Chapter 590
Ellen and Ludwig got out of the burned church.
"They'll know I went in there, and the Holy Knights will find out. They won't be able to touch me, but they might try to silence you."
"…"
"Stay away from the church for a while."
"…Alright."
Ludwig was in a daze.
While helping Rowan, Ludwig had discovered a small glimmer of hope that he could do something.
But Rowan turned out to be a heretic inquisitor who gathered information in the refugee village and kidnapped and tortured heretics. And for some reason, she had deliberately approached Ludwig.
From the start, Rowan didn't need Ludwig's protection. She had intended to use Ludwig in some way, and she did.
Only then did Ludwig understand the strange behavior Rowan had shown when she saw heretics. It was because she was a heretic inquisitor.
The purification work Rowan claimed to have done might have been a lie from the beginning.
"It took a while."
"Yes."
Ellen and Ludwig joined Heinrich and Louise, who had been waiting in the alley.
"…You both look like you've discovered something you shouldn't have."
Louise sensed that something significant had happened just by looking at their expressions, without hearing any details.
——
In Heinrich's case, it might be different, but Louise was both the commander of the Kernstadt army and the first in line for the Kernstadt throne.
Ellen hesitated for a moment, wondering whether she should tell such a person about something that could be considered a scandal involving the Holy Knights. But she found her hesitation strange.
Although she was bound to be involved in everything related to politics, Ellen had no interest in it. She knew that responsibility came with her position, but maintaining excessive neutrality was itself political.
Moreover, Louise was more aware of her position's importance than Ellen, and she had come here not as the commander of Kernstadt but simply to help Ludwig.
So Ellen revealed to Louise and Heinrich what she had learned at the church.
It had been a heretic inquisition disguised as a dilapidated church, with a vast underground prison and torture chamber beneath the church, and everyone inside was dead.
"Heretic inquisition?"
Heinrich's face turned pale upon hearing the story.
"It seems they were torturing and killing people."
Then Ellen shared another equally important fact.
There were documents with Ludwig's photo in what appeared to be Rowan's office.
"Did Rowan deliberately approach Ludwig…? But why?"
"I still don't know."
Rowan was a heretic inquisitor.
She had deliberately approached Ludwig, intending to use her in some way.
Heinrich couldn't help but feel bitter as he looked at the stunned Ludwig. Ludwig had been improving over the past few days, but now he would be more devastated than ever.
He had been used without even realizing it, happily thinking that he still had a role to play.
Moreover, Rowan had kidnapped, tortured, and killed heretics she had learned about while visiting the refugee village with Ludwig.
"It's strange."
Louise, who had been quietly listening to the story, furrowed her brow and spoke softly.
"What's the connection between the heretic inquisition and using Ludwig?"
It was a context that no one present could possibly understand. Ludwig was not a follower of the Five Great Gods, nor did he believe in the Hero Religion. He was initially unrelated to heresy.
"Come to think of it…"
Ludwig mumbled absentmindedly.
"She did ask about Ellen…"
"Me…?"
Ellen cocked her head at the remark, and Ludwig nodded.
"That person seemed to really dislike the Hero Religion. And she asked what kind of person you were. Then, after hearing that I attended the Temple… she asked what kind of being the Demon King was."
As Rowan unexpectedly mentioned herself, Ellen's expression couldn't help but grow more serious.
"Could it be… they were trying to approach you through Ludwig?"
"It's possible."
To Louise's question, Ellen quietly nodded. Louise furrowed her brow, biting her lip as if it made even less sense.
"I don't know what you think about the Hero Religion, but… isn't it unrelated to you directly?"
"Yes."
The Hero Religion was a spontaneously formed folk belief, existing independently of the will of Ellen Artorius, who could be considered its object of worship.
"The heretical inquisitors would have wanted to eliminate the Hero Religion… So, were they trying to approach and harm you through Ludwig?"
Hearing that Rowan might have reached Ellen through him and possibly attempted to kill her, Ludwig's eyes widened in shock.
