Chapter 882

As Hector frowned and asked, Ian set the bottle down and replied, "You people. And especially you. You experienced everything that happened in the Isles firsthand and learned every hidden truth."

His gaze met Hector's eye, which had narrowed slightly. "And some of those truths are nothing more than someone’s dirty secret."

At last, Hector's lips parted as though he could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Surely not. Are you saying the Great Church might actually try to eliminate me?"

"Well..." Ian let the words hang and shrugged one shoulder.

That alone was enough to deepen the crease in Hector's brow. "With the capricious Goddess watching over us, what justification could they possibly use for such a thing? If they were to harm us, they would never escape the wrath of the Goddess and the heavens—"

"There are people within the Great Church who are exceptionally skilled at deceiving the gods and twisting heaven's will." Ian cut him off.

It was another confirmation that Hector knew nothing about the Round Table Parliament.

"They've used corruptors and heretics to plant chaos and shape the world to their liking. Even Edward Kralen, the former Duke of the West, was one of them."

Hector’s eyes widened until they nearly bulged from their sockets.

However, Ian wasn't finished.

"You didn't purge the heretics of the archipelago. Instead, you tolerated them, coexisted with them for years, and even used them when it suited your purposes."

As Ian picked up the bottle again, Hector stammered out his response, still frozen in shock, "That's... true, but... it was all for the Empire's prosperity..."

A faint smile curled at the corner of Ian's mouth. "And who handed you that justification? Unlike the Duke, you probably meant it sincerely. However, Kralen is dead now, and those heretics ultimately succumbed to corruption. If they wanted to, it wouldn't be difficult to pin everything on you, Hector."

Ian raised the bottle to his lips.

Hector sat frozen, eyes wide, unable to respond.

Not only Elia, but even Nehat, standing guard by the door, had fallen silent and was watching him intently.

"Why is it always when I'm around..."

Only Diana squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed a hand down her face as though she wanted no part of the conversation.

The only sound in the room was the murmur of Sanford and Ohara negotiating something in the corner.

At last, Hector quietly said, "So… without even realizing it, I became their puppet."

While the shock still lingered in his voice, a new, sharp clarity had replaced the confusion in his eyes. For the first time, countless unanswered questions were beginning to make sense to him.

"They weren't unable to answer my requests for aid. They genuinely wanted me to either fall to corruption in the archipelago... or die at the hands of heretics."

Ian lowered the bottle and replied, "They wanted Raskagin released from its seal. That's how they operate. That's the Round Table’s way."

Watching Hector let out a hollow, disbelieving sigh, he continued, "If you'd arrived in the South, they would've learned about it soon enough. Their agents are everywhere."

Ian glanced at Diana and Elia in turn before giving a small shrug. "Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't have been able to move against you immediately, so it wouldn't have mattered much, but things have changed. The civil war may be delayed indefinitely; it might not happen at all."

"So you've already revealed what happened in the archipelago. Well, that explains how the Acting Tower Master learned about it." Elia narrowed her eyes as she picked up the thread.

Ian nodded readily. "That's right. Which is exactly why they might try even harder to eliminate a living witness who experienced everything firsthand."

"They'll send assassins. The assassins of the South are particularly skilled and exceptionally lethal," Charlotte said quietly from behind him.

Diana, still covering her mouth with one hand, nodded in agreement. "Simply heading South instead of returning to the mainland would already give them sufficient grounds to accuse him of something."

"My report will reach His Majesty the Emperor before long." Suppressing a chuckle at such a distinctly fairy-like perspective, Ian said, "It includes details about you as well."

Receiving his glance, Elia immediately nodded and turned toward Hector. "That's true. Though I only wrote that a count who stood alone among the corrupted heretics carried out a noble sacrificial mission and aided a demigod."

Ian continued, "Which means that if we never explicitly confirm whether you're alive or dead, everyone will assume you died a martyr."

His gaze settled once more on Hector. Briefly, he also glanced at Theodore, standing stiffly behind him.

Hector, who had been absentmindedly turning the wine cup before him while lost in thought, finally said, "So you're telling me to fake my death and hide in the archipelago."

His eyes, filled with shame and self-reproach, met Ian's. "But Your Grace, I cannot spend my entire life hiding like a coward."

"I never said you had to," Ian replied immediately.

As Hector's brows twitched in confusion, he continued calmly, "Whether the civil war happens or not. Whether it's after the war or even if the war never comes at all, I intend to hunt them down and deliver judgment."

Everyone except Ohara and Sanford turned their eyes toward Ian.

Hector, who had momentarily forgotten to breathe, said in a faintly trembling voice, "You mean... you're going to stand against the Great Church?"

"Stand against it? What do you mean by that?" Ian asked back at once.

The corner of his mouth curled upward slightly as he added, "I'm the Agent of the Saint of the Order and a demigod recognized by the heavens. If something like that happens, then it would be the Great Church committing blasphemy."

Not only Hector, but everyone present stared, eyes wide with astonishment.

After a brief silence filled with shock, Elia let out a sighing exclamation, "Lu Solar, have mercy.... You're right, Sir Ian, you may be the only person capable of putting even His Holiness the Pope on trial in the middle of the Great Church itself!"

