Paladin of the Dead God - Chapter 128



Only Krnovel

Episode 128 Duke Brandt’s concerns (1)

“Lovely… … ?”

Dietrich burst out laughing at Isaac’s shocked expression.

“Haha, just kidding. “I didn’t really say that.”

Isaac looked at Dietrich as if he were joking.

“But if you listen to the words spoken, you can understand what the daughter wants to say from the heart of the father. Even if she doesn’t necessarily use direct words.”

“… … “What did the Inquisitor say about me?”

I don’t know what Isolde said, but it was clear that Dietrich did not see Isaac as an ordinary paladin.

It was embarrassing for Isaac.

As an accomplished Grail Knight, facing the second in command of the Empire is a challenge, but dealing with a father with a daughter is even more difficult.

But instead of telling me what Isolde had said, Dietrich told another story.

“Ah, I am not an Inquisitor now.”

“yes? “Did you really quit?”

In the Isacrea territory, Isolde had declared that she would keep an eye on Isaac. But despite her declaration, there was no contact from her after she left her territory.

But I never would have guessed that he quit being a Heretic Questioner.

“I have been suspended indefinitely by the Heresy Inquisition and am currently on home probation. “It’s a shame.”

“Indefinite suspension… … .”

In fact, it is no different from being kicked out. Although he is a bit oblivious to his surroundings, he is not incompetent. Why would you be kicked out… … .

‘… … Actually, there are too many points to point out.’

She is a young woman who was treated like a pet peeve by the Heresy Inquisition from the beginning. In fact, considering that the Heretic Questioner was more involved in purges, assassinations, and purification, it was an unsuitable position for her position. Thanks to this, she only traveled to fields where she would never get her hands dirty.

Moreover, he was a zealous reformist, to the point where he even used words such as ‘school blind’. It wasn’t strange when I was kicked out under some pretext.

“May I ask what is going on?”

“Would you like to guess?”

Dietrich instead asked Isaac. Isaac recognized that this was not a joke about his daughter’s problem, but a simple test.

The purpose is to find out the capabilities of a successful Holy Grail Knight.

It would have been simple to use the Eye of Chaos, but I didn’t feel the need to do so.

“Are you accused of heresy? “It looks like he’s involved with the Red Grail Club.”

Dietrich opened his eyes wide as if he was surprised. It was a question presented as a test according to Isaac’s idea, but he did not expect that it would be so quickly and precisely what kind of heresy it was.

“How did you know?”

First of all, the Heresy Inquisition is an organization with strong internal solidarity. No matter how much of a thorn in her face she is, it would be difficult for the duke to kick out her daughter without a good reason.

But above all… … .

“If it weren’t for that matter, there’s no way Duke Brandt would come here in person.”

The fact that Dietrich Brandt was here was a clue.

Isaac had been missing from the world for the past few weeks, and the last place he was seen was here, Port Norden. In that place, the Dietrich Brandt of the world waited endlessly for an unknown amount of time.

“Youngjae is the person who was originally watching over me. However, after returning to the Heresy Inquisition, the news stopped. “It may be that the Heresy Inquisition was not satisfied with the results of the internal investigation, but since it was a case involving the Prophet of Red Flesh, I thought there was a high possibility that he was involved in that direction.”

It is unknown whether the Inquisition was trying to frame Isolde and expel her. They are good at doing that, and in fact, they are an organization that does that. But whatever the truth, just being accused of such a thing is fatal to an Inquisitor.

If you ask why they would do such a thing to the daughter of the church’s greatest supporter, it is because she is an Inquisitor. Because it is an organization that looks into the dirtiest parts of the church.

If Isolde had been an ordinary priest, she would have raised a pillar of support rather than kept her in check.

“To sum it up, I think the Duke came here because he wanted me to prove Isolde Brandt’s innocence and clear her name. “Am I right?”

Dietrich Brandt nodded in surprise. Satisfaction flashed across his face.

