Chapter 249
Pope Clemens.
Sovereign of the holy city-state of Demesa, where the Main Temple was situated, and the man behind the astonishing miracle of healing hundreds without physical contact.
The monastery in the Kingdom of Cloren where I’d been hiding was very far from Demesa, located at the heart of the continent, but even so, rumors about the Pope trickled in from time to time.
They were along the lines of ‘He visited such-and-such city on an official tour and performed this particular miracle.’
Still, amid all of that, no one ever commented on the Pope’s appearance.
Well, he was the Pope, so it did make sense.
Just as no one remarked on the physical appearance of God, the same applied to the Pope. Naturally, being human, people were privately curious. But the atmosphere hardly permitted anyone to voice it.
You’d instantly be met with looks of impiety or criticisms of being too worldly.
The prohibition against creating religious statues or sacred paintings also played a role. Because the Church’s policy was as such, portraits of the Pope, saints, or holy figures never circulated like charms among the populace.
‘Apparently the new Pope is younger than his predecessor.’
During my years at the monastery, that was the extent of what I’d heard about the Pope’s personal details.
In a different sense, I too had no interest in the Pope’s appearance. In my mind, the image of “the Pope” was firmly fixed as a kindly, elderly grandfather.
Had he been one of the male protagonists of A Night of Entwined Serpents, I might have paid closer attention, but that wasn’t the case.
‘Even so, I feel like a character matching that description did appear in the novel somewhere.’
I could have confirmed it by asking Vivian, but she was quite far away at the moment.
And with the Pope standing before me, having come looking for me, for whatever reason, this was hardly the time to be doing other things.
“I determined this was the only way,” Pope Clemens answered Lionel. “To protect the saintess whom God Himself revealed through divine revelation.”
I had to fight to keep the surprise from showing on my face.
I had already known that if my abilities became widely known, the Church would undoubtedly venerate me as a saintess.
That was precisely why I’d only used my abilities as a healing priestess in front of anyone besides Lionel, Ardin, and Halid.
There was no possibility of the information having leaked.
The only person with even a remote chance was Ardin, but after I’d removed Felix’s mana, during the conversation that followed with Lionel, we had clearly settled that point.
Then what could it be?
‘There’s no way they’d call me a saintess just because I can perform advanced healing.’
Had God truly revealed me through divine revelation?
“A saintess? Surely you don’t mean my wife.”
Lionel asked, his head tilted slightly.
“You occupied the area surrounding the monastery in the Kingdom of Cloren and took the saintess away through near-coercive means. After confining her in your manor in the Lubarque Empire’s Imperial Capital, you restricted even her freedom to go outside. Such a marriage is tantamount to abduction and is null and void under canon law.”
The Pope’s declaration froze the air around us.
Sensing the gravity of the atmosphere, Halid and Ardin came over and took their places beside Lionel.
Dantère, reading the room, also brought Vivian along and inched closer behind us.
I wanted to tell him none of that was true, but could I?
Uncertain whether I should step forward, I poked Lionel’s waist with my finger, and his gaze dropped instantly to me.
A faint smile settled over his cold, rigid expression.
“It’s all right. Nothing to worry about.”
Immediately after saying that, Lionel drew his sword.
“L-Lionel…?”
He’s the Pope! Is it really all right to just…?!
Naturally, the holy knights who served the Pope drew their swords in unison, and the Luanax knights likewise formed a protective circle around us and braced for battle.
“When words can reach someone, persuasion is best. When money can solve the problem, money is best. But when the other party is beyond either approach, there’s nothing to do but resort to other means.”
Lionel had gathered his forces to overthrow the Lubarque Imperial Family, the cancerous growth of this world.