"No way… There's no way that could be…"
"Even though the Hero Religion has nothing to do with me, if I die, it will disappear. They might have thought that way."
At Ellen's explanation, Ludwig's face grew even paler.
If the focus of the Hero Religion, Ellen, were to die, the faith would collapse. Although it was a naturally occurring folk belief, without Ellen, the Hero Religion would inevitably disappear.
The Hero Religion would seek another belief. They would either return to the embrace of the Five Great Gods or search for a new faith.
They didn't love Ellen, only the hope she represented. All they needed was someone to provide that hope.
Ludwig murmured quietly.
"…Come to think of it, she said something like that."
"What did she say?"
Ludwig had said he didn't know much about the Demon King, and that Ellen seemed like a victim.
And then.
"When I said Ellen seemed like the victim of all this… she asked if I knew that for sure…"
Undoubtedly, she had said this with a strange, enigmatic smile.
It wasn't that she didn't know; it was as if she had different knowledge.
"It felt like she was mocking me, as if the truth I know is somehow different… as if she was laughing at something…"
At Ludwig's words, Ellen lost her own.
Louise silently watched Ellen, who looked as if she had heard something shocking, her eyes wide open.
——
The others did not notice the conversation between Ludwig and Ellen.
Through that brief exchange, Ellen realized a truth.
'They knew why and how the Gate Incident happened.'
That's why they laughed when Ludwig said Ellen was a victim.
Ellen had never seen Rowan's face. But Rowan knew a truth that Ludwig, who was close to Ellen and could meet her anytime, didn't.
And that was both amusing and pitiful to her.
And so, that was what had been said.
"To get rid of the Hero Religion, it could be that Rowan approached Ellen… It seems plausible."
At Heinrich's words, Ellen felt the urge to bite her tongue.
'No… That's not it.'
She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, but Ellen felt like she knew what Rowan was thinking.
'She wanted to take revenge… on me.'
Having been one of the causes of the Gate Incident, she received the adoration of many people while shifting all the blame onto the Demon King and claiming herself as a hero.
Those who believed in the Hero Religion treated those who believed in the Five Great Religions as sinners and only praised Ellen.
How disgusting and hateful that must have been.
Ellen's death causing the Hero Religion to disappear was probably a secondary matter.
Rowan had also asked not only about Ellen but about what kind of being the Demon King was.
That meant that if Rowan knew the truth, she might have even supported the Demon King.
She was a priestess of the Tu'an.
So, if she knew that the Demon King, the master of Tiamata, did not actually want the Gate Incident and had even warned against it, she would naturally have no choice but to support the Demon King.
Conversely, she would have no choice but to hate and despise Ellen.
Knowing this, Ellen could not dare to open her mouth, her face hardening like stone.
Ludwig, too, could not help but be even more shocked when he realized the possibility that Rowan might have tried to approach Ellen using him.
Being close to a special being made one special as well, but Ludwig could not help but realize that it also meant that there was always the possibility of being used, regardless of one's own worth.
"Rowan, the heretic inquisitor, and all the other inquisitors under her command are dead, so whatever their goal was, it's now impossible… But that doesn't mean everything is resolved."
Louise looked at Ellen.
"Who exactly attacked the church? Is it okay not to clarify that?"
No matter what Rowan's intentions had been, there were too many unsettling aspects to simply move on now that she was dead.
The idea that Rowan might have tried to kill Ellen was merely conjecture.
"To begin with, there's something strange even if the heretic inquisitor did try to kill you."
"Strange… aspect?"
"What does torturing and kidnapping Hero Religion followers have to do with you?"
"Ah…"
Only then did Ellen realize that she had been too shocked by the possibility that Rowan might have known the truth to think about what the events that had already taken place meant.
"Not all zealots and madmen are fools. It's obvious that the rise of the Hero Religion has nothing to do with you. Were there clear signs of torture?"
"There was a torture chamber, and the corpses showed signs of having been tortured."
At Ellen's words, Louise slowly nodded.
"Torture might be used simply to inflict pain, but its basic purpose is to obtain information."
