Seeing the two heretics disappear from sight, Constantine breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that this mission had finally been completed.

As for dealings with heresies hidden in the light, Constantine did not take such a heinous act in the eyes of the orthodox clergy.

He had more important tasks ahead of him, and until then, he didn't want to be disturbed by any outside forces, lest someone within the Holy See find out who he really was.

But there's one more thing to do.

Victor opened his eyes and saw Constantine standing in front of him.

"It's you. Victor said coldly.

"It seems that the person I sensed in the carriage that day was you, worthy of being the chief judge of the Inquisition. Constantine crouched down.

"Now in front of you is not the presiding judge, just an old man who is dying. Victor said indifferently, his appearance had changed greatly, his black hair had turned white, and his whole body was surrounded by a cloud of reddish blood, and the image of the majestic middle-aged presiding judge was gone.

"It can be seen that your ability to endure pain is also top-notch, but judging from the fact that you passed out just now, I'm afraid that you have not much magic left, and I do want to praise you for being able to survive that curse until now. Constantine said. "By the time you wake up again, you'll be an undead being. ”

"I had prepared for the worst before I returned, and if that were the case, I think Your Excellency would let my body rest in the flame. Victor said, his forehead covered in cobweb-like blood-colored lines, the power of the curse encroaching on his flesh little by little, but his will did not give in in the slightest.

"But for you, who have dedicated your life to fighting heretics, that humiliation must be indelible by the Holy Fire, and has become your most hated heresy, how will the Hall of the Holy Spirit record this in the future?" said Constantine seemingly nonchalantly.

"No one will remember that you were a warrior who fought to the death against heretics, a fearless night watchman, and history will only record that on a certain day in the sacred calendar, the evil living corpse Victor was purified by the light, and your soul would not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven, but could only wander in the infinite darkness, enduring eternal death. ”

Victor didn't make a sound.

"I can free you from humiliation and return to the arms of the Lord without the slightest pain. Constantine said. "But I have a small request, and I hope you can fulfill it. ”

Victor looked the boy in the eye, and after a long time, he said with difficulty: "Young shepherd, what do you want?"

"I wonder why the Gates of Heaven appeared ten years ago, and how much do you know about it?" said Constantine in a very casual tone.

However, the moment he asked this question, the hand he put in his sleeve involuntarily clenched a little.

"You know this, that His Excellency Cicero told you?" Victor coughed bitterly, "I've only heard about this back then, but I don't know the specifics. ”

Constantine frowned, "Then you know who in the church might know about this?"

"As far as I know, before the appearance of the Gate of Heaven recorded in the canon, Archbishop Meron of the South, Caesar, the head of the Holy Knights, and the presiding judge Drex, seemed to be aware of it, and they claimed at the Council of Cardinals that the Lord's judgment was about to come to the world, and asked the Church to take the opportunity to expand to the whole continent, and even united against His Majesty the Pope. Victor's voice became clearer, as if it had returned to light.

Victor then said in a blank tone: "After the disappearance of the Heavenly Gate that night, many things happened one after another, and Her Highness Diana became a member of the gods shortly after. ”

Constantine silently wrote down the names of the three men, and then asked, "What does the royal family think about this matter?"

Victor said lightly: "Back then, the Gryventry family was divided into two factions, with the eldest prince Byron leading the party believing that this was a threat to the royal family from the church and demanding exile or house arrest, while the third prince Haydn tried his best to defend his sister. ”

The Holy Empire has been established for thousands of years and can be called the first power in the continent today. In the eyes of many scholars, the biggest and only hidden danger of this ancient country is the coexistence of clerical power and imperial power, and the contradiction between the two has existed since ancient times, but outsiders do not know how fierce this contradiction is.

