Chapter 534

While I was sound asleep, Lacey wiped out the remaining opposition forces in the Holy City overnight by taking down the head of the Keres Church Order.

No one could stop her momentum. With the right cause and the support of the citizens, and even my reputation backing her, Lacey was like a bulldozer with a claymore attached.

A murderous bulldozer that sent every obstacle in her path straight to the afterlife. A “killdozer,” if you will.

Even excluding Paulus and Wolfgang, there were already five cardinals who had directly fallen to Lacey’s hands, so no one wanted to be the sixth.

There was no one left in the Holy City with power greater than hers, and even the Astraea Church Order, the only entity that could potentially restrain her, showed no intention of intervening as long as she had the justification.

Probably because of me.

If I had opposed Lacey, the Astraea Church Order would have condemned her actions, but instead of opposing her, they sided with her, showing a willingness to tolerate her as long as she didn’t cross the line.

Honestly, if it weren’t for me, Lacey wouldn’t have been able to attempt anything involving force. This time, it was only because I rode around on a unicorn, announcing my presence throughout the Holy City.

If I had shown my face, it would have been clear that I was weakened, but since I was veiled, the citizens of the Holy Kingdom saw me as having recovered from my injuries and returned to full strength.

The Imera and Ausrine Church Orders, who had initially hesitated at Lacey’s proposal to launch a surprise attack on the Keres Church Order, immediately agreed as soon as I reappeared.

—

The first thing Lacey did after seizing power in the Holy City was to reform the governing system that formed the foundation of the Holy Kingdom.

Everyone thought she would ascend to the position of Saintess and rule the Holy Kingdom, but Lacey took a completely different path.

Saintess. A position akin to the throne of the Holy Kingdom, attainable by only one person in a generation. Yet, at the moment she could have claimed it, she shattered the throne itself.

Of course, she didn’t literally smash it, but she abolished the existing governance structure where a Saintess elected by the cardinals ruled the Holy Kingdom.

“I thought you’d choose to be appointed as the Saintess. Or at least follow the original plan and elevate Agnes.”

Leaning back on the sofa in the reception room, chewing on grapes instead of pastries, I asked Lacey why she made such a choice.

“It wouldn’t have been difficult now. But doing so wouldn’t change anything. It might be fine while I’m alive, but after I return to Elpinel, divisions and conflicts would arise again.”

“Hmm… So?”

“Through this homecoming, I realized something. The truth that the source of all these factional conflicts is the fact that while there are many gods protecting humanity and many who receive the Holy Mark, there is only one position of Saintess.”

Lacey saw the position of Saintess itself as the root of factional strife. Every time a new Saintess was born, the power dynamics between the Church Orders shifted dramatically, driving the cardinals to focus on strengthening their factions rather than devoting themselves to pure faith.

“So you abolished the position of Saintess?”

“Not so much abolishing… More like dispersing it. What was actually abolished was the ambiguous position of ‘Saint Candidate.'”

She argued that the title of Saint Candidate itself was too secular and blasphemous.

Since they had all received the Holy Mark, they were equally divine, yet some were recognized as Saintesses and granted absolute authority, while others were merely called ‘Saint Candidates’ for their entire lives.

The secular governance structure meant that a ‘candidate’ title was attached to those directly chosen by the gods, which she found utterly blasphemous.

“Therefore, I proposed to the cardinals that we eliminate the term ‘Saint Candidate’ and refer to all of them as Saintesses.”

“Cardinal Ernliter actually accepted such a proposal?”

Recognizing all the Saint Candidates from every Church Order as Saintesses meant dispersing the ruling power of the Holy Kingdom that the Saintess position once held.

The title of Saintess would no longer signify the leader of the Holy Kingdom but merely the representative authority of each Church Order.

Even if they could overlook Lacey’s radical actions, given his stubborn nature, I thought he wouldn’t cooperate in changing the traditions and principles of the Holy Kingdom itself.

“It was thanks to Sir Median. In a private meeting, he suggested that I be recognized not just as the ‘Saint Candidate of the Astraea Church Order’ but as the ‘Saintess of Order.’ Even though it wouldn’t be publicly announced, it seemed to mean a lot to him.”

…He’s really making good use of me.

—

And so, three Saintesses were born in the Holy Kingdom. Officially, there were only two.

The Saintess of Grace, Lacey ‘Elmain’ Staldorf.

The Saintess of the Moon and Dreams, Agnes ‘Menesillia.’

The Saintess of Order and Justice, Ha-shal-leur ‘Astika’ Median Ai-shan Gi-or.

