novelraw Chapter 95: What Do You Take the Dignity of the Holy See For? (1)
Chapter 95: What Do You Take the Dignity of the Holy See For? (1)
Chapter 95: What Do You Take the Dignity of the Holy See For? (Part 1)
👹
“I…”
Duke Ous felt cold sweat trickle down his back beneath the weight of the Pope’s questioning.
Never, even in his darkest imaginings, had he expected to be cornered like this.
In his mind, the new Pope was little more than a timid figure—capable enough to manage the Holy See’s daily affairs, but young, inexperienced, and easily manipulated. All it usually took was a show of “reason” and a bit of pressure, and she would invariably fold, meekly promising to bear all responsibility herself.
If not for the risk that pushing too far might unite the other Grand Commanders against him for the sake of the Holy See’s dignity, he would have long since found a way to reclaim every privilege the nobility had lost.
And yet—here and now—not only had this Pope suddenly grown a spine, she’d even found a loophole and used it to turn the tables on him.
“There’s nothing to explain. I simply came to invite Commander Alfron to discuss sending supplies to the front lines,” Duke Ous replied, forcing composure into his tone, speaking slow and steady.
He still tried to maintain his footing, but without realizing it, he had shifted from aggressor to the defensive.“That the cult of the Evil God attacked was mere coincidence. Or perhaps it was Viscount Montoya who leaked our whereabouts—who can say? After all, if he managed to escape the royal dungeons, he must have had some unusual tricks up his sleeve.”
“But Your Holiness, are you now trying to shirk responsibility with such arguments? Just now, you declared you would bear it all. Are you thinking of going back on your word?”
Duke Ous struggled to regain the initiative.
But before he could finish, the Pope answered without hesitation.
“Go back on my word? No. The Holy See will bear whatever responsibility is ours to bear.”
“Eliminating traitors and rooting out those among humanity who collude with the cult of the Evil God—that, too, is my duty as Pope.”
It was as if she had anticipated his every move.
Veya’s questioning was calm and unhurried, her composure devoid of any trace of naivety.
“Just as I am doing now.”
“I am… shouldering that responsibility.”
Nearly every word Duke Ous uttered was already written in the letter she held. All she had to do was read them aloud in the Pope’s voice, without the need for improvisation. It was almost laughably easy.
“Is Your Holiness suggesting I have colluded with the cult of the Evil God?” Duke Ous demanded. “Even for a Pope, to slander a Duke of the Empire so recklessly is beyond outrageous! How dare you make such baseless accusations!”
No—this was spiraling out of control.
Eyes wide, Duke Ous barked his protest, trying to reassert the pressure that had always worked before.
But for Pope Selena, now armed with her “reference book,” such attacks were trivial.
“I… shouldn’t be suspicious?” Veya glanced at the next highlighted line in the letter, then looked up and spoke, her voice slow and clear.
“While Commander Alfron was a guest at your manor, the cult of the Evil God just happened to launch an attack. Viscount Montoya, whom you had taken into custody, was not only spared execution, but later led cultists in an assault on the Imperial Capital’s Academy of Magic.
“And then, Duke Ous, you were the very first to come to me, demanding the same search privileges as the Judgement Knights to hunt down cultists.
“Once might be coincidence. Twice, perhaps another coincidence. But three times, four times… As Pope, I cannot help but suspect that all of this traces back to a certain duke.”
Her golden, sacred eyes sharpened into crystalline blades, piercing straight through him.
In that instant, every clue fell into place.
It was as if the entire chain of events had been mapped onto a sand table—an all-encompassing projection, replaying and connecting every incident before their eyes.
“To secure control over logistics and the right to conduct searches,” Veya continued, her voice unwavering, “you first used Viscount Montoya to smuggle cultists into the city. Then, under cover of night, you orchestrated simultaneous attacks on both Commander Alfron and the Imperial Academy of Magic.
“If even half your plan had succeeded—if a Grand Commander was lost, or if vital supplies failed to reach the front lines—it would have dealt a grievous blow to the Holy See. Don’t you find it all just a little too convenient?”
Her golden eyes seemed to blaze with radiant light.
The vast council chamber, filled with the echo of sacred chants, now felt utterly enveloped by an overwhelming divine presence.
The nobles who had accompanied Duke Ous—those who had come intending to coerce the Pope for their own gain—were left reeling. Confronted with such flawless logic, they found themselves speechless.
It was as if their very souls had been laid bare, panic rising as the Pope’s gaze saw straight through them.
“This is slander! Utter, baseless slander!” Duke Ous bellowed, desperate. If this continued, he would lose control of the room entirely.
