Ch.202Burgon Ecclesiasticism (5)

The swaying of the ship’s hull stopped.

That meant they had arrived at another port.

“Sigh…”

What in the world was happening?

To be kidnapped right in the middle of the Holy See, even though it was evening twilight and I was on my way to a secluded palace.

‘Could it be heretic pirates?’

I’m free to move around inside the ship now, but when I was first kidnapped, I was blindfolded and gagged, so I couldn’t confirm anything in detail.

The heretic pirates from the southern continent across the sea are notorious for raiding coastal areas and plundering goods and people for generations.

Although the Holy City of the Holy See isn’t exactly on the coast, it’s close enough to the sea for pirates to infiltrate. Even with the administrative network of densely packed churches, it would be difficult to prevent a small group from infiltrating by sea.

‘If I could just exchange a few words with them, I’d know immediately… Tsk, they’re so cautious even after successfully kidnapping me.’

But the Pope’s conjecture remains just that—a conjecture.

The only clue is that we crossed the sea; there’s no other evidence.

A person’s accent doesn’t change easily. When someone who uses Carolingian speaks the Imperial language, no matter how much they’ve practiced, their origin will show through, providing an easy key to identifying where they’re from.

But… these kidnappers haven’t spoken a single word. Not since I was kidnapped until now.

They’ve even covered their faces with masks, making it difficult to determine their origin.

‘…No, they can’t be pirates.’

Although pirate crews operate under strict codes, it doesn’t make sense for pirates to enforce such rigid discipline. It’s almost like a knightly order. Besides, they would eventually need to reveal themselves to demand ransom, so there’s no reason to maintain such secrecy.

Moreover, the cabin is too luxurious to belong to pirates.

Despite being on a ship, there’s a soft bed and table, and the wooden floors and walls are painted with white dye made from stone, making them look quite decent. There’s no reason to treat a mere hostage this well.

So then who—

Creeeeak—

‘Someone’s coming.’

At that moment, hurried footsteps gathered outside the door, causing strange noises to emanate from the ship’s floor in all directions.

Hearing this, the Pope erased all his previous thoughts and prepared to face his kidnappers.

It might seem ridiculous to maintain dignity before mere kidnappers, but it’s actually essential to avoid appearing ridiculous. With the Canaan Church already facing crises from heretics and resistance from secular rulers, if the Pope—the heart of Canaan—were to lose his dignity, Canaan would be finished that very day.

“Your Holiness!!”

“What…?”

However, what appeared beyond the door were not kidnappers but neatly dressed priests of the Canaan Church. Judging by their distressed faces, they seemed well aware that I had been kidnapped.

‘…How?’

Intuitively realizing this, the Pope became wary rather than relieved at meeting the priests.

It had only been a few days since his kidnapping from the Holy See, far too little time for the information to spread to churches around the world.

Moreover, priests? If he had truly been taken to the land of heretics, priests couldn’t exist there. Those neatly pressed vestments must have been maintained daily on land.

This meant this was a land that followed the Canaan faith, and these people had received information from whoever orchestrated his kidnapping.

There are two nations that follow the Canaan faith accessible by sea, and one of them, Andalusia, would have no reason to do this.

Which means…

“…This must be Lotharing.”

“Pardon? Ah… This is not Lotharing but the Kingdom of Caroling.”

“Hahaha… The bastard has finally gone mad, completely mad.”

When the guards monitoring under the guise of protection behind the priests heard the word “bastard,” the atmosphere immediately soured, but they couldn’t stop the Pope.

After all, even in decline, the Pope is still the Pope.

In the room that fell silent as priests and guards tensed, only the Pope let out a bitter laugh.

………

“It’s been a while since we last met, since the peace treaty. It’s good to see you, Your Holiness Andrea. Back then you were merely a cardinal, but now you’ve become the Pope—truly a momentous occasion.”

“…Send us back to the Holy See immediately, and I won’t make a big issue of this.”

How impatient.

Not even responding to my greeting before getting straight to the point—it seems he doesn’t want to exchange pleasantries with me, even as a formality.

Well, if I were in his position, I wouldn’t want to greet my kidnapper either.

“Haha, that’s impossible. Currently, the Holy See is filled with heretics who worship demons instead of God. We cannot place Your Holiness in such a dangerous place until all of them are eliminated.”

“What nonsense…! There isn’t a single heretic in the Holy See!!”

“According to the evidence we’ve gathered, there are. They have clouded Your Holiness’s eyes and ears, preventing you from making accurate judgments.”

