Chapter 429

A declaration blaming all the problems of the Holy Kingdom on the Cardinals.

This inflammatory manifesto, which clearly seems to incite a bloody revolution, is said to be a work created by Lacey, who added flesh to the draft caught by Bels.

They plan to use the Special Operations Unit to spread it to all cities except Alhebron, which is on high alert.

“Isn’t this too dangerous? If people see this and rise up, it feels like rivers of blood will flow.”

I opposed Lacey’s plan. It was too extreme, even for extremism.

I could only envision a future where crowds, shouting for the impeachment of Cardinals, clash with Paladins and are suppressed.

However, unlike me, who has a modern and common sensibility, Lacey’s expression was perfectly calm.

As if saying such a thing could never happen in our country.

“I understand your concerns, but you can rest assured. The people of the Holy Kingdom have been taught obedience and worship through the Church Orders for hundreds of years. They won’t be so reckless as to take up arms and attack the Church just because they read some inflammatory manifesto. At most, they’ll realize the true nature of the Church Orders and Cardinals they once worshipped like gods and harbor doubts and resentment. That’s enough for now.”

So, you’re saying they’re so deeply ingrained with a slave mentality that a revolution can’t happen?

I’m not sure if a Saint candidate should be saying such things.

“We just need to gauge the right moment, fuel their resentment, guide the direction of their rising anger, and lead them. Not too early, not too late, but at the perfect moment.”

“……”

So… you’re saying you’ll let it simmer and then use them as your own troops at the right time…?

…You didn’t think I’d agree to this, did you?

“Lead them to do what? Use them as soldiers to attack the Church Orders? They’ll all die if you do that.”

No matter how many civilians with no combat experience you gather, they can’t stand against an army.

Unless the numbers are like 20 to 1.

…No, even then, it’s impossible.

Once morale breaks, they’ll scatter and run in all directions.

“How could that be? A protest of dozens can be suppressed as a small heresy. Resistance of hundreds can be dispersed under the guise of maintaining order. But… when it reaches thousands, even tens of thousands, pointing their spears at the Cardinals? That will be an unstoppable, unavoidable revolution, like a tidal wave!”

Lacey spread her arms and smiled brightly.

“The presence or absence of power doesn’t matter. As long as the Holy Kingdom bears its name, as long as the Church Orders exist as they are, they can never wield their swords. They are just ordinary citizens demanding reform of the Holy Kingdom, tens of thousands of innocent people. Suppress them with force? If they dare to do such a thing, they are no longer a Church of humanity but a heresy that must be burned. The Paladins and Priests won’t follow such orders, and even if they do, the gods won’t tolerate such atrocities.”

Yes. She wasn’t wrong.

The Church Orders are like towers built on the bedrock of believers’ faith, with the authority granted by the gods as their pillars.

If the bedrock and pillars are lost, it’s only natural for the tower to collapse.

As Lacey said, if the entire Holy Kingdom truly rises up, the Church Orders won’t be able to lift a finger against them.

Unless they’re completely rotten to the core.

“How about it? Doesn’t it seem like Sir Bels came up with a great plan?”

“…Yeah, it’s a great plan.”

I nodded and placed the paper back on the desk.

It feels a bit off… but I don’t have any particular reason or justification to oppose it.

“Of course, I don’t wish for such an extreme situation. If the Cardinals sincerely strive to find the real culprit, there’s no need to spread this manifesto. But if they don’t put in the effort to find the culprit and instead use this as an opportunity to frame other Church Orders or me… then…”

Lacey trailed off, made the sign of the cross, and prayed.

Though she didn’t say it outright, it seemed like she was implying she’d kill them in Elpinel’s name if they did that.

And so, ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

=====================

Ten days after declaring the blockade of the Holy City and the intensive investigation.

It was a time that could be called both short and long.

The blockade of the Holy City was reaching its limit, and during that time, the Church Orders, having failed to find a single clue, realized something.

