Chapter 197: Hansel and Gretel (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 197: Hansel and Gretel (3)
Cardinal Benedictus of the Holy See challenged him.
“A Saint? Cardinal Marcenus, what is the meaning of this sudden nonsense?”
“It is just as I introduced her. Now that His Holiness has disappeared, we need a pillar to maintain our balance. The Saint will restore order to our chaotic Holy Kingdom.”
With vampires appearing and Antonius gone, now was the perfect time to present Elize as a Saint. Naturally, there was opposition.
“A Saint? Do you truly think it makes sense to make a woman of unknown origin the representative of the Holy Kingdom, Cardinal Marcenus!”
“I understand why you cannot accept it. I was the same at first. But once you witness her power, you will all change your minds.”
“Hmph! To call a wench of unknown origin a Saint. It seems you've gone blind with ambition, Cardinal Marcenus. Haha!”
Ignoring the others’ jeers, Marcenus silently gave an order. More people entered through the same door Elize had used.
“Grrrrrrr…”
“A va-vampire?”
It was none other than a vampire. It was bound so tightly it couldn’t move a single finger, and its mouth was gagged to keep it from closing.
Its eyes were bloodshot, the Bloodthirst having reached its absolute peak.
“Bringing a traitor into this sacred council! What is the meaning of this, Cardinal Marcenus! What are you waiting for? Slay that thing at once!”
Schwing.
Marcenus stared down the Holy Knight who was about to draw his sword. Crushed by the pressure, the Holy Knight flinched.
“Why aren’t you cutting him down!”
“You’re too impatient. Just watch quietly.”
“What did you say?”
At Marcenus’s nod, Elize moved. She approached the vampire, which had lost its reason and now craved only blood.
“Grrrrk!”
Drooling thick saliva, the vampire thrashed as if it would lunge forward at any moment. It bared its hideously overgrown fangs at Elize.
Elize gazed at him with pitying eyes.
“You must have suffered so much. Your family turned their backs on you, and even the voice of God grew distant. I can see it. I see you trembling in terror, struggling to overcome the urge.”
“Grrrrr…”
“But you don’t have to worry. I am here. I will save you.”
Elize placed a hand on the man’s pale cheek. Her eyes sparkled.
At that moment, the man’s writhing stilled, and his pupils, which had been trembling with madness, calmed. What came from his mouth was not the cry of a monster, but the words of a man.
“Ah…?”
“Are you feeling calmer now?”
“A voice… I can hear a voice…!”
“Thank goodness.”
Elize gave a benevolent smile to the man, who was now sobbing with overwhelming emotion.
The people who had been watching with expressions that said, ‘Let’s see what kind of trick this is,’ shot to their feet in astonishment.
“Impossible! A vampire regained its sanity?”
“Hah…”
The vampires that had appeared in the Holy Kingdom were largely divided into two types.
Clergy proficient in the use of divine power could maintain their sanity for a certain period after turning into a vampire, thanks to their resistance. But those without such power lost their humanity instantly.
Like the man before them.
They became monsters, not people.
No cure had ever been developed. Divine power was fatal to vampires, so attempting to bless them would trigger a purification reaction rather than a cure.
And yet, she had restored such a vampire’s mind. And she had done it without using any discernible ability.
It was a miracle on par with the power of God himself.
“Do you see? With the Saint’s power, we can overcome the chaos in the Holy Kingdom. Do you still doubt her?”
“Stop this nonsense, Cardinal Marcenus! Do I look like someone who would fall for such an obvious charade?”
Benedictus extended a hand toward the man, shining divine power in the form of light upon him.
“Aaargh!”
A normal person would have been invigorated by Benedictus’s divine power, but not this man. His body began to burn as if seared by fire.
This was proof that he wasn't some talented actor they had hired, but unequivocally a vampire.
Thwack!
Elize intervened.
She pushed the man back, shielding him from the divine power.
Her eyes narrowed as she shot a sharp glare at Benedictus.
“What is the meaning of this atrocity?”
“Wh-what? Atrocity?”
“This man is a subject of the Holy Kingdom and a believer of the Order. Just because he has been tainted by blood does not mean you can treat him with such disrespect.”
“How dare a wench who crawled out of nowhere try to lecture a Cardinal!”
“We are all children of our father, the Lord Ordo. Summary execution without the Lord's judgment is an act that disrupts order.”
“You…!”
As the situation escalated, others stepped in to mediate.
“Please calm yourself, Cardinal Benedictus. Whatever her motives, saving a life is an act worthy of praise.”
“That’s right. We had no clear solution to this problem, so it is a relief to see a path forward.”
“Ahem…”
If it had just been Marcenus, Benedictus might have pressed on, but with others now defending Elize, he found it difficult to act freely. He sat back down, displeased.
Once the situation calmed, all that remained was a storm of praise for Elize, who had not backed down from a Cardinal and had protected the man even after he had become a vampire.
“A Saint, you said? The spirit she just showed was certainly more than enough to be praised as one. It was like watching a mother embracing her child.”
“Indeed. With a Saint like her, the people can rest easy. As Cardinal Marcenus said, she may be the one to restore order to the Holy Kingdom.”
“Ho ho, I wonder where Cardinal Marcenus found such a talent. Your eye for people is truly extraordinary.”
“Mm.”
Even amidst the flood of praise, Elize showed no reaction.
She stood demurely with her head slightly bowed. The shadow fell across her face like a veil, creating an air of mystery.
Every single subtle movement.
Everything was going according to plan.
