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“SOMEDAY history will prove that saints and their ilk are savage, repulsive creatures.”
Those words were once spoken by Kophe’s king.
And now, the reality was that the Kingdom of Kophe was on the verge of collapse.
“What has the crown prince wrought…?”
In a lounge in the capitol building, the high priest’s aide slammed his fist down on the thick, heavy mahogany table. Everyone else sitting around the table, each one responsible for the country’s current state, remained silent.
They were losing ground fast as both the vassal lords and regional churches swore fealty to the Empire. And amidst this, Crown Prince Medaikonar’s surprise attack on the Flame Corps failed. What made the whole thing was the timing of the raid. Medaikonar’s troops had ambushed Prince Richard’s order of knights directly after they completed purifying Nowasilo’s lands. To attack the enemy when they were spent after an ordeal, not to mention when the enemy also included a group of civilians, was a massive blunder on the part of the royal family and the Great Church.
Medaikonar had been confined to his personal chambers as a result. Simultaneously, Duke Strelizzi, who they would have never suspected of defection, disowned his third son, Keunt, and pledged his allegiance to the emperor’s younger brother.
In the meantime, the national orders of knights and holy knights, overwhelmed in dealing with Prince Richard and his troops, neglected their duties on the monster front. The extent of the resulting damage finally became so high that news of it could no longer be suppressed and reached the royal palace.
At the behest of the king, who expressed deep concern over the monster encroachment, High Priest Pisciozze at long last ordered an emergency convocation of all the saints in the country. But he was already too late. Almost all of them had sided with Prince Richard and his imperial army, the one to which Arousing Priestess Monica Regulus belonged. And the few who didn’t because they wanted to remain neutral fled to a convent located in a territory with which the Kingdom had a nonaggression treaty.
The Kingdom of Kophe and the Great Church had lost their holy women. And they had only themselves to blame.
“One by one, the feudal lords fall under Prince Richard’s command without displaying any resistance. And the ones who try to, ultimately have no choice but to obey him to protect their territory because they just can’t manage the monsters on their own. Unbelievable…”
“What in the hell are our country’s knights and holy knights doing?! Those imperial bastards invaded with so few numbers that we should have had the overwhelming advantage against them!”
“Well, should it really come as a surprise that Saint Monica is well aware of how priests operate in combat as far as equipment and tactics go? They have countermeasures for everything.”
“Shite…! That evil woman should never have been granted a royal education since she’s clearly hellbent on squandering it to exact vengeance on our nation.”
“The masses have become her devotees, and more and more people are opposing the royal family and Church.”
“Can’t we capture her as a witch and execute her for heresy?”
“As if Prince Richard would allow that to happen. He intentionally elevated the Arousing Priestess, and as a result, a great many revere her. I wager this method is one reason the citizens of Kophe won’t revolt against him.”
“Furthermore, based on the information we’ve been able to collect about him and his people, he apparently has survivors of the Principality of Arjentia in his order of knights.”
They were discussing the small, mountain principality located between the Empire’s northern expanse and a neighboring country. It had been thoroughly annihilated to the point of extinction several years ago.
“The Empire seems to be actively mitigating the psychological resistance the former subjects of Arjentia feel about receiving imperial aid. They did so through numerous efforts, such as protecting the livelihoods of the survivors after their country was destroyed, recovering their national treasures stolen by other countries, restoration, and more.”
“Well, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s bizarre he went out of his way to bring such people along.”
“Right, because from the very beginning, we could sense his aggression against Kophe.”
It was a distinguished roster of people gathered in this room, but not a single one gave voice to a countermeasure Kophe could utilize. The Belktrius Empire’s propaganda machine was substantiated by the emperor’s younger brother, Prince Richard’s popularity and his achievements. Then to add Saint Monica and the survivors from the tragedy of Arjentia to his hand created a very effective method in capturing the people’s hearts.
As for the Kingdom of Kophe—Crown Prince Medaikonar was incredibly unpopular with the populace as the one responsible for expelling the Arousing Priestess. Many nobles also were disillusioned with his speech and conduct.
“At this point, our only way out may be to issue a formal apology to the Arousing Priestess and attempt to rebuild our relationship.”
“That’s right. It isn’t as if she was officially exiled from the country.”
