Chapter 602
Ellen didn't give any explanations to the staff of the National Cemetery, whose spirits had been crushed.
They were too insignificant to be involved in these matters. It would be better for their safety if they remained ignorant.
After leaving the National Cemetery, Ellen brushed off the dirt that clung to her clothes.
Everyone was in a state of confusion.
"I still don't know exactly what's going on. But there are a few things that have become clear."
And the one feeling the most intense confusion was none other than Ellen herself.
"The Empire is doing something with the corpses. Or at least they know about it. That much is certain."
It was impossible to be sure whether all the problems that had arisen originated from the Empire. However, the likelihood that the Empire was unaware of the events at the National Cemetery was very low.
Ellen looked up at the snowy sky.
Numerous clues began to move in the right direction in front of the decisive truth.
While some things might still be false, the clues that followed the confirmed direction continued to flow.
"Now I understand."
Ellen looked at Ludwig.
"Why Archbishop Rowan approached you."
"You understand?"
"Yes."
The reason Rowan approached Ludwig.
There were various speculations on the first day.
Rowan knew the cause of the Gate incident. Thus, she approached Ellen through Ludwig to harm her. Such a speculation existed.
Ellen thought that the reason Rowan approached Ludwig was related to the annihilation of the Hero Religion and had nothing to do with this case.
However, that speculation was overturned in the face of a truth she couldn't have considered yesterday.
Now that she had realized the Empire might be behind these events.
Ellen understood why Rowan had approached Ludwig.
"She didn't want to hurt me through you; she wanted to investigate this case through you."
All of Rowan's actions were heading in the same direction.
The incident that occurred in the underground tomb of the saints.
It was part of her plan to track down that incident.
Ludwig could not help but be utterly baffled by Ellen's words.
"How could I...?"
Ellen pointed south towards the Imperial Capital.
Something beyond the fluttering snowflakes, invisible to the eye.
"Your status as a Temple student was important."
The Temple.
"Because very few people can enter the Temple."
Those who can freely enter and exit the Temple did not know how difficult it was to enter the Temple, or how close to impossible it was to infiltrate it.
It was not a place that allowed access to just anyone.
To begin with, the Temple had strict access control even when it functioned properly.
"She must have wanted to learn about the events happening in the Temple through you."
Rowan had approached Ludwig for that purpose.
She herself could not enter the Temple.
"Wait, wait a minute... What does the Temple have to do with this case...?"
At Ludwig's question, Ellen sighed quietly.
"Let's go to the Magic University."
Ellen walked ahead in silence.
"Then you'll understand."
Now that they knew what had happened and what the events up until now meant in the face of the decisive truth.
Numerous puzzles were drawing a picture closer to completion.
And so, their destination was clear.
The Temple Magic University.
One could only wonder what the guards, who had been protecting the University as if guarding a grave secret, had been doing there.
Now, they had a rough idea.
Following Ellen, Louise's expression hardened for a different reason.
'Why… Why me?'
If something was going on at the Temple, and entry was strictly controlled,
The Empire would have to keep this matter hidden more than anyone else.
Why was she allowed to enter the Temple? It was an event where she might learn the Empire's weaknesses or secrets, and she had come to the brink of actually finding out.
Why on earth did they let her in?
Louise couldn't fathom it.
But in the end, their path was clear.
"Wait."
Louise, who had been lost in thought, suddenly stopped.
Ellen, Heinrich, and Ludwig looked at Louise's stern expression.
"If, at the Temple Magic University… what we're chasing is really there… and if the Empire is behind all this… Does that mean the Empire killed Archbishop Rowan?"
"…Perhaps so."
"The Empire killed the priestess…?"
"Rowan must have found out that the Empire was behind what happened at the Holy Knights' Tomb of the Saints. And she must have realized they were up to something within the Temple. That's why she approached Ludwig."
Rowan had discovered something and tried to investigate the Temple through Ludwig.
"And the Empire caught wind of it, so they killed not only Rowan but also the people of the Inquisition who were close to the truth."
