An Ominous Knights Order
In the end, my prediction turned out to be right on the mark.
The group had planned to exploit the commotion in Gracela and the Knights Order’s security response to attack the outpost where Senior Road was stationed.
However, it seemed that the attackers themselves had not been informed of their employer’s true objective.
Since we used magic capable of detecting lies during the interrogation, the Knights Order was left disheartened by the results.
That said, it wasn’t like we were left with no leads at all.
First, as for the knights who had gone missing in Gracela… it seemed they had been taken by the mastermind.
This was secondhand information supposedly heard from the messenger who gave orders to the attackers, so its credibility was considered doubtful.
Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling I got from how the messenger’s statements were recorded in the report.
It was almost like he himself had been involved in the abduction… His words were filled with disturbingly vivid descriptions.
If we could uncover the identity of this so-called messenger, we’d be a step closer to exposing the mastermind.
The other thing that bothered me was the matter of information.
The mastermind had an uncanny grasp of the Royal Knights Order’s troop distribution and had struck at a location with thin defenses.
Their only miscalculation was the presence of Senior Road—who, though not someone known for flashy achievements worthy of medals, possessed genuine skill.
A handful of thugs barely better than amateurs didn’t stand a chance against him.
In other words, while the enemy had precise information on deployments and positioning, they lacked insight into the actual strength of each individual knight.
“Information leak from within… just as I thought.”
I muttered as I read over a copy of the report back at our usual station.
Hearing me, Elina, who was nearby, joined the conversation.
For reference, Amira was off playing by the river with the village children.
“There really does seem to be a troubling atmosphere within the Knights Order… My father was lamenting over it too.”
“That makes sense, given his position as the Vice-Commander.”
I knew all too well how hard Vice-Commander Bellows—Elina’s father—had worked to reach where he is now.
Back when he joined, the Bellows family didn’t hold the influence they do today.
He climbed up to his current position through sheer effort from the ground level.
I truly respected the Vice-Commander, a man of dedication.
Which is precisely why I couldn’t forgive the knights who acted in ways that went against his ideals.
I mean, they put ordinary citizens of Gracela in danger—this could have even escalated into an international incident.
… No, maybe that was the enemy’s goal all along.
In any case, we’ll continue gathering information however we can so the mastermind can be brought to justice as soon as possible.
What do you think about this chapter?
