Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: 049. Kidnapping
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The Holy See Knights arrived at Erebos Royal Academy from the small city of Bellus just as the Holy Festival celebrations were wrapping up.
Returning in time with the end of the festival, the knights faced no suspicious glances and made their way back to the grand cathedral without issue.
"Archbishop, we have brought the Saintess Candidate as you commanded."
Gregoryus thought there might be some inaccuracy in the phrasing of "brought."
To subdue Saintess Candidate Elise Aurora de Lua, the Holy See Knights had no choice but to use force.
Perhaps it showed on his face, as a flicker of unease crossed Archbishop Balua's eyes.
"Was she badly injured, by any chance?"
"No, sir. Just some minor bruises and a fracture in her arm. Of course, we treated her during transport."
"Did I not tell you to bring her as peacefully as possible?"
"She refused to listen to us at all. Even midway through the escort, she thrashed about several times, forcing us to administer sedatives."
"...Hmph. Pathetic."
Balua snorted derisively.
The Elise of just a short while ago would have followed without complaint.
But she was rapidly losing her qualifications as a saintess—no, as a sacrifice. They needed to perform the ritual before she completely lost her purity. It was like a fire at his feet, and Archbishop Balua's mood soured.
"There's one more thing to report."
Gregoryus cautiously spoke up.
"We also captured the priest who had been instructing the Saintess Candidate."
"Instructing? That girl Elise?"
"Yes. She seemed to follow him like a master, so I judged it better to detain him rather than dispose of him."
"...Who the hell is this priest? Is he from the grand cathedral?"
"No, sir. Priest Leo. He's a low-ranking priest managing a chapel in the western corner of the academy. Apparently, he's only been assigned to Erebos for half a year."
"Hmmm..."
Was this the reason Elise had been acting strangely lately?
Whatever the case, it was outrageous. He wanted to kill the man. But Elise needed to obediently become the sacrifice.
And from what he'd heard about Priest Leo, he seemed useful as a means to control her.
"Not bad. Well done."
"Yes, sir. All for the greater good."
The greater good.
Balua rose from his seat and walked to the large window of his office. Outside, he could see the rubble of the collapsed Ivory Tower and the Erebos soldiers bustling to repair it.
'Pathetic sight.'
Another incident following the Full Moon Festival. Those loathsome otherworldly beings had ravaged the land once more.
And that was just the start. Over his lifetime as archbishop, Balua had witnessed firsthand how deeply the ligaments of power had decayed and rotted.
The nobles indulged in luxury, the commoners envied and slandered one another. Wars and plundering carried out in the name of the gods.
All of it was proof of this frail era, stripped of divine authority.
'This world still needs gods.'
The divine authority of the God Era.
The ladder to the heavens that would purify this rotten world.
The manifestation of authority. The grand plan Balua had prepared for the past twenty years.
Most who heard the core of the plan were appalled. Was it truly right to sacrifice the Saintess Candidate he'd raised like a daughter?
But Balua couldn't care less.
'Elise is merely a vessel for the great undertaking.'
From the beginning, bringing Elise from House de Lua to the cathedral, devoting his life to raising her as a saintess—it was all just preparation for this moment.
"Prepare the ritual."
"Yes, sir."
Elise's sole reason for existence was to become the vessel for that great authority.
Nothing more, nothing less.
*
When Elise regained consciousness, she found herself in a deep, dark chamber of the grand cathedral.
A room without a single candle. Elise desperately tried to grasp her situation.
While enjoying her vacation in Bellus, the Holy See Knights who had accompanied her as escorts suddenly tried to abduct her. She resisted, and one struck the back of her neck with his hand.
'Ah...'
Her memory ended there.
But Elise understood her predicament clearly.
'I've been kidnapped.'
On Archbishop Balua's orders, she'd been abducted and imprisoned here in the grand cathedral. She clenched her fists. She thought she'd bought enough time. Had Priest and Sophia escaped? With Helena watching over them, they must have gotten away. She wanted to believe that.
Screeech.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, someone entered.
A priest's robe with wide sleeves, and a mitre on his head. His face wasn't clear, but it was unmistakably Archbishop Balua.
