Ronald II's Lucky Day
Ronald II's worst day ironically began with the happiest morning.
"Stupid bastard. You should have done that from the start. Were you planning to watch your mother die? Heh heh."
A few days earlier he had squeezed a hefty sum of gold from a prominent noble in the capital, leaving him in an excellent mood.
He had demanded an amount large enough to bankrupt an entire fief just for treating his mother's chronic illness.
The noble, unable to bear watching his mother die, had no choice but to pay.
Thinking of his now bulging pockets, Ronald II entered the main temple of the Healing Sect with a broad grin.
But the moment he saw the interior of the main temple, his cheerful smile vanished in an instant.
"........What the hell? H-Hey!! What is this!! Where is everyone going!!!!"
The lobby was packed with hundreds of people packing their belongings to be discharged.
Most were commoners, though a few capital nobles were among them.
One of the healing priests, looking tearful, met his horrified gaze.
"They all say they want to be discharged, Your Holiness!"
"Why would they discharge themselves? Don't they know their conditions could worsen?!"
"W-Well........"
A capital noble who had been nearby approached after hearing their exchange.
His expression was anything but pleasant.
"We are heading to the Portu Commercial District. I hear Baron Landor has opened quite a fine hospital there. The rumors reached even the capital, so we decided to move there, Your Holiness."
"N-No!! Count Lionel!! Don't you know you could die if you stop treatment?"
"I do. But it looks like my house will lose its foundation before I lose my life."
"You might die on the way!!!"
Count Lionel gave a cold, contemptuous smile.
"Your Holiness, let us be honest. If our house collapses and there is no more money to squeeze out, you were planning to force us out anyway. Dying is the same either way, so we might as well take a gamble."
"Uh, uh..........."
"I will be going now."
It was not only Count Lionel.
Most of the commoners glared at Ronald II with open disgust before leaving.
Staring blankly at the departing patients, Ronald II suddenly shouted.
"A hospital in Portu Commercial City? You are trusting that treacherous bastard Landor and those strange western continent people he has been dealing with for months? Those people cut open human bodies with knives to treat them!!!!"
"Your Holiness, it is not only here."
A cardinal with a tearful face rushed over and showed him a telegram taken from a magic communication device.
"Patients across the empire are requesting discharge! They are all flocking to Portu Commercial City!!!"
"W-What? Really? They are entrusting their lives to those dark-skinned western continent savages who cannot even speak properly?"
"They say the prices are far too cheap!!! Commoners are going, of course, and even some nobles without money are heading there!! Only nobles who can afford treatment without worrying about cost remain, and even they are mostly considering discharge!"
"Why on earth?"
The cardinal barely swallowed the words "Because you charged even wealthy nobles exorbitant fees that made them sick of it."
"It seems to be because of the alternative called Landor, Your Holiness......"
"That son of a bitch who deserves to be torn apart!!! The Healing Sect has a long history of treating the empire!!! How many lives have we saved, only for them to stab us in the back like this!!!!"
Ronald II roared, his flushed face trembling with layers of fat.
"That bastard!! I will go see His Majesty the Emperor right now!!!"
The priest treating the emperor's aged body also belonged to the Healing Sect.
Because of this, the emperor had always been lenient toward the sect.
While not as accommodating as with Landor, he had usually listened to Ronald II's words.
But just as he was preparing to head to the imperial palace, another piece of bad news arrived.
"Your Holiness!!! T-This is terrible!!!! Your Holiness!!"
"Hm? What is it? Do not panic and speak slowly."
"J-Just now, word came from the royal physician treating His Majesty the Emperor!! His Majesty has accepted that traitor Landor's request and granted permission for a special investigation of our Healing Sect!!!!"
Ronald II's eyes shot wide open.
"W-Wait. No!!!!"
Adran.
The Prince of Gold.
He had long attacked the Healing Sect, arguing that charging exorbitant fees was worse than a demon holding lives hostage and stripping people of everything they owned.
Naturally, his entire faction also held extreme hatred for the sect.
The only reason they had endured until now was because the temple was treating the emperor's illness, and exposing the sect's corruption might endanger the patients' lives.
But now.
The sect's greatest shield had decided to discharge and leave.
Even if Adran's faction uncovered every misdeed and paralyzed the entire sect, there were no longer any patients whose lives would be at risk.
"Go bring back the patients who are leaving!!!"
"B-But they have already completed the discharge procedures......."
"You stupid, idiotic bitch!! Go bring them back!!! Tell them we will not charge any fees if they just stay!!! We need at least one patient left so we can use them as an excuse to avoid the special investigation!!!!"
He had done this kind of blackmail many times before, so the scenario was crystal clear in Ronald II's mind.
If investigating our sect halts treatment, these patients' lives could be lost.
Shed some tears, put on a sobbing show.
