Ch.163And You Call This a Proposal…

In this world, there are words that are never welcome to hear.

Words that would have been better left unheard.

Yet they are words that must be heard, that one inevitably hears.

This time was no different.

—-

“…He’s late?”

“Yes. From what I’ve been told, Prince Matthias will arrive as early as this evening. So… he should be at the Imperial Palace by now. I hope my concerns are unfounded.”

Lacy moistened her throat again.

Her remarkably calm attitude left me rather bewildered.

“No, then at a time like this…!”

Just as I urgently tried to stand up, Lacy extended her hand to stop me.

“Calm yourself. Are you thinking of storming the Imperial Palace at this hour? On what grounds?”

Since I hadn’t been invited, I had no legitimate reason.

Nor did I have any means to force my way through.

But still…!

“Let it go. The sun has already set and the sky has darkened, so there’s nothing more we can do. At least not today. If you wish to meet Prince Matthias, you’ll have to wait until morning comes.”

“How can you be so relaxed…!”

You can remain so calm because you don’t have confirmation that the Empress is a witch, but I’m different.

It’s obvious he’ll die if we leave him be, yet you’re telling me to just wait until tomorrow?

I feel disgustingly uneasy, and with this feeling, how could I possibly sleep properly?

“I’m not being relaxed. I mean that going there would be meaningless. If Empress Isabella has decided to kill the 4th Prince, he would have been murdered already, and if she hasn’t decided to kill him, then storming in would be pointless. Either way, it would be a wasted effort. If you’re determined to commit meaningless suicide, I have no choice but to stop you.”

…Her words were resolute and logical.

Enough to make me sit back down. Damn it.

I sat back on the sofa.

To ease my growing frustration, I gulped down the holy water Lacy had poured for me.

“Are you feeling a bit calmer now?”

“…Yes. Thanks to you.”

Right. As Lacy said, the matter concerning Matthias was beyond my control.

What I needed to do was consider what would happen if Matthias died, and how I should respond, rather than taking reckless action in an attempt to prevent it.

Once I thought about it that way, my impatient feelings seemed to subside somewhat.

Lacy smiled and poured more holy water into my cup.

I took another sip.

…Indeed, it was water with a refreshing quality difficult to find anywhere else.

Enough to calm emotional fluctuations and clear my head in an instant.

If only it had some carbonation, it would be perfect.

Come to think of it, when she previously apologized for having nothing but water to offer, that was actually an extremely humble statement.

Her holy water must be worth dozens of times more than ordinary holy water.

Even the finest black tea could rightfully be dismissed as “mere tea” in comparison.

…And I had given her just plain water.

“I’m glad you understand. Regarding Empress Isabella and Prince Ernst… let’s discuss it again tomorrow after we see how things develop. If we can’t locate the Prince, then as you said, it would be reasonable to suspect the Empress.”

Though she’s speaking diplomatically, it sounds like she won’t take any measures until Matthias dies.

So what, is she asking me to hope for his death?

“What do you plan to do if the Prince can’t be found?”

“Then I will completely believe what you’ve told me.”

“…Is that all?”

Isn’t there some more, well, practical help available?

I understand that if things go wrong, it could appear as though the Church is intimidating imperial authority, making it difficult to act aggressively, but still…

Noticing my slight dissatisfaction, Lacy shook her head lightly and continued.

“Suspicion alone isn’t enough to officially excommunicate the Empress or bring her to heresy trial. I doubt she would try to kill the 4th Prince without any contingency plan, so pressing her on that basis would also have limitations.”

Such a cautious attitude. Yet when she suspected Ophelia of being a witch, she was ready to hunt her down and burn her immediately.

Whether I took it the wrong way or not, Lacy continued speaking.

“So… first we need to find evidence of wrongdoing. I intend to request members of the Secret Martyrdom Apostolate from the Church, staking my clerical position on it.”

What’s that supposed to be?

Secret Martyrdom Apostolate—is that just three impressive words strung together?

“The Church’s shadow arm. Martyrs of sacrifice who volunteer to perform even acts contrary to doctrine solely to eradicate heresy. If no evidence is found even with their deployment, I’ll have to bear all the backlash… but they will surely find evidence.”

“Just hearing about it gives me the impression of some top-secret operation. Is it okay to tell me about this?”

Lacy’s gaze shifted toward my waist.

More precisely, toward the sword at my waist… Durandal.

“As you said, this information shouldn’t normally be disclosed to those who aren’t central to the Church. However, for the wielder of the Oath Sword… a direct descendant of the Great’s Twelve Knights. And having successfully awakened the sword, you hold ecclesiastical rank equal to an archbishop according to doctrine, so there’s nothing problematic about it.”

Archbishop, is it?

Without even realizing it, I’ve gained an impressive title.

A bitter smile escaped me.

…Come to think of it, aren’t I actually one of the most powerful among the powerful?

Princess of Ka’har. Descendant of the Great’s Twelve Knights. Imperial Viscount. Eastern Margrave and heir to the Imperial Prince-Elector.

