episode_0087

When he first heard about Lavender from the Emperor, Gueberto felt that the name was somehow familiar.

At that time, he dismissed it as just a passing feeling.

He had heard about Lavender’s appearance and demeanor, but seeing him in person was a different matter.

So when he met him at the Papal Palace, he was curious to see his face.

“…His face seems familiar from somewhere.”

But upon closer inspection, it was not a face he recognized. It felt vaguely familiar, yet ambiguous and uncertain.

It was only when Heine approached him and greeted him that he finally remembered. Gueberto unconsciously swallowed his breath and then let out a sigh.

His face was strikingly similar to that of the Earl of Lavenna. Being a former bishop of Lavenna, he could tell.

One of the hypotheses he had been considering suddenly gained weight.

*****

As a loyal bishop to the Emperor, Gueberto was prepared to carry out his orders.

And among the orders or requests he received from him, there was one that he prioritized above all.

There was a time when the Emperor had entrusted him with a word.

On the day he returned to kneel before the Pope, he had not forgotten while preparing for the impending civil war.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty? Surely you are not feeling well.”

“I’m fine. And now is not the time to worry about such trivial matters. Don’t we have more important things to attend to?”

“I have taken measures regarding Duke Rudolf. The morale of the soldiers is high, and the people believe this to be unjust. They will crumble under their own weight eventually, so do not worry.”

“I see… Once this is over, I may be able to rest a little. But, Bishop.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please speak.”

“I have kept an eye on a promising knight over there. What do you think?”

A knight known as Lavender, also called the Neon Sword or the Radiant Sword.

Upon hearing about him, it was revealed that he had quelled a rebellion of thieves in Filah.

One could say that he brought peace to the city that was on the brink of chaos, or one could see it as thwarting a plan to cause trouble in the Pope’s backyard.

First, Gueberto tried to understand the Emperor’s intentions.

“Do you wish for this matter to be handled quietly?”

“No, no. It’s not easy to come across such a righteous knight these days. Losing such a talent would be a great loss even for the Emperor of our Empire.”

“What should I do then?”

“I have set the bait, now confirm that there are no major disqualifications for him.”

The bait referred to the princess. She had survived all sorts of political maneuvering in the Empire, so he thought she would handle this well.

Therefore, he decided to focus on confirming any disqualifications before officially requesting his recruitment.

Before formally requesting his joining, it was necessary to confirm that he met the minimum qualifications.

For example, falsely claiming to be a free knight while being a peasant.

Or having a dishonorable record of committing crimes and then using the influence of another powerful figure to cover it up.

Or being associated with rebel forces and attempting to spy for them.

Following the Emperor’s strict orders, Gueberto reviewed all these matters and was impressed by the unexpectedly clean record.

Not just clean for a knight, but even by the standards of an ordinary clergyman.

“Your Majesty, the investigation is almost complete. Would you like to hear the results?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“There are no significant issues regarding past violations of the law or the knight’s reputation. In fact, his reputation seems to be quite good. Even now, as a knight under Count Canossa, there seems to be no change.”

“So, does that mean there are no problems?”

“On the surface, that may be true. However… I have some doubts about the process of how he came to enter the church at a young age.”

But if there was one flaw, it was the fact that his past was too clean.

Especially his actions before being entrusted to the Volle Church as an orphan.

One’s background was an important issue. Depending on the parents, a child could become a farmer or a noble.

It could be said that it was understandable that he did not start out being entrusted to the Volle Church, given that it was a time when many orphans were being created due to the war.

However, after coming in that way, there must have been a reason for him to consider himself a free man rather than a serf.

If he was born a free man, then he must have had free parents, and if he was a serf, then someone must have freed him.

If he was freely moving between cities as a serf and self-proclaimed knight, he could potentially become a nuisance to the emperor after being hired.

And delving into this led to one fact.

“Countess Ravena freed him as a free man.”

“The countess? Why?”

It was unlikely that she suddenly opposed serf exploitation and freed all the serfs on her territory.

There must have been a separate reason for freeing just that one child who was only a little boy at the time.

“The identity of his recorded father is also ambiguous. Although he exists, the record of the man who is his father is not mentioned anywhere after the one time mentioned here.”

“If that’s really the case, then there is only one possible scenario that comes to mind.”

So, it seemed like he might not be a bastard. And seeing his face today seemed to give weight to the hypothesis.

Güberto and the emperor had seen many cases like this. Those who had committed acts that were difficult to rectify in the first place had no way of rectifying them later.

However, when it came to the imperial family, they were able to neatly cover up most cases so that they couldn’t be noticed, but Countess Ravena seemed inexperienced in this.

Perhaps she thought it wasn’t worth worrying about.

If they weren’t Ravena, they wouldn’t have bothered to scrutinize such trivial records.

But for now, that was all they could know.

As much as they wanted to ask for more details, now was not the time.

The fluorescent sword, the ray sword of Filah, and the negotiator of Alpen.

There were certainly nobles who had the intention of using such figures. Why bother mentioning the many attempts at contact.

“We must rise up against the false emperor’s oppression! The people of the empire must not continue to serve the greedy Heinrich who is not faithful. Please join us.”

“I still have unfinished business. There are innocent people suffering in this chaos.”

“Invasions can happen at any time, but you know that such opportunities are rare. Your lord has promised great rewards as well. Please join us.”

“Yes… that makes sense. War is terrible.”

“That’s right! So let us end this chaos as soon as possible-”

“But it won’t be as terrible as the savages who harass the people on the coast. Here, mark it on the map.”

Sending only a map marked with the locations of the bandit hideouts and coastal raid spots, he appeared to be a neutral party.

In fact, it was not a map that detailed the nearby terrain, but rather one that simply had dots closely marked along the straight coastline.

Strategic materials were not something to be taken lightly.

But the message contained within was clear.

“I still have things to do, so please leave me be.”

“…Understood. However, please consider the offer.”

Instead of jumping into the civil war to pick up the crumbs, he declared his intention to go and save those suffering because of the civil war.

Although stepping back a bit from the war between the emperor and the rebel army didn’t bring in much money, it was certainly a noble cause.

And considering the reputation he had built up in the process, it was not all in vain.

“Did the knight negotiate well this time too?”

“The village may have burned down a bit and collapsed, but what did we gain from it? There are so many who can’t even do this much.”

“But isn’t the compensation we offer insufficient? All the soldiers are injured, and if they take advantage of this and turn against us, what will we do?”

“Didn’t we clearly pay all the promised compensation?”

“After the battle, there are additional fees collected, consolation money, medical expenses, etc.”

“Perhaps you don’t know because you’re new. Negotiators only accept the money given to them.”

“…That’s a lie.”

Amidst the civil war, looting, and political turmoil, any good news that came through was well-received.

Although the base of operations was limited to a place called Alpen, the news of it spread beyond the Alpen Mountains, which was something.

Just by getting involved in the civil war, it was possible to secure some support from the southern empire’s people.

And he had received orders to recruit such knights.

But first, he needed to create a situation where he could prove his achievements to the princess.

“Well then, Your Highness. I will take my leave now. May your wishes come true.”

“Understood, Bishop.”

Bowing slightly and giving his respects, Gilberto disappeared into the crowd.