Based on his behavior during the peace treaty and the information we’ve collected, the new Pope Andrea has a very strong tendency to think pragmatically.

This means Andrea likely understands his current situation well enough to view it objectively.

Why is someone who should understand acting this way? Sigh.

“Although the Holy See is filled with heretics who worship demons, the Pope’s duties cannot be suspended. Therefore, I will establish a temporary Holy See here in the Dijon Archdiocese, created through the consideration of the previous Pope, so that Your Holiness can carry out your duties while I eliminate the heretics from the Holy See.”

“Eliminate? You say eliminate?”

“Yes, Your Holiness. The heretics operating in the Holy See are too numerous and deeply entrenched. I must inform you in advance that they cannot be eliminated overnight unless we burn them all away.”

“Y-you…!”

He seems to have realized that eliminating these “heretics” would take decades at minimum, even without being told.

Of course—a Holy See without its Pope is just an empty shell, so there’s no reason to destroy it. The longer I can drag this out and keep the Pope captive, the greater the advantage for me and future kings.

The Pope is not merely a trophy. The Holy See was created after the Pope, which means that even if a temporary Holy See is established in Dijon, it can perform all the functions of the original—only the name is temporary.

And that Holy See will move according to my will.

“While the temporary Holy See is being established, I would like Your Holiness to select the high clergy who will work there.”

“You’re allowing us such a thing…? Wouldn’t that prevent you from turning us into a human stamp?”

“Allowing? Organizing the offices of the Holy See is a right that belongs solely to Your Holiness. Here is a list of individuals free from heresy charges—you may choose whoever you wish from it.”

“…A list, you say. Your ideas grow more disgusting by the day. I won’t choose, so do as you please.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

What a shame.

A Holy See formed by the Pope’s own selection would have had greater legitimacy than one filled with my people, but as soon as he realized I had pre-selected the candidates, he lost interest.

If it were another Pope, he might have carefully selected people from my list who could help overcome this situation and be less influenced by me, but Andrea immediately recognized the futility of that and chose instead to reduce the legitimacy of the puppet Holy See.

Can’t be helped. Whether the Pope chooses or I choose, the world will see the Holy See as my puppet anyway, so there’s no need to obsess over it.

……….

“We must declare a holy war against Lotharing immediately!”

“A holy war? I’d like nothing more, but can we defeat Lotharing even if we declare one? No, I question whether there are even any monarchs who would participate.”

“We must at least try! To give up before even trying—is that the attitude to have when His Holiness has been kidnapped?!”

“What did you say? If I were a mere farmer, of course I should try, but this is a grave matter! A wrong choice could lead to irreversible consequences—to package reckless action as ‘effort’ rather than carefully planning a strategy makes me question your qualifications—”

“Enough, enough!! Everyone be quiet!!”

Meanwhile, the Holy See, with its Pope kidnapped, was in utter chaos. Words like “pandemonium” or “pigsty” couldn’t adequately describe the situation.

With the Pope—their central figure—gone, the high clergy who could determine the Holy See’s direction were each pushing their own opinions, unable to reach consensus. To become a high-ranking cleric working in the Holy See requires tremendous stubbornness in theology, and that tendency was now prominently displayed.

“Let’s pardon the brothers who have been persecuted! We cannot be divided in the face of this terrible event of His Holiness’s kidnapping!”

“How can you say that now?! They are corrupt and depraved individuals whose qualifications His Holiness revoked. If we take them back, consensus will become even more impossible!”

“Are you suggesting we oppose that powerful bastard with half of Canaan?”

“Half? Those handful of people are nothing compared to the faithful followers of Canaan!”

“What did you say?!”

Moreover, with Pope Andrea—who had been suppressing and eliminating the corrupt factions within the Canaan Church—now gone, those oppressed factions were seizing the opportunity to stir up trouble.

The clerics of the Holy See were trying their best to hold them back, but since most of the Holy See’s authority rested with the Pope, there were limits to what they could do.

“Um, excuse me…”

“What is it?”

“His Holiness, who is detained in Dijon, has sent a letter. He says he is being safely protected and we should not act rashly, and he is withdrawing the excommunication previously issued to Claude, the ruler of Lotharing…”

“…Damn it.”

No one here believes that the Pope actually wrote that letter. It only bears the seal of the Pope’s signet ring expressing his authority, with no other evidence.

But even that is enough to render the Holy See brain-dead. After all, an order has been issued in the Pope’s name.

The clerics of the Holy See bow their heads, feeling in their bodies the approach of the end times prophesied in the scriptures.