Ch.344Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

# “Who’s Coming?”

Before I could even ask that question, I had already arrived at the scene. Until the very moment of my arrival, I doubted whether I had heard correctly.

Because the scene unfolding before my eyes was so vivid.

I couldn’t utter a word as I took in the surroundings.

Fluttering flags and the double-headed eagle symbolizing the Kjerag Empire.

An honor guard forming a line so long its end couldn’t be seen.

A red carpet extending perfectly straight without a single wrinkle.

And.

The largest airship in the Imperial Navy’s fleet.

A familiar face descending, her mysterious silver hair flowing abundantly.

“It’s been a while.”

The Grand Duke of the North and the Great Archmage.

Alexandra Smirnov had appeared at the sacred site of the Church.

## Episode 14 – One Religion, One Faith, Two Saints

Grand Duke Alexandra’s appearance was sudden. She had been a person who had restricted her public activities and disappeared from sight for the past several years.

When she appeared leading the Imperial delegation, people could only wear expressions of disbelief.

Those who had no way to receive news from the North since the declaration of martial law were often bewildered by the appearance of this forgotten great figure. Even veteran diplomats like ambassadors were taken aback.

That’s how sudden, magnificent, and simultaneously perplexing the Grand Duke’s appearance was.

“…Why is that person coming here?”

The Grand Duke, having disembarked from the airship, walked proudly along the red carpet while receiving a salute from the Church’s honor guard.

As I stared at her with utter disbelief,

“What do you think, Officer?”

Francesca approached quietly with a deep smile and began to whisper.

“Now that the Great Archmage herself has come in person, not just her descendant, no one will criticize me anymore, right?”

“Is that really what matters right now?”

“Hmm, you seemed concerned about my well-being for a while… but it seems your heart has changed. I guess this is what they mean when they say people change their minds as quickly as going in and out of the bathroom?”

As I covered my face with my palm to hide my frustration, a casual laugh penetrated my ears.

After showing me a smile as if she understood, Francesca stopped joking and asked in a serious tone.

“Then what’s important to you, Officer?”

“No!”

I pointed at Grand Duke Alexandra and exclaimed in a hushed voice.

“That person is the one who bombed Laterano back in the day!”

*

Alexandra Smirnov. A direct descendant of the Smirnov imperial family and the aunt of Emperor Nicholas VI, she was both the Grand Duke of the North and a mage of the Magic Tower.

Actually, there’s a slight inaccuracy in describing her as a mage of the Magic Tower. Unlike Francesca and other mages who hold dual citizenship with Fatalia and the Magic Tower, she is a pure citizen of the Kjerag Empire.

Members of the Smirnov imperial family cannot acquire other nationalities.

With great power comes great responsibility, and the power of imperial family members is proportional to their bloodline. Grand Duke Alexandra was a legitimate descendant born between the previous emperor and his lawful empress, and she was the current emperor’s aunt.

No matter how much she transcended the category of ordinary humans as a mage, as long as imperial blood flowed in her veins, Grand Duke Alexandra could not be free from the long-standing customs and disciplines of the imperial family.

The problem was that Alexandra Smirnov wasn’t just a mage, but a Great Archmage.

Great Archmage.

The great mages who fought against the Church and founded the Magic Tower.

Great Archmages are respected and welcomed wherever they go, but not in the Church.

That’s because Grand Duke Alexandra was the general who commanded the Magic Tower’s army in the war against the Church.

And her greatest achievement in that history-shaking war was the large-scale air raid she conducted on Laterano, the heart of the Church.

“……”

In the early stages of the war, the Magic Tower was on the defensive.

Despite receiving support from foreign governments, the Magic Tower was inferior to the Church in every aspect, both numerically and in terms of having a systematic military with experience.

When battles broke out, the Magic Tower’s combat mages were helplessly swept away under the blades of the holy knights, and the daggers of the Inquisition were thrust into the necks of Magic Tower diplomats who had gone to distant lands to request support. The Church put all its efforts into crushing the Magic Tower, and the tide of war quickly turned, causing the morale of the mages to hit rock bottom.

In that situation, Grand Duke Alexandra bombed Laterano, the sacred site of the Church. She did this with a suicide squad of 10 people, including herself and 3 other Great Archmages.

If caught, death was certain. In fact, just successfully infiltrating would have been a miracle.

To sneak into the heart of the Church, strike key facilities, evade pursuit, and return alive to the Magic Tower required three miracles.

It was a mission prepared with the expectation of death.

And it succeeded.

The mages who took to the skies above Laterano covered the holy city with all kinds of magic. The Inquisition headquarters, the command center, the cathedral where the Pope resided.

