episode_0085

As time passed, Licia’s breathing seemed to become more labored for some reason.

However, after I gently stroked her head a few times, she seemed to calm down, just like before.

I realized a new fact. Licia feels embarrassed by compliments, but offering her countless head pats seems to make her feel better. Note to self.

I spent leisurely time stroking the head of the girl whose soft touch I enjoyed while moving along the road.

After spending several days on the road, I finally entered the Marquis’s land.

Walking along the winding ridge, I could see the fortress of Yisung Castle. A fortress standing alone on the rocky mountain as if carved out of the cliff.

It was supposed to be cozy and peaceful as always, the Kanosa House.

And suddenly, the Pope appeared, disrupting the peaceful daily life, making it a place where the Marquis’s worries never ceased.

“Halt, please reveal your identity!”

“Status window.”

“Oh, wait a moment, I’m sure I put it somewhere here…”

As I walked down towards the castle gate, two guards stopped us.

Licia, carrying a bag containing important items, brought it forward and rummaged through it.

As the girl searched for her identification card among the compass, coins, map, and jerky snacks, the guards alternately looked at me and their colleague, whispering to each other.

“Wait, there’s something familiar about him. Feels like I’ve seen him somewhere.”

“Yeah, and that combination is like the protagonist in the ‘Knight and Daughter’ story.”

“If that’s Filah’s Light Sword… the negotiator?”

Just as Licia finally found her identification card and was about to unfold it, one of the guards approached me and asked, “Are you Sir Lavender, the Marquis’s negotiator?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“You may enter. I will inform the Marquis of your arrival.”

The guards lowered their spears, and I was able to enter the Kanosa Castle smoothly.

People really needed to become famous to be recognized.

Not long after, the key keeper of the castle gave me a room.

The room that was once used when the Emperor came to the castle for a hunger strike was now being used as my fixed room.

I unpacked my belongings familiarly and had a simple meal with the provisions provided with the room.

And as Licia crawled into bed, exhausted, the Marquis of Kanosa appeared.

“I’ve been waiting for you, Sir Lavender.”

“My lord. I hope you have been well.”

“It is thanks to you that the barbaric tribes trying to plunder this land have been dealt with. The people willingly sing your praises and honesty.”

After the formalities were over, the Marquis glanced briefly in Licia’s direction, then led me outside as if to indicate that it was not a story suitable for the child to hear.

Once we stepped into the garden behind the castle, he began to speak. He seemed to be pretending to be calm, but his weariness was evident.

“I heard you went to see your daughter at the university, and I apologize for interrupting. It was an urgent matter. You must have heard the news, right?”

“I read the letter you sent. However, there are still some parts that I do not understand. May I ask for a detailed explanation?”

“Ah, I understand what you are questioning. I, too, found it hard to believe at first… but it turned out to be true. However, there are more complicated circumstances behind it.”

Indeed, it seemed that the Pope’s sudden acceleration had not been without reason.

It was wrong to judge based on one side of the story. Perhaps there were reasons that I had not considered.

I listened intently to the Marquis as he unfolded the story like a fairy tale.

And after circling the garden three times, I could summarize the verbose content briefly.

“It seems Your Majesty desires war.”

“If you must put it that way, then yes.”

The situation seemed to have turned out like this.

It was about a month ago, so in terms of timing, it would have been a few days before the decree was issued.

“Expose the disrespectful Duke Rudolf, who does not heed His Majesty’s command!”

The Emperor sent a letter with this content.

In truth, it was not an incorrect statement. Challenging the Emperor after the lifting of the decree could be seen as a challenge to the Pope as well.

To dare to deny the pardon personally issued by the Pope, is it not disrespectful? The Emperor was requesting that this falsehood and deception be corrected.

And the solution to this problem was the Pope, the leader of the clergy, and the most knowledgeable person of this era.

“So, are you saying that the Emperor has been decreed again? So that it does not become a lie anymore?”

“It seems so.”

“Dear Lord. What in the world is His Majesty-”

“If you have no more questions, then there is nothing more to say. How can I guess what His Majesty is thinking?”

Before I could say anything, the Count interrupted with a puzzled expression. It was clear that he had also struggled with this issue frequently.

Indeed, it was the medieval, romantic era.

If you ask for a ship, you will truly get a ship, and if you ask for a decree to be issued, it will truly be issued.

“…So, what is your plan from now on?”

“His Majesty must be mistaken about something. It must be because there are disrespectful people around him who blind his eyes and ears. Correcting this is the duty of faithful believers like us.”

“Of course, it would be good if that were possible… But what if it cannot be resolved through persuasion? We should also consider what will happen next.”

“….”

As the Count living next to the Pope, he must have known his temperament well.

And the Pope, even in my personal opinion, was not someone easily persuaded. The Count, too, did not respond, indicating that he shared a similar opinion with me.

For others, picking up words that have been said to a person of power once is not difficult.

Blaming it on a mistake and casually attributing it to someone innocent would suffice. And if that was not enough, adding a lip service about thinking harder before speaking next time would do.

But swallowing, regurgitating, and swallowing again is a different story.

Perhaps it was already too late to pick up this matter, but still, the expedition was formed out of a sense of hope.

Carefully selected individuals to avoid provoking the sensitive Pope as much as possible.

I alone was enough as a guard force.

The Count of Canossa, who was a faithful servant of the Pope, a seasoned negotiator with several face-to-face meetings, and a few other lower nobles and attendants.

A group of about a dozen people headed towards the Papal Palace.

*****

Perhaps, there was one fact that I had not realized until now.

After departing from Canossa Castle and pondering repeatedly, I could come up with a plausible hypothesis.

“Could it be that the Pope actually has a status window?”

“…A status window?”

If he was dragged around by a quest with death as a penalty, it made sense that he had to issue a decree.

Or maybe there was a challenge that required him to decree the Emperor twice.

In reality, I knew this was all nonsense. I was just talking nonsense because the journey was not a holiday pilgrimage, and the road was too quiet.

Unfortunately, there was no more education to give to Lycia, and the stories were starting to run out.

But if not, the duty of the Church, led by the Pope, to save all believers, seemed to only mean that he desired war.

If that intention was nothing but to weaken each other, then what else could it be.

Rather than being exiled like Rudolf at the Emperor’s whim, this was more than just a drift, it was a complete disaster.

If someone who harbored dissatisfaction towards the Pope due to this incident were to be assassinated, it might even be considered a suicide.

About two weeks had passed since then.

As the chatter grew tiresome, the guide leading the group from the front turned around and shouted,

“I can see the destination in the distance. We will arrive soon!”

As they crossed the final hill, a vast and densely connected street below the mountain came into view.

Amidst the rough breathing of the followers walking behind, a sense of joy arose.

They had finally arrived.

In the distant past, the heart of the empire that spanned this continent.

The capital of that great empire, which had a history of breaking down its own walls, claiming there was no need to hide behind them.

There were as many epithets for that city as there were for its history. The king of all cities, the capital of the world, the holy land of the papacy, and so on.

My impression could be summarized in one line. My mouth slightly agape at the spectacle created by the scale of the city I had never seen before, admiration naturally flowed out.

“Is this the eternal city, Lemus?”

“Yes.”

“I heard it symbolized the prosperity of the empire… It hasn’t fallen into ruin at all despite the passage of time.”

And now, it is the headquarters of the Pope who calls for unlimited war.

There may be no need to draw a weapon here right now, but I gripped the handle of my fluorescent sword with a sense of unease. The unique warmth of the relic subtly transmitted through it.