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3:51 p.m.
A convoy consisting of 3 carriages with 4 Guards on Karfaxes at the front and another 4 Guards on Karfaxes at the rear entered a large gold gate and then traveled across a wide and open front yard that had a two-story mansion at the end.
The mansion's compound wasn't as large as the Nummi family's estate mansion, but it was still large. Also, unlike the one at the Nummi family's estate mansion, there were several Guards patrolling around the area.
Standing at the main entrance of the mansion were 2 White Cloak Priests and 1 White Cloak Priestess, along with 3 butlers, 6 maids and 2 Guards.
With the 2 White Cloak Priests, one was in his mid-30s with black hair and the other was in his early 30s with brown hair. Meanwhile, the 1 White Cloak Priestess was in her early 30s with pink hair.
When the convoy finally reached the mansion, the 3 butlers stepped forward to each of the carriages and opened the side door.
"Welcome to the Hortus Family Estate Mansion!" the butlers and maids said as they lowered their heads.
On the first carriage, the first person to step out was Janis, then Zola, then Theodore, then Isla, and then Wind.
In the second carriage, the first one to step out was Tekoah, then Manuel, then Vivian, then Pablo, and then Trophimus.
And in the third carriage, the first one to step out was Demius, then Ronan, then Gala, and then Darius.
It was basically the same people who went to the Nummi Family Estate Mansion.
As usual, Wind went first to meet the 2 Priests and 1 Priestess who were waiting at the entrance. He saluted.
"Thank you for welcoming us, Brothers and Sister. I am Brother Inquisitor Wind, and may the God of Light always watch over all of you."
The Priest in his mid-30s with black hair spoke first.
"I am Brother Timon of the External Unit assigned here in She'kel Village, and may the God of Light always watch over all of you as well, Brother Inquisitor Wind," he said with a Holinian accent.
The Priest in his early 30s with brown hair spoke next.
"I am Brother Fergus, also of the External Unit assigned here in She'kel Village, and may the God of Light always watch over all of you as well, Brother Inquisitor Wind," he said with an Orionian accent.
And then the Priestess in her early 30s with pink hair spoke.
"I am Sister Ginette, and also of the External Unit assigned here in She'kel Village, and may the God of Light always watch over all of you as well, Brother Inquisitor Wind," she said with an Azatean accent.
Just like there were Priests and Priestesses assigned at the Nummi family's estate mansion, there were also Priests and Priestesses and at the Ancilla family's estate mansion. This was to prevent the 3 families from engaging in a war. Needless to say, this was the first time Wind and his squad met Timon, Fergus and Ginette.
Wind nodded.
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you. As you may already know, we're here to interview Brother Javan and Sister Neah. Have the necessary preparations already been made?"
Timon nodded.
"Yes, Brother Inquisitor."
***
4:12 p.m.
Wind, Vivian and Pablo were inside a wide and spacious study room that could also pass as a small library, and they were all seated at the center where there were 5 chairs.
At the top middle was Pablo, the top right was Wind, and then at the top bottom or right next to Wind was Vivian. Meanwhile, the other 2 vacant chairs; the first one was at the top left and the second one was next to it.
Knock, knock.
There was a knock on the door.
Ka-cha!
The door opened and it was Ronan, accompanied by 2 people: a stocky White Cloak Priest in his mid-40s with black hair, and a bald, bespectacled, dark-skinned man in his late 30s wearing a brown-colored scholarly robe.
Ronan gestured his hand over to where Wind, Vivian and Pablo were.
"Please occupy the 2 vacant seats over there."
The Priest and the Scholar nodded, and then went over to where Wind, Vivian and Pablo were. Once they reached them, they gave another nod before sitting down.
"Thank you for answering our summons. I am Brother Inquisitor Wind, this is Sister Inquisitor Monad, and this is Lord Councilor Pablo. May we ask you to introduce yourselves?"
"I am Brother Javan, the father of Brother Jeremiah, a veteran of the Infantry Division, and I'm one of the Brothers assigned to this Village's Branch Chapter Temple," the Priest said.
"I am Councilor Badr from the Heisen Kingdom, and I will be representing Honored Priest Javan and Honored Priestess Neah as their Defense Councilor," the Scholar said.
Wind nodded.
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," he said and then checked his notes for a moment. "Brother Javan, can I ask when was the last time you saw Brother Jeremiah?"
"Yesterday. I went to visit him at the holding cell around noon."
"I'm just going to be direct, brother. Were you aware what Brother Jeremiah planned to do to Sister Bithiah?"
Javan shook his head.
"No, it came as a shock to all of us. Even until now, we're still trying to ingest what happened."
