28. Revival of the Aran Pleasure Cult.

 

 

Aran’s refusal of the bishop’s request and his decision not to summon the heretical group spread like wildfire throughout the religious community.

Most people cursed Aran for his lack of faith, and some even pointed to the female Aran’s remarks, labeling Aran as a heretic and a quack.

 

 

And all those events, after going through various channels, were conveyed to Saint Cecilia.

 

 

 

 

Kwang!

 

 

With the sound of a sturdy table collapsing under the force of a descending fist, it crumbled.

The one trembling and expressing her rage was none other than Saint Cecilia.

 

 

She panted for a while, then swept her silver, shimmering hair back to calm her anger.

 

“What should we do, Seongnyeo-nim?”

“Hoo… He’s acting up too much, trusting in his backing. From what I hear, that king is definitely a heretic. Well, considering the depraved life he leads, no normal person would be like that.”

“Rumor has it that the king named Aran can transform into a woman, and when he does, he calls himself a god.”

“Hmph.”

 

Cecilia scoffed.

A god?

A human daring to claim to be a god.

He’s definitely a heretic that can’t be left alone.

 

“I absolutely cannot let this go.”

 

The Saint made a firm decision, but the bishops hesitated.

 

“Jeo… Seongnyeo-nim. Are you perhaps thinking of touching the Great King?”

“Of course. Heretical groups must be eradicated from this world. Especially those who call themselves gods. This is definitely what Tera-nim would want as well.”

 

 

The bishop shook his head from side to side.

 

 

“Seongnyeo-nim. The Great King is too big. We must be extremely cautious, as it could lead to war with the entire Eastern Continent.”

 

Aside from everything else, Aran is close to Seo-rae, the Emperor of the Mei Empire.

Seo-rae was the woman who led the Mei Empire to unprecedented prosperity, but on the other hand, she was also a very autocratic and cruel figure.

 

In particular, her distrust and oppression of the nobility were severe, and the number of nobles she had massacred since the first year of her reign amounted to hundreds of thousands.

 

 

Just recently, she ousted her husband and purged his entire family, except for the princesses, making her infamy even greater.

 

 

There’s no way such a person would just stand by and watch Aran, a friend, be sacrificed for the sake of the Tera Main God.

 

Despite explaining all those backgrounds in detail, the Saint was unmoved. She still insisted that Aran must be punished.

 

“All people are equal before God. Although we inevitably tolerate the class system due to social sentiment, humans are inherently equal. Whether noble, king, if they have sinned before God, they must come forth and be judged.”

“Of course, but…”

“If we neglect sin just because there is power, our justice will be subjugated to power. Besides, with God on our side, what is there to worry about?”

“That’s…”

 

 

The Saint, who silenced the bishop with truly undeniable arguments, soon brought a silk scroll and began to write something.

 

 

“Wha, what are you… writing?”

 

 

She had an ominous feeling.

She felt as if things that shouldn’t be written were being scribbled on that scroll.

 

 

The Saint opened her mouth.

 

 

“It’s not that I don’t understand the bishop’s words at all.”

“Yes?”

“I’m not an idiot either. Heretics must be condemned, but… if even more innocent victims are produced in the process of condemning them, that is not justice either.”

“Ah…”

 

 

Fortunately, the Saint seemed to be thinking deeply in her own way.

 

 

“I do not wish for my beloved people to shed blood. If possible, it would be best to resolve this amicably. Therefore…”

 

 

She unfolded the scroll she had written.

 

 

“I will issue him an indulgence.”

“An… indulgence?”

“Of course, there are conditions. The condition is that he hands over the group of ‘Aran Pleasure Church’ who create and distribute heretical doctrines, and make the people’s hearts sick, to our religious order. If he agrees to that, I will ask the Main God to forgive his sins.”

“Tha, that’s…”

“Originally, he too should be judged as a heretic. Only then can his sins be forgiven and he can go to heaven in the afterlife. He is a lewd person. Despite having wives, he commits adultery with countless women and even rapes them, making him a veritable sinner. That too is a serious crime, but I will forgive him for this incident only.”

 

The Saint smiled faintly as she spoke.

It was a smile that seemed to look down, as if saying, “You can do this much, right?”

 

 

“This is the mercy of the Main God, who does not wish for the sacrifice of the many. It is to tolerate a small evil in order to destroy a greater evil.”

 

 

The intention seemed good.

But he couldn’t readily agree.

 

 

“Seongnyeo-nim, that’s… no different from a declaration of war.”

