Chapter 40
When he first saw the Crown Prince covered in blood at the banquet hall.
He thought it was a simple performance.
Even if he had actually come covered in blood, he honestly felt he could have done the same.
Was he arriving late to the banquet on purpose, covered in blood to intimidate everyone around him?
From a political standpoint, he felt it was a perfectly feasible stunt.
Even during their subsequent confrontation in the garden.
He had only bowed his head to save face; he felt there wasn’t that big of a difference in their actual power.
But the moment he saw the red bundle, his thoughts changed.
“Seeing father act like that… it must definitely be the Crown Prince”s doing.'
If it hadn’t been, he would have shown a completely different reaction.
The sight of him helplessly carrying the bundle out without much reaction.
It was impossible to explain unless it was the Crown Prince’s doing.
“…To think he could kill Knights this easily.”
The Knight Order was sent to eliminate the followers of the Saintess Candidate, Rowena.
Even if they weren’t the Elite Force, he hadn’t even considered the possibility of them failing.
The fact that only their heads were returned showed just how strong he was.
It hadn’t even been that long since they were dispatched in the first place.
At most, they wouldn’t have made it past the Pilgrimage Road.
“But to come all the way from the Southern Empire to the Pilgrimage Road… and do this?”
Would that be possible for me?
Balleryan pondered for a moment, then shook his head.
The conclusion that it was impossible came quickly.
Just traveling there was a problem in the first place.
“Did he use Magic?”
Divine Power was spread so thickly there that setting coordinates properly would be impossible.
If so, that meant he had traveled there on foot.
Could he really be that fast? A Human?
Amidst his confusion,
Balleryan contacted Mirne to calm his troubled mind.
“…Mirne, something very difficult happened today.”
“What happened?”
Whenever he talked with Mirne, his worries and anxieties completely vanished.
How sweet and beautiful first love was.
“I can’t tell you the details… but still, having you ask me like this makes me feel much more at ease. Thank you.”
“Please feel free to tell me anytime. I’ll always be here to listen like this.”
“I’m feeling somewhat better now, so I want to hear about you. Has anything happened lately?”
“For me, well… it’s always the same. But there are rumors that many Black mages have been appearing recently.”
“In the Maselin Kingdom?”
“No, just in general… You never know, so please be careful too, Saint.”
She even had a beautiful heart.
Thus, Balleryan continued speaking with a deep smile.
“If… if I were to face off against the Crown Prince, do you think I could win?”
“The two of you? I’d prefer it if you didn’t fight, if possible.”
“…What if we really end up fighting?”
“Then I will cheer for you, Saint.”
As soon as he heard those words, the fear lodged in his heart slipped right out.
With the support of the woman he loved, what could he possibly fail to defeat?
Of course.
'It’s not like we’re going to fight right away. Just… if we really happen to clash, I will also face him seriously… Hmm, yes, that’s what it means.'
Even so, he had absolutely no intention of blowing this current incident out of proportion.
It was the moment when an inescapable fear embedded itself into Balleryan’s subconscious.
++++++
“Are you telling me to abandon my faith?”
Rowena stared at me intently as soon as she heard my words.
, along with an expression that said she had heard something unimaginable.
“Abandon your faith… I apologize if it sounded that way, but that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Then what on earth does becoming the Saintess of the Empire mean…”
“The Holy Nation has abandoned you, so aren’t you free now?”
“…”
“Since you were a Saintess Candidate in the first place, I’m saying it wouldn’t be a bad idea for you to become a Saintess in the Empire.”
Right after Rowena arrived in the Southern Empire.
I summoned Rowena to The Center and immediately offered her the position of Saintess of the Empire.
“Even if you don’t explicitly state the reason you were kicked out, it seems to be due to a Faction fight.”
“…Yes.”
“Then couldn’t you establish your own will here?”
“But I understand that the Empire does not designate a state religion.”
As if she had never even considered my proposal, Rowena kept staring at me with widened eyes.
Then, realizing her gaze was too intense, she hurriedly bowed her head.
[ The Villainess, right in front of you ]
The message from the Villainess Ring popped up out of nowhere in that situation.
I laughed inwardly as soon as I saw it.
“To think this woman is a Villainess.”
Was the true Villainess position a title given to the woman standing in opposition to Mirne?
Come to think of it, could she be considered a Villainess by the novel’s standards? I wondered.
Mirne was supposed to become the Saintess.
But anyone could see that the title of Saintess suited Rowena much better.
“I’m not saying I will designate it as the state religion. I’m merely saying that I will acknowledge you as a Saintess.”
“If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince personally designates me as a Saintess, wouldn’t that be a problem in itself?”
“I won’t make any direct declarations. You will just… be in that position.”
