Demon King of the Royal Class-Chapter 591

Illeion Volten, the commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, had stepped into the role following Leverier Lanche’s ousting after the actions he had taken against his adopted daughter, Olivia Lanche.

While Illeion was more aligned with the Empire than Leverier, he was not entirely under its influence.

Leverier had harbored grand ambitions of severing the Order of the Holy Knights and the Church of the Five Great Gods from the Empire in order to create a separate Holy Empire, with Olivia as its first Holy Emperor.

He dreamed of a divine realm where a Holy Emperor would preside over the popes of the five different orders of the Church.

However, few knew of his aspirations, and his dream had been abruptly cut short when the Demon King killed him.

In contrast, Illeion Volten was a more moderate leader. He believed in maintaining the current balance of power and resources, making him a fitting choice for the existing order. His leadership had kept the Order of the Holy Knights strong even after the Gate incident broke out, which proved his capability as commander.

Ellen met with the Commander of the Holy Knights alone, though she wasn’t truly alone in her journey. She was accompanied by Ludwig, Heinrich, and Louise von Schwartz, who waited in a separate room within the headquarters while Ellen attended the meeting.

The arrangement was Louise’s idea.

Ellen had wondered if it would have been better to keep Louise away to shield her from any potential trouble, but Louise had simply shaken her head, indicating her willingness to be involved.

“I will join you on the visit, but handle the meeting on your own.”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to meet him together if we’re arriving together? If we’re going to split up, maybe it’s best if they don’t even know that we are a group.”

It felt more logical to Ellen if they either met the commander together or kept their collusion a secret. Meeting the commander separately after arriving with Louise and the others seemed worse than not meeting him at all.

“The fact that you didn’t come alone already puts pressure on them. But since I’m not speaking directly with the commander, there won’t be any complications from it. The commander will have to consider my presence just because we arrived together, but I can simply say I was accompanying a friend. It’s a believable excuse.

“Even if it seems like an obvious ruse, and they might doubt it, you’d be surprised how many issues can be sidestepped with such a simple explanation. What’s important isn’t the truth, but how it appears. It will be easier for you to speak freely without me there. The commander can’t ignore you, but he’ll have to tread carefully because of my presence. Do you see what I mean?”

After listening to Louise’s explanation, Ellen nodded. “Yes, I understand.”

Like Ellen, Louise was someone whose presence carried weight. Even if the Commander of the Holy Knights did not speak directly with Louise von Schwartz, he couldn’t overlook her presence. Even if he harbored ill intentions towards Ellen, he would have to think twice before acting.

Ellen was not only a hero of humanity, but also a guest accompanied by the heir of the Schwartz royal family. Deceiving Ellen would mean deceiving both the Hero and the Schwartz family.

Louise understood how to wield her presence effectively, knowing when to emphasize it and when to let it speak for itself.

Ellen had the others wait in a separate room while she sat alone in the reception area.

The Hero’s reputation was formidable. Not just anyone could request an audience with the Commander of the Holy Knights, and even those who could usually had to wait until he was available.

When Ellen arrived, though, the commander had to drop everything and meet her immediately. Essentially, when Ellen asked to see him, it was as if she was summoning him on the spot.

There were less than ten minutes from the moment Ellen entered the headquarters to when she was face-to-face with the Commander of the Holy Knights.

The door to the reception room clicked open, and Commander Illeion Volten stepped in.

Ellen rose and bowed her head in greeting. “Hello.” 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Illeion Volten stroked his short beard thoughtfully. “Hmm. I didn’t expect to see you in the capital.”

“Indeed,” Ellen replied.

She wasn’t one to flaunt her status or insist on formalities. She was polite yet straightforward with everyone, whether it was a simple greeting to Louise von Schwartz or having informal chats with the emperor thanks to their shared time at the Temple.

Her consistent attitude could sometimes seem rather bold, but no one ever mentioned it.

“Please, have a seat,” Illeion offered.

“Thank you,” Ellen said, taking a seat on the sofa as Illeion settled across from her.

Ellen and Illeion Volten knew each other well. They had fought side by side on the battlefield many times.

Although Ellen didn’t always attend meetings at the Allied headquarters, they crossed paths whenever she did. Still, it was rare for them to meet face-to-face at the main temple of the Holy Knights in the capital.

