Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Sudden Guest (2)
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"...The Saintess, chosen by the gods, must rightfully pass through the Holy Land."
"Hmm..."
Yujin gazed at Cardinal Hainkel with slightly narrowed eyes.
'Must pass through the Holy Land...'
The Holy Land was another term for the Holy Kingdom. Saying the Saintess must pass through it meant she had to go through the Holy Kingdom, which was basically just a way of saying they wanted to take her there.
Of course, they might genuinely just intend to bring her once...
'No chance of that.'
They were priests, but in the end, they were human.
They had the greed they ought to have and felt joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure like any ordinary person. They just wrapped it all in faith and tried their best to restrain it.
'So there's no way they don't crave power.'
Besides, he was a cardinal. Did one rise to cardinal just through pure faith? Absolutely not. It naturally required a considerable level of political savvy.
In that process, faith was more like a secondary condition.
'If cardinals were really only those overflowing with faith...'
The Holy Kingdom would have fallen by now. Naive idealists who knew nothing of politics or administration would have ruined the country.
That was why, while commoners at the bottom might be different, the leadership of a nation often demanded political power even more than faith. In the end, the Holy Kingdom was a human-made organization and a nation, so its inherent limitations were unavoidable.
'However... I've heard that among the cardinals, Cardinal Hainkel is the one with the deepest faith.'
In that case, it wasn't just about political power—he might genuinely be driven by a sense of divine mission rooted in faith.
'...Negotiations will be quite tough, then.'
In other words, he was stubborn as a mule.
The Emperor seemed to share Yujin's thoughts and decided to end the meeting for now to buy time.
"We'll discuss the details further once Cardinal Ludwig has rested from his journey. It must have taken quite some time to come from the Holy Kingdom to the capital."
It sounded like a suggestion at first glance, but it was effectively a command—a polite dismissal.
Fortunately, Cardinal Hainkel understood the Emperor's intent.
"We are grateful for Your Majesty's consideration."
"Good. I shall provide a room in the palace. We'll continue the unfinished discussion after you've rested."
At the Emperor's casual wave, a palace knight and a maid entered from outside the door. Cardinal Hainkel wisely followed them out.
"That buys us some time."
"Your Majesty, will you hand the Saintess over to the Holy Kingdom?"
"As if."
The Emperor gave an immediate answer to his minister's obvious question.
"The worst outcome is losing the Saintess to the Holy Kingdom forever, and the best is sharing her with them. Though she's an imperial subject, as the epitome of Holy Kingdom faith, it's unrealistic to keep her solely in the Empire."
"Fortunately, the Saintess was born in the Empire, Your Majesty. That means if we don't cooperate, the Holy Kingdom will struggle to even find her, and even if they do, we can put a stop to it. If we make that clear, we can gain the upper hand in negotiations."
The Emperor nodded.
"The Duke is right. In the end, we'll have no choice but to reach an agreement with the Holy Kingdom before they find her."
The Emperor promptly issued orders to the intelligence agency.
"Bring all information on Cardinal Hainkel. This is the top priority."
"Understood."
And so, the intelligence agency sprang into action.
The intelligence agency began gathering information at a rapid pace. At the same time, in preparation for the Saintess's emergence, they started manipulating public opinion in both the Holy Kingdom and the Empire.
Specifically, they spread notions like "Imperials belong in the Empire's embrace" or "Faith is good, but one shouldn't infringe on each other's domains"—a form of patriotism.
Of course, without getting caught by the Holy Kingdom.
With that groundwork laid, backchannel negotiations began with Cardinal Hainkel and the Holy Kingdom.
And—
"When the Saintess is found, she first visits the Holy Kingdom to receive formal recognition as the Saintess, then resides in the Holy Kingdom but enters the Empire at any time upon imperial request... Not bad."
"Indeed. And if the Saintess herself wishes, she can return to the Empire, so the negotiations turned out quite favorably."
Russel nodded at the words.
In the end, the Saintess would reside in the Holy Kingdom, but they'd extracted the maximum concessions. Under these terms, she could practically live in the Empire as well.
Moreover, they even agreed to build a direct rail line connecting the Holy Kingdom's capital, the Holy City, and the Empire's capital, further strengthening ties...
The negotiation outcome was the best possible.