"Before he did what he did, did you notice anything strange about his behavior?"
"A couple of days before the incident, he didn't come out of his room. However, we dismissed it as nothing more than him studying."
"Does he always do that?"
"Whenever my son is here, he spends a lot of time training at the Main Training Room and studying in his room."
"What does he study about?"
"Training methods and battle tactics. My family came from a long line of Brothers and Sisters who made their Holy Crusade career in the Infantry Division."
"You mentioned that Brother Jeremiah spends a lot of time training and studying, he doesn't socialize with people?"
"If he's not training or studying, he spends time with us, his friends or with Sister Bithiah."
"How does he spend time with you?"
"We talk, share stories, we spar -- the usual."
"And with his friends?"
"The same."
"And with Sister Bithiah?"
"The usual thing that couples do."
"How long were Brother Jeremiah and Sister Bithiah a couple?"
"3-4 years?"
"You don't know?"
"My son has been in love with Sister Bithiah since they were kids. However, it was only when they became adults that they started becoming a couple."
"Let's assume that Brother Jeremiah and Sister Bithiah have been a couple for 3 years. How come they weren't engaged?"
"They're still too young to be engaged."
"What was your and Sister Neah's age when both of you got married?"
Badr turned to Pablo.
"Objection, Lord Councilor. I don't see any connection to the case why Priest Inquisitor Wind is asking my client such a question."
"Overruled," Pablo said.
"Brother Javan, I will repeat the question: What was your and Sister Neah's age when both of you got married?" Wind said.
"I was 21 and my wife was 25," Javan said.
"And Brother Jeremiah and Sister Bithiah are?"
"25 years old. But we didn't want them to force them to follow our footsteps."
"You didn't want to force them or someone between them didn't want to be engaged?"
Badr turned to Pablo.
"Objection, Lord Councilor. Priest Inquisitor Wind is maliciously directing my client to answer in a certain way."
"Overruled, Councilor Badr," Pablo said.
"Brother Javan, I will repeat my question: You and your wife didn't want to force Brother Jeremiah and Sister Bithiah to be engaged despite -- according to your own words, Brother Jeremiah has been in love with Sister Bithiah since they were kids, and they have been a couple for 3-4 years -- or perhaps there's another reason, such as someone between them didn't want to be engaged?"
"Whether you believe me or not, Brother Inquisitor, it is the truth."
"Have you ever witnessed Brother Jeremiah and Sister Bithiah fighting?"
"Nothing physical, only not talking to each other for days or weeks, and then reconciling once again."
"How many times do they fight?"
"I'm not sure. Once every few months."
"Do they shout at each other?"
"No."
"Was there any verbal abuse?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"Are you telling the truth?"
Badr turned to Pablo.
"Objection, Lord Councilor. Priest Inquisitor Wind is accusing my client of lying without any proof."
Pablo turned to Wind.
"Priest Inquisitor Wind, please avoid accusing the interviewee of anything if you can't provide any proof."
Wind nodded.
"Yes, Lord Councilor," he said and then returned his attention to Javan. "Brother, have you spoken to Sister Bithiah's parents about having Brother Jeremiah and Sister Bithiah engaged?"
Javan nodded.
"We've talked about it and they share the same views. We all don't want to force them to follow in our footsteps."
"Do you know when did Brother Elijah and Sister Imlah get married?"
"No."
"Let me change the question then: Do you know what age Brother Elijah and Sister Imlah had their first child?"
Javan became silent.
"Brother Elijah and Sister Imlah's first child is Brother Barman. He is what? 26 or 27? Meanwhile, Brother Elijah and Sister Imlah are both 46.
"So if we calculate that, let's say: 46 minus 26, they had their first child at 20 years old.
"And for Sister Bithiah, she's 25 years old. So 46 minus 25, they had their second child at 21 years old.
"What do you think, brother?"
"That's precisely why we all didn't want them to follow in our footsteps. We wanted them to at least enjoy their youth before getting married and having children," Javan said.
"I thought you weren't aware when did Brother Elijah and Sister Imlah got married?"
Javan summoned all of his strength to suppress his anger, but his eyes and jaw betrayed him a bit.
"Brother," Wind said with a firm but understanding tone. "You may think I'm against you and your family, especially to your son, but you must understand that your son is the main suspect here and everything is stacked against him, no matter how much you twist, bend and look at it. And although I shouldn't say this because I must remain neutral: If you want your son to have even a sliver of a fighting chance to at least reduce the punishment he's going to face, you must answer truthfully."
Javan clenched his jaw and balled his hands into fists for a moment before he finally relaxed them. However, he lowered his head as his eyes started to water.
***
4:45 p.m.