“But it will mean repudiating the crown prince’s actions after he dishonored her by annulling their betrothal and that’s one thing we must avoid.”
“We’ve also received statements of censure from other countries about the attack against Prince Richard’s forces.”
“At this rate, Kophe will end up isolated and without allies.”
“Nonsense. The Kingdom of Kophe belongs to the king of Kophe. It was the emperor’s younger brother who invaded our country, disguising his true intent with pretty words. Based on what I heard, that young whelp didn’t even bother taking a wife after renouncing his claim to the throne. Instead, he devoted his time to mobilizing his knights within the Empire and abroad. So it’s entirely possible he’ll request one of the royal princesses as his reward for saving the country.”
They exchanged meaningful glances. If offering a single princess would turn the tide in Kophe’s favor, then they would gladly offer him as many as he wanted. After all, their opponent was the Red Lion from the Belktrius Empire, a country made up of barbarian tribes.
One of the men in attendance muttered as he rubbed his chin. “What if one of the turncoats who switched to his side already affianced his daughter to the man?”
His words created a stir amongst them.
“Hm…it might be best to conduct a conference to evaluate the situation.”
“You mean to marry off one of our daughters to those savages? There is no precedent for such a political marriage between Kophe’s royal family and the Empire.”
“It doesn’t need to be a princess. Could be any of the aristocrats’ daughters. Perhaps a patient girl fluent in many languages.”
“She should have potential as a spy as well, but she can’t be too young either, or else we accomplish nothing.”
“Then…”
“In that case…”
Underneath the facade of concern for their country lay a calculating greed to protect their own interests and their cunning expressions finally revealed these nobles’ true natures.
“Ahem.”
The sound of the grand chancellor’s aide clearing his throat echoed, effectively quenching the flames of avarice flickering in the room. The king sat on an elevated dais, flanked on either side by the high priest and grand chancellor. The three of them were high enough to look down on the rest of the convocation.
This Round Table had already lost half its nobles. The ones who remained were those from the capital and minor nobles from small, nearby cities. Priests from branch churches under the High Priest’s jurisdiction rounded out the rest of the council. Almost all of the lands under their control as well as the lords who used to be their vassals had fallen under Prince Richard’s command, leaving them with desolate territories ruled by monsters.
“Let me ask you all…” The king stared at everyone present with hollow, sunken eyes. Then he started speaking in a hoarse voice, one that seemed to reverberate across the land. “Our nation’s knights, alongside the Church, have repelled countless monster outbreaks and invasions from other countries over these many, long years. The feudal lords had no cause for rebellion in all this time. But now, things I would have once thought impossible keep occurring one after another. So answer me this: what is Kophe lacking at the moment?”
No one could answer the king’s question. Because each individual here had already been forced to confront the hard truth. They lacked everything.
The catalyst for the Kingdom’s collapse was the Arousing Priestess—Special Class Saint, Monica Regulus’s banishment. She was punished with the breaking of her engagement and exiled in all but name from the nation, leading to a policy rejecting saints as a whole. Holy women served as the foundation to the structure of the state. And their removal as keystones resulted in an inevitable chain of destruction.
It was too late to rebuild this place as it once stood. Which was exactly why the aristocrats wished to discuss offering their daughters as compensation. Because everyone knew it was too late.
At that moment, they heard the sound of footsteps running in the corridor outside. They half-rose from their seats and focused on the door.
“Did we finally win?!”
The messenger who burst through the door knelt down on one knee, his face pale and his voice strained. “Urgent news! Marquess Chepre’s territory has been conquered!”
The color leaching from his face, a white-haired man stood up in shock. “But that’s my domain! What about my son?! What happened to the son I entrusted with the defense of our lands?!”
“Cut off from the river, the people held a festival with song and dance celebrating wine and crops upwind… Furthermore, it appears that even monsters were defeated during the festivities…”
“But what about my son?!”
“He and his men lost the will to fight and…submitted to the imperial prince. Your family, your subordinates, and your people are all safe. Those suffering from minor injuries are being treated by the imperial army as we speak.”
“I see…” Marquess Chepre hung his head listlessly and covered his face. Then he said nothing more. Everyone in the room fell silent, an air of helplessness overtaking them.
The king folded his hands in defeat and stared down at them all with a weary gaze. “It seems…this country truly can’t survive without the saints…”