The heist was done, the wealth was taken, and a woman was left in the heat. Sylvester didn't want to waste a single more second in that solar after she tried to pull him. He simply looked out the window, said it was getting late in the evening as he had work to do, and left.

Miraj just jumped onto his shoulder, while Felix acted like a dead puppet and got pulled away by Sylvester. With that, Duchess Artemis was left unsatisfied and quite literally—scammed.

Bam!

The door shut behind them, and they rushed towards the castle's exit. Felix, however, came back to his senses just then.

"What in the holy Solis' name was that, Max? Good lord!"

Of course, Sylvester was not happy with what he did. He felt disgusted with himself, but this was something taught to him at his job in his previous life. Honey trapping and taking advantage was an art as old as civilisation itself. "Felix, please forget what you saw. I had no choice and no interest in that witch."

"That was bloody magnificent—terrific—breathtaking!"

"..."

Sylvester looked at his friend with doubt. He thought Felix would make a big deal about it, that he did something dirty. But it appeared he was impressed.

"Max, she was shivering with just your touch. How in God's name did you do that? Teach me, please! I wish to one day seduce women like that too. Come on, help your brother out."

"..."

Sylvester sighed and continued to walk. "Perhaps it's I who should be offended. Felix, as long as you are mighty handsome, it's all about confidence. It's a world full of people where the rich usually are fat fools, or, if too handsome—psychopaths. Peasants aren't even counted. Their beauty doesn't matter, as they are still peasants. That leaves folks like us, men of faith and handsome. We're like an exotic forbidden fruit to women, as they know we are unattainable for our vows, but it's still exciting to at least try and pull us to the dark side—for it's a testament of their own beauty that they could even entice us."

Felix whistled. "I never thought about it this deeply. It's like finding an extremely beautiful Bright Mother and thinking, 'What a waste. She's too pretty to die a virgin.'. Yeah, that does make us exotic."

"Sadly, Bright Mothers have it worse than us. If we break our vows, we're just removed from the Clergy and remain soldiers of the Inquisitor or Holy Army. But, if the Bright Mothers break vows, they are made to leave and marry the man with whom they sullied their bodies. They get no long-term benefits. Hence, most remain in the clergy—even if they fall for someone."

"Wait! You're implying that some Bright Mothers are not pure?" Felix stopped.

Sylvester shrugged. "My friend, they are humans too. They have bodily needs as well. Honestly, I don't mind if they use various means to satisfy themselves. They have my blessings."

"That's so unfair. What about us?" Felix asked.

"We have to stay pure, Felix. You and I are bound to someday sit at the highest tables in the world. The Church will never allow a man with children to sit there, as the man might try and bring his kids up there too. Nepotism, basically. Now don't stop, move."

Felix grunted and continued. "As much as I hate it, it makes sense. Now I'm questioning if I should stay a virgin or not."

"It's your choice. You will have my blessings as long as it's not a psycho like the Duchess."

They proceeded to exit the tower of the Duke and reach the castle gates. There were guards, but they didn't mind as the two had come inside lawfully.

However, just as they passed by a tree in the gardens outside, they heard Isabella's voice.

"Brother! Please! Don't do this!"

"Shh…!" Sylvester crouched down and moved closer to listen to everything."What is she doing here? Did she tell you?" Felix whispered.

Sylvester was wondering the same thing. But, before erupting in anger, he wished to hear why the woman dared do such a thing behind his back. "Listen silently."

So they heard the exchange between the Crown Prince, Duke Daemon and Princess Isabella.

"Bella, don't try. As I told you before. You are being brainwashed by those fools from the Church. Artemis is a wonderful woman, and she's loyal to me. She may have magical abilities, but she uses them for the good of the Duchy. As for your other wish—I will never speak with that oaf. That fool, he knows nothing about the real world, the economics, the strategy, and yet he got the throne on a golden platter. Then he had the audacity to remove me from the finance office."

"Brother, please. You're better than this." She cried.

But the Duke had made up his mind, and even more shocking revelations were in order. "Go away before I come to hate you, Bella. And that Cardinal Suprima is evil. He tried to blackmail my Artemis—it's unacceptable. She planted the Heart Eater on him on my command. But, I agree, it was going too far. Bring that man to the port in an hour. I will be there and give him the cure for the Heart Eater Vine. Of course, as long as he agrees not to launch the church's wrath on me."

"Do you promise?" She asked expectantly.

"When did I ever lie to you, Bella? Now go; I have some guests to entertain." The Duke sent her away and entered the castle again to reach the solar.

Sylvester and Felix meanwhile walked out of the castle grounds calmly and soon left on their horses. The whole way, they didn't utter a single word, for they knew what they saw was a farce.

…

Monastery

Sylvester and Felix arrived at the monastery in time and moved to the Cardinal's office without any greetings.

