The morning light in the Vayne March always felt like cooling gold—beautiful, yet devoid of warmth.
At the long dining table made of black oak, Azura sat calmly, sipping jasmine tea while the steam danced in the air.
Beside her, Caspian sat upright in light armor that still bore the scuffs and scratches of last night’s battle.
The breakfast atmosphere was silent, save for the clinking of silver against porcelain.
However, that tranquility was disturbed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
Aurelia, the late Marquis’s second child who usually shut herself away in the library, appeared with a bundle of parchment scrolls clutched to her chest.
The fifteen-year-old girl’s face was pale, her clear blue eyes staring at Azura with an unusual intensity.
”You must prepare,” Aurelia said without preamble.
She slammed a thick law book onto the table, right beside Azura’s plate.
“The North Cathedral bells tolled three times in a low tone.
That is the signal for a ‘Cleansing.’ Archbishop Azraeth will not let Leopold’s death pass without using it as an excuse to set foot here.”
Azura arched an eyebrow slightly, looking at Aurelia with newfound interest.
“You’re quite perceptive for a girl who only reads history books, Aurelia.”
”History books are the most honest teachers, Stepmother,” Aurelia countered with a cynical yet controlled tone.
“And history says that whenever there is a power vacuum in Vayne, the Church arrives carrying a ‘light’ that is, in reality, a set of chains.”
Before Azura could respond, the shrill blast of a silver trumpet echoed outside the castle gates.
It was a sound that demanded obedience, not a request for a visit.
Arthur, the new Captain of the Guard, entered the dining room with a tense face.
“Your Grace, Inquisitor Malachi is at the main gate.
He brings twelve Holy Knights and a decree bearing the red wax seal of Archbishop Azraeth.
They demand entry in the name of holy protection.”
Azura set her teacup down slowly.
“A red seal, is it?
That means they didn’t come to pray.” She stood up, straightening her black gown, which stood in stark contrast to the bright morning sun.
“Open the gates, Arthur.
Let us see just how holy Azraeth’s messenger truly is.”
The Great Hall of Vayne Castle instantly transformed into a cold battlefield.
Inquisitor Malachi strode in, his white robes sweeping across the black marble floor.
His face was gaunt, with a hooked nose and eyes that seemed to look down on everything around him.
Behind him, a dozen knights in silver plate armor stood with their hands resting on the hilts of their longswords.
”Azura Vayne,” Malachi’s voice echoed, dry and sharp.
He did not bow, nor did he offer any formal greeting.
“Or should I call you the ‘Daughter of Baron Meren’ who has miraculously seated herself upon the lion’s throne?”
Caspian took a step forward, his hand instinctively seeking his sword hilt, but Azura raised a hand, signaling her stepson to remain calm.
”Hold your poisonous tongue, Inquisitor,” Azura replied composedly.
She sat upon the Marquis’s grand throne, looking down at Malachi from her elevated position.
“Say what you want before I grow bored of looking at your white robes gathering dust on my floor.”
Malachi snorted in disdain.
He produced a large parchment scroll bearing the official stamp of the Central Church.
“We have received reports of a brutal massacre within these walls.
Leopold, a faithful servant of God, died unnaturally under your watch. Find the original chapter at novelping.com.
Archbishop Azraeth declares that the Vayne territory is now in a state of ‘Spiritual Darkness’.”
He unfurled the scroll and read it with a grand, haughty tone.
“Therefore, by Holy Law, the Church assumes custody of the four children of the late Marquis Vayne to be educated in the Holy Dormitory in the city center, to distance them from the influence…
of demons.”
The atmosphere in the hall froze instantly.
Caspian let out a low growl, while Aurelia’s knuckles turned white as she gripped her books.
[System: Glitch detected.
The Church authority is attempting a ‘Hostile Takeover’ of your private assets, Boss.
Main Mission: Reject the Holy Cleansing.
Reward: Unlock ‘Liar’s Discernment’ Function & Marquis Memory Fragment: “Gate Key Location.”
Penalty: Total loss of guardianship and territory reputation destroyed.]
”They want to hold these children hostage as bargaining chips for the ‘Gate’,” Azura thought.
