saint ch8

Charm (3)

The situation had reached this point for three main reasons.

The first was the official letter of visit sent by the Imperial Family.

Or rather, a notice.

We’ll arrive tomorrow, so show us the Saint.

From the Order’s perspective, it was an extremely presumptuous attitude that disregarded their authority.

The Order had no intention of allowing outsiders to meet the Saint yet.

According to records, there was an incomparable difference in the manifestation of holy magic between a Saint who had been brainwashed and one who hadn’t.

However, the Order was in this state, so from some point on, it became difficult to control a Saint without brainwashing, leaving them with no choice.

Therefore, even though it seemed that the Saint could be handled without the need for brainwashing, they had released him cautiously, but even for the Order, the Saint was still an uncontrolled variable.

Naturally, they tried to refuse, but the problem was the delegation that followed.

Canyon, the Emperor’s Spear, from one of the Empire’s Four Great Military Houses.

Ludmila, the Flame Magic Tower Master, from one of the Empire’s Five Great Magic Towers.

It was nothing short of a tacit show of force.

Even if the Empire was arrogant, the optimism that they wouldn’t dare to point a sword at them didn’t arise, given the current emperor’s disposition.

The current emperor was a remarkable figure who, if he deemed them an obstacle, could remove them despite numerous political hurdles and somehow smooth things over.

The high-ranking priests were busy endlessly debating how to resolve this situation.

The second reason was that Cardinal Telos, who wasn’t participating in the meeting but was wandering around the main headquarters, witnessed the spectacle of people praising Ronan.

He was the former head of the Inquisition, a fanatical believer in doctrine, and a misanthrope.

Most Inquisitors were misanthropes and fanatics, but Telos was extreme even among them.

The doctrine interpreted by the Order was the only truth, woven so that even ignorant humans could accept the will of God, and anyone who didn’t accept this doctrine was a heretic—that was the kind of extreme radical he was.

The reason he was able to rise to the position of Cardinal was purely because he had buried countless individuals who were not friendly to the doctrine = the Order under the pretext of heresy.

Also, due to the nature of the Inquisition’s mission, they needed a lot of personnel who obeyed orders without question.

It was much easier to supply brainwashed personnel who had their doubts about the Order itself removed than fanatics, so Telos had subordinates who could unquestioningly obey the order to intimidate the Saint.

Third, Telos had been carefully observing Saint Ronan’s appearance for the past few days.

To Telos, the Saint was, regrettably, a white elephant that Orion had given without even imagining how low the level of humans was.

Naturally, he thought they would use brainwashing rituals on the Saint, as in the past records, to use him as part of the Order, but for some reason, the Cardinals agreed to release the Saint.

They, who were sensitive to even the smallest elements that could tarnish their power.

Why on earth were they releasing the Saint?

Did they really not know what would happen if ignorant humans came into contact with the easily understandable idol called the Saint?

Telos’s worries became reality.

For a few days, he had confined himself to his room for reasons of recuperation, but those who had even once come into contact with Ronan soon began to show faith in the Saint.

Even the childlike aspects that Ronan had before becoming a Saint seemed to have disappeared, and he displayed perfect social skills.

He adopted such a docile attitude that it was understandable why the Cardinals had given Ronan a chance.

But right now, the people he was meeting were limited, so it seemed like nothing much, but it was obvious what would happen if he came into contact with the masses.

To Telos, the Teachers’ almost demonstrative behavior was a decisive trigger.

The priests at the Order’s main headquarters, who should have been the most faithful to the teachings of the doctrine, were rebelling, saying that there might be misunderstandings about the Order.

If the priests, who were thought to have undergone at least some enlightenment, were like this, what about the ignorant masses?

Indeed, humans were insufficient to understand God’s noble grace.

Having made his judgment, Telos carefully covered up the situation using his brainwashed soldiers, so that the other Cardinals wouldn’t notice.

He didn’t even think he could keep covering it up forever anyway.

It was enough if he wasn’t disturbed while he finished his work.

And he went to find Ronan alone.

Even though he might be attacked by other Cardinals who pursued power because of his unilateral actions, he didn’t care.

