twitched as if he was on the verge of exploding, but in the end, he didn’t dare voice any complaints.

“Let’s wait just a bit,” Aiden said, glancing at the woman lying nearby. “Once the victim has recovered, I’ll ask the tavern staff to get us a carriage. We’ll bring the witness along and escort this fugitive to the inquisition.”

“Then I’ll leave the prisoner transfer in your capable hands, Warden, and I trust you’ll give a full account of the Blood Moon Cult situation. I’ll skip a trip to the Tribunal tonight.” Kyle smiled.

Interrogating Norse and convincing Aiden of the Blood Moon Cult’s activity was exactly what Kyle had set out to accomplish.

“You’re not planning to come along to give a statement?” Aiden gave him a surprised look. “Not even interested in the bounty?”

“I’m really not comfortable going into a place like that,” Kyle waved his hands dismissively. “Warden, just you explaining the situation will be enough. If the inquisition needs to verify anything, they’ll know where to find me, and I’ll cooperate fully then. As for the bounty… you take it. Think of it as me doing you a small favor.”

“But you were the one who caught him. I’d feel guilty taking the money. It’s better if you go in and claim it yourself,” Aiden insisted.

“No, no, really, I don’t mind at all!” Kyle kept waving it off.

“I mind,” Aiden pressed.

“Oh, come on, no need to be so polite!”

“You’re the one being too polite. Catching a wanted criminal deserves recognition; you should take it.”

“It’s really not necessary.”

“Yes, it is.”

…

The two went back and forth, each politely trying to push the bounty onto the other, while Norse, the criminal, stood silently watching them bicker.

In the end, Kyle finally gave in, chuckling in exasperation. “Alright, alright, you win… Seems like there’s no way around this. I’ll go in and help with the investigation.”

“I’m glad you see reason,” Aiden nodded. “Frankly, refusing to go in and cooperate would only make you look suspicious.”

“Ah, I see, lesson learned.” Kyle smiled awkwardly, his gaze dropping as he added, “So… would you mind pointing that gun somewhere else?”

Aiden’s persuasion finally succeeded, thanks to his half-jokingly aimed gun. It was instantly effective.

Though he hadn’t found anything explicitly concerning, Aiden still wasn’t entirely convinced by Kyle’s story. And, well… he wasn’t certain if Kyle’s so-called “Founder’s Faction” might also be involved in something illegal.

In the end, the simplest solution was to bring Kyle into the Tribunal as well and give him a proper questioning.