Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Astria, a sacred district called the Living Holy Land, was an island floating in the sky.
There were several hypotheses that the power that supported the island was the divine power of God, or that it was an island made by an archmage, even some believed that it was not an island, but a huge living creature, etc., but those who believed in God believed in the first hypothesis.
For them, faith was the greatest evidence to intuitively confirm the existence and power of God.
In Astria, there were many religious institutions, such as the temple of Retranon dedicated to God, the Holy City, academies, and monasteries. Some places were nothing more than prisons where some high-ranking criminals were kept.
Astria leisurely drifted around the continent, and there was no way to determine its course and direction.
In particular, for the past three years, when traveling around the hot Qandra desert in the west, the interior of Astria was no different than hell.
There were quite a few deaths from the heat, but it seemed impossible to stop it even with the power of a god. Thus, the elderly Pope fled early, and most of the high-ranking priests and cardinals were holding out against the heat with their divinity.
There were also opinions on whether the Mages of the Wizard tower should be put in to help, but most of the temples firmly believed that divine power was the only power in the world.
After they prayed every day enduring the scorching heat as their flesh was ripening, their course finally changed. Although it was in the direction of the northern Bellstein region characterized by the bitter cold, they cheered, saying that their prayers worked.
Among them were Prince Reynold and his entourage Palos.
“Oh, my God! Your Highness! We can live now. It is said that in a few months the course will change and Astria will reach the north.”
When Palos reported the news of the priest, Reynolds spoke with a pale face that was not tanned by sunlight. Although he was already born with bloodless skin color, as time passed, his body became thinner and his sharpened eyes contained unfamiliar insanity.
“What use is all that? Before that, I’d be leaving here. I’m done toiling in this place.”
Reynold grinned at this and immediately changed his expression to wave his hand to the priests who were waiting for him in the distance.
The laughter of the priests burst out. They were all priests that followed him. At first, Reynold couldn’t accept that he was confined in this bloody place.
But as he recalled his mother’s words, he persevered and endured.
‘Hang in there, you can take a break. Maybe it’s actually a good thing. You can gradually increase your strength inside the temple. I also have something to study and prepare, so let’s just wait for a few years and get back to our course. Make those who can’t tell the difference between holy power and magic into your followers.’
His natural bearing and the status of a prince cannot be hidden even in this place.
Making followers was as easy as seducing innocent girls at a party. As his mother said, some of the priests who came in here mistook mana for divine power.
Reynold studied the doctrine more exemplary than anyone else and tried to show off good manners.
It was acting and a mask, but the only one in here who knew about his true form was Palos.
Palos asked.
“That’s true, too. By the way, Kayla has also hidden her whereabouts, so I will have to find her as soon as I get back.”
“Mother will visit me, so that’s not a problem.”
Reynold laughed, revealing his white teeth, and got up, putting catechism scriptures on his side.
“Still, we also have to take a look at the situation on the ground, so let’s go down first.”
Reynold narrowed his eyes and ordered Palos.
“Yes, I was going to propose that anyway.”
Then a man came into Reynold’s gaze. He had beautiful emerald hair and transparent amber eyes. Even the body wrapped in a white robe gave out a soft impression. It was the perfect subject to purify the viewer’s eyes.
Even with a magic meter, it seemed that the power he had could not be measured. But he was the one who made those around him feel special.
He was also one of Reynolds’ most difficult opponents.
Andrea Phil Astria.
The fifth cardinal, also known as the fifth finger of the Pope.
Although it was not officially recorded how much holy power he had, he was miraculous enough to be called a saint.
There was even a very famous anecdote that when he took the hand of a fallen sick man and prayed for purification, the disease was healed in an instant.
Reynold approached first, taking advantage of the absence of the paladin who was always walking around him.
“Fifth brother. I’ve been looking for you for a long time.”
“The prince was looking…… for me?”
Andrea looked up at Prince Reynold.
Most of the imperial families who sinned against Retranon were arrogant and refused to admit their wrongdoing, but they rotted away for a fixed period of time in the monastery. Prince Reynolds, on the other hand, behaved very steadily.
Thanks to that, he liquidated the monastery over three years, and moved to the academy of the temple, a theological institution with a little more freedom of movement.
Andrea didn’t really understand Reynold’s high fame. He only heard the recent presentation at the academy and thought he was fine with his speech.