Telos truly believed that this was necessary for the Order, something that someone had to do.

Even if they sanctioned him, they wouldn’t be able to return the Saint, whose mind he had already broken, to what he was before, so they would have to proceed with the brainwashing ritual as usual.

Ronan showed an extraordinary appearance that didn’t suit his age, as if he were truly the son of God, which only made him even more certain.

It was truly unfortunate that such an outstanding talent had to be sacrificed because of the name Saint, even though he was devoted to the Order, but at the same time, it was unavoidable.

Telos sincerely believed that this was a kind of martyrdom.

It was the way of thinking of a madman that ordinary people couldn’t understand.

However, a moment of hesitation.

The moment of hesitation, when Ronan’s heart, which seemed so beautiful in its desire to hide everything about himself and allow praise to reach God alone, ruined everything.

Just before he poured Divine Power into Ronan’s brain, the Cardinals who rushed in thwarted Telos’s intentions.

“These power-hungry fools! Don’t you understand yet! The Saint threatens the doctrine and the Order just by existing! You must eliminate your personal feelings immediately!”

“What nonsense are you talking about! You’ve gone completely mad!”

Telos shouted, unable to take his eyes off the unconscious Ronan, even as he was being dragged away by the Holy Knights.

The Cardinals, horrified by Telos’s open talk about brainwashing, hurriedly tried to cover up the situation.

“Saint! Saint Ronan! If you are truly faithful to Orion, then take your own life! Saint! Heed my words!”

It was a violent outburst that wouldn’t reach Ronan, who had fainted.

It had happened less than a day before the Imperial delegation was scheduled to visit.

* * *

Having grasped the whole situation, I was speechless.

Telos was more of a madman than I had thought…

Are the brains of the Order’s leadership all blank slates, power-hungry, or fanatical?

Even if I looked around the main headquarters, most people had normal faith, so I didn’t know why only those kinds of people were at the top.

Or rather, was it because they were like that that they rose to the top?

“Thank you so much, Celia.”

I thanked Celia, who was next to me, in a voice that didn’t come out well.

Telos had ruined my throat, so my voice didn’t come out well.

Still, it was the Order’s main headquarters, so the external injuries had all been healed, so it didn’t hurt, but because of the Divine Power, there were faint handprints left, and my voice didn’t come out well.

“Don’t mention it.”

Celia was declining, but it wasn’t empty words.

If it hadn’t been for Celia, who was next to me with tears in her eyes, I might have really died.

It seemed that Celia, who had been temporarily imprisoned elsewhere by the brainwashed soldiers, had caused a commotion without regard for her own safety, and the Cardinals had heard about this situation.

I really couldn’t thank her enough.

I gave a faint smile to replace my answer, because if I answered, she would really cry.

And soon, I fell into a state of exhaustion.

I really survived somehow.

It was fortunate that it wasn’t after I had wreaked havoc with holy magic.

I would remain a pure victim.

Perhaps because I had experienced too much in one day, I felt a little sleepy even after fainting and waking up.

The door opened, and Cardinal Levia appeared.

Seriously, does he not know how to knock?

Why does he enter the Saint’s room so freely?

“Have you come, Cardinal Levia?”

Unlike my inner thoughts, a polite greeting came out, but.

Celia, who seemed dissatisfied that Cardinal Levia was making me speak, pressed down on her head.

Celia, if you look at him like that, you might get “Why are you staring like that?”

It’s a magic word with a 100% chance of initiating an argument that can’t be logically refuted.

Lower your head if you don’t want to be attacked.

“You don’t have to be so polite. Saint. You’re injured.”

The Cardinal, who was watching the two of us, spoke with a kind smile on his face.

“It must have been a real ordeal, Saint Ronan.”

I quietly smiled in response, as I had done to Celia.

Anyway, it would look like my throat hurt to those around me, so I could talk less.

It was hard to squeeze out nonsense every time.

“I think there’s a lot to talk about regarding that…”

The Cardinal’s gaze turned to Celia.

No, he brought two clergymen into the room, but why is he only trying to send Celia out?