He met that holy, soul-piercing gaze and raised his voice, hoping to rally the other nobles, to break the suffocating pressure.
“Oh? Slander, you say?” Veya replied, her tone icy calm.
But even this last-ditch effort was doomed to fail.
Veya had never realized that dealing with these nobles could be so effortless.
She looked down upon them from her seat of power, her authority radiating unmistakably.
A brilliance, overwhelming and absolute, seemed to flood the entire hall in a single instant.
It was a sanctity so pure, so flawless, that it left no room for doubt. Waves of sacred energy rippled through the air, a gentle warmth enveloping every person present, transforming the already solemn hall into something even more awe-inspiring—almost unearthly.
Pope Selena sat simply at the highest seat.
She spoke slowly, but now every word carried overwhelming weight.
In that moment, it was as if she had become one with the goddess herself, her plainest words radiating the unshakable authority of the Holy See’s supreme leader.
“As Pope, I now suspect you of colluding with the cult of the Evil God.”
“You call this slander?”
“Then… prove your innocence.”
How am I supposed to prove that now?!
Duke Ous couldn’t help but stumble back half a step.
Faced with Pope Selena’s pointed accusations, he could find no words to refute her.
After all, her deductions were frighteningly accurate—almost precisely matching his own schemes.
Whether it was orchestrating the death of the Grand Commander of the Retribution Knights or attacking the Imperial Academy of Magic, every move had been designed to claw back the noble privileges that had once been lost.
If he’d succeeded, his prestige among the nobility would have soared to heights no other duke could hope to match.
He would have become the Empire’s unrivaled pillar, adored and supported by the entire aristocracy.
And yet now, the Pope—whom he had always dismissed as weak and easily manipulated—stood before him with a resolve he could hardly believe.
Did she possess some irrefutable evidence? Had Viscount Montoya been captured alive?
Otherwise, how could she possibly possess such confidence—such unyielding strength to speak to him this way?
“Your Holiness, what is the meaning of this?” Duke Ous demanded, his voice brittle.
“Are you truly planning to act against me here in the Holy See, based on nothing but suspicion? Is this how you treat a Duke of the Empire? Is the dignity of the nobility to be so insulted? Do you realize what it means to raise your hand against one of humanity’s own?”
If a duke could be condemned and executed on the basis of a few careless words, it would be no different from declaring war on the Empire itself!
He could no longer threaten her, but at the very least, he could invoke the weight of the Empire to remind her of her limits.
“And what of the dignity of the Holy See? Is that yours to trample as you please?” Selena answered, her voice ringing out.
Vast, sacred power surged behind her, forming in an instant.
Duke Ous stared in disbelief as halos of brilliant, sunlike light gathered behind her—an awe-inspiring sight he could never have imagined. Yet after entrusting everything to her husband, Lin Wei, Selena now, by his guidance, acted almost by instinct, unleashing this overwhelming aura.
“To act so wantonly in this most sacred of places—to bring a host of nobles and attempt to coerce the Pope?”
“The Holy See is the sacred institution founded by the Goddess Alicia herself. For thousands of years, it has stood as the goddess’s presence in the mortal world—the steadfast protector of humanity, warding off calamity.”
“And now, mere nobles of the Empire dare to question the Holy See, dare to question me, the Pope?”
From the radiant halos, golden blades of light began to take shape one after another, each one emanating a sacred, majestic brilliance of the purest order.
The terrifying surge of energy spread instantly throughout the hall, and even the clergy stationed at the doors felt the shift and turned their attention inward.
Almost at that very moment—
Countless knights stationed throughout the Holy See surged into the hall, drawn by the pulse of sacred power.
And what they saw left every one of them stunned: the Pope, whom they had always known as reserved and lacking in forcefulness, now stood at the center of the chamber, radiating a commanding presence, her tone ringing out with unwavering authority.
“So, as long as you twist reason to your side, you think you can run wild within the Holy See? Do you believe that being a so-called noble gives you the right to threaten the Pope with impunity?”
“And what if I suspect you of consorting with the cult of the Evil God? What if I believe you disrespect the Goddess—should I not strike you down right here?”
Countless blades of light trembled violently in the air.
Veya fixed her gaze on him, the sacred brilliance flooding the hall with crushing, inescapable pressure.
Her golden eyes, cold and unblinking, seemed capable of piercing through all falsehood.
Before the astonished eyes of every clergy member present, she spoke—her voice vast and frigid, echoing with a grandeur none had ever heard from her before.
“Duke Ous.”
“What, exactly… do you take the dignity of the Holy See for?”