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Episode 136: Spread the Word (XIII)
“Wait a minute. This song… it can’t be… the current saint is a fake… Did I understand correctly?”
Although the song’s lyrics were deliberately twisted metaphorically, the insightful Hugo immediately understood what was hidden within them.
“Yes.”
Hugo’s eyes widened in amazement, knowing full well that Deheen was not the kind of person who jokes around.
“So it is.”
As soon as he heard that the saint was a fake, the series of unfortunate events made sense.
“…It was strange that monsters had appeared in the borders, and also, the spread of a never-seen-before contagious disease.”
“It’s all because the fake pretended to be real.”
Loud and clear, Dennis declared so.
Hugo looked at Dennis, finding his behavior cute, and sighed deeply.
“We can’t leave the matter as it is, but… Does Your Grace, by any chance, know who the real saint is?”
“We’ll talk about that later.”
“All right.”
Turning active, Hugo asked if it would be better if they officially revealed that the saint was a fake.
“That’s not enough.”
Simply bringing down Rabienne would not be revenge.
There was the intention to make the people of the empire hate her, who was the culprit of the current situation where the disease was rampant.
“And Duke Brions must be behind the fake.”
The influence of the four great families was very great.
To break that and prove that Rabienne is a fake, Esther must be brought to the fore, but Deheen didn’t want to do that.
“If so, it would be best to spread rumors first.”
“Yes. Give the song to at least ten people, excluding your men.”
All of Deheen’s vassals were given the same orders.
“I will.”
The lyrics were metaphorical, so it was not burdensome. Plus, it was surprisingly easy to hum, so it caught on quickly.
Hugo joked that the song would spread like a popular song as he making his way to the door. But he stopped halfway and turned around.
“Your Grace, there will not be an all-out war with the temple, right?”
“Well. What do you think? Do you think we’ll win if we fight?”
With a glint in his eyes, Deheen smiled at Hugo’s question, not denying it.
Thinking of what they had done to Esther, he wanted to wipe them out right away.
“The answer is obvious. Defeat doesn’t exist for our knights.”
Hugo’s strong fighting spirit contrasted with his wistful tone.
“I will increase the intensity of training. I will do whatever Your Grace wishes.”
“Let the song spread well.”
Showing strong loyalty, Hugo smiled meaningfully and left the meeting room.
“Father, we will go as well.”
“Call us whenever you need us again.”
Having successfully taught the song to Hugo, who was the last to come, left the meeting room with a pouch full of money from Deheen.
“It ended sooner than I thought.”
“It’s all thanks to the young masters’ enthusiasm.”
Burying himself deep into the sofa, Deheen rubbed his knotted shoulders.
While saying that he had a hard time, Ben poured Deheen a cup of hot black tea to drink.
“How long do you think it will take for rumors to spread?”
“Considering the number of vassals and children in the territory… Three weeks? Wouldn’t three weeks be enough?”
“It will be a long wait.”
Hearing a clamor coming from outside, Deheen turned his head and looked out the window.
The twins who had just ran out were joining Esther, who was playing with Cheese in the yard.
Seeing that, a smile naturally formed on Deheen’s lips.
“Your Grace, I have scheduled an appointment next week with Duke Brions”
“Good.”
The smile was for a mere while.
At the mention of ‘Brions’, Deheen’s eyes narrowed fiercely.
His hands, as he slowly lifted the teacup and drank from it, were full of strength, to the point where the veins stood out.
Since then, rumors about the fake saint have spread incredibly fast throughout the empire.
In the streets of Tersia, just as Hugo had predicted, Jerome’s song became very popular.
And like a fire that started to spread wildly, it became out of control.
“Did you all hear? That song.”
“Yes. It says that the saint is a fake?”
“You should say something that makes sense.”
Now, whenever people gather in twos and threes, they bring up this story.
It was easy to find people debating the authenticity of the song.
“If we don’t believe in the temple, who will we believe in? Don’t doubt the saint.”
If there were people who unconditionally advocated for Rabienne…
“Why? A disease is spreading. It might be real.”
“That’s right. Why is there suddenly a disease? Everyone is hushing it up, but I’ve heard that quite a few people have already died.”
…There were also those who believed that Rabienne was a fake and that the epidemic appeared because of it.
Moreover, a rumor that no one expected was added.
“By the way, I heard that the real saint is in Tersia?”
“Oh? I heard that too.”
A story about a real saint.
It was a rumor that arose from the words of the people who had seen Esther actively working in the shelter.
Both inside and outside of Tersia, there were many people who praised Esther.
—A child of light who is fair to everyone and treats any disease without any cost.
“I saw it myself. When she treated me, there were flashes of light around her.”
“That’s why she is a child of light.”
Unbeknownst to Esther herself, there was even a great nickname attached to her.
