Ch.201The Burgundian Church Doctrine (4)

“Ugh… My head hurts.”

Andrea, the Holy Pontiff, who barely made it through another day, feels a throbbing in his head. It’s as if a second heart has formed inside his skull.

If it had merely been a matter of having too much work, he wouldn’t have felt this level of fatigue and pain. Dealing with issues like the treatment of heretics, the excommunication of the Bastard King, and suppressing the subversive forces stirred up by these events—each one requiring extremely complex theological and political calculations before he could barely find a thread of judgment—had consumed too much of his mental energy.

“Shall I escort you to the villa, Your Holiness?”

“Please do. I’d like to clear my head.”

The villa the Pontiff is heading to is perfect for recuperation, situated on a cool mountainside with refreshing streams flowing nearby.

Being only a thirty-minute journey from the Pontiff’s office, the convenient location has made this villa popular among Holy Pontiffs throughout generations. Some Pontiffs even went so far as to set up permanent residence there.

“We’re departing now. Please mind the vibrations.”

“Thank you.”

The Pontiff boards the prepared carriage and heads toward the villa. Though equipped with suspension, it merely transforms tongue-biting vibrations into tongue-bruising ones, so the dampening effect isn’t particularly revolutionary.

Of course, even this level of technology is considered cutting-edge for the current era, so the Pontiff harbors no confusion or complaints.

After all, vibrations in a carriage are only natural, and getting angry about something so inevitable would be as foolish as being upset that an apple placed in the air falls to the ground.

THUD—!

“Ugh…?!”

But this vibration is clearly not a natural one that occurs while traveling, causing the Pontiff to let out a startled yelp.

It’s not simply a matter of running over a large stone. It feels more like they’ve run over a person.

Neeeigh—!!

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down!”

Judging by the sounds of the startled horse and the coachman trying to calm it down from outside the carriage, it seems some accident has occurred.

Andrea, the Holy Pontiff, who had been dozing off before being jolted awake by the sudden vibration, straightens his posture and raises his voice.

“What happened?”

“The wheel has come loose, causing the carriage to tilt to one side with a loud noise, which greatly startled the horse!”

“Loose? Good grief… what are the maintenance workers doing?”

This isn’t just any carriage—it’s the one the Pontiff uses whenever he travels. Shouldn’t it be inspected before and after each use to check for any issues?

‘The location is… quite inconvenient.’

If this had happened shortly after departure, they could have quickly switched to a spare carriage. If it had happened upon arrival, the villa could have sent a replacement carriage promptly. But being halfway between the starting point and destination means they’ll likely have to remain here for a while.

“Is there anyone among the guards who knows how to repair a carriage?”

“I apologize, Your Holiness. We only know how to handle weapons…”

“That’s fine. Guards only need to know how to handle weapons; there’s no need to apologize for such a thing.”

Despite his words, the Pontiff clicks his tongue at the overly specialized composition of his guards and resolves to include a mechanic in his escort in the future.

No matter how you look at it, it’s clearly a problem that not a single person knows how to repair a carriage when it breaks down.

Even if it’s not due to poor maintenance, accidents are hard to avoid—that’s why they’re called accidents. The risk of carriage damage is always present, so at least one mechanic should be included in the escort—

Swish—

“Ugh—?!”

Just then, a sharp whistling sound reaches the Pontiff’s ears. Before he can properly identify this strange noise, his face is covered in blood, forcing him to squeeze his eyes shut.

At first, the Pontiff thought it was merely water on his face. But the peculiar warmth and the sticky sensation clinging to his skin raised his suspicions. As he slowly opened his eyes, he quickly assessed the situation by looking at his hands illuminated by torchlight.

Above all, the guard who had been conversing with him just moments ago was now lying face down on the ground with a long arrow piercing his neck, his body trembling. Even someone with poor intuition would immediately grasp what was happening.

Neeeigh—!

As an arrow pierces the horse’s neck, everyone comes to their senses.

“We’re under attack!!”

“Protect His Holiness!!”

This is the Holy See of the Canaan Faith—a place where bandits shouldn’t exist.

The area is filled with churches, each exerting strong influence over their surroundings. The administrative network is so tight that bandit groups cannot infiltrate from outside, and even if they were to form naturally, they would be identified and either provided relief or suppressed before they could organize.

This means that those attacking the Pontiff are not mere bandits.

