Chapter 96: (Self Edited) Angies Melancholy (2)

Guided by the soldier, there was a commotion when Angelica arrived at the place. Someone seemed to have returned.There were about ten people doing something strange.

“Angelica Sacrament, the royal family of the Tyrellme Godly Empire, is here. What’s with the commotion?” (Angelica)

Angelica stood at the front and said so. It seemed that the place was full of peasant soldiers. There was no one who could give a decent reply. They just looked back and forth.

“Fine. Move!” (Angelica)

As she spoke loudly, the peasant soldiers were scattered. And at the place, there was a Knight lying on a cloth laid on the ground.

At first look, she could see that the right leg was injured. A large scar had penetrated the instep, probably because he had stepped on a very large knife.

The shoes weren’t taken off, but a large amount of blood spilled from the shoes was wetting the pants. The wound didn’t look like a fatal wound, but it seemed that the treatment wasn’t done properly.

In such a case, they should tie his knees, but it was actually tied. However, the blood didn’t stop, probably because they did it wrong.  Even the shoelaces should be tied a bit tighter. She wanted to say that it was tied loosely.

Angelica wasn’t confused when she saw such a Knight. The treatments weren’t good enough, but the wounded soldiers were all over the place. Even now, there were people dying when they were out of strength.

However, it was strange that such a vividly wounded person appeared three days after the battle.

“Oi, what’s wrong?” (Angelica)

She called him out.

“U-uwah…” (??)

His eyes blanked out. She could tell at a glance that there was too much blood.

“Oi, do the treatment.” (Angelica)

When she gave instructions to his subordinates, about three men immediately came out, and quickly tore the man’s pants. They put a cloth on the back of the knee, they used the layered cloth as a cover, and tied it tightly with a strong rope.

Then, they moved to take off his shoes.

“Hey, tell me briefly what happened.” (Angelica)

Angelica ordered a peasant soldier in front of her.

“U-uhmm, xx fell into a pit and xx… there was a knife…” (??)

The peasants began to speak in the dialect of the southern part of the country, which was too difficult to hear, and Angelica couldn’t hear half of it.

A peasant was a peasant, but if he was an owner farmer, he was a good speaker, but some serfs weren’t living a proper language-speaking life.

Unlike owner farmers, who did everything by themselves, these people had only the experience of doing extremely simple tasks since they were born. So, they couldn’t do complicated jobs even if they were told to do it. In other words, they were incompetent beyond description. To those who had received the education of the royal family such as Angelica, it felt like they were another creature.

Of course, not all of them were like that, and Angelica knew that some of them were capable. However, when sending them to the battlefield, it was a rational decision to select people that wouldn’t contribute to the loss of human resources. If the bloody young men didn’t volunteer, it was usually the most useless and incompetent people would be sent out.

Perhaps, this Knight with a lot of bleeding also ordered them to stop the bleeding, but they couldn’t understand what he was saying. Even if he told them ‘Tie my leg tightly to stop the bleeding’, they couldn’t do it properly.

Angelica didn’t know whether he would live or die, but she thought that he was unlucky.

“That is xx…” (??)

“Enough.” (Angelica)

When Angelica said so, the peasant soldiers stopped speaking, and looked despondent. They felt guilty as if they did something wrong.

“Call me someone with a General position. Tell him that a royal family of another country is here, so he will come.” (Angelica)

—

“I’m sorry that our soldiers seemed rude.” (??)

After a while, a noble man came here. The lower abdomen was bulging but he didn’t look sloppy.

Whether a woman on the battlefield was rare, or a woman, who was safe on the battlefield, was rare, he was looking at Angelica with an amorous look.

“Excuse me, which camp are you?” (??)

He asked.

He thought that neither camp would understand anything from the household crest that was usually sewn on the cloak, but he didn’t say it. Of course, the household crest sewn on Angelica’s cloak was one of the most famous crests in the Isus world. If they were nobles, people could say that they were illiterate for now knowing it.

“I am Angelica Sacrament, a member of the royal family of the Tyrellme Godly Empire.” (Angelica)

“Hoho.” (??)

The middle-aged man patted his beard. And he didn’t introduce himself.

For him to ask the royal family about their identity, and do not introduce himself was… Normally, when asking someone else for their identity, they either gave their name first, or even if they asked first, they also introduced themselves after the other side gave their identity.

