And as the soldiers drew closer, rope in hand, Hyland quickly judged their expressions. On an emotional level, they were still on his side, though they had no choice but to act when the papal officer showed up.

There remained a chance to turn the tide.

For that, they had to remain innocent.

“God favors the righteous.”

They were arrested, and as they were being led out of the office, Hyland spoke those words to the archbishop. The archbishop averted his eyes with a tense expression, then suddenly showed the papal officer a flattering smile.

Col and Myuri were also ushered away by the soldiers through the back entrance where everyone was squeezed into wagons.

They were not escorted through the front due to the possibility of igniting the townspeople’s anger if they were seen.

Then the wagons traveled for quite a while even though the town was small. The soldiers, who did not bother to hide their sympathy, had placed Col and Myuri in the same wagon, perhaps because she clung to him the entire time. He wanted to hold her hand, but he could not because his hands were tied behind his back.

The wagon rattled along. Col could tell that the ground had changed from paved stone to a hard dirt path at some point. When everyone finally stepped out, they were surrounded by what seemed to be fields and orchards.

“Is this…outside of town?” Myuri asked Col quietly. Only one thing came to mind when he imagined prisoners being taken to a place devoid of people. What was more, the earth was perfectly plowed.

However, as he looked around, restraining his pounding heart, he could see the city walls beyond the trees. Certainly, they would not be suddenly put to death within the city.

“Come.”

The soldiers pulled the rope, bringing them around the wagon, and he was finally relieved.

They had arrived at a large manor, which was not uncommon to see in rural areas and was most likely owned by the city nobles.