Chapter 424

Finally, the paladin, who had been making a fuss about my arrival, opened the cathedral doors wide at Lacey’s request. His attitude was so smooth, it was as if he would have wagged a tail if he had one.

Even though Lacey’s reputation had hit rock bottom, it seemed that was only limited to other church orders.

“Ah, Lady Elmain! Have you returned?”

“Welcome back, Lady Elmain! It’s been years…!”

The churchgoers inside the cathedral also welcomed her enthusiastically.

“It’s been a while, Sir Emil, Sister Yuana. Have you been well?”

Lacey responded to their hospitality with a bright smile. Despite it being almost three years since they last met, she seemed to remember all their faces and names without hesitation, continuing the greetings without pause.

“Um… the person next to you, could it be ‘that’ Sir Median?”

“The one who personally slaughtered thousands of heretics in Holon…?”

Some of them showed interest in me, but they didn’t approach me directly, instead cautiously asking Lacey about me.

“Yes, that’s him. Though the number of thousands is a bit exaggerated.”

At Lacey’s answer, they let out soft exclamations and glanced at me with strange looks. Their expressions were a peculiar mix of fear and admiration, like children facing a dinosaur.

—

Afterward, Lacey took only me to Cardinal Drexler’s prayer room and office. The rest of the party decided to tour the cathedral under the guidance of Lilliez and Bels until the meeting was over.

There seemed to be plenty to see, so they wouldn’t get bored.

“What kind of person is Cardinal Drexler?”

“Are you asking about the Cardinal?”

Lacey tilted her head slightly, placing her right hand on her chin as if choosing her words.

“Hmm… what kind of person… Well, he is more devout than anyone in the church order. He carries the sternness of heaven and the mercy of grace in his heart, hates evil, and loves good… To me, he was like a teacher and a grandfather.”

She spoke of Drexler in a tone that seemed to reminisce about old memories. It wasn’t particularly helpful information.

A teacher… So, the old man who instilled the ideology of exterminating other races in Lacey?

—

After walking through the cathedral’s corridors for a while, we finally arrived at Drexler’s office. Or rather, in front of the office door.

An arched doorframe with carvings of angels on both pillars. Above it was a nameplate that read ‘Antonius Drexler.’

Lacey stepped forward and lightly knocked on the wooden door to announce her arrival.

“Your Eminence, it’s Lacey Staldorf. May I have your permission to enter?”

“…Come in.”

The voice was low, faint, and hoarse, reminiscent of a dying old man. Well… if you’re over seventy, you’re pretty much on your way out.

“Excuse me.”

Lacey, who had paused for a moment, opened the door and stepped inside. I followed her.

“…It’s been three years. Have you been well?”

Cardinal Drexler was like an old tree planted in a desert. That is, he looked so dry that he seemed devoid of any moisture, and his stubbornness gave off an impression of being cranky.

He had collapsed from the strain of establishing the diocese, they said. His sunken eyes showed signs of illness, and his complexion was pale.

He looked like he should be in a sickroom rather than an office, yet he was wrestling with piles of documents on his desk.

If he were to participate in the Holy Flame Chicken Race, wouldn’t he drop dead as soon as the fire was lit…?

“Thanks to Elpinel’s care and the blessings of your prayers, I have been well. But… it seems you have not been well. You look very tired.”

Lacey also seemed a bit shocked by Drexler’s appearance, her pupils slightly trembling. Drexler looked at her as if to say, “Do you know whose fault this is?” but he didn’t voice any reproach.

“And you must be… Count Median. The descendant of the Twelve Knights… the Knight of Radiance. I’ve heard of your fame in the Empire.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Eminence. I am Ha-shal-leur of the Median family.”

I greeted him politely, placing a hand on my chest and bowing my head.

A knight’s etiquette so perfect it could be called textbook. It seemed to surprise Drexler, who let out a soft exclamation.

He must have imagined me as a rough, rude, and brutal person… Though I usually skip formalities out of laziness, I had mastered etiquette long ago.

“Yes. Nice to meet you. Don’t stand there awkwardly, take a seat. Lacey, you too. We have much to discuss.”

Drexler pointed to a long bench opposite his desk. When he spoke to me, he had the kind smile of a grandfather on borrowed time, but when he looked at Lacey, his eyes burned as if lasers might shoot out.

…Seems like there’s a lot of pent-up frustration.

—

From then on, the conversation between Lacey and Drexler continued, so I had no choice but to listen to their argument like a sack of rice.

