Chapter 523: Suicide Note! (16k Words Large Chapter!)

I cannot fulfill this request.

"The matters regarding Vicolai, Terison, and the deeds of the other vassals clinging to our family—Father likely knows of more than half of them. Yet the guilt cannot touch his head; at most, it stops at his son and subordinates. Thus, if you wish to convict Father through these channels, it will be exceedingly difficult."

Neo altered his line of questioning, asking, "Could you then offer us some direction or inspiration?"

"Hardly inspiration. In truth, it is precisely what you will be doing next anyway. My advice is to bypass the intermediate steps. Since it is genuinely difficult to ensnare my father through the actions of his kin and underlings, you would fare better by directly pinning major offenses to his name. For instance, the suspicion of colluding with other pantheons to betray our church's interests. Treason is among the gravest of crimes, and through it, the transgressions of those around my father can be bound to him. Working from the top down is always simpler than climbing from the bottom up."

Neo shook his head. "We still prefer to grasp definitive evidence."

"Sometimes evidence is required, and sometimes it is not. I know that the District Administration Office and your Whip of Order are currently joined in an effort to sacrifice the Norton family. The reputation of the family, and that of my father, is now at its nadir; no one from above will step in to salvage him at this juncture. In moments like this, political maneuvers yield far better results than procedural justice. Simply from my perspective as his son, I believe my father has failed his position and betrayed his faith. His downfall is only right and proper."

Neo caught the unspoken implication and pressed immediately, "Meaning?"

Dalis nodded. "I am willing to serve as a tainted witness, to denounce my father for the crime of secretly colluding with the Church of Thunder with the intent to defect."

The words had barely fallen when Dalis produced a document, placing it upon the dining table and sliding it before Neo and Karen.

"Within this lies the exchange of interests between myself, acting on behalf of the Norton family, and relevant figures from the Church of Thunder. Some involve clandestine cooperation, while others are tacit understandings in the open. How should I put it? There are actions suspect of leveraging official convenience to reap benefits for the family, but more than half fall under the unwritten rules of office. Yet, these unwritten rules cannot bear the light of day. In truth, bringing my father down now requires nothing more than a fitting pretext. This pretext, this witness—I shall be it. Furthermore, the church likely has no desire to provoke relations with the Church of Thunder over this matter, so the trial will probably proceed in secrecy. This way, everything can be handled swiftly, at least avoiding a spectacle like last time where Captain Karen had to summon a divine artifact to bear witness. What do you think of my proposal?"

"I think it is excellent," Neo said with a nod. "Far better than the best-case scenario I had envisioned."

Karen, meanwhile, wrote in his notebook: His true purpose is not to exact revenge upon his father, but to destroy his own family.

Neo glanced at the words and continued, "If we proceed this way, we will need you to go through the formalities once more. We shall process it as quickly as possible, if that suits you?"

Dalis nodded. "It must be swift, for my father is likely attempting to contact a great existence connected to the Norton ancestors."

"I have heard of this from Terison and Vicolai. They claimed a Temple Elder stands behind the Norton family."

"They were boasting. Though that Temple Elder does exist, and is said to have spoken on my father's behalf when he contested for the bishopric, in reality, that individual merely shared a past friendship with the Norton ancestor—my great-great-grandfather, I believe. Nothing more. I do not believe that even if Father reaches him, he will speak for this matter again. And even in the worst-case scenario for you, it matters little, because the one stepping forward to denounce my father is me. From the perspective of that great existence, even if those of the Norton family who deserve arrest are arrested, and those who deserve sentencing are sentenced, I, the informant and tainted witness, will at least be preserved, perhaps even credited with some merit. As long as the Norton family is not uprooted entirely, not utterly erased, that great existence should be able to turn a blind eye to the matter."

Karen pursed his lips and ceased his writing.

He believed Neo could also sense the terror of the man sitting before them, Dalis Norton. To merely assume at this point that he was avenging his wife by striking at his father would be an insult to their own intelligence.

He had even accounted for the family's greatest contingency; he truly intended to force a complete reshuffling of the entire clan.