XVIII: Before the Showdown
THE deputy captain of the Holy Knights, Caim, was elated. The forces in support of their cause had reached fifty thousand in number. The Holy Knights themselves were only five hundred strong, but with this many on their side, rescuing Lady Maria from Farune would be child’s play. Then, even the pope would have no choice but to officially recognize her as a saint.
With a true saint, the Theocracy would undoubtedly receive greater blessings from Mauve than ever before. Lady Maria was an angel who had alighted upon this desolate earth. All humans besides her were akin to detritus. If anything, Lady Maria should have been made pope. The people who occupied the upper echelons of the Theocracy of Mauve were only there because of their noble origins, and they had none of the favor of the divine—no right to rule.
These were the sorts of thoughts that were going through Caim’s mind. And he wasn’t the only one. Maria’s fervent devotees among the Holy Knights despised their noble leaders, and they dreamed of a righteous Theocracy based in faith. According to their beliefs, Maria was the one worthy of leading such a nation.
On the day the Vulcanian army had arrived on the battlefield and set up camp, with the fight against Farune close at hand, Caim returned to his tent to find a letter. It contained instructions for him to come alone to the forest near his campsite, and it said that if he didn’t obey, Maria’s life would be forfeit. Enclosed in the letter was the necklace Maria always wore. Clearly, this was Farune’s doing.
“You cowards!”
Caim gnashed his teeth. He had been afraid of this. If the saint was lost, the coalition would lose the reason for its existence. While the individual armies might have been attacking Farune for their own variously selfish reasons, the battle would certainly have become meaningless for him and the Holy Knights. He had no idea what sort of demands might be made of him, but his only choice was to obey.
Crumpling up the letter in his fist, Caim got his gear in order before exiting the tent. Knights often went into the forest to relieve themselves, so his actions didn’t stand out all that much. However, he continued on, deeper and deeper into the woods. The spot designated in the letter was in the forest’s innermost depths.
When he finally arrived at the spot, a single person stood there, wearing a white hood low over their eyes. They were of small stature, and looked to be a woman, or maybe a child. No one else was there.
“Identify yourself,” Caim said, and the person removed their hood, exposing their long, flowing blonde hair so it shimmered in the light of the moon. The person beheld Caim with compassionate blue eyes.
“Lady Maria…” Caim said.
“It has been a while, Lord Caim.”
Caim wondered if this wasn’t just a dream. Maria had appeared to him while he slept ever since the day Farune had kidnapped her, but now she was right in front of him. He wept, becoming so overwhelmed with joy that his knees crumpled under him.
“…I’m happy, truly happy that you’re safe!” Caim said, wiping away his tears. “But why the letter?”
“Apologies for making you come all this way, Lord Caim,” Maria replied, a grave expression on her face. “However, I had to, otherwise my life would be in danger.”
“What do you mean?”
“To tell you the truth…all of this has been a plot by the pope. He handed me over to Farune, then used that as a pretext to dispatch armies against it.”
“What?! But Lady Maria, wasn’t he opposed to the coalition?”
“That was merely for the sake of appearances, so as not to draw the ire of Farune himself. He made it seem as though the army to subjugate Farune formed organically, and that the Theocracy had nothing to do with it.”
“But, why would he do such a thing…?”
“Both Farune and I are thorns in the side of the nobility,” Maria explained. “I am a candidate for sainthood who is not of noble origin, and Farune is a country that has abolished the nobility, so we are unacceptable to them. This is what led the pope to come up with his plan. He purposefully sent me to Farune to serve as the bishop they demanded—and moreover, he did so in exchange for money.”
“That can’t be…I know what the pope is like, but I don’t think he’d go that far!” Caim turned pale and shook his head.
“I understand why you might not be able to believe it. I didn’t want to believe it myself. However, I am a symbol of the light that signifies love, courage, and faith in God, and the king of Farune is a symbol of the darkness of constant, godless brutality. He and I are like oil and water. Seemingly, it was inevitable that we would repel one another. I imagine the pope expected I would soon incur the king of Farune’s wrath and be summarily executed. His plan was to use my murder as a pretext to gather volunteers and form an army, then destroy Farune, getting rid of two obstacles at once.”
“When you put it that way, it certainly does seem likely!” Caim said, readily believing Maria’s story. He had always been a fervent believer in the church and a devotee of Maria, and he was very suggestible. More than anything else, he wanted Maria to be right and the pope to be wrong.
“Thank you for believing in me, Lord Caim,” Maria said, smiling kindly as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. “I wanted you to trust me, even if no one else did.”
“How could I not believe you?! You are a true saint, Lady Maria! Please, forgive me for my doubts!” Caim paused. “However, if that was the pope’s plan, then how are you still alive?”
“I used various methods to preach the magnificence of God to the Farunians, who were of little faith. I contrived simple, effective prayers, and added different gestures as accompaniment. In the end, by showing them the light of faith, I was finally able to claim the hearts of the Farunian people!”
“Oh!” Caim was deeply moved. He interpreted Maria’s reported success as having been the result of some sort of miracle. And Maria wasn’t exactly lying, either. Though Caim never would have imagined that she had been unnecessarily singing, dancing, and making magic stones sparkle as she chanted recovery spells in the arena.