Only three locations were attacked, but all three attacks were successful. Surprised by the appearance of the mages, the Church hastily canceled its offensive and withdrew its army. This resulted in giving the Magic Tower, which had been beaten from all sides, room to breathe. The boost in morale was an added bonus.

It was because that operation succeeded that the Magic Tower exists today.

From that perspective, politically, historically, and militarily, Grand Duke Alexandra deserves to be evaluated as one of the greatest figures.

The problem is that this is Laterano, the heart of the Church.

And the person who turned this city upside down and made it a wasteland a hundred years ago is Grand Duke Alexandra.

I stared blankly into space, deep in thought.

Then suddenly I wondered,

“…Has she finally gone senile?”

Walking into a city she had bombed, on her own two feet. It was something that was hard to even imagine with a normal person’s mindset.

“Is this what they call ‘teabagging’ or whatever?”

With what face did she come to Laterano? No, why did the Church allow the Grand Duke to come to Laterano? Did the Church send an invitation first?

As various complicated thoughts crossed my mind, the anchor on the screen quickly recited news about the Grand Duke.

[This morning, Grand Duke Alexandra appeared in Laterano, the sacred site of the Church. Breaking years of seclusion to show herself to the world, the Grand Duke will attend the canonization ceremony of Saint Lucia on behalf of the Kjerag Empire government…]

[At nearly 4 AM, Grand Duke Alexandra’s convoy entered under tight security. Large screens and security checkpoints have been installed at the entrance of the hotel where the Grand Duke is staying. While Kjerag Empire security personnel guard the surroundings, the Pope’s guards armed with rifles patrol the hotel perimeter…]

The Grand Duke who had arrived in Laterano was entering the hotel with her entourage.

Under the protection of Imperial security personnel and Church guards, the Imperial delegation, including the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Industry, and Land, all high-ranking officials in their 50s on average, were escorting the Grand Duke, who appeared to be just over 30, into the hotel. This brief moment was captured by a reporter’s camera.

It was truly a ridiculous sight. People who looked old enough to be fathers were fawning over a woman young enough to be their daughter.

However, when you realize that this woman who appears to be in her 30s is one of the legitimate descendants of the Imperial family and the aunt of Nicholas VI, known as a tyrant, and a figure who has left significant marks on modern world history, anyone could notice the cold sweat beading on the faces of the ministers captured on screen.

And the person who noticed this fact was sitting right next to me.

“Wow, those people are really pitiful.”

Crunch. Camilla, who was watching the television, chewed on nuts she had pulled out of a bag. Perhaps enjoying the rich, nutty flavor filling her mouth, she smacked her lips and continued.

“Is that the Grand Duke there? Is that woman the same person? The one Lucia sent a letter to asking for help catching demons.”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm, when I saw her in portraits, I thought her appearance might have been exaggerated a bit. I didn’t know she really maintained her youth like that.”

“……”

“I have this strange feeling of déjà vu, like I’ve met her somewhere before… Maybe I saw her in the North? My memory is cut off, so I can’t recall.”

As if finding it difficult to recall her memories, Camilla frowned while chewing on nuts, then suddenly looked at me and tilted her head.

“But why are you sweating so much?”

They say that from a distance, the affairs of the world look like comedy, but up close, they’re tragedy. Life is the same.

Sitting next to Camilla, opening a bag of nuts for her, I broke out in a cold sweat as I looked at the missed calls on my screen.

“…This is driving me crazy.”

From the moment the Grand Duke appeared on the news, my phone had been ringing like mad.

I thought it might be a dream, but seeing both my work phone and personal phone flashing, it seemed to be reality.

After rubbing my eyes vigorously and staring blankly at my phone, I finally came to my senses and began to organize the situation.

“Aish, shit…”

People with an uncanny sense for these things had called me directly without going through the embassy.

Thanks to taking care of my companions over the past few months, whenever a problem arose involving Camilla, Lucia, or Francesca, most decent folks would look for me first.

And, quite unfortunately, this incident was related to Lucia, one of those three. After all, the place where the Grand Duke of the North, who rarely showed herself, first appeared was none other than Laterano, where Lucia’s canonization ceremony was scheduled.

At this point, my former and current superiors had only one thing to say.

-‘Go find out what they’re plotting.’

-‘You’ll have to do some work for us.’

All they did was give me work.

*

After dumping the task on me, Leoni provided activity funds.

Unaccounted funds. Money that I could use however I wanted without reporting, perfect for embezzlement.

Despite showing my reluctance to work, I quickly ran to the hotel where the Grand Duke was staying after receiving activity funds equivalent to several years of my salary.

Arriving at the hotel entrance in civilian clothes, I couldn’t help but stick out my tongue at the sight before me.

“…Ah, these bastards are swarming everywhere.”