“…Lacey. Do you know what you’ve done?”

“In the name of the Great Celestial Church, I unified the Empire’s dioceses, exterminated the vile heretics and witches lurking in the heart of the Empire, and led the Empire’s strongest knight to the Holy Kingdom. Just as you taught me, to spread the radiance of heaven across the land.”

Lacey seemed to feel sorry for Drexler’s weakened state, but once the argument started, she responded with a confident attitude, as if asking what she had done wrong.

“…Thanks to you, the Great Celestial Church has weakened unprecedentedly, and the Holy Kingdom, having lost its balance, has begun to split. Lacey. Look at the chaos outside. The turmoil you’ve caused.”

Drexler raised his thin arm and pointed out the window.

“Are you saying I caused this chaos…? That’s unlike you, Your Eminence. If anyone is to blame for the Holy Kingdom’s turmoil, it’s not me but the cardinals of other church orders who revealed their claws like a pack of wolves at the first opportunity.”

Lacey’s response was firm, and not entirely wrong. While Lacey bore some responsibility for the weakening of the Elpinel Church Order, it was the cardinals who used it as an excuse to scatter and fight among themselves.

“Moreover, among them, there are surely those who have ties to witches… Those who couldn’t even filter out the followers of witches are the true culprits who should bear the responsibility for this chaos.”

“So, are you saying we should hold the cardinals accountable and crucify them? Like how you burned Archbishop Trier after the raid and forced a judgment?”

Drexler, losing the argument, brought up an extreme example. As one of the cardinals himself, he must have felt a sting from Lacey’s interrogation.

And Lacey nodded without hesitation.

“Yes. If necessary, that’s what we should do.”

Wait, what…?

Didn’t she tell me she had no intention of doing such things? Or was it that she couldn’t? Maybe her mind changed after seeing the Holy Kingdom.

“Are you serious…?!”

“I am always serious. Excuse me, but isn’t it you, Your Eminence, who hasn’t seen the current state of the Holy Kingdom? Demonic races have begun to threaten humanity again with their vile ambitions, the shadows of the city are filled with sinners like swarms of cockroaches, and monsters have begun to spread across the world. What is the Holy Kingdom doing now? Where has the old spirit of fighting for humanity, the pure zeal for salvation, gone?”

Lacey delivered a passionate speech, her tone slightly heated.

“In my eyes, the current Holy Kingdom is nothing but a breeding ground for corruption, consumed by lust for power. And… to restore the Holy Kingdom to its rightful state, I am willing to do anything.”

“…You are too extreme and radical. Yes. You’ve always been like that.”

“Just as you taught me, Your Eminence.”

At Lacey’s immediate retort, Drexler seemed at a loss for words, leaning back in his chair and clutching his forehead.

“You left for the Empire and came back even more stubborn…!”

“Perhaps. On the contrary, you have weakened greatly, Your Eminence. The one who once taught me that not a single child of the demonic races and evil should be left alive, to be offered to Elpinel… now you seem to fear sacrifice and are willing to tolerate corruption and evil deeds. Surely, the frailty of the body has brought about the weakness of the will.”

The level of criticism seemed a bit high. Listening to what was almost a personal attack, I wondered if I should intervene.

“…Yes. Perhaps. I have grown old…….”

Drexler let out a deep sigh. A sense of deep, almost terrifying fatigue was evident in his breath.

Lacey, who had been calmly observing him, nodded with a determined expression.

“I understand now. What Your Eminence needs most is not to worry about the future of the Holy Kingdom and wear down your already weakened body… but to step back from the front lines and take a proper rest.”

“What…?”

Lacey stood up and approached Drexler.

Very slowly.

As if taking a stroll.

“Your Eminence, you no longer need to sacrifice yourself for the church. You no longer need to bear the weight of the holy robes. From now on, I will handle all the church’s affairs.”

On the surface, it seemed like she was speaking out of concern for him… but for some reason, it sounded nothing but ominous to me.

“What are you saying, Lacey! What are you planning to do…?!”

“I am inheriting the church, Your Eminence.”

As she spoke, the office door swung open, and more than ten priests and paladins entered the room. At the forefront was Bels Rugna, Lacey’s closest confidant and leader of the Special Operations Unit.

“Take a good rest for now, Your Eminence. In the meantime, I will resolve all the Holy Kingdom’s issues. Without fail.”

Lacey smiled with an almost too merciful expression as she met Drexler’s eyes.