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“WE’VE been waiting for you, Lady Maria!”
When we arrived in the Theocracy of Mauve, Caim and the Holy Knights greeted Maria with beaming smiles. They didn’t even look at me. The people of the Theocracy gave Maria a warm welcome too, even as they tried to avoid eye contact with me and the Black Knights.
Maria, however, wore a sorrowful expression. “Lord Caim, why have you captured His Holiness? I never wanted this to happen…”
Wow, she has some nerve to say something like that, when she’s the one who plotted the whole thing. Are there any limits to how shameless people can be?
“Please, forgive us,” Caim said passionately, tears in his eyes. “We knew you didn’t want this. But we had no other choice! This was the only way to return the Theocracy of Mauve to its rightful state! Whatever you may charge us with, we don’t mind!”
Shut up, Caim, for your own sake. She’s quite capable of convicting all of you, you know. I looked at Caim, but he was still avoiding eye contact. Even though I’m the only one here with your best interests at heart…
“Lord Caim, I cannot become pope,” Maria said with a forlorn smile. “I don’t even know whether I’m fit to be a saint… But before anything else, please release everyone you’ve arrested. We can talk it all over together.”
Geez, her looks really are the only good thing about her. Everything that comes out of her mouth is devious sweet talk. All she really wants is to become pope as soon as possible!
“Very well,” Caim said. “We shall do as you say.” Then he headed to where, presumably, the pope and his subordinates were being held. It was an imposing building next to a church, the same place where I’d had my meeting with the pope the last time.
Maria said they’d talk it all over together, but what are they going to talk about? With the way things are headed, is the pope going to be reinstated or something? Not that I’d really mind if he were.
The pope was shut inside the room where we’d first met. It had been a while, and the white-bearded old man was looking gaunt. Besides him, the only other people in the room were me, Maria, and Caim. The pope didn’t look to have undergone any harsh treatment, but it seemed that being handled like a criminal, despite how superior he’d acted in the past, had been a shock to him.
“Oh, Lord Mars…have you saved me?” he said in a weak voice. He remained seated in his chair.
“No, this was Maria’s decision,” I replied.
“…Maria?” He looked at her with sunken eyes.
Maria knelt, then met the pope’s gaze. “Yes, Your Holiness,” she said. “When I learned that Lord Caim had arrested you, I asked Lord Mars to come here. I’ve heard that Lord Caim overreached because he was worried about the Theocracy of Mauve. Would it be possible to let bygones be bygones, and start over from the beginning? After all, doesn’t the church owe its existence to the Knights, while the Knights owe their existence to the church?”
Everything she says really does sound a lot better than it is…
The pope sighed deeply. He didn’t seem all that eager. “You say that, but ultimately, won’t I just end up becoming King Mars’s puppet?”
Huh? What about me? Out of nowhere, I had become the topic of conversation, and everyone turned to look at me. Caim looked irritated, but Maria gazed at me with enthusiasm. What do you want me to say?
“Farune has no desire to involve itself in the Church of Mauve,” I said. I wished they wouldn’t bring me into this. Honestly, I couldn’t have cared less about the church. But the pope slowly shook his head.
“Such lip service isn’t very reassuring. Ultimately, the powerful will try to use everything, including religion, for their own ends,” he began. “The king of Eyland and the king of Vulcan did exactly that this time around. They imposed their own affairs onto the faith and tried to exploit it. But God’s true doctrine is nothing like that. By now, even I have been thoroughly tainted by worldly matters, but I originally started on this path after receiving deep inspiration from Mauve’s teachings. Though I planned to walk a more honest path, as I rose through the ranks, I came to accept corruption.” He paused before continuing. “I should have rejected all interference, no matter who or what country was doing it, and devoted myself to revealing the teachings of God to all. All of this is the result of my lack of virtue, my lack of strength.”
Did this old geezer attain enlightenment while he was locked up or something? I wondered. He was suddenly talking sense. If only he’d been like this from the start, then none of these stressful things would have happened.
“But heed my words, king of Farune,” the pope continued. “Governance and God’s teachings are separate things. You cannot change people’s hearts with force. If you wish to kill me, then so be it. God will neither take pity on me, nor be angered. However, that aside, heaven never turns a blind eye to evil. You will be judged eventually.” He stared intently at me, an uncanny resolve in his eyes.
Uh, actually, I never wanted to kill you. The self-proclaimed saint next to me is the one who’s trying to do that. As I was hesitating over what to say to get the pope to understand, Maria spoke.
“Your Holiness,” she said, “you are mistaken. King Mars isn’t trying to take over the Church of Mauve. He is trying to join the church.”
Excuse me?