"Then we just need to summon all the noble ladies from across the Empire to the capital."
"As my brother-in-law says. Gathering all the Empire's unmarried noble ladies in one place... That's going to be quite the spectacle. We'll need a vast space."
By the way, who could the Saintess be?
'A child loved by all will emerge from the bloodline blessed by the sun...' Something like that.
For starters, Princess Lucia of the imperial family had been ruled out.
That meant she was one of the nobles...
...Hold on.
'A child loved by all?'
Why hadn't he thought of this sooner?
A child loved by all.
That was...
'...Sena?'
There was no news of her lately, so things were quiet, but originally, Sena was the protagonist of this world.
The romance fantasy world, that is.
Of course, calling this world simply a romance fantasy was a stretch now, but the basic framework was still that. And protagonists in such stories were typically "beings loved by all."
Metaphorically or literally.
'...Of course, I don't know the original story's details.'
Even so...
'...I can't shake the feeling it's Sena.'
Thus, Yujin alone approached the truth.
While no one else had even speculated on the Saintess's identity yet.
Soon after, shocking news spread across the entire Empire.
A Saintess would be born among the imperials, and an oracle had already descended.
God's blessing descends upon the Empire once more! Who could the Saintess be?
May the Saintess bestow her blessings upon the Empire!
Cardinal Ludwig, urgently dispatched to the Empire—what manner of man is he?
Saintess born in the Empire! Will another golden age dawn upon us?
It was pure frenzy.
For the people of the Empire, who worshipped the Sun Goddess Solara, a Saintess being born in their own land also meant Solara was watching over the Empire.
They believed the goddess's blessing had descended upon them.
Even neighboring countries sharing borders, upon learning the Saintess of this era was imperial, could only express complicated feelings.
Since they all worshipped the Sun Goddess as well.
And in that atmosphere, unmarried noble ladies from across the Empire began gathering in the capital without exception.
Murmur, murmur—
"This is quite the event in its own right. Who would've thought all the unmarried noble ladies would gather like this..."
"One among those ladies will be chosen as the Saintess, right?"
"Heh heh. Which lady do you think will be selected, Viscount?"
"Hard to say... Honestly, no matter who it is, it'll be a shock. Might as well use this chance to find a suitable lady for my son."
"Ah, your young master isn't engaged yet, is he?"
"Yes."
"Hm... I should look for a proper daughter-in-law this time too."
"I'll seek a woman who could become my lifelong partner."
A flood of nobles had gathered. When the women moved, it was only natural the men followed.
The older nobles decided to scout for daughters-in-law on this occasion. Or perhaps a partner for themselves.
Meanwhile, the unmarried ladies gathered to find the Saintess were...
"Eek! Look over there! His Excellency Duke Banus is glancing this way!"
"Oh my, really...?"
"I-I'm seeing him in person for the first time, not just in the papers, and he's so dashing..."
"Think I can catch His Excellency's eye this time?"
"Dream on. Do you know how many prominent figures are around Duke Banus? Her Highness the Princess and Duchess Arkabella are right there."
"Whoa..."
"Anyway, one of us is the Saintess, right? Could it be me?!"
"As if. Since it's probably not us anyway, let's use this chance to check out some young heirs."
"Yeah, yeah. And get a good look at Duke Banus."
"...Is there no Duke Banus fan club or something?"
They could only gawk at Yujin in admiration.
There were countless noblemen present, but Yujin stood out even among them.
His honor, power—even his looks were flawless.
Moreover, that aloof, wolf-like aura perfectly struck the fancy of young noble ladies in their prime.
"Yujin, enjoying all the popularity?"
Princess Lucia, approaching with Russel, teased Yujin mischievously.
"Not really interested."
"Oh? Why not? I'd think any man would dream of a situation like this at least once."
"Why would my eyes wander when I already have wonderful women by my side?"
"Ahem."
Lucia covered her mouth at Yujin's words. It wasn't what she'd hoped for, but she felt inexplicably pleased, her lips twitching upward.
Irene, who had approached unnoticed, linked arms with Yujin and let out a delighted laugh.
"That includes me, right?"
"Naturally, Lady Irene is included as well."
"Hee hee."
As he chatted with them after so long apart, the Emperor entered at some point.
And then,
"Begin."
The ritual to find the Saintess commenced.