Ch.62Preparation (2)

“These evil demon bastards!!”

“Though we may serve in different ways, we worship the same God. How can they be so atrocious!?”

The Reformed Church believers were furious upon hearing about the Pope’s declaration of a holy war and the cruel acts of the Canaan Church.

They couldn’t solve corruption and depravity, yet they would suppress us with violence for pointing out these problems? Were they not even thinking about fixing the issues?

“False faiths are coming at us from all directions!”

“They intend to kill us all!”

“We must unite and fight back together!!”

Each person condemned the atrocities of the Canaan Church with flushed faces.

Soon, the atmosphere grew extremely tense, and all kinds of rumors began to spread.

“They say the Emperor will take all our fiefs and sell them to foreign monarchs who send troops!”

“The Pope, who serves demons and distorts God’s will, plans to sacrifice us to the devil!!”

“I heard the bastard of Burgundy is coming with his mighty army to crush us, on the condition that the Pope baptizes—”

“Everyone, please calm down.”

Amid the increasingly hostile atmosphere, a middle-aged man stepped forward from the crowd.

Compared to others who were shouting at the top of their lungs, his voice was very quiet, yet no one in the crowd missed it.

The mouths of those who had been voicing their grievances suddenly closed, and silence fell over the room.

“Your Highness, the Elector…”

The man was the Elector of Meissen, one of the seven Electors in the Holy Empire who held the right to elect the Emperor.

Even though he had become a heretic, the right to elect the Emperor, which had been passed down in the Meissen family for a thousand years, hadn’t disappeared.

Of course, he had long been excommunicated and received no protection under the law, but he was one of the most powerful figures in the Empire apart from the Emperor himself—he had no need for legal protection.

Moreover, his court had long been replaced with Reformed Church believers, so the risk of excommunication was practically nonexistent.

“Let’s first focus on the facts, not rumors. First, the Pope has declared a holy war. Second, monarchs from various countries have joined it. Third, the armies they lead are committing all sorts of atrocities. Is there anything else?”

“…No, there isn’t.”

Everyone present was listening attentively to the Elector of Meissen.

This was only natural, as among the Reformed Church believers, only the Elector of Meissen had the power and authority to negotiate with the Emperor and foreign monarchs.

Although Reformed Church believers had turned their backs on the old church in anger at its wrongdoings, they hadn’t turned away from secular authority.

“Then we should first establish countermeasures for these certainties. First, the Pope declaring a holy war is… frankly speaking, a stupidity that even a worm wouldn’t think of.”

“…Pardon?”

The believers who had been listening attentively were greatly taken aback when such harsh and vulgar words came from the noble Elector’s mouth.

How could someone with power nearly equal to the Emperor’s, the head of a noble family that had continued for thousands of years, speak in such a manner?

“Since matters are urgent, I cannot explain everything in detail, but for His Majesty the Emperor, having more forces participate in this religious reform conflict is a terrible thing. In other words, the relationship between the Papal States and the Empire will become extremely strained even without us taking any particular action.”

As the Elector continued his brief explanation, the Reformed Church believers, who had been greatly anxious, visibly relaxed.

Nothing could be worse than the Papal States and the Empire cooperating to attack the Reformed Church, but if what he said was true, the Empire would never cooperate with the Papal States.

“Second, the same goes for the monarchs of various countries. His Majesty the Emperor will try his best to push them away, just as he would with the Papal States.”

Of course, it would be much more difficult than dealing with the Pope.

Having said that, the Elector of Meissen closed his eyes and chuckled, finding something amusing, while others blinked in disbelief at the sight.

“Hehehe… Anyway, His Majesty the Emperor will surely block the first and second issues, so what we need to focus on most is the third one.”

“…The atrocities.”

After laughing for a while, the Elector of Meissen stopped, making a sound like an old wooden chair creaking, and mentioned the third point.

“Yes, the atrocities. How would you like to deal with this?”

“Y-yes…?”

The Elector of Meissen singled out a young nobleman who had been muttering to himself and asked for his opinion.

Suddenly finding himself the center of attention, the young nobleman looked around in confusion, but under the Elector’s piercing gaze, he eventually began to speak hesitantly.

“So… we should widely publicize these atrocities to bring together more people who have found the new faith…?”

“Exactly, but you’re missing one thing.”

The Elector of Meissen quickly scanned the room before continuing.

