Volume 3 Chapter 1 Holy Church - The Ones Who Operate In The Shadows
There is a religion widely believed in on the continent called the Holy Faith. It started a long time ago when a single girl claimed to hear the voice of God. To put it simply, it teaches that if you believe in the goddess and do good deeds, you can live happily in heaven after you die. It sounds a bit familiar, right?
Whether it's to ease the fear of what happens after death or because it promotes kindness, the Holy Faith quickly gained many followers right from the start.
As the number of believers grew, those in power could no longer ignore its presence. What began as oppression turned into a situation where the powerful started to actively use the Holy Faith for their own purposes.
In exchange for the Holy Faith── and the goddess── giving them legitimacy and authority in their rule, they began to protect its teachings.
This is what we call the establishment of a state religion.
Thus, the church gained a position that guaranteed the legitimacy of the rulers, and over time, it grew to have significant power. A famous story from a few decades ago is about a conflict between the pope and the emperor over the appointment of priests in an empire located to the north of the kingdom.
Even though there was a reconciliation between the emperor and the pope afterward, the fact that even that empire could not interfere with the church's rights shocked many nobles in other countries.
While some nations viewed the growing church as a threat, the Kingdom of Alexandria actively used its immense power.
This kingdom, where the Holy Faith originated, built a grand cathedral in its capital as a holy site. It worked together with the Holy Church to maintain a balance between the Central Nobility and the land's nobles, allowing it to develop into a great nation.
However, it seems that great power often leads to corruption...
In the grand cathedral at the center of the capital, the current pope, who is the head of the Holy Faith, lounged back, showing off his ugly belly.
The moonlight illuminated:
A ring with jewels on his thick finger.
A luxurious rosary draped around his body instead of his neck.
A lavish robe made with plenty of golden thread.
All of these things were flashy for a clergyman, but strangely, they matched his ugly body.
In front of the pope stood a shadow. The moonlight made it hard to see their face, but it was clear from their build that they were a student from the academy.
"What do you want? The exams start tomorrow, you know?"
The shadow sighed and said with a grin, "Pretending to be a top student is tough, you know?"
"You should know why I called you here..."
The pope snorted and narrowed his eyes at the shadow while sipping his wine.
"Things are not going according to plan at all, are they?"
"Well? I don't know. Maybe the original plan was just bad?"
The shadow shrugged and laughed in a mocking tone. The pope clicked his teeth in annoyance at the shadow's attitude.
"You were part of the plan, too."
The pope, breathing heavily, watched as the shadow shrugged again in a playful manner.
"Come on, who would think she'd come back? Because of that, the Marquis is being so quiet."
"Isn't it your job to handle that?"
"Even if you say that..."
The shadow pouted but then suddenly clapped their hands as if remembering something.
"Oh, but it seems like the Prime Minister's power is weakening."
"What?"
The pope leaned forward as if trying to stand up, but his belly made him lean back against the chair again.
The shadow laughed, saying, "Wow, that's so embarrassing." The pope glared at the shadow, annoyed at being mocked.
"Sorry, sorry."
The shadow shrugged playfully and mentioned that Dario's father, Prime Minister Dill, had been acting strangely lately.
"Probably, he's messed something up. You know, with his son's former fiancée's family."
The shadow laughed and said, "They're being quiet over there, though," while putting their hands behind their head.
The pope fell silent for a moment, thinking about the shadow's report. It seemed he was considering various possibilities, but none of them were more than just guesses.
"Well, that's fine. If the central power is weakening and opposing forces are appearing, then that's good for now. For now, at least."
The pope sighed deeply and took another sip of his wine.
"So? How is our Saintly Lady doing?"
"You think of us as just pawns, don't you?"
The pope smiled slyly, and Shadow let out a sigh as if he was exasperated.
"What are you saying? You were the one who brought this up to me first, you know?"
When the pope, with a bad smile, said, "Hey, Chris Row," to Shadow, or rather Chris──the son of the Minister of Justice──Chris turned away, his cold expression illuminated by the moonlight.
"Well, I don't remember."
Looking uninterested, Chris turned his back and said, "Just wait a little longer," then pushed open the door and disappeared into the bright hallway.
"Hmph. Still an insufferable brat."
The pope glared at Chris, who had vanished, and downed the remaining wine in one gulp.
"Well, it's fine. It's quite different from the original plan, but if the country splits, it will be mine... Eventually, the Holy Church, no, I will take over this country and create a kingdom for myself."
A small, chuckling laugh gradually grew louder. Only the moonlight streaming through the window witnessed the pope's ugly, twisted face.
* * *
"Oh no! I completely forgot!"
Meanwhile, Catherine was in her room, holding her head in her hands.
"What's going to happen with the Marquis family's rebellion?"
Sighing, Catherine took out a notebook from her desk drawer. It contained notes on events she remembered, including their triggers, timing, and a character relationship chart.
"Chris Row..."
Catherine murmured as she opened the section on Chris and looked at the text written there.
Chris Row.