"A century-old palace coup broke out within the empire because of this incident, and soon after the rumored Heavenly Gate disappeared, the Dragon Lance Dynasty launched an attack and annexed several surrounding principalities one after another. ”

"His Majesty the Emperor had to take the expedition in person, and the defense of the city of Olympia was entrusted to the great princes Byron and Prince Ríos, and on the twentieth day after the expedition, the three knights led by the prince launched a rebellion, launched an attack on the Grand Temple of Radiance, and occupied the palace, preparing to kill the young Highness, although His Highness was blessed by Radiance, and their plot did not succeed, but His Highness's relatives, including Prince Haydn, died in that bloody day. ”

"The emperor went on an expedition, the capital was empty, and his subordinates were in chaos, uh, what an old-fashioned episode. Constantine waved his hand, "And then?"

"No then. Victor said indifferently, "At that time, the church was also facing a lot of trouble, there were heretics in various parts of the empire, clamoring that the Heavenly Gate disappeared because the light had abandoned the world, the Holy Knights and the Inquisition were busy, Sente and I were ordered by Drakes to encircle and suppress the orcs from the wild continent in the Northland, Caesar led the paladins to suppress the rebellion of the dioceses of the empire, and killed many local nobles in the county in the name of killing the infidels, and Stewart's family also died in the massacre. It seems that the presiding judge still abhors some of the practices of the Holy See.

Constantine fell silent, he understood Stewart's feelings, and it was not difficult to imagine the despair and resentment of the great knight who had survived the bloody battle when he arrived at his hometown with the desire to be reunited with his loved ones, only to find that his family had been ruined.

This meant that the Church had very little power to mobilize in the Imperial Capital, and it was precisely because the rebels seized on this that they dared to surround the Great Temple of Radiance. Moreover, their strength reached tens of thousands, far exceeding the samurai of the Templars, and the army also contained countless powerful magicians and warriors. So the initial phase of the rebellion went well, and the army on the Prince's side quickly crushed the rival nobles, bloodied the palace and the pro-church faction in the upper echelons of the empire, and they even came close to storming the Temple of Radiance, if it were not for the intervention of His Majesty the Pope. ”

"In the end, for various reasons, the rebellion finally failed, and I don't have much time to go into details, you can ask Your Highness yourself. Victor's eyes drifted. "And who the hell are you? Why are you asking?"

"I, ah, am just a wretched creature who has been abandoned by glory, ruined by his country, and exiled to other countries. Constantine bowed his head and whispered, "Thank you for your story, rest in peace!"

He pressed his finger to the presiding judge's forehead, and a layer of crystal light spread from his fingers, enveloping Victor, and soon, the presiding judge solidified into a snow-white crystal sculpture in the light.

A gust of wind blew through the forest, and Victor's body turned into a cloud of crystal chips and went away with the wind.

When the morning sun descends on the silent valley, it frees the living from this bloody night. There were many busy figures in the valley, and the guards counted the dead horses, silently carried the corpses of their comrades, buried them in the forests of the valley, and built simple tombstones for them out of wood.

"May the warriors of this world rest in Heaven, and you will find eternal solace in the arms of radiance. ”

"The Holy Flame remembers your name, the heavenly vault records your deeds, and the servants of the Lord lead you through his corridors and lead you to the light beyond the shore. ”

"Brilliant and immortal. ”

With a solemn cross drawn on his chest, Constantine ended his lengthy eulogy and bowed to the dirt bags.

As the priest appointed by Bishop Cicero for the Four Princesses, such a funeral was entrusted to him, with a solid foundation laid in the First Seminary of the Continent, Constantine calmly recited beautiful prayers, with solemn manners and sincere tone, and even the three light priests felt that his performance was remarkable.

He turned, and behind him was Diderot and his mournful-faced guards, and he nodded calmly to Diderot, who looked a little stiff and returned the salute with a blank expression.

It's just that the eyes of the other guards looking at Constantine are not very friendly, the battle was fierce last night, but Constantine did not appear, and did not run out of the forest until after the battle, in the eyes of the guards, this is obviously a manifestation of the young priest's escape, so the disgust for Constantine is even stronger.

Constantine took these gazes in his eyes and remained silent.

Walking out of the woods, Constantine saw for the first time "Mordred" leaning under a tree, with the knight's hands behind his head, resting on the tree, and the legendary spear "Crimson Flowing Fire" beside him.

"It seems that the people around your Highness don't like you very much, your Excellency the Morning Star. A slightly muffled voice came from under the mask.

