Chapter 51

After that, when I conveyed the words of His Majesty Alexander, Lady Sedria immediately sent a reply expressing her gratitude. It seemed that she was truly delighted and felt reassured to know that her brother was concerned about her.

In the letter, she wrote about the daily life and various other things, and the vivid green of the trees and the herbs swaying in the wind came to mind as Louis read on, a smile involuntarily appearing on his lips.

He was eager to welcome Ancheize as soon as possible, but in reality, he had no idea where to start. He had even tried to obtain literature on the laws of Sies to look for loopholes, but that effort had been in vain.

On the other hand, it seemed that His Majesty had come up with an idea, and he had sent Gruuk to the holy land of Maracan half a month ago. This was the time of the pilgrimage festival, and it was customary for countries that had the Holy Church as their state religion to send a suitable noble to this festival to make a substantial donation.

Gruuk was chosen as this envoy this year, though the reason for this was unknown. It was probably because someone he needed to contact secretly was in Maracan. This was a time when important people and merchants from various countries gathered, making diplomacy easier.

Normally, it would be Louis who would be dispatched to such occasions, but for some reason, he had been relieved of his duties to foreign countries recently. While it was nice to be able to stay in the country, in return, he was burdened with miscellaneous tasks and was getting quite tired of it.

The frequent visits of the aforementioned Lord Mabara to Ancheize were also a headache for Louis. ...It would be nice if he could handle the diplomacy of some other country instead.

While complaining to Amon, whom he met on the way, Louis opened the door to the office, and there was Gruuk, who was supposed to be in Maracan. It seemed that he had finally returned after nearly half a month.

And Alexander, who had been talking to Gruuk, turned to Louis with a broad smile.

"Louis, we finally have a breakthrough!"

Not understanding what he meant, Louis froze on the spot, but Amon seemed to understand immediately and asked Gruuk with a pleased look.

"Did you get a testimony?"

"Yes."

Gruuk, who rarely showed such a confident smile, nodded.

"The priest in question told us everything. Now we can finally move on to the next stage."

"Testimony? The priest...?"

Louis was confused and looked at Alexander for an answer. Alexander, with his elbow on the desk in a rather rude manner, was smiling like a child who had succeeded in a prank.

"I didn't tell you, but Via found a clue about Glen. We inquired with the Holy King's Office and managed to find a priest who knew the situation, but he tried to dodge the important parts, saying it was a matter of God's domain.

Since we couldn't get anywhere, I sent Gruuk to Maracan to negotiate directly with the Pope. And he brought back a splendid result."

Louis lightly rubbed the wrinkle between his eyebrows.

"I understand the general situation, but there's one thing I'd like to know first. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I was 80% sure it would work, but if it didn't, you would be disappointed, right? I wanted to tell you when it was clear."

Louis looked at Alexander with a suspicious eye. After all, this matter concerned His Majesty's younger sister, and if he was concerned, it should have been His Majesty who was concerned, not Louis. Louis couldn't understand at all how Alexander had come up with such an idea.

"...Well, it's fine."

Louis shook his head as if to change his mind. "I don't understand from your explanation just now, so could you please start from the beginning and explain it in detail?"

At Louis's words, Alexander opened his mouth with a pleased look.

"As you know, Via is beautiful, kind, and very intelligent."

...Starting with that.

Louis was a bit irritated. "You can skip that part."

"Anyway, Via said this. Unlike Ancheize, faith is deeply rooted in the lives of the people in Sies. So, she suggested we look into the priest who was stationed in Uzuk at that time."

"A priest, you say?"

Louis looked surprised, and Alexander gave a slight smile.

"I knew from you that Glen was forbidden to have any contact with the outside world. No friend who visited was ever allowed to meet him, and he was completely isolated. However, the guardians who were with Glen had been taking care of him like a child since he was young. They couldn't have failed to feel sorry for Glen, who had lost his future and was abandoned by his family at the tender age of fourteen or so.

You told me that Glen was once tormented by a sense of guilt towards Sedria. Given that Glen was familiar with faith from a young age, he would have naturally desired confession.

If Glen, in his immobile bed, writhing in despair, had wished for this, it wouldn't be strange for one of the guardians, aware of the sin, to secretly call a priest, as Via suggested."

Louis's eyes widened. It was a blind spot. He had been chasing after what he thought the nobility of Sies might know.

"...So, a priest secretly visited Lord Glen?"

Louis whispered, almost like a sigh.

"It would be a clear betrayal of the master, so I thought no one would come forward even if I asked the servants. So, I inquired with the Holy King's Office.

The Holy King's Office would naturally know the name of the priest who was stationed in Uzuk at that time. I asked them to check if any of them had visited the Uzuk's secondary residence, and only one priest, Roman, fit the description.

However, as it involved the life and death of the person who led the priest, Roman could not say anything more to the Pope's envoy. He did not even reveal whose confession he had heard. The Holy King's Office stopped questioning him and sent the reply as it was."

Alexander paused and let out a small sigh.

"It would be pointless to find a potential witness and then have the matter left vague. We needed to have a serious talk, so I sent Gruuk to Maracan under the pretext of the pilgrimage festival."

Following Alexander's gaze, Louis looked at Gruuk, who nodded in agreement.

"Confession is not something that should be made public, so we were at a disadvantage in asking for disclosure. Moreover, it happened in Sies, so the Holy King's Office would try to avoid getting involved.

