Boom!
A mont after Lady Aurora disappeared from her place, a loud explosion resounded. It happened in the air, as the battlefield still remained untouched.
Sylvester kept looking at the far west side to see what Lady Aurora would do. The Duke's camp was situated there, and he could already see a few dots of n standing in a cluster and panicking.
"She's very strong, Lord Bard. Don't worry about her." Duke Zephyr said.
'This fucker!' Sylvester cursed under his breath. He could feel the scent of lust in the Duke's voice. 'Well, she is indeed pretty, can't be helped.'
Boom!
Once again, the boom resounded, and the earth shook for once. Sylvester noticed a figure appear in the air above the camp of Duke Grimton. Then, a beautiful streak of blue light struck down like an arch of the sword.
Boom!
Everything shook when her sword touched the ground, and the battlefield paused for a mont as the knights tried to stay afoot.
The next thing they knew, Lady Aurora seed to counter a few attacks from the guards of the Duke. She easily blocked the oncoming attacks of fire, wind, water, and air with her sword and replied back with overwhelming force.
In no ti, she made the guards kneel. Then, when only the Duke remained standing, she grabbed the old fat man by the arm and dragged him along. Then, she appeared to make a jump once again and disappeared from the spot.
A few monts later, she appeared near the hill Sylvester stood on, with the Duke being dragged by the arm, already passed out and sowhat hurt as blood oozed out of a few flesh wounds.
The entire ordeal lasted only three minutes at maximum, and Lady Aurora was back, having not even broken a sweat. She just threw the Duke near Sylvester and clapped her hands clean. "That's your man, Archpriest. I hope this solves the war and this bloody ss."
"Thank you, Lady Aurora." Sylvester thanked her and walked to the unconscious Duke. He used basic healing to stop the bleeding and then made the man sit on the chair.
Splash!
He made water on his palm and threw it on Duke Grimton's face. The man was the polar opposite of what Duke Zephyr was. This Duke Grimton was old with short white hair, a beard, and a fat belly. He was a short man, likely around five foot five, and there was not an ounce of muscle on his body. As for the face, it seed round, fitting a man spoiled with food all his life.
'What's this pattern? Both Count Jartel and Duke Grimton are fat, while on the other side of the border, Count Raftel and Duke Zephyr are thin.' Sylvester wondered as he tried to wake up Duke Grimton.
"Let try." Duke Zephyr walked forward. "I know how to wake him up. When I was little, he used to co to my family castle and ss around with the servant won. I used to beat his ass even when he was ant to be more than a decade older than ."
Pa!
Duke Zephyr slapped Duke Grimton's chubby face, sending waves down the layers of skin.
Pa!
When the second slap hit the man, he groaned and slowly woke up. He was initially unaware of where he was, but after rubbing his eyes for a few minutes, he looked around and recognised Duke Zephyr. "F-Fuck! Kill if you want, Zephyr... I will not surrender!"
Sylvester dragged a chair and sat beside Duke Grimton. "Your grace, I am Sylvester Maximilian, sent from the Holy Land. I have found out that you ordered your n to kill . Do you know what this ans for your Duchy? Everything, each and every noble house under you, can be purged out of existence.
"So the best option for you right now is to tell everything. Why did you attack Count Jartel? Why did you give such orders? What's your grand plan?" Sylvester asked the Duke. He knew that the man was not easily going to confess. The only way to make him speak was to make him realise that even if he wins, his Duchy will be burned to the ground for his cri.
"Let's say you kill today, right now. You will then have to deal with Duke Zephyr, as he witnessed everything. Duke Grimton... this is your last chance to save your Duchy from total annihilation. Tell everything or..."
Sylvester slled the rising fear, anger, rage, and anxiety in the man's heart. His words were having an effect.
Duke Zephyr pressed further. "Speak, you fat oaf. Why did you do sothing so foolish? Speak, or know that the beautiful lady who brought you here is a Guardian of Light. She can easily end your bloodline."
Duke Grimton, alone and surrounded by a few faces he knew and most others he didn't, felt overwheld and scared. But what scared him the most was Sylvester's threat. The threat that no matter what happens today, he may have his entire bloodline removed.
