Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

Chapter 169

"Did you bring them here? Is Priest Hansom here? Did he say anything? How could a Priest make fireballs come out of his fingers?" Angelica asked eagerly, her eyes twinkling as she leaned forward.

When Angelica fought Priest Hansom in the city square, he acted as if he was possessed, constantly mumbling words to himself before cursing at her.

'What did he yell at me? Raise to Mercury? Mermaid? Marie? Or was it Matthew'

No matter how much she tried the best she could recall was that the name he uttered rhymed with the word 'mercury'. The more she tried to remember the further it got away.

But if she could get him to talk. She could untangle this mess from within and finally learn why the Serpents tried to kill her and more importantly who wanted her dead. Judging his deranged demeanor she guessed that Priest Hansom was merely a puppet whose strings were attached to someone else.

However, the joy of finding a proper lead was short-lived when she learned the real reason behind the Emperor's summon.

"What's wrong?"

Shortly after Edward had departed with an unconscious Angelica in his arms, the Frost Knights secured the city square and evacuated the citizens to a safe zone.

When dawn broke the entire area was in ruins with armed Knights patrolling the streets. The Serpents were imprisoned and the ones that tried to flee were killed. Among the captured Serpents was the leader of the attack, Priest Hansom. 

During the period Angelica was unconscious the Serpents were interrogated by the Dark Wolfs and their hideout in Parthellam was raided. The only exception being Priest Hansom who had refused to cooperate and had yet to speak a word to date.

However, when the Church of Theodore became aware of his existence, they wanted custody of the Priest, currently in captivity under the Frosts because he was masquerading as a priest of the religion.

Citing that the Holy Templar Knights wanted to conduct the investigation, the church demanded the Imperial family hand over the Priest as he was still an ordained member of the clergy.

Things took a turn for the worse when the Pope suddenly came to the Capital unannounced with the Holy Templar Knights and revealed himself to the eyes of the public for the first time since he was elected.

In the years since the establishment of the Orion Empire, there had been only one occasion in which the Pope had visited the capital during the foundation festivals. It was when a severe drought caused the lands to dry up and resulted in the civil war of the east centuries ago.

Owing to that history and the foundation festivals right around the corner, the sudden arrival of the Pope caused a stir among the people as to the happenings of the Imperial court.

With the Saintess yet to be found, there was a lot of pressure on the Imperial family on relations with the church which was already in a sour state.

"You can't! You can't let them take him. He tried to kill me" Angelica protested, pounding her hands on the table.

"Besides, what are they gonna do with him anyway? Splash holy water on his face and do an exorcism?!"

Although she was unsure, how much of Edward's words were true, Priest Hansom was a crucial piece of the puzzle. If anything, the situation was not much different from custody battles between divorcees. Only here, the child in question was a psychotic assassin with an angelic appearance.

The Serpents had already tried to kill her multiple times and were highly likely to do it again. Priest Hansom was the only trail left that could lead them to the perpetrator. The only way for Angelica to ever live peacefully was if the source of the assassination attempts weeded from the roots.