Hyde! Returning to the Agarpe Estate After So Long! #2

"Hyde! Even a single lash from that whip would kill you! You'd die!"

My adorable wife Psyche came into the bedroom, stamping her feet.

It was surely because of the conversation at dinner earlier.

"Psyche, how about calming down a little, now that we're home after so long?"

If she gets stressed, she might get wrinkles.

Of course, Psyche was like a freshly blooming flower, without so much as a single freckle on her face.

"How can I calm down?! Hyde, you said you'd tear down that massive wall within a fortnight — that's impossible for anyone! Even Archbishop Archibold couldn't do a thing before that wall during the war and had to turn back!"

Archbishop Archibold had been a brilliant strategist during the war. But even he had only been able to hurl curses at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that enormous wall before retreating. Since I'd declared I would take that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠wall within a fortnight, Psyche couldn't help but panic.

"Psyche, don't worry. Have I ever failed to keep even a single word I've spoken?"

"But—"

"Think of the walls of Jericho in the Scriptures."

The walls of Jericho. Long ago, there had been a fortress as impregnable as the Wall of Sloth — the city of Jericho. A fortress so mighty that no one could conquer it.

"But what brought those walls down wasn't a valiant general or a strategist — it was the trumpet blast of a choir of praise."

Joshua, heeding the Lord's command, and his choir of praise had circled the city and blown their trumpets as one. With that, the walls of Jericho had collapsed like an avalanche.

"If the Lord is with me, what could I possibly fail to do?"

Psyche nodded as if accepting my words, yet her expression still looked uneasy.

Right.

The story of Jericho is like a myth from the Scriptures. Same with Moses parting the sea. I believe it actually happened — but on the other hand, you can still wonder, "Could that really be possible?"

"Whatever! I just hope the fortnight passes already! Either that annoying Hyde gets whipped, or that old geezer Parmas gets whipped — one of the two! I've got nothing to lose!"

Milione laughed with a puhuhu.

I frowned.

"Milli, this is a married couple's bedroom. Why did you just waltz in?"

"Hyde. I told you I'm under penance. Sticking next to you — the most devout man there is — is my penance. I don't like hanging around boring you either. But what choice do I have?"

Indeed—.

I was the most devout and faithful man there was. Sticking next to me would be no different from penance for a wicked woman like Milione.

"Fine. Since it's come to this, I'll let you join our couple's joint work tonight."

"What? Couple's joint work?"

Milione's face crumpled. Judging by that, she was clearly thinking something weird.

Whether Milione made a face or not, I knelt on the floor. Then I raised both hands high and began to pray.

"O Lord—"

Our couple's joint work was always an all-night prayer vigil.

"Look at this! The library has so many fascinating books! As expected of a count's household!"

Lucy Emma. She seemed to be in excellent spirits at the Agarpe estate. Not a trace of possession or any of her various mental disorders could be found.

Resting in a place with good air and clean water really is the best.

Milione had cursed the Agarpe estate as a backwater, but I liked these meadows and the hills blooming with autumn flowers. Thinking of little Psyche running around these places on her short little legs made it all the more endearing.

"This looks fun! The War History of the Allied Kingdom! If you look toward the back, Sister Midnar's name is in it too! It says Sister Midnar took four hundred soldiers and captured a castle belonging to the Unizers!"

Flip, flip—.

Lucy turned the pages, sitting in the cool autumn shade. Sister Midnar, who had been watching from a short distance, approached me and spoke.

"Once things settle down here, I plan to leave with Lucy. There's a place Lucy absolutely must go."

"To the Church in Barakan?"

I knew Sister Midnar had taken Lucy's mother Emma to the Church. But Sister Midnar shook her head.

"No, I plan to go to the Ivory Tower in the Royal Capital. I have an acquaintance there. Not someone I particularly like, but they'll be able to teach Lucy well. About the power inside her, too."

The Ivory Tower was the place that oversaw the kingdom's various knowledge. Think of it as a research institute and university. It was also said to produce many mages.

"That's unexpected."

I truly found it unexpected. The relationship between the Church and the Ivory Tower wasn't particularly good, after all. Those who pursued objective, clear knowledge and the Church that valued faith simply didn't mix well.

Sister Midnar wiped her face with her palm.

"I still think about it. If I'd taken Emma to the Ivory Tower instead of the Church back then, what would have happened? Wouldn't far more have changed than it has now—?"

