361. Branching Out (2)
361. Branching Out (2)
- 1 -
The Holy Kingdom's system for deploying clergy was meticulous.
Once assigned, ordinary clergy put down roots at their posting.
Their role was to forge close relationships with local powerholders, sometimes even tying bonds of fate (緣) through marriage with high-ranking figures, and expand the church's influence.
Expanding influence took priority over integrity.
"But for saints, it was different. The archbishops could never tolerate us staying in one place."
As Esther said, the Holy Kingdom usually kept its saints within its borders.
The reason was simple.
To dispatch them in times of crisis to earn prestige and state operating funds, while simultaneously keeping them under thorough control.
'In the end, the Holy Kingdom controlled every relationship.'
It was cloaked in the plausible cause of duty and justice, but the essence was strict surveillance and control.
Thanks to that, meeting a saint privately was something akin to reaching for the stars in the sky.
This was why saints dispatched to the field were so popular even among nobles.
If one could form even a personal connection, unprecedented benefits might be reaped.
'Fortunately, the timing is good right now.'
The other three saints, excluding Esther, had recently been very active in the aristocratic circles of other nations.
This was because they were already slated for 'secularization'.
Lucia to the great noble house of Kakia, Adriana to the royal family of Rugnisah, Clementine to the imperial court of the Norn Empire.
It was a deal that satisfied everyone.
The nobles who desired saintly bloodlines, the Holy Kingdom desperate for diplomatic bonds of fate (緣), and even the saints who wished for a comfortable old age.
'The only victims here were just two groups.'
The poor common people, utterly drenched in the fantasy of the Holy Kingdom and its saints.
And the honest clergy, who never noticed that the Holy Kingdom's high-ranking officials were committing such acts.
Their pure faith became the foundation for the saints' influence and for this entire system.
"Fortunately, you can meet them at the moment, if you wish."
"That is true, but..."
Among them, the other two saints aside from Clementine were actually staying outside the Holy Kingdom entirely.
This was because their scheduled wedding dates were drawing near.
Even for a saint, time was required to settle into high society.
It was a concession made for that very reason.
"And this is our opportunity."
Therefore, there were not many ways to directly use those saints.
The saints were already beings who had everything. Power, honor, even a future and stability.
They were opponents against whom methods like mental magic or kidnapping would be difficult to employ.
So what did I intend to do with them?
"The point is, those saints also know that you are the most 'saint-like'."
"By that, you mean..."
To Esther, who revealed her confusion, I smiled.
The saints of the modern age were merely 'ordinary women who had obtained great power'; they were not madwomen drunk on authority.
At least, that was what I had heard from her.
'They would know, naturally.'
Where all the things they enjoyed had come from.
And how a 'real saint' should behave.
Exactly that one sliver of conscience, or that single layer of hypocrisy.
That was what would become the most fragile link in that colossal Holy Kingdom.
'Once I meet them in person... everything will become clear.'
I had already decided on my first prey, after all.
- 2 -
In the royal capital of the Kingdom of Rugnisah, the office of a 'special guest' had been prepared in a corner of the royal palace.
As the sunset's red glow stretched long through the windows.
A slender beauty with shoulder-length auburn curls, and a handsome man with black hair and striking deep blue eyes sat facing each other, processing a mountain of documents.
They were Saint Adriana Kantes Kiriotha, and the Second Prince of Rugnisah, Alexander Sen Ryuz Rugunisa.
"You have worked hard again today, Your Holiness."
Alexander was the first to look up from his documents, speaking with a gentle smile.
"You as well, Your Highness."
Adriana also set down her pen and gave a light bow.
The two were betrothed, yet there was little of the sweet atmosphere one would expect between lovers.
This was because both considered this marriage to be a thoroughly political arrangement.
Both had clear things they wanted from this marriage. Adriana desired the power of a Grand Duchess—or if luck permitted, a Queen—and a comfortable old age. Alexander desired the legitimacy gained from a saint's bloodline, and possibly the crown prince's seat by pushing aside his elder brother.
'Still, I'm glad he's someone I am fond of.'
Adriana gazed at the prince with eyes that held a certain 'affection' of her own.
It was not the romantic love between a man and a woman, but a gaze closer to camaraderie or friendship.
The prince felt similarly.
Setting aside the interests binding them, they were both reasonably satisfied with each other.
Because they each thought the other was a suitable partner for forming one of the most ideal forms of noble marriage: a 'friend-like marital relationship based on a strategic partnership.'
"Then, please rest well."
As Alexander neatly organized the bundle of documents he had reviewed, picked them up, and exited the office, Adriana leaned back in her chair for a moment, closed her eyes, and took a short rest.
'Let's call it a day here.'
A short while later, after tidying up the remaining documents and pushing them to the side of the table, she rose from her seat.
Moving toward the window, she adjusted the collar of the thin indoor gown she wore.
"Haa."
Gazing down at the royal capital dyed red by the fading sunlight, she sank into complicated thoughts.
'What on earth is the mainland trying to do?'
What came to mind were the complicated international affairs unfolding recently.
