Holy Kingdom – Counterattack (2)

The papal chamber was dimly lit by curtains.

Scritch. Scritch. Scritch.

The Pope silently signed documents buried beneath a mountain of paperwork.

-Snap.

“Haa… I’ll have to deal with this later.”

The Pope sighed and set down the broken pen on the desk.

His face, usually filled with benevolence and composure, was now contorted with anxiety and unease.

All because the carefully laid plans had gone awry several days prior.

‘It was supposed to be a perfectly orchestrated plan…’

The next Tower Lord from the Magic Tower contacting Lena had been an unexpected variable. Still, he’d set a trap to capture them all at once.

Butㅡ they’d ultimately escaped.

Now, figuring out how to clean up this mess was becoming a nightmare.

‘First, I should spread articles about the demons colluding with the Magic Tower…’

The biggest problem was Lena escaping alongside someone who knew everything. While he could temporarily suppress public opinion using the Pope and Saint’s authority, it was merely a stopgap measure.

“Ugh… nngh…”

Hearing faint moans, the Pope lowered his gaze.

“Are you in pain?”

“N-no… Your Holiness…”

Disheveled black hair framed a flushed face.

The Holy Kingdom’s pure symbol, Saint Veronica, was pinned beneath the Pope’s shoe.

“It pains me to punish you like this, Saint-nim. Howeverㅡ”

-Crunch.

“Hngk!”

“Your foolish actions have brought crisis upon the Holy Kingdom.”

Making the Saint and Hero lovers was essential for future plans.

But Veronica’s rash actions and immature emotional expressions had only heightened the Hero’s wariness.

‘I suppose there’s no helping it in her current state.’

The Pope understood. Veronica’s current condition made meticulous seduction impossible.

Brainwashing the Saint had been a painstakingly long process. Even inserting simple suggestions had nearly backfired multiple times. Moreover, most of her knowledge had been intentionally blocked considering her mental strength.

Of course, this was only possible because Magi suppressed most of her holy power.

“I’m… sorry…”

“Unfortunately, apologies won’t solve anything.”

“I’ll try harder… I promise…”

“Well, very well.”

The Pope moved his foot aside, releasing Veronica.

Veronica laboriously lifted her head, tear-filled eyes looking up at the Pope.

“Your Holiness…”

“Show me your repentance.”

“…Yes.”

With trembling hands, Veronica removed the Pope’s shoes and socks.

-Swish.

Then slowly took his big toe into her mouth.

“Glrk…”

She diligently cleaned each toe with her tongue.

“Slurp… Nngh…”

Starting from the big toe to the pinky – slowly, methodically sucking each one.

The act looked like bestowing a blessing despite its vulgar nature.

“Not bad.”

The Pope smiled contentedly while watching Veronica.

Though unrelated to his plans, the sense of conquest and sacrilege always brought pleasure.

“Schlrp… Hah…”

After finishing her service, Veronica wiped the drool from her lips. She looked up at the Pope with anxious eyes.

“Are you… satisfied?”

“Hmm…”

The Pope made his final deliberation about the Saint’s disposition.

The Saint’s purity. That was more valuable than any political asset.

Of course, forcing it would bring unmanageable backlash. But if the Saint acted “willingly,” no one could oppose it.

The last card the Pope had reserved. Given the circumstances, he had to use it to secure the Hero.

“Saint-nim. For years, countless people have coveted you in your weakened state. I protected you from those predators.”

“Yes, I know. That you’ve always worked for my sake…”

Though filled with contradictions, Veronica believed the Pope’s words absolutely.

“Now it’s time for repayment. For the Goddess, the Holy Kingdom, and humanity.”

The Pope personally helped Veronica stand.

“You’re completely disheveled. The Saint shouldn’t be seen like this.”

As light emanated from the Pope’s hands, the minor wounds on the Saint’s face slowly disappeared.

-Pat, pat.

The Pope smoothed Veronica’s tangled hair, brushed dust off her clothes, and smiled.

“The union between Saint and Hero is destiny ordained by the Goddess. And you like the Hero, don’t you?”

“…Yes. I want to be with the Hero.”

“Serve him as we’ve always practiced, and he’ll surely yield. But don’t rush. Understood?”

“I’ll definitely succeed.”

“I expect good results. You may leave now.”

Veronica bowed once to the Pope before exiting.

-Thud.

‘This truly is a crisis.’

If things worsened further, everything might truly end.

Brainwashing the Saint and privately exploiting the Hero. If discovered, even the Pope couldn’t escape execution for such enormous crimes.

‘One mistake could end everything here.’

Pope Belbardo was once a commoner from a poor family in the Holy Kingdom.

But one day, he lost his family to demons.

After taking refuge in the temple, he fortunately had decent talent for holy power. Thus, overcoming his painful past, he rose to a respectable position.

Then, another stroke of luck came.

The Great War. Most who fought for humanity died on the frontlines. Coward that he was, he seized the opportunity.

First becoming a Cardinal, he eventually climbed to the position of Pope.

“…I can’t give up after coming this far.”

He’d faced countless crises. Each time, the Pope ultimately won and maintained power.

This time too, he absolutely wouldn’t let the opportunity slip away.

As the Pope steeled himself to return to his seat, something caught his arm, making him stumble.

-Thunk.

The Pope looked at the fallen Goddess statue.

“…Goddess.”

He’d rationalized it all – for the Holy Kingdom, for the Goddess. But the Pope had clearly committed countless sins. Yet no divine punishment ever came.