“…So, what kind of position do you have?” (Angelica)

Since he didn’t speak at all, Angelica took the trouble to ask herself. That was why she hated people from the Papal States.

Perhaps the pride of serving the sacred homeland made them act so, or they usually looked down on other people, or even misunderstood that even low level nobles had a superior position than other country’s royal family. The Tyrellme royal family should be a subject to be respected for these people because their origin of the God-Protected Empire was from the Holy Emperor. However, these people brought up the fact that there were two morganatic marriages along the origin, so they didn’t put an effort to respect them.

“I’m Count Fermut Kazil, who is in charge of handling this matter. I’m the consul of the Mart City as well as the commander of the volunteer order of chivalry.” (Fermut)

It was a great title.

In the Papal States, the priests together with the Pope were the pinnacle of the entire power of the country. However, operations such as tax collection and public order maintenance were outside their jurisdiction. Sᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFirᴇ.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

The priests, who were supposed to serve God, couldn’t collect taxes while wearing vestments, nor could they hold weapons. So, people called consults were appointed and they acted on their behalf. Angelica also knew the knowledge of that field by reading it in a book.

The consul could be a relative of a high-ranking priest, or a person who took in a high-ranking priest and handed a large amount of bribes. Although the volunteer order of chivalry borrowed the name of the ancient God-Protected Empire’s order of chivalry, it was actually just a private army organized by a feudal lord.

In other words, it sounded exaggerating, but he was a nobleman who was entrusted with the Mart City, and he was a Count. There was no other meaning than that.

“I’d like to ask you a bit, but is this knight chasing the escaped Long Ears?” (Angelica)

“Hmm. That’s right, but it seems that he got terribly injured and ran away.” (Fermut)

As she expected, he was the knight who was chasing the Long Ears.

She wondered if he was caught in a trap set by the Long Ears, or by an animal trap made by local hunters.

“So, what happened to the Dragon Knight?” (Angelica)

“He hasn’t returned yet.” (Fermut)

In other words, there was no progress. That was alright.

“Then, what about the Long Ears corpse?” (Angelica)

As a side note, Angelica asked.

“Isn’t it inside a tent?” (Fermut)

“Hmm? What do you mean?” (Angelica)

Angelica was skeptical.

‘What does that mean.’

In the culture of the Papal States, the corpse should be crucified and exposed if the Long Ear caused such damage.

Angelica thought that he had already been crucified. She didn’t have a hobby to go to see such executions, so she just didn’t go to see it.

“It means exactly as it is?” (Fermut)

The man replied with a thin smile. It was hard to guess.

“Why don’t you crucify him? That’s what your country always does.” (Angelica)

The Long Ears, who killed Angelica’s father, Renitsht, were also crucified and left to rot. Renitsht had always said ‘Respect those who killed you on the battlefield, so their servants didn’t intend to humiliate the corpses, but since there was interference from the Papal States, their dead bodies were put to shame in front of the public.

It wasn’t that Angelica didn’t hold a grudge against those who killed her father. Therefore, she wasn’t particularly dissatisfied with that interference. However, this matter didn’t fit into her mind.

“Aah, I see. We can’t identify his face. When he fell to the ground, his face became… look here.” (Fermut)

The man held his hand, and made a gesture of putting his fist on his face.

“It seems that he hit a stone really hard. If we can’t identify the face, it doesn’t make sense to expose it.” (Fermut)

Angelica didn’t understand why there was no meaning to expose the dead body. She didn’t understand the reason at all. She was wondering whether there was such a reason. To begin with, she had no hobby to be pleased seeing the corpse that was crucified and humiliated, so she couldn’t understand their preference.

Well, if they didn’t know the face, it meant that they didn’t know the person. Basically, they were like putting up a fake and executing it because they couldn’t catch the real thing. Was there a possibility that they would doubt such a thing?

“Hmm?” (Angelica)

‘Wait a sec.’

“The course, of course, had a long ear, right?” (Angelica)

“It was cut out, but since it’s a devil, it’s probably decided for a long time.” (Fermut)

‘What a fool.’

She wanted to utter it, but she managed to hold back.

“The right ear should be cut. And shouldn’t the left ear remain?” (Angelica)

Cutting off the pointed right ear as a substitute for the neck was considered a proof by the mercenaries with contracts of getting prize money based on the number of necks taken. It was a method used by some camps that offered special rewards in a similar way.

