CH 171

“He lost?”

Helmut anxiously wandered around his office inside the Vatican and murmured the same words over and over. He felt his own words to be unfamiliar—he couldn’t believe what had just been reported.

‘Barth Baltic lost? He really lost?’

Today was the day when the Order of the Capital and Barth Baltic returned to the holy city of Torra. It had only been a few days ago that Barth Baltic convened and led the army to the battlefield without consent from the Church, using his authority as the Regent. The number of troops he had managed to gather numbered three hundred thousand men—almost one third of the Imperial Army.

The fact that Barth Baltic was able to gather that many troops despite his deteriorating public opinion meant that he could have overturned the empire at any time had he wanted.

However, Barth had come back after being defeated. Such a fact was already hard to believe and understand, but there was something else that was even more difficult to understand—the three hundred thousand Imperial troops that Barth Baltic had convened came back with so few losses that it would be more accurate to call Barth Baltic’s return a withdrawal rather than defeat.

“Barth Baltic lost?”

“...The soldiers who witnessed everything reported that the Regent and the self-proclaimed emperor had a confrontation. The Regent decided to return after losing their confrontation.”

Helmut was dumbfounded and then burst out laughing upon hearing the Black Priest’s answer.

“But I heard that the enemies numbered less than thirty thousand? Besides, General Nienna hadn’t even arrived in time. Barth Baltic was leading a force over ten times bigger than the enemy, but he withdrew without even fighting? Then why did he even gather that many troops in the first place? That’s… no, no. There’s no point talking about what’s already done. Where is that bastard now?”

“It is said that the Regent has locked himself in the Citadel of Sun. I heard that the crowd is protesting in front of the Citadel.”

“Damn it.”

Helmut slumped onto the sofa. It wasn’t like Helmut had never considered Barth Baltic’s defeat. However, the possibility of him losing was infinitely small compared to the possibility of him returning in victory.

Above all, it would have been best for Barth Baltic to return victorious, since that would allow Helmut to have more time to anticipate and prepare what he needed to do in the future.

But now, the only future he could see was filled with chaos.

“What shall we do, Your Holiness?” the Black Priest asked anxiously with eyes filled with concern.

Helmut looked at the Black Priest with cloudy eyes. It was only natural for him to worry, since the self-proclaimed emperor who was now on his way to Torra was known to have killed quite a few Priests and Templars. It was clear that he was not favorable toward the Church.

Helmut pondered in silence, and then slowly opened his mouth.

“First of all, tell all the knight orders scattered all over the empire to return to the holy city of Torra as soon as possible. Also, order all clergymen above the rank of Priest to stay in the Vatican and prevent them from going out. And…”

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Helmut made a long thought-out decision—it was not something he wanted to do, since it was not favorable for him. However, he had no other choice.

“And the Regent has already confessed that he committed treason against His Majesty. He is no longer the Regent. I am using my authority as the Pope to deprive him of his position as the Regent and delegate the authority to command the Imperial Army to the Order of the Gold Lion that is currently guarding Torra. From this moment on, the command of the Imperial Army is held firmly by the Church. Go and detain Captain Pavan Peltere before the Order of the Capital can cause a backlash to this decision.”

The Pope gave instructions non-stop; he had to act quickly after hearing about everything that had happened.

The Black Priest gasped upon hearing Helmut’s orders. For the Church to hold the authority to command the Imperial Army was not something that could be taken lightly. The Church already had the power and authority of the emperor. Having the force of the Imperial Army on top of that would simply mean that the Church would hold the same amount of power as the emperor himself.

“Y-your Holiness. Would it be okay to do so without getting the consent of the House of Peers? Backlash would be inevitable since….”

It was then.

“There’s no need to rush, Helmut.”

***

The door of the office was slowly opened along with a heavy voice. A figure so huge that even the high office ceiling felt small walked into the office.

It was Barth Baltic.

Helmut clenched his teeth and glared at Barth Baltic—he looked completely fine for someone who had just returned from a life-or-death duel, except that he had shorter horns now.

“Regent. No, Barth Baltic. You insulted HIs Majesty, and so, you will never be welcomed nor forgiven anywhere within the empire. We had maintained a hostile coexistence relationship until now, but we can no longer continue to…”

“I remember the day that you were kicked out of the Imperial Army, Helmut.”

Helmut closed his mouth.

The Black Priest was perplexed upon hearing the unexpected story and pretended to be deaf.

The story that Helmut had once been a member of the emperor’s army was famous throughout the empire. However, the story of him being kicked out was unknown.

“Of course, I also remember when you were only an annoying young child who begged day and night just to join the army. I can see that you have not changed the slightest bit even though you’ve grown so old with wrinkles on your face.”

“Are you implying that I’m acting like an annoying child?”

“No.”

Barth Baltic picked up an apple that was placed on the table in the middle of the office and took a big bite.

“I’m talking about the way you are begging for your own destruction.”

Helmut was still glaring at Barth—there was no change in his expression.

“You had always been a troublemaker, even after you joined the army. You weren’t allowed to participate in the battles because you were too young, and so, you were given the duty of watching over the unarmed prisoners. But not only did you recklessly kill the prisoners, you also murdered an officer by arbitrarily holding a military trial just because he had missed the training.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“I’m the one who has been protecting you from back then all the way until now. The emperor often felt uneasy about you, but I was quite fond of your insane hatred toward people, your loyalty to His Majesty, as well as your dirty desire to rise to a higher status. We needed people like you back then. If it wasn’t for me protecting you, you would have been kicked out a long time ago.”

