Chapter 233

Since a strange rumor began circulating in the capital,

“There is a large four-wheeled carriage that always has its curtains drawn, and it has been spotted at various locations throughout the capital.”

“It’s pulled by a very high-bred horse, and the carriage itself is undoubtedly made by the best workshop, but there are no crests or flags.”

“Whenever that carriage shows up, something bad happens.”

There were stories about a sadistic noble taking advantage of the chaos to delight in hunting humans, rumors about the bandit Valencius giving carriages to his concubines throughout the capital, and whispers that it was a carriage used by dark magicians to abduct sacrifices.

“Then at least put on a disguise crest or something, Your Highness.”

Konel sat across from Valencius in that carriage.

Valencius nodded with a mischievous smile.

“I never expected such rumors would circulate.”

He had only been using it for disguise, but as he had been going out more frequently lately, it was no wonder that people were seeing it everywhere.

“However, thinking about it, the rumors might not be entirely incorrect.”

“Excuse me?”

“Whenever something bad happens, I often happen to be there. Of course, the order is reversed, but logically, there are cases where flipping things around still makes sense.”

“This… seems unrelated, though.”

Konel gave a puzzled expression to the sly, cute face, while Tenitia poked Valencius in the side with her elbow.

“Oof.”

“Your Highness, is it amusing to spout sophistry at a 17-year-old? Please, finish the financial discussion quickly.”

She was wearing the standard armor of the Silver Knight Order, not the mechanical armor of Marcus and Sererassie, which she had worn for a long time.

The exoskeleton-like mechanical armor was too heavy, and four horses wouldn’t be able to pull the carriage.

Valencius made a face as if he wanted to say something but then shook his head and got to the point.

“Konel, I will generously donate through the foundation and consortium. It should be enough to cover the repayment deadline. Just return the principal from the profits around late autumn.”

Konel blinked her brown eyes several times and shook her head.

“Oh, that’s already been resolved.”

“Really?”

“Due to needing to distribute dividends according to shares to the merchant patrons and the bourgeois elders, the reinvestment amount was tight. But thanks to His Majesty the Emperor and some noble royalties, the merchant patrons have completely vanished, and the bourgeois elders understand the delay in dividend payments. So, there was no need to stretch out a hand to Your Highness.”

Valencius’s eyes widened in surprise, while Tenitia narrowed her eyes and solemnly recited,

“No matter how great a villain one is, there are times they inadvertently perform good deeds. So now, you should go perform good deeds intentionally.”

She called for the coachman to change the destination to the cathedral, and while Valencius smiled awkwardly, he did not stop Tenitia.

Konel asked, surprised,

“Your Highness, even if you died and came back, you wouldn’t seem like the type to make pure donations. Why don’t you stop Lady Tenitia?”

Valencius shrugged.

“Well, I know the church is taking care of those outside the royal family. They’re basically doing what we royals should be doing, so it’s only natural to help them with money.”

“Ah.”

Konel and Tenitia simultaneously showed expressions of admiration, and he added with a sardonic smile.

“If I donate enough, then when someone gets hurt later and goes to the church, they’ll be treated first. So when that incident happened last late summer, bourgeoisie treated their families first.”

Tenitia grabbed her nape, as if she had expected this, and Konel slumped her shoulders.

“So many people died then. It feels like something is still lurking in the underground waterworks.”

It was a typical voice for a girl of her age.

Valencius retracted his sardonic smile and glanced at Konel, while Tenitia glared at him.

“Your Highness.”

“Um… I apologize.”

“Is there no way for anyone to become strong?”

“There isn’t.”

Valencius answered sharply to Konel’s mumbling.

This time, even Tenitia did not glare at Valencius.

It was a world filled with ancient things that corrupt humans just by yearning for them.

Konel realized what she had said and waved her hand.

“Oh, my apologies. I didn’t mean it like that—.”

“Why don’t you go say a word to Matheos?”

“What?”

“God of Radiance blesses everyone.”

* * *

The amount I used under the guise of donations was considerable, and ever since Matheos had placed the holy crown on Jeilliris’s head, the royal family and the church were in a reconciliatory atmosphere.

Thus, while the Holy Knights gritted their teeth, they had no choice but to accept my request to meet the saint.

After all, offering a gold hammer could open doors that even iron hammers couldn’t.

“Duke. What brings you to find me?”

“I wish to meet the Saint.”

In the splendid audience chamber, I rose from my seat and bowed courteously, and Matheos’s face twitched.

He seemed to gesture to Lady Tenitia, then suddenly stood up and released his sacred power toward me.

“You vile wretch! What do you intend to do by possessing the Duke’s body?”

A white flame shot out, burning my body, and I rolled on the floor in agony.

“Gah!”

As I was undergoing Spiritization during the ritual of honor, the divine flames felt unusually hot.

“Saint!”

Lady Tenitia hurriedly called out, but it was only then that I could finally get to the point.

“Saint, this child says….”

“…Are you asking if you cannot create prayers or holy objects that provide wide-area blessings for ordinary people?”

“I understand there are already blessings, prayers, and holy objects with similar effects. It feels irreverent to say this, but there are holy objects that are practically manufactured like holy water. Wouldn’t it be possible if the two systems were combined?”

Holy water was indeed a holy object, but it was being squeezed out of low-ranking priests.

During the capital’s capture, seminary students had been caught selling holy water on the black market and had even been soaked in a large vat with Matheos to transform water into holy water.

“Just as magicians create magic tools, the church produces holy objects. If you are worried about the craftsmanship of the priests or the church being too industrialized, they can be used strictly for the purposes of the holy war.”

Matheos surprisingly listened to my words attentively.

His black eyes sparkled, showing he seemed to be thinking similarly.

