Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Papal Territory (3)
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“Ahem, ahem.”
The one who appeared to be the eldest among them hurriedly spoke up.
“Hey, there seems to be a bit of a misunderstanding here.”
“Misunderstanding?”
I replied coldly.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Explain it in detail.”
“Ahem, well, we didn’t mean to insult the Paladin Order or anything...”
“......”
“So...”
He hesitated, then blurted out desperately.
“W-We were only talking about our assessment of Kurt Aleyas as an individual!”
“Kurt Aleyas as an individual?”
“That’s right! We had no intention of insulting the Paladin Order at all! You guys agree, right?”
The other Guard Corps members nodded frantically.
“Kurt Aleyas drew a lot of expectations as the vanguard leader of the Paladin Order at an age like yours! But he couldn’t defeat Archbishop Hausel or Archbishop Sapphirus!”
“......”
“If Kurt Aleyas had defeated Archbishop Hausel or Archbishop Sapphirus, the war would have ended in our victory! The Dialogue Church would have been completely eradicated from this land, and we could have spread the gospel beyond the Winter Mountains!”
He ranted passionately in front of me.
“If that had happened, your Paladin Order’s position would have been even stronger! Don’t you th—”
“Lord Sion Aleyas.”
Lieselotte cut him off mid-sentence.
“What would Kurt Aleyas think if he heard this?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want to tell my father such nonsense.”
“......!”
They gulped and stepped back.
They hadn’t imagined I was Kurt Aleyas’s son.
“W-Wait a minute. What I just said...”
“One thing to say, Guard Corps.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“This isn’t me speaking as Kurt Aleyas’s son. This is from an objective standpoint.”
In front of their blinking eyes, I spoke in a cold voice.
“The Dialogue Church was always wary of Kurt Aleyas. He was one of the few Paladins who could match Archbishop Hausel or Archbishop Sapphirus. Kurt Aleyas served as a deterrent against the Dialogue Church just by existing.”
“......”
“Without Kurt Aleyas, the Dialogue Church could have moved more freely and launched a more aggressive offensive. They might have even invaded the Papal Territory.”
Kurt was one of the few Paladins acknowledged by Archbishop Hausel.
He wasn’t someone a mere Papal Guard Corps could irresponsibly belittle.
“Got it?”
“Y-Yes, we take back what we said earlier...”
“Take back? By whose authority?”
“W-What?”
“Words once spoken must be owned. Right?”
They backed away.
Few could stand tall against an Ironclad Paladin of the Order.
“What shall we do, Lord Sion?”
Lieselotte smiled beside me.
“Since your father, Lord Kurt, has been insulted, we can’t just let it slide.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to cause a scene inside the Papal Territory.”
“Pretending not to notice here would be the greater dishonor.”
The tension was thick.
The surrounding crowd swallowed nervously, watching what would happen.
“I’ll apologize on their behalf.”
A middle-aged man with hands in his pockets sauntered into the shop.
“It seems my boys were rude while I was in the bathroom.”
“G-Guard Captain...!”
The man called Guard Captain bowed his head to me.
He looked like an ordinary middle-aged man on the surface... but every movement was flawless.
“I’m Gabrius, captain of the Papal Guard Corps. I’d like to apologize for my men’s irresponsible chatter.”
“......”
Gabrius.
The Guard Captain commanding the Papal Guard Corps, a warrior with 9-star mana.
The undisputed strongest swordsman in the Papal Court, a capable figure known even to the Paladin Order.
And now, he was bowing before me.
“It seems the ones who should apologize are them, not you, Guard Captain.”
“S-Sorry!”
They all dropped to their knees in unison, bowing their heads.
With their captain bowing, they couldn’t stand stiffly.
“Your Guard Corps seems well-trained.”
“You think so?”
“Yes, if they weren’t, they’d think, ‘Now that the captain’s here, we’re saved,’ and act all high and mighty.”
That would have led to another scuffle.
But since they apologized alongside their captain, it was right to accept it here.
“I won’t pursue this matter further.”
“Thank you, Ironclad Knight Sion Aleyas.”
Gabrius nodded with a smile.
“You look like you couldn’t finish your meal properly due to the commotion.”
“It’s fine.”
“As a gesture of apology, let me treat you. That okay?”
Before I could answer, Gabrius raised a hand to call the waiter.
“We’ll use the back room. Prepare the food.”
The waiter, who caught the gold coin Gabrius tossed, bowed deeply and led us to the back.
In the end, Lieselotte and I ended up dining with Gabrius in the private room.
“Truth be told, I was personally curious. You’re famous even in the Papal Court.”
“Am I?”
“Capturing Gerkios was huge. If he’d led an undead legion out of the western great forest, there would’ve been massive casualties.”
Gabrius praised me lavishly while offering dishes.
No reason to refuse free food, so we ate every course without leaving a scrap.
“Only Kurt Aleyas entered the Papal Territory, while the Judgment Knight Brigade stays outside, right?”
“Yes, we plan to finish our business and leave.”
“He’s someone I personally admire, so I’d love to meet him sometime.”
“Then I’ll pass along the message.”
“You sure? Thank you.”
After various conversations, we parted from Gabrius with full stomachs.
* * *
After parting from the Paladins.
Gabrius headed straight to a secluded back alley.
