episode_0040

The next day, morning. After finishing her morning prayers, the Saintess went out to the streets with a small number of attendants.

Instead of an excessively extravagant ceremonial dress, she wore plain clothes for an ordinary commoner woman.

“Do you really have to go out like this? It could be dangerous.”

“Surely, nothing will happen in the middle of the street in broad daylight, right? I’ll be fine with all of you here.”

Having been advised to rest, it might have been better to enjoy the comfort and relieve fatigue in the hotel.

In fact, the other priests are doing just that.

But Joan couldn’t do that. The sight she had encountered while passing by yesterday still lingered in her eyes.

She wanted to see that monstrosity, which looked like it came straight out of hell, with her own eyes once more.

“There are even roadside trees here.”

“…And corpses to go with them. Why are they so obsessed with hanging them like this?”

There was no need to go far. Just two blocks from the hotel, they were everywhere.

The cross-shaped main streets that divided the city, and even the small roads branching out from them.

Any place where many people were likely to pass by was filled with corpses hanging like fruit.

“I only glanced at them yesterday, but seeing them up close is even more gruesome.”

“Saintess, please don’t get too close. You might get blood on you.”

“It’s alright. I can just wash it later.”

Despite the guards’ warnings, Joan approached the tree.

Perhaps because it hadn’t been long since they died, the bodies were only just beginning to decompose.

Flies had laid eggs in the torn wounds, and there were bumpy protrusions all over their limbs.

They must have been extremely resentful about dying like this.

Even in death, their expressions were filled with bitterness and resentment.

‘They said they caught deserters.’

If they had known that mere desertion would be treated as such a serious crime, would they have fled the army?

No, before that, they probably never even considered that they could be conscripted in their lifetime.

Until now, wars were fought by a small number of mercenaries and enlisted regular soldiers.

Ordinary people never even had the chance to see the front lines in their entire lives.

Unless there was an invasion by the enemy, it was rare to even encounter a proper army.

Then, “The Prince,” written by Ishmael, changed everything.

Starting with Helvetia, countries successively introduced conscription, and an era came where all men were used as soldiers and women as labor.

In other words, these people could be said to have been sacrificed because of a few books written by that Ishmael guy.

‘May they rest in peace in heaven.’

After a brief prayer in her heart, Joan tried to move away.

Then, she suddenly felt a gaze watching them from nearby.

“Hmm?”

Turning her head in that direction, she saw an old woman wearing a robe.

She seemed quite elderly.

“Excuse me, grandma? Do you happen to have any business with us?”

“Oh my! That, it’s not that…”

The old woman hesitated and muttered in a small voice.

“I never thought I’d meet someone mourning my son.”

“He was your son?”

She never imagined she would be the executed prisoner’s mother.

The eyes of the guards, who had been wary of her as a possible assassin, quickly became solemn.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I know, right? Leaving this old mother behind and going first… such a bad kid. If he had at least died fighting, he would have gone to heaven.”

The old woman’s eyes welled up at the expression of sympathy. But her words were somewhat strange.

You only go to heaven if you die in battle?

Deciding who goes to heaven and hell is the job of God and the angels, not the right of humans.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t that what the church says? The Goddess likes those who bravely fulfill their duty. So, fight hard for our country and His Imperial Majesty.”

That can’t be right.

There isn’t a single word like that in the scriptures.

There are phrases like “live virtuously” and “do not commit crimes,” but there is no expression that encourages fighting hard.

In the first place, why would the church encourage a battle where the same Goddess followers are fighting each other?

If anything, they should be telling them to stop this nonsense.

“He got scared and ran away, and ended up like this, so as a parent, I can only feel regret. If he had at least returned as bones, I would have buried him next to your grandfather.”

“…..”

“Then he would have been praised as a patriot and had a proper funeral at home. Ugh, what a fool.”

The Saintess couldn’t say anything. Not because she agreed with those emotions, but because she didn’t know how to react.

Her child died trying to find a way to survive because he was afraid of war, but the reason she’s sad is that he didn’t die in the military.

She hates the dishonorable death more than the pain of losing her precious child.

How twisted is this country?

Surely, until the war, the empire was functioning relatively normally, so why is it now filled with such madness and false beliefs?

