Bab 265: [Chapter 265] One thing is clear
"Did you return after finishing your business well?"
Caymil got straight to the point as soon as she met with the messenger she had sent to the Papal States.
The messenger was first struck with awe at the fact that she had taken over the Imperial Palace's audience chamber in the short time he had been away to the Papal States. It was an achievement that was difficult to achieve, logically speaking, regardless of whether he liked it or not.
But at the same time, being human, he was afraid. On his way into the Imperial Palace and up to this audience chamber, he had hardly encountered anyone. It was as if the minor nobles who had been trying to curry favor with the Imperial Family by frequenting the court and the attendants who had been constantly decorating the building with bright colors had disappeared.
Who would have imagined that the Imperial Palace, of all places, could be eerie?
Feeling fear even at his own presence in the empty, ghost-like audience chamber, the messenger politely reported to Caymil, who was sitting on the throne in golden robes, looking down at him.
"I have done as you commanded, Your Highness."
"Did the Pope seem to know about the past events?"
"He seemed to be unaware, Your Highness."
"What's your basis?"
"He didn't seem hesitant when we talked. If the Pope knew something, he should have shown fear or dislike when the topic of the past came up, shouldn't he? Moreover, other priests were watching us when we were talking."
"Good. I thought that fox had gone mad because he was close to the Grand Duke and Duchess."
No matter how great the Pope is, his power comes from the faith of countless believers. The belief that he represents God's righteous laws. The belief that faith can save even the most wretched beggar when secular power is corrupt.
There's no need to even accuse them of quickly aligning with power, when out of all the religions that existed, only the Timoios religion rose to prominence. It's enough to say that Bisto betrayed the other two heroes and distorted their memories, and that the temple supported the Imperial Family instead of siding with the weak in the process, and the Pope will face a tremendous political ordeal.
So what the messenger conveyed was a strong ultimatum. Join us now, or we'll sink together.
"It's better if the Pope didn't know the truth and was shaken, but it doesn't matter if he already heard from the Grand Duchess or found out on his own."
Is that so? The messenger was taken aback, realizing that the latter assumption also made sense. The Pope seemed like a very pure and devout man, but had he been deceived and returned without doing his job properly?
Caymil's eyes shone with strength.
"Those high priests are nothing but self-serving people, generation after generation. Truly pure people can't rise to high positions. You said you did as I instructed, meaning you saw the high priests in the Papal States entering the meeting. You said they were well out of the way at a time when they would be most curious about my intentions."
"Yes, Your Highness. That is correct."
"They will be arguing among themselves, dividing into factions, and panicking, while we settle things here."
The current Pope was openly close to the Grand Duke and Duchess, so there was no intention of absorbing him anyway. What Caymil wanted was time.
The messenger couldn't understand why she was so confident. Rumors were rampant that the Grand Duke of Maindeland and the unprecedented army he led would soon besiege the Imperial Palace.
The messenger had been readily appointed to the dangerous role of threatening the temple because of this desperate situation.
But what could he do now? He could only believe in the last hope of the Imperial Family.
As the messenger left, another figure entered the audience chamber, as if taking his place. Caymil greeted him warmly.
"Welcome, Ulrich. Are you ready?"
Caymil's people, who had previously been hidden in the shadows, were now moving freely around the court like nobles. Those who had seen what Abelus had suffered dared not mention etiquette or status, and all kept their mouths shut.
Ulrich, the magician who had been hiding his presence, even casting sinister curses on Silver Moon, was practically taking the position of court magician. He was capable of doing more than most past court magicians, so he didn't seem to mind.
"I'm ready. This dagger will activate the seal immediately upon contact with the target's body."
Ulrich pointed to the dagger he was wearing on his belt. Caymil nodded, and a shadow from Silver Moon approached and took the dagger.
Caymil glanced out the window. The moon was rising earlier than usual today.
"Number 39, Number 41, Number 52."
She wasn't calling out to the shadows present. The shadow who understood the meaning of taking those three bowed. After all, there were no spares except for those three.
Caymil declared quietly, as if giving an order.
"When the full moon rises, make the Grand Duchess sleep forever. If you capture the Grand Duchess, it's a good thing, because we confirmed last time that the Grand Duke is incapable of making rational decisions without her."
Without them, the Maindeland army would be nothing more than a handful of rebels surrounded by countless Imperial citizens.
'Then, at that time.'
It didn't matter what conclusion the Pope reached. He couldn't be trusted anyway, so he would be eliminated eventually. Caymil no longer cared what the people thought of her.
What did the betrayal of those people matter if she got her hands on the power of Elandria?
Ulrich thought Caymil's ambition was as clear as a black flame to him. He, who was destined to rot in the sewers for his entire life despite his extraordinary talent because he never had the opportunity to properly learn magic, and Caymil, who was a brilliant candidate but almost missed the throne because no one recognized her worth. The two were very similar.
His life had changed completely when he met the young princess. Now it was his turn to change her life.
Ulrich bowed deeply, his heart filled with respect and loyalty, among other emotions. Then he stepped back from Caymil.
As Ulrich left the audience chamber, he saw Nellusion leaning against the door, as he had been for some time. Ulrich gave him a blatant, mocking smile.
