They are all characters I control.

"Mother! Mother!" Elena ran out of her room, her eyes red from crying. "They took all my jewelry!"

"Stop crying! What's the use of crying!" Marquis Marla shook off her daughter's hand, turned and shouted at Marquis Rost, "Are you just going to stand there and watch? Watch them take our house? Say something!"

“What can I do?” Marquis Rost leaned helplessly against the wall. “They’re from the church…”

"What's wrong with people from the church? You're a believer too! You're a noblewoman too!" Marquise Marla's voice was sharp and piercing. "Can't you stand up for yourself a little?"

"Hold my ground? How can I be firm?" The Marquis of Rost glared impatiently at the Marquis's wife. "After the last banquet, His Majesty ignored me, the nobles avoided me, even the church..."

"Then go find your good daughter!" Marquise Mara interrupted him. "Hasn't she gotten in touch with the Acting Saintess? Have her plead for her!"

“Lia?” Marquis Rost paused for a moment, then shook his head. “She won’t see me.”

How will you know if you don't try?

"Try?" Marquis Rost's voice rose. "I pushed her out to take the fall at the last banquet. How can she not hate me? How am I supposed to ask her for help?"

“That’s all because of you—” Marquise Mara was about to explode again.

"What am I? Aren't you all?!" Marquis Rost was also enraged.

"When Liya was at home, didn't you all ostracize her in every way? Was there ever a day when you didn't complain to me?"

"Who tied her up in the backyard? Who made things difficult for her?! And who keeps nagging that she should annul the engagement and that Elena and the prince should accept it?"

After being confronted with the Marquis's questions, Elena and Marquise Marla were stunned for a few seconds.

However, they quickly reverted to their previous attitude.

"Did we do something wrong? Even if we treated Leah that well, she still eloped with the Earl! It's all for nothing!"

"That's right, it's all my sister's fault in the end! If she hadn't written that new tax, she wouldn't have angered Bishop Simon Pig!"

Looking at Elena and Marquise Marla, who were still shirking responsibility and showing no remorse, Marquis Rost felt nothing but annoyance.

Shouting like that has absolutely no effect on me and won't change anything.

Seeking help from Leah is one solution, but with Earl Orlando by Leah's side now, Marquis Rost doesn't think he can get close to her anymore.

Regardless of the Marquis of Rost's mood at that moment, the church knights did not stop their search. They continued to search each room, and the sounds of rummaging through chests and drawers rose and fell.

Knights would occasionally come out carrying ledgers, letters, and jewelry boxes, which would then be loaded into the carriages at the entrance.

A knight brought out a jewel-encrusted wooden box from the study and handed it to the leading vice-captain.

"Captain, this was found in a hidden compartment in the study."

The vice-captain took the wooden box and opened it.

Inside was a stack of yellowed letters, the envelopes bearing the wax seals of the imperial era.

The knight commander raised an eyebrow.

"Marquis Rost, where did these letters come from?"

Marquis Rost's expression changed.

“That, that’s…it was passed down from our ancestors…”

"Passed down from our ancestors?" The knight commander unfolded a letter and quickly glanced at it. "The contents of the letter involve the matter of the evil god emperor back then."

The Marquis of Rost's legs went weak, and he could barely stand.

"Th-that is..." he stammered, trying to explain.

"Take it back and give it to His Holiness the Bishop for review." The knight commander closed the wooden box and handed it to the knight beside him.

Upon seeing this, Marquise Mara rushed forward without thinking, trying to snatch the wooden box.

Inside that wooden box were her hidden stash of money.

"That's not mine! It's mine—uh!"

The knight commander reached out and blocked her, and Marquise Mara fell to the ground, clutching her shoulder and groaning.

"Mother!" Elena ran over to help her.

“You…you…” Marquis Rost pointed at the Knight Commander, his lips trembling as he couldn’t utter a complete sentence.

“My lord, please. We are asking several people to come to the church for further questioning on suspicion of worshipping evil gods.”

The knight commander's voice remained devoid of any emotion.

Chapter 16: Back in jail

While chaos reigned at the Marquis de Rothschild's mansion, Claire was busy.

He knew that Isabelle had asked Lydia to prepare drinks immediately.

Lia sent him a comment, but he didn't respond.

At this crucial juncture where the plan is progressing steadily, any unnecessary response could complicate matters.

The shapeshifting potion needs to be added to the wine, which needs to be delivered to the Holy City, where Isabelle will take it to the dungeon.

He just needs to wait.

Anyway, Lia will do as he says. That naive girl may not be the brightest, but she's obedient.

Claire was more concerned about Eleanor's situation than about Leah's.

He logged into the account and found himself not in the sunlight, not on a battlefield, not even in a state of freedom.

When consciousness emerged from the darkness, Claire's first sensation was cold.

It wasn't the dry cold of the northern snowstorms, but a damp, bone-chilling cold.

The air was filled with the smells of mildew and rust, as well as a pungent medicinal odor.

Is he being imprisoned? Is he locked up in jail?

Claire confirmed 'Eleanor's' current condition and couldn't help but sigh. Her own body was still being imprisoned in the dungeon, and now Eleanor was imprisoned too?

Claire was relieved that Eleanor was not chained.

