Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: A Poison to Fight Poison
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It was truly a case of one disaster after another.
Prince Modred, grinding his teeth with selfish ambitions concerning the Holy Sword; Princess Kiara, whose true intentions were utterly inscrutable; and the mages of the Red Magic Tower, still nursing their incomparably sinister designs.
As if that weren't enough, there were also the Church and the White Magic Tower, sharpening their blades, eager to hold him accountable for the shattered Holy Sword.
Surrounded by enemies on all sides, the only silver lining was the existence of the Duchy of Sachsen—and his father, Duke Sachsen—which in turn surrounded those very enemies.
The Empire's foremost Archduke. The fear people held for him was far from baseless. Even a scoundrel of a prince, who carried the blood of the imperial family, was no exception.
*He considered the Holy Sword Master as close as his own father?*
And when Lord Black had issued his warning to Modred, Dale had seen the prince swallow his breath in bewilderment and knew it instinctively.
*Could it be...?*
If that suspicion was true, the situation was beyond farcical. But the dysfunctional state of the imperial family was not his immediate concern.
He could not rely entirely on the protection of his father, Lord Black. Dale, too, had duties to fulfill—as the ruler of this Demon King's territory and, by extension, as the representative of Duke Sachsen.
***
The gathering at the viscount's castle was reminiscent of the forces that had once assembled when the Hero from Another World confronted the ‘Demon King Balor.’
While not quite on the same scale—one that could literally tip the balance of the continent—its weight was by no means something to be taken lightly.
Befitting the grand anti-demon alliance sparked by the union of Sachsen and Lancaster, it was Heavenly Sword, the Archduke of Lancaster, who pulled the trigger first.
Ironically, he never realized Mikhail’s true nature. Instead, he misinterpreted the ‘grand anti-demon alliance’ his son had mentioned before death as his unfulfilled ideal…
...and so he had gathered the last remaining forces of the ruined House Lancaster and entrusted them to Dale of Sachsen.
To the very man who had driven Lancaster to ruin in the Second War of the Roses and plunged a sword into Mikhail’s chest.
It was a cruel irony, but that changed nothing.
Meanwhile, from the imperial capital came the Seventh Prince, Modred; the Fifth Princess, Kiara; the Iron Cross Knights; Lady Scarlet; and the red mages under her command.
Finally, the most troublesome party of all, the White Magic Tower, could not be excluded.
This was not Cardinal Nikolai, who had long been Dale’s puppet. On the contrary, the true powers of the White Magic Tower never held high clerical positions in the Church. To them, joining the Church hierarchy was no different from seeking a secular title.
Moreover, the true strength of the White Magic Tower was not something wielded from the fingertips of a single mage. Thus, the participation of the knightly order, the pride of the Papal State of Sistina, was also inevitable.
They were the swords of the Church, trained from the outset to fight in concert with white mages. They were the enforcers of fanaticism, clad in white surcoats emblazoned with blood-red crosses: the Knights Templar.
***
The viscount's castle, the central hub for the pioneering efforts in the labyrinth city of Labyrinthus and the surrounding Demon King's territory.
It was in a chamber of this very castle that the leaders of the ‘grand anti-demon alliance’ had gathered.
An imperial prince and princess, Lady Scarlet and her high-ranking Purifier aide, an Aura Master from House Lancaster, and finally, a high elder of the White Magic Tower and a Templar from the Knights Templar.
*The room is filled with red and white.*
The forces of fire and light—the golden standard-bearers—filling the black domain.
He was finally beginning to understand the pressure Lord Black must have felt back when the Empire’s champions, including the Hero from Another World, had gathered. As long as they championed a just cause, House Sachsen would have no means to stop them.
Furthermore, since Dale was the undisputed ruler of this territory, Lord Black was not officially in attendance.
Yet, it had been Dale’s decision to assemble these forces of fire and light. That changed nothing.
He would have to navigate their intersecting ambitions, wrap them in puppet strings, and pull. This would be the key to dispelling the deep-rooted darkness of the Demon King’s territory and breaking Sachsen’s isolation.
“The alliance between Sachsen and Lancaster, and our endeavor to pioneer the Demon King’s land against the demonic threat, is the wish of the entire Empire.”
And so, Dale began.
“On behalf of House Sachsen, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to the Imperial Family, House Lancaster, the Red and White Magic Towers, and the Church.”
This Demon King’s territory was Sachsen land, and its governance was Dale’s responsibility. Therefore, he had to be the one to lead this alliance—to keep the hyenas from baring their fangs.
“Well said, indeed.”
Just then, a knight in a white surcoat emblazoned with a blood-red cross rose to his feet. He was a Templar, a sword of the Church, seated alongside the representative of the White Magic Tower.
And not just any Templar, but a Master Templar, a title symbolizing the highest rank within the order.
“To purify the darkness that dwells in this land and spread the light of the Goddess is the very service our Sistina Sister Goddesses desire.”
“Ah, the Goddess desires it! What wonderful words.”
At this, Lady Scarlet let out an amused laugh.
“And the Goddess also desired for her own nation to be destroyed and become part of our Empire, did she not?”
For a moment, the expressions of the Master Templar and the white mage soured.
