Ch.148Governance (7)

“What the hell is going on right now?!”

The Archbishop of the Notre-Dame Archdiocese, who oversaw all churches in the Kingdom of Caroling, wailed in lamentation.

The world was going wrong.

Even if the king had changed, the church, which represented God’s will, shouldn’t be treated like this…!

Pitter-patter—

Letters requesting salvation from countless churches across Caroling flew in like garbage, like autumn leaves scattered on the streets, covering the floor of his office.

I want to save them too. I desperately want to save them.

It’s true that they were “somewhat” corrupt, but being swept away like this does absolutely nothing to preserve the church’s authority.

Moreover, since we can no longer receive various subsidies that help run the archdiocese, from every perspective, it’s not good for so many priests to be helplessly eliminated like this.

Nevertheless, I cannot save them.

“Archbishop, I heard a noise so I came to check… Your room is quite messy.”

“…”

It’s because of these damned bastards.

They claim to be loyal to the Canaan faith and the Holy See, but it’s no different from the devil’s lies.

Loyal? Is this how loyal people act? Even those imperial heretics seem more friendly in comparison.

If there are violations of doctrine, like accepting bribes, shouldn’t the first thought be to correct those issues? If bribes were taken for livelihood reasons, there should be some leniency.

But these guys don’t do that at all. They just use it as an excuse to strike down good clergymen as if it’s an opportunity.

They even interfere with the officially sanctioned sale of indulgences by the Holy See, threatening that if anyone sells indulgences, they’ll face ridiculous “faith inspections.”

“Are there no servants?”

“…Due to the significant reduction in staff, the archdiocese’s servants are prioritizing more important tasks than cleaning.”

“Is that so? Hmm… It’s quite shocking that there’s no one to work at the archdiocese.”

It’s because you’ve taken them all away…!

The world doesn’t run on theory alone, but the many servants and priests of the archdiocese who dealt with church territories in practical ways have long been removed by these damned individuals.

Isn’t mercy an important virtue that follows God’s will? To eliminate everyone so mercilessly—I cannot see how these people are following God’s will at all.

“And is it appropriate to leave the Archbishop’s office like this? The cleanliness of your office directly reflects your work capability, so it’s naturally important.”

“…Not necessary.”

They’re trying to plant their people and completely devour the archdiocese.

I will never fall for your petty tactics.

Now that I think about it, they might have deliberately set harsh standards to remove all the servants and priests in order to take over the archdiocese.

“Not necessary, you say…”

The man with the ridiculous title of Faith Inspector said this, then looked at me as if I were garbage.

This, this person…!

How dare you look at me, the Archbishop of Notre-Dame, directly appointed by the Holy See, with such eyes?!

If His Holiness were in his right mind, such damned bastards would immediately—

“You will find it necessary.”

“If you’re going to spout such nonsense, then immediately— What is that?!”

The Archbishop, who was about to shout in anger just a moment ago, froze with an expression as if he’d seen a ghost, then became unable to speak.

That hand, that rough hand holding a small piece of cloth…

“Oh, do you know what this is?”

“N-no… I don’t know. It’s an object I’m not familiar with.”

“How can you not know? Anyone can see these are a female’s undergarments, and those of a young girl at that. Is there really someone who doesn’t recognize this?”

The Archbishop could no longer say anything.

He just trembled with a pale face, like a corpse, and seeing his reaction, the Faith Inspector sighed bitterly, not pleased that his guess was correct, but rather lamenting deeply.

“Cooperate. If you want to live.”

“Ugh… ugh…”

It’s an extremely vile and childish threat, but when the person making it has already imprisoned dozens of people and holds clear evidence, it’s no longer just a childish threat.

The Archbishop feels no shame that his secret preference has been discovered. He simply trembles in fear of death, just as the Faith Inspector warned.

“If you obey, I’ll let you live. After the purification is complete… live however you want. Whether you crawl on the ground or beg for food, I don’t care.”

……….

“Holy One, how do you find it?”

“It’s… should I say surprising?”

This is the church…?

Where have all those devout believers I’ve seen gone?

Jeanne, who came in place of Armand, reported to me on the progress of the Caroling Church purification, and the report was quite shocking.

