Chapter 163

There are words in the world that are never welcome, no matter when you hear them.

Words you’d rather not hear at all, if you had the choice.

Yet, there are words you must listen to, words you inevitably hear.

This time was no different.

—

“…Late, you say?”

“Yes. From what I’ve heard, Prince Matthias is expected to arrive by tonight. So… he should be at the Imperial Palace by now. I hope it’s just a false alarm, though.”

Lacey sighed again.

Her calm demeanor only made me more flustered.

“No, then this is the time to…!”

As I hastily tried to get up, Lacey reached out and stopped me.

“Calm down. Are you planning to storm the Imperial Palace at this hour? On what grounds?”

It was true—I hadn’t been invited, so I had no justification. And there was no way to force my way in either. But…!

“Stop it. The sun has already set, and the sky is dark. There’s nothing more we can do today, at least. If you want to meet Prince Matthias, you’ll have to wait until the sun rises tomorrow.”

“Easy for you to say…!”

You can stay calm because you don’t have proof that the Empress is a witch, but I do. It’s clear that if we leave things as they are, he’ll die. And you’re telling me to just wait until tomorrow?

This feeling is unbearably frustrating. How am I supposed to sleep like this?

“It’s not about being calm. It’s about the fact that going there now would be pointless. If Empress Isabella has decided to kill the 4th Prince, he’s already dead. If she hasn’t, then storming in would be meaningless either way. It’s a waste of effort. If you’re planning to commit a meaningless suicide, I have no choice but to stop you.”

…Her words were firm and logical. Enough to make me sit back down. Damn it.

I slumped back onto the sofa. To soothe my rising frustration, I downed the holy water Lacey had given me.

“Feeling a bit calmer now?”

“…Yeah. Thanks to you.”

Right. As Lacey said, the matter of Matthias was out of my hands now.

What I needed to do was think about what would happen if Matthias died and how I should respond, not recklessly try to stop it.

Once I thought about it that way, my anxious mind seemed to settle a bit.

Lacey smiled and poured more holy water into my glass. I took another sip.

…It was truly refreshing, unlike anything I’d ever tasted. It calmed my emotions and cleared my head in an instant.

It would be perfect if it had some carbonation.

Come to think of it, when she said she was sorry for only having water to offer, it was actually a humble statement. Her holy water was probably worth dozens of times more than ordinary holy water. Even high-quality black tea would pale in comparison.

…And I just gave her plain water.

“I’m glad you understand. As for Empress Isabella and Prince Ernst… let’s discuss it again tomorrow after we see how things unfold. If the Prince’s whereabouts become untraceable, then we can start suspecting the Empress, as you said.”

She was being diplomatic, but it sounded like she wouldn’t take any action until Matthias was dead. So, what, she wants me to hope for his death?

“What do you plan to do if the Prince’s whereabouts become untraceable?”

“Then, I’ll fully trust your word.”

“…That’s it?”

Is there no more practical help? I get that moving too aggressively might make it seem like the Church is trying to pressure the Imperial authority, but still…

Noticing the hint of dissatisfaction in my tone, Lacey lightly shook her head and continued.

“With mere suspicion, we can’t officially excommunicate the Empress or put her on trial for heresy. It’s unlikely she’d try to kill the 4th Prince without any precautions, so there’s a limit to how much we can interrogate her based on that.”

Quite a cautious attitude. When you suspected Ophelia of being a witch, you were ready to hunt her down and burn her at the stake.

Whether I took it the wrong way or not, Lacey continued.

“So… first, we need to find evidence of her wrongdoing. I plan to request members of the Church’s Secret Martyr Apostles for this purpose.”

What’s that? Secret Martyr Apostles? Sounds like three fancy words strung together.

“The Church’s covert operatives. They are martyrs who willingly perform even acts that go against doctrine to eradicate heresy. If even they can’t uncover evidence, then I’ll bear the full brunt of the backlash… but they will definitely find proof.”

“Just hearing about it makes it sound like some top-secret stuff. Are you sure you should be telling me this?”

Lacey’s gaze shifted to my waist—more precisely, to the sword at my side… Durandal.

“As you said, this is information that shouldn’t be shared with those outside the Church’s core. However, as the wielder of the Oath Sword… a direct descendant of the Twelve Knights, and having awakened the sword, you hold a rank equal to the Archbishop in doctrine. So, there’s no issue.”

An Archbishop, huh.

Without even realizing it, I’ve gained a grand title.

A bitter laugh escaped me.

…Come to think of it, I’m practically a power broker among power brokers.

The Princess of Ka`har. Descendant of the Twelve Knights. Baron of the Empire. Eastern Margrave and heir to the Imperial Electorate.

And now, a high-ranking clergy of the Elpinel Church, equivalent to an Archbishop.