Summon the capital's reporters and stir up public opinion.
The reporters he had heavily bribed would surely write the story he wanted.
Unfortunately, while Ronald II had been happily squeezing money from a capital noble yesterday, Adran's faction had already sharpened their knives and were ready to drive them into his gut.
Just as the priests and nuns rushed out to recall the patients, someone blocked their path and entered the temple building.
"It has been a while, Your Holiness."
Her eyes were so dead they could make even a shark flinch.
Her long hair reaching her waist swayed like a ghost's.
Wearing a skirt suit as solid as armor, her high heels clicked against the marble floor like a funeral march.
Solea, a senior prosecutor from the Supreme Court in charge of the empire's judiciary, was entering the main temple.
Among Adran's many faction members, she was the capital's hunting dog, infamous for her fanatical loyalty to Adran and her merciless enforcement of the law.
Behind her, dozens of prosecutors in black suits entered one after another, carrying baskets for the search and seizure.
Prosecutor Solea read from a luxurious, thick sheet of paper bearing golden letters.
By the command of His Majesty the Emperor, permission is granted to conduct a special investigation of the Healing Sect. This document also serves as a search warrant. Your Holiness Ronald II, there comes a day when a search warrant is issued against you as well.
Ronald II felt like fainting upon seeing Prosecutor Solea's face.
Of all people, why did it have to be that crazy woman.
With other prosecutors he might have bribed or talked his way into reducing ten lashes to six.
But Prosecutor Solea could not be swayed by money or words.
She was a mad dog who would keep biting until the prey died once Adran gave the order.
She was the kind of woman who would turn ten lashes into twenty.
"The charges include breach of trust, embezzlement, and murder. Forcing patients to work until they die of overwork while trying to pay treatment fees, or discharging patients who cannot pay and causing their deaths, is more than enough to prosecute as murder in my judgment."
"S-Stop her!!!! Stop that woman!! Stop the prosecutors!!!! Holy knights!!! Holy knights, come quickly and stop that bitch!!!!"
Physically obstructing prosecutors with a search warrant was a serious crime, but it was better than letting the various corrupt documents inside the main temple be discovered.
The holy knights rushed in fully armed, yet Prosecutor Solea merely smiled as if she had expected this.
"You never stray from expectations, Your Holiness."
"Stop laughing!! You fucking bitch!!! Do you really think a bunch of prosecutors who only studied law can defeat holy knights!!!!"
"We cannot. But she can."
Prosecutor Solea carefully stepped aside.
Through the gap, a group of soldiers began pouring in.
Seeing the person at the front, Ronald II felt the strength drain from his body.
"Princess Karia. I request your assistance."
Prosecutor Solea bowed respectfully to Karia, who wore her signature blood-red armor from the northern expedition and radiated a terrifying killing intent.
Behind Karia marched a full thousand members of the Iron Blood Coalition in complete armor.
They flew banners declaring they were executing an imperial order.
The charging holy knights froze upon seeing Karia.
Karia silently drew her sword and pointed it at them.
"Will you fight?"
"........"
"You know how grave a crime it is to use force against a senior prosecutor of the Supreme Court executing an imperial order, do you not? If you wish, I will slaughter you all right here."
The main temple had fewer than a hundred holy knights combined.
Even if all of them fought Karia alone, victory was uncertain, and behind her stood a thousand Iron Blood Coalition members known as the butchers of the Rimnakal Plains who had survived the northern expedition.
It was a battle they could not win.
The holy knights lowered their swords helplessly.
"Forgive us, Your Holiness."
"You idiots!!! You stupid, idiotic bastards!!!!!!"
Ronald II screamed at the top of his lungs, but he had to shut his mouth immediately.
Karia had approached without him noticing and now stood before him with her sword drawn.
Frozen with fear and shock, Ronald II felt urine trickle down his legs.
Karia glared at the Pope.
"Your Holiness. Your Holiness."
".......Yes?"
"How dare you mess with our Landor?"
"........?"
"You are finished."
Was that really all it took?
Was she this furious just because he had given Landor a little trouble?
Ronald II felt deeply wronged, yet he could not utter a single word in the face of Karia's killing intent.
"Begin the search and seizure. Do not leave even a speck of dust."
With Karia and the Iron Blood Coalition's help, Prosecutor Solea successfully raided the main temple of the Healing Sect, once called an impregnable fortress.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Your Holiness. I will add the charge of attempting to obstruct senior prosecutors by force when determining your sentence, so do not worry too much."
After thoroughly ransacking the main temple, Prosecutor Solea offered a leisurely greeting and walked out, her heels clicking like a funeral march just as when she had entered.
Once everyone had left, Ronald II collapsed without even thinking of changing his urine-soaked pants.
"Fuck."
The word slipped from his lips along with tears.