Louise said.
"What kind of information about you could they obtain by torturing people who had never seen you even once in their lives or, at most, had seen you from afar?"
That was undoubtedly strange.
If Rowan had approached Ludwig to kill Ellen, then it was highly likely that the torture of the Hero Religion followers was also carried out for that purpose.
But no matter how much they tortured the Hero Religion followers, they wouldn't know anything about Ellen. They couldn't have been unaware of that.
"Perhaps they intended to force them to convert…"
"Youngest. It's impossible to force all the Heroic Disciples to convert through torture."
"I-I see…"
"They might have thought that killing the Hero would be the only way to end the Hero Religion. But they couldn't have not realized that trying to kill the Hero in this situation is madness… I don't know."
It was either the act of a fanatic or there was some other intention. Ultimately, they were lost in a labyrinth.
It was possible to deduce Rowan's objective through clues, but nothing could be confirmed.
This was originally Ludwig's issue.
However, as the case was investigated, the likelihood of it being Ellen's issue increased significantly.
Rowan's true objective remained unknown. They couldn't even figure out who attacked the church.
But if Ellen were to delve deeper into this matter, it would inevitably become dangerous.
"Whether it's the Holy Knights or the Five Great Religious Orders, they must know about this. It couldn't have been done by that priest alone. And I can't be certain if that person really intended to kill me. This is just a possibility."
"I suppose so."
Ellen spoke calmly.
"From here on, I'll handle it alone. It's my own problem."
It was a political issue, and it was dangerous.
She couldn't receive help from Louise, Heinrich, or Ludwig.
Louise stared at Ellen's determined expression.
A person who had to shoulder too much at a young age and didn't hesitate to do so.
Ludwig's words about her being the victim in all cases.
And now, her attitude of wanting to take responsibility alone, no matter what was in front of her.
Louise knew she shouldn't get involved in this matter any further.
But she couldn't help but feel sorry for Ellen's resolute attitude, which meant that she had to take responsibility for everything, whether she had the will to or not.
A problem of her own.
Louise thought about Ellen's sad words.
"A problem of your own."
Louise smirked.
For someone who had to shoulder so much, even the smallest issue was inevitably connected to many things.
What about being royalty or the heir?
In a situation where the Hero's death could lead to humanity's demise, the Hero is about to get involved in dangerous matters.
"Your problem is everyone's problem."
"…"
If Ellen's death were to ruin everything in the world…
Then everything on Louise's shoulders would become insignificant in front of Ellen's life.
Ellen couldn't help but feel suffocated in front of Louise's offer to help her till the end.
——
Even as a heresy inquisitor, she was still part of the Holy Knights or one of the Five Great Religious Orders. Thus, the place Ellen had to go to find out more about Rowan was as good as predetermined.
The Holy Knights' cathedral.
Louise, Heinrich, and Ludwig also moved with Ellen.
Ludwig had originally asked Ellen to reveal the unjust death of Rowan, but in reality, Rowan had been the mastermind behind countless unjust deaths.
In fact, the current situation suggested that the attackers who killed Rowan might have been acting righteously.
Rowan was not a victim of injustice.
Ludwig had never even considered doubting Rowan's mask until now.
No, he had been watching the suspicious behavior all along.
However, it's possible that he couldn't bring himself to doubt it because he believed that being with Rowan meant he could do something.
He didn't know what to do, but driven by his frustration, Ludwig wanted to see this matter through to the end.
He wanted to know the true extent of this issue and where its roots lie.
What on earth was happening?
Just as Ellen wanted to know, Ludwig also yearned for that knowledge. Even though he knew that finding out would only increase his frustration rather than bring relief.
Did Rowan truly intend to kill Ellen?
What was the reason for torturing the Hero Religion believers?
Did the Holy Knights know about this?
Just as Ellen had been able to infiltrate the attack site guarded by the Holy Knights, there was no difference when it came to the Holy Knights' headquarters, the cathedral.
"I want to meet the commander of the Holy Knights."
That single statement was enough.