So, this time, I had Gruuk bring a gift that the Pope had long desired. As expected, the Pope, who was initially hesitant, jumped at the proposal and immediately called Roman to Maracan."

Gruuk, who was asked to continue by Alexander, smiled wryly and spoke.

"When asked by the Pope to reveal the person who made the confession and the content, Roman was very confused. The Pope's command is absolute, but he was afraid that revealing the name might lead to someone's death.

So, we told him everything about the mistreatment of Lord Glen by the Caines family and their intentions, as well as the dire situation of Lady Sedria.

The marriage that the Caines family had continued under false pretenses, which was invalid from the beginning, was a clear betrayal of the Holy King's Office. And we conveyed the concern that if this false marriage continued, the princess of Ancheize... Lady Sedria might be killed.

Roman finally decided to speak, moved by the tragedy of a young man who could not move below the neck and the vivid memory of his conversation with Lord Glen at the time. Knowing that Lord Glen truly wished for Lady Sedria's happiness, Roman was convinced that making the truth public would be in accordance with God's will."

Gruuk paused for a moment, as if retracing his memory, and narrowed his eyes.

"The reason Roman visited Lord Glen in the first place was that a servant from the secondary residence came to the priest at the church and asked him to visit the house without being seen. The priest, who knew nothing of the situation, was taken to the house in a carriage late at night.

The servant did not want anyone else to know, so he stopped the carriage at a place far from the secondary residence, led the priest in through a back door, and took him to the sickroom. The maid who was attending in the sickroom left immediately, so she must have been in on it.

When the priest arrived, Lord Glen introduced himself and apologized for the rudeness, explaining that he could not get up to greet him due to the injury to his neck that left him unable to move below the neck."

Louis closed his eyes involuntarily.

I thought there was no one who could prove that Lord Glen was bedridden due to an accident. But in a place where Lady Sedria had no knowledge, Lord Glen had left a solid witness for the future.

Alexander walked over to the desk and took out an envelope from a drawer. The seal was stamped with the red wax seal of the Holy King's Office.

"This is a document attesting to the identity of Priest Roman. Roman is now back in Uzuk, his assigned post in Garantia, but he has agreed to come to Sies and testify when the time comes. This will be useful then."

"Will the priest testify himself?"

Louis could not hide his surprise. He had thought that the Holy King's Office, which did not want to get involved in disputes between countries, would send a written document and be done with it.

"The priest himself wanted to do it. He wanted to convey the words of the deceased to Sedria properly."

"I see."

Louis lowered his eyes.

"Still, it's amazing that the Pope allowed it. It's a great help to us, but it's a bit unsettling to receive such exceptional favor."

At Louis's puzzled look, Alexander laughed.

"That's why I gave him a suitable gift."

"...What kind of gift?"

Amon, who could not hide his interest, also looked at Alexander. What could the Pope want so much that he would go to such lengths?

"Via's conversion."

"Eh?"

Alexander answered nonchalantly, and Amon and Louis were taken aback and fell silent.

The Empress was originally from Thelma and, of course, should still be worshiping the gods of Thelma.

"...Is it really okay to do that?"

"For a long time, the Pope had been saying that it was strange for the Empress of a country with the Holy Church as its state religion not to believe in the Holy Church. Via, on the other hand, was laughing and saying that there was no need to rush. She said that we might as well wait for the right time to get a high price."

"..."

"The Empress of Ancheize is very popular with the people. Her conversion was something the Holy King's Office wanted very much, and this time it was a good opportunity to sell it."

Gruuk continued, looking satisfied, and Louis tilted his head. "Is conversion really that simple?"

"Conversion is a matter of convenience. Via will continue to worship the gods of Thelma."

Looking at Louis, Alexander continued calmly.

"To Via, people are much more important than titles and formalities. If Via says so, then it's fine, isn't it?"

Louis felt a bit deflated. If it was a statement worthy of the Empress, there was no more worthy statement than this.

Through this conversion, Princess Sedria would be saved. In the face of this fact, a nominal conversion was a trivial matter to the Empress.

"All that's left is to adjust the diplomatic details."

Gruuk said this with a somewhat serious expression. Without prior consultation, it would not be right to denounce the nobles of another country, so this would be the real diplomatic challenge.

"About that..."

Alexander interjected.

"This time, it will be an Empress case."

...What is an Empress case?

Louis and the other two looked at each other, puzzled by this incomprehensible declaration.

"I don't want to make it a matter between countries. Sies was not involved in any national deception.

Moreover, I'm afraid that if we send an envoy, the matter might leak to Lord Caines."

That was indeed something that needed to be avoided. If it was known that they were taking action on behalf of Lady Sedria, Lord Caines would try to silence her.

"What we want is for the marriage to be declared invalid in front of the courtiers. This is a matter that concerns Sedria's future, so we cannot compromise on this.

The total amount of losses that Ancheize has suffered as a result of the prolonged invalid marriage will be paid by the Caines family. ...Gruuk, please prepare an estimate."

"Of course, but it will be a huge amount."

Gruuk smiled wryly. "I wonder if they can pay it even if they sell their estates and lands."

"Maybe they can pay it if they sell their title."

Louis interjected involuntarily. Frankly, Louis would be greatly relieved if that family were to collapse.

"Originally, we would also want to claim compensation for the unjust treatment of Sedria, but the lady of the Caines family is, after all, a cousin of the King of Sies. If we push her too hard, it will affect the relationship between the countries. The matter of the Caines family will have