“Why hasn’t the Empire taken any military action against us so far? We’ve only faced political pressure until now.”

“That’s… because our forces are too strong for them to confront us recklessly, isn’t it?”

“That’s partly true, but the fundamental reason is taxes.”

“…!”

A realization struck the Reformed Church believers like lightning.

Come to think of it, the Duke of Meissen had always emphasized that even if they changed their faith, they still had to pay their taxes regularly.

There were naturally many people who disliked paying taxes to lords who held false beliefs, but the Duke of Meissen had suppressed them by force rather than persuading them, ensuring they continued to pay taxes to their lords.

At the time, they had thought he was just a rigid nobleman faithful to feudal obligations…

“If taxes are paid regularly, there’s no need to poke at one’s subjects. And taxes, to put it roughly, are protection fees. Fees to protect me from all dangers.”

“…You don’t mean…”

“Yes, the Emperor and all the dukes and counts beneath him have never once refused our taxes. They have a duty to protect us, and we have the right to request their protection. Now, it’s time to start writing letters. I’ll write to His Majesty the Emperor, and you should each write to your respective lords. Ah, if your direct lord is also His Majesty the Emperor like mine, come to me, and I’ll send it together with mine.”

The room, which had been filled with anger just moments ago, was now filled with the smell of ink.

Following the Elector of Meissen’s instructions, the Reformed Church believers each sent letters to their lords, and most of those lords responded positively and raised their armies. Among them was the Emperor.

………

“It seems the situation is developing quite rapidly…?”

This is a bit… unexpected?

LeClerc, who was listening to the report with me, also seems quite perplexed.

“The princes of the Canaan Church are fighting against the crusading forces… huh.”

At first, I wondered if I had seen or heard something wrong, but… it’s true.

Ines’s home, the Duchy of Lorel, though not heretical, is also fighting against these crusading forces. According to what I heard from Ines, the crusading forces indiscriminately killed heretical vassals and subjects of the Duchy of Lorel, which greatly angered Duke Lorel, their lord.

Hmm… I knew a multinational army would be difficult to control, but isn’t this going too far?

“The crusading forces… made a big mistake.”

“Good thing we didn’t join.”

I do plan to intervene later using Jeanne as a pretext, but now is clearly not the time.

If we had joined those crusading forces and ventured deep into the Empire, only to be attacked from all sides by angry princes, it would have been quite troublesome. Fighting against Ines’s home, the Duchy of Lorel, would have been especially problematic.

“The most peculiar thing is the Emperor. Until recently, he was trying to suppress heretics, but now he’s protecting them.”

The Holy Roman Emperor’s power comes from the authority of the Canaan Church, the state religion, which is why the Emperor had been suppressing heretics through persuasion, appeasement, threats, and bribes.

The Emperor’s authority was already at rock bottom, but if the proliferation of heresy drove it even further down, the Emperor would see nothing but the complete disintegration of the Empire.

Yet now, that same Emperor is trying to protect those heretics. This is… ah, I see.

“It seems the Emperor has changed his policy.”

“What kind of policy…?”

“Until now, the Emperor tried to suppress heretics because their proliferation could lead to the fragmentation of the Empire. But the Pope’s declaration of a holy war has changed the situation significantly.”

“…An external enemy, isn’t it?”

Ines takes a slight breath upon hearing the words “external enemy.” Until recently, when she was in the Duchy of Lorel, she would have understood very well what those words meant.

No, not just Ines, but everyone here would understand. Just recently, the issue of my succession as a bastard was completely overshadowed by the invasion of the external enemy, the Kingdom of Caroling.

“Yes, by protecting his vassals from external enemies, the Emperor can elevate his authority without relying on religion, eliminate their desire for independence, and even create an identity that ‘we are all imperial citizens.'”

Of course, this directly opposes the Pope’s will. Three of the seven Electors who have the right to elect the Emperor are Prince-Bishops who only take orders from the Papal States, and if they deliberately start sabotaging, the Emperor will face considerable difficulties.

Hmm… from a monarch’s perspective, it’s better if neighboring countries are politically chaotic, but personally, I want to support the Emperor. Shouldn’t one naturally support someone who’s protecting their country from external enemies?

Above all, even with things turning out this way, using Jeanne to gain benefits remains a viable option. I have no reason to hate the Emperor.