Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 120
120. Childhood Friends - Meeting
In a conference room of the capital's church, decorated in a vintage style, eighteen elders sat around a massive round table. All were men dressed in white priestly robes.
“Then, regarding the war between the Kingdom of Bellita and the Kingdom of Astin, let us follow the saintess's directive and inform the royal family to abstain. Shall we move on to the next item?”
They were the fourteen high priests and four cardinals forming the core of the capital's church.
The person wearing a bright yellow shawl was a high priest, and the one wearing a deep purple shawl was a cardinal. Among them, Cardinal Mihael alone wore a plain, undecorated priestly robe.
“Next is the Kingdom of Aster. Currently, there is nothing particularly noteworthy. Recently, the king tried to arrange a meeting between Prince Pablo de Klaus and a princess from the Kingdom of Aisel, but the prince firmly refused, causing the plan to fall through.”
The elders nodded, and the issue concerning the northern kingdom was swiftly passed over.
The high priest in charge next distributed a stack of documents.
It was clear they were discussing the continent in a clockwise manner, as they began mentioning the Kingdom of Aisel.
Surprisingly, he seemed to know all about the political situation in the distant eastern continent’s magic kingdom, which was farthest from the Holy Kingdom.
However, those seated were not surprised at all, because this was the capital's church.
The Holy Church handled all communication across the continent.
Priests used their holy powers to converse regardless of distance, collecting information from all over the continent and sending it to the capital's church (the headquarters of the Holy Church).
The conversations among the nobles were also heard by the communicating priests and sent along, making the capital's church the top intelligence agency on the continent.
“Cardinal Fidelio, do you have any additional comments?” Cardinal Mihael asked.
It was a round table where everyone was equal, and his tone was polite, but he seemed to be speaking as if he were at the head of the table.
However, the other three cardinals did not seem displeased with his attitude. The high priest responded courteously.
“He only conveyed the information, without any additional comments.”
“...Please warn Cardinal Fidelio to be cautious. He has been stationed in the Kingdom of Aisel for almost 20 years now. He must have formed many friendships among the nobles... I am concerned he might get caught up in political conflicts.”
“Understood. I will convey that message.”
“Thank you. If there are no further matters to share, let us move on.”
“Next is the Kingdom of Conrad. Since Prince Eric de Yeriel declared himself the heir, there have been no significant changes, except for a recent incident that has stirred the entire kingdom. The grandson of Duke Tertan was murdered.”
“Again?”
A cardinal in a purple shawl asked in surprise.
“You mean another heir of such a grand noble family has been killed? Last year, wasn’t the heir of Count Porte in the Kingdom of Bellita murdered? That... Gilbert Porte, right?”
“Yes. But this time, it does not seem to be an accidental incident. According to the report from the Lutetia Church, it was carried out by a knight who served Prince Leo de Yeriel over a decade ago.”
“When did this happen?”
“It... occurred late last autumn.”
“...Hmm.”
An awkward silence fell over the group.
The Lutetia Church, located in the capital of the Kingdom of Conrad, had continuously shown reluctance to actively participate in the affairs of the capital's churChapter The reason was Cardinal Verke, who was stationed in the Kingdom of Conrad...
Seventeen elders cleared their throats to break the awkward atmosphere.
“...Cardinal Verke goes on pilgrimage around that time every year. I think that’s why the report was delayed. Let us move on to the next item. It should be the turn of the Kingdom of Orun, correct?”
Cardinal Mihael’s words noticeably brightened the atmosphere. It wasn’t that he had resolved the situation, but rather that the subject had been allowed to pass by the concerned party, to everyone’s relief.
It was an open secret that Cardinal Verke and Cardinal Mihael did not get along well.
It wasn’t personal animosity; sixteen years ago, they had a heated debate, which rekindled the capital's church after the [Doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers].
Both were the foremost theologians of their time.
There was no clear winner in that debate.
Soon after, newly appointed Cardinal Verke was sent to the distant Kingdom of Conrad.
He was elegantly ousted from the capital's church.
“Yes, the Kingdom of Orun is scheduled to hold the Akine this year. As expected, the first prince, Athon de Lognum, has been designated as the heir, and unlike the Kingdom of Aisel, there appears to be no disputes. The date of the Akine has not been disclosed yet, but it is expected to be held on the birthday of the twin princes.”
The high priest in charge of the Kingdom of Orun said this while simultaneously organizing the documents, indicating there was nothing more to report.
Cardinal Mihael asked,
“What about the matter we discussed last time? The one about the gang in Nevis being wiped out.”
“Oh, it seems that was not a significant issue. Since then, there have been reports of massacres within the illegal arms-dealing gangs... According to the investigation by the Nevis Church, it appears to be the work of Marquis Gaiden.”
“You mean there were consecutive incidents, but no separate reports?”
Cardinal Mihael’s eyes sharpened.
The church was required to report immediately in cases of large-scale murders or serial killings.
The high priest, flustered by his questioning, shuffled through his documents and added further explanation.
"According to the report from the Nevis Church, it seems our suspicions about the nobles using the gangs for power struggles were correct. Around late autumn, the Theovic family, a gang involved in the weapons trade, sent out a large caravan, which was ambushed. The wagons carrying the weapons were secretly sent to the lands of Marquis Gaidan. As you may recall, Marquis Gaidan has been under pressure from the princes. Based on these circumstances, the Nevis Church concluded that this power struggle might erupt ahead of the heir's succession ceremony."