The limbs were able to move and were not chained, but there were marks on the wrists and ankles where ropes had been used to bind them, which were probably later removed.

His armor was gone, and he was only wearing a soft inner armor and trousers.

The breastplate, arm guards, leg guards, and knight's sword were all removed.

His magic flowed normally, even more abundant than when he last logged in.

The enhancement effects of the "Primal Blood" on Eleanor's body were still present; the pure, holy magic still flowed quietly in her veins, ready to be used at any time.

"Awake?" Someone asked from the side.

The breathing sounds came from the left and right front, very soft, but exceptionally clear in the quiet environment.

Someone was turning over, and there was a rustling sound of hay.

A voice came from the left, hoarse and tired, with a numbness from being in the dark for too long.

Claire turned her head to look at the corner on the left, where a disheveled woman was squatting.

He was wearing tattered prison clothes, and his face was so dirty that his features were unrecognizable, but his eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

It wasn't fear, nor numbness, but a calm that comes from having seen many storms; he was quite a character.

Claire's first reaction was to admire this prisoner who was also imprisoned here; after all, no one could remain so calm after being locked up for so long.

"You're from the church?" she spoke, her voice hoarse and deep, as if smoked. "I can tell from your soft armor. You're a church knight, right? How did you get locked up here? Which bishop did you offend?"

Claire did not answer.

He propped himself up on the ground, leaned against the stone wall, and scanned the entire cell with his eyes.

It was about ten steps square, with stone walls on three sides and an iron fence on the other.

Outside the fence was a narrow passageway, and across the passageway was another row of cells. By the dim moonlight, several figures could be seen huddled inside.

To the right front, a thin figure sat against the wall, holding something in his arms, his face obscured.

Further away were more prison cells, but the light was too dim to see more than a blurry outline.

The woman who was speaking was still staring at him.

Claire ignored it, quickly processing the information in her mind.

After Grayrock Town, he and Knight Commander Will were separated. The Scarlet Witch caught up with them, but Mel held her back while he ran towards the city gate.

Then Eleanor came online.

Eleanor did not heed Mel's advice to run away or return to the church, but instead went to find Knight Commander Will.

Just as Claire had predicted, there was also an ambush at the mine exit.

A massive explosion occurred at the location of Knight Commander Will. When Eleanor and Mel arrived, they found only the heavily wounded church knights and the dying Knight Commander Will.

Of course, there were also a considerable number of heretics and the corpses of treacherous church knights.

As for the other traitorous knight, Karl, who shared the same name as the knight commander Karl under Bishop Simon, his whereabouts are unknown; he probably escaped.

Seeing this scene, it's easy to understand why this is happening.

It was nothing more than that Knight Commander Will and the church knights were ambushed, and the church knights, outnumbered, died one by one, and then Knight Commander Will erupted.

Although he had killed a considerable number of heretics, he himself was nearing death.

Eleanor then returned to the Knights with Knight Commander Will, but after learning what had happened, Eleanor was imprisoned.

The reason is simple: Eleanor is still alive.

Of all those who went out, only Eleanor returned alive. The fate of Knight Commander Will is unknown. Since it is known that there were traitorous church knights, no one can guarantee that Eleanor is loyal.

Although Eleanor had defended herself, saying that she had not betrayed the church.

However, there is no evidence and no second surviving church knight. Although the 'Holy Lance Knights' has sent church knights to investigate, Eleanor is still a threat.

Once the investigation is almost complete, we can leave, right?

With this in mind, Claire wasn't too worried about Eleanor's situation.

"You don't have to say anything." The woman, who was also locked in a cell, lowered her voice even further, assuming that Claire had deliberately not answered earlier.

"Hehe, once you're in here, there's no point in telling me what you used to do. It's useless."

Claire turned her head and looked at her.

Judging from the rope marks on the woman's body, as well as her clothing and hair, the other party was clearly a veteran.

She has been locked up here for at least several months.

"What did you do wrong?" Claire asked, trying to strike up a conversation with the woman out of boredom.

The woman paused for a moment, then smiled. The smile was difficult to discern on her dirty face, but a clear light shone in her eyes. "Me? I killed someone."

Her tone was very calm, as if she were talking about what she ate today.

Claire's eyebrows twitched slightly.

In a place like the North, murder is not uncommon, but the key question is who a woman imprisoned in a church inquisition who killed someone is.

"Who did you kill?"

For example, I myself am a church knight, but I kill civilians.

“A bishop.” The woman tilted her head. “To be precise, it happened ten years ago. Do you know Bishop Ries who was here before? I killed him.”

Claire stared at her for two seconds, trying to determine if she was exaggerating.

He killed an archbishop. The difference between an archbishop and a bishop is like a chasm, but being able to kill a bishop is already quite impressive.

After all, not everyone is an evil god emperor who can meet with the archbishop.

"How come you're not dead? Killing a bishop makes you someone of importance, doesn't it?"

“Death?” The woman scoffed. “The church is unwilling to let me die. They want to pry out my accomplices from my mouth, but I have no accomplices at all.”

"One person, one knife, he did it and ran. They arrested me for seven years, interrogated me for seven years, but they couldn't get anything out of me."

She raised her wrist, revealing the dark red scar.

Claire straightened up a bit; this fellow inmate was interesting.