Doubt

Inside the Grand Cathedral of Hui Dun, beneath the statue of the God of Light with arms outstretched in an embrace, Jamir, clad in bishop's robes, devoutly prayed to the God of Light, holding the Holy Scripture of Light.

At this moment, at the doorway of the prayer room behind him, Hui Dun, clad in armor and leaning on his sword, stood at the entrance with ice-cold eyes.

All the believers who had come to pray had been driven away, and the Temple of Light was now empty.

After Bishop Jamir finished his prayer, he closed the scripture in his hands and turned to face Hui Dun.

Upon seeing Hui Dun standing there holding his sword, he was slightly stunned. He then closed his eyes and prayed devoutly for a moment before bowing slightly to Hui Dun and saying:

"I beg your pardon, Count. As you know, clergy members cannot be interrupted during prayer.

Please, Count, come in."

Seeing that he was invited in, Hui Dun sheathed the sword in his hand and said indifferently:

"That's why I didn't barge in directly."

Hearing this, Jamir let out a wry smile and then said, "Please."

Jamir led Hui Dun to the reception room, and they sat facing each other.

"I am very happy to see you return safely, Count. I just don't know what kind of danger you encountered this time."

Looking at the sincere expression on Jamir's face, Hui Dun's eyes narrowed slightly. He then put on a sorrowful demeanor and said:

"The monstrous creature I encountered this time was too powerful. My teacher and all those loyal knights have fallen in battle."

Upon hearing this reply, Jamir was stunned for a moment, then his eyes reddened, and he also showed a look of grief.

However, no one knew how much of his sadness was genuine.

At this moment, Hui Dun casually asked:

"If it weren't for the Knights of Light you dispatched, Bishop, I probably wouldn't have made it back. I wonder how you knew my whereabouts."

Hui Dun also wanted to confirm if the person who had set him up was the old fellow in front of him, as he knew he had many enemies, especially his brothers.

Jamir, who was still pretending to weep, was slightly taken aback by this question. He then replied with a choked voice:

"This is all thanks to the Governor, Tofis. He came to visit me, a useless bishop who only knows how to read.

This is all my fault. As the bishop of the territory's church, I didn't even know a powerful monster appeared in the territory. I deserve to die."

After Jamir said this, he wept again, and Hui Dun learned what he needed to know.

So it was the governor of his territory, Tofis, who leaked the information. At the same time, he remembered his previous agreement with Tofis.

However, he still needed to question Tofis, as perhaps this fellow might know something.

He then continued to express his grief with Jamir for a while. Before Jamir could say anything cryptic, he went to the prayer room, prayed devoutly, and left the cathedral.

After Hui Dun left, Jamir's sorrowful demeanor quickly vanished, and a sinister and decisive Jamir reappeared.

He summoned a servant and ordered him to summon the knight commander who led the escort. He needed to understand the entire process and details of Hui Dun's rescue.

This was because he did not believe that Hui Dun and the few nobodies around him could have escaped from the Vine Dragon Withered Wood.

When he had discovered the Vine Dragon Withered Wood previously, he had considered refining it into a staff. However, after actually fighting the monster, he knew how powerful it was.

With his current strength, he couldn't defeat that monster, let alone expect Hui Dun to escape.

Hui Dun, who had left, was also the same. His grief for his teacher and mourning for the fallen knights had passed. What he needed to do now was to find the person behind the setup.

Naturally, his biggest suspect here was this bishop.

Because of his identity, ever since his birth, he had been regarded as an impurity by the cardinals in the capital. They believed that to preserve the purity of the royal family, he should be executed as an infant.

He also knew that the so-called talk of impurity was merely a slogan and a pretext for these people to engage in political struggles within the kingdom.

Tofis, was it?

"Summon Tofis. I have an important decree for him to execute."

Upon returning to his castle, Hui Dun immediately had someone summon Governor Tofis.

At this moment, Hui Dun's mind was filled with thoughts of his governor's past.

Tofis was originally an insignificant clerk in the southern province. His administrative skills were quite high. Because he refused to become a vassal of a noble, he was suppressed. Later, his mother took notice of him and transferred him to his Hui Dun City to serve as governor.

From what he understood, Tofis was a capable person who did not fear power.

Although his Hui Dun territory was not particularly prosperous, its peace was also his achievement.

