Thought It Was ‘The End’, Only to Return to a Changed Genre - Chapter 195

The Pope passed away two days ago.

With the Founding Festival nearing its conclusion and the internal turmoil within the church still unresolved, the announcement of his death was postponed.

This was Edwin’s decision.

Normally, the church would have resisted any imperial intervention, claiming the imperial family had no right to interfere in their affairs. However, since most of the hardliners had been implicated in the recent attempt to assassinate the Saintess, there was no one left to voice opposition.

For Edwin, this was a fortunate turn of events.

He had always been wary of the church wielding excessive power, especially with the Saintess as their figurehead.

Historically, the Saintess appeared when purification was most desperately needed, and with her, the church’s influence inevitably grew.

However, the current Saintess was under the direct ‘management’ of the imperial family.

The empire asserted that the Saintess was not a cleric but a citizen of the Green Windsor Empire.

Technically, this was true, as the Saintess’s status was not created by the church, nor was she officially affiliated with it.

Still, historically, no matter which country the Saintess originated from, the church naturally assumed control over her.

The Saintess’s very existence was seen as a divine blessing, and most nations couldn’t hope to overpower a church determined to protect such a living relic.

However, the imperial family of the Green Windsor Empire actively asserted their rights over ‘Saintess Genevieve’.

Additionally, the ‘Protector’ of this generation was none other than Duke Blanchard, the noble closest to the imperial bloodline, ensuring the church couldn’t take her away.

During his lifetime, the late Pope had been fiercely obsessed with the idea that the church must fully possess the Saintess.

He had regarded it as a great humiliation that, unlike his predecessors, he couldn’t secure the Saintess for the church.

It’s said that before his death, he repeatedly declared his intent to have the Saintess succeed him.

This led certain factions to believe that they needed to intimidate the Saintess before his will could be made official, as it would otherwise be irreversible.

But none of this mattered to Genevieve.

Genevieve had little interest in the church’s affairs.

Her only priority was fulfilling Adeline’s last wishes, and like Shane, she left everything else to be dealt with by others.

Edwin had skillfully exploited this indifference to his advantage.

“During the investigation and judgment of those who tried to assassinate me, a movement arose within the church to make me the next Pope. It’s probably one of Edwin’s schemes.”

“He should focus on finding a bride for himself instead…”

“Exactly,” Genevieve said with a click of her tongue.

Even as he dealt with rejection from the brides he had gathered, Edwin never stopped scheming.

On top of that, he was continuing negotiations and protests with the Kingdom of Brubewein. One had to wonder if he ever found time to sleep.

“And thanks to that, they’ve started debating, without even asking me, whether the ‘Saintess’ has the qualifications to become the church’s leader. This happened even before you were poisoned, Lady Adeline.”

“You must have been busy…”

“I was. At that time, I honestly wanted to leave for the expedition as soon as possible.”

If the bracelet Genevieve had given Adeline didn’t break, Genevieve would have insisted on leaving for the expedition by any means necessary.

For Genevieve, fulfilling her duties as a ‘Saintess’ was enough.

“I’m really not someone suited for power.”

Genevieve spoke quietly.

“Even though His Highness Edwin had laid all the groundwork, he told me I could refuse if I truly disliked it. But in that case, he’d probably just install a puppet to manipulate as he saw fit. Honestly, that would’ve been more convenient for me, too…”

The claim that the Saintess lacked qualifications was absurd.

The church was a group that gathered to believe in and follow the Goddess, and the Pope was elected as the representative of humanity’s love for the Goddess.

Saying that the Saintess, chosen by the Goddess herself, lacked qualifications just because she didn’t hold an official position or title within the church was nonsensical.

But Genevieve didn’t care about any of that.

She neither needed nor sought the church’s approval or recognition.

To her, the debate about her qualifications was nothing but a joke.

Even Edwin had consulted her about her wishes, but the church had never asked her opinion, assuming she would naturally see it as an honor.

Adeline felt dizzy at the scale of the story she was hearing.

‘Have I been acting recklessly without realizing how terrifying these people truly are?’

It was in moments like these, hearing such stories, that she truly grasped the weight of their statuses, which she had only understood in theory until now.