Chapter 116 Questioning
"Eisen Pas, the second son of the Baron, although his family background is not prominent and he cannot inherit the family property and title, he is extremely talented in magic and successfully entered the St. Bartolomeo Sorcerer College to study." The professor quickly summarized the information he had obtained to the protagonists in a calm tone.
He simply half-sat at his desk, the coffee cup that had nearly caused the trouble being casually tucked into the pile of books without a fuss. Having clearly witnessed the scene, Ole couldn't help but glance at his friend beside him with a subtle expression—the guy was pretending not to see, and the occasional look he gave him was so gentle and helpless that it made him feel a chill down his spine.
The professor continued, "Circe wasn't the deceased's real name, but the alias she took after becoming the Virgin of Etiro. Her real name was Jenny, and she was the daughter of a servant in Paz's household. She grew up with Paz. Later, her parents were driven out for stealing, and after losing their livelihood, they sold their daughter to the Temple of Eros."
Among the Etilo virgins, some are devout paradise visitors who sincerely believe that having sex with believers is a sacrifice to the gods - but some are young female pagans who have no other way to make a living or have simply been abducted.
These unfortunate women often met the most tragic end. Unable to endure a life so drastically different from the ideals of chastity they had been raised with, they were ostracized by the faithful within the temple. Some committed suicide, others contracted venereal diseases from being forced to host so many worshippers and were subsequently abandoned to fend for themselves, and some angered the nobles who sought their "protection" and were punished to death within the temple. The so-called "holy virgins" were nothing more than victims of the trade of money and power, the blood and tears of a group of women.
"Did he really kill to avenge 'Circe'?" Azuka narrowed her eyes slightly. "Are they lovers?"
Otherwise, it is difficult to explain why a young nobleman would set up a plan to kill an earl's only son for the death of a commoner girl.
"He used to be." Nova lowered his eyes calmly. "But he's a smart man, smart and ruthless. He's able to reach his current position. Even if there was a past relationship, he wouldn't risk giving up everything for a woman who, in his opinion, is completely despicable."
Originally, Pas wanted to cover up and pretend to be deeply in love, but the professor exposed his true feelings in just a few words. It was not until he completely realized that he could not hide anything in front of this seemingly weak and ordinary man that the prisoner finally gave up the lie.
"I don't like her," Paz said indifferently. "She's stupid, superficial, frivolous, and gullible. She's only interested in the jewelry I gave her. Apart from a young and healthy body, she's useless. And I needed such a brainless woman as my mistress. Later, her ungrateful parents stole the jewels from the Baron's mansion, and I already had a fiancée who was a good match for me. So she was kicked out and became a dirty whore."
"But other than that, you and Bill Fam have no grudges against each other, and before you took my open class, you were a complete stranger to me," the professor said calmly. "Yet you still encouraged Bill Fam to cause trouble for me, and ultimately planted datura seeds in Bill Fam's wine flask, killing him when you framed him for it."
His voice was calm, but Paz, who had been able to maintain his composure, suddenly changed his expression. "So is this your true wish, or the wish of the Glorious Church... or is there also the involvement of the Temple of Eros where Jenny is?"
The other person's face gradually turned as pale as paper: "...I can't say."
"The Glowing Church wants to suppress the Society, and I'm one of the most suitable candidates. You've already gained some favor through the Saint Bartolomeo Warlock College, but it's not enough. You decided to submit a letter of allegiance. Originally, at most, you were trying to lead Bill Fam into causing trouble for me, not to kill him, or have him kill me. You don't have the courage to do that."
Nova leaned forward, staring into his panicked, trembling eyes. "You didn't expect the Temple of Eros to be involved. They found you and coerced you—you were powerless to resist, so you finally made a desperate move. First, they hinted to Bill Fam that I knew the truth about Jenny's death, and that if they labeled me a heretic, they would make it easier to silence me. Then they killed him and pinned the blame on me."
"No, I really can't tell you, please—"
"Oh, someone made a soul contract with you?"
Paz kept his mouth shut tightly, seemingly determined not to say another word - but unfortunately this had no effect on the other person.
"I saw anger, anxiety, guilt... and deep fear." Nova watched the subtle changes in his facial muscles with indifference, as if reading a boring book. "That day, you witnessed the entire process of Jenny's death. She asked you for help, but you didn't dare to risk offending 'Mad Dog Bill' and the Fam family behind him to intervene. After all, you are cowardly, selfish, and cold-blooded. In the end, you watched her tragic death, watched 'Mad Dog Bill' commit a felony of blasphemy—and then left. How fortunate that drunken 'Mad Dog Bill' didn't seem to notice your presence."