Ellen had met him here once before the Gate incident, the day Olivia Lanche had stirred up trouble over Reinhart’s whereabouts. This was the first time since then. She had not gone to that first meeting with any pleasant intentions, and this time was no different.

Ellen was straightforward, never one to mince words.

“Do you know why I’m here?” she asked him directly.

Illeion Volten paused, considering her question.

“I received a report that you entered the scene of the temple fire,” he finally replied.

Ellen knew the moment she had recklessly entered the scene that one or more of the holy knights would rush to report her actions.

The attack on the temple belonging to the Inquisition and her intrusion were already known to him.

“Please explain everything from start to finish,” Ellen said, her voice steady and her expression unchanged. “Tell me whatever you know, as much as you know. And if there are things you don’t know, then tell me about it as well.”

“I never knew the Hero could speak like that,” Illeion Volten said with a bitter smile. He had never faced such a situation before.

“I do when it needs to be done,” Ellen replied. She wasn’t afraid to be blunt when the situation called for it.

“And what if I refuse to tell you anything?” Illeion asked.

She paused, considering her next move. “Then I’ll keep asking until you do.”

Deep down, Ellen knew that even if she decided to stand her ground, no one—not even the Commander of the Holy Knights—could force her hand.

***

Ellen pressured Illeion Volten, demanding the truth with a hint of menace.

His response was disarmingly simple. “I don’t know anything.”

Ellen stared at him, incredulous. “You don’t expect me to believe that, do you?”

“Since I don’t know anything, that’s the only thing I can say,” he replied, his expression unreadable.

Ellen studied him, searching for a crack in his facade, determined to uncover the truth hidden beneath his seemingly impenetrable armor.

If the other party insisted on ignorance, what should she do? Ellen wasn’t sure what avenues were open to her without resorting to violence.

“Are you saying that Archbishop Rowen, who was in that temple, wasn’t part of the Order of the Holy Knights? That you don’t know because she was part of the Ouen Order...? Is that what you’re saying?”

“No, Archbishop Rowen was indeed part of the Order of the Holy Knights. She was the chief archbishop in charge of the Inquisition, and the leader of the Inquisition in the capital.”

As Ellen had suspected, Archbishop Rowen was indeed the chief of the Inquisition.

“Then are you telling me you didn’t know she was torturing refugees in the temple’s basement?”

“To be precise, I didn’t know until now.”

Ellen felt her frustration rising. “Are you playing word games with me?”

How could the Holy Knight Commander claim ignorance of something so obvious? She didn’t even know where to begin addressing the issue.

Faced with Ellen glare, Illeion Volten quietly looked down at the table.

“I suppose I have to make excuses for my incompetence.”

“Incompetence...?”

“Yes, incompetence,” the Holy Knight Commander replied calmly, meeting Ellen’s eyes. “I have been commanding the Order of the Holy Knights as part of the Allied Forces all this while, and have only been back in the capital for just over a week.”

Ellen remained silent.

“Is it so hard to believe that I wouldn’t know about the affairs within the capital?”

The Holy Knight Commander had been busy.

He was so incredibly busy, in fact, that he had not been able to keep track of the operations of the Order of the Holy Knights within the capital.

He admitted he wasn’t competent enough to oversee everything, which was a point Ellen couldn’t argue against.

The Allied Forces were not just made up of troops from the Empire. They included soldiers from many smaller surviving nations, including Kernstadt and the duchy of Saint-Ouen, the Mage’s Guild, and various other groups.

The Allied Forces were diverse, with the general headquarters setting the overall direction. Among the key players were the Kernstadt army and the Order of the Holy Knights, which were both vital to the alliance.

Just as the Emperor was overwhelmed with responsibilities, Louise von Schwartz, the commander of the Kernstadt army, had not been able to leave the Allied Forces until the king assumed command.

Similarly, Illeion Volten, the Commander of the Holy Knights, was also bound to the Allied camp.

“I don’t know if you can understand this, but the Order of the Holy Knights isn’t just a simple group,” Illeion Volten said, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. “The Order of the Holy Knights is a coalition made up of adherents to the five different Orders that make up the Church.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that,” Ellen replied.

“To put it roughly, it’s like an Empire formed by five vassal states,” he continued.

Ellen paused, taken aback by the comparison. It was a bold statement, perhaps even blasphemous, but it captured the essence of the structure of the Order of the Holy Knights. They were practically a small empire.