He could have guessed that Prince had come here because of his bad conduct. He did not know exactly what had happened, as the imperial family did not give the exact reason.
What was certain was that Reynold had a good reputation within this place.
His demeanor was upright, and he helped the weak.
But there was nothing easier to fabricate than that straightforward and good-willed act. For some reason, he wasn’t a person he liked, so Andrea kept a certain distance from him.
Moreover, Andrea was also very wary of others because of his slender face line and soft personality, there were many people who approached him.
“There was something I do not understand while studying the doctrine, and I would like to ask for help.”
“It would be more accurate to ask the priest in charge of the doctrine.”
Reynold opened a page of the catechism, read Andrea’s gaze, narrowed his eyes, and then said with a friendly smile.
“Haha. Oh, did I get caught? I just wanted to get close to Sir Andrea.”
* * *
After Luciel’s return, the Duke’s castle was busy inside and out. Eva and Bessie were busy putting their heads together and redecorating the villa for Luciel, who was becoming a lady, and in the Knights Templar, instead of Ralph, the knights were vying for a duel with each other to win the duty of escorting Luciel.
Bellstein’s vassals, who were waiting for Luciel’s return more than anyone else, were the same.
When they heard that the Little Madam was going to the meeting room today, everyone was carrying gifts such as flowers, dolls, local specialties, and accessories.
“Little Madam!”
“Welcome back! We have been waiting for so long.”
The Duke shook his head when he saw a group of vassals who were united as half-fans towards a well-bred maiden and half self-interest to catch a big fish by listening to the story of a precognitive dream, like Count Gillen a few years back.
Luciel, who was about to attend the meeting because she wondered if there was anything to discuss regarding the progress in business, came out of the meeting again due to her hot (?) popularity. The Duke was blocking her surroundings for protection.
“Luciel, if there is something to discuss separately, it would be better to call the vassals under the number of three people at a time to talk.”
“……Yes, Dad. I agree.”
Luciel answered, looking at the coldly hardened Duke. Just then, she saw Ellington walking towards the conference hall along with the other aides.
He handed over the documents to the other assistant and stopped in front of Luciel.
“Little Madam, I found out that Maximus von Cavill has left the mansion and has been to and fro several gambling houses.”
“Huh? He left the house?”
“Yes. Why?”
In the past, Maximus had also left the house, and from that point on, the Marquis cut off all financial support from him.
Then he started gambling to make money and developed an interest in the future trend of Wyvern racing.
Maximus moved out at least two or three years later. However, the future didn’t flow exactly as Luciel knew.
Thanks to the narrow position of the Marquis, Maximus’ evil deeds, which would normally have been overlooked, came to the surface. As a result, he was even expelled from the academy, and the situation in Cavill became increasingly difficult.
Moreover, since the Wyvern race had begun, there was a clear possibility that Maximus would move faster.
“Then, Maximus might move faster too. We have to find him before he moves.”
Feeling like her head was getting jumbled up with possibilities, Luciel said while biting her lip. Ellington asked.
“Well, if you tell me step by step in detail, I’ll look for him first.”
“Yes. It’s a bit too much for me to say it here, so please come to the little fief later.”
As Luciel carefully spoke, Ellington said.
“Then I will go there after the government meeting is over.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Oh, and Little Madam. Everyone in the Knights Order is making a lot of noise that they will be your escort knights, so why not nominate the knights yourself? I think that might be a way for them to be at peace with each other.”
“……Huh? What happened?”
Luciel tilted her head.
Ellington couldn’t bear to say that the fight was because of the Little Madam herself, so he shook his head and went away.
“It’s nothing. See you later!”
Ralph had just quit his job as an escort, so Luciel was about to seek a new reliable escort.
‘I need to go to the Knights.’
In fact, before entering the tower, Luciel was skeptical because Jarga had chosen a boy from Michael’s Orphanage to be the stable keeper of the Knights. The boy who served as a slave gladiator in the Marquis of Cavill was also from Michael’s Orphanage.
He later showed great swordsmanship by sweeping the Squire Gladiator Competition, but the income was solely passed on to the hands of the Marquis.
She tried to ask the Duke to find him, but it wasn’t easy as she didn’t know his name.
Luciel only vaguely remembered his face.
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