I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

147 – Reign (6)

“Your Highness, I have a letter from Priest Aix and 14 others.”

The various native powers of Caroling see this incident as an opportunity to evaluate the vessel of their new master and do not intervene.

Of course, the master’s personality, which he confirmed after being invited to Dijon before, also influenced his judgment.

To the lord, who has a very difficult personality, who makes laws related to all things and uses force when things go wrong, pleads with the lord to treat them favorably? There is no choice but to see it as a new method of suicide.

“Oh, those idiots. Give them here.”

The Duke of Akitan roughly accepts the letter handed to him by the attendant with one hand and opens it.

It’s written full of appeals that make you annoyed just by reading it, but even so, you can get a glimpse of how His Majesty treats nobles with status, so I can’t help but look at them.

It was a little disappointing that in the previous one, only useless things were written, such as how the prison was terrible and the attitude of the guardsmen was very rude, but now that the trial is over, there must be useful things written.

“… Huh?”

However, the sentence written in the letter was completely unexpected.

I thought it would say something like the fact that the verdict was rather high, or that I felt sorry for not being acquitted even though the sentence was reduced…

“What’s up?”

“Your Majesty… You said you were present at the trial.”

That is completely wrong.

Claude had only happened to pass nearby, and after hearing a great commotion, entered the courtroom after the trial, but to his subjects, none of that mattered. It is only important that the king entered at the correct timing.

However, after reading the contents of the letter, the duke judged that His Majesty had observed the trial, and was furious with the nobles and clergy who were dissatisfied with the verdict of the trial, and had inflicted severe punishment.

“And it seems that these foolish bastards riot in disobeying the verdict and bow down to Your Majesty.”

“…Isn’t the coat of arms of the Court derived from the coats of arms of the House of Burgon and the House of Lotharing?”

The attendant who heard my words widened his eyes and said as if he was dumbfounded.

Why don’t they know what even the servants know…!

No, let’s not think about it anymore. Because human intelligence is different.

“That’s why His Majesty seems to be furious.”

“You mean rage…?”

“Death penalty.”

“…!”

To say that if you disobey the verdict in court, the maximum penalty is the death penalty and deal with it according to the law… You just finely twisted the word to kill.

Even these foolish people must have understood very well the words to kill me openly, and they are crying out to me for my merits in the Carolingian War and to please return my majesty’s heart.

…Huh.

‘Why should I?’

Isn’t it too much of a waste to spend such a ball on a trivial incident like this?

There is also reliable information that the nobles will not feel the reason to live as they are only weak idiots that His Majesty did not even feel the need to pass on, and that the clergy will soon be completely castrated politically, socially and economically anyway.

Above all, the very act of rescuing those who challenged the authority of Your Majesty and the royal family is a very dangerous act that can be greatly branded by Your Majesty. If you want to die, die alone Why are you clinging to me?

“From now on, I don’t need to upload the pieces of paper these guys send me.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The Duke of Akitan doesn’t feel the need to read any more, even though the correspondence is still far away.

The letter is burned by the candle on the desk, and the letter eventually turns into unrecognizable ashes.

…………

“I can’t believe…”

I sent letters to various places to save the brother who was taken to Dijon, but the reply that came back was very hopeless.

I sent dozens of messages, but only three of them returned with a reply, and not a single one of those three was positive.

The Archdiocese of Notrede, which oversees the churches of the Carolingian Kingdom, the Archdiocese of Dijon, which oversees the churches of the Rotaling Kingdom, and the Church of the Holy Spirit, which oversees all churches.

“Why the hell…?”

I can’t quite understand.

Does it make sense that the Archdiocese and the Holy Office do not help when a priest who follows the will of God is in danger of dying due to the evil laws of the world?

No matter how scared you are… If the two archdioceses and the Seonghwangcheong join forces, teaching humility and common sense to an illegitimate child born without God’s permission would be a piece of cake…!

“Damn… This shouldn’t be…!”

If by any chance a brother in Dijon dies, things in the future will be greatly entangled.

If the church becomes short of priests, the Seonghwangcheong will send a new person.

We must use any means to bring back the brothers who were taken to Dijon. Regardless of the means and methods.

Yes, if you gather all the nearby churches that have suffered damage from the governor’s tyranny and form a huge faction—

Kwaang!!

“Wow…?!”

The thought of the priest is no longer connected.

The priest was taken aback by the sudden huge roar and turned in the direction of the sound, where a strong backlight was pouring in through the wide open door.

In the backlight, countless human figures appeared, and eventually, those figures transformed into people and strode into the church.

They were each wearing bizarrely remodeled habit, but the atmosphere was so intimidating that it was impossible to talk about the bizarre habit.

“Dang, what are you guys?!”

“Jean Marc Martin, right?”

