Revolutionary Period – Proof of Faith
A week later, the archbishop arrived at the marquis’ territory with a considerable number of attendants and knights.
“Pierre de Lafayette, Marquis of Lafayette welcomes the distinguished people of the Holy Church.
Thank you for coming so far, Archbishop Matteo. “It is a joy for the Marquis to welcome the faithful priests of the Holy Church.”
“Oh, Matteo, the lowly servant of God, meets the Marquis de Lafayette. “The Marquis’ faithfulness and high reputation have reached the Holy Church, so how could this old man refuse to take this path?”
The white-haired archbishop smiled a truly devout and benevolent smile. Just by looking at the outside, he really seems like a selfless old priest, doesn’t he?
Archbishop Mateo seemed to be looking around a little, so I smiled and said.
“I will take you inside first, Archbishop. “The attendants will guide you to your lodgings.”
“Then, willingly…”
After guiding the archbishop into the mansion, we encountered Eris, who was wearing a completely white and antique-looking robe.
Gaston and Lord Beaumont stood guard on both sides of her.
Sir Beaumont, who has a dirty beard and was always called Uncle Frank by Eris, shaves his head and puts on a proper knight’s attire, showing the dignity of a knight of the Royal Guard from the past.
While the archbishop narrowed his eyes, Eris greeted him with flawless manners.
“It is an honor to meet the Archbishop of the Holy Father. “My name is Eris, and I am under the patronage of His Excellency the Marquis de Lafayette.”
As Eris moves politely, her long silver hair shines and shines, and her mysterious purple eyes naturally bend and smile.
Eris, who is now approaching adulthood, is starting to look like an adult little by little, and when she dresses up and adopts a calm demeanor, it goes well with her mysterious appearance and gives off quite the aura of a saint.
“Oh…”
It seems that the deliberate production worked quite well as soft sighs erupted from among the archbishop’s attendants.
With this, the Holy Church’s evaluation of Eris would have been upgraded from a girl with no understanding of her origins who was just lucky enough to be born with divine powers, to a work of art that was carefully refined by my hands, perhaps with an unexpected status or not.
Once I have succeeded in inviting them into my sphere of influence, I have no intention of letting the Holy Church neglect Eris without even knowing about it. I have no intention of giving them an excuse to take me to the church, such as not being prepared yet.
The archbishop must have guessed my intention and responded with a round smile and narrowed eyes.
“Mateo, a lowly servant of God, meets a candidate for sainthood. It is said that a person’s appearance and behavior are the window to their heart. “I have heard of it, but now that I have seen it in person, I think I will know where the saint candidate’s strong divine power comes from.”
…I can guarantee that Eris, who is smiling with utmost dignity in front of the Archbishop, is holding back laughter right now.
Me too.
“You’ve come a long way, so I think you must be tired. We have taken special care to ensure that the Archbishop does not experience any inconvenience during his stay, so please provide guidance-”
“I am truly grateful to the Marquis Oh for his warm consideration. However, since this old man is only a servant of a lowly god, the most important thing is to follow the will of the god. Before going to the accommodation, I would like to discuss the Marquis’ deep faith, which even the Pope admired…”
I immediately understood what he was saying.
“okay. In that case, I will first guide the attendants to their lodgings and I will receive instruction from the Archbishop.”
I guess you were really looking forward to it?
The servants under my command guided the archbishop’s entourage, and only the knights who appeared to be the most senior followed the archbishop and me.
I went down to the basement along the now all-too-familiar path and showed the Archbishop the ‘gift’ that was hanging out in a cage.
“This is halfpas from ‘Pride’. “I heard that they are demons whose existence is already known in the religious world.”
“Oh, God must have helped us because we were moved by the Marquis’ faithfulness and devotion.”
The archbishop looked at Halfas with a face that did not hide his greed, and seeing the archbishop dressed in clothes that clearly made him look like a member of the church, Halfas blushed with a pale look on his face.
“Wow, Marquis! “Isn’t this a different story?”
“story? What story. “I didn’t tell you anything, devil.”
“Ah, call me the Count of Aquitaine! The Countess of Aquitaine-”
“I don’t know why you’re looking for her in the Lafayette estate. “Then, Archbishop, since my faith seems to have been largely proven, shall we discuss the specifics?”
“Oh, of course, Marquis. “I think the Holy Father will be very happy that you have prepared such a precious gift.”
Halpas was talking loudly behind me, but I didn’t know if it was a good bird song, but I liked the sound of a pigeon after it had stopped.
“You fooled me! “You bastards are more mean than these devils!”
I left the cellar with the archbishop, who looked very happy, and closed the door.
–
“The Marquis’ faithfulness and dedication deserve a worthy reward.”
The archbishop sat across from me with a smiling and kind expression and drank tea very leisurely.
