Chapter 18

Cesare de Como. As the illegitimate son of Leo III and the son of the Count of Como on paper, he had always been dissatisfied with his life. Glory was always within reach, but just before it could grasp his fingertips, it would be claimed by someone else, someone less worthy. A prime example was the title of prince, which was held by the milk-scented brat Alfonso.

He occupied a balcony on the right side of the central aisle of the grand cathedral, but he was still dissatisfied. This was not the top balcony where the 'real royal family' gathered to attend the high mass, but a balcony one level below. The king always attended the high mass from the top balcony on the right, together with his estranged queen and their adorable puppy-like son. The atmosphere on the balcony where the royal couple gathered was always cold, but even so, Leo III would never step down to the lower balcony where laughter and jokes abounded. Cesare and Countess Rubina could only possess Leo III in the secret inner chamber, not in public. His attention was focused on the top balcony on the right, but out of pride, he could never look up. The thought of meeting the condescending gaze of Alfonso, who had achieved nothing on his own, while looking up from below was horrifying. Cesare hated kneeling and looking up more than anything in the world. To distract himself, he looked down at the lower level of the grand aisle, where the beautiful Isabella, the daughter of the Cardinal, was strutting down the central aisle. While he thought the act itself was in poor taste, the sight of the 17-year-old girl, beautiful like a delighted fairy, putting on airs was still a pleasant one. Isabella had a magnetic charm that drew the attention of the crowd. It was a spectacular sight from above, and the heads of the men turned in sequence as she walked down the aisle.

'What is this, not even a phalanx formation.'

Cesare secretly mocked the lower-level officials who were bewitched by a woman and could not control their heads. He considered himself special. The eldest son of the king, born of royal blood. It was only natural for a man of superior lineage to have everything in the world. And the most suitable mate for the finest male would be Isabella de Mare, the most coveted female in all of San Carlo. He wanted Isabella. Just like the fist-sized ruby brought by a merchant from the Republic of Porto last month, the exotic Moorish slave with black skin, and the new cannon from the Duchy of Valois, his desire was not for the object itself but for the admiration he would receive from others for possessing it.

- 'Indeed, Count Cesare, the best stallions are all owned by Count Cesare, aren’t they?'

- 'Not just stallions, the beauties of San Carlo Castle are all his captives.'

- 'To have Isabella de Mare as well! Indeed, Count Cesare is remarkable.'

He imagined the crowd lifting him up with silly jokes as they flocked together, and his lips curled up involuntarily. Below, the golden girl looked up at him and smiled adorably. For a shy lady to show such bold interest was a signal he could not ignore as a gentleman. He nodded slightly to acknowledge her flirtation.

'Soon, I must ask Cardinal de Mare about his intentions regarding the marriage proposal. I should also bring it up when I see my father next month.'

While greedily eyeing Isabella, Cesare noticed a dark-haired girl following behind her. The dark and plain appearance of the dark-haired girl stood out awkwardly between the radiant Isabella and the elegant Lucrezia. He asked his mother, Countess Rubina, who was behind him.

"Mother, who is that dark girl among the de Mare family?"

Countess Rubina, a beauty with a cold demeanor and fine features, who was polishing her nails, answered without looking up.

"She is the second daughter of Cardinal de Mare from another mistress. It seems she has already won the favor of Queen Marguerite."

"What could she possibly have to offer?"

"Don’t judge a person by their appearance. If that young girl has already caught the eye of the fussy Queen Marguerite, she must be something special."

"What good is a clever girl?"

Countess Rubina opened her narrow eyes and looked at her son.

"Do you think I am here just because of my pretty face?"

"Isn’t that the case?"

The countess, who had a cold and sharp appearance and was similar to Cesare, glared at her son, who was rebelling due to his thick head.

"Pitiful child."

At that moment, the grand cathedral's pipe organ began to play majestically, signaling the start of the sermon. A man in rough linen clothes and a flat cap for a deacon slowly ascended the central altar. He was a tall man with deep-set, piercing eyes and a formidable presence.

"The sermon is about to begin. That must be the Apostle of Aseretto."

Cesare pretended to focus on the sermon to defuse his mother's anger, despite his boiling inner thoughts. The grand cathedral, which had been noisy, gradually quieted down as the Apostle of Aseretto ascended the altar. The atmosphere was more concentrated and expectant than when waiting for Cardinal de Mare's sermons. Unlike Cardinal de Mare's sermons in Latin, the Apostle of Aseretto's sermon was in the Etruscan-Aseretto language used by common people.