However, what caught Isaac off guard was Dietrich’s expression. Her daughter was too relaxed for a father who was in crisis. The little boy wondered if he had missed something.

“It’s almost accurate. Sir Isacrea.”

“Is there anything I missed?”

Dietrich looked around and took his posture carefully. Since they were the only ones in the VIP room, what he did was nothing more than formality.

The attitude is that what I’m saying right now is a secret and that it won’t be leaked out.

“Actually, Isolde is not innocent.”

“yes?”

“That child is now Ethan. Sir Isacrea.”

***

Dietrich’s story was perplexing.

After returning to the Inquisition, Isolde reported that Isaac was innocent and a great Grail Knight.

However, soon after, Ilya Dote, head of the Eastern Branch of the Heresy Inquisition, concluded that Isolde ‘appears to have been exposed to forbidden knowledge while investigating the Prophet of Red Flesh’ and placed her on probation. The deadline is until all signs of heresy are completely removed.

Isolde was furious and a strong protest followed. But he could not fight against the Inquisition.

In fact, it was clear that she was being treated with extreme leniency simply because she was placed on probation despite showing signs of heresy.

Of course, the fact that the Brandt family paid the largest amount of support to the church in the empire may have played a role in that disposition. In any case, Isolde returned to the duchy with the fatal wound of being accused of heresy, but with only a minor disciplinary consequence of home probation.

“That was a really light disposition. because… … “Isolde was truly a heretic.”

Dietrich mumbled, touching his mouth.

“I know Miss Isolde made some radical remarks, but it wasn’t to the point where she could be called a heretic… … .”

“Did you say that the higher-ups of the religious order have eyes like candle wax melted on stone heads that need to be completely broken down? If that were the case, I wouldn’t have called it a heretic either. “That’s just a complaint.”

“… … Uh, I didn’t say that much, but um.”

Isolde’s disposition seems to have been inherited from her father.

Dietrich Brandt also seemed dissatisfied with the church. No matter how much he heard about himself, he would say something like that in front of a paladin.

And yet, he is the church’s biggest supporter.

‘Either he is a person of great faith, or he is extremely ambitious. It’s one of two things. ‘

Either way, it was clear that he was more dangerous than he seemed.

“When I first heard that I had been placed on probation by the Heresy Inquisition, I thought it was a check on the church. The child was also indignant, saying it was unfair. But the child who came home was obviously not normal.”

“If it’s not normal… … “There were signs of heresy that were clear to anyone.”

And yet, the Heresy Inquisition returned him safely to Brandt territory. She could only interpret this as because she was really the daughter of Duke Brandt.

I’ll send it there first, so you can take care of it at their house.

However, Dietrich still looked perplexed but not worried.

“May I ask what the problem is?”

For a moment, Dietrich bit his lip tightly. Isaac was surprised because the composure he had shown up until now had suddenly disappeared, but Dietrich quickly erased that expression.

But he still looked somewhat nervous.

“sorry. Honestly, I still don’t know what to make of this situation. In fact, I don’t even really understand the situation itself.”

“But the more you explain in detail, the easier it will be for me to respond.”

“that is… … “The Inquisition said that she seemed to have received some kind of ‘blessing’ from the Red Grail Club.”

***

Dietrich’s request was simple.

Isaac visits Brandt’s territory and ‘purifies’ Isolde, who has been blessed with heresy.

If it were a purification miracle, there would have been many more capable people in the church, but Dietrich insisted on Isaac. It seemed like it was probably because of Isolde’s blessing. It is unknown what type it is, but Dietrich was reluctant to mention or reveal it.

To the point where he acted in a calm manner throughout, as if he had simply come to meet the famous Holy Grail Knight.

Isaac got on the boat and headed to Brandt territory.

However, instead of returning to Port Norden, the Salt Council’s ships requested to accompany them. In reality, it was no different from a siege disguised as an escort, but Dietrich calmly accepted it.

