Chapter 74

In the afternoon, as the venue began to resemble a courtroom, Count Kleinzelt appeared. His face was pale, and his steps were unsteady and restless. When Sora found the familiar parchment in his hand, he was convinced of the success of the plan.

"Father, were you able to forge the documents properly?"

As soon as Count Kleinzelt saw Sora with a satisfied smile, he flew into a rage and clenched his fists.

"Sora, you scoundrel!"

The guards immediately restrained him, who was about to attack.

"Your Majesty! This is a conspiracy!"

The king, ignoring the count's sudden outburst, signaled the deputy head of the royal guard to take the documents from the count. The deputy head forcibly took the documents from the resisting count and handed them to the king. After reading the documents thoroughly, the king directed a disdainful gaze at the count.

"There is no signature or viscount's seal of Sir Sora anywhere, and it's covered in mold. It doesn't seem like a document from ten days ago. Is this your evidence?"

The document held up by the king contained no evidence of Sora's involvement. The signature and seal of Sora, which were supposed to be there ten days ago, had completely disappeared. The church leaders and Duke Bartz, among others, were shown the document and served as witnesses. Both the king and Duke Bartz observed Sora, but he remained kneeling with his head down, not revealing his expression. Unknown to anyone else, he was laughing heartily inside.

No matter what kind of trick Sora had used, it was clear that the documents the count had brought had no evidentiary value. As a result, the evidence Sora had submitted, the proclamation with the count's signature and seal, would be recognized. The treason of the Kleinzelt family was proven. The church nobles tried to raise the theory of a conspiracy, but they were silenced by the leaders of their own faction, who had already negated the count's evidence. Moreover, there was no benefit for Sora, who would be executed anyway if the treason was fabricated. Furthermore, the count was greatly disliked by other nobles. Even if his innocence was proven, it would only benefit the church, and there was no advantage for the defense. If the proof of innocence failed, it would be seen as protecting a traitor, which would be bad for reputation. There was no fool among the nobles who would pick up a hot chestnut. Instead, they formally petitioned for the count's clemency as an excuse to the church.

The Kleinzelt father and son were imprisoned until the verdict was handed down. Sora spent his days taking pleasant naps, using the curses from his biological father in the adjacent cell as a lullaby. The adjacent cell was a cauldron of screams, but Sora was laughing as if listening to his favorite music.

The king's verdict was handed down on the morning of the fifth day.

"The former Count Kleinzelt and his wife will be publicly executed, and the former Viscount Kleinzelt will also be executed. The younger brother, Salon Kleinzelt, will be placed under the care of the Bartz family."

It was essentially the dissolution of the family. By this time, the former count had become docile. Sora looked extremely bored. Some nobles criticized the equal punishment of the accuser and the accused, but the king did not accept their complaints.

Problems arose in the Kleinzelt territory. Protests were occurring not only in the viscount's territory but also in the count's territory. The protests in the count's territory were centered around a small fishing village. The village, which had been on the verge of collapse, had been supported by the distribution of charcoal, a local specialty, and had become a focal point for the protest movement. Normally, the church would have crushed such a movement, but they were unable to do so because of the document signed by the high priest Leur and bearing the church seal, which Sora had passed to Gorge.

Gorge, receiving the tampered document from Sora, skillfully rode the white horse, which had a fierce temperament, and galloped without rest, meeting up with Zess and Cole, who were waiting by the river. The three of them boarded a high-speed boat designed by Luly and engraved with a magic array by Sania, and traveled day and night down the river. They destroyed the boat near the Kleinzelt territory to eliminate evidence and joined up with the Flame Corps, who were waiting.

"If anything happens, we, the Flame Corps, will be the decoys, so don't worry."

"If you return safely, I'll give you the right to pat my daughter's head."

Gorge patted the tense Cole's shoulder, and Zess made a joke. The Flame Corps smiled wryly at Cole's ambiguous nod.

After a brief conversation, they began moving towards the city, defeating or avoiding the unfortunate lord's army they encountered along the way. They arrived at the city. Zess and the Flame Corps would wait at a familiar hunter's cabin near the city while Cole was sent alone to the city. Cole, pale-faced, remembered Sora's words: "Run to the church at full speed."

Cole took a deep breath and ran into the city, displaying a mad running style due to his nervousness. The first prelate, who was in charge of the church's operations in the absence of the high priest Leur, gave Cole a suspicious glance but was shocked when he saw the document.

"Expel all the believers in the Kleinzelt territory? What is this!"

The first prelate repeatedly checked the signature and seal of Leur on the document from different angles.

"It seems that the believers in the Kleinzelt territory are likely to be taken hostage, so it is necessary to expel them temporarily as an emergency measure."

Cole, still out of breath from running, recited the prepared lines. His nervousness made his tongue a bit clumsy, but it added to the urgency of the situation. The first prelate, still taken aback by the magnitude of the situation, suddenly remembered a piece of information. The famous Flame Corps, owned by Viscount Sora, were reported to be driving back the lord's army in the count's territory. The first prelate, who had initially dismissed the idea of sending the Flame Corps, the crown jewel, at this time, changed his mind.

"Could the Flame Corps be trying to prevent this document from reaching us...?"

Suddenly, the document in his hand felt heavier. The signature and seal of Leur on the document were genuine.

There was no doubt about it. Cole added one more point.

"Please issue this order to the entire Kleinzelt territory as soon as possible, before any forged documents circulate. If you don't, my efforts will be in vain!"

The first prelate, misunderstanding Cole's efforts as the result of being pursued by the Flame Corps day and night to deliver the document, praised him and immediately issued orders to the churches in the Kleinzelt territory.

That day, the churches, which had been gathering believers through mutual aid, expelled them unilaterally. It was natural for the believers, who had donated money they had barely managed to save in their difficult lives, to be enraged at being betrayed. The church, which had been channeling the people's dissatisfaction with their difficult lives and the inaction of the lord, the Kleinzelt family, and the church itself, was now facing the accumulated anger of the people directly, having abandoned its role as a mutual aid organization.

Church hunts began in various places, and church officials sometimes had to flee as beggars.

"Thus, the church was swiftly expelled from the Kleinzelt territory."

"It's our turn now."

Lazette, hearing of the success of the plan, gave the order to Sania and Luly.

"We will begin emergency support for the Kleinzelt territory. Sania, handle the finances, and Luly, implement the distribution plan. Sir Sora left us in the viscount's territory for this purpose. Use all the assets of the viscount's mansion freely!"

"Let's make it a memorial battle for reconstruction!"

The women nodded at Sania's words and began their actions. The Kleinzelt territory, which was supposed to become a state of anarchy after the dissolution of the Kleinzelt family and the absence of the church, was narrowly prevented by the massive aid sent from the viscount's territory by land, sea, and river as soon as the obstacles were removed. Lazette, acting on Sora's instructions, efficiently transported the aid materials that Sora had previously purchased from the Wooddora Trading Company. Additionally, the mobilization of the viscount's territory's fishing industry by Zess, who had returned safely from the count's territory, the distribution of food by inns and restaurants under Cole's command, the maintenance of order by the Flame Corps led by Gorge, and the mass production of preserved food using science and magic by Luly and Sania, all supervised and directed by Lazette, showed the intense efforts of the Sora family's retainers, even in the absence of their lord.

This became a model for supporting devastated territories in the future. As the chaos in the Kleinzelt territory subsided, they suddenly disappeared. Nobles sent spies to try to hire at least one of them, but they were never caught. Everyone realized that this was a declaration of their intention to serve only Sora Kleinzelt.

Revised on February 13.