Nais raised an eyebrow as the sound of clattering hooves reached his ears monts later.
Accompanying the noise was the distinct stench of horse manure.
Clearly, soone had ridden up on horseback and left a rather substantial deposit right outside his residence.
As the hoofbeats faded slightly into the distance, a woman's voice shouted loudly: "Nais Dartmanley, you possess no sense of honor! You've betrayed your family, abandoned your parents, and forsaken all dignity! How dare you beco a Great Knight? If you have even a shred of honor left in you, resign from your position imdiately!"
"That must be Nais' brainless fool of a sister," Nais muttered as he pushed open the door and glanced outside.
Several clergy mbers were already watching the spectacle from hidden positions.
The so-called sister, Cici, had already ridden her horse so distance away from Nais' house.
"Kru, have soone clean this up," Nais calmly ordered, showing no anger at the disgusting tactic used against him.
"Nais..." Seeing Nais appear, Cici imdiately prepared to continue her loud denouncent.
"Shoot her horse," Nais commanded, and in the next instant, an arrow flew through the air.
Cici reacted imdiately, pulling on the reins to turn her horse around.
However, the arrow ca too fast and too accurately, striking the horse's body directly.
The arrow pierced clean through, creating a spray of crimson blood mist.
The relatively fine horse imdiately lost strength in all four legs and began collapsing to one side. Cici quickly twisted her body, leaping clear and landing safely nearby.
Nearby, Pur approached with a cold expression, dressed in simple hemp clothing.
He raised his head and saluted Nais.
"You dare kill my horse?!" Cici imdiately demanded sharply after landing.
"Is the First Inspection Team present?" Ignoring Cici's questioning, Nais directly addressed the onlookers.
Among those watching the spectacle, several Holy Knights had no choice but to compose themselves and quickly step forward.
"mbers of the First Inspection Team, paying respects to the Great Knight." *3
"According to the Holy Knight Governance Regulations, what is the penalty for riding a horse recklessly into church territory at night?" Nais inquired.
"And what about the cri of showing contempt toward a Great Knight and verbally insulting a Great Knight?"
"Nais, are you listening to —" Cici, seeing that Nais completely ignored her, angrily walked forward to demand answers, but before she could finish her sentence, she was sent flying backward.
Her head buzzed violently, her vision going completely blank.
She first felt a burning sensation on her face, followed by pain throughout her entire body.
"Is the First Inspection Team present?" Ignoring Cici's questioning, Nais directly addressed the onlookers.
"The Great Knight represents the church's authority. Insulting him is also a cri of disrespect, requiring three months to one year of hard labor."
The so-called hard labor required the punished to refrain from wearing luxurious clothing or decorations, abstain from rich foods, avoid living in extravagant residences, spend long hours each day praying and repenting before religious statues, and perform compulsory labor, among other things.
In severe cases, offenders might also receive pain punishnt—cutting wounds on their hands and feet—before continuing these daily hardships.
The main principle was: if you show disrespect, then suffering will make you repent.
The severity could vary greatly. In light cases, it ant simply living frugally, being honestly confined for repentance for a few months before release.
In severe cases, death could occur within a month.
"Then proceed. What are you waiting for?"
"Riding recklessly into church territory at night, plus allowing your horse to leave filthy waste—treat this severely! Three years of hard labor!"
Cici, who had just regained consciousness on the ground, heard these words clearly.
"Nais, how dare you do this? How can you possibly do this?!"
"I'm a girl! I'm a noble young lady! How can you hit and arrest ?!" Cici scread furiously, her cheeks swollen and her voice cracking from the strain, making her words particularly sharp and vicious.
"Pay no attention. Take her away to begin her punishnt." Nais couldn't even be bothered to look at Cici.
She was nothing but a foolish, unaware pawn. Updates are released by novel·fiɾe·net
"Ahhhh!" Seeing two nearby Holy Knights actually preparing to arrest her, Cici imdiately scread loudly, her hand even reaching for the hilt of her rapier.
Noticing this, the two battle-experienced Holy Knights imdiately changed their attitude upon seeing her grasp her weapon.
Fortunately, Cici still possessed so 'capability'—she regained so rationality and quickly said: "I am noble-born! I have immunity rights!"
"Besides, I ca here specifically to find Nais. I was just too anxious, that's why I rode recklessly."
"And besides... besides... what's the problem with a sister scolding her brother?" Only at this mont did Cici reluctantly admit her identity as Nais' sister.
Then, Cici suddenly glared at Nais, her eyes filled with hatred as she said: "Nais, are you even reasonable?"
The severity could vary greatly. In light cases, it ant simply living frugally, being honestly confined for repentance for a few months before release.
"You abandoned the family, betrayed the honor of our bloodline, wasted our parents' efforts, left without a word, abandoned , your sister, without care! Now that you've returned, can't I even say a few words?!"
"What? Did I hit a nerve?"
Cici still refused to admit defeat at this mont. She wanted to see Nais beco furious and frustrated—she wanted to cause him pain and suffering. That would be the best revenge!
"So-called bloodlines are rely bonds for incompetent people to huddle together for warmth. They're inherently dull—what honor could they possibly hold?"
"Honor only ever cos from power. When your strength surpasses mine, then you can co talk to about what honor ans."
After speaking, Nais drew a sword from one of the Holy Knights nearby. With a flash of the blade—
"Ah!" Only screams remained from the other side.
Nais personally administered pain punishnt to Cici, cutting wounds on both her hands and feet.
During this process, Nais' sowhat unrefined swordsmanship caused the blade to slip, cutting Cici's mouth.
With her mouth full of blood, a section of her tongue was severed, and several teeth fell out, naturally making it impossible for her to make any coherent sounds.
The Holy Knights from the first team didn't dare delay any longer—Nais' attitude had made everything clear.
They imdiately seized Cici, restrained her movents, and took her away to the prison.
On the other side, Kru paid no attention to the drama, having already used magic to clean up the filth.
He stood nearby waiting for Nais' instructions while observing the simply-dressed Pur.
From previous observations, Pur seed to be loyal to the Great Knight.
And given that Nais had trusted Pur enough to order him to shoot the horse earlier, this indicated special confidence.
This person would probably beco the Great Knight's 'retainer'?
Retainers varied in status. Ordinary retainers basically relied on the church for basic sustenance.
But a Great Knight's retainer was essentially a subordinate without official Holy Knight status.
"Seems I should establish good relations with him?" Kru's thoughts raced until he noticed Nais turning to look at him.
The scrutinizing look in those eyes made Kru tense up imdiately.
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