“Noah Olipiage! You are hereby banished from this house!”
So bellowed the Duke of Oraculum—my father, Seto Olipiage.
I was his eldest son and the would-be successor to his title. And yet my father had just announced that I would be thrown out.
Objectively speaking, this was incredibly cruel. Nobles who had been banished from their homes in the kingdom of Oraculum had practically no means of survival. The noble families of this country were often granted powerful divine protection from the gods. These blessings came with a great deal of respect, but those expelled from their houses lost both their divine protection and elite status. I’d even heard stories of ex-nobles who were surrounded by assailants and beaten to death almost immediately upon exile. Though in most of these cases, either their people already despised them or there were some other factors at play.
Even ignoring the extreme cases, it was difficult to survive with so few options for getting a job or earning one’s crust. That’s why exile from one’s noble house was a very uncommon occurrence...but my father had spoken. The implications of this statement alone were self-evident.
“F-Father, I’ll die if you do that! Please reconsider! Give me a chance! What have I done to deserve this?!” I pleaded with him, desperate to somehow preserve myself. The chances of having my sentence retracted were slim. But even if there was no chance at all, I knew that I wouldn’t survive otherwise.
There’s nothing else that I can do, I thought.
Despite this, my father spoke. “In truth, I had high hopes for you. You are brilliant and have excelled in your studies since early childhood. That much cannot be denied.”
“Th-Then...”
“With that said, you already know my reasons. The Church of Astral has declared you an apostate. I cannot permit you to remain in this house.”
“I...”
It was just like he’d said. The Church of Astral—the state religion—had recently branded me an apostate. Of course, I hadn’t done anything to deserve it.
The Church of Astral had been around since the founding of the Oraculum Kingdom. It was an organization which legitimized the king’s right to rule, but was also a fearsome group known to mercilessly persecute apostates. Wherever its armed forces—in particular, the Order of Paladins—marched through, not even the hardiest weeds would spring back up in their wake. House Olipiage may have been one of the leading noble families forming the very backbone of the country, but if it incurred the attention of these forces, it wouldn’t come out unscathed.
I was the root cause for putting the house in almost certain jeopardy. Let alone keeping me as heir, just letting me stay in this house was out of the question. I knew that much.
I knew, but even so, there was nothing I could do but plead with my father.
Ever since I was young, I’d studied lots of different subjects to prepare for when I became the next duke. That knowledge would definitely come in use if I were to go into town. But though I’d received a costly education, I was still an ordinary human. Father had commended me as brilliant, but my grades were largely average. If I’d been the greatest warrior of the century, maybe I’d still have been able to get along after being banished from home and chased away by the Church.
But I knew myself. I didn’t have any power remotely like that. That was why I wanted to stay, even if I had to cling and beg. Then, my father could reason with the Church one way or another. If it came down to it, I could accept being kept on a tight leash for the rest of my life as long as I could just remain here.
I tried to show him how pitiful I was, but to no avail. Anyone could tell from his demeanor that my father had no intention of showing mercy.
However...
“I will say that this is against my wishes. However, Noah... Putting myself aside, please think of your mother Lin and younger brother Zeld. If the Church treats the whole family as apostates and chases us out, I can’t protect us all. It may seem cruel, but if banishing you alone will resolve things...”
“Father... No, I must apologize. I acted selfishly.”
I’d understood that from the start. I’d just decided to whine a bit until he made himself absolutely clear.
Besides, this was a necessary argument. Now father wasn’t the bad guy. On the contrary: he was being kind to me, even. The same went for my mother and brother. It was good that they weren’t here, because they would definitely have taken my side. Father knew that well, so he’d probably had them shut up in their rooms.
I chose not to mention them. Doing that just wouldn’t feel fair. If I had asked them for support, father might have instead chosen to oppose the Church despite knowing it could cause the fall of our house. Both father and I understood this. In effect, this conversation was a mere formality with the outcome already decided. A pretense to let the chamberlain and maids bear witness to the foolish son whining for the impossible. So that the women would spread word that the foolish son had been completely cut off from the family.
My father’s kindness, and my final smidgen of respectable behavior, would turn this into a sympathetic tale that would be easier for people to believe.
At the end of our “performance,” father pronounced his verdict upon me once more. His voice sounded weary, but it was still powerful enough to be clearly heard by everyone in the room.
“Noah Olipiage... No, from this moment forth, you are simply Noah. Because there are...discontented citizens on the outside, I will show mercy to you and send you off somewhere safer. That will be the last time we shall meet. After that, you may venture anywhere you please. I will inform the Church of this as well.”
In other words, he wouldn’t know where I was once my exile truly began. He’d assert to the Church that the family had nothing to do with me. He’d show that much resistance, at least.
That was enough. The Church was just that fearsome.
So I nodded and gave him my only response. “I appreciate all that you’ve done for me up to this day.”
∗ ∗ ∗
“Stop it here!” came a shout from outside the coach.
The shout was from my...no, House Olipiage’s escort of knights. I’d been banished from home a few days ago, and was presently being sent “far away” by coach. Even when I asked where I was being taken, nobody would give me an answer. When the Church came asking after me later, my father would probably want to say, “I told them to just dump him wherever, so I don’t know.” If he actually had given detailed instructions, it was still more prudent to not tell.