Chapter 554

Leopold, who had regained as much dignity as a wig could provide, seated us on the sofa in his office and calmly inquired about the events that had transpired.

He asked us to explain in as much detail as possible what we had done in the Holy Kingdom, what our intentions were, and what we had gained from our actions.

It seemed he had already heard about the publicly announced information, but he knew almost nothing about the behind-the-scenes details that hadn’t been officially disclosed.

I summarized my experiences in the Holy Kingdom as briefly and accurately as possible.

“Most of it is just rumors. Except for the part about Seilon. The story about my relationship with Seilon is nothing more than a false rumor we agreed to spread. It was necessary to mend the conflict with the Astraea Church Order that arose from the Arad incident, and I was also tired of the constant discussions about my successor, so I spread that rumor.”

“Hmm… Given the Count’s personality, it’s hard to believe he would actually have a lover, so I suspected there was some hidden truth… but I never imagined it would be for such a reason.”

Leopold looked utterly baffled, as if he couldn’t believe I’d chosen to spread such a scandal for such a trivial reason. It was a familiar reaction. Everyone who learned the truth had reacted similarly.

I thought it was a clever move on my part, but was it really such a bizarre idea to the people of this world?

—

Given how much had happened, even though I tried to summarize as much as possible, it still took nearly ten minutes.

I mainly talked about the enemies I had faced, while Lacey occasionally added supplementary explanations, mentioning the political aspects I had glossed over.

“So… the Holy Kingdom has been normalized after losing half its military strength, the Imperial Diocese has been recognized as independent from the Holy Kingdom’s policies, and the status of the Saintess has changed from the supreme commander of the Holy Kingdom to a representative of each Church Order within the Holy Kingdom. Is that correct?”

“Pretty much.”

Leopold’s understanding was accurate.

The Church Orders within the Holy Kingdom are governed by their respective Saintesses, while the Church Orders within the Empire are managed by the Archbishop and the Imperial Archbishops, independent of the Holy Kingdom. That was the governance system Lacey had established through negotiations with the Cardinals.

Since Lacey, the Saintess of the Elpinel Church Order, also holds the position of Archbishop, it’s debatable whether the Imperial Diocese can truly be called an “independent” organization… but in principle, the Holy Kingdom’s diocese and the Empire’s diocese are completely separate.

“Though, by chance, all three ended up in the Empire instead of the Holy Kingdom.”

“…Three?”

Ah, I hadn’t mentioned that yet.

I tapped the bandage covering the Holy Mark on my chest and revealed the Astraea Church Order’s top secret to Leopold, who was looking puzzled.

“I became a Saintess. The Saintess of Order, chosen by Astraea.”

[This is proof that the world has gone mad.]

Though Hersela sneered, I didn’t argue because I felt the same way. Arguing would be pointless anyway.

“……”

Instead of responding, Leopold’s jaw dropped. He looked as if an axe had been lodged in the back of his head. Even if his dead mother had returned as a ghost, she wouldn’t have shocked him as much as this.

After staring blankly for a while, Leopold finally snapped out of it just before drool started dripping from his mouth. He leaned forward and interrogated Lacey.

“…Saintess? Saintess? Is that true, Archbishop Elmain?”

He seemed utterly unable to believe it.

“Yes. Cardinal Ernliter and I confirmed it. Astraea bestowed the Holy Mark upon Sir Median, appointing her as her earthly representative… ‘Astika.'”

“Good heavens…”

Faced with undeniable reality, all Leopold could do was lean back in his chair and let out a deep sigh.

“Doesn’t the Astraea Church Order have any female priests?”

“They do.”

Though fewer compared to other Church Orders, Bethania, who had accompanied me, was a female priest of the Astraea Church Order.

“Then why…?”

Well, how should I know? Even I don’t understand it.

—

Leopold, baffled by the unprecedented emergence of a battle Saintess, finally calmed down after downing a cup of tea on the table.

Though “calmed down” might be an overstatement—it seemed more like he decided not to think about it further since it wasn’t detrimental to the Empire.

If there had been a rule that Saintesses must reside in the Holy Kingdom, his wig’s hair would probably be falling out by now.