Just as Dale had contended with the blue of House York, the golden standard-bearers were no exception. After all, during the Empire's unification wars, was it not the Red Magic Tower, acting as the Empire’s vanguard, that had brought down the Theocracy of Sistina?
*What a dysfunctional bunch, ready to fall apart at a moment's notice.*
It was the first time Lady Scarlet’s mockery had ever sounded so reassuring.
“In any case… if House Sachsen is to repent for its darkness and shine the Goddess’s mercy and compassion upon this land.”
The Master Templar continued, unfazed.
“Then our Church and the White Magic Tower, in accordance with the teachings of the Sister Goddesses, are prepared to face martyrdom.”
“I am relieved to hear you say so.”
“However, before we proceed, there is one matter of concern.”
Just then, as if he had been waiting for the chance, the Master Templar cut Dale off. *Of course,* Dale thought, before asking.
“And what might that be?”
“His Holiness has expressed deep concern as to whether the Black Prince of Sachsen and Lord Black truly understand the will of the Goddess.”
The white mage beside him added.
“Indeed, did the Black Prince not break the holy relic of the first Master of the White Magic Tower—the Holy Sword—and thus blaspheme the Sister Goddesses?”
“It was an unavoidable consequence of war.”
Dale replied as if it were a matter of little concern to him.
“I was in the midst of a war. Was I simply to allow myself to be run through, just because my opponent wielded the Goddess’s sword?”
“All we ask is that you repent for your sin, my lord.”
“Then have the Empire and the mages of the Red Magic Tower repented for their sin of destroying the Goddess’s nation?”
Dale retorted.
“If we are to accept your logic, then should not the first ones to bow their heads in repentance be Lady Scarlet, Marquis Yuriseu, and His Majesty the Emperor?”
“How dare you…!”
At Dale’s words, Modred and the Church representatives raised their voices in outrage, but Dale continued, unperturbed.
“The holy relic of the first White Tower Master and the nation of the Goddess are not the Goddess herself. They are merely idols crafted by her followers.”
Dale replied.
“To claim that destroying an idol is an act of blasphemy is, in itself, the very idolatry the Church so vehemently warns against, is it not?”
Before the champions of the Goddess, armed with theology, Dale ironically began to question them using the Church’s own laws.
“Do not think that this erases the sins of Sachsen’s darkness and apostasy.”
The Master Templar retorted, trying to change the subject.
“And we demand proof of that repentance.”
“What do you demand?”
“This pioneering of the Demon King’s territory is no longer your personal enterprise, my lord. It is a sacred service to the great Sistina Sister Goddesses. Therefore, as servants of the Goddess, we have a duty to thoroughly monitor and supervise this holy endeavor. In other words…”
The Master Templar answered.
“This castle is to be converted into a cathedral, and this land is to be enfeoffed to the Church in the name of the Sister Goddesses. It will then serve as the first pioneering diocese, a place to wash away the sins of House Sachsen and fulfill its holy mission.”
In short, they were demanding he hand over the Demon King’s territory to the Church, so they could reap the immense wealth born from this new land of adventure and opportunity—this artifact rush.
Dale burst out laughing at their audacity. He had known they were shameless, but he never imagined they would be *this* shameless.
“And if I were to refuse, what would the Church do?”
“We would accept that the pioneering of the Demon King’s territory is not a holy service to the Goddess, but merely a secular business venture by House Sachsen for its own gain.”
The Master Templar continued.
“In the name of His Holiness, we will declare the ‘pioneering of the Demon King’s territory’ an act that heaps sin upon both soul and body. Furthermore, we will order all pioneering monastic orders within this territory to withdraw.”
“I’m so frightened I don’t know what to do.”
“This is no joke.”
“Is that so? It was so absurd I assumed it had to be.”
Hearing this, Dale burst into another incredulous laugh.
Then, he spoke.
“Then take it.”
“...!”
“As the representative of Duke Sachsen and in my name as Viscount of Little Sachsen, I give you my word. I promise to hand over the entirety of the Demon King’s territory to the Church, free of charge.”
“W-what did you just say…?”
“I said I would offer the entire Demon King’s territory to the Church.”
Dale answered without a hint of hesitation. At his words, even those who had just been making threats were forced to catch their breath in bewilderment. He spoke as if this had been his plan all along.
***
A promise made in Sachsen’s name to offer the Demon King’s territory to the Church and convert the viscount’s castle into a cathedral.
“Did you yield to their threats?”
Dale reported the events to his father, Lord Black, who asked coldly. He spoke as one of the Empire’s foremost archdukes, ruler of the north.
“Of course not.”
Dale shook his head.
“Worship no idols, and covet no wealth. For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
He recited a doctrine of the Sistina faith.
“Confronting the Church directly right now would be a pointless war of attrition.”
Duke Sachsen remained silent as Dale continued.
“But it will be a different story when the Church, blinded by greed, abandons its own legitimacy.”
“The Church’s legitimacy, you say?”
“Because there is no better way to control a poison than with another poison.”
Dale replied. At his son’s words, Duke Sachsen burst into laughter, as if he had expected nothing less.
As always, his son had a plan. All the father and son had to do now was wait.