"I didn't do it for myself! I did it because I was forced. M-My granddaughter has been taken away. I tried my best to find her over the past ten days, but I could not. Then... a letter ca." Duke Grimton confessed, snivelling as well in a low voice. "My granddaughter... she's just ten years old, Lord bard... and the kidnapper has a history of... the kidnapper is the one who killed Count Jartel's wife and tried to kill Count Raftel's wife!"
"How are you so sure?" Sylvester questioned. He finally felt all the loose ends were connecting and forming a story.
Duke took out a parchnt from his pocket. "This is the letter... and that man also sent..."
Duke stopped in the middle, and his eyes welled up with tears. His face scowled as if in ntal anguish and total fear. Sylvester could sll the ntal seizure the man was going through. It was clear that Duke Grimton was a man with a fragile resolve and brain from all that.
"What was it? Speak, Duke. Don't waste ti here." Sylvester raised his voice.
"He sent a box with two pairs of chopped female breasts! Everyone knows what happened to the wives of the Count Brothers! That man would have done the sa to my little granddaughter!"
Sylvester sighed and opened the letter to read and analyse it. In it, he found various details about the murder of Count Jartel's wife. The description was vivid enough to suggest that this was the man behind it.
In the following few passages, the letter ordered the Duke to lay siege to Count Jartel for money mismanagent and stealing from taxes. If he didn't do it, the Duke's granddaughter would be killed, and her chopped body would be sent to him. The breasts were sent as a trailer.
There was also a ti limit that stated that the Duke needed to defeat the Count by the morning of a specific day.
"This is written with a right hand." Sylvester evaluated it after reading it. "Duke Zephyr, can you show your letter?"
Soon, he had both the parchnts on the table side by side. He tried to compare a few things in how each letter was written. Obviously, both had different handwriting, but each person as a particular way of writing certain letters.
"It's the sa person!" Sylvester concluded soon after.
"W-What do you an? What's this letter?" Duke Grimton asked.
Sylvester stood up and walked left and right while thinking. "Duke Grimton, this kidnapping is not about harming your family. This whole ordeal, from the murder and attempted murder of Counts' wives to this, is a combined conspiracy. The goal is to destroy this entire region of Northern Gracia. I don't believe this conspiracy is the work of a single man either because who is to gain from all this?"
Sylvester tried to connect the dots and think about who could be behind all this. Who could be this rich and powerful?
"But Lord Bard!" Duke Grimton started after wiping his eyes. "The letter didn't entirely lie to . What it said about Count Jartel stealing taxes from was real. I had my accountants investigate the matter, and everything was clear. He has stolen nearly five million gold graces. I have proof."
"Lies!" Count Jartel roared. "This is slander! I did no such thing. On the contrary, I counted the tax each week before I sent it to you. I am a man of faith, and I would never lie!"
"Then care to explain where-"
"Silence!" Sylvester roared. "Open your eyes! You're being pitched against each other. Think from your brain, Duke Grimton. Just when you received the letter about your granddaughter, Duke Zephyr also received a letter telling him you're going to attack. If I was not here, you two would be fighting each other as of now!"
"Who could be behind all this?" Count Raftel wondered in a low voice.
"Wait!" Felix exclaid all of a sudden. He pointed to Duke Grimton. "Why did you lie on the battlefield? You announced Count Jartel and Raftel had died. Do you not fear god for using such sches?"
"It was not ." Duke Grimton defended himself. "It was done by a rcenary I hired. He said we should kill the two dogs of the Counts they had nad on each other and announce their deaths."
"Did you see this rcenary? What did he look like?" Sylvester interrogated.
"He had a half-mask on at all tis under the hood. His eyes were brown, however, and his skin was tanned. From the way he spoke, he was likely from the west. But n from the west are common in our Duchy, so I didn't mind when I hired him and his team."
"Who suggested you hire them?"
"It was my Prima... Sir Wulfric. He's a great man with amazing talents in law managent. He said he hires those rcenaries for various work."
'Prima!' That word took ho in Sylvester's mind.
He looked around and finally saw the man. "Archbishop Raymond!..."
_______________________
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