The title ‘Astika’ is a traditional baptismal name given to the Saintess of the Astraea Church Order.

Though I never underwent a baptism, being recognized as the Saintess of the Order Church by the cardinals naturally led to the bestowal of the name Astika.

With Ka`har, the Empire, and now the Holy Kingdom, I practically hold triple citizenship, making my name ridiculously long.

If I inherit Landenburg, will ‘von Landenburg’ be added to that…?

It must be hard for people hearing it for the first time to remember.

—

Lacey’s announcement of abolishing the Saint Candidate position caused a huge uproar in the Holy Kingdom.

Her declaration essentially stated that she had no intention of sitting on the Holy Kingdom’s throne and would instead distribute the power she would have held among the Saint Candidates of each Church Order.

But that wasn’t all.

She argued that for the Holy Kingdom to regain stability, it needed to return to the old ways of prioritizing the words of the gods over secular laws. To achieve this, she proposed elevating the status of the Saint Candidates, who were below the cardinals in the Holy Kingdom’s laws, to the position of overall leaders of each Church Order, replacing the cardinals.

She claimed that the tradition of cardinals, who dealt with secular matters, being above the bearers of the Holy Mark who represented the will of the gods, was the root cause of the Holy Kingdom’s secularization—or rather, its rapid decline.

The new Saintess position she defined had less power than the previous Saintess but more authority than the former Saint Candidates.

If she had made such a statement when she was just a Saint Candidate, it would have been seen as mere agitation to strengthen her own power.

But since she willingly gave up absolute power, no one could accuse her actions of being driven by a lust for power.

The citizens, too, couldn’t stop praising Lacey, whose actions contrasted sharply with the power-hungry cardinals.

—

“Assassination?”

Lacey’s sudden mention of this came while I was enjoying a nighttime stroll in the cathedral garden after dinner, having put Rana to bed and smoking a cigarette.

She looked exhausted, her eyes filled with fatigue.

Reforming centuries-old traditions of the Holy Kingdom was no simple task, and since arresting Rosof and abolishing the Saint Candidate position, she seemed busier than ever.

She was often buried in paperwork or meeting with key figures from other Church Orders, sometimes even skipping meals.

Meanwhile, I was lounging around, finally feeling my strength returning, and had come out for a light workout.

“Yes. During Rosof’s interrogation, I learned that he had planned to assassinate Sir Median while he was bedridden. He thought that without Sir Median, my actions would be curtailed.”

…I almost died in my sleep? No, but still…

“You’re saying this like it’s the first time I’m hearing about it… Does that mean no one knew? Then how am I still alive? Did he just plan it and not carry it out?”

“I killed all the assassins.”

Oh, geez.

At the sudden voice, I jerked my shoulder and turned my head.

In the darkness of the night, a pair of bright eyes and a faintly smiling set of teeth floated in the air, glinting.

A stealth technique impossible for humans. The half-black, half-fairy Hersh, who uses her racial traits better than anyone, had appeared beside me without notice.

“When did you get here…?”

“Huh? I’ve been resting here the whole time.”

Was that so? It was impossible to distinguish her in the dark, so I had to rely on sensing her presence, but since my body wasn’t in top condition, I hadn’t noticed.

“Ah, right… Next time, don’t just stay quiet. Come out and at least greet me.”

“Okay! I’ll do that!”

You really scared me. Even with my body in bad shape, not noticing her at this distance… Is this level of stealth possible in complete darkness?

…Isn’t she more dangerous than I thought?

In a direct fight, she might not stand a chance, but with this level of stealth, she could probably assassinate even a master at night.

“So, what did you just say? You killed all the assassins?”

“Yes. I killed them all and buried them in the garden!”

…This garden? You’re telling me there’s a bunch of assassin fertilizer under my feet right now?

“They weren’t bad, but… the moment they attempt an assassination is when assassins are most vulnerable. I targeted that moment and snapped their necks!”

“This is the first I’m hearing of this. Why didn’t you report it?”

“Uh… Was I supposed to report it?”

Caught off guard by Lacey’s questioning, Hersh tilted her head. In the dark, only her eyes and teeth were visible, making her look eerily bizarre.

No, of course, you should have reported it. Isn’t that common sense?

“In Holon, it’s a common occurrence, so I didn’t think it was necessary to mention… I’ll report it next time!”

But for a half-black, half-fairy raised in brothels and social dens, human common sense didn’t exist.

Assassins, thieves, and rapists sneaking into bedrooms were everyday occurrences, happening every few days.

So the idea of reporting such things never crossed her mind.

Unless it was an overwhelming enemy, minor nighttime attacks were too trivial for her to even mention.