"It doesn't matter. Constantine waved his hand absently, "They are full of affection for you, a pseudo-knight who was killed halfway, and think that you are the kind of male protagonist described in knightly novels, the kind of character who exudes heroic atmosphere, if His Royal Highness confessed to you on the spot or something, it is estimated that your image will be more perfect." ”

"Mordred, she's not a hero. The knight said calmly. "It's just that when I was a kid and I read a book, I was very impressed by this character. ”

"Your tastes are indeed unique, when I was a child, like me, teenagers who loved to read knightly novels generally preferred Lancelot's, the legendary handsome and invincible knight with strong swordsmanship, who was simply an idol benchmark in the eyes of countless knights. Constantine shrugged. "It's a pity it's just a legend. ”

Mordred said: "Not necessarily, Lancelot's novel character has a prototype in the history of the continent, many historians have researched, this character is based on the Battle of the Dawn, the first of the six epic heroes of the Paladin Paladin, the highest school in the eyes of the knights of the Holy Empire, the Palatine Academy is named after this hero, and his statue is still placed outside the Palatine Academy's ancestral shrine, you can have a chance to take a look." ”

"Epic hero? What is that, can you eat it?"

"That is the history of the Icadia continent recognized by the six peak braves, every child of the empire will be exposed to their various legends since birth, if you want to blend into the upper echelons of the empire, it is still necessary to understand these things. ”

"Well, when I was a kid, I used to read and hear Arthurian legends and stuff like that, and I really didn't hear about it, so I really haven't heard of it. Constantine said very frankly, and then changed the subject, "It's all people in the guild, I won't go around in circles, what is your mission? ”

"My task is to safely escort Her Highness to Olympia City, nowadays, the situation in the Empire is very delicate, you must have more or less known about her background, there are many people in the Empire who don't want Her Highness to return to the Imperial Capital alive, and there are similar voices even within the church. ”

"Why?" Constantine frowned slightly.

"Ten years ago, the rebellion in the imperial capital ended, and His Royal Highness's own brother Prince Haydn III was killed in that rebellion, but Byron, the eldest prince who secretly competed for the throne with Prince Haydn, survived, claiming that he did not know about it at the time and was imprisoned by the rebels, so His Majesty did not punish him, but only gave death to the prince who rebelled. ”

"I'm afraid that the prince is only acting as a scapegoat for the eldest prince. "Constantine hit the nail on the head.

"It is true that many people think so, but there is no evidence at all, and it is impossible for the emperor to execute a prince without evidence, so it is not enough. The only certainty is that the eldest prince purged most of the political enemies in the upper echelons of the empire with the help of the rebellion, eliminated the three princes who competed with him for the throne, and consolidated his position in the court, becoming the final victor, and the surviving Royal Highness Diana was also feared by Byron, and when he became an adult, he had to come to the north of the empire to serve as the governor of a remote province, and was only allowed to return to the imperial capital once a year. ”

"What about the church? those red gloves from the Hall of the Holy Spirit, why did they kill their future saints, and what good did they do?"

"This is a very complicated question, it will be difficult to explain it for a while, as far as I know, Your Excellency Morningstar, your past missions were basically outside the Holy Empire, and it was not until the past two years that you disappeared and came to the seminary, so you may not have a deep understanding of the Empire. "To put it simply, many people in the church don't want to see a saint who has the status of royalty and holds the real power of the Holy See. ”

"Isn't politics just compromise? Why don't those old fellows who have been in the temple all their lives understand this truth, and everything can be discussed, so why do they do it? And as long as Diana makes proper overtures to them, it is not difficult to win their support, right?

"So, you still don't know much about the politics of the Empire, Your Excellency 'Morning Star', do you know?What is the most acute problem within the Empire since ancient times, in the eyes of the nobles? ”

Constantine was lost in thought, and his mind was reminded of the royal mark he had seen when he entered Diana's carriage: two pairs of huge wings growing behind the crown, enveloping and guarding the huge crown, which seemed to be a kind of protection for the empire by the gods, but it was not a kind of shackle.