Rumors that the grand ducal family thought would take three weeks to spread reached the central temple in just one week.
And as a result, the council of elders, the head of the temple, was secretly convened.
A week later.
In the deep cave near the central temple, masked people gathered one after another.
The number of people who found their seats at the big round table was close to twenty.
The council of elders, which was rarely convened as it was only for major matters, comprised of qualified high priests and priests, even those who had retired due to old age.
The last time they were called up was right before Rabienne was appointed a saint.
It was the first time that a meeting had been called again in such a short period of time.
Rabienne was absent from this meeting. Of the current high priests and priests, only Lucas and Kyle were able to attend.
“Have you all heard the rumors?”
“Isn’t that why we got together like this?”
The elders gathered in one place lamented and clicked their tongues.
“The status of the temple has fallen to the ground. How embarrassing.”
“I heard there are a lot of sick patients near the temple?”
“Yes. It’s not uncommon to hear that there are corpses lying on the streets.”
The sighs of the elders over the round table did not stop.
They were also confused because an epidemic that had not existed for hundreds of years had arisen.
“I am worried about the people of the empire. Most won’t be able to get proper treatment…”
“It shouldn’t be like this, but whether it’s the holy water or the holy flowers, shouldn’t they be quickly distributed?”
“You’re right. We have to all live together. The temple exists only by the people of the empire.”
The elders all agreed they must prevent the situation from getting worse.
Then Kyle stammered in a small voice.
“I… I am ashamed, but… holy flowers are already being sent.”
“What? Where?”
“It’s distributed to the temples in small amounts, and the central temple is also using it, but there is not enough…”
Due to the insufficient amount of holy flowers, they were not properly supplied.
Moreover, it was already difficult to treat the nobles rushing in, so it could not be used on commoners.
However, the reason of not having enough holy flowers only created more doubts.
“Is the saint’s divine power very weak? To the point where she can’t grow holy flowers?”
“Even after releasing the holy flowers, the number of patients near the central temple and in the territory controlled by the temple is the highest.”
Silence momentarily passed.
“How can this be?”
“Rather, the areas where the temples were closed are said to have entered a stable state.”
“It’s said the imperial family is managing it…”
“I don’t know what the plan was, but the situation certainly doesn’t make sense.”
An epidemic following the closure of over twenty temples. On top of that, there were rumors that the saint was fake.
“This is the worst crisis in the history of our temple.”
No one could argue with this statement.
Indeed, all the elders thought the current situation was dangerous for the temple.
Kyle and Lucas, who attended on behalf of the current high priests, were embarrassed. They could not even raise their heads. They just kept looking at the floor.
“Ha. How did the temple’s authority get to this point?”
“This is why you have to be careful of the saint.”
But now, without hesitation, words blaming Rabienne came out.
‘These old people are like foxes.’
Lucas groaned and bit his lower lip.
When they had gathered to appoint Rabienne as a saint, they liked her smile and wanted to appoint her as soon as possible.
“Come on, shouldn’t we take future measures instead of doing this?”
Sharon, the only woman and the eldest member of the council of elders, interrupted the heated atmosphere by banging her fist on the round table.
“Godmother, what would be good?”
The woman whose age could not be guessed was called ‘Godmother’ by everyone.
“Well. The rumors are the biggest problem.”
At these words, everyone in the cave nodded their heads, embarassed.
“There seems to be talk of a lack of divine power even inside the temple. Is she really a saint?”
With a rapidly paling complexion, Lucas quickly took Rabienne’s side.
“Of course she is. The 15th saint. Isn’t the saint the only daughter of Duke Brions?”
“If she is really a saint, then the cause of the epidemic isn’t in the temple, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Sharon continued speaking, her eyes very clear and bright for her age.
“However, if a child who lacks qualifications was placed in the position of saint and caused an epidemic, it seems that not just one or two people should be held responsible for it.”
Kyle was conflicted about whether he should tell the truth now.
But Lucas shook his head, squeezing Kyle’s hand tightly.
“It could be that Goddess Espitos is angry.”
Sharon narrowed her eyes as she listened to the exchange of words among the elders.
On the face full of wrinkles, the ones around her eyes grew deeper.
After thinking for a long time, Sharon made a decision and drew everyone’s attention.
“She should take the qualifying exam.”
In an instant, a buzz spread around and reverberated through the cave.
“But… Godmother!”
“For someone who has already become a saint to take the qualification test again. It is an insult.”
Kyle and Lucas protested especially strongly, saying that this had never happened before.
However, Sharon, having already made up her mind, was firm.
“Isn’t it natural for a saint to take the qualifying exam? It’s just the order reversed.”
Originally, Rabienne should have taken the test beforehand, but they let it slide, believing she was the next saint as she was a child of the Brions family.
It was a practice of sorts, and Sharon regretted dismissing it. If she had known it would lead to this result…