“Why is that?”

“To forgive sins… doesn’t that mean that Seongnyeo-nim is above that Great King? If a royal, not a noble, receives such a document, he will naturally be furious.”

“That is the truth, so how else should I say it? It is not that I am high, but that the one within me is high.”

“We know that, but they are ignorant and do not know.”

“Then we must let them know. That God is above all people.”

 

 

She rolled up the scroll as if she had already made up her mind and tied it with a string.

There seemed to be no room for further dissuasion.

 

 

“There is no value in justice if we succumb to power. We are those who serve justice according to the will of God. We may condone a lesser evil for the destruction of a greater evil, but we cannot condone both.”

 

 

She handed the scroll to a nearby priest and immediately ordered it to be delivered to Aran of the Habsburg Great Kingdom.

 

 

The Tera Holy Kingdom, located in the Central Continent, and the Great Kingdom of the Western Continent were quite far apart, but the express messenger could travel hundreds of miles a day, so it would arrive in about two weeks.

 

 

The bishop prayed inwardly with an uneasy heart.

 

 

‘Please… please let us avoid the worst-case scenario…!’

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

“Your Majesty! Saint Cecilia-nim from the Tera Holy Kingdom has sent an envoy.”

 

 

Aran, who was having a meeting with the nobles in the Council Hall, suddenly got a headache at the incoming report.

Just the bishop in charge of Habsburg was quite annoying a while ago, but now the Saint herself has sent an envoy.

 

 

Aran sighed once and let the envoy in.

 

 

She was wearing the pure white clothes unique to the Tera Holy Kingdom and had a rather beautiful smile on her face.

 

 

“I greet the Great King.”

 

 

She began in a clear voice, greeted Aran, and then handed the scroll she had brought to the eunuch.

 

“The Saint wrote this herself. She asked you to read it and give her an answer.”

“Let’s see.”

 

The nobles buzzed at the fact that the Saint had written it herself.

Even in a major event, the Saint usually doesn’t write in her own hand.

 

 

 

‘This is…?’

 

 

Aran’s expression contorted more and more as he unfolded the scroll.

The nobles began to whisper again at his rather uncomfortable expression.

 

 

“What on earth could it say…”

“Maybe she’s labeling His Majesty as a heretic.”

“Eh, no way… he’s still a king…”

“Isn’t this Saint famous for being strong-willed?”

 

The woman who came as an envoy looked around at those reactions and then opened her mouth.

 

 

“The Saint has said that she will issue an indulgence to Your Majesty.”

“Eueum…”

 

 

Aran slightly raised his eyes and glared at her.

 

 

“An indulgence to His Majesty!”

“Does that mean His Majesty is guilty!”

 

 

The already noisy Council Hall was filled with the nobles’ lamentations and anger, turning it into a completely boisterous place like a rural marketplace.

 

 

Even though Aran was of commoner origin and a man, so his legitimacy was lacking, he was still the king of a nation. Sending that king a letter saying, “You are guilty, but I will forgive you,” is quite rude.

 

 

This was an insult to the country itself, and furthermore, it was an insult to the nobles belonging to it.

If the interpretation was expanded even slightly, it could be said that “the nobles who condone and serve the king’s sins are also sinners,” which was enough to touch the nobles’ raw nerves.

 

Aran was also dumbfounded and let out a hollow laugh.

 

 

“An indulgence? Have I committed such a great sin that the Saint herself would write it for me?”

 

 

The woman was confident.

 

 

“Your Majesty is currently condoning a heretical group that is causing great confusion among the people and plunging their souls into hell. Furthermore, they call you a god, and Your Majesty has also referred to yourself as a god, so you cannot be said to be innocent. The Saint’s original intention is that Your Majesty should also be judged as a heretic.”

“Look at that crazy bitch!”

 

 

The nobles rose up.

Some of them disliked Aran, but they all became one and criticized her.

 

 

“Even if you are a Saint who serves God, how can you be so rude to His Majesty!”

“Apologize immediately!”

 

Countless nobles pointed their fingers and criticized her, but she remained steadfast.

 

“I am very sorry to say this to your face, but it is the truth, so I have dared to speak frankly.”

 

 

She pointed to the group of nobles criticizing her and continued.

 

 

“The Saint also anticipated this kind of reaction. That is why she said she would issue an indulgence to Your Majesty. If you simply hand over the heretical group Karen and her followers to our religious order, there will be no judgment for Your Majesty.”