Helmut glared at Barth as if he wanted to kill him. His worship for His Majesty back when he used to be in the army had never been superficial. But just as Barth said, the emperor never liked him very much despite the fact that he had been shown more loyalty to the emperor than anyone else in the Imperial Army.

“I should have been the one next to His Majesty instead of an arrogant bastard like you. I have devoted my whole life to realize the values of His Majesty and protecting the empire that is his legacy! I am the representative of His Majesty!”

“You still think it was loyalty?”

Barth did not despise Helmut, nor was he annoyed by him. The only thing Barth felt for Helmut was compassion.

“What you did was nothing but blind obedience, Helmut. When a domestic dog kills a mouse or a bird, the owner is annoyed but can tolerate it. But when that dog kills the neighbor's livestock or a baby, the owner has to kill the dog. That’s why you were kicked out of the army, Helmut.”

“So what? The army didn’t mean anything to me in the first place! My life only began after getting kicked out of the army! It began with people who worshiped His Majesty and had the same thoughts as me. Even if His Majesty rejected me, I…”

Helmut gritted his teeth and snapped at Barth.

“...If I’ve always brought destruction upon myself, how did I rise from the position of a beggar to the Pope? I had no magic, no divine power, nor any glorious destiny. But you were able to maintain the empire and your position as the Regent only because of me. If you want to insult the boat I’m on, you should know that you’re on the same boat as well.”

“There’s nothing wrong about what you just said. It is true that I didn’t have the power to unite the empire on my own. I acknowledge your ability to seize the power and authority of the emperor to rule the empire. It wasn’t something that just anyone could have done.”

Barth Baltic nodded and admitted. However, he did not put away a sympathetic look on his face.

“But that’s also the reason for your self-destruction.”

“What’s your point?”

“I know your secret about the emperor’s assassination, Helmut.”

Helmut closed his mouth and glared at Barth.

Meanwhile, Barth was still standing there in a calm state.

“If you think that I didn’t investigate the case at all just because I myself was involved in the emperor’s assassination and cooperated with you to bring the empire under your control, you are mistaken. Helmut, I knew most of the situation all along,” Barth murmured as the corners of his lips curved up in a bitter smile.

“You’re right, Helmut. You and I are on the same boat—and we will sink together. After all, the person who is on his way to Torra right now is the real emperor.”

“What… How… No, I don’t believe you. His Majesty is sitting on the Eternal Throne within the Imperial Castle.”

“He will definitely come to Torra whether you want to believe it or not.”

Barth turned his back and headed out of the office. Before exiting, Barth opened his mouth as if he remembered something he had forgotten. “I will give up my position as the Regent on my own. I don’t know if you will be able to assign a new Regent before the emperor arrives, but there’s no need for you to kick Pavan out as well. He will eventually end up obeying the command system.”

“Why are you giving up so easily? Didn’t you want to kill His Majesty?”

“I sure did. There is no doubt that he is the real emperor, but he is a completely different man from before. He put his personal feelings and questions first before dealing with three hundred thousand Imperial soldiers. The emperor we knew wouldn’t have done that.”

“What the hell are you saying? Is he the emperor or is he not?”

“I’m saying that he is neither the emperor I remember nor you remember. I have already lost my reason to kill him at that point. I’ve only realized that after almost dying at his hands. The emperor I wanted to kill already died at the hands of Gerard Gain. The man on his way to Torra now is the ‘new emperor.’ Some people may not like that, but they’ll have to accept it.”

***

The emperor is coming.

Rumors swept throughout the holy city of Torra, the capital of the empire. The people were anxiously waiting for the return of the emperor with equal parts fear and excitement.

Meanwhile, the news of Barth Baltic’s defeat was enough to send many people who had been holding their breaths into motion all at once.

Heretia was the fastest to move. She has been preparing for this situation for a long time.

In the middle of the night, Heretia wore a deep hood over her face and entered a building. Inside the building, people from all walks of life were gathered—she had already contacted them in advance.

Heretia took out a map depicting the structure of the holy city of Torra from her pocket and unfolded it. Then she brought a glass lamp over it and covered the map with a red cloth.

Everyone’s mouth dropped wide open as the red color instantly disappeared on the map and a completely different map appeared.

Among those who were gathered, especially those with military knowledge, had a perplexed look on their faces.

“...This is…”

“Yes. This is a prediction of the type of plan Barth Baltic would have to use to take control of the holy city of Torra that was drafted by the Church.”

People looked at Heretia with shocked eyes, but Heretia simply shrugged her shoulders.

“The Church would always have had to be prepared for such a situation. It is only natural for them to be concerned about Barth Baltic trying to use the Imperial Army and the Order of the Capital to take control of the empire. I’m sure that there is no document more specific and accurate than this one since the Church would’ve drafted it with a good understanding of their own weaknesses.”

“But wouldn’t that mean that they are perfectly prepared for anything?”

“That would be true if the Regent had stayed the same. But now that the Regent is out of the picture, the Pope will definitely try to take control of the Imperial Army. I highly doubt he will care about this document.”

The uproar among the people began to grow. One could clearly see that the document was top secret—after all, it showed the secret passages connecting the Vatican to the Imperial Castle. There was no way that the Church would have handled such a document carelessly.

“How and where did you even…”

“Oh, don’t ask about that part.”

Then, one of the people carefully opened his mouth with a concerned look.

“The important question is, how to make use of this and implement our plan. We don’t have Barth Baltic’s power, the Order of the Capital, or the Imperial Army.”

“No.”

At that moment, two people who were standing in the dark took off their hoods.

“The Imperial Guards are with you all, and so am I.”

The two who revealed their faces were Ivy, the Saintess of the Church, and Lenly, the Captain of the Imperial Guards.