'What a fool.'
Caymil, with Nellusion's help, had completely eliminated Abelus's remaining supporters in the court. In an ideal world, one could be a great monarch and the other a brilliant statesman. The two of them worked very well together.
But this wasn't that kind of world. Nellusion had joined Caymil's ranks, demanding the Grand Duchess as his reward. And both Caymil and Nellusion knew that the price wouldn't be paid properly.
The two were now waiting for the right moment. The moment to cut off each other's air supply to monopolize what they wanted.
Ulrich believed that the victor would be his mistress. She would be given power that a fake hero's descendant could never obtain. Ulrich would make it happen.
Nellusion watched Ulrich's confident stride with cold, sunken eyes.
***
"One thing is clear."
The Lily Palace's grand hall, bathed in autumn sunlight, was filled with white priestly robes.
In the time of the former Pope Omnitus, their priestly robes would have been adorned with large jewels, and the fireplace would have been decorated with golden ornaments, disguising their elegance with heavy light. But in the current Papal States, it was considered very bad taste for high priests to indulge in anything more luxurious than the fabric of their clothes and the threads embroidered on them.
The finest warm fabrics and gold threads already boasted the value of works of art, but some of the priests, accustomed to luxury, initially voiced their displeasure. However, with the stern Adams wielding his sword without exception, and the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by Omnitus' illegitimate children being linked to the bad image of their deceased father, such complaints soon subsided. Especially after the Lily Palace had sold off all its luxury goods.
Now they shone with the dazzling brilliance of their pristine white linen. Adams didn't demand greater austerity from them. After all, he was a man who had come this far because he knew the realistic line.
One of those priests in white robes, receiving the attention of his colleagues, bluntly concluded.
"The Bisto family is insulting holy duty and trying to use the past situation for their own selfish desires."
Everyone present solemnly nodded in agreement. Ren, seated at the head of the meeting room, smiled warmly.
Princess Caymil probably believes she knows how the priests' hearts will flow. It was true that most of those present were children of noble families, so they were similar in mindset to Caymil. If Ren had not ascended to this position, they would have probably all rushed to please the Imperial Family and preserve their positions, as she wished.
But the current Papal States were different from the Papal States under Omnitus' rule.
'Everyone thinks they are noble.'
Human beings, even if they are serial killers, are bound to believe that they are not that bad. If they can't think that way, they are deeply troubled.
That was the same for the high priests who confessed their sins every day. They had lived like secular nobles before, but now they had more reason than ever to be proud of themselves.
The priests, no longer adorned with jewels, surprisingly prayed more actively and helped the poor believers than before. And they began to subtly despise anyone who wore more luxurious clothes than themselves.
Having developed a taste for their own piety and nobility, the high priests, being from noble families, were also strong-willed. Regardless of their support for Ren's policies, none of them could look kindly upon a secular monarch who wanted to control the temple at will.
The priests' eyes turned to Ren. Ren nodded solemnly.
"The sins of the first are certainly grave. As you have seen, the first deceived all mankind and joined hands with evil. Although Bisto's act of slaying the evil dragon was itself for the sake of mankind, just because there was a good deed does not mean that the wrong deeds disappear, does it? To have spoken of what is right and what is wrong with such a history is truly a shameful thing."
The priests, having read all the records of the first Pope, silently agreed. Ren raised his somber eyes and looked around at everyone in the meeting room.
"But just because we are ashamed of that wrong, we should not cover it up and build another wrong on top of it, should we? We have learned from many figures in the scriptures that hiding a wrong for too long will eventually trip us up."
The priests, having read all the scriptures, silently agreed again.
If they bowed to the Imperial Family this time, they would be giving them a perfect weakness from that moment on. Considering the nature of Princess Caymil, who is pretending to be the Crown Prince and controlling everything in the Imperial Family, she would probably use the temple to her heart's content whenever the Imperial Family was in trouble, not only in the current war but also in the future.
When he was sure that everyone was thinking the same thing, Ren finally smiled faintly. It was a merciful smile that made those who saw it forget all the shackles they had been bound by.
"Therefore, I propose that we let all the faithful know the truth and show them what it means to truly repent for past wrongs. It would be a good example for our faithful. However, it seems unnecessary to reveal the old story in too much detail. Fortunately, the Grand Duke and Duchess, descendants of the victim, wish to reconcile."
Ren's suggestion to spread a slightly modified version of the old history, interpreted in our way, was bold. But the high priests here were already prepared to agree. After all, with the play and the completed "Betrayal" being such a hot topic, there was no need to give the faithful a long and complicated explanation.
They just needed to say a few words during their sermons. That it was like this and that, and that the content was true. The faithful who loved the protagonist of the play were likely to react positively to the fact that the story was history.
Of course, some modification would be needed regarding the actions of the first Pope... But there were other Popes who had been criticized in the past. It wouldn't be a big deal if the first Pope was added to that list, would it?
The white-robed priests rose as Adams announced the end of the meeting. They quickly left the meeting room to inform the parishes under their influence of the results of the meeting.
It was predicted that by the time the next full moon rose, preparations would be complete to ensure that no one on the entire continent would be unaware of the truth about the three heroes.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone