CH 45

The entire square was in an uproar. While it was shocking, the crowd couldn't help but feel that Grundy had done a lot of bad things that even his wife and daughter didn't like him anymore. It could be said that his wife and daughter didn’t want to get involved with him. His family was destroyed.

Kaleqi, who stood beside Paladin, looked at the girl—who was still smiling sweetly–-in puzzlement and shock. He couldn't understand how a girl less than ten years old could say such a cruel thing.

The wife who was standing behind her turned pale instantly. She was about to slap the girl when she noticed Paladin's sinister gaze. Her hand came to an abrupt halt. She had no choice but to put up with it for the sake of herself and her daughter's future.Grundy, on the other hand, simply shook his head and smiled wryly. It was no longer a surprise to him. At this moment, he already knew how to see through Paladin's tricks.

The little girl was a little afraid of the crowd's reaction, which was either taken aback or sighing. In her opinion, she had done nothing wrong. To this day, she remembered this gentle older brother telling her not long ago that her father had done something bad and wanted to leave them. The only way she could save her father was by letting him burn.

If her father was burned, his wrongdoings would be wiped clean, so there was no need for him to leave them. The little girl was haunted by the big brother’s words. Moreover, she believed that she couldn’t live without her father. Thus, she must follow the big brother's instructions and let father burn!

Convinced that what she was doing was the right thing, the little girl's eyes became firm. At that, Paladin sighed instead. He stood up and said, "Grundy's wife and daughter have already expressed their displeasure with Grundy's actions. For the sake of their future, I decided to give them the factory under Grundy's name and the factory under the Prad family’s name. Let Captain Kaleqi manage it on their behalf. So they could be clothed and fed well in the future. Afterwards, let them leave this sad place and go to other towns to settle down."

At this moment, the crowd began to speak. "The priest is a good man. And, the two factories, ah, surprisingly he doesn’t want to take them for himself."

"The priest is too poor, take care of him more on weekdays in the future."

"Hey, what a waste, giving the factories to this heartless mother and daughter.”

The wife, on the other hand, looked at Paladin’s gentle expression in shock. Trying to see some hints of his true feelings. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find it at all. In her heart she couldn't help but wonder, "This priest, is he really going to give me the factory?"

She didn't expect Paladin to be so gracious. However, Kaleqi just gave Paladin a look and remained silent. Apparently, Paladin had gestured something at him. Paladin observed the crowd’s reaction beneath the platform, took out two factory deeds from his sleeve, and handed them to the wife.

"It’d be hard for you to watch, take your daughter down. What happens later must not be seen by her."

Thus, the wife wailed and immediately ran off the stage, clutching the deeds and her daughter in her arms. She didn’t even give Grundy another glimpse. All this was seen by the three old men hiding in the distance. Nari and Chira were silent.

Dorren suddenly exclaimed, "What a powerful and vicious kid. I'm starting to like him a little."

Nari interjected angrily, "Doesn't Grundy want to say something? This is equivalent to dividing his entire possessions in front of him. Grundy's wife and daughter are miserable. I don't know if they'll make it through the day."

Chira suddenly retorted, "Do you think Grundy can still speak out? He’s either sedated or his tongue was severed! Hmph, in all the years I've been doing business around the Duchy of Kasmi, I've never seen such a ruthless and unscrupulous kid."

Although Chira’s assumption wasn’t right, he wasn’t far from the truth. Paladin was very satisfied with the situation. When he suddenly clasped his hands together, the chattering crowd below immediately went quiet. They heard him saying, "Grundy, you are about to receive the trial of the sacred fire. Do you confess to your crimes?"

As soon as he said that, everyone immediately looked at Grundy. Grundy, who couldn't express his anguish, could only stare at Paladin with hatred. It was as if he wanted to firmly remember Paladin’s appearance in his heart, so he could seek revenge on him should he become an undead. Ignoring Grundy’s glare, Paladin nodded and said, "Since you don't speak, you are tacitly acquiescing. Guards! Start the fire!"

Several guards removed torches from the wall, went to the pile of dry wood beneath Grundy, and threw the torch onto the dry wood sprinkled with kerosene. Immediately, raging flames like fiery snakes danced around Grundy. After a while, the tongues of flame climbed onto Grandy's body and reached his collar and nostrils. It burned everything that could be burned.

"AAHHHHHHHH!” Grundy couldn't speak, but it couldn’t stop the scream caused by the severe pain all over his body. The scream made people shiver. It was as if the scream had merged with endless resentment and unwillingness. Some people even couldn't bear it and turned their heads away, not daring to see such a tragic scene again.

Paladin, on the other hand, watched with delight as Grundy's screams faded, his clothes turned to ash, and his body turned to coals, exposing the burnt black bones. Gradually, the bones began to mangle. Eventually turning into bone fragments and disappearing together with the burning stake. Grundy was no longer in the world anymore.

People left one after the other after the cremation. The guards cleaned the remains of the stake, sorted the ashes in a jar, and handed it over to Paladin. Paladin looked at the square that had become quiet and returned to the church with a smirk.

As soon as he entered the church, he saw Kaleqi together with Grundy’s frightened wife and curious daughter. Waiting for him for quite a long time. Paladin smiled and said to Kaleqi, "You didn't bring any guards, did you?"

"No, Of course not." Kaleqi replied.

However, he saw Paladin waving his hand and said, "You will run the factory in the open and the contract will be given to you. I only need 30% of the income. The rest is all yours. How about it? Are you okay with it?"

Kaleqi was taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized that as a priest, it was difficult to show up to work. Furthermore this option was also out of the question for Paladin. Kaleqi naturally nodded in satisfaction and promised, "This way, as long as there are no accidents, you and I will be allies in offense and defense, in advancing and withdrawing."

Paladin smiled incontestably. He went up to the wife with a dark expression and said, "Where is the contract? Give it to me."

Trembling, the wife took the contract out of her sleeve and reluctantly handed it over to Paladin. Paladin smiled and was about to take it away when he felt the wife's death grip on the contract, unwilling to let go. Paladin looked at the woman and suddenly his heart was on fire. He slapped her across the face. With a bang the wife’s body hit the table. She howled as she fell to the ground.

The daughter was so terrified that she knelt down to assist her mother and yelled angrily, "Brother, why did you beat my mother?! You said that my father would not leave us as long as he is burned!"

At this moment, the wife, whose cheek was in pain, sat up in shock. Her face was filled with hatred. She pointed at Paladin and tremblingly said, "You inhuman monster! How dare you deceive a little girl?! You scum!"

Paladin grunted with great disdain and turned back to hand the contract in his hand to Kaleqi. When he saw Kaleqi's heartless expression, he suddenly warned, "The benefits of being my ally are obvious to you. Now you have taken the majority of shares. You also have a share in the death of her husband. So, why hesitate?"

Kaleqi nodded perceptively. He finally put on a straight face and left without looking back. As for how the mother and daughter would be treated by Paladin, it was no longer a question he wanted to know the answer to. He only knew that now, he was really rich. His family and his son could live a happy and beautiful life. And, that was enough.