Passing through an alley hard to spot anyone, he approached the back door leading to the Cardinal Palace.
“Your Eminence, Cardinal.”
“Come in, Guard Captain.”
The one greeting Gabrius at the Cardinal Palace was a middle-aged man with a striking presence.
He had long silver curls, sharp features, and piercing eyes that gave a strong impression.
His name was Versachio. Among the five cardinals, he wielded power second only to Epitraus.
“Did you make contact with the Paladin?”
“Yes, I met Sion Aleyas.”
Gabrius bowed his head.
“I created the opportunity as planned and had a long conversation.”
“Good. What did you think?”
“He’s no ordinary kid, as the rumors say. But...”
Answering Versachio’s question, Gabrius smiled.
“They blabbed about their current situation without any caution. Greenhorns are greenhorns, after all.”
“That’s a relief.”
Versachio smiled too.
“Putting together what you heard from him, it seems the Paladins really came to the Cardinal Territory just for transport duties.”
“Hm, so Epitraus didn’t deliberately station them here?”
“Yes, the Judgment Knight Brigade outside the walls seems to just be waiting. Sion Aleyas will leave the Papal Territory once his mission is done.”
“Then... the Paladins know nothing. Epitraus didn’t call them to check us—he really brought them for the Holy Grail transport.”
Versachio nodded slowly.
“Then Epitraus delaying the Holy Grail handover is some kind of ploy.”
“Yes, he’s keeping the Judgment Knight Brigade near the Papal Territory as a deterrent against us.”
“With the Judgment Knight Brigade here, if you try anything, these Paladins will step in... He’s trying to intimidate us that way. Sly old man.”
“It’s bluffing in poker. Acting like he has a good hand to make the opponent fold out of fear.”
“Yeah, even though he doesn’t actually have a good hand.”
There was no secret pact between Cardinal Epitraus and the Judgment Knight Brigade.
Versachio and Gabrius concluded that much.
“No need to worry about them, then.”
“Yes, no matter what happens inside the Papal Territory, the Judgment Knight Brigade won’t enter to intervene.”
“Incidents inside the Papal Territory are the Guard Corps’s responsibility anyway. Unless Epitraus coordinated with them beforehand, the Paladins won’t cross the walls into the Territory.”
The relationship between the Paladin Order and the Holy Spirit Church was complicated.
Formally under the Church, but due to strong independence, they were practically separate organizations.
That didn’t mean the Paladin Order could ignore the Church’s authority.
Unauthorized entry into the Papal Territory was a highly risky move.
It could lead to the entire Order being excommunicated.
“Considering Kurt Aleyas’s personality, he couldn’t make that call alone. He won’t bring the Judgment Knight Brigade in.”
“He’s the type who just follows orders and fights. If it were Ianus Aleyas here, he might improvise something...”
“Kurt Aleyas couldn’t. He’s not the type for bold moves.”
“But he might step out alone to handle it without calling in the brigade.”
“Hm... Possible?”
“Even then, it’s fine. If that man steps up, I’ll handle him.”
“You sure?”
“Kurt Aleyas is a has-been now. Even in his prime, he couldn’t defeat Hausel or Sapphirus Archbishops. He’s overrated.”
What his subordinates chattered about next to Sion Aleyas matched exactly what Gabrius thought.
“Very well, Gabrius.”
Versachio nodded slowly.
“Epitraus must feel secure with the Judgment Knight Brigade here. Let’s proceed with the grand plan while the old fool is off guard.”
“Understood, Your Eminence.”
“Finally, to confirm once more... Sion Aleyas really seemed clueless?”
“Of course.”
Gabrius answered confidently.
“Sion Aleyas noticed nothing.”
* * *
“Gabrius noticed nothing.”
On the way back to our lodgings, I explained to Lieselotte.
“He’d never dream I deliberately fed him internal info.”
“Yes, he fell for it completely.”
Earlier, I’d deliberately acted naive around Gabrius.
I volunteered the info he wanted to hear.
Most of it distorted, of course.
“Cardinal Epitraus caught on that Cardinal Versachio and Guard Captain Gabrius are plotting something. That’s why he’s dragging out the Holy Grail handover, keeping us in the Papal Territory.”
“He expected our Paladins to serve as their deterrent.”
“But now Versachio’s side has figured it out too.”
Thanks to what I spilled to Gabrius, Versachio realized Epitraus was bluffing.
“Right now, Versachio thinks we absolutely won’t intervene.”
“They fell for your ploy, Lord Sion.”
“Normally, the Paladin Order wouldn’t get involved. But... I can’t just sit back.”
Epitraus’s odd behavior, what I heard from Hypnos at the Inner Temple, Gabrius’s unnatural approach.
Analyzing all the intel gathered in the Papal Territory, I could piece together what was happening.
“Versachio plans to use Gabrius to mobilize the Guard Corps and take down Epitraus. To claim the next papal seat.”
For Versachio to become the next pope, he must eliminate the top candidate, Epitraus.
Impossible without justification, but Versachio already had his pretext.
I’d learned what it was from Hypnos.
“We’ll thwart their plot ourselves, Lieselotte.”
“That’ll be a massive achievement. My heart’s racing.”
The wind has been sown.
Now it’s time to behead the fools rising up in ignorant triumph.