"There's no use regretting what's past. A person should only look back when they can face their past mistakes and correct their future actions."

No point fretting every day over things you did wrong in the past. It only harms your mental health.

Sister Midnar frowned at my words.

"For a wet-behind-the-ears brat, you sure talk a smooth game. But Hyde, thanks to you, things have been rather entertaining in many ways. Looking at you, I'm reminded of someone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I knew when I was a bit younger."

"Archbishop Archibold?"

People said that in his youth, Archbishop Archibold had been a passionate, spirited priest like me. So some people, looking at me, recalled the young him — the way I'd shot up from Wood Badge priest to Bronze Badge priest at a young age, and the way I'd married a high-status wife despite being a commoner—.

But Sister Midnar narrowed her eyes and shook her head.

"No, I wasn't talking about that Medici Archibold bastard. Medici's different from you. That one's a bit more earnest."

"I'm earnest too."

"Must have been my imagination after all. You don't resemble anyone I've ever known, Hyde. So go forth on a path none of us have ever walked."

Stern Sister Midnar giving me a blessing, of all things. They say when a person suddenly does something they've never done, their lifespan runs out all at once. I was wondering if this old nun might head straight to heaven tomorrow when she added,

"So what are you going to do? Can you really take that wall within a fortnight? If you're thinking of riding on your wife Psyche's coattails, you'd better think again. Even if you gathered every last Agarpe soldier, you couldn't put a single scratch on that wall."

"Do you really think so?"

"Parmas, that old man, is stubborn and pigheaded. But he cares about face, so if you prostrate yourself right now and beg for forgiveness, he might let it slide as if it never happened."

"Don't worry, Sister Midnar. If you feel you've received help from me, rather than saying things like that, could you write me a letter?"

"A letter?"

"Please send this missive to the Ivory Tower. If you could send it to your acquaintance, that would be ideal. An acquaintance of Sister Midnar's would surely hold quite a high position at the Ivory Tower, wouldn't they?"

I held out a letter I'd prepared in advance to Sister Midnar.

"Hah!"

When I returned to the mansion, Psyche in leather armor was swinging a massive greatsword at the training grounds. As she swung the blade — as large as her own body — left and right with whooshing sounds, a fierce wind rose and swept the fallen leaves away.

"Ah, Hyde! You were there!"

"What are you doing?"

"Training, of course! I need to sharpen my senses even a little if we're going to take the Citadel of Sloth! It's my first time participating in a war, after all."

Psyche wiped the sweat trickling down her forehead. Apparently, while I'd been wandering around the estate, Psyche had been pouring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠herself into training since morning.

Then Psyche said to me,

"Hyde! What about you? There's only a fortnight left! Shouldn't you be gathering soldiers or training the knights?"

"Psyche, I have something to confess honestly. I am a more devout and faithful clergyman than anyone. But I will never make an excellent soldier or strategist."

I was a smart person, but I was a complete amateur when it came to military tactics or methods of training soldiers. So even if I scrambled to train soldiers and knights now, it would be hard to fulfill that role — that was what I meant.

Then what should I do?

Just rest well, sleep well, and eat well. And wait for the right time. Like Moses, who fled Egypt and waited in the wilderness for the time he would be used—. I too was waiting for my time.

With that feeling, several days flew by.

Sister Midnar found me as I was washing my face with cold water, and I received a letter from her hand.

"Indeed, thanks to Sister Midnar, I received a reply quickly. The Ivory Tower is famous for being extremely arrogant and unfriendly in its dealings, yet to receive a reply this fast."

A seal stamped with a pentagram. The symbol of the Ivory Tower. The letter itself smelled nice.

Had they sprayed perfume on it?

I cut the seal with a letter knife and examined the contents. They were simple.

That was it.

The letter I'd sent to the Ivory Tower had contained a question about the cycle of solar eclipses. I'd been a bit anxious about whether a research institution from this primitive dark age could predict a solar eclipse, but it was fairly accurate.

Well, even the ancient Mesopotamians predicted solar eclipses, so of course they should be able to manage this much.

"Sister Midnar, do you know why Walpurgis is currently advancing on the Citadel of Sloth? It's precisely because of this solar eclipse."

The moment the moon swallows the sun—. Could heretics and cultists possibly endure an event like that? Of course not.

"This letter was written roughly two days ago. So that means a solar eclipse will occur within the next five days. Then the time has come. We march."