Shocking News
The shocking news left Ernen frowning deeply at his subordinate’s report. He had been waiting only for confirmation that the plan had succeeded. This was the last thing he had expected—something that completely contradicted all his hopes.
“Failed?”
Even as he asked, Ernen told himself he must have misheard. It couldn’t be. But—
“…Yes.”
The subordinate did not deny it.
Thud!
Without thinking, Ernen slammed his fist down on the desk in his office.
“……”
The subordinate held his breath and bowed his head, careful not to provoke his master any further. He knew nothing good would come from disturbing Ernen when he was in this state.
A brief silence fell between them.
“…Why?” Ernen finally spoke. His voice had dropped noticeably lower than before.
The subordinate swallowed dryly and began his report.
“It seems… there was interference.”
“Interference…” Ernen’s eyes darkened. “Who?”
“…The Berwens, my lord.”
“…Hah.”
Ernen let out a hollow laugh.
“The Berwens got involved? Did the family head revoke the disownment or something?”
His tone was sharp and thorny, making it clear that even hearing the name irritated him.
“That is not the case. The one who intervened was… Bellard Berwen.”
“…What did you say?”
Ernen’s face twisted once more. This time, however, it wasn’t purely from rage. Surprise played an equally large part.
“Bellard Berwen intervened?”
It was a name he had never anticipated. If it had been the Berwen family head, he could have understood. Even the notoriously cold patriarch might still harbor some lingering affection for his son. It would have been a perfectly understandable scenario—despite having cast Kyle out, the man couldn’t bear to watch his son fall into complete ruin.
But Bellard Berwen? Of all people?
“Why?”
He couldn’t comprehend it. Everyone knew that Bellard Berwen and Kyle Berwen were on terrible terms. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that anyone familiar with the Berwen family knew this fact. After all, how could two rivals born from different mothers ever get along?
Ernen had heard the rumors until he was sick of them and had even verified their truth himself. That was why he couldn’t understand it. Why would Bellard help Kyle at a moment like this?
“We were unable to confirm the reason.”
Unfortunately, the subordinate could not resolve his doubt. It was only natural. Without peering into Bellard’s heart, there was no way to know his true motives. Because of that, Ernen did not rebuke him.
There were more pressing matters to consider right now.
“Is it still possible to push through?”
“Well…” The subordinate glanced at Ernen’s expression before answering. “Continuing with the original plan appears impossible. As you know… the method leaves far too many openings for criticism…”
He hadn’t said it outright, but the meaning was clear: it was essentially impossible.
In truth, Ernen already knew this. The plan had always been somewhat forced. They had used raw power to push through a method that should have been impossible. Reopening a past incident—one that had already resulted in disciplinary action—and using it to expel a student was something that should never have been allowed.
But with enough power, even the impossible could be made possible. The backing of both a prince and the Ebenros family provided exactly that kind of influence. If the two forces joined hands, no one could easily resist.
Had the target been anyone other than Kyle, the result would have been the same. The student would have been driven out of the Academy without even mounting a proper defense.
However, once the Berwens stepped in to block the path, the situation changed completely.
The Berwens were giants—immense enough to stand unshaken even in the face of a massive storm.
Of course, in terms of pure military strength, Ernen’s side held the advantage. The Ebenros family alone possessed power and authority on par with the Berwens. Combined with Ernen’s own support, the forces they could mobilize far outweighed what Bellard could bring to bear.
The problem was the nature of the situation itself.
If it had been a legitimate punishment, things might have been different. But Ernen and Sebastian’s plan relied on forcing through something that should never have been possible. In such cases, the side trying to stop it always had the easier position. All Bellard had to do was point out the contradictions in what was being done.
If the speaker had been some nobody, it might have been ignored. But if the one speaking was Bellard Berwen—the next heir of the Berwen family—everyone would listen. Their plan could be stopped with ease.
In fact, Bellard could even turn the entire situation into a weapon against them. If he chose to highlight it deliberately, this incident would become a stain on both Ernen and Sebastian. Their reputations would take a serious hit.
…It’s over.
Ernen made his judgment. Proceeding with the plan as originally intended was now impossible. With Bellard Berwen acting as a shield, forcing the expulsion through brute pressure had become unfeasible.
Yet reason and rage were two different things.
