Titan Beneath the Heavens Chapter 91

The annual Holy Day of God has finally arrived! Quoting His Imperial Highness Prince Oscar’s words, it was the perfect occasion for spending unnecessary money. The noblemen of Titan seemed to have an unlimited wealth that they could squander without worry. They widened their search for money through various means of foreign channels, and figured in the end that during this time only golden coins were their most trusted confidants.

Oscar has long seen through the hypocritical and ostentatious lifestyle of the capital nobles. Therefore, he was more than capable to hold all kinds of receptions for the difficult guests, and always appeared as the most appreciable host by putting his prestigious Imperial demeanour into perfect use. Ricky was absolutely right about getting acquainted with more nobles. Although Young Lady insisted that all of them rich noblemen were roughly the same, Oscar discovered that there were still some that were worthy of praise.

The most respectable scholar in the whole University Town was Marquis Sarife, the former astronomy professor of Imperial Academy of Sciences. The old marquis’s academic achievements focused mainly on celestial research, where he observed comets with his self-made astronomical telescope and discovered new stars that have never been seen before by the human eyes.

Of course, that was not the only reason for the old marquis to be highly regarded by others. Although his contribution to the academic research was definitely appreciated, what people value most about Professor Sarife was his respect for science and dedication to the truth.

Early in the Church Calendar’s seventh century, the Italians discovered the greatest secret of earth. It was believed that not only did the earth move on its own orbit, it also circled the sun in an elliptical orbit. However, if interpreted in accordance with the religious teachings of Light of God, the earth was the center of the universe and all the celestial bodies orbited around the earth. Religious doctrines were not to be blasphemed at all, hence the priests of Roman religious courts of that time frantically hunted down those who spread this belief of astronomical science. It was said that during that period of time, scientists and believers of that teaching were burned to death at stake in town squares from early morning to midnight. After this catastrophe, not one professor in Italia Kingdom - the most developed in astronomy in the entire Westland at that time - dared to teach this science.

It was during the Great Trials that Marquis Sarife and family left their home country Italia and fled to Titan. Although Titan’s religious forces were also greatly influential, but the Imperial power was much more prestigious in authority in comparison to that of the Pope His Grand Eminence. Not only was the House of Sarife received with respect and courteous in Dulin, the then Emperor also bestowed them noble titles and invited them to become members of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.

Without a doubt, the Emperor’s decision was strongly opposed by Holy See, but the period of dispute was already coming to an end. The vitality of science turned out to be very short. After the ferocious curtailing from the Holy See, the Knowledge of Truth movement that was previously spreading like a large mass moment suddenly vanished into thin air. The House of Sarife from Italia, who understood the essence of the Great Discovery of Astronomy, also handed their pledge to the Holy See, claiming that they have abandoned the scientific viewpoint they have always embraced. This was the only option they had for survival. However, within every family there was always one rebel who wouldn’t surrender. In their case, Palberto Sarife was the most rebellious one of this family.

Palberto inherited the elder’s noble title at a young age. At the same time, he also carried on the precious scrolls locked hidden in the ground floor of their residence. These hand scrolls recorded all the achievements made since the Great Discovery of Astronomy, and the young Sarife who yearned for the truth began researching secretly.

This secret research was soon discovered by the Holy See. The religious court was like a hound with an amazing sense of smell, it never gave up keeping watch over any potential dangerous beings such as the Sarife family.

Since the religious courts could not try nor sentence the nobles under the Titan regime, they could only endlessly trigger those fanatic religious believers to keep sabotaging the Sarife with fire or attempting assassinations. Fortunately, these tactics could not sway the strong-willed Marquis Sarife. This state of confrontation with the Holy See lasted until Church’s year 766, when Marquis Palberto Sarife finally signed his famous literature entitled The Motion of Celestial Bodies using his real last name. The beginning of the publication of this great work, which was later described as the laying foundations of modern astronomical theory, was also the beginning of all disasters.

For centuries, the ruler of Titan empire has been struggling to lessen the control of the Holy See. There was a brief period when even the dethronement of the Emperor was decided by the latter. Although the Holy See casted its sacred silhouette over the ruler of Morisette, by the seventh century many affairs and decisions of the Imperial Family were no longer under the control of Holy See.