Before he arrived, the area around Hui Dun City was a synonym for chaos. Due to poverty, life-and-death struggles occurred daily. As for petty theft, it was innumerable.

After his arrival, these phenomena quickly changed. Although the territory was still poor, people's moral standards rose sharply. Not only did the fights and stabbings disappear, but petty theft also became almost nonexistent.

With the absence of these problems, the trade in Hui Dun City improved considerably compared to before. However, the government's annual finances still failed to cover expenses, and he, as the count, still had to provide subsidies each year.

After a short while, Tofis, who had been waiting for Hui Dun's summons, arrived at Hui Dun's castle.

At this moment, Tofis already knew about Hui Dun's losses, and the events leading up to this were inextricably linked to him.

Seeing Tofis sweating profusely, Hui Dun's thoughts turned, and he revealed a slight smile:

"Governor, why are you sweating so much? I recall that summer has already passed."

These words caused Tofis, who was already seated, to stand up in fright.

Seeing his flickering gaze, Hui Dun didn't continue speaking. Instead, he quietly watched him with a smile.

After an unknown amount of time, Tofis finally couldn't take it anymore. He directly fell to his knees before Hui Dun with a plop.

"My Lord Earl, I have sinned, I have sinned..."

He repeated that he was guilty several times, but he didn't say what his crime was.

However, Hui Dun's patience was running out. The smile on his face vanished, and his gaze became increasingly sharp as he looked at Tofis.

It seemed his guess was correct; this matter truly was related to him.

"Speak quickly, who instructed you to do this?"

Hui Dun asked, his eyes chilling.

Tofis realized then that he had just spouted nonsense. He immediately began to confess, tears and words tumbling out.

It turned out that Hui Dun was able to get the information about the Vine Dragon Withered Wood because Tofis wanted to thank Hui Dun for giving him a stage to showcase his talents.

However, he was afraid Hui Dun would misunderstand and think he was trying to curry favor, so he framed his act of releasing the information as a way to do so.

This information was something Tofis had discovered in a report from his subordinates.

The report stated that an escaped farmer in Baron Fisher's territory, who had fled the law after committing murder, had entered a forest. In the forest, he discovered a withered vine with a dragon-like shape, and the vine could move.

The farmer was so terrified that he ran out of the forest. After being captured, he confessed everything under interrogation.

Tofis, of course, was different from those unsophisticated clerks and escaped farmers. When he saw the description, he knew this was the elusive Vine Dragon Withered Wood, a rare material for high-level magic staffs crafted by mages.

He even went to the prison to meet the escaped farmer. Seeing that the farmer had no injuries caused by the Vine Dragon Withered Wood, he became even happier.

This indicated that the Vine Dragon Withered Wood was newly grown. While not the absolute best quality, it was the easiest to capture. And with Hui Dun's status, he could capture it and nurture it, waiting until it grew stronger before taking the wood.

Tofis had originally intended to report it directly, but he feared that doing so would make him seem like he was deliberately trying to curry favor.

Then, for some inexplicable reason, he thought of leaking the information to Hui Dun bit by bit through rumors.

After Hui Dun captured the Vine Dragon Withered Wood and rewarded the person who spread the rumors, that person would then reveal Tofis's identity. This way, he would avoid any suspicion of deliberately trying to curry favor.

And to prevent Hui Dun from finding fault with him later, he had written a document, which he had attached to the bottom of his monthly reports.

After hearing Tofis's explanation, Hui Dun was at a loss for words. The man before him was truly the stupidest of the stupid when it came to handling affairs.

Although he wanted to kill him, he remembered that most officials in the country had such peculiar ways of thinking.

Moreover, Tofis had achieved some success in internal affairs, and Hui Dun couldn't find a replacement for him immediately.

In the end, Hui Dun simply had him bring the confession document and then dismissed him.

Meanwhile, in the backyard of the church, the Knight Commander of Light led a lewd-looking man in ragged clothes.

As soon as the lewd man saw Jamir, he immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Jamir.

While kowtowing, he continuously recited prayers.

Jamir looked at the Knight Commander of Light beside him, his gaze seeming to ask if there were any mistakes and if everything had been handled properly.

The Knight Commander nodded. Then, the moment the man looked up, he grabbed his hair, exposing his dirt-caked neck, and without hesitation, severed his head with a single sword stroke.

This all happened in the blink of an eye, so the lewd man felt no fear or pain. He died in a state of excitement.