“The sainthood exam you have been hoping for will be conducted as quickly as possible without any disruption.
“It was my first time meeting the candidate for sainthood, but I could tell at a glance that the Marquis had made special preparations to ensure that there were no problems with the schedule.”
Eris usually moves around too freely, but she spent her childhood in the royal palace from the beginning.
Since the basics are already in place, I didn’t need much work, but they will think that I put a lot of effort into her and be cautious.
“Of course, if the qualifications and abilities of the candidate for sainthood are sufficient, recognition as a saint should follow, and there should be a reward from the church for the marquis’ dedication.”
The archbishop paused for a moment and smiled kindly before slowly opening his mouth.
“There was once an unfounded rumor going around, but I understand that the Marquis is a renowned knight.”
I, who had been looking forward to it for so long, slowly narrowed my eyes. Why is the article talking here?
“If it is okay with you, Marquis, I would like to grant you the honorary title of Holy Knight.”
Oh, look at these guys?
The Holy Knights. It is the strongest force of the Holy Church, comprised of only the best knights who have proven both strength and faithfulness.
Although it is an honorary position, for those with deep faith, being a member of the Holy Knights is an honor that they can brag about for generations to come, and once a member of the Holy Knights is treated as a high-ranking priest by the church or state.
“That is a very honorable offer. But unfortunately, I am a Franzian nobleman. “I don’t feel comfortable receiving undeserved honor while I cannot directly serve the church.”
Where are you going to eat raw food?
It’s not enough for Eris, but you will also use me to expand the authority of the Church and pay the price of high-ranking demons with only superficial honor?
In a country with a republic that deprives priests of all their privileges anyway, they are respected by priests and can be used for anything.
“I wanted to give a fitting reward for the faithfulness of the marquis who prepared a saint candidate and valuable gifts for the church, but it seems like it was too much and a burden.”
The archbishop looked a little embarrassed.
So, since I seem to be quite sincere, I tried to use faith, which is the weapon of the church, to kill the enemy, right?
“As you know, the Holy Church is a temple for the faithful. The Marquis’s gift is enough to please His Holiness the Pope, but since it is an unofficial item, it is difficult for us to prepare a large financial compensation. Of course, I don’t think the devout Marquis would want something like that, but…”
I smiled softly.
It is impossible for a church country that is busy making a lot of money using faith to be without money.
The price of the consecration bullets that Christine used was so crazy that it cost the Marquis de Lafayette half of his monthly tax revenue.
However, since you can’t make a fuss in the neighborhood that you caught a high-ranking devil, you don’t want to hand over a noticeable amount of money right away.
“As a believer, I do not covet such wealth. “I’d like to ask you something else instead.”
“What if it’s something else?”
“There is a trading house run by my ally, the Count of Aquitaine. Of course, I assume you know this well.”
“Oh of course I know. “The upper class of Aquitaine is a trading partner with deep ties to the Catholic Church.”
“We want tax exemption for Aquitaine merchants and guaranteed free trade.”
There is no need for you to give me money. Christine will gladly pay me a generous price for giving me these rights.
The archbishop’s benevolent smile slightly cracked me.
Becoming an archbishop is not a position you can attain simply because you are deeply religious. Political skills are essential, so you must have figured out what I was aiming for right away.
If tax exemption is granted on a scale comparable to the top of Aquitaine, the profits are not at a level that can be made up with a considerable amount of money, but that does not mean that the Holy Church is spending money right away, so it is difficult to refuse.
More than anything, they will definitely want to receive half-pas. But more important than that is the guarantee of free trade.
Archbishop Matteo was silent for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“I understand that the Marquis de Lafayette and the Count of Aquitaine are negotiating with the Republic.”
“That’s right, Archbishop.”
“Those so-called republics are shamelessly harming the clergy and depriving them of their wealth.”
“I know, Archbishop.”
Mateo groaned and groaned.
Of course, the Holy Church declared trade sanctions against the French Republic. Since it is a republic that is subject to continent-wide trade sanctions anyway, the Holy Church does not even care about it…
Free trade for the Aquitaine merchants means that even if we join the republic, the Holy Church will continue to do business with the Aquitaine merchants. The story is that it happens.
In other words, the Republic of Francia will become more dependent on the income from the top of Aquitaine, and Christine will make a lot of money. My personal funds, which I asked her to manage, would also be wiped out.
Mateo seemed to hesitate a little and then opened his mouth.
“I cannot decide this part on my own, and I think I will need to contact my home country. “It’s hard to be a minister, but I’d like to ask the Marquis for a favor.”
“Please speak, Archbishop.”
“…It is rather unfortunate for the Church that the devout Marquis wants to join in with that republic of unbelievers. This is especially true when you think that the candidate for sainthood will also be there. So, wouldn’t the Marquis also have to show the minimum amount of action to prove his faith before the church can discuss such preferential treatment?”
