“Guarding the relic isn’t your responsibility, is it?”
Hoyan couldn’t respond to Cien’s sharp counterquestion. He merely scratched his head and showed a troubled expression.
It was clearly a bewildered demeanor. Perhaps because the interrogating tone was sharper than imagined.
As for me, I could understand Senior Cien’s position. After all, we don’t even know how far the Dark Church has infiltrated. It was inevitable to be suspicious of the representatives of an alliance that couldn’t even unify their opinions properly.
Because there might be a traitor mixed among those five.
Of course, Hoyan wasn’t so oblivious as to not notice that. The copper-skinned youth, who had been showing an awkward smile for a while, soon had his eyes harden. As if the frail scholar-like appearance he had shown until then was a lie.
The youth’s following voice was as seamless as his gaze.
“You’re right. However, aren’t we bodies entrusted with sacred duties by our respective lords? I believe it’s not a sin to do our best to fulfill the mission. We five are the most trusted vassals of each kingdom’s monarch, so we merely wish to repay that expectation.”
It was a lengthy explanation, but what he wanted to say was just one sentence.
‘Don’t doubt us.’
It meant that any further questions could become a diplomatic discourtesy. Because it would be no different from doubting the authority of the monarchs forming the Ten Southern Kingdoms.
However,…