Even so, the literature Motion of Celestial Bodies that had caused a great uproar in the secular world was nonetheless abandoned by Morisette Imperial Family who always shielded the Sarife. In the opinion of the Holy See, both Motion of Celestial Bodies and Palberto Sarife, who were regarded as heresy must be destroyed. As for the Imperial Family, the ruling class could not tolerate with the author who caused tremendous uproar in the field of intellectuals.

The Imperial Family eventually compromised with the Holy See, and Marquis Sarife was arrested. However, the punishment sentenced failed to be executed due to Titan empire’s intervention of the trial. Hence, Marquis Sarife suffered for more than 30 years of torture in prison.

"Did you not think of what would happen to yourself and your family when you first published the thesis?" Oscar said while shaking his head, "You know, I’m not criticising you for what you have done, but…"

"Young Highness Prince!" the frail old man leaned himself against the deck chair, "I wasn’t thinking properly, and I could only apologise to my family. But I keep to the truth, a truth that was discovered by the lives and blood of many other forefathers before us! I believed the truth will shine itself someday. Perhaps it will take a decade, or maybe ten, but imagine! The same method would be released unto these religious frauds."

Oscar nodded after giving some thoughts on the man’s refute, "But… but I can’t imagine how you escaped from the trial? As far as I understand the Holy See only has one brutal way of dealing with heretics."

"Your Highness, since you’re already calling me a heretic then I don’t see the point of us continuing the conversation anymore."

Oscar scratched at his nose awkwardly. He was never a strong believer himself. Just like many other people, he only went to church a couple of times a year and could never remember all the words to the songs of praise. To him, religion was merely a conventional behavior.

"I’m genuinely sorry for having said that. However, I’m sure you are aware of how influential the God of Light is to the men of the world…"

"I’m completely aware of that! Only a heretic could truly understand what it means to be one!" The old marquis said while pulling at his shirt to reveal a curved, dark green cross imprinted on his chest. Oscar was dumbfounded at what laid in front of his eyes!

"You’re indeed extremely…. extremely fortunate…. to have escaped from fate!" Oscar knew the significance of the indelible mark on the old man’s chest. Only those who have been proved guilty and sentenced to execution would be branded with such a pattern representing the demon. According to the belief, the God of Light would examine the mark when He receives souls eroded by the devil before delivering these poor souls into the borderland completely absent of justice, so that they could be tortured in hell forever.

"Haha, a good friend of me saved me from hell. Perhaps you’ve not heard of his name before. Duke Kachev? He’s now the acting Secretary of State, living in seclusion in Bodega province."

Oscar seized with terror. He couldn’t imagine old Kachev lending his hands to a heretic.

"What? Old Duke Kachev is still the acting Secretary of State?"

"You know him?" It was Marquis Sarife’s turn to be shocked this time, but he had it figured out in an instant, "Ah I’m really old now! You’re the Highness Prince, of course you are well acquainted with the Secretary of State."

"No, it’s not that!" Oscar quickly waved his hand. He did not want to claim any connections with that peculiar guy. "I've only seen Old Duke Kachev a few times, he would not remember a young kid like me anyway."

"Is that so? Haha!" Old Marquis Sarife smiled slightly, "We’ve known each other since our years in university, and he has always been like that. You would never see any other expression on his face other than a sneer."

Oscar laughed at the old man’s joke when someone knocked on the door.

"Father, the time for His Highness Prince O’Neil lecture is up. It’s also time for you to rest!"

The old professor suddenly slapped at his own forehead, "Look at me I’m such a dotard. Forgive me, Your Highness. I’m your astronomy tutor, but all I’ve tell you through the span of a whole lecture was only some trivial nonsense.

"No! No!" Oscar immediately shook his head in disapproval, "Please don’t say that. At least now I’ve learned that more than half of the people in this world fool people for a living, and the other half…"

"Are murderers!" Old Duke Sarife said through gritted teeth.

"Father!" His son junior Sarife shouted. This stubborn old man shouldn’t have said such things, even if he was in his own house.

"Alright, alright! I know!" The old professor waved his hands in the air impatiently, "Look, Your Highness, I can’t escape from being monitored even in my own house!"