"Provided, of course, that I have justification and evidence that no one can deny."

Ian added with a shrug.

Only then did Hector's lips part hesitantly. "And I... would be a witness who can prove their crimes...."

"If you're willing to expose your own disgrace to the world as well, then yes. You'd become one of the most important witnesses." Ian answered without hesitation.

Hector's gaze instantly settled into grim resolve. "If it means making them pay for their sins, I'd walk into the courtroom naked if necessary."

"Can I take that as your answer that you'll head to the archipelago?" Ian asked with a faint smile.

Without hesitation, Hector bowed his head. "I will do so, Your Grace."

"I'm not telling you to do nothing but hide. The corrupted ones are dead, but traces of them will remain. Search for anything that could serve as decisive evidence."

Picking up the wine bottle again, Ian continued, "And if possible, it would be even better if you could build a few ships capable of sailing up the inner sea and the rivers all the way to the capital."

"That would allow us to reach the capital far more safely than traveling by land."

"And if a civil war breaks out, support could be sent in other ways as well. Whatever happens, you should do your part."

A faint smile finally appeared on Hector's face. "Understood. At the very least, it sounds like waiting won't be boring."

Hector narrowed his eye and nodded.

By then, a faint smile had returned to his lips. After wetting them with a sip of liquor, he added, "Would it be alright if I renewed my contracts with the captains of the smuggling ships that traveled with Your Grace? Their cooperation would be a tremendous help in many ways."

"Do as you see fit. I'm heading inland anyway. You can discuss it with Captain Sanford."

Tilting the bottle, Ian brought it to his lips.

"Preparing to pass judgment yourself… and doing it like this of all ways," Diana said immediately afterward, watching him with a strange look in her eyes.

Meeting her gaze only with his eyes, Ian shrugged. After all, Diana was one of the few people who knew his original plan.

"To personally execute those bastards...." Nehat's voice, little more than a mutter to herself, drifted past his ears.

She was staring at Ian with a chilling smile that exposed her fangs. She, too, had once been used by the Round Table Parliament. That was why the corner of Ian's mouth curled upward slightly as he drank.

As a beastfolk who was once one of the corrupted, she'd be difficult to present as a sole witness.

However, if other witnesses were added to the mix, her testimony would carry weight as well. And even if it came to fighting the Round Table Parliament, she would undoubtedly throw herself into it without hesitation.

"But are you really sure about this? Not just His Holiness the Pope, but His Imperial Majesty himself might be involved," Elia cautiously added her concern.

Lowering the bottle from his lips, Ian let out a chuckle. "You know the relationship between the royal family and the Great Church, don’t you?"

"I only know that they don't get along very well."

"The Emperor will support me even if it damages his reputation. If I carve up the Great Church and take the Pope's head, he might even offer up an arm with a smile."

"Ah... so it's that bad...."

As Elia blinked and slowly nodded, Ian set down the bottle and continued, "Still, this worked out well. If we hadn't met like this, I would've had no way of knowing whether any of you survived."

"You're right. It seems the Capricious Goddess truly smiled upon us. This must be exactly what she wanted to happen." Hector replied with a laugh in his voice.

Just as Ian tilted his head in curiosity, Elia continued, "They were all knocked unconscious after being swept away by the waves. When they woke up, they found themselves drifting this way on the ocean current. And not a single ship was lost."

Hector nodded. "I couldn't help but think there was a reason for it. That's why I never turned the fleet around."

Ian let out a short chuckle. "So fortune really was on your side."

The outcome was far too coincidental in too many ways to dismiss as mere chance. But that wasn't the only reason his smile deepened.

"Looks like you've finished your negotiations as well," said Ian.

Ohara and Sanford were now standing side by side in a corner, quietly watching them. Both kept their mouths shut, seemingly trying not to interrupt.

"It was... settled peacefully," Sanford, the front of his clothes hanging in tatters, answered with a weary sigh.

Ohara interjected, "If you're returning to the Black Isles, you'll need a reliable way to stay in contact with the Agent of the Saint."

Unlike Sanford, a satisfied smile rested on her lips.

Meeting Ian’s gaze, she added softly, "As it happens, I have a scroll of Correspondence. It's quite old and a bit small, but it still works perfectly. I'll split the pair and give you one. And I'll bill him for it."

When Ohara tilted her head toward him, Sanford frowned and muttered, "Wait, why am I paying for it?"

Of course, he didn't dare raise his voice.

Chuckling softly, Ian turned to Hector. "I almost forgot one thing. You may have to leave Theodore with me."

"Ah." Hector froze and turned toward Theodore.

Just as Theodore, who had been staring at Ohara with a rigid expression, slightly shook his head, Hector said it without hesitation, "Take him with you. It'll be better for the lad that way."

Theodore frowned. "My lord."

"Shut up, kid. It's a chance to repay His Grace’s kindness. Stop complaining and follow him."

Pressing his lips together, Theodore lowered his head.

Shrugging, Ian pretended not to notice and rose from his seat. "Then carry on with your discussions. As for me, I need to go check on the camp."