Of course, there was no real loss. Neither Ernen nor Sebastian had been foolish enough to leave any trace that they had orchestrated the matter. Even if Bellard dug into the incident with full determination, he would find no evidence linking them as the masterminds.
Still, that didn’t stop the anger from boiling inside him.
The fact that the plan had failed was infuriating enough, but what enraged him most was that the person standing in his way was Kyle Berwen.
A worthless bastard. A piece of trash. Someone who originally held no value whatsoever—someone he wouldn’t have spared a second glance.
And yet, he couldn’t even get rid of someone so insignificant.
The thought filled him with intense displeasure.
“…Haa.”
Ernen exhaled a rough breath heavy with seething fury, then barely managed to calm his emotions.
“I don’t know exactly what happened, but… it seems he made preparations of his own.”
He decided to acknowledge it. Kyle Berwen was apparently not the complete fool he had assumed. He didn’t know the details, but Bellard’s involvement likely hadn’t been without Kyle’s influence. The boy must have pulled some kind of trick.
Looking at it that way, he had to admit it—Kyle wasn’t as stupid as he seemed.
Even so, Ernen did not fall into deep despair. This failure had not completely ruined the plan. It had simply blocked the easiest path.
There was no need to worry. If they couldn’t use past incidents against him, they simply had to create a new one.
If Kyle Berwen became entangled in a fresh scandal, that would be the end of it. His reputation was already scraping the bottom. Even if the new incident was relatively minor, no one would question an expulsion if the reasoning was that he showed no signs of remorse.
In that case, even Bellard Berwen would be unable to intervene. It would be nothing more than a legitimate judgment.
Just wait.
Ernen wanted to see the look of despair on Kyle’s face as soon as possible—the face of the bastard who had caused him so much trouble. Anticipation rose within him. This time, he thought, the plan would proceed smoothly.
It didn’t take long for that expectation to shatter as well.
Hundreds of years had passed since the last time a Saintess had been appointed. And now, three of them had been chosen simultaneously.
The continent had been thrown into an uproar by the sudden news, and even after a considerable amount of time had passed, the excitement showed no signs of dying down. It was simply too monumental an event.
Then, around that time, the Lure Church suddenly announced that it would appoint a new Honorary Monk.
Naturally, the eyes of the world turned toward the Lure Church.
“An Honorary Monk? Was there anyone recently who deserved such an appointment?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t recall any major incidents lately.”
Those familiar with the Goddess Church’s title of Honorary Monk tilted their heads in confusion.
At first glance, the title didn’t sound particularly impressive. In reality, however, it was quite different.
The Goddess Church did not bestow the position lightly.
While there were many believers in the Goddess Church, only a small fraction of them were ever formally ordained as clergy. The Church carefully screened candidates and granted the title of clergy only to those who met their strict standards.
If ordinary believers were simply those who believed in and followed the Goddess, then clergy were those who carried out her doctrines in her name. Since they would officially bear the Goddess’s name, they could not be chosen carelessly.
This was also why the title of Honorary Monk was not given out easily.
The moment someone received the position, they were treated as an internal member of the Church, at least in name. For a Church that placed the utmost importance on doctrine, it meant recognizing someone who had never even sworn to uphold those doctrines as one of their own.
That was why the Goddess Church never appointed Honorary Monks recklessly. No matter how remarkable a person was, no matter how much they had donated, if they lacked the proper qualifications, the title would not be granted.
So what criteria were used to appoint an Honorary Monk?
The answer was “great deeds.”
Not just good deeds—great deeds. Only those who had performed good works so monumental they could truly be called achievements were granted the qualification.
For example, curing a plague that had claimed thousands of lives. Or saving people on the brink of starvation due to a poor harvest.
Because the standards were so rigorous, people found the recent announcement surprising. In the past few years, there had been no one who had accomplished such great deeds.
Could it be that someone had performed an incredible act of benevolence somewhere unnoticed?
With such expectations in mind, the people waited for the Lure Church’s announcement—only to be struck with shock.
The person the Lure Church had chosen as its new Honorary Monk was none other than a mere student from the Imperial Academy. And not just any student—one whose name was known to everyone in the Empire.
Kyle Berwen.
The Empire’s notorious troublemaker, the one who had been driven out of his own family, had been appointed as an Honorary Monk.