Oscar could only force a smile at the old scientist’s remark.

"If you don’t mind, Your Highness, can I take a few more minutes of your time? I should at least advise you on something related to your studies."

Oscar nodded, "Of course, I don’t mind at all. But you, you should probably take a rest now."

"Just a couple of minutes!" The old professor dismissed his son with the wave of a hand.

Junior Sarife shook his head helplessly and left the room.

"Your Highness, a successful military commander, though not always a good astronomer, knows more or less about the knowledge of the celestial bodies. Before we get hold of the compass invented from the East, astronomical phenomena were the only information available for reference while we were at war. Now, even with the help of a compass, astronomical knowledge remains extremely useful. So, you have to master this science systematically."

"Alright, I’m extremely looking forward to your teaching!"

"That’s about it. I can only explain to you the practical value of this science, as to how much of its essence you can grasp depends completely on your own effort. However, I have to state in advance that this study is all dry and dull work, and you have to be very patient in this learning process!"

"Yes! Don’t you worry!" Oscar made a solemn vow, but turned his head around before he left the room, "Are you… are you still in close contact with old Duke Kachev?"

"Of course not!" Sarife shook his head vigorously, "Rescuing a heretic who is on the verge of being subjected to be burn at stake has already exposed my friend to unprecedented trouble. If possible, I will never be in contact with him again in order to avoid any more dissension. Do you know? The Holy See has been keeping their eyes closely on me."

Oscar nodded but said nothing more.

"What do you think?" The old professor asked his son after the prince’s departure.

"That young Highness Prince?" junior Sarife said indifferently, "He’s your student, not mine."

"Then let me tell you!" Old Sarife’s face changed into an indescribable expression, "He is an unusually sensitive young man. I thought it would at least make him less suspicious of me if I confided to him my relationship with Kachev, but now I think otherwise."

"Maybe things are not as complicated as you said."

"No!" The old man shook his head. Although he was a scientist, the great and powerful Holy See has taught him how to fight in battle. "Remember! If you ever come across the young prince again, remember to be careful! Extremely careful!"

"Hmm… it seems that even our Aeolia can be careless sometimes!" Oscar went looking for Countess the moment he returned home. He was told earlier that the other hidden secret agent in his household has been exposed.

Aeolia could not argue with the prince’s sarcasm, and she was indeed genuinely sorry. As an excellent secret agent herself, she should have noticed any suspicious person around her and never have allowed this to happen. 

"I’m truly sorry! It was because of my negligence that put Your Highness and your men in danger. If Mirandez did not remind me about it, I wouldn’t have doubted the young girl I had asked for help."

Oscar smiled mischievously. He liked it when Aeolia lowered herself in front of him.

"Sit down and tell me what happened."

Aeolia did not follow the order but she poured the prince a cup of coffee and stood in front of him like every other report briefing.

"I always prohibit anyone to ever step foot into the study I work in, and I usually tidy the room myself, but to handle the massive wine rack all by myself, you know, that’s actually a very demanding task. Those exquisite white and red wines cannot be kept in the closet for too long or they would either turn bad nor evaporate quickly, so I need to frequently bring them down to the cellar and return up there with another batch of wine. I usually demand the young girl who manages the wines in the residence to join me in this task so…"

"Hence she’s the only one who has access to our secrets!" Oscar grasped the essence of the incident now.

"Exactly. After my thorough inspection on all the other secret agents in the house, she remains the most suspicious!" Aeolie revealed a rare savage expression. It seemed that this incident really taught her a good lesson.

"And then? What else did this Mirandez girl discover?" Oscar held his chin while sizing the Countess. He looked exactly like a small child.

"That girl once told me that she’s illiterate, that’s why I let my guard down and asked her to tidy up my room together. As you know, my desk is always messy, with secret notes and confidential correspondence scrambled all over the desk, however not long ago Mirandez told me she saw that young girl writing to her family…"

"Hahahaha!" Oscar interrupted the Countess who was anxious to explain herself, "So in the end you found yourself being fooled by an underage young girl, right? My dear Colonel! Anyway, that young girl is also a smart person. It seems that smart people make silly mistakes like this! Therefore… you don’t have to overly blame yourself!"