As they opened the door, Isabella appeared with the Cardinal Supreima behind her. Excitement filled his face. He was likely fooled since he believed Isabella's words were identical to his or Felix's.

"My lord, why didn't you tell me this earlier? The Duke will take the vine out?" Cardinal Cornelius exclaimed.

Sylvester glared into Isabella's eyes, showing his evident disappointment with her. "Perhaps it was a mistake to trust your reasoning abilities, Isabella. I warned you before that biases are the hardest to control in family matters."

She stammered. "I-I just wanted to help. My brother would never lie to me… he never has. T-Trust me, Sylvester. He-"

"Silence!" Sylvester bellowed. "You are a fool to not even see the underlying meaning between his words."

Felix agreed with Sylvester. "Isabella, we were there, returning from Duke's office after not finding him there. We saw it all—he was definitely lying. He only wants you to bring the Cardinal, so he can kill him and also implicate you—an ally of ours. Hence, if we were to unleash the wrath of the Church, you'd suffer too."

Sylvester added. "He is hoping we value you enough not to report his case. But he forgets my duty is to the faith, not to you, Princess Isabella."

She seemed devastated. All her attempts to save her family went down the drain, and everyone seemed to be using her. "How can you be so sure he was lying?"

'Because I smelled it.' Sylvester sadly couldn't say that aloud.

"How can you be sure your brother is the same person after so many years? He allowed his own wife to sleep with the Cardinal to plant a vine in his heart. I don't think any self-respecting man would wish for such. Your brother is gone. What's left is an empty, evil husk." Sylvester blasted her with cold hard facts.

Cardinal sighed and returned to his office. "So it was a false hope. I should have known it was too good to be true.""Your eminence, do not trust anyone's words unless it's Felix or me. Understood?" Sylvester warned the clergyman and dragged Isabella out by her hand.

"You are under arrest, Princess Isabella Gracia. Creating hindrance in the investigation of the Church—Article 5A of the Holy Law of Light. You shall be kept in total confinement until I feel it's safe to release you." Sylvester announced his verdict.

Isabella didn't fight him. Instead, she just cried in silence. "Why is everything going wrong with my family? First, the mother, now Daemon. Sylvester, please help me."

Bam!

"I am helping you," Sylvester replied, bringing her back to the Crusader camp. There, as Lady Aurora's carriage was still present, he put Isabella in it and locked the door. "You will be under surveillance at all times. Do not try to escape, or else—I will consider you an enabler of your brother's crime."

He heavily shut the door and walked away to his own tent. Felix followed behind, worried. "Is it fine to be this strict with her?"

"She needs it," Sylvester answered. "I can understand where her rationality is coming from. By now, it's clear that the Duke and Duchess have something to do with the murders. There is something fishy going on. Once we know it, the man will die. If I were in Isabella's place, I'd try to save my brother too—with whom I played for years as a child. She must be feeling helpless right now—and frustrated."

"I hope she won't hate us for this," Felix muttered, leaving for his tent to rest.

Sylvester ignored the question. 'If she does hate us for a long time—she was never worth investing in.'

As he was alone, he put Miraj in front of himself. "So, my Chonky bank. Are we good?"

Miraj nodded intensely. "Aye! Chonky bank is yet again filled to the brim. Hehe, I also saved you—so I get more bananas?"

Sylvester ruffled the good boy's chubby head. "Of course, lord Chonky. Let's go to the market and buy them for you."

"Yay!" Miraj threw his paws in the air and climbed onto Sylvester's back again. "Banana, banana…"

He headed out to the stables and got his horse. "Chonky, we may get another chance to rob the Duke in the future. So be prepared for my orders. Remember, gold, diamonds and rubies, that's all we need."

"Aye, aye, Maxy. My tummy is ready to serve!" Miraj patted his belly again and again.

"Haha, I hope it doesn't burst open, though. You're getting fatter, and I can already sense it. My shoulders feel heavier right now."

Miraj quickly started massaging him. "Oh, that's because you're tired. I'm still the same. It's not my fat—it's the fur."

"Sure, sure, whatever lets you sleep." Sylvester teased the furry boy. He loved doing it because Miraj's tantrums were mostly pouting and making cute cat noises.

Thud!

"Lord Bard! Lord Bard! A great catastrophe has befallen! Please help!"

Sylvester turned around while exiting the crusader camp and looked. It was one of the two Inquisitors who had come to ask for help and left with Lady Aurora early in the morning.

The man was panting and appeared bloodied, having fallen from his horse. His face told a story of horror, misery and pain above all. So Sylvester quickly rushed to help him sit up. "What happened?"

The Inquisitor stared into Sylvester's eyes, passing on the dread with his stammering words.

"L-Lady Aurora has f-fallen!"

________________________

GT = 1 Bonus chapter.

Super Gift = 1 Bonus chapter.

APE TOGETHER STRONG!