No matter how much Selen tossed and turned, sleep would not come. She finally gave up and pushed the covers aside to sit on the edge of the bed. She glanced through the window and noticed that it was snowing. She walked over to the window and, after opening it, stretched out her hand to catch a few snowflakes.
After a few seconds, she realized that the flakes had melted on her hand and decided to close the window. She had been assigned a new bedroom, larger and more luxurious. She wondered if the reason sleep avoided her so stubbornly was because this room reminded her too much of the one she used to have at the Ravenhurt manor.
"Perhaps going outside to taste the freezing cold will clear my mind," she thought as she put on a coat and a scarf.
She wandered through the castle with a lamp in her hand when she noticed the glow of other lamps not far away. She knew exactly where the light was coming from, and she also knew that she should not go there, yet her legs carried her forward as if they had a will different from her own.
The lake was frozen, and two lamps were placed on either side of the man sitting at its edge. Selen stood behind him without making a sound. She knew he knew it was her just as she knew it was him, even though his back was turned to her.
"I've already told you, the lake is forbidden."
The duke's voice was hoarse, and Selen wondered whether it was because of the cold or something else.
"Tomorrow is an important day. You should go and rest," Selen replied.
"And yet you're not sleeping."
She did not really have an argument to answer that. A full minute passed before the hooting of an owl in the distance broke the silence. As she had already turned her back to leave, she felt someone grab her arm. He had stood up and was now behind her, and strangely she understood that she should not move.
"She had already tried to throw herself into this lake a few years ago," he told her.
She felt him rest his head on her shoulder.
"I had it forbidden so that no one would ever come near this damn lake again. So that we would forget it even existed."
Selen wondered whether he was telling her all this because he needed to express what he felt, or because she was the only person completely detached from his situation. He was the duke, the lord, the elder brother—but with her, what was he? An associate? A partner in crime?
"Perhaps one cannot escape one's destiny," he continued, his head still buried against her shoulder.
After a few seconds, he suddenly lifted his head and turned his back to her before sitting down again by the edge of the lake. For a reason she did not understand, it was with a troubled mind that she returned to her room that night.
⸻
The next day they were in the duke's office with a map of the duchy spread out before them.
"We will form four teams of six men who will cover each location the priest identified," Leonard announced.
Selen was dressed in knight's attire and was seated across from the duke, while Leonard stood behind him explaining the orders to the knights in the room.
"Thanks to His Grace and to milady here present, there will soon be no more heretics in the North, and according to our estimates the knights stationed in the various battle zones will have completed the cleansing within two weeks. Your mission is to find and capture everyone within the duchy who collaborated in the capture of our people and thus allowed the temple to turn them into heretics."
Sir Howard stepped forward.
"Your Grace, I wish to apologize for my inability to continue the search for Lady Rose with you and milady. I would like to take part in this expedition and capture all the rats who dared collaborate with the enemy," he said with his head bowed.
"Very well. Sir Howard will be part of Lady Selen's team," said the duke.
Selen remained silent in the face of this decision since she had no objection.
"We believe there may be other places used by the temple to hold the people they captured, but for now let us do our best with the locations the priest revealed," Leonard continued.
The duke stood up.
"And remember, no matter how great your anger toward these traitors may be, they must all be captured alive to answer for their crimes," he declared before leaving the office with the knights who made up his group.
"Milady, the knight you requested has arrived," Leonard said to Selen once all the knights had left the office.
The door opened and a brown-haired knight entered.
"She is willing and more than happy to serve the duchy in a way other than on the battlefield," Leonard informed her.
Selen smiled when she saw the knight pull out a knife and fill a small glass with her own blood. Having knights willing to do anything for their lord was truly useful, she thought as she drank the contents of the glass.
Using alchemy, she took on the knight's appearance in an instant.
"That will do," she said to Leonard, who held out a mirror so she could see the result.
⸻
Selen's group and Sir Howard arrived in their area of operation late in the afternoon. Perched on a small hill not far from the village, they discussed the course of action.
"We will wait until nightfall before intervening. Because of the surveillance imposed by His Grace, they will likely try to act during the night. Leonard has already explained the signal from the man he placed as a spy in the lands of Baron Vixen—one of the vassals of the Clover duchy," Selen explained.
The temple must certainly be in chaos right now in the capital, Selen thought. After the loss of their heretic factory and the North now free to act, they would do everything possible to wash their hands of the affair.
"The temple must have informed their collaborators about the discovery of the island, so they will want to destroy the evidence of their crimes. Our goal is to catch them in the act and bring them back alive," Selen explained to the four knights accompanying them.
"What we want from you in this mission is discretion and speed. No violence will be tolerated except in extreme circumstances," Sir Howard added.
The knights nodded and held their positions until nightfall.
