"Smack!" The whip dipped in water flew up, leaving a trail of blood on the broad back.

The Templar Palladia, naked, with his muscular body visible in the mirror, whipped him hard at the back with a short cowhide whip.

"O God, please forgive my family, we are guilty." He said.

Then another whip, "Smack!" ”

His expression was pained for a moment when the pain struck, and a happy smile took his place.

Today's atoning sentence was over, and he put down his whip, knelt before the statues of the gods, and prayed silently.

He felt more complete, more like what he wanted to be, a true knight rather than a false believer.

For thousands of years, fanatical believers in the Templar church have flogged their bodies, and they have embraced this extreme form of atonement, believing that they would cleanse themselves from their sins and prove their reverence to God.

There was a knock at the door, and then a hoarse voice came from outside the door: "My lord, I'm here." ”

The Templar picked up a coarse cloth shirt and put it on his body. "Come in!" He said.

The man was an old knight with a half-gray beard, and his burqa was embroidered with a skull and cross, the emblem of the infamous extremist religious organization, the Inquisition.

"I heard, you were involved in the witch hunt back then?"

"Yes, my lord, I participated in the whole process, and personally led a team of our Inquisitors on this mission."

"Who told you to do it?"

"Your uncle, Lord Johnny, was the last leader of the Inquisition."

Palladia opened the wine cabinet and handed the old knight a lemon honey drink, "Drink, tell me a brief story about your mission." ”

"Thank you, sir," the old knight took a sip just as he felt thirsty.

"I was tasked by your uncle to take my men to judge Miss Irene, the witch of the woods.

The Miracle Appraisal Committee has determined that the woman lives in seclusion in the deep forest, is proficient in a variety of blasphemous black magic, and some priests suspect that she is trying to summon demons, which is extremely dangerous and must be eradicated. ”

"That's all the cause?"

"No, there are still some hidden feelings, my lord, I only dare to tell you this, after all, you are my benefactor."

The old knight stooped closer and whispered, "It was rumored by hunters that Esther Midnet, Duke of Valstad, was hunting in that forest, and he and one of his men got lost in the woods and went to the witch's house to take shelter from the rain.

Just a few months after the Duke left, according to another hunter, he discovered that the witch was pregnant, and later found that the witch had a little girl next to her, who was quite beautiful, with gray hair and gray eyes characteristic of the Midknights, and was most likely the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Valstad, which was later proven to be true. ”

"So, the high-level officials of the year already knew this?"

"Yes, because Duke Easter advocates the unification of the peninsula and wants to revive the Valstad Empire, he is a potential enemy of our country.

The people above wanted us to find the duke's illegitimate daughter and expand the scandal through the newspaper media, so as to deal a blow to the political influence of the Duke of Valstad.

But I never expected it! The Duke of Easter didn't know what the hell he used to take the girl away!

Before we could break the news to the newspaper, the Duke of East took the initiative to accept this illegitimate daughter and gave everything to him! Those Valstad people actually like her! What a strange country, strange folklore! ”

With a gloomy face, Palladia turned to the old knight and asked, "Tell me the truth, are all the accusations that Miss Irene is proficient in black magic, summoning demons, and that she is a witch?"

How do I feel like these excuses? It was an excuse for the high-ranking to get the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Valstad and to hit the image of the duke. ”

The old knight looked around nervously and lowered his voice again: "You guessed right...... As far as I could see in the hut at the time, the so-called suspicious specimens and scrolls were scientific research, and had nothing to do with black witchcraft!

She wasn't a witch in the woods at all, she was just a scholar who lived in seclusion in the woods...... This unlucky woman has become a victim of a power struggle! ”

"Humph! Sure enough, I have long suspected it! Palladia said happily, completely forgetting about the bleeding wound on her back. Tell me about it, what is that Miss Irene like? ”

The old knight instantly came to his senses, and seemed to be impressed by this: "Folk rumors say that this person is a descendant of a demigod and a woman with an extremely beautiful appearance, and the truth is the same, how to describe it?" That beauty transcends the realm of human beings, and it is no wonder that the Duke of East was fascinated by her. ”

"Tell me about the woman's eyes and hair."

"Rare golden pupils! And it was very bright, as if it was shrouded in a golden halo.

The hair was silver, and I was stunned at the time, and I was a little reluctant to do anything with such a stunner! ”

(Golden-eyed and silver-haired!) Like what I found in the texts, is it really a demigod race? Palladia thought excitedly.

"Tell me about your mission."

"Oh, at that time, I had my most capable men, all devout and fanatical believers, and we kicked open the door of the hut, and the woman stood in the hall in a daze, smiling at us, as if she were not afraid of death at all!

I was a little stunned when I saw her face, and I was stunned for a moment, and then I asked her where the girl was, and she still smiled and didn't speak, and my men couldn't help it, and began to search the house, smashing almost everything, and finding no evidence.

It doesn't matter, anyway, the miracle appraisal committee has convicted, saying that it is a regular trial, but in fact, it is an execution, and a new guy wants to show it, and he doesn't wait for me to speak, he directly pulls out a knife and stabs someone, and the others also rush up. ”

"And then?"

"At that time, I yelled loudly, you have all forgotten the secret mission? Don't stab you, stab yourself to death, who are you looking to ask the whereabouts of the little girl? The duke's illegitimate daughter is the target! The fools stopped, but the pretty woman was on the ground, and there was only one breath left.

I'm angry in my heart, even if the mission fails, I haven't enjoyed such beautiful goods, I haven't enjoyed it yet, these brainless fanatics, it's really a tyrannical thing! ”

The old knight spat on a whim, and thought that he was bragging nonsense in the tavern, but he forgot the identity of the person in front of him for a while.

Suddenly, he noticed that Master Palladia was glaring at him with an undisguised look of disgust, and hurriedly bowed his head and apologized:

"Oh, I'm sorry, my lord!" He slapped himself, "Dirty your ears!" ”

"Go on!" Palladia said angrily.

"And then...... We almost demolished the hut, but we still couldn't find any sign of the little girl, maybe she had run away, so we scattered and searched everywhere, and finally returned to the village to gather, but we still didn't find it, and the mission was a complete failure, so we had to return to the hut, burn the witch to death, and finally go back to the errand. ”