"...Archbishop."
Elise grimaced. She wanted to lunge at him and protest, but her wrists were tightly bound to the iron bedpost.
With no choice, she asked from her slumped position.
"What in the world is the meaning of this? Using knights dispatched by the Holy See for something like this. If His Holiness finds out, isn't it obvious what will happen?"
"Elise, are you still trying to lecture me? You haven't grasped the situation yet, have you?"
Even at Elise's sharp retort, Balua didn't flinch. Though his face was shadowed, she was certain he was smirking.
"From this moment, I will restore the divine authority of the God Era."
"...Divine authority?"
Divine authority.
As a student in the theology department, Elise knew well about it.
The sacred gift granted to mortals in the God Era. The holy power used by modern humans was merely the remnants left after that authority vanished.
But how could lost authority be restored?
And what did it have to do with her being imprisoned like this?
More importantly...
"What... are you even saying? The manifestation of divine authority is... considered heresy even by the Church..."
Researching divine authority was deemed heresy.
Balua, as archbishop, couldn't possibly be ignorant of that.
Yet at Elise's natural rebuttal, Balua scoffed.
"Elise, you foolish, kind child. Still don't get it?"
Balua crouched down and seized Elise's chin. Only then could she see his expression.
Madness.
No, fanaticism beyond madness.
"Your father Guillaume, this grand cathedral, the high priests who raised you from childhood—they were all just pieces laid for this moment."
"...Wh-what...?"
"That body of yours, receiving holy power since childhood, untainted by impurity. Isn't it more than perfect as a vessel for divine authority?"
Hearing Balua's words, Elise felt as if she'd been struck hard on the head.
"...So that's it."
To Archbishop Balua, Elise was nothing more than a vessel.
It hit her anew.
Elise had been destined from birth to devote herself to the gods.
Escaping House de Lua, assigned to the cathedral, becoming a Saintess Candidate and striving until her bones ached—through every step, this man had been there.
Archbishop Balua had been involved in every part of her journey to this point.
"You planned this from the very beginning...?"
"Exactly. It was a model garden for you. How was it? Did you enjoy playing the Saintess Candidate all this time?"
Elise's face paled. It felt like her entire life was being denied.
She'd believed that if she worked hard, met everyone's expectations, she could be recognized as a saintess.
She'd pushed her body to the limit.
But all that effort was for nothing. She'd merely played in the model garden Balua had crafted—or rather, on the hamster wheel he'd set up.
"Urgh..."
Nausea welled up.
It wasn't just because the archbishop she'd trusted like a father was such a villain.
Rather, she loathed herself for following such a villain.
"..."
The shock didn't last long.
Fortunately, lately Elise had learned how to set down the burdens on her shoulders.
From Priest Leo.
"Ah."
At that thought, Elise let out a small groan.
She'd been subdued and dragged away by the knights, but she had no idea what happened to the others left at the mansion.
'Priest, Sophia, Helena... where are they? Did they escape safely?'
Perhaps her agitation showed on her face.
Balua smiled faintly and leaned close to her ear.
"Did you know? The Holy See Knights cleaned up some bodies."
"...What?"
Elise stared up at Balua with dazed eyes.
Balua barely suppressed an urge to burst into laughter. Of course, it was a lie. But he needed to crush even her last sliver of hope.
"The red-haired woman at the mansion is dead. Your maid too. The knights took the bodies and incinerated them. Well, even without incineration, they were so mangled no one could identify them anyway."
"...Ah, a-ahh..."
"Yes. It's all your fault, Elise. Because you acted recklessly, your friends died. It's your original sin."
As Balua finished speaking, Elise's shoulders trembled violently. Her vacant eyes wandered aimlessly across the ceiling. Only then did Balua feel at ease.
Yes. This was the Elise he knew.
Trembling like a frightened rat at his every word suited her.
But contrary to his thoughts, Elise suddenly sprang up.
"Aaaahhh!"
Elise screamed shrilly and lunged at Balua.
"What?!"
Her arms were definitely bound. They'd even drugged her to numb her limbs. Yet somehow, she dragged the iron bed like a shackle and charged at him.
