East Road Quest

Chapter 24: Yol

Every time Yol met Cardinal Lorenzo, he felt an urge to kill him.

‘What if I just snapped his thin neck? How would human history change?’ Yol pondered, resisting an unbearable temptation.

“Report,” commanded the Cardinal, a man of influence across the Roman Empire, yet his attic was modest to the point of being shabby.

The bookshelf crammed with old books and scrolls, and the desk neatly arranged with pens and ink, were so worn they could hardly be sold as antiques.

Though he dressed in relatively fine clothes when attending the cathedral, at home, he wore garments marked with mended tears. His austerity was so excessive it seemed like an act.

“Should I just report the results, or everything?” Yol asked.

“Everything,” replied Cardinal Lorenzo, busily writing with his quill and not even glancing at Yol. His white hair and facial wrinkles betrayed his age of seventy, but his vigor and strength of speech belied his years.

Yol had never seen him sleep. No matter the time of day, the Cardinal was always awake.

‘Does he ever sleep?’ Yol wondered.

With slight annoyance, Yol began recounting from the moment he lost Jade in Zerba. He omitted the part about killing a religious inquisitor and a coachman. He deliberately elongated the story about missing Father Daniel’s trail and guarding the wrong location before moving on to visiting his house.

Cardinal Lorenzo listened without lifting his head, manipulating the pen. Yol remembered a previous conversation where the Cardinal had repeated his words without missing a beat.

“You killed Daniel?” the Cardinal asked, pausing his writing and looking up when Yol mentioned killing Daniel. His glare was enough to make Yol shudder. It was amusing.

‘To think such an old man could instill fear in me!’

It was like a lion playing with a rattlesnake; dangerous if mishandled, but the curiosity to provoke it further was irresistible.

“What went wrong?” Yol inquired.

“A lot. I never ordered you to kill Daniel.”

“You told me to kill Jade.”

“And?”

“You didn’t say not to touch Daniel.”

“Do I need to specify who to kill and who to spare?”

“Exactly. Without specific instructions, I had to adapt to the situation. I tracked Daniel to kill Jade, but only found a young acolyte from Saint Vesta Cathedral there. Had Jade been present, I would have killed only him.”

“But you haven’t said you killed Jade.”

“It’s an interim report. I was passing by.”

Cardinal Lorenzo’s serious expression indicated he was displeased with the current situation.

“Daniel should not have been killed.”

“I thought you summoned me to thwart the Holy Grail expedition. That would mean killing Daniel was the right decision…”

Yol knew Cardinal Lorenzo’s stance on the Holy Grail expedition was ambiguous. He hadn’t interfered with the Knights of the Round Table or the Holy Knights’ departure, nor was the proclamation of the Holy Emperor his will.

Even having come this far, Yol couldn’t discern the Cardinal’s true intentions, let alone those outside. The rumor-loving priests were no help either.

“That’s not for you to decide.”

“My apologies.”

“Why did you start the fire?”

Cardinal Lorenzo probed into a topic Yol hadn’t mentioned yet.

Given the fire’s magnitude and the number of witnesses, it wasn’t surprising the Cardinal knew of it. He was known to keep tabs on everything in Rome and the Vatican, down to every horse and cat. Yet, Yol felt uneasy knowing the Cardinal was aware of this particular incident.

‘How did he find out about this one?’

After coughing, Yol responded, “I didn’t start the fire.”

The Cardinal seemed skeptical. Yol, known for deceit, felt wronged being disbelieved when telling the truth.

“What caused the fire?”

“I don’t know.”

Yol didn’t mention the oil can he brought, which had caught fire on its own, nor his intention to start a fire after his task was done. The more he spoke, the more it sounded like a lie, and if it was just an accident, he felt foolish.

‘It’s a new feeling. I’ve killed countless people, been the god of death, the object of fear, and now I feel defeated?’

Once again, Cardinal Lorenzo didn’t believe Yol.

“Was there no indication that it could have been arson instead of an accident?”

“Not that I’m aware of. It wasn’t arson, to begin with.”

“But you said you didn’t know the cause?”

