Chapter 524: False Rumours...Or Not?

"Well..." Stella said. "The first whispers said that after recovering, he ordered the capture of the maid who had poisoned him. But instead of executing her, he..." She hesitated, her eyes flicking toward Joy, who was still silently reading. "...he did things no proper man should ever do."

"You mean..." Maria’s lips parted in disbelief.

Stella took a slow breath before saying,

"Yes. It’s just as you think. They said...he forced himself upon her...and not just her, but all the women in his mansion. The maids, the attendants—every last one. That he bound their wills somehow, perhaps through charms or forbidden magic, and made them his."

"Surely not!" Maria gasped audibly, covering her mouth.

"I know." Stella said with a troubled nod. "But the stories only grew worse. They said he turned his entire estate into a den of sin."

"That he stole daughters from commoners and wives from their husbands. That he took pleasure in breaking families apart. Even that he seduced noblewomen, high-ranking ones, and claimed them as his lovers, some even married women of the court."

"That’s...that’s monstrous!"

"And it doesn’t stop there." Stella said grimly. "Rumors even claim that he took the entire Holy Guard—the most noble and honorable brigade of female knights in the empire and made them his wives, especially the three leaders. That they serve him now in secret, bound by lust instead of loyalty."

Maria’s mouth fell open.

"No...No, that can’t be! I’ve met those girls many times before! Three of them even escorted me to the cathedral last winter, such noble women! Such dignity! There’s no way they’d...fall like that!"

Stella gave a small, resigned smile.

"That’s what everyone thought, Sister Maria. But rumors like that spread faster than truth ever could. Before long, it became a plague across the continent—the tale of the Depraved Noble, Cassius Vindictus Holyfield."

"Parents in the capital would scare their children into obedience by saying, ’If you don’t behave, the demon noble will come for you!’"

"They actually said that?"

"Oh yes." Stella said wryly. "Some even said he hides under their beds at night, waiting to steal them away if they disobeyed their parents. Others said he was always waiting in the shadows waiting for his next prey."

"He became less of a man and more of a ghost story. Everyone feared him, despised him...and yet, everyone talked about him."

"He became legend...a living sin wrapped in nobility."

"Such atrocious rumors...it’s only natural that people would fear him." Maria nodded sadly. "He was born cursed, and now living cursed...What a life to live."

"Yes, it’s just as you say." Stella sighed softly. "And since those rumors reached even the royal capital, they also reached our ears—and, naturally, Saint Joy’s as well."

"Ah, yes, of course!" Maria nodded quickly, her curiosity piqued again. "And once my daughter heard such things, she must have launched an investigation immediately, didn’t she?"

"You know her well, Sister Maria." Stella smiled faintly. "The Saintess doesn’t care for rank, wealth, or bloodline. If a crime is committed, she seeks punishment, divine or mortal."

"And so, a full investigation began to uncover the truth behind Cassius Vindictus Holyfield."

"And? And? What happened?" Maria leaned forward eagerly, her eyes sparkling with both dread and fascination. "Did you find something? Was he finally caught?"

She then shook her head fervently before adding,

"Oh, I do pity him, truly I do, for the cruel life he’s lived. But if he’s committed such evils—such horrid acts—he must face punishment. Surely, the Goddess would demand no less!"

"So, tell me, dear, did you find proof? Was he arrested?"

At this, Stella’s expression turned uneasy. She hesitated, glancing briefly toward Joy—still silent, still pretending not to listen, though her quill had stopped moving mid-word.

Finally, Stella exhaled and said quietly.

"That’s where things get...complicated."

"How so?" Maria tilted her head in confusion.

"Because..." Stella said, her voice uncertain. "...even with so many rumors, so many testimonies, and so much noise surrounding his name, when it came to actual evidence, there..."

"...there was none. Not a trace."

Maria’s eyes widened in shock.

"None? But that’s impossible! If it were any other investigator, I might think they’d missed something—but you all are the best at what you do. Surely you must have found something! Some clue, some trail?"

Stella’s shoulders slumped as she shook her head helplessly.

"We looked everywhere, Sister Maria. We questioned every servant, traced every whisper, even shadowed his mansion for weeks. But nothing."

"No proof of coercion, no signs of forbidden magic, not even a single woman who would speak against him. Every lead we followed vanished into air."

Joy’s quill strained between her fingers like she was getting irritated about how it all ended in failure, but she said nothing.

"And so..." Stella lowered her gaze. "...after all our efforts, the only conclusion left to draw was that...he hadn’t committed any crime at all."

"That Cassius Vindictus Holyfield was, by every measurable law and record...innocent."

The moment those words left her lips, a sharp—SNAP!—cracked through the air.

Both Maria and Stella turned their heads instantly—only to see that the quill in Joy’s hand had been split clean in half.

A small droplet of ink slid down her fingers, staining her glove, but she didn’t even flinch. Her face remained eerily calm—but her eyes, those icy blue eyes that so often looked unmoved by blood or chaos, now gleamed with something far more turbulent.

Beneath that still mask, there was clear frustration. Anger.

Stella sighed quietly, recognizing that look all too well.