“I heard that Lord Isaacrea has done them a great favor. It is not easy to receive that kind of respect from heretics, but as I heard, the Holy Grail Knight seems to have an amazing charm.”

“That’s too much praise.”

Does killing Isaac’s angel count as a favor? Although he thought about it, he accepted that a good thing is a good thing. In reality, he was treated like a prophet, more than just a person who did favors, but this was something that had to be kept secret for now.

Anyway, thanks to this, Isaac was able to cheer up.

Even so, when comparing the power difference between Isaac and Dietrich in the first place, it was as shabby as the sun and the fireflies.

In fact, the territory ruled directly or indirectly by the Duke Brandt family is approximately one-fifth of the mainland of the Gertonian Empire. Among them, the size of the territory that Dietrich directly ruled was enormous.

The horse was a lord, and in fact, he was a great noble among great nobles with no one to compare with even within the empire.

Even if you compare the faces of the nobles of the faction you already own, they are incomparable to Isaac. He even contributed to the rise of the current emperor and was pro-sectarian by committing his daughter to the cult.

‘I just thought it was a long story… … .’

However, when I saw Dietrich up close, I saw that he was just a foolish father.

While en route to the Brandt estate, Isaac quickly became friendly with Dietrich, despite the power gap.

Isaac’s charm may have been influenced, but Dietrich Brandt himself seemed like the type of person who could easily get along with people. And in addition, Isolde’s judgment seemed to have influenced him.

The problem was that his attitude was so ambiguous that it was impossible to tell whether he was towards the Holy Grail Knight or his son-in-law.

Of course, Isaac made no mistake about it.

The Brandt family has the power to change the political landscape of the empire. And Isolde, the only daughter of the family, is a political being in herself. This is true no matter how successful Isaac is as a Holy Grail Knight.

‘It’s true that Isolde is looking at me positively, so she’s probably checking to see if some weird bastard has messed with me.’

Of course, Isaac predicted that the favor shown by Isolde was not as a member of the opposite sex, but as a respectable Grail Knight. He put so much effort into it, so it’s natural that he would be liked to some degree. If Dietrich thought favorably of him thanks to him, that was enough for him.

“We’re almost there. “This is Ruzberg, the house where I live.”

Dietrich said as he entered the port city next to the steep cliffs. On top of the cliff, there was a huge castle carved out of the red rock mountain, which was a bit too much to call a ‘house’. The fortress built on a steep cliff looked majestic.

But the ship did not arrive at port. Instead, we anchored at the coast near the cliff and transferred to a boat there. She then joined the knights who had already been waiting on the shore and headed straight for Ruzberg Castle.

Meanwhile, Isaac had to move with his entire body covered in a robe and a hood pulled down to his nose. Even the military ship that brought them here did not return to the port, but instead sailed out to sea. It seemed to be to prevent sailors from even stopping at the port.

The Salt Council’s ships did not go that far, but were asked by Dietrich to refrain from entering port for a few days.

“Actually, if it becomes known that Lord Isacrea is in my territory right now, a somewhat embarrassing situation may arise. “Even if we try to hide it, rumors will spread within a few days, so I hope we can maintain security for at least a few days.”

“Security at the Salt Council is quite tight.”

At those words, Dietrich looked at Isaac.

“Lord Issacrea. Do you know how I waited in Port Norden, believing that you would return?”

That was something Isaac was curious about too. Only Aidan found out about Isaac’s return from the afterlife right after, and they returned to Port Norden right away without any time for the rumor to spread.

“Because I bribed one of the Salt Council priests at Norden Port to find out information about you. “There is no such thing as perfect security before sword and gold.”

Isaac completely agreed with me on that point.

There was no reason to refuse when I asked politely in the first place. Moreover, considering the power that Duke Brandt can wield, it would be helpful for him to have a smooth life if he did not bother holding a grudge.

Fortunately, the captains of the Salt Council understood.

Isaac went to meet Isolde as if he were carrying out a secret operation.