"- He was born as a human."

His sermon was provocative from the first words.

"Born in a stable in Ysak as the son of a shepherd, He lived, laughed, and learned as a human until He was thirty, when He received the call of the Holy Spirit to become the Son of the Holy Spirit."

People listened to the Apostle of Aseretto with bated breath.

"When the Holy Spirit chose Him as His first sacrifice, He, who was born as a human, finally became the Holy Son and acquired the same divinity as the Holy Spirit."

At this point, the audience's reactions were dramatically divided. Some were enthusiastically positive, while others looked uncomfortable.

- 'So, Ysak's Gon was not the Son of the Holy Spirit from birth but originally the son of a human?'

- 'Isn’t that too radical?'

The Apostle of Aseretto's sermon elicited very different reactions from the people. His popularity among the poor and disadvantaged was explosive. The idea that even the lowliest person could embody the teachings of the Holy Spirit, learn, practice, and be chosen by the Holy Spirit to sit on the highest throne in the thousand-year kingdom was incredibly appealing. On the other hand, for the literate and ruling class, the Apostle of Aseretto's sermon was nothing short of subversive. To the nobility, the Apostle's teaching that 'the lowest can rise to the highest' was a significant threat. The Holy See and its subordinate cathedrals taught the following to believers:

- 'Noble spirits are born as royalty or nobility and perform good deeds, while humble spirits are born as commoners and atone for their sins. To be born as a noble in the next life, one must do many good deeds, and being a royal or noble is proof of having excellent qualities in the eyes of the Holy Spirit.'

The nobility and royalty based their legitimacy to rule on these teachings. The idea that a commoner could become the Son of God directly challenged the existing social order. For the clergy, the Apostle of Aseretto posed an even more practical problem. The Holy Scripture consisted of the 'Meditations' left by Ysak's Gon and the 'Gospels' left by his six disciples. While the Gospels, being records written by humans, allowed for interpretation, the Meditations, being the direct words of the Son of God, were considered sacred down to the last punctuation mark and typo. The authority of the Holy See primarily came from the Meditations. When secular powers took actions against the Holy See, the Holy See would counter with a line from the Meditations. Combined with the Pope's power of excommunication, this was an unbeatable combination.

A few years ago, when Duke Aseretto tried to divorce his wife and take a seven-year-old Bianca of Taranto as a second wife, Pope Ludovico, under pressure from King Leo III and other neighboring monarchs who feared the transfer of the Taranto inheritance to Aseretto, firmly presented the Duke with passages from the Meditations.

- "Treat your wife well." "Marriage is sacred." "The old should not lust after the young."

When the divine authority of the Meditations was recognized, these passages were absolute commands. They had to be followed without question. However, if the Meditations were considered human language written by Ysak's Gon during his human life, there would be room for interpretation.

- "Treat your wife well."

If the wife is not virtuous but rather quarrelsome and wicked, does this command not apply?

- "Marriage is sacred."

Is a marriage sacred if the wife is barren and cannot bear a successor?

- "The old should not lust after the young."

Is it acceptable if the young person is mature in spirit? If the young person loves the older person first, is it not reasonable to exempt the command?

Duke Aseretto could not hold out long against the threat of excommunication based on the passages from the Meditations and had to give up on Bianca of Taranto. However, after the failure of his pursuit of Bianca, Duke Aseretto fully supported the Apostle of Aseretto, then known simply as 'Deacon Alejandro.' He gave the deacon a grand cathedral to preach in and provided funds from the duchy's budget to feed and clothe the young priests who came to the apostle. The result of this support, just a few years later, was what they were seeing now. Deacon Alejandro had become the Apostle of Aseretto, riding the wave of the people and threatening the clergy and nobility.

Ariadne, who had been standing like a shadow at the back of the left balcony, behind Lucrezia, Isabella, and Arabella, quietly stood up without drawing attention. Arabella looked at Ariadne as she stood up, but Ariadne whispered to her.

"I'll be right back, I need to use the restroom."

Ariadne removed all the gold earrings given to her by Lucrezia and put them in her sleeve. A perfect stage required a perfect outfit. She held her breath and quietly descended the steep stairs to the first floor of the grand aisle, hiding behind the railing to wait for the decisive moment. The Apostle of Aseretto's sermon was reaching its climax.

"Ysak's Gon is, ultimately, the son of a human!"

As the deep baritone voice of the middle-aged man echoed through the grand cathedral and the audience listened with mixed feelings, a heavy, pleasant husky voice cut through the air.

"Know your shame!"

It was Ariadne.