“Wouldn’t it be better to just cut off the Archbishop?”

First, the Archbishop.

I want to cut off everything from his position to that thing between his legs.

Even on Earth, pedophilia among high-ranking clergy occasionally made the news, but to think it exists here too. How disgusting.

“I’d like to do that too… but if we cut off his head now, the situation with the Caroling Church would become unstable. It seems better to keep him alive as a puppet, pressuring him to prevent any dissent, and then deal with him when everything is finished.”

“No… I meant his position, not his head…”

“Ah, hahaha… whether it’s his position or his head, the result is the same, isn’t it?”

“Is that so?”

Now that I think about it, that’s true…

No, wait, it’s not just “true”—Jeanne is right. He’s a man who deserves to die anyway.

“Yes, that’s right. Whether he dies socially or physically, the result is the same.”

While that’s technically correct, there’s something eerily unsettling about Jeanne’s tone.

It’s as if her regret at not being able to kill him right now is palpable in her voice.

Hmm… Jeanne has had this personality since I first met her, but I still haven’t gotten used to it.

Especially since Jeanne has lived quietly without causing trouble for four years, that imbalance makes this eerie feeling even more pronounced.

“Right… good job.”

“Hehe, thank you. Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”

“No. Except for the disposition of the Archbishop, everything is being handled well, so I don’t have any particular questions. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

She seems to have sharpened her knife thoroughly.

It feels as if she’s studied how to slaughter the church territories while inflicting maximum pain.

She investigates the priests of the church territories, then uses that information to pressure or arrest them, and searches through all kinds of documents to find legal grounds to break up and divide the church territories.

She even sends in knights to completely destroy church territories that resist with force. What’s more surprising is that these knights aren’t from the existing army but an armed group that Jeanne and Armand organized themselves and placed under my command.

‘And then, just like in Lotaring, they eliminate the church territories.’

Anyway, Armand and Jeanne are incredibly skilled.

When I previously weeded out church territories, I only absorbed the excessive expansions by reinterpreting existing laws. But what Armand and Jeanne are doing now is the complete annihilation of church territories.

Literally leaving only the churches while stripping away everything attached to them.

All bribes, sales of indulgences and counterfeit relics, church territories, forced taxation, forced collection—everything has become impossible for the churches of Caroling, which now must survive solely on voluntary donations from believers. Or brew wine and beer.

What if these churches try to accept bribes again, or force sales, or collect money with absurd sophistry? That’s impossible.

After expelling priests by any means necessary, they’re placing graduates of Dijon University’s theology department as temporary priests in their positions.

All churches require priests and assistant priests dispatched from the Holy See or the archdiocese, but since the archdiocese has already become a puppet, there’s no need to worry about that.

They just need to force the Notre-Dame Archbishop, now reduced to a rubber stamp and a voting machine, to appoint these temporary priests as official priests.

“Jeanne… whose idea was this?”

“This?”

“I mean sweeping away all the churches in Caroling.”

“That… hehe, I’m embarrassed to say, but it was mine. I clumsily tried to follow what you did with the churches in Lotaring…”

“Clumsy? You’re doing it even better. Stop with the false modesty.”

Clumsily following? How is this clumsy in any way?

Actually, it’s not even following—it’s more like she was inspired by it.

“Jeanne, is your official position still a maid?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll grant you a lower title, so from now on, you’re not a maid but an attendant. And I’ll officially put you in charge of supervising the churches in the country.”

That way, she’ll be able to act more smoothly than in her current position as a maid.

I didn’t know Jeanne had this side to her; it would have been good if I had noticed a little earlier.

“Holy One…”

“What is it?”

But Jeanne’s expression isn’t entirely positive.

It’s a mix of joy and bewilderment.

“If I become an attendant, does that mean I can no longer take care of you?”

“No? As an attendant, you’ll be free from physical labor, but you can still do it if you want to.”

“Then… I gratefully accept. Hehe, I look forward to continuing to serve you.”

Only after hearing my answer did Jeanne seem satisfied, smiling brightly.

Really… Jeanne is still so much like a young girl in these ways.