And now an archbishop-level cleric of the Church of Elpinel.

Most of these are undisclosed secret identities, but with titles like these, I’m no less impressive than a prince.

“Archbishop… that doesn’t feel real to me.”

“It’s an unofficial title for now. You seem reluctant to announce it publicly anyway.”

That’s true.

According to Lord Landenburg, I was appointed as Imperial Prince-Elector in exchange for not revealing that I’m a descendant of the Great’s Twelve Knights.

…Is it the same for Faelrun?

“Since we’re on the topic, let’s talk about that sword. We’ve digressed a bit with the witch discussion, but now we can get to the main point…”

“The main point? About the sword… Yes, I was curious about what you wanted to say.”

Lacy took a deep breath.

What is she going to say?

I waited for her first words with a mixture of slight anxiety and subtle curiosity.

“I’ll be direct. If you lose in the imperial power struggle, would you come to the Holy State? As the commander of my personal guard’s Special Crusader Division.”

“…That’s such an abrupt proposal that it’s hard to understand.”

“Then allow me to explain in detail. About my goals and the meaning of this proposal.”

Lacy moved her head closer to me.

Her blue-silver eyes were burning with religious fervor and sense of mission.

—-

The Holy State of Elphirem, located in the western part of the Empire, is a religious state established by eleven religious orders that survived after the religious wars.

Though they’re now unified as the 11 Deity Religion, each was originally a religious order with different theological views.

Elpinel, Saulite, Ceres.

Vimos, Menes, Volberg.

Grimnir, Astraea, Imela.

Kranus, Ausrine.

The current Holy State is governed by the Holy Maiden, the highest leader, and the cardinals representing each order—these twelve clerics manage state affairs, with positions below them varying slightly between orders.

In reality, the two major orders—the Church of Elpinel and the Church of Saulite—determine most policies.

“So what’s a Holy Maiden candidate?”

“It’s a title given to those who have received the Stigmata from each order, one person per order. Since some deities haven’t bestowed stigmata for over a hundred years, there aren’t always eleven candidates. In terms of hierarchy… somewhere between a cardinal and an archbishop.”

“And one of them becomes the Holy Maiden?”

“Yes. The most devout one is elected as Holy Maiden through a meeting of the cardinals. I should add that currently, there are only two Holy Maiden candidates in the Holy State—myself and the candidate from the Church of Menes.”

She seems to be speaking proudly about this…

But if you belong to the largest order and have only one rival, yet still haven’t been recognized as Holy Maiden, shouldn’t you be reflecting on yourself rather than boasting?

…Unless that speech was the result of such reflection, in which case she’s actively moving in the wrong direction.

“I haven’t heard about the Holy Maiden candidate from the Church of Menes. Is she in the Holy State?”

“Yes. I’ve heard she’s still young and focuses on learning within the order without any special external activities.”

What? You’re even losing to a child?

If she fails to obtain the position of Holy Maiden at this rate, she’ll be too embarrassed to show her face.

“…Right. Let’s move on from that. So, what do you mean by asking me to join your personal guard?”

“I should first explain the military structure of the Holy State. While it’s called the Holy State of the 11 Deity Religion, which makes it sound unified… the reality is different. The Holy State’s military power consists of independent forces from each order. In a way, military authority is divided into eleven branches.”

This was quite interesting.

The basic organizational structure was the same.

Paladins instead of knights, battle priests instead of mages, and holy legions in place of regular troops.

However, the number and quality of troops, their training level, and specialties varied tremendously between orders.

Unless it’s a war against another country requiring the deployment of all the Holy State’s forces, these groups never fight together, and normally both recruitment and deployment are left to each order’s discretion.

Just as only the Church of Elpinel’s forces were deployed to the Ainfeld battlefield.

…At this rate, it seems more like an alliance of eleven small countries than a single nation.

“The Church of Elpinel’s forces were among the Holy State’s elite… but suffered considerable losses in the Battle of Ainfeld. Unlike the Church of Saulite, which preserved its forces intact.”

“…So you want to draw me into the Church of Elpinel’s paladin order?”

“More specifically, into my personal guard. While ordinary paladins would have to follow the orders of the cardinal or the Holy State, my personal guard is entirely under my direct command. Baron Median, you would only need to follow my requests. That would be less burdensome for you as well.”

“I don’t know where to begin with my objections, but first of all, I’m not a paladin. I can’t use holy power.”

“That’s not a problem. The new unit I’m planning to establish, the Special Crusader Division, isn’t limited to paladins anyway.”

Special Crusader Division.

In my experience, no organization with words like “special” or “special operations” in its name ever does normal work.

—-

Sure enough, the unit purpose Lacy explained was brutal.

Special Race Extermination Mission Execution Crusader Division.

In short, Special Crusader Division.

Its founding objective was the annihilation of non-human races that show hostility toward humanity.

…What does Lacy take me for, to make such a proposal?