Her Saintess, calm as she appeared, was a storm beneath her holy robes. She glanced helplessly toward Maria, then gave an exasperated smile.

"Well." She said carefully, trying to diffuse the tension. "the situation gets...even worse."

Maria blinked, startled. "Worse? How can it possibly get worse? You just said he’s innocent!"

"Because the more we investigated..." Stella gave a wry smile. "...the stranger everything became. Not only was Cassius Vindictus Holyfield innocent of all charges, but what people said about him only made it more...complicated."

Stella clasped her hands, leaning in as she spoke.

"As you know, during any investigation, we question the people involved—the witnesses, the servants, anyone connected to the accused."

"Similarly, e conducted an extensive survey across the Holyfield estate, covering almost everyone who could possibly know him. And the results..." She gave a humorless chuckle. "...were shocking, to say the least."

"Oh, now you’ve truly hooked me, my dear." Maria’s interest deepened. "Tell me what they said."

"Every single person we spoke to, from the lowest maid to the oldest farmer, spoke of him as though he were a saint." Stella said while looking like she was having a headache.

"The maids he supposedly enslaved? They praised him endlessly his kindness, his generosity, his fairness."

She let out a chuckle at how absurd it was

"It was as if we were asking them about a divine hero, not a lecherous noble. Some of them even cried while describing how grateful they were to him."

Maria’s mouth fell slightly open before saying,

"Surely you thought they were bribed?"

"Of course." Stella said quickly. "That was our first suspicion. We thought they’d been paid off or threatened into silence. But there was something...off about their expressions."

"They weren’t afraid. They weren’t lying. Their eyes...there was sincerity there. Devotion, even. They spoke like people who truly believed in him, as though he were their savior."

Maria bit her lips, her curiosity deepening.

"So..." Stella went on. "We thought, fine, maybe the household’s been trained to say that. So we left the mansion and went into the village. We asked the commoners, the shopkeepers, even travelers passing through the Holyfield territory."

"And to our utter astonishment..." She spread her hands helplessly "...it was the same story. Everyone praised him."

"Everyone?" Maria blinked, baffled.

"Everyone." Stella repeated. "They said he was kind, charitable, protective. That he donated money to repair bridges, paid for orphans schooling, fed the hungry, and personally tended to injured villagers."

"Some said the estate was thriving for the first time in decades. And no matter where we went, it was the same, the people spoke of him with love, admiration, and loyalty."

"That’s...that’s unbelievable." Maria leaned back, utterly bewildered. "I’ve seen nobles bribe a few dozen people before, maybe a few hundred if they’re desperate."

"...but to influence an entire estate? Impossible! Someone, someone, should have slipped up!"

Stella chuckled ruefully.

"That’s exactly what we thought. We looked for inconsistencies, contradictions—anything—but there were none. His record was spotless. Too spotless. It was uncanny."

She sighed, rubbing her temple.

"It was almost as though he wasn’t just a noble—it was as if he was some kind of legend the people genuinely worshipped. They described him like he was the hero of a fairy tale, not a man."

"And the strangest thing of all?"

Maria tilted her head. "What’s that?"

Stella looked thoughtful.

"Those who haven’t met him—the nobles from afar, the outsiders, the ones who only heard the rumors—they’re the ones who speak of him as a monster, a depraved demon."

"But anyone who’s actually met Cassius Vindictus Holyfield? They say the opposite. That he’s kind, wise, even noble of spirit. Some even say he’s the only nobleman a commoner could ever truly trust."

Maria was silent for a long moment, her lips parting slightly in astonishment.

"That’s...truly strange." She murmured. "In all my life, I’ve never heard of a case like this. Usually, the public sees people as one or the other—good or evil, saint or sinner. But this man...he’s both, and yet neither. It’s like two entirely different worlds exist around him."

Her expression softened with sympathy.

"Still, if the people who know him speak well of him, doesn’t that mean the rumors are just that...rumors?"

"Perhaps some cruel person spread them out of jealousy. And if there’s truly no evidence, then why is everyone still so concerned about him?"

Maria looked to Stella, perplexed.

"Why not just leave the poor man alone?"

At that, Stella’s smile faded. Her gaze flicked hesitantly toward Joy, who was still reading the now ink-stained reports.

Stella hesitated for a long second before finally leaning closer to Maria.

"Well...that’s what we thought too." She admitted quietly. "Most of the sisters in the order wanted to close the case. After all, there’s no proof of wrongdoing, and he’s done nothing to warrant punishment. But..."

Her eyes darted again to Joy.

"...Saintess Joy refused."

"Refused? Why?"

"She said she would not rest until Cassius Vindictus Holyfield was brought to justice." Stella said gravely. "That she would not stop until the Goddess’s will was done."

Maria blinked in confusion.

"But that makes no sense. My daughter is many things, but she is not unfair. She has never harmed anyone without proof. She’s merciless, yes—but only toward the guilty. She’s always believed in evidence, in truth!"

"Why would she chase a man who’s been proven innocent?"

Before Stella could answer, Joy finally spoke.

Her voice was cold and when she turned her eyes toward her mother, there was something fervent and dangerous burning within them.

"Because, Mother..." She said quietly. "...the Goddess has directly ordered me to purify him."