It had already been three days since the negotiation with a certain emperor ended. After the minor storm, the city seemed to have returned to normal. However, in my opinion, this was only the calm before the storm.
"Mills Milan, the most devout prince of the Bardi royal family. He was diligent all his life and shed blood for his country. Emperor Orloss the Thirteenth highly regarded him. But today, he was assassinated by a despicable assassin. Those hypocritical villains even disguised themselves as allies of the Mage Country in an attempt to incite discord between the two countries. But under the wise and wise eyes of Emperor Orloss, how could such a clumsy trick possibly be effective? There can only be one truth. The assassin is … the Holy Church!"
Although it sounded ridiculous, this was indeed the "truth" that everyone wanted to see.
Mills' assassination had already been determined. He had been killed by an assassin sent by the Holy Church. As for the so-called dark elf assassin, that was only a convenient way to frame Bardi's "closest ally", the Mage Country.
When the citizens saw the announcements outside the city walls the next morning, their expressions were enough to hide what it meant by "the world is changing so quickly that I don't know anything."
Of course, rumors were already flying everywhere.
However, rumors were sometimes very useful, such as when a country was in chaos. But sometimes, they would only become interesting stories that even the tabloids didn't dare to publish, such as this incident.
The next day, Mills' funeral was held. It seemed that the Bardi royal guards wanted to hurry up and put a final conclusion on this incident.
But from a certain standpoint, holding a grand funeral for Mills in the name of Bardi was actually giving Mills a lot of face. The next day, when Bardi's royal guards went to clean up Mills' residence, they unexpectedly discovered evidence that the undead had colluded with the undead. They then investigated the information they obtained from Mills and raided the residences of two other princes.
The reason? It was actually quite simple. What the princes wanted the most right now was someone who was capable of fighting. Naturally, the undead were quite capable of fighting. Plus, with their previous friendship, the princes easily hooked up with the undead.
Apart from providing cover for the undead, the princes would also provide food for the bloodthirsty undead. Judging from the dozen or so outsiders that Mills had plundered from his basement and the punishment room, it was no mistake that Yawen had directly judged Mills as a "sinner of the most heinous crimes".
Judging from the testimony of the rescued man, he had been corrupted for a long time. He, who worshiped the evil god of misery in private, made rapid progress and also "used" a large number of offerings with his own hands.
"… He was once a true soldier. He once fought for his comrades for two days and two nights in a desperate situation. He once swore in front of me that he would change the Bardi military's corrupt and inefficient aristocratic system. Now … I've harmed him."
After listening to the eunuch's report, the old emperor sat in the garden in a daze for the whole morning. In the end, he could only squeeze out these words.
Perhaps, as a hero who returned from a hellish battlefield, his firm will was able to withstand the most desperate situation, but after ten years of wealth and power, he had unknowingly become the man he once hated the most.
"… Let's have a grand burial."
Perhaps this was the last bit of sympathy the old emperor had for the successor candidate whom he once had high hopes for.
The next day's funeral was for the three princes. Of course, to the public, the Holy Church's assassins were trying to kill the heroic princes in an attempt to create conflict between the two countries, perhaps even inciting a war.
And so, the Holy Church was implicated again … Why did I say "again"? Actually, it wasn't wrong for the Holy Church to be implicated.
Humans were creatures that were naturally inclined towards the light. The God of Light, the God of Holy Light, and so on would naturally benefit from his teachings. Ignoring whether or not this inclination came from the sun itself, when a Holy Church that represented light and justice ruled over more than half of humanity's spiritual and religious beliefs, from a certain standpoint, the Holy Church had absolute control.
Why was that? Because as long as the Holy Church gave a certain opinion or action that was correct, it would be meaningless for others to oppose it. And actually, considering how difficult it would be for the Holy Church to reach a consensus, it would be enough if the Holy Church could reach a third of its beliefs. And it just so happened that in the world of Aichy, the number of Holy Light believers in the human world was more than a third.
Absolute power meant absolute corruption. But what did absolute divine authority mean?
"… You immaculately dressed Holy Light bishops claim that everything you do is authorized by the God of Holy Light. In that case, if the God of Holy Light guarantees your rationality and morality, then who will guarantee the God of Holy Light's rationality and justice? At the very least, from what I've seen, people with benevolent expressions are beastly, and people who are thieving like chickens and stealing like dogs are using the name of God. According to your logic, since you hypocrites haven't received divine punishment yet, could it be that your True God has already lost his rationality? Is God dead? Or has God gone mad as well? "
A certain insane blasphemer whose name had been erased unknowingly spread his words throughout the entire world. It was rumored that this insane blasphemer who was laughing maniacally on a stake was once a devout Cardinal. His crime was to personally kill several colleagues of his who played with boys. One of them was even his teacher.
However, I feel that his greatest crime was telling the truth — that God had gone mad.
Perhaps it was instinctive for humans to worship the light, but it was also instinctive for humans to break free from shackles and restraints. Not to mention the natural conflict between royalty and divine authority. Most importantly, the Holy Church, which had absolute divine authority, was constantly rotting, rotting, and reforming. Naturally, there would be no end to those who resisted.
Ordinary plants would be unable to survive in deserts without water or soil. Seeds of discord would often grow on cliffs filled with cracks.
"… Pure Holy Light doesn't require belief in a false God. The Holy Church only believed in a false God who borrowed the name of Holy Light. Prince Mills, Prince Thomas, and Prince Catalan were all holy disciples who believed in pure Holy Light. Their deaths were the result of an evil God's fear of true belief!"
Archbishop Amoye of the Southern Sect angrily berated the Holy Church's hypocrisy and shamelessness in front of all the nobles and merchants of Bardi while displaying his own Holy Light.
"Only the light is eternal! In the name of the first pope of the Holy Church, I declare these three princes to be martyred holy disciples. We shall fight for revenge, for justice, and for pure Holy Light. "
A coincidence created history. Since there was an opportunity in front of them, the Church of Pure Holy Light stepped onto the stage of history. Archbishop Amoye also became Pope Amoye the First, and the three wicked villains also became Holy Apostles.
In the background was the tearful old Emperor Halent, who had just lost his beloved son. Archduke Halent took the lead in making an ancient vow, using a small knife to cut a scar on his face, vowing revenge, and then angrily roaring in response to the people's cries.
"… We've lived here for generations, but those hypocritical villains actually judged us as heretics, invaded our land, and killed our citizens. Fine then, since they want war, we'll give them war! Victory to Bardi! "
By the time Halent's speech came to an end, the funeral turned into a pledging ceremony. Now that everyone was shouting "Victory to Bardi" together, war was no longer a symbol.
In the crowd, I covered my mouth with my cape to prevent myself from laughing out loud. I lowered my head and smiled as I explained to Glina next to me.
"The righteous Halent? The sincere Orloss? The pure and holy Mills? At this moment, the relationship between holy and evil was so ambiguous. This was the royal family, famous for being snakes and scorpions. Perhaps this is why I always feel that human nature is so difficult to understand, and why humans are so interesting. "
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