However, only the right ear could be redeemed, and the left ear wasn’t eligible for cashing. If that was allowed, there would be many people who cut both ears and cashed in for money.

“Now… is there anything else?” (Fermut)

‘Did you look properly? If there are no right or left ears, and the face is crushed, it may be indistinguishable from a human corpse.’

“Let me check the corpse.” (Angelica)

When she said it…

“Ugh…” (Fermut)

Fermut made a bitter face. He looked exactly like a merchant who had been told to show his account book. She couldn’t think of lying over to the enemy, so it shouldn’t be a bad thing, but it felt like he was reluctant to be caught for doing that kind of work.

“The damage is so bad to the point it’s not proper to show to a lady.” (Fermut)

He began to make incomprehensible excuses.

“Now, every camp is overflowing with critically ill people and corpses. I walked this far without closing my eyes. That’s not an acceptable reason.” (Angelica)

“…It doesn’t matter if you look at it. It’s a particularly terrible corpse.” (Fermut)

He started grumbling. It seemed that he was frustrated.

“If you can’t show it, I will officially…” (Angelica)

It was when Angelica said that.

She heard a sound of plate armor rubbing from the side. Since she was focusing, she didn’t notice it until someone came close to her. When she turned around in the direction of the sound…

“It’s nice to see you, Her Majesty Angelica?” (??)

There was a youthful man with a delicate body. He was wearing a deep purple cloak and a splendid cloth with gold thread under it.

The sound of the plate armor rubbing was the sound of the heavy steel armor put on by the private volunteer order of chivalry.

The man himself didn’t wear armor, but he had a saber-like sword on his waist. At a glimpse, the handle and the scabbard had a gorgeous design.

It was proof that he didn’t have a problem with money and that was the clothes. According to the teaching of her father, Renitscht, using heavy and soft gold for battle attires was useless and harmful in every sense. So, she didn’t envy him, but it did look beautiful.

“Sir Palazzo. It’s been a long time.” (Angelica)

This man was a Knight named Epitaph Palazzo, the nephew of the Pope. For whatever reason, he didn’t become a priest, but he followed the path of Knighthood, and was appointed as the Lord of the volunteer order of chivalry in this crusades.

That position was a position directly appointed by the Pope as the person in charge of the entire army of the Catholic Papal States when the Crusades and allied forces of the Isus religion were dispatched.

In other words, this man was the general commander of the Papal States army.

In the Crusade this time, the title of the general commander of the Papal States army carried a heavy weight. He had a stronger influence than the person in charge of any country. He gave the honor of commanding the army to her foolish brother, Alfred, by considering the fact that he was the new king who had just risen to the throne.

Angelica had met this man in the previous war council. In the war council, Angelica proposed a new weapon for the fortress capture, and was adopted in favor of Epitaph.

It might be related to the fact that Epitaph, who was the general commander, was here.

Since the new weapon was assembled locally, it would take about a week to complete. The siege of the fortress was over and they had to wait for it. Perhaps he finally came here to see the fire scene.

“So, what happened today?” (Epitaph)

Epitaph asked with a smile that didn’t have a hint of sarcasm. The face was so prepared that she was surprised when he smiled.

“Aah, yes… I’m investigating the arson of the case, but when I heard the story from Fermut-dono here, the corpse of the Long Ear found seemed to be suspicious…” (Angelica)

“Ooh, I see. That’s why you want to inspect it, yes?” (Epitaph)

“So, have you been listening?” (Angelica)

“Yes. Please excuse me.” (Epitaph)

‘That is probably because of eavesdropping.’

“No, it’s just that I was talking loudly, so…” (Angelica)

“So… you want to see the corpse of the enemy.” (Epitaph)

“That’s right.” (Angelica)

“Well then, please guide her, Fermut-dono.” (Epitaph)

“Wha…?” (Fermut)

“Please guide her. I also want to see.” (Epitaph)

“B-but it is really unsightly, you know?” (Fermut)

‘Again?’

Angelica wanted to sigh.

“It doesn’t matter.” (Epitaph)

“Aah… if necessary, I can do it myself.” (Fermut)

“Do I have to say it twice?” (Epitaph)

As Epitaph smiled thinly, Fermut froze and hardened.

“Y-yes… I will guide you. Please follow me…” (Fermut)

‘Alright. As expected, there is no way he can grumble when there’s an opinion from the higher ups.’

