179. No Winners In War

"Archbishop, you used to tell me that you hated Count Jartel's Prima! That the man was too nosey regarding the Church's finances." 

"He was, Lord Bard," Archbishop replied, not liking all eyes on himself. 

Sylvester rubbed his chin and closed his eyes, trying to remember all the times he had seen the man. The man was overly worshipping and never lied to him about anything in the interrogations. 

"Did he ever take the money from the church?" He questioned. 

"Of course." Archbishop blurted. "He knew he could not tax the Monastery directly. So instead, he increased the taxes on those businesses that I helped raise with no-interest loans." 

Sylvester mumbled a few things under his breath. His mind tried to remember every single person he had met since his arrival, and there appeared nobody with the brain to do something so elaborate. The killings and schemes were too much for a man if he was not a wealthy lord with too many contacts.