That finding the culprit was impossible.

Of course, they couldn’t admit that.

In a major incident where a Cardinal was assassinated, having declared they would definitely find the culprit, failing to catch even a trace of them?

If things went that way, the honor of each Church Order would be severely tarnished.

So, instead of wasting time searching for an unfindable culprit, they chose a quicker and more efficient method.

If they couldn’t find the culprit, they could just create one.

It was the suggestion of Cardinal Audius Rosof of the Keres Church.

Not all Cardinals agreed to such a scheme.

Ernliter Zeiser of the Astraea Church Order and Hermann Kreibel of the Auschleine Church Order opposed it, calling it nonsense.

But Carnius Gustav of the Shaulite Church Order, Erich Rudolf of the Kranuus Church Order, and Kurt Reicher of the Imela Church Order accepted Rosof’s proposal.

For them, quelling the chaos in the Holy City seemed more urgent than finding the real culprit.

Phillips Kraft of the Bimos Church Order didn’t care, and Wolfgang Kapriech of the Bølberg Church Order and Walter Rübitz of the Grimnir Church Order weren’t even given a voice.

After all, it was a decision made in a secret meeting they weren’t even allowed to attend.

A few hours later.

It was announced that the mastermind behind Paulus’s assassination was Cardinal Wolfgang Kapriech of the Bølberg Church Order.

—-

The Church Orders’ investigation results were as follows.

The Free Forces Legion, the weakest among the three major powers.

Its leader, Wolfgang, met with Paulus that night and proposed an alliance between the Saintly Struggle Society and the Free Forces Legion.

He claimed that if the two forces united, they could annihilate the Holy Solar Alliance.

But when Paulus refused and tried to expel him, in a fit of anger, Wolfgang challenged him to a duel and killed him.

—-

It was a crude frame-up, but also a plausible story.

Wolfgang’s personality was known to be rough and warlike, fitting for a warrior, and he was well-known as an extreme militant.

Even those who didn’t believe the announcement nodded, thinking Wolfgang might do such a thing.

Having decided to create a culprit, they could have just picked anyone and declared them the culprit, but they specifically targeted the Cardinal of the Bølberg Church Order because of this.

Among those with the power and status to assassinate a Cardinal, Wolfgang was the most plausible candidate.

If they announced that a street thug killed a Cardinal, who in the Holy Kingdom would believe it? No one.

But if they announced that the most militant Cardinal did it?

People would nod and say, “Yeah, if it’s the assassin of a Cardinal, it makes sense.”

Moreover, there was the added benefit of officially excluding the troublesome Free Forces Legion.

For Wolfgang, his usual behavior had come back to haunt him.

—-

The Church Orders presented a Paladin from the Bølberg Church Order as a witness.

A man whose fingers and eyes trembled, as if those parts had recently been regenerated.

He testified that Cardinal Wolfgang had secretly left that night and returned an hour later, covered in blood.

That testimony was decisive.

The Free Forces Legion was ordered to disband, and Wolfgang, having killed a fellow Cardinal, was advised to relinquish his holy position and turn himself in.

Of course, Wolfgang Kapriech wasn’t the type to accept such a ridiculous frame-up.

Upon hearing the news, he immediately unleashed a torrent of colorful curses and, together with Walter Rübitz, mobilized the entire Free Forces Legion to break through the Holy City’s blockade and escape.

With just their two Church Orders, they couldn’t stand against all the other Church Orders. At least not within the Holy City.

It was a perfectly reasonable decision, and the Church Orders that framed him had expected Wolfgang to act this way.

In fact, him fleeing was exactly what they wanted.

By refusing the order to turn himself in and using force to escape the Holy City, the charges against him were as good as confirmed.

=====================

After receiving the Church Orders’ announcement and hearing the inside story through Hermann Kreibel, Lacey couldn’t hide her disappointment.

She lamented how far the Church Orders had fallen and took out the manifesto she had stored in a drawer.

To spread it to every city.

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