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Chapter 97: Address Her Holiness Properly, Grand Commander Meilin! (Bonus Chapter)
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Duke Ous and the assembled nobles slunk away, defeated and humiliated.
The overwhelming aura of holiness that had saturated the great hall gradually receded, leaving behind only the solemn dignity befitting the Holy See.
Yet the knights of the Holy See, who had streamed into the chamber, did not disperse alongside the nobles. Instead, they remained standing in place, as if waiting for something more, an unusual emotion flickering across each of their faces.
...Excitement? Elation? Inspiration?
Was it the act of rebuking those arrogant nobles—defending the honor of the Holy See—that filled these knights with such pride?
“Go on, return to your duties,”
Veya forced herself to suppress the surge of emotion within her, waving a hand to dismiss them.
She herself rose and made her way, unhurried, toward her office.Only when the corridors finally emptied and silence settled did the young secretary, who had trailed behind her, lose all composure.
Admiration blazed so brightly across her face that, even as someone trained to mask her emotions and remain calm, she could not hide it now.
Who could, at a moment like this?
“Your Holiness, you were incredible just now!!”
She stood by Veya’s side, her body trembling with excitement.
In that moment, she was utterly overcome.
“That’s the first time since I became your secretary that I’ve ever seen you scold a noble like that!”
"Wuu... Those despicable nobles have offended Her Holiness again and again. They should have been taught a lesson and kicked out of the Holy See long ago!"
"I never thought you’d finally do it today. This is how you ought to be!"
Even though she knew Her Holiness always had her reasons—to preserve the fragile balance between the Holy See and the Empire, to embody the light, mercy, and compassion of the Goddess Alicia—even so, when faced with these insufferable nobles, what they needed was a proper reckoning!
Inside, she cheered with unrestrained delight.
She’d always felt Her Holiness was far too patient, almost to a fault. Anyone who didn’t know better might think the Holy See was led by someone meek and soft-hearted.
And all those rumors from outside—calling her a "useless pope"—could never be properly refuted with force.
But now... now, finally, the chance had come!
From this day forth, let’s see who dares call Her Holiness a useless pope again. If they do, I’ll throw today’s events right in their faces and show them what happens when you cross the Pope!
"As Pope, how could I act recklessly in public?" Veya replied, her tone calm on the surface.
"It’s just that today, these nobles were clearly colluding with the cult of the Evil God. I had to put them in their place to uphold the dignity of the Holy See."
This feeling of putting those nobles in their place—so satisfying, so exhilarating!
Outwardly, Veya gave a composed response to her secretary, but inside, she was practically shouting with joy.
After two full years as Pope, today was, without a doubt, the happiest day of her entire tenure!
Ever since she’d been forced to take this seat, Veya had done everything she could to learn how to be a good Pope. She clung to her teacher’s words—“A Pope must never act on impulse. In all things, you must consider the bigger picture”—and tried to live by them.
There were times she was so angry she could hardly breathe, but even then, she couldn’t lash out at those infuriating bastards. Worse yet, she often found herself unable to out-argue those damned nobles, and, in order to preserve the Holy See’s authority, she’d have to shoulder all the blame herself.
Who would have thought there was a way to push back against the nobles like this—and even threaten them with holy light as she pleased?
Wuu... Lin Wei really is amazing!
Back when he was up north, what kind of adventurer was he, exactly? He understood the noble psyche so well—he practically predicted every word they’d say, and wrote out all the counterarguments in his letter.
It was so simple, Veya barely had to think—she just had to project the Pope’s authority and recite each line, one after another.
When she got home, she’d have to interrogate him thoroughly and give him a proper reward.
And next time something like this happened, she could just send the secretary to fetch help, couldn’t she?
“In any case, I think Duke Ous now understands the Holy See is not someone he can trifle with,” Veya said, her voice once more calm. “Soon, I’ll lead a delegation to demand the five million gold coin compensation. That should help ease the Holy See’s strained finances.”
“Oh, right—you wanted to send priests to the border to help the refugees, didn’t you? With this, we’ll finally have enough to buy medicine and hire adventurers to assist.”
The secretary’s eyes sparkled with joy, entirely unaware of the Pope’s inner thoughts.
Silent for so long, only to astonish everyone in a single moment—if that didn’t describe Her Holiness, what did?
She would make sure to record everything that happened today, to be included as a key chapter in “The Glorious Pope Selena and Her Trusty Assistant.”
“Five million gold coins will certainly go a long way toward stabilizing our finances,” Veya said, her tone gentle yet authoritative. “Now, Secretary, calm yourself, go home and get some proper rest. Once you’re refreshed and back at the Holy See, help me plan how best to allocate these funds.”
“Ah… Sorry, I got a little carried away.”
Miss Rennie gave a sheepish laugh, scratching her head before quickly forcing her usual calm expression back onto her face.
But beneath that composed façade, her clenched fists and sparkling eyes betrayed her excitement.
“I’ll head home now, Your Holiness.”
Truth be told, she was starting to feel truly exhausted.
After staying up all night, she hadn’t been in great shape to begin with. It was only the nobles’ visit—and the surge of righteous anger that followed—that had jolted her awake enough to help with the confrontation.
Now that everything was finally over, a wave of fatigue crashed down on her. Sleepiness seeped in, overwhelming any trace of lingering excitement.
“Go on, Miss Rennie,” Veya said gently. “Get some good rest.”
“Yes, Your Holiness!”
Rennie took a deep breath, summoned the last of her energy, and finally left.
Under the desk, Veya swung her legs with barely contained delight, already plotting how she’d interrogate Lin Wei the moment she got home.
To think he’d been hiding such talent all this time!
Hmph! She’d have to ask if he’d worked in a royal court somewhere before. With skills like that, why hadn’t he shown them earlier?
If only she’d brought Lin Wei to the capital right after they got married—maybe the last two years would have gone a whole lot smoother.
“Yes, Grand Commander Meilin!”
“Mm. Is Pope Selema in?”
“Her Holiness is inside.”
At that moment, familiar voices drifted in from outside the door.
Veya froze for a heartbeat, quickly schooling her features back into the stern composure befitting the Pope.
The very next second, Meilin strode in, her presence as commanding as ever.
She glanced at Selena, who sat behind her desk, her expression inscrutable and cold as marble.
Meilin’s brows drew together in irritation.
“Did Duke Ous come by just now to hold you accountable for the Evil God cult again?”
“Yes.”
Call me ‘Your Holiness’ properly, you brute! So disrespectful, talking to me like that!
“What did they want this time? Was it the right to search—like the Judgement Knights have?”
Meilin’s face was icy, her tone tense with urgency.
The moment she’d heard Duke Ous had come storming in, she’d rushed back to the Holy See, ready to clean up whatever mess he’d left behind.
Had she still arrived too late? Had those bastards already gotten what they wanted and left?
“And what did you say this time? Did you already agree to their demands?”
Knowing Selena’s temperament, Meilin could only imagine her giving the usual “The Holy See takes full responsibility” answer and then surrendering the rights they asked for.
Meilin’s irritation flared. This useless Pope—couldn’t she just hold out a little longer? Was it really so hard to wait for me to come back and handle things?
“Of course not.”
The answer brought Meilin up short.
Veya gazed at her coolly, her golden eyes still shining with that unyielding holy light.
But after a lifetime together, Meilin could instantly detect the faint, suppressed note of pride in her voice.
“And since when are mere nobles qualified to demand such rights from the Holy See?”
“I told them to get out—immediately.”