Chapter 41: If the Procedure Is Unreasonable, the Result Is Meaningless!

She didn’t care about the lives or deaths of these villagers and bandits. 

Pleasing Abel was enough. 

As a bonus, she could mock how hypocritical the church was. 

It was a win-win!

Abel hadn’t spoken yet when Ingrid grew anxious first.

“Wait!” 

She stepped forward, blocking the bandits. 

“Even if you are the princess, you can’t do this… Trials must follow proper judicial procedures! They should have the chance to defend themselves! There should be…”

“Should, should, should,” Prim interrupted her. 

“Where do all these ‘shoulds’ of yours come from? We have eyewitness testimony and physical evidence. What more procedure do we need?”

She narrowed her eyes at Ingrid.

“Or are you saying that you church folk think the kingdom’s laws aren’t as important as your mercy?”

Ingrid was left speechless.

She looked toward Aiko, her eyes full of pleading.

Aiko, help me… Say something… We all studied the precepts of showing mercy to others. You must understand me, right…?

However, Aiko simply looked at her with cold eyes.

Then, under everyone’s shocked gazes, Aiko walked over to a nearby guard. 

She drew the longsword from his waist.

She gripped the sword and walked up to one of the bandits.

The bandit widened his eyes in terror. 

“Y-You! What are you doing?! Aren’t you from the church?! Shouldn’t you show mercy—”

The sword flashed.

Blood sprayed.

The bandit collapsed to the ground.

Aiko held the blood-dripping sword and looked at Ingrid. 

Her azure eyes showed no ripple, only calm indifference.

“I agree with Her Highness the Princess,” she said. “These people deserve to die.”

Ingrid stared at her blankly, as if seeing this person for the first time.

“Aiko… you…”

“Moreover,” Aiko interrupted her, her tone still calm, 

“if Her Highness allows it, I would like to carry out the executions myself.”

Prim paused for a moment, then revealed an intrigued smile. 

“Sure, if that’s what you wish.”

Aiko nodded and walked toward the next bandit.

Ingrid finally came back to her senses. 

She staggered forward and spread her arms wide, blocking the remaining bandits.

“No!” 

Her voice was nearly a roar. 

“You can’t do this! Even if they must be killed, it should go through a proper trial! If the procedure is unreasonable, the result is meaningless! This is the foundation of the rule of law, this is—”

“Enough.”

Abel finally spoke up.

He looked at Ingrid. 

There was no anger in his eyes, only deep exhaustion and helplessness.

This woman really is beyond saving.

“The ‘procedures’ you speak of,” he said, “how much time do they take? Days? Weeks? Months?”

Ingrid opened her mouth but said nothing.

“During that time,” Abel continued, “they will be locked up in prison with food and drink, while the bodies at the village entrance will be buried in the ground and slowly rot away.”

He pointed in the direction of the village entrance.

“Those people they killed included elders, women, and children. 

They received no procedures, no defense, and no ‘chance to turn over a new leaf.'”

Ingrid’s body trembled.

“I’ve heard all the principles you’re talking about,” Abel’s voice deepened. 

“When I was younger, I believed in them too.”

He paused, as if sinking into recollection.

“Once, I encountered a group of bandits. 

They begged for mercy, claiming they had no other choice and would reform themselves. 

I believed them and let them go.”

“And then?”

“Then they attacked the next village.” 

Abel’s voice was calm—calm enough to send chills down the spine. 

“They killed thirty-seven people. Including a pregnant woman and her two children.”

Ingrid’s face turned deathly pale.

“From then on,” Abel said calmly, “I learned one thing—some evildoers will never change.”

He looked at the bandits.

Several of them had shifty eyes filled with fear, resentment, and… a subtle, eerie gleam that was hard to detect.

“But some evildoers won’t repent even when they know they’re wrong.” Abel repeated. “That’s the most profound lesson I’ve learned in all these years.”

Ingrid stood frozen in place, her body shaking slightly.

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out in the end.

At that moment—

“Careful!”

Aruma suddenly shouted.

The bound bandits suddenly erupted!

Their bodies twisted and swelled at a visible rate.

Their skin split apart, revealing strange silver patterns underneath. 

Their eyes turned into burning silver flames as they let out inhuman roars.

—Divine Apostles.

Low-tier ones, but genuine products of Divine Pollution.

Ingrid was the closest. 

One of the mutated bandit monsters lunged straight at her back!

But her reaction was lightning fast.

Even while injured, the silver-haired female knight twisted her body at the critical moment, narrowly dodging the attack. 

At the same time, she drew her sword to block another monster’s strike.

“What’s happening?!” Prim cried out in alarm.

“Stop wasting time and fight!” Abel had already charged forward.

He was equally shocked inside.

The appearance of Divine Apostles required an infection source.

There was no Divine Pollution source nearby. 

How could these bandits suddenly mutate?

But this was no time for thinking.

Sword lights flashed and fist winds howled.

The girls were somewhat flustered at first, but fortunately each possessed considerable strength.

They also had the special weapons bestowed by the archbishop!

The battle ended quickly.

Although the low-tier Divine Apostles were stronger than ordinary humans, they stood no chance against this group’s coordinated assault.

When the final monster fell, Abel sheathed his sword and looked toward Ingrid.

The silver-haired female knight was drenched in blood—some of it her own, some belonging to the monsters.

She knelt on one knee, breathing heavily, yet still gripping her sword tightly.

Then, under everyone’s surprised gazes, she stood up and walked before Abel.

She bowed deeply.

“Lord Abel.” 

Her voice was hoarse but clear. 

“I was wrong.”

Abel narrowed his eyes.

“Those people’s words earlier… their pleas for mercy… they were all fake.” 

Ingrid kept her head lowered. 

“And you were right—they won’t change. 

If not for you and the others taking action, I might have already…”

She paused, then continued.

“These past few days, I’ve thought about many things. 

I know what I said to you before… was excessive. 

I shouldn’t have blamed you like that.”

She raised her head. 

Tears shimmered in her honey-golden eyes, but they no longer held the previous madness—only deep remorse.

“I just… I just wanted to save more people. 

The archbishop taught us from a young age to show mercy and spread the gods’ light across the entire world. 

I don’t want the tragedy that happened to me to repeat itself on others…”

Her voice choked up.

“So… please, give me a chance. 

Let me atone through meritorious deeds. 

Let me follow you and truly save people. 

Not for those hypocritical principles, but… to genuinely save lives.”

She bowed deeply once more.

The entire area fell silent.

Abel looked at the silver-haired female knight before him. 

Complex emotions welled up in his heart.

Her change… isn’t it happening a bit too quickly?