Chapter 142

Proofreader: somnium

The next day, before sunrise, everything turned upside down.

First of all, the Guards appeared fully armed. Some joined the Knights of Evron and besieged the temple, while others took control of the environments of the capital.

Martial law was imposed and all traffic in and out the capital was controlled. Entry is completely forbidden.

The Central Army lit up lights everywhere, indicating that it was ready to move at any time.

The Emperor’s army did not hide what was going on.

The word ‘attempts to kill the imperial family’ and ‘treason’ spread across the capital in an instant.

Even before the sun came to the center of the sky, there was no one in the capital who did not know about it.

“Attemped murder on the imperial family? Who even rushed in to kill Lawrence?”

“Did you not see the paper today? Grand Duchess Evron almost had a miscarriage.”

“Huh.”

“It seems that Bishop Akim made her knelt on the cold stone floor for hours to confess her mother’s sins.”

“A pregnant woman?”

“I guess so. It is said that from the beginning, the Evron Grand Duchy was opposed to the Grand Duchess going to the temple.”

“I guess so. She’s pregnant. Besides, isn’t there only one descendant of the Evron Grand Duchy now, His Grace?”

“Still, the mother, whom she cut off ties with, is still her mother, and as Marchioness of Rosan, she was detained after going to the temple to cooperate and take responsibility for the Rosan mansion.”

“Hey, do you believe that? Anyway, it’s Grand Duchess Evron.”

“And how could the fair Bishop Akim have done that?”

“Uh-huh, I don’t know. My nephew went to the temple yesterday, and the bishop prevented the Knights of Evron from visiting the Grand Duchess, so it must have been a big fight.”

This kind of story was whispered.

“But when did Grand Duke Evron return?”

“Yesterday.”

“Then is the war over in the north?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never heard of such a story. But that must have been resolved, so he returned?”

“He may have come due to the news about the Dowager Marchioness Rosan. Did you forget what happened when the Grand Duchess was about to marry?”

Last year’s events were repeated again. Cedric’s involvement in the trafficking of Baron Yetz was also told.

“Will Grand Duke Evron be involved again this time?”

“Can I trust Grand Duke Evron? He handled it fairly last time, but this time his wife and child are at stake, as you can see from the fact that he brought up the charge of treason.”

“They almost killed the imperial family, so it’s treason.”

“Is he going to let Miraila go like this? Considering Grand Duke Evron, would he still be able to do it harshly? No matter how bad the relationship is, she’s his mother-in-law.”

“Hey, would Grand Duke Evron just let her go?”

“There’s a saying about consideration, right?”

“Anyway, just wait. I’m sure there’s an answer. If it’s Grand Duke Evron, he surely would answer to this.”

People’s opinions were all divided.

In fact, the content that every newspaper frantically printed that morning contained the works of Hayley and Freil.

Hayley wrote the article almost directly. Still, Freil was a bit dumbfounded himself.

Freil said.

“It’s not wrong. It’s all true that Her Grace went to cooperate when the vassals said that she didn’t have to do this, that they made her stay in the monk’s room, and that she was forced to kneel in the cold prayer room to repent when she was pregnant. Miss Hayley slept on the floor after all.”

“It would be a lie to say there was a miscarriage risk.”

“It’s not entirely a lie. A weak person like Her Grace passed out like that, and it is surprising that the baby was unharmed.”

“That’s true, too. Anyone who knows her well will be amazed.”

Hayley let out a deep sigh.

“At least, Her Majesty the Empress will be baffled.”

“Because I wrote only the facts and not about the mindset.”

Freil laughed.

Announcing the situation publicly like this would be something Artizea didn’t want very much.

But the case has already grown too big. The Central Army is on alert, and even the Guards are monitoring the capital without pauses.

Therefore, it was better to publicize why this happened and make it clear.

“It is better to overheat. We have to bring the atmosphere here all at once.”

“It wasn’t planned, but I knew it was a good opportunity.”

“Now we must defeat Bishop Akim and break the hands and feet of Grand Duke Roygar.”

Freil said firmly.

“If Her Grace had been awake, she would have done so.”

Hayley couldn’t deny that.

＊＊＊

The first public appearance of Brother Colton was on a forest road near the temple blocked by the Knights of Evron.

So it was as if he reached the temple as soon as he returned from the west. The reason he entered the residence of Grand Duke Evron was a complete secret.

In the temple, all the bishops of the capital had gathered and held meetings. Brother Colton went straight to the council of bishops.

“It has been many years since this old man decided to take off his embroidered belt and become feet that tread the earth instead of being glorious hands. However, I had a small relationship with Her Grace, Grand Duchess Evron, and I also spent quite a long time with her lady-in-waiting, so I came to say a word.”

He made eye contact with each of the bishops presented at the meeting and said so.

“It is good that the authority of the temple rises. It’s good to scare them of the temple taboos. It is also true that this is an effective punishment, and that the Dowager Marchioness Rosan is a symbol of this fallen age.”