—

Angelica headed for a tent that was less than a minute walk away. When the curtain was opened, a bloody odor got into the nose. Angelica covered her nose with a handkerchief and entered the tent.

The corpse laid on its back, and it wasn’t covered with cloth. The face was crushed and it seemed unlikely that it could be identified. As Fermut said, it didn’t feel good to look at it.

“Hmm…” (Epitaph)

Epitaph was looking at the body with interest. Angelica also glanced at the corpse which was lifted up and put on the table.

Indeed, both ears were crushed. The tip of the left ear was missing, probably because it hit a sharp rock. However, the clothes he was wearing were certainly from a country of Long Ears.

The equipment looked pretty good. Most of the Long Ears eagle riders were of the upper class, so it was natural that the armor was good, and the quality remained good as well.

“However, I can’t identify with this.” (Angelica)

Angelica said. To tell the truth, she thought that this body wasn’t an eagle rider, but the dragon rider, but she couldn’t confirm.

If both ears were crushed and the face couldn’t be identified, she could suspect something, but she couldn’t. It could be said that she highly doubted this because the Dragon Knight hadn’t returned.

The clothes were obviously the Long Ears’, so they might have changed his clothes to disguise the corpse. If so, if they took off the clothes and made it naked, there was a possibility that they could find new clues. However, that wasn’t a confirmation.

“…? Don’t you get it?” (Epitaph)

“What do you mean?” (Angelica)

“There are other ways to distinguish between Devils and human other than the ears.” (Epitaph)

She was about to let out ‘Eh’ from her mouth.

‘Is that so? I don’t know that.’

“Is that so? By all means, I don’t know.” (Angelica)

“It’s surprising that you don’t have that knowledge, Angelica-dono. Well, I’ve known a lot because of my hobby.” (Epitaph)

She didn’t know what his hobby was, but she was interested in how to distinguish it. If it was a secret kind, there was no point in being told to go outside, but she wanted to know if possible.

“If possible, please tell me.” (Angelica)

“Of course, I don’t mind.” (Epitaph)

“Thank you.” (Angelica)

“Yes. Let’s get started now.” (Epitaph)

‘Good.’

Epitaph took off the Long Ears armor first, and exposed his skin. Chest hair was growing, and the skin that wasn’t covered with blood was somewhat brownish.

Angelica didn’t think that it was the Long Ears body, but she had never really seen their people naked, so she couldn’t say that this was evidence.

Then, when Epitaph took out his saber, he slowly brought the tip close to the belly of the Long Ear. He cut it in two so as to split the skin of his belly. He wiped his saber with a cloth, and put it in the sheath.

‘What the…?’

Angelica frowned because it was so unusual.

Epitaph, then, took off his leather gloves and rolled up his sleeves.

‘Could it be…’

“….!” (Angelica)

Epitaph thrust his bare arm into the belly of the Long Ear. When she thought that she was getting used to the scene, he searched inside his stomach. Then, he tore off one of the organs and pulled out his arm.

A bright red arm dyed with fresh blood came out.

Epitaph opened a water bottle and drained the blood attached to the organ, as if nothing had happened. When he checked the shape of the raw organ…

“As expected, he is a human. The shape of the spleen is different between the Devils and the humans.” (Epitaph)

Human Spleen

He didn’t say he would do that.

“It would be faster to tell if you compare it side-by-side with the Devil’s spleen. Orally, the Devil’s spleen is a bit bigger and slightly rounded in shape.” (Epitaph)

“Uhh…” (Angelica)

Angelica felt physiological nausea… from the scene of splitting the human belly and taking out the organs.

‘He said that this is a hobby. Does he mean this? I don’t understand.’

“Hmm… I think it was a bit too stimulating for a lady. I’m sorry for the lack of consideration…” (Epitaph)

Epitaph put it on the belly like throwing away the organ as if it wasn’t needed anymore, and he wiped his hand with a cloth.

“N-no. I learned a lot…” (Angelica)

“You’re welcome.” (Epitaph)

Epitaph smiled and turned to Fermut.

“So, Fermut-dono? I should have ordered you to be in charge of this matter, but…” (Epitaph)

Epitaph had a mask-like smile stuck on his face.

“S-sorryyyyyy. Buttttttt……” (Fermut)

Fermut had a pale face and was bowing while sweating.

Now, she could understand Fermut’s fear of Epitaph. She thought that she had heard of his bloody reputation before.

