Chapter 129: The Price of Innocence

Within a private room of the underground casino, at Old Ram’s shop—one of the Tea Party’s hidden outposts—Alice relayed the news of Leah’s abduction by the Inquisition to the Mad Hatter.

“Expected,” the Mad Hatter responded placidly.

“Expected?” Alice paused, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. “Did you already anticipate the Inquisition would come for her?”

“I’ve been involved in underground activities for over a decade,” the Mad Hatter explained, shrugging. “I have a fairly good understanding of the Inquisition’s methods.”

“Once they identify a suspected heretic, their next move is to target that person’s family to track their whereabouts. Sometimes, their tactics can be rather… forceful.”

Alice gasped, startled. “Then why didn’t you—”

“Why didn’t I tell you sooner?” The Mad Hatter finished her sentence. “Because it would have been pointless.”

“Given your need to conceal your identity, you couldn’t have directly warned the girl, and even if you had, it wouldn’t have helped. Besides, knowing the Inquisition would seek her out, we wouldn’t have risked contacting her ourselves.”

“Yesterday’s cleanup alone left us scrambling. You have no idea how long I spent sneaking around with that girl before we finally reached our hideout.”

“What will happen to Leah?” Alice frowned slightly. “The Inquisition wouldn’t directly convict her of heresy, would they?”

“Don’t worry, they won’t,” the Mad Hatter calmly assured her. “While Inquisitors are ruthless, they’ll quickly realize that girl holds no value for interrogation.”

“From our experience, she might suffer a bit, but she will ultimately be released.”

“The Inquisition will release her? You’re so certain?” Alice sounded doubtful, as all the rumors she’d heard about the Inquisition spoke of people entering but never returning.

“Many people in the Tea Party, ourselves or our relatives, have experienced the Inquisition’s ‘tea.’ For you, it’s a terrifying legend; for us, it’s an opponent we deal with daily. We are the experts in this area. Please, will you trust us?” the Mad Hatter responded casually.

Alice was momentarily speechless.

Indeed, she had no reason to doubt the Tea Party’s experience in this matter. However, even if Leah were released, she likely wouldn’t be able to return to her studies at the academy.

The Saint’s Academy had extremely strict requirements for its students’ backgrounds. Whether a family member was a major heresy suspect or if the student themselves was investigated by the Inquisition, either would be enough for Leah to lose her enrollment.

As for Martha, her situation was even more dire. She had become a ‘blessed’ of the Abyss, which, in the Church’s eyes, made her no different from a witch, a bloodkin, a werewolf, or a necromancer—all ‘blasphemers’ who had to be purged. Moreover, her condition was already known to the Inquisition.

“Don’t worry, the sisters’ predicament is not entirely unrelated to the Tea Party, so we will take responsibility and find a solution for them—I’ve already made arrangements,” the Mad Hatter said, discerning Alice’s concerns.

“You already have a solution?” Alice was somewhat surprised.

“That little girl, Martha, woke up this morning. I spoke with her and generally explained what she had experienced. I invited her to join the Tea Party, and she accepted,” the Mad Hatter stated.

“Martha joined the Tea Party?” Alice was even more astonished.

“Not just her. She also brought up her sister’s placement, and I plan to invite Leah as well. We intend to find a way to take Leah once she’s released, so the sisters can reunite. However, even after her release, that child will still be monitored by the Inquisition for years.”

“What should we do then?”

“It’s fine. The sisters’ new residence is in a suburban village with a high immigrant population, where the Tea Party has eyes everywhere. It’s our home turf, making it difficult for the Inquisition’s monitors to operate. We are confident we can spirit her away right under their noses without them knowing.”

“The key issue is that they can no longer remain in the Imperial City. Martha proactively suggested she would be willing to go to our branch in the northern frontier—the Central Inquisition’s pursuit will be significantly less intense there,” the Mad Hatter replied.

“So, you’ve already taken care of everything,” Alice said, breathing a sigh of relief.

The Mad Hatter was far more reliable than she had imagined. Martha and Leah had suffered greatly and could not return to their old lives, but with the Tea Party’s support, they could at least find a way to survive.

“One sister is now a blessed, and the other is a law student from the highest academy, well-versed in Imperial law. Both are the *talents* we need, and the organization will provide them with appropriate treatment,” the Mad Hatter said with a smile, then changed the subject. “Compared to them, I believe your Paladin friend’s situation is probably more worthy of attention. The information I gathered suggests she has already been taken to the Divine Wrath Iron Prison.”

“As expected…” Alice’s face immediately fell.

Jeanne Decker, as she had feared, had been detained by the Inquisition.

“Have you tried to divine her fate?” the Mad Hatter asked.

Alice nodded in affirmation, then shook her head. “But I couldn’t divine anything.”

“The degree to which your fates are intertwined should be enough to divine a result. However, with witch divination, if a higher-ranking individual interferes, the results become blurred.”

“This isn’t surprising, because your friend’s situation, honestly, is quite complex,” the Mad Hatter said.

‘Complex?’

“The adopted daughter of the Northern Duke, the newly selected standard-bearer Saintess of the Church… This identity alone is enough to ignite a political struggle. Just as there were efforts to propel her to this point, there must also be efforts to oppose her—such is the current political climate of the Empire. Now, it’s just a matter of how those who support her and those who oppose her will contend,” the Mad Hatter analyzed, stroking his chin.

‘So grim?’

Upon hearing this, Alice’s expression grew even more somber.

The Liddell ducal family held vast territories in the south, but unlike Duke Alençon, who commanded the vanguard, they lacked sufficient influence over the central region. Even with the Duchess Liddell’s connections, it was unlikely she could sway a judgment of this magnitude.

“Worrying now is useless. You can only pray your friend is unharmed,” the Mad Hatter said, reaching out to pat Alice’s shoulder.

“I know.” Alice sighed.

She understood that truth, yet the worry was inescapable.

“Well, you performed excellently this time… or rather, you exceeded expectations. Many in the department want to meet you. Let me introduce you to some of the key members. The owner of the general store upstairs, whose codename is his public nickname, ‘Old Ram,’ will become the new head of this branch.”

The Mad Hatter tried to change the topic. “From now on, when you operate in the Imperial City, they will provide you with their full support.”