The Saint’s Manual for Redemption - Chapter 95

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 95
Kalianna laughed awkwardly.
Moments before, she had spoken grandly of wanting to overturn the Temple, of helping the Archbishop gain real power—yet her face now bore all the embarrassment of someone caught in their own exaggeration. And she answered with refreshing honesty.
“Well, that’s… a bit difficult.”
My trust in her climbed from zero to about thirty percent.
Had she insisted she knew some scandal to bring down the Archbishop, or promised to reveal everything gradually during our cooperation, I would have thrown her straight into the Duchy Underground Dungeon and left her there.
The Archbishop’s grand-niece approaches me out of nowhere at precisely this moment, claiming to have a card that could bring him down? That’s far too obvious a trap.
In that sense, Kalianna’s candid incompetence was rather trustworthy.
“But I really will do my very best to cooperate!”
Kalianna hurried to add more.
“I can even bring you the list of Archbishop Faction cardinals!”
“Ah, so the Cardinal Order splits into factions too?”
At my question, Kalianna nodded as though it were obvious.
“Of course we can’t openly oppose the Archbishop, but since the cardinals are the ones who elect him, divisions are inevitable.”
“I see.”
“There’s a cardinal the Archbishop is pushing for succession, and then there’s a faction led by other cardinals who back someone else. The Archbishop’s authority is so overwhelming that everyone stays silent, but there are quite a few who harbor resentment underneath. Those who’ve banded together form the Opposition Faction. Though ultimately, we’re all tainted by the same corruption.”
From my work at the Main Temple, I’d had only a vague sense that some cardinals didn’t get along, but this was my first time hearing such detailed internal affairs.
More useful than I expected.
Because of her position as the Archbishop’s grand-niece, Kalianna had intimate knowledge of the Temple’s inner workings.
She simply didn’t seem to know how to weaponize that information politically, which was hardly a drawback.
A person holding a sword is dangerous if they don’t know how to use it, but if they merely know to hand it to me, they become quite valuable.
Even if Kalianna turned out to be—as I suspected—merely a tool the Archbishop was using to drive me out, I had infinite ways to turn that against him.
I smiled lightly.
“Good. Bring me that list first.”
Kalianna’s face brightened.
“Really?”
“You said you’d help me, so I’m willing to take that at face value for now.”
About thirty percent, at least. Of course, I kept that qualification to myself.
After that, I maintained the pretense of a Saint recovering from shock, though I couldn’t remain confined to my chambers indefinitely. I knew better than anyone how grave the situation in the Krohen Duchy had become, yet I still needed something to report to the Temple.
“Today we’ll inspect the territory without the Duke. He might be deliberately hiding things from us.”
“An excellent idea, Your Highness!”
So in the end, I set out to survey the rest of the Krohen Duchy with Johan and Arden in tow. Johan seemed genuinely moved that I was finally taking action.
To cut to the conclusion: everything looked far too clean to report anything alarming.
No ruins reeking of Demonic Energy, no grotesquely decaying forests, no regions where black snow suddenly fell from the sky.
The land was certainly barren and cold, as befitted the Northern Region, but that was merely an environmental matter.
Except for the fact that a Great Demon named Raum slumbered below, the Krohen Duchy was not a territory requiring immediate Purification, whatever the reports claimed.
Johan raised his eyebrows.
“It appears False Reports were submitted, Your Highness. There’s not a single contaminated area.”
I nodded very slowly.
“Since the one who attacked me was allegedly an Imperial Agent, it seems the False Reports must have had the Imperial Palace’s fingerprints on them.”
I smoothly redirected suspicion toward the Imperial Palace. I couldn’t afford for my orchestration of this Inspection to come to light.
“They clearly meant to drag me outside the Main Temple and assassinate me by any means. It seems the Temple has fallen badly out of favor with the Palace. How they dared to move against the leader of the Church in such a manner is beyond comprehension.”
Johan fell for my artful misdirection perfectly. His face hardened with anger.
“We must return to the Main Temple at once and teach those Imperial dogs a lesson!”
He ground out the words between clenched teeth.
“To do so, we absolutely must have that assassin handed over to us.”