“Are there any complaints?” (Epitaph)

“I-I know that the internal organs are different between the Devils and the humans!” (Fermut)

“That’s a poor excuse. Angelica-dono, who is here, first doubted the situation, and when I took off the cloth, she looked at the brown skin and seemed to become more doubtful. You undoubtedly concluded that this human is a Devil, and because of that, the two Devils are still ridiculing us and running away.” (Epitaph)

“Aah… Th-that is… please forgive me… I’ll do my best to pursue them…” (Fermut)

She apologized with his head down.

“Alright. All that left is for you to explain in the presence of God.” (Epitaph)

“Eh…” (Fermut)

It was when Fermut raised his head to confirm the true meaning of Epitapth’s words. Epitaph had the scabbard containing the saber in his right hand, and struck Fermut’s neck with his left hand.

“Guhh.” (Fermut)

Fermut held his neck with his hand, while making a voice that swallowed raw spit.

However, from the neck torn by the sharp saber, there was a tremendous amount of fresh blood that couldn’t be suppressed by hands.

“…Gaahaaahooo!” (Fermut)

Fermut tried to talk as if trying to appeal something, but the blade seemed to have damaged the airway. The blood was mixed in and words couldn’t come out.

“Gugaahhh!” (Fermut)

On the contrary, he used the air in the lungs to talk, but then, he couldn’t breathe. Every time he tried to inhale, he couldn’t do it well because of the blood.

Fermut collapsed from his knees. After a while, he became quiet as he fluttered on the floor.

“…You don’t have to kill him.” (Angelica)

Angelica, who got hit by the blood splatter, told him to protest. The nausea had subsided.

“You don’t get it, Angelica-dono.” (Epitaph)

“What do you mean?” (Angelica)

“In that attack, we lost half of our supplies… If you’re smart, there’s no way you won’t understand how much we lost. The great Devil, who did so much, had deceived us. In turn, they both continue to run away safely, and make fool of our God.” (Epitaph)

It seemed that the Papal States had put half of the provision in that one place. From Angelica’s point of view, it was easier to manage, and it was certain that theft could be prevented, but she felt that they were just being lazy.

“Besides, his incompetence delayed a full-scale pursuit by three days. It’s no longer different than betraying Isus-sama. At least our Papal States Knights need to devote themselves to eradicating the Devils.” (Epitaph)

“In other words, he is a traitor that needs to be given a death penalty, is it?” (Angelica)

“Yes, that’s it.” (Epitaph)

‘Is there such a foolish thing? Yes, it’s true that is considered as a breach of trust, but it doesn’t make him a traitor. Is he saying that being incompetence is about belittling the faith?’

“I see. I’m impressed with your wisdom.” (Angelica)

Angelica put a lid on the pot of inner heart, and said things she didn’t mean.

“As long as you understand.” (Epitaph)

“How are you going to track them? If you don’t mind, my unit will take care of it.” (Angelica)

That was the issue at hand.

Angelica was investigating the geography around here in detail. Even though they had moved three days ahead, the Long Ears might be running away in the forest on foot. If her unit went on the main road with horses, there was a good chance that she would catch up.

The other side was heading for the royal capital that hadn’t fallen yet, so she only needed to go to appropriate places along the way. If she did so, it could be a favor to the Papal States.

“No, I will ask the Peninsula Kingdom to handle this matter.” (Epitaph)

“Hmm… is that so?” (Angelica)

The Peninsula Kingdom’s supplies were also burned in that attack. Angelica was considered as an outsider in this matter, so she had no choice to back down if he said that he would let others do it.

“This time, I will let people, who don’t wish for military gains, to do this job.” (Epitaph)

If he had such a grudge, she thought that he only needed to send a part of the military units of the Papal States, but…

In this case, the unit would be deprived of the chance to plunder and would receive the end of the bargain. In the case of the Peninsula Kingdom, they didn’t care about the military gains. They were probably the most suitable people for this job.

“That may be the case. Well then, I’m going to return to my camp.” (Angelica)

If she couldn’t get the job, she didn’t have to be in such a place anymore.

“Yes. Well, I wish you good luck.” (Epitaph)

Epitaph had an unchanging masked smile.

“Thank you.” (Angelica)

Angelica left the bloody tent while remembering the chilly smile on his face.

—

TLN:

Thanks to the picture creator.For some reason, the gore scenes reminds me of Spartacus.