However, as sorry as I felt for his scalp, the shocking news I had to deliver wasn’t over yet. There was still the warning from Rotholandus, the story about the Heavenly Barrier and the Holy Grail.

The resurgence of ancient powers among the demi-humans, the appearance of monsters far stronger than before, and even the revival of dragons.

As I spoke, Leopold’s face grew increasingly stiff. I could almost hear the cries of his hair follicles.

After a long silence, Leopold, with a complexion as dead as his hair, looked at me with desperate eyes and blurted out something completely unexpected.

“…Count Median. Did you know? Your ancestor, Rotholandus’s mother, Berteia, was said to be the sister of Emperor Carolus the Great. It’s a royal secret, so I only learned of it after ascending the throne, but it means that you, too, have a bit of Carolus’s blood in you.”

…I didn’t know that. Rotholandus never mentioned it either.

If that were true, it meant I wasn’t a direct descendant of Carolus, but I was at least a relative.

“Uh… is that so?”

It was surprising, but the timing was so random that I was just confused. Why bring this up now?

Of course, I soon found out why.

“That means there’s no problem with transferring the throne to you.”

“…Excuse me?”

Leopold started spouting nonsense, shaking his head.

“Isn’t that right? A descendant of Carolus passing the throne to another descendant of Carolus—it’s only natural. Yes. No problem at all. I shall abdicate and pass the throne to you.”

What do you mean no problem? Nonsense has its limits, but this is just…

“Think about it. The reason such chaos has befallen the Empire must be due to my lack of virtue, no? There’s no other explanation for why such things are happening only during my reign. Even if you combined all the hardships faced by previous emperors, they wouldn’t compare to the trials I’m facing now. Surely, the gods are punishing me for ascending the throne through a civil war among kin. Therefore, someone as virtuous as you, who has received the Holy Mark, should become Emperor and bring peace to the Empire, no? Right? Say it’s right.”

His rambling made it clear that he was half out of his mind from stress and pressure.

“Uh, Your Majesty? Let’s calm down first. Take a deep breath…”

I was just bewildered. It hadn’t even been a year since Leopold became Emperor, and he was already breaking down. He was talking about resigning and quitting.

“How can I calm down! The events so far have pushed both me and the Empire to the brink, and you’re telling me this is just the beginning? We have to prepare for attacks from monsters far stronger than before and dragons that only existed in legends? Elpinel, why are you doing this to me…!”

Leopold literally began lamenting to the heavens. Certainly, as the ruler of the Empire, he must have felt an enormous burden.

With a crisis on the scale of Carolus’s era and the added threat of monsters, the Empire’s heroic forces were fewer than six, let alone twelve.

Still, I never expected him to try dumping everything on me and running away.

[Hah, he might even start crying. An Emperor weeping and escaping reality—what a spectacle you’d pay a fortune to see.]

Hersela chuckled mockingly. Even she found this reaction absurd.

Of course, I wasn’t in a position to laugh. I had to calm Leopold down before he completely regressed into a child.

I asked Lacey to cast a calming miracle on Leopold and then did my best to soothe him.

“Now, Your Majesty. Think positively, positively. Though it’s hard to put into words how serious this is, isn’t it fortunate that we found out in advance? It’s a hundred, no, a thousand times better than suddenly having to face a dragon. Whether it’s dragons or monsters, if we prepare well enough, there’s no reason we can’t handle them. I’ll do my best to take them all down.”

It went without saying that being prepared was far better than being ambushed.

In the original story, the Imperial Capital was destroyed by a single Insect-Dragon, Nidhogg, precisely because no one expected a dragon to emerge from beneath the Empire.

“And besides, it’s not like you can just abdicate to me, right? Who in the Empire would agree to me ascending the throne? Every noble would rise up in rebellion.”

Abdicating to me would be the fastest way to destroy the Empire. Rebellions would break out everywhere, and suppressing them would drain the Empire’s resources entirely.

Even if I were a noble—well, I am a noble, but if I were in the shoes of the other nobles, I’d revolt too if someone like me suddenly became Emperor.

“Elpinel, Carolus… why have you brought such trials upon me…?”

After desperate persuasion, Leopold finally admitted there was no way out of his responsibilities and let out a deep sigh. His hair follicles sighed too, shedding tears of hair.