“…….”

“But let’s not look away. We all know what made this thing so big. Bishop Akim’s greed has gone too far.”

“Then, how do you think you should end this situation?”

“Let’s do what we have to do. Hold the heresy trials, excommunicate, and warn believers. Let’s spread the right teaching and stop the wrong doings.”

Brother Colton said strongly.

“Isn’t that enough? It’s good to go out and join the people for what’s right. That’s what a priest should do.”

“Brother Colton.”

“But it is not the priest’s duty to fan the crowds by plotting or devising. You must not sell the name of God to get more money.”

“…….”

“Why did the temple leave the world? God’s authority and glory is always there, whether the temple is high or low, people believe or not. It is the greed of the temple, not the will of the gods, that the temple wants to be respected by others.”

Brother Colton drew a signal.

“God himself watches over the world, and does his will. Sometimes he sends down his hand, and sometimes he sends down his word, and the temple only has to help his hand and his word, and to preserve and spread his teachings.”

The bishops agreed with Brother Colton.

In fact, not everyone agreed with Brother Colton’s words.

However, through the letter that Bishop Nikos received, they were well aware of the situation.

Artizea collapsed while pregnant, and Cedric witnessed the scene firsthand. And the movement of the guards was serious.

They were bound to be entangled in treason. The whole temple wouldn’t be a suspect, but one or two people put together could be enough.

That must have been what the Emperor wanted.

Archbishop and Bishop Nikos, who were originally moderate, already wanted reconciliation when Cedric intervened.

Moreover, even the bishops who supported Akim knew that it was time to step back.

A temple must not covet secular power. What could be a better cause than this?

Assuming that Bishop Akin was handed all the responsibility and Brother Colton returned and changed the course of the temple, the temple would be able to get out of this incident naturally without much loss of its face.

It was thought that the protesters’ backlash could be calmed down to some extent by Brother Colton.

Even within the temple, there were many members among ordinary monks and lower priests, who were angry and opposed to the actions of the Knights of Evron.

However, things quickly calmed down when Brother Colton returned and took over the heresy interrogation instead.

Of course, there was backlash. Brother Colton is involved in Artizea’s rebirth project. They had doubts as to whether he would be able to interrogate fairly.

Amalie visited the temple as a mediator early the next morning.

“Neither the imperial family nor the Evron Grand Duchy intend to deny the fact that the Dowager Marchioness Rosan committed heresy.”

“Then what are you going to do? Are you saying that this siege of the temple and intimidation by force has nothing to do with the Dowager Marchioness Rosan?”

Bishop Nikos asked. Amalie said slowly.

“From the beginning, heresy, human trafficking, and attempted murder are separate sins. It is heresy that the temple will interrogate and punish, while human trafficking and attempted murder should be punished under the national law.”

“That’s true.”

“The part where the protesters are demanding strong punishment is strictly on the side of human trafficking rather than heresy. Bishop Akim made it look like all charges should be punished in the temple with his skillful speech.”

Words like curses and magic are provocative. Much less the fact that the Emperor’s mistress was going to make human sacrifices to curse his wife touched the public’s heart.

However, strictly segregated, few people believed that such a curse would really be a sin.

Because it was considered a foolish superstition.

“The heresy side will be left to the heresy trial of the temple as it is. However, human trafficking and attempted murder will be brought to a formal trial in accordance with national law.”

“Yes. That’s reasonable.”

To Bishop Nikos, who was relieved, Amalie added firmly.

“And there’s one thing that was at risk because of the temple, Grand Duchess Evron and her descendant in her womb.”

“…….”

“I also want to ask Bishop Akim for his interpretation of violating the laws of the country. This is the will of Grand Duke Evron.”

The temple that had been noisy all day calmed down with it.

Because they made it clear that Cedric wasn’t going to attack the entire temple.

Moreover, what Amalie conveyed was not far from what Brother Colton had argued at the bishops’ meeting.

Above all, several priests had seen Artizea collapsed and carried away by Cedric.

A lot of people felt that something was wrong.

***

It was none other than Grand Duke Roygar who responded most quickly to this situation.

“Bishop Akim is now finished.”

Grand Duke Roygar stayed up all night with Marchioness Camellia and several of his men.

The news came before dawn that day that the Emperor had issued a decree for Cedric to punish the treason.

The imperial decrease gave him almost limitless powers. From the moment the word treason appears, neither the temple nor the law of the country affects anything.

Grand Duke Roygar regretted it.

He never thought that Artizea would be pregnant.

He wasn’t suspicious of the marital relationship or had any other reason.

It was because Artizea acted too carelessly for a Grand Duchess who was pregnant with her first heir.

From the forced marching down from the north to the Empress’ birthday, weren’t there too many things for a woman in the early stages of pregnancy to do?

If it were Cedric, he would never have let her work so much.