The Divine Hunter

ambushed—”

“Alright, stop it.” Roy raised his hand.
“Let’s not talk about that.
I have a far more pressing matter at hand, and I need answers, fast.”

“Ask away, Mr.
Roy.
We’ll help out if it’s about the killer.” Cleveland thumped his chest, and the other knights nodded.

“Tell me more about Simon.”

“Simon was a powerful and responsible knight.
He helped us out a lot, and he spent most of his time working in the castle.” Cleveland looked at the body sadly.
“He was a noble and humble man, and he got along with everyone.
On top of that, he would spend his free time helping the underprivileged in the city.
If you’re looking for the epitome of knighthood, then Simon would be the one to look for, not me.”

There was no need to insult the dead, so everyone had nothing but praise for Simon.
After everyone was done with their testimony, Roy rubbed his chin.
“Sounds like he was a perfectly brilliant knight.
I bet he was a ladies’ man, huh?”

“Not exactly.” Cleveland threw him a look of surprise.
He wondered why Roy wanted to know about that, but then he realized Roy must have found some clue that tied into the case.
“Simon was a handsome and courteous man, but his background was… complicated.” Cleveland hesitated to elaborate.

“Something you can’t talk about?” Roy advised, “Simon would want you to avenge him.”

Cleveland gritted his teeth.
“A true knight should never gossip about the dead, but I have no choice.
Please forgive me for what I’m about to say, Simon.” He sighed.
“Simon’s family came from Nazair, but ever since Nilfgaard took over, part of his family moved to Ellander.
They weren’t welcome, to say the least.
Because of the locals’ oppression, his family dwindled over the years, and he was the only descendant of the Patrigadin family.
Because of that, the local nobility refused his marriage proposals, despite him being a knight.
He could have married a civilian or a merchant’s daughter, but his pride wouldn’t allow him to.”

Cleveland could sympathize with Simon, since the order was in the same situation.
“The order’s in a similar situation.
Since our base is in Vizima, most of the kings’ ministers see us as outsiders.
The more obstinate ones trip us up every chance they have.
If it weren’t for the king’s generosity, we would have been chased back to Vizima by now.”

***

“Sorry.” Cleveland sighed.
“I got ahead of myself.
Let’s talk about Simon.
He spent most of his time working and never talked about women.
Probably because he was affected by the continued refusals.”

Another knight added, “Some of us would wind down at the House of Peacock at times, and Simon would come with us too, but all he did was drink.
He never did sleep with anyone there.
He was like an abstaining monk, or that was what we’d say.”

Roy observed the body closely, his hands crossed. If he’s as lustless as the knights say, why’d the killer pick him as the embodiment of lust? Was he a hypocrite? Or a loyal lover?

Then he saw Dennis waving at him from behind the knights.
Roy went up to him, and Dennis whispered, “I looked into everyone on the list.
Shoot, I looked into every knight.
All twenty-five of them.” Dennis gave him a piece of parchment.
“Their details are written right here.
Nicely done, I’d say.”

“Yes.
Thank you.” Roy read through it and asked, “Cranmer, anyone else in the order who came from Nilfgaard aside from Simon?”

“No.” Dennis shook his head.
“Everyone else is native to Temeria.”

“Anyone whose ancestor was a Nilfgaardian?”

“I have no idea about that.” Dennis almost leaped in fury.
“Don’t tell me you want their ancestors’ info.”

“No.” Roy shook his head, his expression gloomy. Simon’s dead.
That’s the biggest suspect gone.
If he was really the killer, he wouldn’t have finished himself like this.
There’s no way.
But I’m not convinced he’s innocent either.
His ancestor came from Nilfgaard, he was an upright guy, and he never dated anyone.
Even so, the killer chose him as the embodiment of lust.
And the whole ritual was done for that lady in the castle.
Is there a connection between them?

Roy went back to the knights.
He needed to verify something.

Cleveland coughed.
“Um, Mr.
Roy.
Pardon me, but have you found something?”

Roy stared back at the doubtful knights and nodded.
“I have an idea who the killer is.
Can anyone here take me to Simon’s place?” He scanned through the knights.
“I’ve checked the other victims’ homes, and now I need to check Simon’s in case there’s a clue there.”