"Um… whatever!" Aeolia was exasperated and furious. She wasn’t stupid enough to not know

know how to differentiate sarcasm from comfort! If she knew the prince would ridicule her like this she would have tortured the young girl during interrogation to vent her frustration! Anyway, it was too late now! The whole incident felt to her too depressing and frustrating!

"Where is that young girl now? Has she confessed?" Oscar withdrew his playfulness and put on a serious look.

Aeolia gave a snort of contempt, "She is now locked in the cellar, and confessed after being interrogated by your ferocious looking companion. She also admitted having taken advantage of the opportunities to bring wines for your companion to obtain further confidential information! What a shrewd little whore!"

Oscar stared at Aeolia as this was the first time he heard her speaking so crudely. Perhaps this lesson really made the Countess extremely irritated.

"So, how did she get the information delivered? Did we get hold of her collusion yet?"

Aeolia nodded but shook her head again, "Each month, the girl brings the expired or unfinished wines in the mansion out to the street to sell on credit. You know, certain people recycle this stuff, so the person who comes to the residence to buy drinks from her is believed to be her collusion. However, the person has not appeared until now. I guess the possibility of capturing him is extremely slim."

Although it was not a perfect explanation, Oscar nodded with satisfaction.

"However, there’s one more thing." Aeolia opened her mouth but stopped herself from continuing.

"Say it!" Oscar demanded, "Unless there is anything wrong?"

"No!" Aya shook her head, "It’s partly related to that friend of yours, Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi. As you might have known, he and that whore are on intimate terms…"

"Aeolia!" Oscar shouted at the Countess immediately, "Stop behaving this way, calm down! I don’t like your way of speaking, you sounded like a nervous mad woman!"

After a long, dead silence, Aya finally lets out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, I apologise. I admit I’m a little neurotic right now! Shall we revert our attention back to Tove Van Sukhoi? I did an investigation on him without your permission, although I did not find him any unusual but I’ve discovered his ugly behaviors. I can’t figure out the reason you’re keeping him by your side."

Oscar declined to comment but just shrugged nonchalantly, "I still don’t find him annoying for now, and a rascal could be useful in certain occasion."

"Anything you like, now I’m going to tell you something of more importance."

Oscar nodded and motioned for the Countess to go on.

"Your Highness, after my investigation it seems like there is no reason for the Chief of Secret Service Department to betray his own agents, therefore I can only land on two rather far-fetched explanations."

"I’m on all ears."

After a brief moment of thinking she raised her head. "First, it might be possible that he sold out this remarkable spy to you as a friendly gesture to foster a harmonious relationship. Second, he did so to give cover to another secret agent who is still hidden in the mansion."

His face grew grave, "I have been thinking about these possibilities too. It seems that our ideas are similar to each one. This decision would allow the other more capable agent to remain relatively safer."

Aeolia shook her head in disapproval, "This is why I said these two reasons are quite far-fetched. After a recent investigation, I can affirm that the secret agents in the residence are all under our control. In other words, Hoss’s other agent is non-existent. But if that’s the case, how do we interpret Count Rudolf Hoss’s action?"

Oscar did not want to be pestered around this issue anymore. Just let the secret agents do their job, all his secrets have been exposed to the Secret Service already anyway.

"Let’s not talk about it anymore. I’ve decided what to do with that girl."

"What’s the plan?"

"Torry! Don’t you think he’s best suited for the task?" Oscar laughed in a relaxed manner, his plan was perfect!

"What are the both of you talking about?" Young Lady’s voice appeared before she even entered the room.

"Oh, Sasha!" Oscar flew to his sister and hugged her warmly, "We’re talking about love!"

"Is that right?" Sasha shot Aya a disapproving look, "Congratulations then, your relationship with each other has finally improved for the better!"

Aeolia glanced over at the ridiculous girl. She wanted so much to roll her eyes but suppressed her emotion at last.

The bell for Holy Day of God year 792 was about to ring. As if in agreement with the God of Light, heavy snow started fluttering and people gradually began dancing in the snow. Tortoiseshell Cat Square still looked the same as last year with the same decoration and the same furnishings. It was even true for the faces that attended the celebration; university students, common citizens, as well as the nobles dressed in bizarre fashion. Today was the festival of the God, a great day of birth!