“But the Commander of the Holy Knights isn’t an emperor,” Illeion added.

Ellen’s eyes widened at his words.

She had said something similar to Ludwig a few days ago.

The commander was above a cardinal but below a pope. At best, he was equivalent to a pope.

When human nations unite to form an empire, an emperor rises to lead. However, when the five Orders of the Church come together to form the Order of the Holy Knights, their commander doesn’t stand above the popes; he simply guides the group.

“I led the Order of the Holy Knights as part of the Allied Forces, so it’s only natural that there are aspects of the Church or the Order of the Holy Knights that remain unknown to me,” Illeion Volten admitted.

The Commander of the Holy Knights was part of the Allied Forces, but the five popes were not. The commander lacked the authority to direct the popes; in fact, it was the other way around. If the popes chose to withhold information from him, he would remain in the dark.

Not knowing wasn’t the same as pretending to be ignorant.

Ellen understood that the commander was already burdened by the war effort, and so, he might genuinely be unaware of certain matters.

***

Illeion Volten was understandably out of touch with the affairs within the capital. This was partly because he was consumed by the war and partly because the Church’s affairs in the capital were managed by the popes, who were not required to keep him informed.

The Order of the Holy Knights nominally held less power than the popes, so the lack of communication wasn’t a form of negligence; it was simply not their duty.

Illeion Volten wasn’t accusing the popes of anything suspicious. He was merely pointing out that it wasn’t unusual for someone in his position to be unaware of the happenings within the capital. This left Ellen much to ponder.

“I was aware that Archbishop Rowen was fulfilling her role as Chief of the Inquisition within the capital, but I had no idea she was torturing and killing heretics in the temple’s basement,” he explained.

“This morning, I received a report about the fire and dispatched a contingent of holy knights. It’s not wise for civilians or guards to enter such places without caution. I did order the area to be secured and the underground facilities to be concealed. As I mentioned earlier, you understand the reason why.”

“But I don’t know why refugees were being tortured or what Archbishop Rowen was up to,” he confessed. “I only hid things that were best kept in the dark.”

Ellen listened quietly to Illeion Volten.

The fire had drawn attention to whatever was going on below, making it impossible to quietly cover it up. If what was said was true, Illeion Volten had deliberately ordered the holy knights to collapse a part of the building, burying the stairs leading to the basement areas.

The massacre had already occurred, and the fire had broken out. Thankfully, no looters had ventured underground and been trapped.

In essence, Illeion Volten was unaware of the identity of the attackers or the reason behind Archbishop Rowen’s murder. But he had needed to somehow manage the incident and conceal the truth, and so he did just that.

The holy knights at the scene knew the temple belonged to the Inquisition, but were clueless about what had been going on inside. If it became public knowledge that people had been tortured in the temple’s basement, the tension among the people in the capital would only worsen. Thus, Illeion Volten had no choice but to handle the situation however he could.

Ellen was the only one who had entered the scene and learned firsthand about the situation.

Illeion Volten was likely overwhelmed, trying to piece things together after returning to the capital.

“Do you really know nothing?” Ellen asked.

“I don’t know, but I can speculate,” Illeion Volten replied, looking at her quietly. He hadn’t returned from the Allied Forces’ camp for no reason.

“Recently, the Tomb of the Saints below the headquarters of the Order of the Holy Knights was robbed,” Illeion Volten mentioned.

Ellen had heard about it, though she had forgotten about it since it hadn’t concerned her at the time.

“Could it be... That incident...?” she wondered aloud.

“Yes,” Illeion Volten confirmed with a nod. “They were probably investigating that incident.”

Since the Commander of the Holy Knights had been called back to the capital to look into the matter, it was clear the Inquisition would also be on the case.

While others might dismiss it as just another thing, for those directly involved, it was a significant issue that couldn’t be ignored.

“Are you suggesting it was the people from the refugee camp who robbed the tomb?” Ellen asked.

Starving people who were desperate for food might have stolen treasures from the tomb to sell. Although things were still unclear, the idea that refugees were being tortured over it seemed plausible.

Illeion Volten shook his head, his expression serious. “I can’t say for certain, but there weren’t any treasures buried in the Tomb of the Saints to begin with.”

His eyes met Ellen’s. “What was stolen wasn’t treasure. It was human remains.”

“What?”

Ellen was taken aback. There was no way she could have known.