He’d once felt relieved, thinking the Goddess had turned her eyes from humanity.

But the Hero’s sudden appearance directly contradicted this.

“Does the Goddess condone my actions?”

The Pope looked up at the ceiling, asking a question that would receive no answer.

“…Or does She already know my end?”

**

The Hero Appointment Ceremony. An event where the Pope verifies the Hero as the Goddess’s chosen one and officially recognizes them before the world.

Truthfully, not everyone welcomed the Hero’s appearance.

Dragon corruption. Spirit rampages. Demon invasions.

Historically, the Hero’s rare emergence always signaled unbearable crises approaching humanity and other races.

‘Even I resented the Goddess at first.’

To make matters worse, recent internal turmoil plagued the Holy Kingdom.

The Hero’s appearance. The attempted Pope assassination. The assassin’s prison break. Even rumors of Magic Tower involvement.

Major incidents occurring simultaneously in the Holy Kingdom that had enjoyed peace since the Great War.

But I knew the ceremony hadn’t been canceled.

‘The Holy Kingdom’s people must be overjoyed regardless.’

The Hero’s existence was ‘proof’ that the Goddess still watched over humanity.

“The ceremony will be held at the Grand Temple’s front plaza.”

At Ian’s explanation, I looked up to see him pointing at locations on a wall-mounted map.

“You’re familiar with the area, so I won’t explain in detail.”

“Yeah. I know the nearby geography well enough.”

I gave perfunctory replies while listening to Ian’s explanation.

Strangely, Ian was explaining things kindly. The Ian I knew would’ve refused to explain or acted annoyed – clearly influenced by recent events.

Only three days remained until the ceremony. With it approaching, I regretted time spent lying in bed.

‘If only my wounds were smaller, I could’ve pretended to be fine sooner.’

Slipping a finger under the bandages, I felt perfectly smooth skin without scars.

Major scarring wouldn’t have been surprising. Ian hadn’t lied about using expensive potions.

‘Sigh… What’s the best way to handle this situation now?’

The Pope’s corruption and Veronica’s brainwashing. As the Pope’s schemes targeted the Hero’s party, the situation had spiraled uncontrollably.

Originally, we would’ve embarked on a journey to eliminate remaining demons after the ceremony, but everything derailed from the start.

‘It’d be a lie to say I bear no responsibility for things escalating…’

Honestly, it felt unfair too. Through cooperation with Ian, matters should’ve been resolved by now. How could I anticipate Ian’s mistake leading to disaster? Now I’m stuck worrying about damage control.

Still, one comforting thought remained…

‘Hehe, that bastard Pope must be suffering migraines by now.’

A victim who knew all the Pope’s secrets had escaped. He likely thought the barrier would capture both Ian and me, never expecting the prepared mana bombs.

The time approached to make him pay for years of enjoying power.

‘Regardless, for a clean resolution, Jade and Annie’s conditions shouldn’t be too severe.’

Stabbing Jade while brainwashed, then getting stabbed by Jade’s sword to save Ian at the last moment. Sacrificing oneself for others always feels bittersweet, but…

I admit. This time crossed the line slightly.

To explain somewhat – as a senior, I also intended this incident to help Jade grow.

Jade is the ‘Hero’. Someone destined to save the world and become everyone’s hope. A true Hero shouldn’t be someone’s puppet, but must judge situations and make decisions independently.

‘Evaluating Jade from this perspective… disappointing.’

Completely unaware of his beloved woman and comrade’s suffering, swayed by others’ words, he created this situation.

If Lena were merely the Hero’s lover who could swing a sword decently…

I’d have been executed by now.

‘When I first became the Hero, I wasn’t this bad…’

Vivid memories of struggling against kings and nobles’ schemes. But I never moved naively according to their sinister intentions.

Still, some faith remained. I couldn’t doubt the Goddess’s judgment, and Jade’s heroic demeanor during academy days stayed vivid in memory.

“If you go outside… be careful of Holy Knights… Lena… are you listening…?”

Surely he hasn’t completely fallen for Veronica and become the Pope’s puppet? That would be disastrous.

“Le-na!”

“Huh? Wh-what?”

At the ear-piercing shout, I jerked my head up to see Ian frowning across from me.

Hmm. Seems I messed up.

“Sorry. I was… lost in thought…”

Organizing my thoughts ended up ignoring Ian’s earnest explanation. Judging by his expression, Ian looked furious.

“Sigh… Where’s your mind at during such crucial moments?”

“I’m worried about Jade and Annie…”

“If you’re that worried, you should focus more on the conversation. Don’t tell me I need to repeat everything from the beginning?”

“N-no! I got all the important parts!”

Listen to all that again? No way.

I frantically shook my head. Then changed the subject.

“But are you sure about the ceremony proceeding as scheduled? I thought that trash Pope would change some details…”

“Changing or canceling would backfire. When the Pope needs to solidify his position in global politics, admitting internal problems would lead to worst-case scenarios.”

Ian’s tone suggested he’d already anticipated this.

‘True, things have grown too big to change minor details.’

The previous banquet’s scale ranked among the largest I’d seen. If the Pope showed inability to handle the Holy Kingdom’s issues, his grand plans would face major setbacks from the start.

“At least it’s fortunate for us. Infiltrating the Papal Court or Grand Temple directly would be nearly impossible.”

“Right. We avoided the worst-case scenario.”

This situation seemed manageable by my standards. Barely salvageable.

‘Time to hear Ian’s supposedly grand plan… Wait, no.’

It was time to shift my relationship with Ian.