The guards all realize this fact and steel themselves. These attackers are not simply after ransom; if the Pontiff were to be kidnapped, an unprecedented catastrophe could occur.

Rumble—

“—?!”

“Th-this is…!”

But despite the guards’ determination, they find themselves unable to fight properly as their intestines twist from poison that had been placed in the well water they drank.

Chloe’s meticulously trained assassination squad knew exactly how to time the wheel’s detachment and how to adjust the poison’s concentration for optimal effect, which resulted in a desperate situation for the guards.

Even if the guards bought time, the Pontiff couldn’t escape with the carriage wheel detached, and no matter how well-trained in martial arts they were, fighting properly with twisted intestines was impossible.

Swish—

“Khaack…!”

“Grrrgh…”

Eventually, the guards lost their lives one by one to arrows shot by assassins hiding in the bushes, until only the Pontiff remained in the entourage.

The Pontiff, who could only helplessly watch from inside the carriage as his guards fell one by one, simply closed his eyes tightly and waited for the ruffians to approach. When the carriage door finally flung open, rather than being startled, he seemed to realize that resistance was futile and followed them obediently. Of course, he was gagged to prevent him from calling for help and blindfolded.

The next morning, when the Holy See realized that the Pontiff was neither in his office, the Apostolic Palace, nor the villa, they finally understood that he had been kidnapped—but it was far too late. The Pontiff was already in the middle of the sea on a pre-prepared ship.

……….

[As the Holy See has become filled with devil worshippers who have clouded His Holiness’s vision, we had no choice but to resort to such extreme measures. The Holy See, tainted by evil, must be purified, but keeping His Holiness there during the purification process would be too painful for a true believer. Therefore, until the Holy See is purified, His Holiness will remain in the Grand Diocese of Dijon—]

“Heh heh heh…”

Crazy bastard.

No matter how lacking in common sense, no matter how plebeian one’s thinking might be, there are limits—kidnapping the Holy Pontiff? Is this something even worth considering?

They say that when something is too absurd, instead of becoming serious, you can’t help but laugh—and that’s exactly right. A hollow laugh that forcibly twists the corners of my mouth from the sheer absurdity.

“What will you do, Your Majesty?”

“I believe it’s time I dealt with these presumptuous prince-bishops and church territories who don’t know their place. Though it might seem like we’re empowering the Bastard King, wouldn’t the benefits far outweigh any potential side effects?”

“Absolutely, Your Majesty. I actually have documents prepared regarding how to handle the church territories that I’ve been organizing for some time. I’ll bring them right away if you could wait a moment?”

“Please do, go ahead.”

Truly, discovering Lorenzo was the greatest fortune of my life.

A minister who prepares solutions without even being ordered to—he’s an exceptionally capable and loyal talent, almost too good for me.

“Hmm…”

In the office after Lorenzo’s departure, the Emperor silently reads through documents detailing recent events and the proclamations that Lotharing has issued both internally and externally.

In this incident, the villain is solely the Bastard King.

Having gotten away with countless sins, he should have been satisfied and lived humbly. Instead, he further provoked the Pontiff’s anger by taxing the church and usurping appointment rights.

One could even feel sorry for the Holy See, which had continuously shown leniency only to be stabbed in the back and now in the front.

But… that’s all there is to it.

“Serves them right.”

Had it not been for the terrible incident of invading the Empire under the pretext of a holy war and plundering Imperial citizens, the Emperor might have even waged war to rescue the Pontiff.

Despite the increase in heretics, the foundation and state religion of the Holy Empire remains the Canaan Faith, and rescuing the Pontiff, who could be considered the heart of that faith, would have bestowed endless authority upon the Emperor.

But as everyone knows, the Holy See was the evil trumpeter who encouraged the invasion of the Empire, which diminished the appeal of the option to rescue the Pontiff for the Emperor of the Holy Empire. Above all, given the previous holy war, rescuing the Pontiff wouldn’t impress the Imperial citizens and nobles that much anyway.

The Emperor smiles grimly, taking pleasure in the Pontiff’s terrible predicament.

‘I need to strike down not only the Canaan Faith but also those Reform bastards.’

Although the Reformed Faith was created in resistance to the corruption of the Canaan Church, church corruption and evil practices like tax exemptions and cash demands continue under a different name. While the intensity may have decreased, the fundamental issues remain unchanged.

The Emperor intends to use this opportunity to strike down both the Canaan and Reformed churches, further accelerating centralization by benchmarking Lotharing.