“…”

His gaze briefly fell on Konel before drifting away.

She was a one-legged orphan girl and a representative congressperson advocating for the interests of the lower class in the royal council.

Matheos’s refined face contorted.

He looked closer to being troubled than angry.

“I’m sorry, Duke. It seems like any way we look at it, it would inevitably sound like sacrilege.”

“Ah.”

Konel sighed softly, and Matheos continued.

“We were also looking for ways to strengthen the purification vessels. It was primarily led by the Theology Department at the Academy. We also researched easier combat prayers and, like Valencius said, tried to create holy objects that provide wide-area blessings. However, our power is fundamentally within the realm of faith, and it’s difficult to systematize it.”

I understood Matheos’s words.

Divine power was different from magic.

The very desire to clarify and utilize its principles was an error in itself.

“As the saint, if I speak of this, I would face great backlash. The old bishops and Bishop Hong might discuss it in private as being sacrilegious.”

“Yes, I understand. I too came thinking it might be too much for the cathedral. I am deeply sorry.”

* * *

I turned to look at Konel.

Konel nodded as if she understood and stood up with her cane.

“Thank you for your precious time, Saint.”

* * *

A few minutes after Valencius, Konel, and Tenitia left.

The door to the audience chamber opened slowly, and a red-cloaked bishop entered.

“Saint! Have you again suggested creating new prayers and holy objects?”

He was a large man with bulging eyes, giving off a more knightly than bishoply impression.

Matheos shook his head.

“Bishop Augusta Hong. I cautioned them.”

“It cannot be, Saint!”

He pressed on, clinging to the saint.

With Augusta’s loud voice, his imposing figure filled the room.

“Bishop Augusta Hong—”

“Creating new prayers and holy objects is sacrilege! Bishops who attempted similar ideas in the past lost their divine powers or were ultimately corrupted!”

“I’m telling you—”

Augusta rolled his eyes and howled loudly, the room echoing.

“Saint, you are the pillar of the church and the center of faith that has emerged after decades! I cannot lose you, no matter what!”

There was genuine worry and concern in the bloodshot eyes of the massive red-cloaked bishop.

Matheos sighed deeply and raised his hands.

“Augusta, thank you for always worrying. But I truly cautioned them.”

“Ah. Good job. Thank you.”

Color returned to Augusta’s face.

Matheos brushed back his black hair and murmured,

“However, I wonder if Valencius will listen to what he has been told.”

He smiled faintly.

* * *

The carriage was heading not to the old slums or the imperial palace, but to the Street of Learning.

“Your Highness, why have you come here?”

It was far from the former slums, Konel’s electoral district, and with the dark magic department here, the average faith in the students wasn’t exactly fervent.

Thus, Konel expressed her doubts about what she could do here.

Valencius grinned naughtily.

“Do you remember what Matheos said earlier?”

“What words do you speak of?”

Tenitia also asked, seeming puzzled.

Valencius gestured grandly as he spoke.

“He mentioned they had tried something similar. But it failed due to opposition from the other bishops.”

‘We were also looking for ways to strengthen the purification vessels. It was primarily led by the Academy’s Theology Department.’

‘The old bishops and Bishop Hong might discuss it in private as being sacrilegious.’

“In other words, the theologians and priests at the Academy are friendly to that plan.”

“Ah.”

“That makes sense.”

Tenitia’s eyes widened, and Konel clapped her hands.

Valencius wickedly smiled and stepped out of the carriage.

“Shall we prepare to do something good and deserve divine punishment?”

The student council president he sought was, of course, Jin.

“Your Highness! What brings you here?”

“I would like some support for the Theology Department’s research.”

Jin was the president of the Academy Union and the head of one of the academies, wielding significant power on the Street of Learning.

The academy’s principal was often entangled in disputes with landlords and building owners over housing.

As a student council president with authority to coordinate dozens of buildings, he was more powerful than many officials in the area.

He would be more than sufficient to protect the Theology Department professors from the scrutiny or oppression of the cathedral’s old-timers.

“I would like to have them study wide-area blessings using new prayers or holy objects.”

Jin quickly assessed the situation.

“The professors naturally have the right to conduct their classes freely, liberated from unwarranted external pressure. Especially if they are working with students, it is utterly unreasonable for an outsider to know or interfere with their lesson plans.”

“Exactly. Also, I’ve heard that many students are being transferred recently. Most are from the Church’s purification vessels, right?”

“Those who fought hard against the corruption last year are now seeking to learn more; how could one, as a follower of the God of Radiance, turn a blind eye?”

Tenitia concealed her fake laughter behind her helmet.

After following Valencius for a long time, the series of events replayed vividly in her mind.

‘The church wants to research new prayers but is unable to due to internal opposition.’

Hence, giving the independent academy an outsourcing task while stealthily admitting purification vessel candidates disguised as students.

‘The saint Matheos surely would not have been unaware, essentially asking for this from your Highness.’

Tenitia pondered this, then furrowed her brow.

‘If it appears that your Highness is granting the saint’s request, there was no need to donate such a large sum.’

Tenitia had suggested that if Valencius received a bribe of hundreds of coins, at least tens should be donated.

However, Valencius ended up donating nearly all the hundreds.

‘He is the one granting the request. Was there really a need for this humble demeanor? Of course, piety is a virtue, but he wouldn’t be this kind. Did the saint ask for something else?’

Tenitia bit her lip.

Her red eyes turned from Valencius’s back to the one-legged girl standing next to her.

Tenitia started counting what Konel had.

A congressperson.

A property owner.

The chairperson of the redevelopment association for the slums.

The head of the self-defense corps.

The head of the self-defense corps?

“…Hah.”

…And a priestess of Amon God.