“...I see. Still, convey that they should remain vigilant. The followers of the evil god have not been eradicated yet. It’s not the time to be complacent.”
“Understood. I will tell the Nevis Church to maintain their investigations.”
“And you mentioned a large weapons caravan being ambushed. How large was it? What exactly happened?”
As Cardinal Mihael asked for details, the other cardinals thought his obsession was surfacing again.
Cardinal Mihael, well-versed in ancient theology, had a tendency to emphasize the threat of the evil god.
However, there hadn’t been any major issues for a thousand years since Saint Azra, so his worries seemed somewhat exaggerated.
There were occasional incidents involving minor followers of the evil god, but they were quickly subdued. Whether these were acts of the evil god or simply misguided individuals running amok was unclear.
Cardinal Mihael pressed on seriously,
“Are you saying there were no survivors from a caravan guarded by four hundred men? Is that even possible?”
“If Marquis Gaidan mobilized his knights, it would have been simple...”
“That doesn’t make sense. Didn’t you just say the nobles opposing the marquis are waiting for the Akine? If the marquis had done something so blatant, they would have taken action. The fact they haven’t means they aren’t certain the marquis is responsible. If knights were involved, they would have surely noticed... wait a minute.”
Cardinal Mihael’s expression grew even more severe as another thought struck him.
“...Marquis Gaidan is an unbeliever, correct?”
The marquis had a notorious past involving a highly publicized incident where his only son was kicked to death by a blessed pony.
This event was often cited by theologians as an example of the difficulty in interpreting divine will, and it remained etched in the cardinal's memory.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“...Send the crusaders to the Nevis ChurChapter This might be a harbinger of a terrible disaster.”
“A disaster, you say...?”
“An apostle of the evil god may have appeared. In the worst-case scenario, Marquis Gaidan himself might be the apostle...”
Oh no, here we go again.
When Cardinal Mihael abruptly stood up, declaring, “This is not the time for this. I must see the saintess,” the cardinals and high priests couldn’t help but chuckle.
An apostle of the evil god.
Cardinal Mihael was the only one who still believed in and guarded against such legends so fervently.
In fact, the church’s campaign to expel barbarian tribes worshipping false gods thirty years ago was initiated by Cardinal Mihael.
Despite exterminating numerous barbarian tribes, no apostles ever appeared.
Occasionally, there were strange priests using bizarre rituals, but they were powerless against the holy spells of the priests, leading to significant criticism of Cardinal Mihael.
Yet, he never wavered in his beliefs, earning a reputation as a 'brilliant clergyman but somewhat senile.'
Even though he had been a cardinal for nearly forty years, no one dared to say this to his face...
Nonetheless, the cardinals followed Cardinal Mihael, and as expected, received a trivial response from the saintess.
“No divine oracle has been delivered. Only Vinar has spoken, and it’s the same as last time. The three rivers set by the deity are flowing as they should...”
“Is that so? Then we are indeed fortunate. It seems it’s not a major issue. My apologies for causing such a fuss.”
“Oh, there was one more thing.”
As Cardinal Mihael was about to sigh in relief, the saintess spoke.
“He told me not to leave the capital church for any reason until autumn. He said there’s something I must do then.”
“In autumn?”
“Yes. I don’t know what it means. The only thing I do in autumn is conducting ceremonies for the apprentices...”
That’s it, we’re done.
The cardinals clicked their tongues, and Cardinal Mihael spoke.
“...May I dispatch the crusaders to the Kingdom of Orun? I sense an ominous sign.”
“Go ahead. The deity neither commanded it nor forbade it. This is our choice.”
“Understood. Thank you.”
Bowing respectfully, Cardinal Mihael left the saintess’s room and quickly organized the knights for deployment.
Without a divine oracle and with opposition from the other cardinals, only half were sent.
However, some priests with experience dealing with barbarians were included due to his insistence.
‘It better not be something major...’
Cardinal Mihael sighed.
The deity was not lenient. As someone well-versed in ancient theology, he knew this better than anyone.
Natural order.
It seemed like paving the way for something better, but it was a retrospective view, and the process was often unbearable for the people of that era.
Such as a massacre...
Though history recorded it in just a few lines, it must have been a great tragedy for those involved.
Still, seeing the 150 crusaders with the emblem of the Holy Church setting out gave Cardinal Mihael some peace of mind.
An apostle of the evil god.
He knew well that the recorded apostles weren’t that formidable.
Their power grew extremely slowly, and even after sacrificing thousands, they couldn’t withstand the combined forces of just two hundred crusaders and priests.
The record of an apostle who served the evil god Oriax was the worst and most representative case.
Excluding the apostles handled by Toddler Akiunen and Saint Azra, who were closer to myth than history, that was the most powerful they got. The current forces leaving the Holy Church would be enough to subdue Marquis Gaidan if he were an apostle.
The departure ceremony was concluded simply.
Cardinal Mihael returned to his office, keenly aware of the political situation in the Kingdom of Orun. He postponed his pilgrimage to the Count Simon family...
The book he borrowed to read in the carriage was returned to the library.