Unable to use her arms, Elise headbutted him. A burning pain shot through Balua's jaw. Rage boiled up.
"You insolent... tool."
Thwack.
"Ugh."
Balua struck Elise's temple with all his might.
Seeing her collapse like a puppet with cut strings, Balua panted heavily.
The commotion finally drew the knights rushing in.
"Ar-Archbishop... are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm fine, fine."
Balua rubbed his jaw and shook his head.
He hadn't expected Elise to resist like this. This too was a change from the past few months.
"Archbishop..."
The fallen Elise painfully lifted her head and spoke.
"...Where is the priest who was with me?"
"That priest is currently in the underground interrogation room."
From Gregoryus's report, he'd heard she followed the priest like a master.
He wanted to say he'd been killed too, but Balua told the truth.
If she lost even that last hope and bit her tongue, it would be troublesome in many ways.
"Archbishop, he hasn't done anything wrong..."
"True. He might be innocent, as you say. But sin can be fabricated anytime. Isn't that the era we live in?"
"...Please."
"Of course, depending on your behavior, Elise, I might let him live."
At Balua's words, Elise bit her lip in anguish.
After a brief silence, she forced her mouth open.
"...What do I have to do?"
A much more compliant attitude.
Balua smirked inwardly.
Whatever else, it was clear that Priest Leo was Elise's weakness.
If he held that weakness and manipulated her, controlling Elise wouldn't be difficult.
"This will make things go smoothly."
Archbishop Balua stroked his beard and muttered.
*
Ruling a kingdom is never an easy task.
But for First Princess Ciris Leisander, it was merely preparing for a future she had already foreseen. The proposals from her ministers were all familiar, and the reports she heard were so routine they made her ears numb.
In terms of loops, seven times—no, eight including this one.
In years, a full twenty. Naturally, boredom was inevitable.
But today was different.
An event had occurred that didn't exist in Ciris's memories of that day.
"Your Highness, a messenger pigeon has arrived at the palace. Normally, I'd handle it myself, but given the sender, I must report it to you."
Her guard knight Beatrice had barged in without even knocking. Ciris turned her chair back with considerable interest.
"Who could make you so hesitant?"
"A cadet from Erebos Royal Academy, which Your Highness sponsors."
"Aquilova?"
"Yes."
The moment she heard Sophia Veronica Aquilova's name, Ciris frowned.
In the seven loops she'd experienced so far, Sophia had never contacted her directly.
"Read it."
"Yes."
Beatrice unfolded the letter.
"...It contains some rather vulgar language, quite explicitly written."
"Then summarize the content, sanitized."
"Yes. First..."
As Beatrice read down the letter, she frowned. It signaled something ominous.
"...Archbishop Balua mobilized private soldiers to kidnap Saintess Candidate Elise Aurora de Lua and one other person."
"Hmmm."
Ciris didn't panic.
The kidnapping itself was scheduled.
Just the timing was oddly early. Nearly a month ahead. Was this the butterfly effect? Well, the Saintess Candidate's behavior had deteriorated sharply, so it made sense.
"Mobilize all personnel from Erebos Royal Academy to storm the grand cathedral and rescue the Saintess Candidate."
Ciris issued the order nonchalantly.
A situation she'd been through three or four times already. Naturally, she'd provided manuals to Erebos's key figures.
A month early, but no major issue.
Just as she thought that, Ciris tilted her head.
"Wait, Beatrice. Report it again."
"Yes. Archbishop Balua kidnapped Saintess Candidate Elise and one other."
"...So, two people were kidnapped?"
"That's correct."
Beatrice nodded. Only then did Ciris realize something was off and snatched the letter from her hand.
The handwriting was messy, as if scrawled in haste, and the ink was smudged. Above all, the crude insults before Archbishop Balua's name made even Ciris grimace.
However, after reading the full content, Ciris let out a deep sigh and grabbed her cloak from the rack.
"Beatrice."
"Yes."
"Prepare the carriage."
"...The carriage, Your Highness?"
Beatrice blinked, and Ciris shrugged.
"I'm going to Erebos right now."