Most of these are unannounced secret titles, but with all this, I have a title that even a prince might envy.

“An Archbishop… doesn’t feel like a word that resonates with me.”

“For now, it’s an unofficial title. It seems you’re reluctant to make it public, after all.”

Well, of course.

According to Marquis Ludwig, he was appointed as the Elector of the Empire in exchange for not revealing his lineage as a descendant of the Twelve Knights.

…Is Paleon the same?

“Since we’re on the topic, let’s talk about that sword. The conversation about witches got a bit sidetracked, but now we can get back to the main point…”

“The main point? About the sword… Yeah, I was curious what you were going to say.”

Lacey took a deep breath.

What on earth is she going to say?

With a mix of unease and subtle curiosity, I waited for her first words.

“Let me get straight to the point. If you lose in the Empire’s power struggle, would you consider coming to the Holy Kingdom? As the commander of my personal guard, the Special Holy War Unit.”

“…That’s a pretty abrupt proposal, hard to understand.”

“Then let me explain in detail. About my goals and the meaning behind this proposal.”

Lacey leaned closer to me.

Her blue eyes burned with religious fervor and a sense of mission.

—

The Holy Kingdom of Elphirem, located in the western part of the Empire, is a religious state founded by the eleven surviving church orders after the religious wars.

Though now unified under the Eleven Divine Faiths, each of these orders originally held different religious views.

Elpinel, Shaulite, Keres.

Vimos, Menes, Bølberg.

Grimnir, Astraea, Imela.

Cranus, Aushrine.

The current Holy Kingdom is governed by the highest leader, the Saintess, and the cardinals representing each church order—twelve clergy members in total. The positions below vary slightly between orders.

In reality, the Elpinel and Shaulite orders, the two largest, decide most of the agenda.

“Then what’s a Saintess candidate?”

“It’s a title given to those who have received the divine mark, one from each order. Some gods haven’t bestowed a mark in over a hundred years, so the number isn’t always eleven. In terms of hierarchy… it’s somewhere between a cardinal and an archbishop.”

“Does one of them become the Saintess?”

“Yes. Through the cardinals’ council, the most devout is elected as the Saintess. By the way, currently, there are only two Saintess candidates in the Holy Kingdom: me and the candidate from the Menes order.”

She sounds proud, but…

If she’s from the largest order and only has one rival, yet still hasn’t been recognized as the Saintess, shouldn’t she be reflecting on herself rather than boasting?

…If that reflection led to this speech, then I have nothing to say. It’s like she’s going full throttle in reverse.

“I haven’t heard about the Menes order’s Saintess candidate. Is she in the Holy Kingdom?”

“Yes. She’s still young, so she’s focusing on learning within the order without much external activity.”

Wait, she’s losing to a kid?

If she ends up failing to become the Saintess, she’ll be too embarrassed to show her face.

“…Alright, let’s move on. So, what do you mean by asking me to join your personal guard?”

“First, I should explain the Holy Kingdom’s military system. The Holy Kingdom of the Eleven Divine Faiths may seem united, but in reality, it’s not. The military is composed of independent forces from each order. You could say the military power is split into eleven branches.”

That’s quite interesting.

The basic organizational structure is the same.

Paladins instead of knights, combat priests instead of mages, and holy legions as the regular troops.

But the quantity, quality, training, and specialties vary drastically between orders.

Unless it’s a war requiring the entire Holy Kingdom’s forces, they don’t fight together. Recruitment and deployment are left to each order’s discretion.

Just like how only the Elpinel order’s troops were deployed in the Einfeld battlefield.

…With this, it’s more like a federation of eleven small nations rather than a single country.

“The Elpinel order’s troops are among the Holy Kingdom’s elite, but they suffered significant losses in the Einfeld battle. Unlike the Shaulite order, which preserved its forces.”

“…So you want to pull me into the Elpinel order’s holy knights?”

“Specifically, into my personal guard. While regular paladins must follow the cardinals or the Holy Kingdom’s orders, my personal guard is entirely under my command. Sir Median, you’d only need to follow my requests. It would be less burdensome for you.”

“I don’t even know where to start, but first, I’m not a paladin. I can’t use holy power.”

“That’s not a problem. The new unit I’m planning to establish, the Special Holy War Unit, isn’t limited to paladins.”

Special Holy War Unit, huh.

In my experience, units with words like “special” or “elite” attached to them never end up doing anything normal.

—

As expected, the unit’s purpose Lacey explained was brutal.

Special Holy War Unit for the Execution of Extermination Missions Against Non-Human Races.

Shortened to the Special Holy War Unit.

The founding goal was the extermination of non-human races hostile to humanity.

…What does Lacey think I am to make such a proposal?