The Holy City of Akdios – Part 01
Interlude: Sin
She’d been murdered.
As soon as he received the news, he abandoned all his work and left the castle, sending his fastest horse to a gallop. He knew hurrying up wouldn’t bring the dead back to life, but he couldn’t help it.
Led by the city guards, he entered an alleyway that had been cleared of people, and found the body lying there.
It was the body of a young girl with bright red hair. Her clothes had been ripped apart, and her pale back bore darkish red words.
God, please forgive me. I have defiled the blessed saint. I will pay for my sins with my life.
One only had to look at the rusty nails lying beside the corpse to know how these letters were written.
“From the way the blood flowed, it seems to have been written when she was alive,” a man said. “Her mouth must’ve been stuffed with wet cloth to stop her from screaming. By the time a sailor came to the alley to pick up some cargo, it was too late.”
Her hands and feet were bound with ropes, her face swollen. Instead of torn clothes, blood and bluish purple bruises covered her entire body.
But Torres Nada Gadio, the governor of Ideaverna, knew at a glance who the body was. He would not mistake her for anyone else.
“Parcell…”
The precious only daughter of the taciturn gardener who always kept the castle’s garden in perfect order. Torres had been watching this girl grow up. She always wore a radiant smile, dreaming about one day becoming a gardener like her father.
When her father died, they mourned his death together, and while he couldn’t replace him, Torres tried his best to be a father to Parcell.
“How could this happen?”
She was alive just a while ago.
“Why are you doing this, my lord?!”
She jumped in front of the carriage back then, criticizing Torres head-on, vigor in her eyes.
That girl full of hope and strength for the future was lying in the back alley like a neglected doll.
“Bring me clothes for her!” Torres shouted. “We can’t let the tragic body of a young girl be exposed any longer! Hurry!” He took off his own jacket and wrapped it around Parcell’s body.
Her boy was stiff. And terribly cold, as if rejecting Torres.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Parcell!”
It’s my fault. It’s all my fault.
He should have thrown her to jail. When Parcell jumped in front of the carriage and accused the saint of being a witch, he should have arrested her and sent her to prison. He should not have let her go with just a slap to her cheek. At the very least, he should have taken her back to the castle with him.
There was no way a powerless girl with no one to protect her could criticize the saint so openly and get away with it.
He underestimated the saint’s power. That witch.
Both the priest and the saint were definitely in the castle. Then it was the citizens of Ideaverna who killed Parcell.
This wasn’t a punishment for the dead. It was a warning to Torres not to criticize the saint.
“Please come with us to the Holy City,” Lia said. It was the morning of our departure from Idea Verna. “I owe you two so much, so I want to properly express my gratitude. To Theo as well, of course.”
We were heading to the Holy City to investigate Magic-related incidents anyway. Naturally, being around Lia, who seemed to be using Magic, would be favorable for us. Her request was just what we wanted, so we accepted it without hesitation.
The priest didn’t even bother objecting at this point. Instead he let out a deep, bitter sigh. He seemed mature enough. I expected nothing less from a priest.
“Gramps,” Theo said, poking me with his elbow. “Did you give her your gift?”
I lowered my gaze to meet his eye, then shook my head.
“Wh-What are you doing?! What’s the point of buying it if you don’t give it to her?!”
“I know that. I just didn’t know how to give it, you know.”
“Just hand it to her normally! You’re such a chicken.”
I had no idea what he meant by doing it “normally”. It was absurd to ask a mercenary, who lived most of their life by killing and cursing others, to suddenly give a gift to someone as an apology. How was I supposed to know what normal meant?
“I will miss you, beautiful young lady who captured my heart,” Torres said. “I would have loved for you to stay so we can talk more about informative matters. If you run into any trouble, please feel free to contact Torres Nada Gadio, the most famous sailor in Ideaverna, at any time.”
The governor grasped both of Zero’s hands firmly with his rugged hands and pressed his lips onto them. He then turned to the saint and gave her a warm smile. Too warm, in fact, that it seemed intimidating.
“Please be careful on the road, Your Eminence,” he said. “There are many bandits these days. Perhaps it is an omen that portends the country’s downfall. How sad and unfortunate. Nonetheless you are under the protection of God and the Church. Others might die, but I hope you live on. May God bless you.”
The governor offered his hand for a shake, and Lia grasped it sheepishly. My blood froze for a moment, as it looked like the governor was about to crush her hand, but he just politely planted a kiss on it.
He seems more aggressive than yesterday…
“Gentlemen!” the governor shouted in a clear voice. “Her Eminence is departing! Give her a grand sendoff!”
Troops sent a salute towards the carriage all at the same time. They looked valiant, like a well-organized military squad.