The 5-star hotel chosen as accommodation by the Imperial delegation was extraordinary from the entrance. First, a pitch-black screen covering the entire entrance caught my eye.

To prevent unfortunate incidents at the predictable main entrance, the Church controlled all entrances to the Imperial delegation’s hotel and installed huge screens. Moreover, the Pope’s guards had shed their traditional ceremonial uniforms and were heavily armed with the latest weapons, guarding the hotel surroundings.

That wasn’t all.

Looking up, I could see the densely packed windows of the hotel. The building soaring as if to touch the sky and hundreds of rooms all had their curtains drawn without exception.

What does this mean?

“Did they rent all of that…?”

The Imperial government had reserved the entire hotel for the diplomatic delegation.

And that’s not all. Just before the airship arrived, diplomats from the Imperial embassy refunded and evicted all existing guests. All for the safety of Grand Duke Alexandra, a member of the imperial family.

Just 30 minutes ago, I had met a family who had been comfortably resting in their room. Having suddenly lost their accommodation and wandering around the hotel, I approached them disguised as a reporter.

“The hotel suddenly asked you to vacate your room?”

“That’s right! I mean, we were all sleeping when they knocked on the door and woke us up. It seemed urgent, so we went outside, and the staff were running around the corridor knocking on doors. At first, I thought there was a fire!”

“So what happened?”

“When they suddenly asked us to vacate the room, I refused at first. We had made this reservation months in advance because it was obvious that accommodations would be fully booked during the pilgrimage season. How could we leave? They said they would give us a full refund, but I still refused. While we were arguing, suddenly people in sharp suits came and said they would refund us and find us new accommodations if we just stepped outside to talk.”

Looking around carefully, I found many people who had experienced the same thing. I cautiously posed as a reporter and interviewed them.

But there were limits to collecting information this way. With the Empire having chartered the entire hotel, questioning civilians wouldn’t reveal which rooms the Grand Duke and ministers were staying in.

Not if they were civilians, that is.

I took out my phone and called the Abas Embassy to the Church. Fortunately, there was someone in the office, as a voice came through before the third ring.

“Oh, it’s me. It’s been a while. Is the weather good there?”

-‘Yes, it seems we can talk for a while.’

“Good. A package was delivered, and it’s something important. But I’m out right now, so I have no way to check if it was delivered properly. Can you check if the contents are all there?”

-‘The wiretapping failed.’

The intelligence officer from the communications department dispatched to the embassy informed me about the results of wiretapping the Imperial delegation’s accommodation.

-‘Twenty minutes before the Grand Duke and the diplomatic delegation entered the hotel, the Imperial Guard and embassy personnel arrived at the hotel first. Until the vehicles arrived at the entrance, we could hear conversations from inside the hotel on our listening equipment, but they’ve done something to block not only communications but also voices.’

“The buffer material seems quite sturdy.”

-‘Yes, it seems they’ve prepared for wiretapping and eavesdropping.’

I quickly reviewed the data collected by the officially disguised intelligence officers.

All hotel rooms were equipped with plush carpets and thick curtains. Unlike building materials like marble that reflect sound, carpets and curtains have properties that absorb sound.

The officially disguised Imperial intelligence agents and Imperial Guard who arrived at the diplomatic delegation’s accommodation not only meticulously drew the curtains but also seemed to have installed separate equipment to prevent wiretapping.

-‘There’s an opinion at the site that we should enter the hotel directly to collect information, but since this could develop into a diplomatic issue, it’s unlikely to get approval from above. Just know that such discussions are taking place.’

“Thank you. Keep up the good work.”

I put a cigarette in my mouth and glanced at the hotel standing like an iron fortress.

Wiretapping doesn’t work. Questioning doesn’t work. Infiltration can’t even be attempted.

I also considered recruiting hotel staff or approaching Imperial embassy personnel, but by now, whether it was the Imperial Protection Agency or the Counterintelligence Command, they would be circling around the Grand Duke with bloodshot eyes. So this approach wouldn’t work either.

It was a total mess.

“Sigh…”

After letting out a long sigh, I scratched my eyebrow. Should I go find Veronica or Francesca?

Just as I was thinking that.

-♪

A familiar melody hit my eardrums. With the cigarette clenched between my teeth, I took out my phone from my pocket, looked at the number on the screen, and smiled.

Speak of the devil.

“Oh, what’s up, Francesca?”

Francesca’s voice came through the phone.

-‘Officer. The Grand Duke is looking for you.’

=

I’m late, but I’ve come to keep my promise of daily updates. I’m so happy that Veronica’s illustration is out.

If circumstances allow, I plan to continue updating as much as possible during the Chuseok holiday period.