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Chapter 66 Part 2 – A little happiness and the prelude to the tragedy.

Marielle turned around with a terribly surprised expression on her face. Her skin was covered with goosebumps.

「This kid was able to touch my arm without me noticing ……?」

In response to her gaze, the black-bearded Bobby and the brown-bearded Bill nodded seriously.

「He is Wendell-sama, the legitimate child of the Lingard family.」

Said the black-bearded Bobby boastfully.

「I see. So he’s that son of the marquis who’s been treated poorly by the marquis family after the whole succession fiasco. I knew there was something going on since you guys, people who hate the current head of the family are following him …… It turns out that he can use the great lord’s cavalry technique.」

「He has already grasped the flow of power.」

Brown-bearded Bill’s tone sounded like he was bragging about his grandson.

The ‘great lord’ that Marielle mentioned was Wendell’s grandfather, who had already retired.
The three old warriors disliked the current head of the family, Marquis Vygod, but were enamored with his great predecessor.
The same was true of Marielle, who was taken care of by them.

「So he’s the great lord’s …… Yes, I can see the similarities in his face. His skills are terrifying for his age. Those red hair and red eyes of his are not just for show. I guess I should refer to him as young master.」

Marielle corrected her expression and way of speaking and bowed to him, then she spoke to Wendell.

「I know better than anyone that these three old men are good people, although they are idiots. I was just making fun of them. They are good-natured people who gave me a helping hand free of charge when I was at a loss as a child after having rushed out from my hometown, the ‘Lawless Crew’. I swear to god that they acted like gentlemen. I just fell in love with them on my own. Thanks to them, I was able to be educated and can continue living, even if in a crooked way. I can’t thank them enough for their help.」

「…… Marielle, you ……」

「You always spoke hatefully toward us, and yet you actually think of us as so.」

Seeing the black-bearded Bobby and the brown-bearded Bill trembling while feeling deeply moved, she realized that she said too much.
Then Marielle stuck out the tip of her tongue. Her ears were red.

「What are you being so serious about!! It’s just lip service. What a convenient ear you guys have to not pay attention to the word 「idiots」. Anyway, come on now, you men should turn around!!」

All the men, including Wendell, hurriedly turned around.

After Marielle yelled that to hide her shyness, she picked up the hem of Rona’s skirt who was lying on the sofa.
Marielle’s expression turned gloomy and serious after she looked inside.
She sighed and gently let go of Rona’s skirt.

「…… It’s terrible. It’s not an ordinary wound. …… Could it be that you guys rescued her from the torture of a witch hunt? Will you guys be okay? Just by sheltering a witch, you will be considered to be on the witches’ side.」

Rona’s wounds were inflicted by a torture device that was once used by the Inquisition.
In a sense, Marielle was right.
But the unexpected words made the old warriors with black and brown beards look at each other.

「A witch hunt? …… This girl was about to throw herself off a bridge when the young master saved her. She cried out that she was dirty and wanted to die ……」

「There is no doubt that she was subjected to a dreadful experience. However, isn’t there an official from the Inquisition that was dispatched to Hydrangea?」

The black-bearded Bobby and the brown-bearded Bill were perplexed by Marielle’s stern expression.

The continent is currently in the midst of a hysterical witch hunt.
But Hydrangea is an island kingdom, so it is spared.
In the other kingdoms, several plumes of smoke are coming from the hills just outside the town.
There is a sickening smell.
People are being burned.
Sometimes they are burned alive and screams are added to the scene.
It is a gruesome execution by burning at the stake.
Witches are supposed to be purified by being burned.

The Inquisition is at the center of that witch hunt.

「…… Recently, an official of the Inquisition was suddenly dispatched from the Holy City to this area. He’s the worst type of scumbag with a nasty mustache named Matthew Glaus. He was wearing a bowler hat and a black mantle. You can easily recognize him because of his disgusting hypocritical courtesy and creepy smile.」

At Marielle’s words, the black-bearded Bobby and the brown-bearded Bill’s brows furrowed.

The Inquisition is the association that judges whether someone is a witch or not.

However, the Inquisitor is famous for their no-holds-barred methods and their atrocious ways.

Still, it would be better if the interrogators were religious fanatics.
At the very least, they believe in the existence of witches and are serious about eliminating them for the sake of god’s world.

The worst of all of them are those who fabricate the truth and accuse the people of being witches for the purpose of confiscating their property.
They don’t believe in witches.
Yet, for the sake of making money, they put the stigma of a witch on innocent people and roast their lives on an assembly line.

Instead of punishing the suspects, they decimate, torture, kill, and trample on the honor of those they want to take their property from and do not even allow them to be put in a grave. And yet they refer to themselves as god’s justice. Not even the devil could be so brazen and unscrupulous in his inhumanity.

Marielle’s subsequent story showed that Matthew was the latter type.
The story was so terrible that the old warriors let out a grunt of displeasure.

「You see, Matthew, that guy would torture the sons and daughters of the people he wants to turn into witches. He would choose the youngest child possible. That’s how he gets the children to say that their father and mother are actually witches. Since the testimony came from their closest family, the people would be sure that their parents are actually witches and they would immediately be sent to the execution site. Then Matthew would plan to kill the child as well, so the torture is merciless. He wants them gone because they are living witnesses to a false testimony. The children will die in agony while shedding tears, regretting having sold out their parents.」

…… This person called Matthew would later push Rona into the depths of despair.
But no one could have predicted that at this point in time.

The chivalrous old warriors were outraged at Matthew just by listening to that story.

「…… His actions are way too repulsive.」

「Why? Why is such a fiend allowed to go unchecked?」

The two old warriors looked like they wanted to go slaughter Matthew right at that moment.
Marielle sighed deeply and revealed the truth.

「Matthew is colluding with the local leaders. And also with the feudal lords and the court. They would share the property of the people they killed in the witch hunt. You can understand it now right? This is an act of looting done by the powerful and influential people in the name of a witch hunt. The people who are supposed to be cracking down on this are on Matthew’s side. Many of his accomplices are high-ranking nobles. Matthew has grown in power through this practice. A lot of people I know have been hit hard by it.」

「…… Alright, I understand. The three of us will attack in the dark tonight.」

The black-bearded Bobby, who appeared to be the funniest but was actually the most hot-blooded, made a dangerous suggestion.
Marielle made a genuinely exasperated expression and slapped the black-bearded Bobby on the back of the head.

「W-Why? It hurts ……」

「You idiot. What a hot-blooded old man. Cool your head a little. If you do that, your young master will be treated as a witch and executed. You guys have no idea how famous you are, do you? Your identities will be exposed immediately. Besides, Matthew is so cunning that he’s never alone. He always has many companions lurking around him. It’s impossible to kill all of them in order to silence them.」

The old warriors were at a loss for words.