Ka-cha!
A door opened and it was Ronan, accompanied by 2 people: Badr, the Councilor from earlier, and a woman who looked like Neah, the mother Brother Emmanuel. But unlike Neah, she was older and fat.
Ronan gestured his hand over to where Wind, Vivian and Pablo were.
"Please occupy the 2 vacant seats over there."
When the Priestess and Badr reached Wind, Vivian and Pablo, they simply sat down.
Wind focused on the Priestess.
"Thank you for answering our summons. I am Brother Inquisitor Wind, this is Sister Inquisitor Monad, and this is Lord Councilor Pablo. May we ask you to introduce yourself?"
"I am Sister Neah. I'm from the Sosius family, but became part of the Hortus family when I married Brother Javan. We have 2 sons: Jeremiah, the eldest and Joaquin, they're both part of the Infantry Division. I used to be part of the Air Division when I was still active at the Holy Crusade and I'm now part of the Internal Unit here in the Branch Chapter Temple of She'kel Village."
Wind nodded.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sister," he said and then checked his notes.
But before he could ask his next question, Neah turned to Vivian.
"Tell me honestly, Sister Inquisitor Monad, woman-to-woman, what are the chances of my son winning against this case?"
Wind raised his head. As he looked at Neah, he noticed that Badr and Pablo's gazes were bouncing between her and Vivian, and then he turned to Vivian.
"We're still investigating, so I can't answer that," Vivian said.
"Is there a way for my son to just be stripped off of his Class, be placed in house arrest or at some Treatment Building, and be supervised by a Guidance Counselor for counseling to recover from the mental and psychological trauma he developed during his time in the Holy Crusade?"
Vivian was silent.
"My son is a good and hardworking boy. He would never harm anyone. But his time…" she said and paused for a moment. "His time in the Infantry Division changed him. Before he joined the Holy Crusade, I was already against him joining the Infantry Division and told him that he should join the Air Division or Exploratory Division, but he and his father wouldn't listen. This is not his fault. He's also a victim here."
Vivian turned to Wind. But before she could say anything, Neah continued.
"I've served the Temple of Priests and the Holy Kingdom since I was 15 years old, fought and bled in the Holy Crusade for more than a decade, I've donated to the Orion Kingdom for years, supported and did countless favors for the Orion Kingdom. Why are they not doing anything? Why are they not helping me?"
"Honored Priestess, please calm down," Badr said.
Neah completely ignored him.
"Instead, this is what I get. Why? Is it because I'm against the Has'tam family, the Nummi family and the Ancilla family? Are these 3 families more important than my family, more important than all of the sacrifices I did for the Holy Kingdom and the Orion Kingdom? What have they done that my family and I haven't? And if you really think about it, my son is part of the Infantry Division, so he has served and sacrificed more for the Temple of Priests and the Holy Kingdom. Or does the Temple of Priests and the Holy Kingdom only care about Magic Art Affinities?"
"Sister Neah," Wind said with a soft tone. "Please understand that Sister Inquisitor Monad and I were not sent here to judge or take any sides. We were sent here to do an unbiased investigation about the truth."
"What about my truth? My family and my son's truth?"
Wind nodded.
"Yes, that is why we're here to interview you and your husband."
"But is there a way where my son would just be stripped off of his Class, be placed in house arrest or at some Treatment Building, and be supervised by a Guidance Counselor for counseling to recover from the mental and psychological trauma he developed during his time in the Holy Crusade?"
"Like I said earlier, Sister Inquisitor Monad and I were not sent here to judge or take any sides, we were sent here to do an unbiased investigation about the truth."
"But there is a way, right?"
"I cannot say."
"Then what is the point of all of this? What was the point of all of the blood and sacrifices my entire family has endured and done for generations, all in the name of the God of Light, the Temple of Priests, the Holy Kingdom and the Holy Crusade?"
Wind became silent.
"Honored Priestess Neah, please understand that you need to cooperate in this interview so that you can share your son's side of the story," Badr said.
"If it's a life they want, then I'll be happy to exchange my own life for my son. Would that be fair enough? In exchange, my son would be stripped off of his Class, be placed in house arrest or at some Treatment Building, and be supervised by a Guidance Counselor for counseling to recover from the mental and psychological trauma he developed during his time in the Holy Crusade."
"Sister Neah, I understand that you're in pain right now, I really do. But again, please understand that Sister Inquisitor Monad and I were not sent here to judge or take any side, we were sent here to do an unbiased investigation about the truth," Wind said.
Badr turned to Pablo.
"Lord Councilor, may I request for my client and I to take a quick break?"
Pablo nodded.
"10 minutes."
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Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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