"The Wendigo has disappeared."
Guillaumevalt, who had been waiting above by the fire, was delighted to see Azadin and his group coming up. Brand shouted excitedly at him.
"A miracle! A miracle has occurred!"
"Ah, yes. The Wendigo has vanished."
"No, not just that—a real miracle has happened! The angels responded to the call and saved the soul of the one offered as a sacrifice to the Nether's reaper!"
"What?"
"What is he talking about?"
Midiam asked Ishmael.
"Well, it may be hard to believe, but that madman is telling the truth. Azadin… tried to purify the corpse using the Knight of Salvation's funeral rites, but the body, already claimed by the Nether's reaper, had turned into a Wendigo and was resisting. Even after using every copy of the Book of the Divine King he had, he couldn't purify it, but when Azadin made a vow to the angels, it was suddenly cleansed."
"..."
Everyone listening clicked their tongues.
"A miracle? The angels are already dead."
Shati grumbled. Though she was still a prisoner, she stood over the corpses of the Wendigos, holding a sword and axe, indicating she had fought against them.
"Midiam, were you getting along well with Shati?"
"Yes. The Wendigos got a bit close, but Shati and I held them off. But… is it true that a miracle happened?"
"What do you think?"
"Well, if it's true, shouldn't the Knight of Salvation perform a sacrament?"
"Do you think that's possible?"
"Well, rather than that, the people of Hubris would sooner die than accept our Aragasa as a saint. And besides, you're the Emperor's herald, aren't you? It's not like you're suddenly going to become a Hospitaler. Plus, for someone who was so thrilled by the junk of the Knight of Salvation, you don't seem particularly happy right now."
"Yeah."
Azadin gave a bitter smile and gestured with his hand. Midiam, noticing Azadin's hand signals, subtly stepped back.
"So, Lady Liz, do you recognize this person?"
Azadin laid down the offering and loosened the cloak wrapped around them, revealing their face.
"Enough with the tricks. I had a feeling it would be like this the moment the Wendigo fell silent."
Liz said, gripping her staff. At the same time, Midiam readied her bow.
"…Hah."
Liz let out a sigh.
"I'm not that much of a fool. This talk of miracles is utter nonsense, but whatever you did, you ended up purifying the offering. Amazing. Truly amazing. I suppose I'll die if I resist you here."
"L-Liz!"
Brock, flustered, stepped forward.
"W-Wait a moment. What are you accusing my wife of?"
"Sir Brock, this man?"
"He's my younger brother!"
"..."
Azadin looked at Liz, who clicked her tongue.
"That bastard approached me knowing that my relationship with my husband wasn't great! He sneered at me, saying, 'Are all Bruma people really that lustful?' and then he tried to satisfy my carnal desires!"
"So, you killed and ate him? Then were the Wererats from Naga and Mezeri just friends passing by? Do you really take us for fools?"
As a faint anger crept into Azadin's voice, flustered Brock hurriedly intervened in her defense.
"It's my fault. Because I was unfaithful…"
"No, wait a minute."
"But can't you find a way to spare Liz? H-How about money? Would that help?"
"Enough already, you fool."
Azadin, unable to hold back any longer, exploded in anger.
"What exactly are you trying to do here? You fool. You sweet-talked Franc, your mistress, while badmouthing your wife, and now that your wife has killed your brother and unleashed a grim reaper, you still want to protect her?"
"I was just… I was sincere! I truly loved Franc, and I also truly love my wife!"
"Then your sincerity is worth less than a single coin! Your sincerity means nothing to the sanctity of marriage, the grievance of blood relations, or the tenderness of love! Who cares about your truth if you betray everything? You want to do whatever you please without sacrificing anything? People have already been sacrificed—Franc, your brother—but you still want to force this absurdity on us?"
Azadin placed his hand on his sword hilt. At that moment, Guillaumevalt stepped between Azadin and Brock.
"As the acting Count of Lantarik, I will handle this matter. Emperor's herald, Azadin."
"…Understood."
Azadin bowed to Guillaumevalt.
"Sir Guillaumevalt."
"Sir Brock, you will renounce your fiefdom—Sinop Fortress and the surrounding manors—to me and enter the King's Church as a monk. As for Lady Liz, her magic abilities will be sealed, and she will be confined to a monastery of the King's Church."
"You want me to spend my life locked in a monastery as a criminal?"
Liz was filled with resentment, but…
—Thud!
At that moment, an arrow embedded itself beside her face, gouging out one of her eyes. Midiam had fired the shot.
"Kyaaaah!"
"You stand before the Emperor's herald! Sinner! Couldn't you lower your gaze in submission?!"
"Guh! You little brat!"
"What? Do you dare test me? Go on, trust in your pitiful black magic and attack me!"
"You…!"
Liz gripped her staff and glared at Midiam, but… soon, she released her hold. She had seen it—the cold, calculating rationality in Midiam's eyes.
This girl had provoked her not out of an emotional outburst, but with the deliberate intent to kill her.