“Only Daniel and I were there. He was tied up, and I was busy interrogating him.”

“Was anyone else involved?”

“Not that I saw.”

“Didn’t you notice any suspicious presence?”

Interestingly, Cardinal Lorenzo used the term ‘presence’ instead of ‘person.’

“I didn’t see any.”

“You might have missed it.”

“Possibly.”

Yol was beginning to get angry, contemplating whether to suppress the urge to snap a neck.

Suddenly, he remembered there had been a suspicious person. If Cardinal Lorenzo hadn’t asked, Yol would have forgotten, so faint was the memory.

A dirty girl, covered in mud, sat in front of Daniel’s burning house, looking on with an eerily detached expression. It was strange to maintain such composure in front of a large fire, whether it was someone else’s house or a known person’s.

Curious about her identity, Yol approached her. Then, the homeowner appeared, claiming her as his daughter and took her away.

Yol shrugged it off and left. Soon after, the house collapsed, leaving no reason to stay.

‘If there was a suspicious presence, it was her.’

Yol didn’t bother to mention such trivial details.

“So, what happened next?” Cardinal Lorenzo asked.

“I went to Saint Vesta Cathedral. Considering Father Daniel had stopped somewhere before coming here, it seemed likely. The acolyte’s accompaniment was also a clue.”

“And?”

Cardinal Lorenzo urged for the rest of the story.

Yol hesitated. If things went well, it would be a display of foresight; if not, it would be a pointless endeavor.

“Actually, I had secretly placed someone in Saint Vesta Cathedral a year ago. Brother Autis. I instructed him to act like a priest of Rome and build trust.”

Yol finally spoke up.

“I should have met with Autis there, but I didn’t. When I casually asked one of the acolytes, they said he hadn’t been seen for a few days. I’m hoping Autis was urgently deployed for this matter. If it were something minor, he would have left me a message.”

Cardinal Lorenzo pondered Yol’s words for a moment, then shook his head.

“It’s merely a guess that it might be so,” he mused.

“My guesses are usually quite accurate. Though I must admit, I was a bit off this time…”

“Bishop David?”

Cardinal Lorenzo interrupted Poe’s words with his question.

“I wasn’t aware that I had to be concerned about him as well. And hadn’t you already met with him, Your Eminence?”

Poe retorted, almost as if seeking revenge. Cardinal Lorenzo glared at him once more, but this time the look was brief.

Poe hadn’t completely ignored Bishop David’s movements.

He had stayed near the Saint Vesta Cathedral until noon, waiting to see if Bishop David would make any unusual moves. He was ready to follow if the bishop hurried off somewhere, and if a procession entered or left the cathedral, he would follow it. However, only small carts, a dozen or so parishioners, beggars coming to ask for alms, merchants selling their wares, and dozens of foreign tourists treating the cathedral like a holy site came and went endlessly.

“You did search around the cathedral, didn’t you? Were there no unusual visitors?”

“There were none…”

Poe stopped mid-sentence. Then he remembered—there had been someone suspicious. It was a faint memory he wouldn’t have recalled if Cardinal Lorenzo hadn’t asked.

It was a girl with a disheveled appearance. For a moment, Poe felt he had seen her somewhere before. To confirm, he approached the beggar girl. An old coachman saw the girl and tossed her a coin. She received the coin, slumped her shoulders, and walked away to somewhere.

For a beggar, she didn’t seem particularly pleased to have received the coin. Soon, a group of beggars surrounded her. The angry beggars cursed at her and roughly dragged her into an alley.

It seemed the beggars were angry about their territory being invaded. They would probably take her to some secluded place, rob her of money and dignity, and then, if they were in a good mood, kill her without causing too much pain.

Poe soon lost interest and left the cathedral.

“…were none.”

“Hm?”

The gap between the beginning and the end of the sentence was so long that Cardinal Lorenzo tilted his head in confusion. Poe repeated his answer.

“There was no particular movement.”

Cardinal Lorenzo asked with a dissatisfied expression, “So, you’ve come to report that you’re waiting for news from an unverified source named Brother Autis, uncertain if it will come or not?”