Oscar sat on the same balcony where he was seated last year. He watched the group of priests marching toward the center of the square while holding a massive sandglass. Judging from the crowd surrounded the young prince, it was noticed that the leading person of University Town has been replaced. Gone were the days when University Town was shrouded with aura of the two princes. After the assassination of the Imperial family members, one of the princes was invited back to Dulin to be kept safe under close surveillance, while the other was so gravely injured he was bedridden.

The nobles of Titan were an immensely cohesive social stratum. These vermins would immediately find a new host as soon as they lost the previous one. Sparjoxin has lost two sons of the Emperor rather recently, hence the young prince left behind naturally became their next best choice. 

The Holy Day of God year 792 belonged solely to O’Neil Andrew Morisette! On the balcony of Dulin University Great Hall, surrounded by nobles around himself, it was the first time Oscar ever had the real experience of the fame power and influence brought upon him. Although it was still quite a vague concept to the new prince, but he couldn’t deny the thrill and excitement of being the spotlight of the crowd brought him!

"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven... Four! Three! Two! One!"

"Happy New Year! My dear butler!"

"Merry Holy Day of God! Dear Torry!"

On the far end of the street along Tortoiseshell Cat Square, Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi and butler Baron Erbe, also known as the extraordinary liar, exchanged their simple blessings inside of an old and unattractive carriage.

"Oh, right! Not to forget you!" Torry squinted his eyes to look at the young girl who was being tied tightly, "My wine girl! Same blessings to you too!"

The girl’s muffled voice came through the cloth.

Perhaps the reason why inhabitants of University City posed themselves as Northerners were largely related to the amazing scenery of Sparjoxin in winter.

Heavy snow continued to fall, and soon the ground accumulated a thick layer. The darkness was blinding, and only snow fluttered high up in the sky. Clouds hung low, but the people simply could not see it. These large pools of ice cold air flowed quietly in the night sky, as silent as the snow which fell on the ground.

Away from the bustling city center, the suburbs were unearthly quiet, and beautiful fireworks that broke out occasionally in the night sky were also not visible anymore. Carriages produced sharp squeaking noise as they moved slowly up the snowy slopes, as if they were protesting their unwillingness to go out in this extreme weather.

The ground resembled a vast field of whiteness, which made it difficult to identify the road. Only the silent sound of snowflakes falling on the ground was audible, but if you listened attentively, you would discover that they were almost making no sound at all. Hiding among the thick blanket of white snow, the snowflakes did not intend to let their gossip be heard by others.

Foxes! Two bright and beautiful red foxes were running after the wagon. Of course, they were not interested in that broken old carriage, what they fancied was that thin horse carrying the carriage. They must be blessed by the God of Light for having encountered a frail horse in this kind of weather. However, the foxes did not seem to realise that they were followed by a fierce lone wolf. The latter, which was massive in size, had not had any successful hunt for a week now, it would take in anything possible be it the old horse or the foxes.

Two streaks of trail were imprinted on the snow as the carriage rode by. Accompanied was also footsteps of the animals, as if everyone was rushing to go to the market. The snow quickly cleared these traces as if to cover up the evidence of everything that had just happened.

Perhaps it was mere coincidence, but it seemed that every cemetery was established near a very strange-looking, extremely dead tree. The dead tree resembled a scary monster, with its branches covered with sharp needles stretched out in all direction. Below it, or either next to it, stood row after row of disordered tumulus. From the look of it, this cemetery was one ‘inhabited’ by only the poor. On the bad quality stones substituted as gravestones were illegible handwriting, the craftsmanship was also terrible. Not to mention those disorganised ancestral tablets, perhaps it would have been better if the place was managed by a pastor. Only the sign of the cemetery was rather uniquely designed. "Boude" was the name of the cemetery. Underneath the sign was engraved with the words of prayers of God of Light. It was prayers for the deceased, which reminded them to be even more disciplined than they were previously in the secular world after arriving at the temple of God. Otherwise, the God of Light would not be any more lenient to them than their noble masters!