"Damn it! Fine! I've killed plenty, losing an eye is a small price to pay!"
Liz decided that, rather than engaging in a hopeless battle and losing her life, it was better to be confined in a monastery but at least remain alive.
"I suppose being a mage means you're not entirely stupid."
Midiam released her grip now that Liz had lost the will to resist. Though, from the look on her face, she had hoped Liz would fight back.
"Well then, Sir Brock, do you accept?"
Guillaumevalt sought Brock's decision.
"Yes, I have no objections, Acting Count of Lantarik, Sir Guillaumevalt. I am grateful for your mercy."
Brock agreed to dissolve his vassalage contract and return the fiefdom to its rightful owner, the Count of Lantarik.
***
The fog lifted, and Sinop Fortress revealed itself once more.
Even before anyone gave the word, the moment the fog cleared, people started returning to the village. They cleaned the streets, retrieved the supplies they had left behind, and locked them securely back in their storage.
They must have been anxiously waiting just beyond the fog, worried about losing their possessions in their hurried escape. The moment the fog weakened, they must have rushed back in.
They all began to chant Guillaumevalt's name.
"The new Count of Lantarik, Sir Guillaumevalt, has vanquished the monster of the mist!"
"A great feat! Let us honor it in song for generations to come!"
The news of Guillaumevalt defeating the mist monster, the winter's cold, and the Wendigo was already spreading among the people.
"Well, in the end, we did Sir Guillaumevalt a favor."
Midiam, tending to the goats and horses that had fled from the Wendigos, feeding them hay and water, muttered as much. Azadin had assigned her this task as punishment for attacking Liz without his permission…
But since they encountered the goats and horses right after exiting the underground passage, the punishment hardly seemed effective. Considering she had gouged out a noblewoman's eye, it was a light sentence. Yet, Midiam still grumbled.
"Wasn't this supposed to be your reputation to claim, Azadin?"
"Do you really think someone like us could have such a thing as a reputation?"
"But you performed a miracle… And besides, aren't you being too generous to Sir Guillaumevalt? You didn't even take a single coin, let alone imperial gold."
"He's not the kind of man who would be ungrateful. When he becomes the Count of Lantarik, he'll be useful to us."
"That may be true now, but who knows what will happen later? Well, I suppose assassinating him then would be easier."
Midiam chuckled, recalling how poorly Guillaumevalt fought.
"I told you to reflect on gouging out Lady Liz's eye, but it seems this isn't much of a punishment for you."
"But if I hadn't attacked her, wouldn't she have gotten off too lightly? You knew that, which is why you gave me this so-called punishment, right?"
"You provoked her to kill her, didn't you?"
"If she had taken the bait. But she realized what I was doing. She noticed that I was deliberately provoking her to kill her, and though she was about to lose herself in anger, she suddenly caught herself."
"You were reckless, Midiam. That woman was a dangerous mage, and while her husband wasn't much of a threat, killing him ourselves would have caused political trouble."
If Brock willingly took monastic vows, people would believe in his sincerity. But if Azadin's group had killed him, it would cast doubt on the Wendigo incident and the sacrifice of Brock's brother. People might suspect that Guillaumevalt orchestrated the whole thing just to seize the fiefdom.
"I understand you were angry, but Midiam, as a member of the House Aether, you shouldn't let personal emotions take precedence. It's fortunate that Lady Liz was smart enough to give up resistance."
"Yes, well, I suppose the political issue is settled. But that ugly young master has more political sense than I expected."
"…You do realize the person you're talking about is standing right here?"
Guillaumevalt had arrived unnoticed and now looked at Midiam, stunned by her blatant critique of him in his presence.
This audacious girl had not only shot out a noblewoman's eye but was now openly assessing the son of a count. It seemed she held a rare status even in the Herald Clan.
"Well, it's not like we received any imperial gold from you, so we have no reason to flatter you, do we?"
Even after getting caught gossiping, Midiam remained brazenly unfazed.
'Is this shamelessness or just sheer nerve?'
From what Guillaumevalt could tell, even if they had struck a deal using imperial gold, she wouldn't have flattered him anyway.
"But you did take all the copies of the Book of the Divine King, didn't you? You can't say you walked away empty-handed."
"Tsk."
Azadin clicked his tongue at Guillaumevalt.
"There's a saying: 'The birds hear the words spoken by day, and the rats hear those spoken at night.' Be careful what you say and where you say it. That's not a joke."
"…Understood."
Guillaumevalt, despite displaying remarkable political acumen in resolving the affairs of Brock and Liz, and in securing the credit for resolving the Wendigo incident, had no choice but to stay humble before Azadin.
"You can have all the fame of defeating the Wendigos. Use it to solidify your political standing. That way, even Young Master Adler won't be able to act carelessly against you. Let's make sure the rumors reach Lantarik first before we enter openly."
Azadin suggested.
Soon, the whole world would hear that Guillaumevalt had defeated the monsters of mist and frost, the Wendigos. And with such merit, the vassals of Lantarik would start to view him in a new light.