Chapter 809

Leopold, convinced that I had forgotten Ludwig’s funeral, let out a faint sigh and shook his head.

Even so, shouldn’t I at least show some basic respect, considering he was my stepfather and the former head of the family?

Both Hersela and this guy seem to treat me like some shameless, rebellious scoundrel, which is just absurd.

Honestly, was my relationship with Ludwig really that of a parent and child?

The whole “adopted daughter” thing was just a pretext to inherit Landenburg. In reality, it was more of a mutually beneficial partnership.

Even the late Ludwig probably thought the same. Maybe.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t respect him.

I just didn’t realize I had to attend the funeral. If I had known, I would have arranged it before moving on. A day’s delay wouldn’t have made much difference in the subjugation of Nidhogg.

—

So, I discussed the funeral arrangements with Leopold, which had been postponed until now.

Since we were holding the funeral anyway, he suggested using the occasion to officially recognize me as the new head of Landenburg.

He even asked if we should declare independence from the Empire, but he said it was too early since we hadn’t even established the foundation for self-governance.

Eleonora and Leonor, along with a few administrators aware of the kingdom-building plan, were struggling with it…

Running a country is one thing, but building one from scratch is a first for them, so they’re facing all sorts of difficulties.

“After all, there are many issues we can’t even start on until we know your intentions.”

What kind of country to build? What about the administrative system? Laws? Military? Religion?

If we were just copying the Empire’s system, it might be easier, but since we’re aiming to create a new nation, these are questions we can’t avoid.

Eleonora and Leonor are just helpers; the only one who can answer these questions is me. That’s the duty and privilege of a king.

Personally, I thought we could just copy the Empire’s ways, but Eleonora and Leonor couldn’t decide without my input.

For example, if we modeled our laws after the Empire’s, but I suddenly decided to rule according to Ka`har’s laws, we’d have to overhaul the entire legal system.

Because of such issues, they’ve been postponing numerous agendas, eagerly awaiting my arrival.

“Sigh… Just hearing about it makes me tired.”

I tilted my head back, exhaling a puff of mint smoke like a sigh.

Looks like I’ll be buried in paperwork for a while, wielding a pen instead of a sword.

“I understand your feelings, but it’s unavoidable. That’s what ascending to the throne entails.”

It’s not so much ascending as being forced onto it. Astraea’s Holy Mark set this snowball rolling, and now it’s reached this point. I never asked for this role.

It’s too late to back out now, but I’m not exactly thrilled about it. Still, being buried in paperwork is a thousand times better than being harassed by the fanatics of the Astraea Church.

If they were villains or enemies, I could just cut them down, but their actions stem from pure devotion and goodwill, so it’s hard to argue with them.

In fact, their way of asserting their will isn’t through coercion or schemes, but by self-harming, claiming they’re sinners for failing to properly support the Saintess.

Right now, it’s just Bethania, but once my status as the Saintess is publicly recognized, their numbers could multiply—no, explode.

So… what am I supposed to do?

I can’t grant all their wishes, nor do I want to, but at the very least, I need to avoid situations where they gather in front of my house to self-harm.

For now, I’ll have to rack my brains with Eleonora and figure out what kind of country to build.

—

The funeral itself was simple.

Since it was for Ludwig, the former Elector Count and Lord of the Borderlands, I thought we might need to hold a 49-day memorial, but thankfully, that wasn’t necessary.

We moved Ludwig’s coffin to the restored Exra-shapel Cathedral, held a funeral mass and memorial service to console the deceased’s soul, and then buried the blessed coffin in the cemetery.

Leopold wanted me, as Astraea’s Saintess, to personally conduct the mass and memorial service, but I refused. I had no choice.

In this world, a memorial service isn’t just about reciting prayers and pouring holy oil. It involves blessing the corpse to guide the soul to the gods’ embrace.

Of course, whether the gods actually take the soul to heaven is something you can’t know unless you die.

The practical purpose of the memorial service is to prevent the dead from resurrecting as spirit monsters. That’s why I couldn’t do it.

As the Saintess, all I can do is pray to Astraea. I can’t expend holy power to perform miracles like other priests.

As I’ve said many times, I’m a Saintess who doesn’t serve any god.

Why, you ask?

Isn’t it obvious? Whether it’s Elpinel or Astraea, serving a god means your soul is guided to their heaven after death, and I don’t want that.

For the people of this world, reaching heaven after death is the ultimate glory and hope… but I can’t see it that way. In fact, it’s the opposite.

I’m not from this world.

To me, the gods of this world are more like game-like transcendent beings, and living in the heaven they created…

It’s no different from living as a well-kept pet in a garden.

Far from glory or hope.

So, while I acknowledge Astraea’s existence, I don’t serve her as a god. I don’t want to hand my soul over to a goddess after death.

That’s the fundamental reason why, despite having the Holy Mark, I can’t wield even a fragment of holy power.

Thanks to the Holy Mark, I can communicate through prayer, but whether Astraea responds is entirely up to her, and even if she does, I have no idea what will happen.

In other words, if I were to lead the memorial service, there’s a chance the blessing for the deceased would work, but it’s equally possible that nothing would happen, or I’d just blind everyone with holy light.

If such a thing happened at the funeral of the Lord of the Borderlands, it would be a major scandal.

So…

“Someone like Lacey or the Archbishop of the Shaulite Church would be better suited. I’m not experienced enough for such a responsibility, and Lord Ludwig wasn’t a follower of the Astraea Church anyway.”

I passed the responsibility of conducting the funeral mass to someone else, giving Leopold a reasonable excuse.

The Landenburg Territory has a high demand for healing priests, so the Shaulite Church has a strong influence there, and the Elpinel Church is, of course, the largest in the Empire.

Either priest would be more than satisfactory for the late Ludwig.

“That makes sense. Very well. I’ll have Archbishop Elmain handle the memorial service.”

“Thank you.”

Leopold nodded readily.

His quick agreement suggested that he wasn’t really expecting me to conduct the mass in the first place.

After the mass, it was decided that the blessed coffin would be interred in the underground cemetery of Landenburg Castle.

The underground of Exra-shapel Cathedral and the National Cemetery for the Empire’s Heroes were also considered, but it seemed more appropriate for the Lord of Landenburg to be buried in Landenburg’s cemetery.

Ludwig would have wanted that too. He spent most of his life rooted in the Landenburg Territory.

“Since I’ll be staying in the Landenburg Territory for a while, I’ll take him with me when I leave.”

I planned to head east after finishing the funeral and a few other tasks.

With Alvheim and the Dragon Kingdom’s main forces decimated, peace should last for a while. I need to use this time to stabilize the Landenburg Territory.

“Very well. We’ve applied preservation magic, so even if the burial is delayed, the body won’t decay.”

Leopold nodded in agreement.