Among them, the movements of the 'Anti-Grakhheisen Alliance,' which was being led by the Holy Kingdom, were giving her a headache.
'War is approaching.'
The scent of war was thickening.
The Kingdom of Rugnisah was no exception.
The documents for military expenditure, which poured in daily, vividly proved that fact.
'What should I do?'
She was a saint.
Though her desire for secular power was stronger than her sense of duty as a saint.
That did not mean she was entirely without pity for the countless people who would suffer from war.
There was no way such a woman would welcome an approaching war.
She simply did not want to betray the Holy Kingdom and Rugnisah, which were her greatest stepping stones to realizing her ambitions.
"It is a fine evening, Saint Adriana."
Right at that moment, from behind her, she suddenly heard a woman's voice, clear and elegant yet unfathomably deep.
"Hrk...!"
Goosebumps shot down Adriana's spine.
Almost on pure instinct, she ducked, and from her right hand, brilliant holy power condensed as if exploding.
Kwarrrreung—!
It happened in the blink of an eye.
A flash of pure-white lightning burst forth, striking the direction the voice had come from.
A killing blow, imbued with the power of a saint.
Just because she was a saint did not mean she was a greenhouse flower with no combat experience.
Her reaction in a crisis was not inferior to that of a seasoned warrior.
It was only that her opponent was overwhelmingly transcendent beyond all of that.
"A fairly excellent reaction."
And there, a woman stood.
A jet-black dress, a gently smiling mouth. Mysterious violet eyes.
The lightning of holy power that Adriana had just launched with all her might was held lightly between her fingers, like a child who had caught a firefly.
Pachut!
The pitiful bolt of light wriggled pathetically.
"... I will not apologize for attacking an uninvited guest."
Adriana struggled to maintain her composure, extinguishing the remnants of the lightning that were about to scatter with a wave of her hand.
Desperately ignoring the fact that her holy power had been toyed with by a mere gesture from that woman.
Standing up straight, she asked.
"... Who are you?"
The answer that followed was enough to make her heart freeze.
"Philia Elskopf."
At that moment, the saint felt a chill run down her spine.
The Grakhheisen Alliance, the target of Rugnisah and the Holy Kingdom.
And there was no way Adriana could not know the name of the de facto ruler who stood at the apex of that alliance.
"I requested an audience so politely, yet you ultimately refused. So..."
The woman in the black dress merely whispered, a calm smile on her lips, as if Adriana's hostility or fear were of no concern whatsoever.
"I came to meet you in person."
The weight of some power hidden behind that gentle smile seemed to crush Adriana's very breath.
- 3 -
Adriana stared at Philia.
At the woman who had appeared without any invitation out of the blue and was now serenely enjoying tea.
'How on earth did she get in here?'
Every royal palace had powerful magic laid upon it.
Not only was Rugnisah no exception, its magical defenses were actually superior to most other nations.
For this place was a long-time ally of the Holy Kingdom, and simultaneously, Adriana herself, having become a saint, had personally laid down barriers here.
Yet the woman before her eyes had appeared as if all those defenses simply did not exist.
In other words, right now...
'I could die.'
Her life hung in the balance before this woman.
Kung. Kung.
The sound of her tense heartbeat echoed in her ears.
She tried her utmost to remain calm until the woman before her spoke.
For a while, a quiet time passed, with one side remaining on guard and the guarded party enjoying her tea.
"Do not worry."
Philia spoke softly with a smile, soothing Adriana, who was nervously clutching the hem of her dress.
"Though you may not believe it if I say so, I have no intention of harming you. So long as you do not drive me or my acquaintances to death."
"..."
"The reason I came today is to ask you for a favor."
Adriana frowned.
A favor, she said.
She wondered if that was an appropriate thing to hear from someone who had barged in so forcefully.
"... State your request, for now."
But she had no intention of refusing to listen.
"As you know... soon, the Holy Kingdom will declare Grakhheisen to be 'heretical'."
Adriana felt her heart pound even louder.
Because the Holy Kingdom's top-secret intelligence had just slipped out of the woman's mouth as if it were nothing.
She barely managed to compose herself, thinking that a person of such power might have ways of knowing. Yet Philia stared directly at Adriana as if she already knew everything.
"I would like you to oppose that declaration."
"... Me? Of all people? Why do you think I would do that?"
Adriana barely managed to suppress the incredulous laugh that nearly escaped her.
"Yes. Naturally."
Philia nodded without a shred of hesitation.
It was an attitude brimming with a confidence that was utterly dumbfounding.
"I am strictly a saint of the Holy Kingdom. Whereas you are... a clear 'heretic', one who draws in monsters. So why must I take your side?"
"Well..."
Philia, who had been trailing off, softly whispered.
"The real heretics seem to be more numerous in the Holy Kingdom these days. Wouldn't that suffice?"
Yet the content of her words was anything but soft.
"... What? What kind of nonsense are you...!"
At the saint's retort, Philia's eyes shimmered eerily.
Adriana unconsciously averted her gaze from those eyes.
Those eyes felt as if...
"Tomorrow, I shall prove it to you."
... they were a bewitching creature trying to ensnare Adriana's very own heart.