Chapter 262 (1/2)
The day after the big party.
What happened at the banquet hall the day before had already spread all over the capital before noon.
Whether it was a salon, where the nobles gathered, or the pub of the commoners, the story was the same.
“The pope started a banquet?”
“It was a victory celebration party, where donations were collected from the priests and nobles, so they could help the soldiers and the people who suffered from the civil war.”
“Oh! Such banquets should be opened whenever possible!”
“Yeah! That is what should be done!”
The people gathered, raising their glasses as high as they could, praising the pope.
At that time, a handsome man with a dissatisfied expression opened his mouth.
“Rather than that, the pope danced at the banquet! No, I don’t get it. Can a godly apostle perform such an apostle act?”
With those words, the people became silent for a while and then chatted away again.
“Obviously, she can dance, so what?”
“Yeah, was it ever written in the scriptures that angels aren’t supposed to dance?”
“I feel like she is trying to be human? Isn’t that okay?”
While the commoners were concentrating on the dancing issue, the nobles focused on analyzing the pope’s intention for her recent actions and the future political situation.
“The acts of Viscount Lev are obviously intentional.”
“It doesn’t seem like he had done it all alone… Was Arch Duke Gregory behind it too?”
After all, unlike Luke’s concern, there was very little criticism on the pope’s dancing.
Only a few conservative narrow-minded priests and enthusiastic followers of Veronica III made a fuss saying ‘An apostle of God isn’t is supposed to act like this!’.
The capital’s streets were all very noisy.
Constantine, who was offended with Reina’s act the day before, went to meet Reina.
“Holy Pope, why are you behaving like this these days?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you being motivated by that mercenary?”
She overruled his decision and gave Lev a title and an estate. Along with those, she went dancing with him at the banquet and showed affection toward him.
Her doubtful and suspicious behavior had been happening often, so he couldn’t help but ask. However, Reina didn’t seem to be flustered with his question.
“What will you do if that is the case, and what would you do if it isn’t the case?”
“Holy Pope!”
“Wasn’t it the words of the Regent. He is God’s Warrior. Do you think that it is strange of me to see him like that?”
“That…”
Constantine, who wasn’t able to answer Reina’s question and stiff response, took a moment and said, “It was just a story that I made to suppress the rebellion. Doesn’t God’s Apostle know this better than anyone that he isn’t any warrior?”
“…”
“He is a foreign mercenary and has nothing to do with our denomination, and the Holy Pope is obliged to be chaste as the representative of our God El Kassel. It is unfair to fall in love.”
At those words, Victor who was right behind Reina, frowned.
However, he didn’t step out of his role to defend her. Reina, who was reading scriptures before Constantine’s arrival, closed the book. She looked straight into his eyes and said, “And who said that? I have looked thoroughly in the scriptures, but there is nothing which says that I have a duty to keep my chastity.”
“T-that…”
In fact, there was no rule that could be found in any scriptures of El Kassel or the past saints regarding what Constantine said. They only expected men to control their desires but not prohibit them.
An unmarried status became a custom because it seemed to be favorable to perform the missions of God and devote themselves to the Empire that way.
“And the things about the duty to keep chastity, many high-ranking priests were secretly being helped by the men in the palace to given birth to their illegitimate children. Shouldn’t they be ripped and punished?”
Constantine went silent.
It wasn’t him, but he did know that high priests of most of the tribes, except for the Sanctity of Holiness, had secretly married and had children.
Small patriarch supported God and turned it into the Holy Empire. Long after, prosperity and political stability led to the corruption and depravity of the El Kassel sanctuaries.
Priests began to bring out their money and began to move with the priestess.
And women were recruited only with the intention of making illegitimate children.
At first, there were strong voices of criticism, but around 300 years ago, when the three tribes, including the Marius Faction, monopolized it, no one managed to change it after that.
Perhaps, from that moment…
God’s trust had never come to the sanctuary.
“T-that is just speculations in our denomination. The truth is…”
“Is it not the truth? Are you expecting me to believe those words? The words of a man who changes the words of God according to his wishes?”
Reina got up from her seat and shot back in a stern manner.
Constantine, not realizing it, stepped back. He could feel his heart freezing.
The pope, who was in front of him, wasn’t the same idiot girl, who kept referring to him as grandfather. He couldn’t even recognize her at this point.
Like the monarch of an empire, dignity could be felt from her.
“Let me make it very clear for you. I am no longer the old Veronica of Archbishop Constantine. I can now make my own decisions with my own heart, so the archbishop will now be stripped of his position and concentrate on working for the tribe.”