When darkness had completely fallen and the snow reached their ankles, they saw a small fire in a distant part of the forest surrounding Baron Vixen's estate. The fire could only be seen from far away, allowing the signal to reach them without alerting their enemies.
"That's the signal," said Sir Howard.
Fortunately for them, the sound of their footsteps was muffled by the snow, so it was in silence and total darkness that they descended the small hill toward the forest. They followed the edge of the forest for a good ten minutes before hearing voices in the distance.
"Walk faster," said a voice.
"Why do we have to do this ourselves? How can they ask us to dispose of the next shipment like this?" asked another voice.
"It's chaos everywhere. From what I heard, the holy war is coming to an end," said another voice.
They could hear the creaking of cart wheels and the neighing of a horse.
"To think the war is ending without our saint," one of the voices said.
Selen and Sir Howard had already surrounded the men as they stopped.
"Don't you hear something?" one of them said, raising his lantern.
Sir Howard attacked first, knocking the first man unconscious as easily as a fly.
"Who are these people?" shouted one of the men as he tried to flee.
Selen materialized a chain of magic that stopped him in his tracks. She dragged him back toward the cart where Sir Howard was subduing the other man. She grabbed the lantern to illuminate the face of the man she had captured and realized he was one of the priests.
"Well then, Father? Leaving the temple to wander through the forest?" Selen said after placing him beside his accomplices.
"We have another priest here and Baron Vixen," Sir Howard informed her.
The baron was the man Sir Howard had knocked unconscious.
"We are doing nothing wrong!" one of the priests shouted.
"Oh really? Then what's in that cart?" Sir Howard asked.
One of the priests began to tremble in panic.
"These are temple goods. As you know, even if you are the duke's knights, you cannot interfere in the affairs of the temple."
"Yes… besides, the man you knocked out is a noble in service to the duke. What will you answer for your crimes?" shouted the other priest, encouraged by his companion's words.
"If you're only transporting goods, then you won't mind if we take a look," Selen said as she lifted the cloth covering the cart.
"What are you doing, woman?!" one of the priests shouted.
Selen raised the lamp to see better, and it was without surprise that she discovered unconscious people—villagers, by the look of them. They must have come from a nearby village that had been attacked not long ago, she thought.
"So these are the goods you speak of," Sir Howard exclaimed, grabbing one of the priests by the collar.
The priest began to scream and struggle until Sir Howard released him violently. Selen examined the surroundings and noticed the shovels in the cart. She grabbed one and began clearing the snow. Her suspicions were confirmed when she noticed the earth had already been disturbed. She threw the shovel down forcefully and grabbed one of the priests by the collar.
"You buried others here. Tell us where the rest are or you will die."
Sir Howard pointed his sword at the priest. The man began to whimper and cry, and when Selen noticed the priest's robe was wet, she realized he had soiled himself.
"We'll need reinforcements to retrieve everything," Selen said as she threw the priest to the ground.
"We should bring these men back to the village and join the others. They have probably gathered whatever is left in the temple by now," Sir Howard replied.
In the duchy, as in the rest of the empire, every village or town had to have at least one temple regardless of its size. One might think it was to spread the word of God throughout the empire, but in reality it was mostly to assert their authority everywhere. Even a lord could not interfere in the affairs of a temple on his own territory.
And yet the duchy was now rebelling against the authority of the temple, Selen thought as she pushed the priest forward toward the crowd of villagers who had come out after hearing the noise.
"What is happening, good sirs?" asked a villager.
"The priests? Why are they tied up?" shouted one of the village women.
"Listen to us, this is an order from His Grace the duke. Today we discovered that the priests, aided by certain vassals of the duchy, were capturing loyal subjects of the duchy to turn them into heretics and spread chaos in the North," Sir Howard proclaimed.
"How is that possible? The priests have always been so kind to us!" cried one of the villagers.
"There must be some mistake!" shouted another.
Selen knew the trust the temple had built over centuries would be difficult to break, but this was only the beginning. Fortunately the priests had been gagged, otherwise the situation would have become complicated for no reason.
"We caught these same priests and Baron Vixen attempting to bury these unfortunate captives alive. If you do not believe us, see for yourselves."
One of the villagers approached and checked the contents of the cart.
"They're right! These are villagers!" he shouted.
"What does this mean?" asked another villager, troubled.
"It means that from today onward, as ordered by His Grace, all temples in the North will be closed and investigated. You loyal subjects must cooperate until this is finished," Sir Howard replied.
"We heard rumors that the war against the heretics is over. Is it true, good sir?" asked a village woman holding her baby.
"Yes, and that is why we are here. To arrest all the accomplices who have terrorized our territory for so long. Rest easy—His Grace has put an end to all these years of war and suffering," Sir Howard answered.
The villagers began to express their relief, embracing one another and, for some, crying.
And yet the war has only just begun, Selen thought.