*
Elize’s debut as the Saint proceeded without a hitch.
It was thanks to Marcenus’s full-throated support, combined with the efforts of others who had been charmed by her display at the council.
Besides, in times of chaos, making swift decisions was the best way to minimize damage.
The day of the Saint’s inauguration arrived.
The people of the Holy Kingdom gathered in one place.
A teeming crowd filled every space from the Cathedral’s front yard to the main streets and squares. There wasn't an inch of room to stand. All of them were there to see the Saint’s face.
“I heard she’s from a convent?”
“Hmm. But a Saint? Isn’t this a bit too sudden?”
“What is?”
“Everyone’s in an uproar over the vampires, but this feels like a festival. Is this right?”
“You only see one side of the coin, don't you? It's because of the vampires that we need the Saint even more.”
The heartwarming story of Elize’s actions at the council, as if someone had deliberately spread it, had instantly traveled throughout the Holy Kingdom.
She hadn’t cast out a man who had turned into a vampire, but had instead embraced him with a mother’s warmth. Not only that, she had even cured him.
For the subjects who had been tormented by vampires, it was the best news they had heard in a long time. A belief even began to form that if they, too, became vampires, the Saint would cure them.
Though it hadn't been officially announced, the people had already tacitly acknowledged ‘Saint Elize.’
“She is the one who will bring order to the world in the Lord’s stead. So don’t you dare doubt her. Hey, where’d you go?”
The man looked around.
But the man who had asked the question was gone.
Having gathered the citizens’ reactions, Karami squeezed his way out of the crowd. He returned to where Antonius was waiting.
“The people’s support for her is stronger than I thought.”
“People are always looking for something to lean on. Even more so in chaotic times like these. Marcenus has precisely exploited their weakness.”
“Hmm…”
Karami let out a low groan as he sank into deep thought.
“What is it? Isn’t this the outcome you were hoping for?”
“It was at first, but…”
Elize’s story had far more variables than the other slaves’. From the multiple routes to the various factors he had to consider, there were countless things to worry about.
Depending on the version, the direction of her revenge changed, and there was even a route where she didn't seek revenge at all.
Since this was the Hansel and Gretel version, he knew she would take a revenge route, but the whole ‘Saint’ thing still bothered him. He had never seen her become a Saint in any route.
Of course, there was a variable from the very beginning…
Normally, there was a process where he would make a contract with Elize and obtain a holy relic from the Church to gain entry into the Holy Kingdom. This time, he had skipped it because of Lucas.
It truly had no meaning beyond gaining entry, so it wasn't a problem. More than that, it was probably because Lucas was a famous figure in the Holy Kingdom, which had made Elize stand out in various ways.
And the Reaper's Order is also a problem.
The appearance of the Reaper's Order had instilled an even greater sense of crisis in the already unstable Holy Kingdom.
Mirabelle had previously cut down clergy as the Reaper, and with the Slave Reaper and the Reaper's Order appearing in succession, it seemed to have provoked the heretical factions.
Could that be why a Saint had appeared out of nowhere?
To make matters worse, even Elize seemed to be plotting something, making everything all the more complicated.
“Ooh, she’s coming out!”
At the people’s shouts, Karami’s head turned.
The doors to the Cathedral’s balcony, which had been firmly shut, opened, and Elize appeared, escorted by Holy Knights, priests, and nuns.
Dressed in sacred vestments with her makeup done, she looked nothing like the bat who was swindling people just a short while ago. She had really made it big.
Thanks to me, he thought.
Though he hadn't intended it.
Stepping outside, Elize looked around and slowly began to speak.
“My esteemed believers of Kassilon.”
A single phrase, yet it resonated.
The vast crowd in the square held its breath in unison. The sound of carriage wheels, the shouts of merchants, and the chatter of children all ceased.
Only Elize’s voice enveloped the holy temple and the main street.
“My name is Elize. Today, I stand before you as the Saint of the Order of Balance.”
Elize lowered her gaze toward the square.
Countless people were looking up at her. Some with eyes full of expectation, some with wonder, and others with a mixture of fear and doubt.
“I am not the grand being you might think I am.”
Elize placed a hand on her chest.
“This body is merely an instrument of God, a weak woman who can do nothing on her own.”
A murmur went through the crowd at Elize’s words.
But her expression remained unwavering.
“I cannot hear the voice of God. I cannot perform miracles, nor can I make your suffering disappear in an instant. Even in this moment, as I am called a Saint, I am just a person, no different from any of you.”
Elize was cunning.
She had been ever since the slave auction show.
She had learned in order to survive.
She had a natural talent for getting under people’s skin.
“I, too, live with the same anxieties. I fear the coming of night and pray earnestly for the day to arrive, waiting for this nightmare to end.”
The image Elize was trying to imprint on the people was not that of a holy god, but of a familiar, nurturing mother.
Being perceived as a god-like being would be meaningless. On the contrary, instilling the perception that she was the same as them would create a sense of kinship.
That would be far more ‘effective.’
“I am no different from you. But together, we can create miracles. I will walk with you, not from above, but from your side.”
Elize extended a hand over the balcony, as if to embrace each and every person.
“So, will you join me?”
A moment of silence followed.
But the silence soon became a great wave that shook the temple.
“Hail the Saint!”
“May the grace of Ordo be with you!”
“Order, forever!”
Letting out a shallow sigh, Elize looked up at the sky.
Are you watching?
All those believers were now hers.
She couldn't hide the smile that spread across her face.