“Will the Duke surrender him willingly?”
“Couldn’t Your Highness persuade him? Since you’re also a victim, the Duke won’t suspect you.”
Everything going according to plan. I smiled slyly.
***
I followed the Duke’s guidance into the Duchy Underground Dungeon beneath Krohen Castle.
Only Arden accompanied me, naturally. Johan had tried to follow as well, but the Duke demonstrated a truly masterful blocking technique.
“From this point onward, we enter matters concerning internal security of the Duchy. It would be inappropriate for a Temple knight to be present.”
“This is where the Saint goes. I cannot be absent.”
As Johan immediately objected, the Duke tilted his head with a pleasant smile.
“All the more reason it’s impossible. The one who attacked the Saint was disguised as a Temple Priest—how could I trust anyone from the Temple? It would be best for you to wait here, Knight Johan. That way we both preserve our honor.”
His words were soft, but they amounted to coercion.
Johan’s face went rigid, but he had no argument to counter. In the end, he clenched his teeth and stepped back, and I followed the Duke with only Arden at my side.
The Underground Dungeon lay beneath the northern annex of the castle.
On the surface, it appeared to be merely a storage and administrative area, but when the Duke gently pressed a decorative panel on the wall, a narrow staircase descending inward was revealed. As always, these noble strongholds each had their little secret passages.
The air grew colder as I descended the staircase. The Northern Region lived up to its reputation—even the ground level was bitterly cold—but down here, the chill seeped into the marrow of my bones.
Candles hung at regular intervals along the walls, their flames casting trembling shadows across the damp stone. My footsteps echoed low against the stone steps.
Duke Krohen kept trying to engage me in pleasant conversation as we walked the corridor, but Arden proved adept at intercepting each attempt.
“Your Grace, is the underground dungeon still far?”
“Your Highness hasn’t recovered enough for prolonged standing yet.”
“Even if Your Highness claims to be well, I cannot in good conscience allow it as your guard.”
Each time Duke Krohen tried to address me, Arden cut in smoothly, and I caught the faintest twitch at the corner of the Duke’s mouth.
Invisible sparks flew between them. I pretended not to notice.
At the base of the stairs stood a heavy iron door. Duke Krohen drew out a key himself and unlocked it. The dull metallic click of the mechanism echoed through the depths below.
As the door swung open, a colder, damper air rushed out to meet us.
This was the Duchy Underground Dungeon. A series of cells barred with iron gratings stretched before us in an unbroken line.
Upon reaching the dungeon, the Duke spoke in his usual measured tone.
“She hasn’t spoken a word yet. She’s clearly well-trained—remarkably resilient against pain. Standard interrogation will take considerable time.”
“Leave her to me.”
I spoke with easy confidence, and the Duke’s interest kindled visibly.
“Do you possess some manner of Divine Power that compels confession?”
I nodded. There was no need to reveal my hand just yet.
As I entered the cell, the Imperial Agent sat bound in iron chains. Her appearance was disheveled, but her eyes still burned with defiance.
The moment she saw me, her jaw clenched. Whatever interrogation the Duke’s knights had attempted, she clearly hadn’t yielded anything decisive.
“Who sent you?”
No answer came.
“Why did you infiltrate posing as an attendant priest?”
Still silence.
“Which member of the Imperial Palace was so curious about the Saint’s movements?”
At this question, her pupils flickered—just barely perceptibly. Not a complete non-response, then. I flexed my fingers lightly.
Well, I think this is the moment to apply some Confession Divine Power.
Of course, there was no such thing as a distinct skill called Confession Divine Power. Whatever method wrung confession from someone using Divine Power became that. It was time to demonstrate the Heresy Interrogation Technique.
I smiled with almost paternal gentleness.
“It won’t hurt. Probably.”
Soon after, screams and cries pierced the dungeon—desperate prayers to a god who would not answer.
Ten minutes later, I wiped my hands clean with a handkerchief and turned to the broken Imperial Agent sprawled before me, my voice sharp as ice.
“Now then, I’ll ask again. Who sent you?”
At last, the Imperial Agent’s lips parted.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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