Chapter 16

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The morning after Luria was attacked.

Archbishop Saul learned of the attack.

Saul, the Archbishop of the Valois district, was the one who named Luria and later found her being attacked by guardian beasts.

"Your Eminence, what should we do?"

A priest, who had been lying on a bed wrapped in bandages, was informed of the news gathered by his subordinates and asked for instructions. Saul had ordered his subordinates to investigate around Luria.

"This is a serious situation."

"…I didn’t expect the attack to fail."

The priest, who had muttered this without thinking, made Saul's eyes widen.

"…Are those words a blasphemy against God?"

"Huh? That’s not what I meant."

"Repent. Protecting Lady Luria is God’s will. Didn’t I tell you that?"

"Bu, but…"

The priest had indeed heard it.

However, he never thought the Archbishop was serious.

He thought the order to investigate was to find a weakness.

If there was a significant vulnerability, an attack could be launched, causing severe injuries or even assassination.

This was the typical approach of the Archbishop and, indeed, of the Church of the One God.

"But? What do you mean? Are you trying to question God’s sacred will?"

"N-no, that’s not it. I was mistaken."

Bowing deeply, the priest recalled the events of a few days ago.

A few days ago, near the Duke’s mansion, Saul was critically injured.

When rescued, Saul ordered, "Watch over Lady Luria."

Of course, he said it was to protect her.

However, such statements were usually seen as insurance in case the truth came to light.

An excuse to say they were watching over her if discovered.

A way to claim subordinates acted on their own if harm was done.

High-ranking clergy of the Church of the One God never gave explicit orders.

The ability to accurately interpret the hidden meanings in their words determined one’s rise in the hierarchy.

"I didn’t think… that protecting Lady Luria was truly God’s will…"

"Then let me reiterate. It is God’s will. Do you understand?"

Saul stood up from the bed, pain overwhelming him.

"Aaah…"

Saul’s face showed a look of ecstasy amidst the pain.

Only his broken bones were healed to prevent hindering worship and activities; the rest of his injuries remained. He considered them sacred wounds inflicted by God’s messenger.

God had corrected him when he was about to stray from the path.

The pain and injuries were sacred proof of this.

Saul slowly approached the priest with his scarred face, the smell of blood filling the air as his wounds reopened.

"Your Eminence, please, let us treat you…"

"No need. These are proof of God’s love for me."

"But at least, let us apply antiseptic and change the bandages. Otherwise, the sacred worship hall will be stained with blood."

"…Very well. Please do so."

Saul sat in a chair.

While the priest applied antiseptic and wrapped new bandages, Saul asked:

"Who, then, would do such a foolish thing as to harm Lady Luria?"

"There is no evidence, but it is almost certain—"

The priest named another Archbishop, known for his zeal in suppressing the spirit worship.

"Yes, it must be him. The movements of his private army also make sense in this context."

If that Archbishop learned that Luria had the same hair and eye color as the "Witch of Calamity," he would try to kidnap her.

If he couldn’t kidnap her, he might try to kill her, which would be no surprise.

Saul hadn’t expected him to act, but deeper analysis should have predicted it.

Saul considered it his own fault for not preventing the attack.

"Oh, God, please forgive me, this foolish sheep…"

The priest could only stare in shock as Saul suddenly knelt and began to pray while being bandaged.

After finishing his prayer, Saul sat back in the chair as if nothing had happened.

"First, we must expose the one who told that Archbishop about Lady Luria."

The Duke’s family was hiding the fact that Luria had red hair and eyes.

Thus, the radical Archbishop must have learned about Luria’s appearance from Saul’s subordinates, Saul thought.

"No, before that, we should send a message of sympathy to the Duke’s family."

"Wouldn’t that make Your Eminence look like the culprit?"

Sending a message of sympathy after an attack was a common tactic of the Church of the One God.

It planted fear and, if done before the attack was widely known, suggested guilt.

The message could also serve as a further threat: "If you don’t comply, it will be worse."

"It doesn’t matter. It’s more important to inform the Duke of the suspicious Archbishop."

This would help the Duke’s investigation.

Saul didn’t expect the Duke to trust him.

It was enough if the Duke considered it an internal conflict within the Church.

"I will write a letter. Wait a moment."

Saul wrote a message of sympathy and apologized for the rudeness at the naming ceremony.

He then detailed all his findings without reservation.

"Deliver this."

"Understood."

"Now, let’s move on to the eradication of God’s enemies."

There were too many enemies of God within the Church of the One God.

It was truly lamentable.

"God, see the work of your faithful servant."

Saul, moving with a surprising lack of injury, walked calmly through the church.

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Immediately after, an internal conflict erupted within the Church of the One God.

In just two years, three Archbishops known for their radicalism were demoted to ordinary priests and sent to small churches on the frontier.

Moreover, one Archbishop died in a mysterious accident.

This deceased Archbishop was identified as the mastermind behind the attack on Luria.

It was common knowledge among the nobility and high-ranking clergy that Luria’s father, Duke Graf of Valois, had intervened in the Church’s internal conflict.

Out of fear, no one spoke of it, making it an open secret.

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