Cassidy's Point of View

Helmsforth Temple

Greigh’s head turned to me as he looked at me confused. I just shrugged as I had no answer. After all, I had no idea about any of this. The Priestess just continued to glare at them as if they were speaking nonsense.

The Duchess continued. “Sir Arthur has a hand in a majority of Lestranian business, trade, and property. As far as we can tell, he did all of this through legal means.” She shook her head. “That only covers for a portion of his wealth. Our investigation shows he has moved to several other kingdoms as well and is involved in almost every international trade.”

“Given his new project, and that he built the wall surrounding Helmsforth, many know he is the one who cleaned up the Lowest Rung.” The Duke explained. “Along with the land to other towns and cities, many will not see this in a favorable light. The man is a hero is more ways than one.”

“If you imprison him, the economy will crash in a way I am unsure if we would be able to recover. No single person has ever had such a vast network across Lestrania before. This could cripple us financially, militarily, and leave us vulnerable in many ways.”

“Where did he get the capital to do all this!? It can’t be just from The Rainy Helm!” The Priestess demanded.

Lord Drewes nodded. “You are right. There is only one explanation. Sir Arthur was already incredibly wealthy before he stepped foot in Helmsforth.”

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His wife nodded in agreement. “Given that his age seems to be up for debate, it is quite possible he was able to horde an unfathomable amount of wealth that none of us would know about. This allowed him to move without any of us realizing or seeing the signs. However, the truth is, whether we like it or not, Sir Arthur is carrying Lestrania in more ways than one.”

“Try not to praise the man too much, my Lord and Lady.” The Priestess said almost mockingly. “You might show your favor.”

The husband and wife frowned at that. “It has nothing to do with favor, Priestess.” Lord Drewes responded firmly. “However, your own actions are almost as unbecoming as Sir Arthu-“

“Get out.” Priestess Arceana cut him off.

Now, many of the guards were on edge. “Priestess,” I began as I moved closer, but couldn’t continue.

A teleportation went off. Three people appeared. General Kheri, who was helping support Priestess Elincia with Typhon. The sudden appearance of the small group caught us all by surprise. However, Elincia immediately began looking around hurriedly.

“Where is Arthur?!” She demanded.

A sigh escaped my lips as soon as his name left her mouth. “He just left.” I told her.

“After threatening to kill me!” Priestess Arceana shouted.

Kheri immediately stepped in. “Arthur’s been poisoned, and it is affecting his mind. He is extremely volatile depending on his energy levels and has little to no filter.” The General stated. “If he said he will kill the Priestess, there is a high chance he meant it.”

Greigh pitched in. “Oh, he meant it. Once he found out Lady Lucia was missing after being sent with Alwin to-“

Priestess Elincia held up her hands to stop him. “Lucia is missing?!” Her head snapped to her sister. “What in the world is going on!? Arthur left because he said something about Lucia was calling for help.”

To my surprise, General Kheri grabbed Greigh, and motioned for several other guards to assist her. “We don’t have time for this! Move the Priestesses to a safe location!”

“What!?” I let out surprised. “Arthur is just-“

“No!” She cut me off immediately. “He is not in his right mind. The man almost killed me, and several others.” Kheri informed us. “I’ve had horrible feelings in the past, but if Arthur arrives, none of us will be able to stop him.”

Scoffing, Priestess Arceana rolled her eyes. “Arthur is not all powerful. There are many ways to deal with people like him. Besides, what kind of message would it send if we go into hiding from our own knight.”

Looking at her sister, the other Priestess spoke. “We watched his limbs get ripped off, his body was torn in two at the waist, and part of his head was destroyed…” Elincia stated, and the room went quiet. “It annoyed him at best. So, dearest sister, how do you plan on stopping such a person?”