"I was only kidding! Don’t take it so seriously!" Torry grinned and patted on the butler’s shoulder.

Ricky turned his head away, offended. "This is where God of Light take in souls, it’s not a suitable occasion for jokes!"

The cold wind blew against Torry’s face as he slipped off the carriage.

"I said I was only kidding! Anyway, do you have any idea how much profit a pastor can gain advantage from one funeral? Not including the nobles, I bet these fellas lying underneath this ground have been extorted by them too! Don’t you agree, God of Light who extorts money from dead men are even scarier than the noble masters!"

"Are you complaining because you’re of humble stock? If that’s the case you should enroll yourself in College of Priests, in my opinion you must be the most suitable candidate as an archbishop."

"Thank you," Torry trembled in the cold to approach the guardian of the cemetery, "But that’s not a part of my plan."

"My honorable sir, you see… we have trouble!"

Ricky frowned while Torry appeared to be all excited.

"The temperature has dropped to a new low, and the cemetery has turned into a frozen land! We’re really not able to dig a grave for you at the moment."

Ricky raised the oil lamp from the carriage, and placed it near the face of the guardian.

"Then tell us, where should we bury the body? To my knowledge, you’ve taken each and every coin from us and now you’re not delivering the promise!"

Out of the blue, a loud thump came from behind. Ricky turned to his back to discover his strong-built coachman walking toward them with a massive rucksack behind his back.

The guardian felt embarrassed as he looked at the dead body brought by his patron, but… hold on a second!

"It’s…it’s moving!" The guardian screamed in terror and pointed at the moving rucksack.

Ricky motioned to the tall coachman, and little Godot removed his cape. Just as the guardian of the cemetery sensed the dangerous signal coming out from the tall man’s eyes, he noticed himself being lifted off the ground. Immediately in the next instant, followed by a loud and crisp sound of bones cracking, the neck of the guardian hung loosely to one side of his body.

"You can only depend on yourself when you’re away from home. What a freaking truth!" Ricky kicked at the dead body furiously. Although he was a little taken aback by Godot’s action but he didn’t think much about that, he would do the same if Godot hadn’t killed the damned guy first.

"So, what do we do now? Dig a hole in the frozen ground?"

"Which part of frozen ground do you not understand!" Ricky wrapped his clothes around him tightly. He couldn’t take it anymore! Today was the Holy Day of God, the first night of year 793, he really wasn’t wishing to spend it in an abandoned cemetery in the middle of nowhere.

"Then think of a solution!" The worried Torry slapped on the snowflakes that landed on himself.

"You should be the one coming out with a decision, don’t forget, His Highness specifically assigned you for this task!"

"Ah… damn it!" Torry kicked at the dead man over and over again furiously. "Who would have thought for this to happen."

"Ah! I have an idea!" Torry screamed out loud in surprise as if he discovered rare treasure.

"Stop it! Don’t startle the sleeping souls!" Perhaps it was his own guilty conscience, Ricky the Liar has been feeling uncomfortable since the moment he stepped foot in the cemetery.

"Do you remember exactly what His Highness Prince said while assigning us to this task? He said to let us handle this matter, but did not specifically ask us to take the girl’s life!"

Ricky rolled his eyes in frustration. He didn’t want to deal with this guy anymore, especially not in this time and location!

"So, you’re asking us to return home after letting the girl go?"

Perhaps she heard of the slim chance for her survival, the girl in the rucksack kicked and struggled vigorously.

"No! I can’t wait anymore!" Ricky’s frustration turned into an expression more savage than a wolf. "Little Godot, let down the girl. Go build a large crucifix as fast as you can."

Torry turned up his nose at was seemed to be a good and practical idea, "Mr Butler, are you trying to imitate the style of His Highness Prince? But why create such a big fuss when you can simply slit a knife down her throat."

Ricky was too weary of waiting, "That’s murder, not mercy! Godot, quick! Go prepare a crucifix!"

Godot listened to the command and dropped the heavy rucksack to the ground before he took to his heels in the direction of the white land enveloped in a curtain of darkness.