I laughed naturally. Well, that’s within the acceptable range.
“I think you understand, Archbishop, that there is no guarantee that the Republic’s position can be reversed immediately. However, if we succeed in joining hands with the Republic, we will at least try to have an agenda to stop the persecution of the church introduced in their parliament.”
The archbishop licked his lips with regret, but put on a kind face and put his hands together as if praying.
“Since the Marquis’ faith is so deep, we will discuss how the Church can repay him in proportion to his devotion.”
“I am also glad to have the honor of serving God and the Church.”
It was a negotiation without any sincerity, but somehow the story went well.
–
A small space surrounded on all sides by marble walls.
The magic stones decorated in each section of the wall emit a soft light, keeping the closed space without sunlight bright.
In the middle of the small room, there is a spring filled with holy water, like a bathtub.
Eris, dressed in pure white clothes, is submerged in the flowing water, filled with divine power.
The sight of hair shining silver in the light of the magic stone, slowly swaying and swimming in the water gave it a mystique that seemed not to belong to this world.
However, with one word from the mouth of that mysterious girl, all the sanctity of this place was blown away.
“Oh, it’s so swollen that it looks like it’s going to come out.”
“….”
As I gave her a very regretful look, Eris finally began to struggle in the water.
“Bored-!”
In a small room decorated with marble and magic stones brought here directly from the Holy Church, expensive holy water was splashed around as Eris struggled.
I quietly protected my body with magic and avoided being like a drowning rat.
Eris, who had been struggling for a while and splashing holy water, made a silent protest by diving into the spring, where the water level had slightly decreased, hugging her knees and exposing only her eyes and nose.
“Just wait a little longer. “There’s only one day left.”
Eris floated to the surface with a fu-ha sound and grumbled.
“Whoa, if we just sell the materials used to make this ‘sacred spring,’ a thousand poor people will be able to eat and live. “I don’t know where your body and mind will become clean by making money like this.”
I smiled bitterly.
“You still have enough sense of responsibility to think like that and enough sense not to say something like that in front of church officials, so you have the qualifications to be a saint. Eris.”
“Even if she’s not a saint.”
In response to Eris’ grumbling, I spoke a little more politely.
“That’s why I think you deserve to sit on the throne of Franzia, Your Highness.”
Eris smiled slightly while looking at me and said playfully.
“You can’t go this far and then abandon me later, you fraudulent sponsor.”
“I have hidden the truth, but I have never lied. “Aren’t you a conscientious supporter to be called a fraud, Her Royal Highness?”
At that time, there was a knock on the door behind us, and Eris and I made eye contact and smiled.
“Then just wait a little longer.”
“Yes, I will try my
best~” Listening to Eris humming softly, I opened the door, went out, closed it, and looked at the knight prostrate in front of me.
“Lord Gaston? “What’s going on?”
“He came here in a hurry without any contact, so I think His Excellency the Marquis should meet him in person.”
“Who is it?”
“…I am Count Mirbeau.”
Count Mirbeau?
A human being turned into minced meat by that pellet bombardment? …There is no point.
I took Gaston with me and headed to the living room.
The current Count of Mirbeau is Mirbeau’s second son, Damien de Mirbeau.
I met him only three times.
When he was lured to the top of Aquitaine and led the invasion, he picked up Eris and returned to the marquisate, and finally, in the battle of the southern army that killed Count Mirbeau and his eldest son.
When I think about it that way, perhaps I am unexpectedly a benefactor of Damien de Mirbeau?
I robbed him three times and left the fourth time to Christine, but in the end, he became Count Mirbeau thanks to me, right?
…I felt a slight sense of self-destruction at the thought that while playing with the devil, I too was becoming devil-like.
Next to the entrance to the parlor, while my knights were on guard, two disarmed and nervous looking knights stood looking at me.
Those two are probably the knights that Damien de Mirbeau brought with him, right?
I don’t remember what his name was, but…
Anyway, I entered the drawing room and came face to face with Damien de Mirbeau, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.
It’s a shame to come directly to the right place without prior contact. Or am I just stupid?
“It’s nice to see you after a long time, Count Mirbeau. “No, before that, should I congratulate you on becoming a count?”
Damien de Mirbeau’s expression distorted after hearing my words, revealing a very complicated state of mind.
What on earth must you be thinking to make that expression?
As I was pondering this for a moment, the drawing room door closed and Damien de Mirbeau did something I had never imagined possible.
Damien knelt down in front of me and before I could say anything, he shouted.
“I recognized the greatness of the Marquis from the moment I first met him!”
Oh no, what are you saying? Didn’t this guy attack you because he thought it was a disgrace to the nobility?
As I was perplexed, Damien shouted with tears in his eyes.
“I will give you everything, title and territory! Just spare my life!”
?