I squeezed Celia’s hand as if to tell her not to worry, as she looked at me with anxious eyes, and Celia, looking relieved, grabbed my hand tightly in return.

“Um…”

The Cardinal, watching that scene, was silent as if calculating something in his head for a moment, and then burst into laughter as if it was okay.

“The Saint wasn’t harmed thanks to this child’s efforts, and it seems that the Saint wants it, so I’ll just speak.”

Excuse me, do you not know Celia’s name?

Even though she saved the Saint.

“Cardinal Telos will, of course, be excommunicated. This cannot be undone even if the Saint wishes it. Cardinal Telos’s sins are too heavy.”

What kind of madman would defend someone who tried to kill them?

“It’s different from the priest who inflicted corporal punishment before you became a Saint. He inflicted the price of violating the rules on an ordinary believer, but Cardinal Telos targeted Saint Ronan for an incomprehensible reason.”

Oh, right.

Come to think of it, that was me.

There was such a guy, wasn’t there.

“However…”

The Cardinal paused for a moment before continuing.

“It will be a little difficult to make this public.”

Yeah, I figured.

Unlike Celia, who was making a surprised expression next to me, I had fully expected this kind of situation.

The rank of the person who committed the crime was Cardinal.

No matter how much the Order excommunicated and punished the crime, it was natural that the Order’s prestige would be tarnished by raising such a dangerous person to the position of Cardinal.

There was no way the Order would make this public.

“Cardinal Telos has contributed greatly to the Order so far. Unfortunately, he was seized by madness and attacked the Saint, thinking of him as a demon, but if his final years, during which he worked for the Order, are publicly denied, Orion will be greatly saddened. Can you understand, Saint Ronan?”

Wow, his tongue is long.

They’ve already decided everything among themselves and are just notifying me, so why is he talking so much?

“Do as you wish. I will simply follow the will of the Order. I hope that peace will be with Cardinal Telos in his final years.”

Just in case you misunderstand, I mean I hope he dies quickly so he can have peace for the rest of his life.

The Cardinal’s face grew brighter with a smile as I answered that with an unwavering expression.

“As expected, the Saint’s faith possesses a noble quality that is not swayed by trivial human emotions. I’m very relieved.”

He’s really talking a lot of bullshit.

Ahem, Celia.

Control your expression.

You don’t have to make the expression I want to make instead of me.

I gently rubbed the back of her hand with my fingers from the hand we were holding, and Celia, startled, began to look only at her hand with a docile expression.

“But Cardinal Telos was saying something very strange…”

“Strange things?”

“He said that Saint Ronan summoned an angel during prayer and charmed people.”

“Um… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

I decided to remain completely ignorant about that.

The drug seems to be a bit stronger than I intended, I should dilute it.

“You don’t know?”

“I was merely offering a prayer of gratitude to Orion. I am not familiar with stories about angels.”

Calming Celia, who was sparkling her eyes next to me, was quite a chore.

She looked like she wanted to say that she saw it, that it was real, right away.

Please, just bear with it.

“His madness has deepened to the point where he tries to harm the Saint, so it’s possible he’s just spouting nonsense. …But do you really know nothing?”

“Is this something I should know? If you give me guidance, I will listen attentively.”

“No, it’s just that the testimonies were consistent, so I was wondering if you had actually received the Angel’s Blessing.”

He still doesn’t seem to have completely dispelled his suspicions, but what can he do if I say I don’t know?

On top of that, I subtly implied that I didn’t know much, but that I would only believe and follow what the Order taught.

After all this, unless he’s a madman like Telos, he wouldn’t be able to show any signs of doubting my words after suffering such an absurd incident today.

I thought I had somehow gotten through the incident, but at this point, the Cardinal, who should have finished the notification and left, was still looking at me.

…What? Why?

“And this is a different matter…”

You have something else to say?

My danger-sensing radar started working in response to the unexpected development.

I really don’t want to experience such a random death flag like today ever again.

“Tomorrow, an envoy from the Imperial Family will be visiting.”

The Imperial Family?

That was a term I had never even thought of.