The Inquisitor, who was getting too close to the truth, was not to be allowed.
The Empire had no choice but to act against her.
But it was still incomprehensible why the Empire would take such a risky move as tampering with the Tomb of the Saints.
However, the clues now strongly pointed to the Empire as the core of the matter, and there was no room for further debate.
"We're probably already being monitored by the Empire. We visited the Magic University yesterday."
"…That's likely."
Though for a completely different reason, they had been found out the moment they reached the vicinity of the Magic University in search of Anna de Gerna.
"From the moment we decided to look into this matter, the Empire might have known all our actions."
"That could be true…"
If the Empire was at the heart of this incident, they would have been watching their every move and action.
The Imperial Capital was under the Empire's jurisdiction, and the Temple was the core of the Empire.
They had talked about being cautious since the monsters who killed Rowan might be after them as they investigated the matter.
But from the moment they decided to investigate, the Empire might have already been aware of their every move.
Stopping by the burned church.
Visiting the Holy Knights' Cathedral.
Going to the Magic University.
Visiting the National Cemetery.
All their steps had likely been tracked.
And now, as they approached the truth,
"Was it because you were involved that they couldn't attack us…?"
If the monsters were not from some other group but the Empire, they could never touch Ellen.
In the end, it was because Ellen was Ellen.
The Empire might be utterly unable to do anything about the pursuit of these four people.
Was it because Ellen was among the pursuers that the Empire was in a situation where they can't do anything?
Louise had already resolved to get involved in this matter, prepared to face a certain degree of danger.
However, it also meant confronting the empire head-on.
From the beginning, it was never possible to back out at a convenient moment. The empire had been watching since the start.
Investigating the murder case and ensuring the safety of the hero.
Although she had thought that to be her utmost priority, Louise now found herself entangled in a potentially monumental affair that could determine the fate of the Schwarz royal family, knowing that the empire was deeply involved in this matter.
Seeing Louise suddenly having to make a tremendous resolution, Ellen spoke plainly.
"I'll protect you, no matter what."
"You will?"
"Yes."
Ellen slowly nodded her head.
Louise had said that Ellen's matter was a matter of humanity.
Ellen knew full well what Louise had risked to help her.
Therefore, with the same mindset, Ellen would protect Louise, who had helped her.
There was no choice but to try to protect the Schwarz royal family as well.
The four of them held closely related secrets, or suspicions, involving the empire.
A massive corruption.
They were going back to the temple to uncover it.
The temple was their home, but now that they knew that strange and dangerous things were happening in that home without their knowledge, they had no choice but to return to the temple with a completely different mindset.
Upon returning to the temple, the group headed straight for the Magic University.
Since their destination was clear, they needed to see with their own eyes what was happening at that place.
The place, which was restricted for an entirely different reason, was actually closely related to the case.
And they couldn't help but see someone in a space where no one should have been.
In the falling snow, a person sat still with an umbrella resting on their shoulder.
"Lady Turner."
"…"
Saviolin Turner.
She was sitting alone on a bench, quietly watching Ellen and her companions approaching under her umbrella.
She silently stood up from the bench.
Somehow, she looked as though she had been waiting, knowing they would come.
"Did you know I was coming?"
"…I had hoped you wouldn't."
Saviolin Turner stood still, looking at Ellen.
"If you came back here, it would mean you already know something."
If they knew nothing, they would not return to this intersection leading to the Magic University.
If they learned something and realized that there was something there, they would seek this path again.
That's why Saviolin Turner was guarding the crossroads.
While hoping Ellen wouldn't come.
"If I had just told you not to look into anything further, you would have known that the empire was involved in this. So, I wished you would rather not know. But it's been only three days. Just… three days."
Saviolin Turner exhaled a white breath.
"You're too fast, Ellen."
Looking at Ellen, who had reached the truth she shouldn't have known so quickly, Saviolin Turner seemed sad, unable to merely admire her exceptional execution and action.
Now, Saviolin Turner looked not at Ellen, but at the person beside her.
Louise von Schwarz.
"Your Highness."