Torry’s wine girl groaned loudly in pain as she was thrown on the ground, but soon she saw the light, and beautiful snow that fluttered around her, as well as the two ruthless murderers who were planning to take her life. Although she had been told about her fate beforehand, she was still lost. She did not fathom why this was the moment? The snow that fell thick and fast resembled a scene from dream!

"Look at her! My wine girl! You’re so pure! Oh, how much I love you!" Torry said while caressing the girl’s icy cold face.

Maybe it was the warmth of human’s touch, or maybe it was the warmth showered by her lover, the young girl’s eyes suddenly became clear. She begged in between sobs, and shivered in the cold as to express her reluctant to leave the secular world.

Torry turned to face Ricky the Liar, "Are we burning her to death?"

Ricky has not lifted his gaze from the direction where little Godot had set off, he didn’t want to glance at the crying girl. "That’s the most convenient method, also the only way that the God of Light accepts innocent souls, just like the heretics."

"Is it possible that people who are used to sinister forces are afraid of the ghosts of the wronged who never rest?" Torry looked at Ricky, half-smiling. He noticed the girl on the ground struggling vigorously to break free. Ridiculously, he was rather aroused by that.

"No! I don’t care what other people think. However, I strongly believe that there will be one day of retribution for the man who does evil!" Ricky suddenly pointed at the sky, "No matter it was you or me, the God of Light knows everything."

"So why are you still doing it?"

Ricky smiled, "I’m only a liar! Don’t forget, His Highness Prince assigned you to handle this affair, which means that you will ignite the fire later!"

Torry looked up at the sky, and finally withdrew his cynical behavior.

Godot came running to their meeting point, and on his wide blade was crystallised ice and frost. A massive crucifix was already constructed, right in the middle of the cemetery.

The girl exhausted all her strength to struggle but it was to no avail. In the end, she found herself being fixed on the massive wooden crucifix. Ricky poured the oil from the oil lamp all over the crucifix, and hand it over to the hesitant Viscount Sukhoi.

"Now it’s not the time for daydreaming!" Ricky pressed.

"I’m just thinking… His Highness Prince indeed didn’t ask us to take her life."

Ricky rolled his eyes again, while the young girl on the crucifix nodded strongly in agreement.

"Bid farewell to your pointless doubts! We’re sending her off to her next journey, but before that, we should give her a chance to speak a few last words!" Ricky said while removing the cloth stuffed in the girl’s mouth.

"Please save me! Please forgive me! God will bless you!" The girl screamed frantically as soon as she regained her voice. "Please! I beg you! I have no alternative but to do that! My mother is severely ill, and my disabled brother…"

"Shh…shh…" Torry hugged the hysterical girl into his arms lovingly, "Don’t make any noise, my angel! Hush!"

As if he felt the freezing beads of a tear rolling off the girl’s cheek, Torry stopped the kiss, and stared at the small face that was hung with strings of pearl-sized tears.

"Don’t you have other things to say?" Ricky asked without any empathy.

The girl’s voice trembled again, "No! Oh no! Please don’t do that to me! I beg you…"

At this moment, Torry suddenly threw away the torch he held in his hand!

Ricky’s expression immediately changed. "Fella, what is it that you want?"

Torry wiped off the crystallized tears on the girl’s face softly. "I’ve come up with a fair idea! His Highness’s order was rather vague and not specific enough, and this I show I understand it. It’s a sign from the God, we can’t burn her with fire!"

The girl was extremely relieved! Just as she was leaning forward to plant a kiss on her lover, she sprung backward at the sound of his voice again!

"Let’s say, we use water instead?"

Ricky let out a meaningful sigh, "Torry! You really are a complete bastard, you know?"

Torry let go of the girl and explained in excitement, "What do you think of the idea? If my wine girl freezes to death here, it means that God of Light are willing to take her in. If she’s still alive after this, that would clearly show God’s intention to let her live. What do you think of this idea? Isn’t it much fairer this way? We will pass her fate over to the hands of God!"

Ricky shook his head helplessly. What a total rascal! Even a frozen tear in mid-winter night could be seen as a sign from God? What a joke! However, Ricky reminded himself again, that it was His Highness Prince’s wish for Torry to be in charge of this affair.

"Godot! Do you hear the man? Go find us a well!"

Chapter end