Paz's pupils shrank to almost a dot. The other party completely broke down his psychological defenses - how could he know? How could he possibly know?
The professor's speech was accelerating. "The Temple of Eros has somehow learned of your existence. They're threatening to reveal your witnessing of the crime scene to the Fam family if you don't serve them. 'Mad Dog Bill,' that doting father, will stop at nothing to destroy you. So, your only escape now is to strike first. Fortunately, the Temple of Eros and the Church of Radiance seem to have the same goal: me. They even sent a priestess to assist you, allowing Bill Fam to see a vision of Jenny's death, so that he would completely lose control."
"In short, he's just a clever scumbag." Ole, who had also listened to the entire story, concluded with disgust to his friend. He was silent for a moment, then suddenly realized something was wrong: "But why would the Temple of Eros want to frame you?"
In this treacherous, bloody conspiracy, almost everyone has their own clear motive—except for the Temple of Eros. If they simply wanted to punish the murderer who blasphemed the God of Eros, why would they frame a theology professor thousands of miles away?
"That's what I wanted you to investigate." The professor looked at him coldly and said with a hint of sarcasm, "You only captured the murderer, so this is all the information I can get. If you had captured the high priest of the local Temple of Eros, perhaps we could have learned the truth."
Ole was silent for a moment: "It seems that it is not impossible."
"...Stop messing around and don't bring danger into Baita University." Azuka expressionlessly slapped his friend on the back of the head, immediately earning him an assassin's glare.
The guy didn't even look at him, and his tone of voice when speaking to the tyrant immediately softened, which made Ole's teeth ache. "What are you going to do with Aisen Pas?"
"Throw it to the Inquisition." Nova yawned lightly and lowered his eyes in boredom. "Whatever the truth is, his actions themselves are already suspected of blasphemy - but we can't just throw him there so rudely."
His face clearly showed that I was going to cheat someone.
"Because the Inquisition just announced that Rabbi Mader committed suicide out of fear of punishment, they won't go against their own will and will most likely just handle it privately." Ole concluded very cleverly, and found that the other two were staring at him at the same time.
"...Wait, what do you want to do?" He narrowed his eyes vigilantly, feeling a chill all over his body as if someone was about to plot against him.
…
The tyrant was sent to bed by Azuka to rest.
The guy's overly gentle attitude made Ole feel terrified. Due to some unbearable shadow in his life, he always had the illusion that the other party would reveal his hideous true nature at any time and devour him.
"From now on, unless it's an emergency, it's best not to wake him up late at night to ask him to do anything." His friend glanced at him with a hint of reproach. "The professor has a very bad sleep quality. Once woken up, it's hard for him to fall back asleep. He ends up running to make coffee."
The assassin's expression was expressionless: "...Do I look like the tyrant's nanny or mother?"
"Of course you're not." The other person replied lightly, "But if you do that again, I'll beat you up."
Ole: “…”
"Have you...been experiencing any kind of irritation lately?" He eyed the guy suspiciously. "I feel like your desire to control, er, or rather, protect, has suddenly become exceptionally high."
"……Maybe."
The other party did not refute him, but leaned on the desk without saying a word. The snow outside the window was bright, shining through the glass, gently enveloping a tired and sad man, freezing his shadow into ice.
However, Ole only felt his hairs stand on end, and some dangerous omen was clamoring, even though the other party's quiet madness was not directed at him.
Although they were close friends, that person's underlying nature remained cold, like an unfathomable, elusive ocean. Both he and Marcylin sometimes felt as if the other person was far away from them—so whoever provoked this guy, Ole thought with some sympathy, mourning for the unfortunate wretch.
"I'm questioning myself." After a long time, Ole heard his friend whisper.
——Whether in the past or in the future, he is also the torrent of sin that engulfs that great soul.
"...How dare an arrogant person like you question yourself?" Orel stared at him in shock. "Dark Night God, did I hear correctly?"
The other party gave him a half-smile, but the familiar warning made Ole feel relieved. He patted his friend on the shoulder and said, "Brother, do what you want to do."
"I'm serious." He stared at his friend seriously. "Our past was bad enough. It was a fucked-up life—if we can't change anything, can't make up for it, what's the point of starting over again?"
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