"…"
"I never thought you would repay the Emperor's kindness in such a way."
Louise von Schwarz stared wide-eyed at Saviolin Turner.
The emperor's kindness.
It wasn't just about allowing her to enter the temple.
From the beginning, it was the Emperor who advised that in order to save Heinrich, her siblings had to be killed.
Saviolin Turner questioned the audacity of ignoring the Emperor's favor and digging into the empire's secrets.
At that, Louise furrowed her brow.
"I know I'm not in a position to discuss benevolence and guidance."
The moment she killed her siblings with her own hands, she had already long abandoned any virtues.
"Don't you know that I'm not here to dig into the empire's weaknesses, Lady Turner?"
Saviolin Turner looked at Heinrich and Ludwig behind him.
"Whatever you saw was a coincidence, whatever you knew was a misunderstanding, and whatever you imagined was a delusion."
"Accept it even if you can't."
"Since knowing won't change anything, you'd better live in ignorance."
"In this world,"
"There are things that hurt when you know them."
"And there are things that make you sadder when you know them."
"Ellen."
"Don't you know that well?"
"From now on, there is nothing for you to know."
"Just accept it and step back."
"Discovering the truth will only make it harder to bear the burden of sin."
"Isn't that unnecessary?"
At those words, Ellen's eyes widened.
Things that hurt when you know them.
Things that are sadder when you know them.
Now there's nothing but those things left.
Living in ignorance is better than knowing the painful truth.
It was not that nothing was happening.
Something was happening.
Something terrible was happening, and it has already happened.
If the truth only led to sharing the burden of sin, it was better not to know.
But to go back knowing nothing.
Ellen, who already knew too many sad truths, couldn't help but hesitate at Saviolin Turner's sincere plea.
Although her attitude was forceful, Saviolin Turner was clearly appealing to Ellen and the other three.
To step back.
With all her heart.
"We can't just go back like that..."
Ludwig muttered blankly.
"What... are you doing with the people who were already pitiful just by being dead...? They couldn't even die in peace, and now you're doing this to them even after death..."
"I won't justify it. I have no intention of justifying it, and I'm not the person to do such things."
Saviolin Turner's tone was cold and rational.
"So, let's think about it simply."
Saviolin Turner stood in the middle of the street with an umbrella.
The one and only being who reached the realm of Grandmaster on the continent.
Her own prowess surpasses that of the hero Ellen Artorius, and she was cautiously evaluated as being on par with or even more powerful than Ellen at her peak.
Without possessing a single relic, she has carried out operations more difficult or dangerous than those involving Ellen, who held two relics, and remains unscathed.
"It's better not to know these things. Better not to. When all this is revealed later, the fact that you didn't know anything will be your absolution."
"Are you saying that if we know what you're doing, we'll have no choice but to keep silent?"
"Yes. Because I'm doing something that leaves you with no other choice."
Turner nodded at Ellen's question.
It's better to remain ignorant than to share the guilt of knowing.
"This is not for me or the empire, but for you."
Knowing about this matter would make them feel guilt and responsibility just by being aware of it.
If, later on, when everything is revealed, they want to escape the blame, then they must remain ignorant.
Will they become silent accomplices by knowing the truth? Or, having had the chance to learn the truth, will they claim ignorance when everything is eventually exposed?
A hero shouldn't know about such things.
Because a hero is the hope of the people.
When some evil is exposed, they must be someone who is unrelated to that evil.
A hero must be an absolute paragon.
So, it's better not to know.
"You know,"
Ellen speaks quietly.
"Even if I don't know about this trivial matter, I can't buy my absolution."
"I won't even try. You know that."
"If it's a painful truth to know, I already know many."
"Being called a hero by others is more tiring and difficult now than ever before, so how much harder can it get?"
"So, knowing a little more won't matter."
"Move aside, Lady Turner."
"I need to find out what's going on."
Louise silently listened to Ellen's meaningful words.
The truth that should not be known.
Absolution.
Things about the Gate incident that people didn’t know.
Louise and Heinrich couldn't help but realize that Ellen was talking about those things.
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