“Who are you— ah, no… No, not me.”

The priest is about to ask who you are looking for him, but when you intuit that something terrible is about to happen, he hurriedly turns away.

If it wasn’t for this kind of notice, I wouldn’t have come this far.

“No, hold on.”

“Yes.”

Of course, that lie is futile.

If you’re going to lie, do it properly, hesitantly avoiding your gaze while trembling like that is practically no different from a confession.

“I am 42 years old, and since I took office as a priest at the age of 30, I have amassed all sorts of unjust wealth through bribery and embezzlement… Right?”

“Unreasonable riches… I don’t like that– ㄲ, ughguk…!”

The priest, who was making excuses with a bewildered face, is unable to say anything when his fists are slammed into his stomach.

In an instant, his legs loosen up and his back muscles relax, but he doesn’t fall to the floor because of the strong men who hold him tight. The priest hangs limp like laundry on a pole.

“This bastard is taken to the prison in the Government-General’s Office. And now, this church, which has no owner, is placed under the direct control of His Majesty until a proper successor is determined.”

“I came to Caroling and looked at so many churches, but it’s very sad that there are so few churches that are in good condition.”

“Not everyone was like this from the beginning. It’s just… The environment was bad.”

“As expected, many theologies learned in college are far from reality.”

The Inspectors of Faith, advised by Jeanne and founded by Armand, greatly lament that there is no normal church in Carolingian.

“Isn’t everyone nice though?”

“What?”

“There are many hypocrites to beat.”

“Kuh, that’s right.”

However, that lament soon turns into dangerous and exhilarating joy.

Due to the nature of the Faith Inspection Corps, which are sent far outside, each inspector must have the quality to not break their will despite the conciliation and pressure of external forces.

In other words, all of the Faith Inspector Corps here have received severe mental training in that way, almost brainwashing.

It is very heartbreaking to see priests in Carolingian lose their true faith and become corrupted, but it is very rewarding, beautiful, and truly for God to beat such corrupt hypocrites. How could the Carolingian churches be saddened by their depravity?

“For the Lord.”

“And for Your Majesty.”

…………

“Your Majesty, the work of stabilizing the Church in the Carolingian Kingdom and the newly incorporated Rothaling Kingdom is nearing completion.”

“Good work, Armand. It’s completely your territory, but I hope you will let me know in advance from next time.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. My mind is too advanced, stop…”

“Stop talking without heart.”

Are you sure you don’t know that I deliberately omitted the report for fear of encroaching on the church’s territory?

I’ve felt this guy since the coronation ceremony, but he keeps scratching my nerves in strange parts.

For now, since he is loyal to me, diligently manages the church territories in the country, and handles the Seonghwangcheong and Archdiocese very well, I’m going to move on, but if I keep doing this, it’s difficult.

“Kheum, first of all, I will inform you of the current situation. More than 70% of the church territories in the Carolingian Kingdom and the New Rotaring Kingdom have been judged to be corrupt, and we are in the midst of cleaning up those churches.”

“…Purification? Are you talking about thanking and expelling a corrupt priest or something like that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Look, no matter how twisted he is, he’s so good at his job that he can’t be quick to touch it.

“Most of the clergy were dispatched directly from the Holy Hwangcheong, did the Holyhwangcheong say anything?”

“Seonghwang, who has not yet recovered his health, is lying in bed in a hemiplegic state, and because of that, he seems unable to properly judge and respond. For Seonghwang, setting up a substitute seems to be an unthinkable option.”

After Seonghwang realized that the bishops and cardinals had come together to end the holy war, he was greatly shocked and could no longer recover his former health. At first glance, it is literally no different from a living corpse.

Even Seonghwang has a lifelong tenure, so no matter how bad Seonghwang’s health is, it is impossible to retire. As a result, Seonghwangcheong is not functioning properly.

“That’s too bad.”

“Still, it’s the best opportunity for our Rotaring. Due to Seonghwang’s hemiplegia, Seonghwangcheong suffered brain palsy, and because of that, he can’t react properly to whatever Rotaring does.”

“…?”

What is it?

Armand’s reaction is too… Rougher than I thought.

As a human being, I felt sorry for Seonghwang, who became hemiparalyzed for nearly 4 years, and said that he felt sorry for him.

What are you talking about, first of all you’re a bishop.

Seonghwang has been doing that for 4 years as a bishop, but rather than having compassion for Seonghwang, he thinks more about how to benefit Rota Ring?

Uh…

“Armand.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“…Work hard.”

“I will.”

It’s a bit broken, but there’s nothing good to pick up, so I’ll just skip it.

In addition, the priests who are easily affected by the Seonghwangcheong are not working for the Seonghwangcheong, but for me, so there is no reason to stop them.