The priests, who had received sweet proposals, were sent back to their respective homes.
Suddenly facing a significant turning point in their lives, each of them fell into their own turmoil.
“Turning everything upside down? Is that even possible?”
“Carolus, you crazy bastard. Are you planning to foment a coup in the kingdom by declaring rebellion?”
Of course, it was a natural reaction. Since becoming clergymen, they had always lived by conforming and obeying the established system.
Now, Carolus was telling them to destroy it with their own hands—not just through a reform movement, but by risking their lives and resorting to force.
For priests who had never even undergone combat training, let alone engaged in lifelong battles, this was an exceedingly harsh trial.
However, their deliberation didn’t last long because everyone soon reached the same conclusion.
“…But if I don’t do it, there’s no guarantee the others won’t either.”
“What if we lose our leader? If the bishop’s position in our diocese gets taken over by someone from the neighboring parish, I’m screwed.”
“Vice Chairman Carolus promised that the government wouldn’t interfere, right? