Ch.142Symphony for the Pope. (2)

# Chapter 142: A Symphony Dedicated to the Pope (2)

The fact that Minister Arto, the Emperor’s closest confidant, had stamped his approval…

It meant that the Emperor’s intentions, as conveyed by spies who had infiltrated, were true.

“Hahahahaha!!! They have finally knelt before me, and at last it has been proven!”

For the Pope, who had been holed up in the deepest part of the Vatican, indulging in stress-induced binge eating and drinking every day…

This was news that could make him feel like he could fly through the sky at any moment.

Of course, there was always someone who would pour cold water on the Pope’s burning excitement.

“Your Holiness, perhaps you should calm down a bit first.”

And in this case, it was Assistant Emilia, the person with the highest ‘probability’ of persuading the crazed Pope.

She had suddenly found herself shouldering this role.

However…

“What do you mean by that, Emilia?”

“Isn’t the timing too perfect? It might be a scheme by the Emperor and Minister Arto—”

*Slap!*

Before Emilia could finish speaking, the Pope’s hand struck her cheek faster than she could react.

“How can you fail to see the tide of the times and just whine! Emilia!”

“…I apologize, Your Holiness.”

The sincere slap from the robust adult male left a deep crimson mark on Emilia’s delicate face, but…

Alexander I paid no attention to this as he continued to shout at her, spittle flying, as if possessed.

“I! The legitimate heir who has inherited the great bloodline, am finally approaching the moment when I will sit in my rightful place!”

With bloodshot eyes as he ranted, he truly embodied madness incarnate, driven by lust for power.

The opportunity to become Emperor after waiting for 30 years…

It was clearly consuming the Pope’s already fragile mental state, pushing him into an abyss of madness.

“What we should be concerned about now is nothing else, Emilia!”

“…Yes, I’m listening.”

“It’s how I, no, how We shall deal with those two bastards after I ascend to the throne as Emperor!”

Moreover, strictly speaking, it hadn’t even been decided yet whether he would become Emperor or not.

Emilia was inwardly perplexed by his behavior, acting as if he had already become Emperor.

But if the Pope whom she had served her entire life felt that way, it was only proper for her, as his assistant, to respond accordingly.

Deliberately ignoring the pain in her still-stinging cheek, Emilia quietly spoke to Alexander I, who was burning with delusional happiness.

“Then, Your Holiness… no, Your Majesty, how do you wish to deal with those two?”

“Hmm… what a delightful dilemma indeed!”

And to Emilia’s question, Alexander I…

Or rather, Alexander, according to Arto’s past life…

Nodded with a bright smile like a child receiving a Christmas present.

“Yes, that would be good!”

“Pardon?”

“The collateral branch has its uses, so I will temporarily spare his life to deal with those who oppose me.”

“…”

“Of course, as the one who dared to resist me…”

*Bang!*

Alexander slammed his fist on the table and said with a deep smile on his face:

“After the hunt is over, the hunting dogs are slaughtered and eaten.”

“…I understand.”

“And as for that Artraia woman… with her looks and somewhat exceptional mind, it would be a waste to simply kill her.”

Saying this, Alexander continued while folding a paper on his table into a box-like shape.

“I’ll confine her in a suitable room in the imperial palace and use her for a political marriage with a powerful noble who will help me in the future.”

“…”

——————————————

Having finished these thoughts, Emilia, two days later, was now heading to the negotiation site in a limousine with the Pope—no, Alexander, who already believed himself to be Emperor.

And perhaps because he had forcibly mixed the designs of papal and imperial attire…

She carefully broached the subject while looking at Alexander, who was happily wearing the already complex and uncomfortable attire that had become twice as uncomfortable.

“Are you really sure about this, Your… Majesty?”

“What do you mean?”

Whatever Emilia might be thinking…

Alexander, who already considered the imperial throne as good as his, was displaying a frivolous and light demeanor completely unlike his usual self.

Of course, such behavior could not affect Emilia’s concerns.

After a moment of silence as she gathered her thoughts and chose her words carefully, Emilia finally made a firm decision.

She opened her mouth to offer sincere advice to Alexander.

“Your Majesty, although they requested to talk without escort troops, we don’t know when they might suddenly change their attitude.”

“…”

“For your safety, I think it would have been better if we had chosen the negotiation site.”

“Emilia, you worry too much… aren’t we moving with this large force precisely for that reason?”

And since Alexander’s words were true, Emilia had nothing to say on that point.

After all, in a situation that wasn’t even wartime, a battalion-sized unit was following them under the pretext of escort.

-“This is VB-21, all clear.”

-“QQK-511, all clear.”

Under thorough and perfect security, Alexander looked at them and said with a slight sneer:

“And what they want is only one thing—to desperately seek mercy from me, who will ascend as the sole Emperor of the Holy Sebelli Empire.”

“…”

At this display of the height of arrogance, Emilia inwardly felt her patience flying away.

‘What if the negotiations go wrong because of this attitude…’

If the negotiations were to break down…

Fearing he might vomit blood from shame, Emilia quietly slipped one of the medkits placed in the limousine into her pocket.

And as they continued with small talk and discussions about future plans…

“Assistant Emilia, we will soon arrive at our destination.”

“Is that so?”

“Oh, finally my era begins.”

At the news that they were approaching the negotiation site, Alexander, who had been sprawled tiredly on the limousine sofa, straightened his posture once again.

But…

*Screech.*

“What’s happening?”

“Um… Assistant Emilia? The road to our destination has been taken over by a large-scale protest.”

“A protest?”

Hearing the driver’s perplexed words, Emilia wondered how large the crowd could be to block the Pope’s procession with battalion-level escorts.

But when she lowered the limousine window and poked her head out…

“…!”

Hundreds of thousands.

No, she could see what appeared to be over a million Zeltech refugees occupying the road, each holding placards or flags.

“…”

Seeing this, Emilia quietly pulled her head back in and closed the window without a word.

“What’s wrong, Emilia?”

Unfortunately, this action caught the interest of her lord, Alexander.

In response to Alexander’s question, Emilia had no choice but to explain in detail what she had seen.

“Hooh… then it would be good to use them to prove that the times demand my leadership.”

She had to work up a sweat trying to dissuade Alexander from his intention to use the large-scale Zeltech protest as a kind of performance for himself.

“Is there really a need for that, Your Majesty?”

“Of course.”

“They are essentially no different from a mob, Your Majesty… wouldn’t they only cause you trouble?”

‘Can’t you please just stay quiet and not cause any incidents?’

Emilia was trying to indirectly curb Alexander’s enthusiasm by circumventing her actual thoughts, but…

“Go!!! How can the Emperor of the Empire fear mere mobs!”

“…”

To Alexander, who had mentally been Emperor for at least ten years already, such words didn’t even reach his ears.

“Rather, this is the perfect opportunity to show that I, the new Emperor, am friendly to them, unlike Artraia or the Minister who oppress Zeltech!”

“…”

“Although Zeltech’s capital has shown disappointing performance as my running mate… their diligent national character will clearly be of great help to me!”

Therefore, Alexander, in the midst of heading to the negotiation site…

Decided to engage in dialogue with the Zeltech protesters using a method that had been popular at least 200 years ago.

Although this was a somewhat outdated approach…

Given his current status as ‘Pope,’ such performances were indeed necessary.

So Emilia could no longer object and began to follow Alexander with hurried steps.

But before long, Alexander would come to deeply regret this decision…