“That’s not the case. Actually, I’ve come to ask for a few favors.”

“Speak.”

“As thorough as I am in my work, having never failed a mission, I would like to prepare for any oversight. I request that you seal the gates of Rome for just today or tomorrow.”

“We can’t block entry and exit without an emergency situation.”

“I see. Then, is it possible to only monitor the movement of the clergy? Distinguishing by their attire should suffice. No need for a blockade. If the guards inform me, I will handle it…”

As Poe trailed off, Cardinal Lorenzo nodded briefly.

“That much is doable.”

“And one more thing, to search for the Holy Grail and head to the eastern kingdoms, one must use either the Pisa or Saint Paul ports. Please block those as well.”

“Do you think Jade will embark on a quest for the Holy Grail alone, without Daniel?”

“If she doesn’t leave, that’s one less job for me. Or perhaps one job already resolved.”

Poe continued, recalling Brother Autis.

“It’s not bad to be prepared.”

“I’ll have to make a request to the Duchy of Lithuana.”

Upon hearing the name of the country, Poe asked, “Speaking of which, I heard an interesting story. Is it true that the princess of the Duchy of Lithuana is not the duke’s biological daughter? Was her name Almara?”

“How did you come to know of this?”

“I have my sources here and there. Is it true?”

“There’s nothing for you to know.”

Poe smiled inwardly.

If Cardinal Lorenzo spoke like that, then it must be true. Rumor has it that the duke’s wife had an affair and married while pregnant with another man’s child, only to be discovered later, but the truth was unknown.

Cardinal Lorenzo, disliking idle chatter during business talks, quickly moved on to the next topic.

“Where will you go then?”

“I must head to the Red Desert first.”

“Isn’t that place irrelevant to your route?”

“It’s not so much irrelevant as it is a considerable detour. However, if I need to avoid someone and head to the Pisa port, I would choose that path. I could go to the port in advance, but Father Daniel made such a guess and missed his chance. If not the Duchy of Lithuana, I might choose the Rimba port of the Duchy of Luna. Then the Red Desert would be the optimal escape route.”

…And he didn’t mention that he had many subordinates he could command in the Red Desert.

Poe had no intention of revealing his identity to Cardinal Lorenzo, not even the slightest. Perhaps there would come a day for that, but not now. Maybe he would have the opportunity to speak of it at the dying Cardinal Lorenzo’s bedside.

“There must not be a second miss.”

“Don’t worry. It was just a crossing of paths. I was a bit unlucky, and he was a bit lucky. The same luck won’t repeat, nor the same misfortune.”

“Indeed, luck is a factor that can’t be ignored.”

“It’s surprising. I thought you’d dislike such a word.”

Yole spoke with a voice brimming with curiosity.

Cardinal Lorenzo seemed to have more to say, opening his mouth only to close it again.

“Anything else to add?”

“Nothing.”

Yole rose from his seat.

There was no payment between the two, nor a contract. A modicum of trust existed, but it wasn’t betrayal for one to turn their back on the other. Even if the moment Yole left the house, the guards summoned by Lorenzo were to bind him, he wouldn’t have called it betrayal. Rather, he half-expected such an event to occur. After all, it wouldn’t kill him.

Conversely, Lorenzo probably wouldn’t call it betrayal if Yole, on a whim, snapped his neck right there. Was it because he didn’t fear death, or like Yole, he was confident such an act wouldn’t end him? It was curious.

“Ah, and even after I finish the task, it might take a while to send word. I’ve been away from the monastery too long and need to stop by. If you wish, I can inform you by letter, but as you know, sending letters from Saint Santirimo Monastery isn’t easy.”

“No news will be taken as good news.”

“Thank you for your understanding.”

Yole quietly left the attic.

Beneath the stairs, Lorenzo’s servant Beno was waiting.

He checked Yole’s hands and collar with a tension-filled gaze.

‘He’s looking to see if I’m covered in blood. What would he do if that were the case? Seek revenge for his master?’

Yole almost snapped at Beno but held back.

The night had deepened, and there was much to do. Yole walked through the darkness, pondering.

‘If only Brother Autis would just finish the job.’