He is the son of Count Abel Row, the Minister of Justice, but in reality, he is the child of Abel's brother, meaning he was adopted into the Count family.
On the surface, it looks like a touching story of taking in the last remaining child of a deceased brother, but in truth, Minister of Justice Abel drove his brother to death and then took Chris in as a tool to gain more power.
After the fall of Abel's brother's family, Chris was placed in an orphanage run by the church. Perhaps due to the talent of his brother, rumors began to spread within the church about Chris being an exceptional orphan, and suddenly, Abel appeared and took him in.
He then moved forward with an engagement to the daughter of the archbishop, who is rumored to be the next cardinal and even the pope.
Chris is a tool to strengthen his own power by forming a connection with the future pope.
But Abel, his adoptive father, does not know the truth about Chris and that the pope had already set his sights on Chris before Abel did.
Chris is usually shy and timid, but his true self is a hedonist with a devil-may-care attitude.
The pope, who quickly saw through this duality, began to satisfy Chris's twisted pleasures and win him over. After that, Chris became the pope's shadow, passing information from the center through his adoptive father Abel, and now he is getting close to Catherine as a watcher of the Saint.
They say Chris is a hedonist, but the only thing that brings him joy is witnessing someone die. He finds pleasure in watching how people die. With such a twisted personality, it's no wonder Chris is interested in the love triangle involving:
Crown Prince Edgar
Saint Catherine
Marquis daughter Elizabeth
It's a scandal that could tear the country apart.
In the official history, Catherine downplays her conflict with Elizabeth as "not a big deal," convincing herself and those around her, but in this timeline, Catherine's statements are hard to believe, and she actively supports them as a witness.
The pope wants to weaken the country and take it over.
His adoptive father wants to eliminate the noble landowners to increase his power.
Chris, who overlaps the intentions of both, is also a key player in helping Elizabeth's exile from the country.
In the official history, the Marquis family's rebellion starts after the cultural festival. There, Catherine, who notices Chris's duality, will sometimes clash with him, sometimes heal him, and break through the shell of the young man known as Chris Row. Along the way, there will also be events to purify the corrupt church.
Like Edgar, the rebellion itself is a forced event, so even if left alone, the flags will automatically rise, but for now, there are no signs that the Marquis family's rebellion will happen.
(What if the rebellion doesn't happen?)
Sighing, Catherine looked at her notebook again.
In the upcoming rebellion of the Marquis family, Chris, who has had his twisted mind straightened out, tells Catherine that the Pope is pulling the strings behind the scenes. This confession leads to the event "Crush the Corrupt Church."
This part is a forced event, so it shouldn't be a problem if she leave it alone...
(Does the Marquis family not want to start a rebellion?)
As Catherine worries, there are no signs that the Marquis family will rebel. If that happens, Chris's awakening and the event to crush the church won't happen either.
(Huh? Not being able to take over the church is a problem for me.)
Even if the Marquis family doesn't rebel, it's not a problem for Catherine. However, the plan to take over the church──though it's not really a takeover──would come to a halt, which would be a big blow for Catherine.
"That Elizabeth..."
Catherine gritted her teeth but took a deep breath to calm herself. There's nothing she can do in a panic. After all, in the game, the Marquis family's rebellion is still a bit away. Maybe there will be another event that reveals the rebellion or the church's corruption in a different way.
(On the other hand, should I poke at the old raccoon and Chris?)
In the past few days, Catherine has become a little smarter. Because of the unique situation with Elizabeth, the scenario has changed a lot, and she understands that she can't just chase after events.
(No, I should hold off for now. Right now──)
Since Catherine and the others still lack strength, forcing things now and letting Edgar and the others find out about the church's wrongdoings would be worse.
(They have a strong sense of justice, and if they find out, they definitely won't forgive us.)
If they clash with the church too early, Catherine and the others would surely be defeated by the church's military power. What would happen to Edgar and the others is unclear, but──since he is still a key figure in the country──Catherine would definitely be punished as a Saint who opposed the church.
That future must be avoided.
"Anyway, I need to sleep for tomorrow's exam."
Catherine closed her notebook and put it away, looking at the grand cathedral visible from her window. Even though it was night, the cathedral stood out. If she could get her hands on it, Elizabeth would be nothing to fear, and Catherine turned off the light in her room with a wicked smile.
"Elizabeth. I won't let you have your way."
Catherine crawled into bed and soon began to breathe softly as she fell asleep...
* * *
Meanwhile, our Randy was...
"This is how the cathedral was built."
...in a room at the inn, being pushed to study for the exam by Liz.
"That cathedral is huge and pointless, right?"
"Oh, that one. It's so pompous, it makes me mad. Should we just crush it?"
"Please don't say such reckless things."
Liz hurriedly held Ellie back, looking around nervously. Even though Liz was panicking, they were in a room at the inn. There was no one around.
With a sigh of relief, Liz picked up her textbook again.
"...Well then, let's continue──."
Despite the bombshell comments, the 3 of them continued studying for a while longer.
"...Randy, are you listening?"
"──Ouch!"
Liz smacked Randy, who was about to doze off.
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