Her eyes fixed on Malachi with a predatory glint.
”Custody?” Azura chuckled, the sound of her laughter like a dagger scraping against a whetstone.
“You call it protection, but I call it structured kidnapping.”
”Watch your mouth, woman!” Malachi barked, his face flushing red.
“This is a direct order from Archbishop Azraeth!
You have no authority to refuse.
You are merely a temporary guardian whose reputation is now stained with blood!”
”Actually, she does have the authority,” Aurelia’s voice broke the tension.
The girl stepped forward, opening the ancient law book she carried.
“According to the Vayne Constitution, Article 12, Year 450, the Vayne territory is an autonomous knightly domain subject only to the Royal Throne in the capital.
The Church only holds rights over the dormitory if the family lacks a legitimate heir.
Caspian Vayne is right here, and he has recognized our Stepmother as the legitimate guardian through a Blood Oath.”
Malachi was stunned for a moment.
He hadn’t expected a child to use a loophole in ancient law.
“That oath is invalid in the eyes of the Altar if—”
”In the eyes of the Altar, perhaps, but in the eyes of the knight’s law of the sword, it is absolute,” Azura cut him off.
She rose from her throne and stepped down the dais, approaching Malachi until they were mere inches apart.
The aura of a Cold Executioner began to seep from Azura’s body.
The air in the Great Hall seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.
The Holy Knights behind Malachi shifted their feet back unconsciously, feeling a psychological pressure that made their breathing heavy.
”Listen to me carefully, Malachi,” Azura whispered, her voice incredibly low yet terrifyingly intimidating.
“I don’t care what Azraeth is planning atop his gold-stained altar.
But these children are Vaynes.
And what belongs to Vayne, belongs to me.”
Azura snatched the holy warrant from Malachi’s hand.
Without breaking eye contact with the Inquisitor, she ripped the parchment in half, then into four, then into tiny shreds.
She dropped the fragments of the holy-stamped paper right onto Malachi’s white shoes. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
”Tell your Archbishop,” Azura continued, her lips curling into a thin, lethal smile.
“A lion does not entrust its cubs to a dog, no matter how holy that dog barks.”
Malachi’s face twitched with mounting fury.
“You…
you have just declared war on the Altar!
You have just destroyed the future of this territory!
Excommunication will be dropped upon Vayne!
The people will hate you!”
”The people always need something to hate,” Azura countered coldly.
“And I don’t mind being their target, as long as they know who holds the knife to their throats.”
”Get out,” Caspian stepped forward, partially unsheathing his sword until the sharp ring of metal echoed.
“Or your white robes will change color to red this very morning.”
Malachi retreated with a face full of hatred.
“You will regret this.
Azraeth will not remain silent.
When the crusaders come to collect these children, make sure you have prepared your own coffin, Azura Vayne!”
Malachi and his men turned, stomping out of the hall with heavy steps.
As they passed through the castle gates, Malachi stopped for a moment before the crowd of commoners who had gathered, curious about the Church’s arrival.
He shouted at the top of his lungs so everyone could hear:
”O faithful believers!
Look upon your ruler!
She has just rejected a holy blessing and insulted the Archbishop’s decree!
This castle has fallen into the hands of a Bloody Demon who slaughters her own servants!
Pray for your safety, for a curse shall soon fall upon the Vayne March!”
Inside the hall, Azura stood by a large window, watching Malachi incite the people in the distance.
[System: Mission Accomplished.
Rewards being processed.
Congratulations, Boss.
Now the entire Northern region considers you the most beautiful war criminal of the century.
Sarcastic applause.]
”Let them scream,” Azura murmured.
She turned toward Caspian and Aurelia, who now stood side by side.
“Arthur, prepare your elite soldiers.
We are no longer dealing with low-level assassins.
We are facing fanaticism.”
Azura clenched her fist, feeling the Marquis’s memory fragments beginning to merge into her mind—an image of an ancient altar beneath the North Cathedral that possessed a strangely shaped keyhole.
”A holy war?” Azura smiled cynically.
“Let’s see if their God can stop a Mafia bullet.”