“Even so…”
“Who could possibly take issue with it when I am the one doing it?”
Kicked out of the Holy Nation? Then we can just make another Romper Church in the Empire.
They were even from a different Faction, so it wouldn’t be strange to create one at all.
“There are countless religions in the Empire. As long as they don’t overstep, the Empire embraces them all.”
“But last time…”
“That was because they crossed the line. No matter what, you can’t go building a Temple more extravagant than a Ducal Estate.”
“I understand.”
“You can’t overstep the Empire’s authority while resting under its shade.”
One god, two religious orders.
It wasn’t strange at all.
'I’d actually prefer it if they used this as an excuse to provoke us.'
Then it would be a good opportunity to wipe out the Holy Nation.
But they were probably terrified out of their minds because of the red bundle Pirande delivered.
It seemed difficult to expect such a bold development.
“Still, I can grow the Empire in the meantime, so it doesn”t matter.'
Given time, I could make the Empire even more powerful.
Even at that moment, railways were being laid down starting from the Northern Region, and the same went for the Academy’s talents.
wizards were bustling about everywhere.
The National Treasury was also recovering to some extent by swallowing up all the Magic towers.
Now, the only thing worth personally moving for was taking a stroll through the Western Empire.
“And the Executioners.”
Thinking of the Executioners.
“Come to think of it, Rowena.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Are you knowledgeable about curses?”
“…I know a fair amount.”
“Do you know how to use Purification?”
I voiced the fundamental reason I had wanted to contact Rowena in the first place.
“I can do it… but I’m not as skilled at it as you might think.”
“Is that so?”
I thought she’d be fully capable of it since she was a Saintess Candidate.
Could the issue of the Executioners really only be resolved by getting involved with Mirne?
I was having those thoughts.
“…But I believe I will become skilled at it if I become a Saintess.”
“Why is that?”
Rowena continued with words I hadn’t expected.
“Because that is what the position of a Saintess is. I can’t explain it in detail, but I just feel that way.”
“…”
Would she naturally become skilled at Purification if she became a Saintess?
Simply because she attained that position?
And not even chosen by a god.
Such power would emerge in a situation where a Human was making another Human a Saintess?
“Rowena, as expected, I should just quickly make you the Saintess of the Empire.”
“…But.”
“Don’t even think about refusing. The people who followed you… didn’t they come because they wanted you to become a Saintess in the first place?”
What they believed in wasn’t the Romper Church that the current Pope believed in.
It was the Romper Church that the Saintess Candidate Rowena believed in.
If they were kicked out due to a difference in views in the first place.
Then the Empire just needed to actively support those views.
“I need to make her a Saintess right away.”
That meant if Mirne became the Saintess, her proficiency in Purification would suddenly skyrocket.
If that happened, a future where Mirne lifted Luminix’s curse later on could unfold.
“No, does that mean Mirne lifted it in the original work originally?”
Then the Executioners would really destroy the Empire and head to Maselin.
Naturally, since that would be the only place where the Executioners' Covenant could be resolved.
“Hah.”
But you aren’t the only one who can become a Saintess, Mirne.
We just have to make a Saintess on our side, too.
++++++
“What on earth are you talking about!”
“As you heard, a new Saintess of the Romper Church is scheduled to appear in the Empire, so I asked that you grace the occasion with your presence.”
“How can a Saintess emerge from the Empire! How!”
“Since the Saintess Candidate has come to the Empire, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stated that she, too, can become a Saintess if she has the will.”
Unable to hold back at the news delivered by the Empire’s Envoy, Balleryan stood up from his seat.
The Envoy had entered the Grand Holy Temple wearing a sword.
What? The Empire was announcing a Saintess? And of the Romper Church, no less?
With the Holy Nation right here with its eyes wide open.
How could they even think of announcing a Saintess over there?
“By what right!”
“Hasn’t the Holy Nation already given many gifts to the Southern Empire on numerous occasions? Upon closer inspection, I realized it seemed to imply creating a new Romper in the Southern Empire… You even donated a Temple.”
“…!”
However, the Envoy calmly argued that they had more than enough of a right.
The Envoy, wearing armor and a sword, maintained a chilling Aura.
He was incredibly arrogant, but there was nothing they could do.
“Whether it be congratulations or complaints, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said you should come and deliver them in person.”
With those final words, the Envoy turned his back and left the Grand Holy Temple without waiting for any answer.
“…Come to the Empire?”
Why did those words make his heart tremble so much?
Regardless of Balleryan’s feelings, the Empire is moving as soon as next week.
“…Father, what should we do?”
“We cannot refuse the Empire’s invitation.”
Along with a new Romper Church.
They were planning to make Rowena a Saintess for all to see.