* * * * *

–Thump!

“What in the world is going on!”

The Saintess, who fled as if running away, headed to a nearby cathedral. It was a place where the delegation had all visited and worshiped in the morning.

Grabbing a priest who recognized her and was flustered, the Saintess shouted with sincerity.

“I heard it outside. That the clergy is inciting people to participate in the war! Since when have you been spreading such unfounded rumors?!”

“Th, that is–”

“You should be ashamed! Inciting innocent people while serving the Goddess, can you even call yourself a priest?!”

With the series of rebukes, the priest finally couldn’t bear it and raised his voice in protest.

“How dare you do such a thing and lift your head–”

“We had no choice!”

“…..Pardon?”

“With the collapse of the Holy See, support has been cut off, and the Imperial Family is constantly pressuring us to follow orders! So, what were we supposed to do?!”

A heavy silence fell for a moment.

The priest, who had barely calmed down, continued.

“Saintess, you remember when the reputation of the clergy was greatly tarnished by the 115 Articles of Refutation, right?”

“…..Yes.”

A strange document whose origin has not yet been revealed.

Judging by the handwriting and logic, it is presumed that Ishmael wrote it anonymously, but for now, the author is unknown.

The Goddess Order was shattered because of that damn document.

The Helvetian Republic, which had obtained a good pretext, occupied the Holy See, which was the headquarters.

In the Elaine Kingdom, they eagerly made the church subject to the rule of the royal family.

The power of the clergy is now about 40% of what it was before the war.

No, frankly, even 40% is generous.

The young Saintess is serving as the head of the clergy, and the headquarters hasn’t even properly decided where to stay.

“In this Krum Empire, the clergy has been safely maintained with the protection of the government, but we had to give up many things in return. Especially for the execution of the war.”

“Execution of the war?”

“Yes. We had to help the Empire easily organize its army and send it to the battlefield. The incitement to participate in the war that you mentioned earlier is also part of that.”

The Krum branch of the clergy, which had a big weakness in the form of the refutation, had to fully cooperate with the Imperial Family.

Only then would they be able to continue to receive protection and support.

They appropriately interpreted the scriptures and the Goddess’s words to create a basis for supporting the Empire, or they emphasized the sanctity and justification of participating in the war to the people.

They even committed actions that could be classified as heresy depending on the point of view, inducing the public to actively cooperate with the war.

“Do you know what that tapestry is?”

“….I’ve never seen that painting before. Was there such a Saint?”

“It’s not a Saint, it’s the Emperor. The one who is ruling this country right now.”

Is that all? Personal worship and idolization were also indispensable.

Rather, this was closer to the main focus.

Raising the authority by elevating the Emperor as a great and sublime being.

The more the Emperor is treated as great and sacred, the more the logic that ‘participating in the war = fighting for the Emperor = a good thing that guarantees a ticket to heaven’ is established.

The Imperial Family actively encouraged it, and the clergy followed suit.

“I know that this is against the doctrine to some extent. All the priests in the Empire know it. But what can we do? We have to survive too.”

The priest, who had lowered his head, muttered as if making excuses and pointed to the southeast.

“Still, we’re relatively better off. At least we don’t mock the authority and sanctity of the Goddess.”

“…..Is that so?”

“Have you been to the Helvetian Republic? Those guys worship their leader as equal to God. That guy called Doji or Duce.”

“That’s crazy. God and humans are equal.”

“Yes, they’re crazy. Everyone’s crazy. Whether it’s this guy or that guy, enemy or ally. This damn war is making the world strange.”

The Saintess couldn’t reprimand the priest any longer.

She wasn’t so ill-natured as to get angry knowing that he had done his best in a difficult situation.

‘Where should I start fixing things?’

What exactly should I touch to return this twisted system to its original state?

Is it no longer possible to live a life where we can worship normally and live harmoniously like before?

Before the war, there were various problems, but it wasn’t filled with this much madness.

After pondering for a while, Joan swallowed a sigh and ended the conversation.

“I’ve been rude. I’ll come again later.”

“Please take care.”

There’s no point in thinking about it alone.

Something can only be solved after meeting the Emperor.