Cocking her head slightly, Zero tugged at the hem of the governor’s clothes. As he bent down at the waist, Zero brought her lips close to his ears and whispered something. Instantly his eyes widened. He was about to say something, but Zero left him behind and boarded the carriage.
The newly-prepared carriage was so huge that even with all of us riding it, there was still enough space left. The interior was also luxurious. Theo began to frolic in the soft cushions as soon as he got into the carriage. The saint and her attendant laughed, watching him, while the priest stayed still in one corner like a shadow.
I sat down in the corner of the carriage—on the opposite side of the priest—and Zero slid between my legs like it was the most natural thing to do.
“There is plenty of space available, Master.”
“The carriage rocks. Support me.”
We would be traveling through a paved road. A luxury carriage with perfectly-functioning shock absorbers would hardly sway, so there was really no need to support her.
“Support me,” Zero repeated as if to remind me that I was her bodyguard. She seemed to imply that since I looked after Lia on the way, it was her turn this time as my employer.
“Yeah, yeah. As you command.”
As I obediently held Zero’s body, she flashed a satisfied smile and leaned back into my chest.
“What did you tell the governor just now?” I asked.
“He seemed depressed, so I told him it was not his fault.”
“Depressed?”
“It is extremely personal. I can not tell you about it right now.”
I was surprised they’d gotten so close to have a very personal conversation with the guy. I could understand not divulging extremely personal matters, but what did she mean by “right now”? Was she going to tell me in the future? Tilting my head, I waited for more words to come from Zero, but she quietly closed her eyes and mouth, as if to say that there was no need to speak further.
According to the driver, the journey from the Ideaverna to the Holy City of Akdios would take seven days on foot or four days by carriage. Built for comfortable journeys, the huge carriage moved slowly.
If you drew a straight line, the two cities were not that far apart, but there were forests and valleys in between, leaving us with no choice but to take a longer route through the paved road.
Normally we would be staying at inns found along the way, but we needed to camp out during the first night, and I was on lookout duty.
I can still smell the sea.
“What do I want to do?” I repeated Zero’s question from last night.
I didn’t want to betray Zero. If people were dying because of Lia, then she must be eliminated. But I didn’t want to kill her either.
I thought that I had become desensitized to the death of others a long time ago, but apparently that only applied to strangers.
What if Zero decided that Lia must be killed and I had to do it? Could I even kill her simply because Zero ordered me to do so? If I couldn’t, would I become Zero’s enemy?
“This is all too complicated for me.”
“What is complicated exactly?”
I nearly screamed out loud into the silent forest. Quickly, I covered my mouth. The priest approached me from behind without a sound, without a hint of his presence. He was close enough to cut my head off if he reached out his hand. It was already nighttime, and there was no light around.
The priest took off his eye patch. His eyes were clearly directed at my neck.
“Had you screamed and disturbed Her Eminence’s sound sleep, I would have cut your head off on the spot. Thank your lucky stars you’re alive.”
Is this dude really a priest?
He felt more like the devil’s right-hand man than a messenger of God. He might just die if I poured holy water on him. I wasn’t gonna try it, of course. What if he actually died? I’d rather not risk it.
I clicked my tongue and exhaled. “You can blame yourself for that,” I said. “You’re the one who snuck up on me without a sound. You’re too quiet even Beastfallen can’t sense you. The sound of your footsteps is a way of telling someone you’re approaching them. Make sure you make a sound next time.”
“I have one question for you,” the priest said pointedly. “What are you up to?” He pressed the end of his staff against my neck.
He doesn’t even give a damn.
“What do you mean? You guys asked me to be your guard. Then Her Eminence invited us to the Holy City, so here I am, traveling with you.”
“So you didn’t curry favor with her to gain the invitation. Did you really think I would fall for that?”
His eyes were filled with hatred. If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now. He seemed completely convinced that I was out to hurt Lia. He probably even thought I would ravish her and devour her.
The mere prejudice against Beastfallen could not give birth to such intense abhorrence. Someone close to him was most likely killed by a Beastfallen. And in the worst possible way, at that.
“Do not think for a single moment that simply because Her Eminence allowed you to accompany us to the Holy City that I would let my guard down. Inviting a Beastfallen to the Holy City… Her benevolence knows no bounds.”
“Oh, give me a break. Sure, it’s normal for God’s devout servants to hate us Beastfallen, but clearly your hatred towards me is personal. Did a Beastfallen kill your family or something? Or did they eat your lover? Either way, I didn’t do any of that.”
“I’m the one asking questions here. Did someone hire you to get dirt on Her Eminence? Did you think that if you obtained proof that she was a witch, she would be at your mercy?”
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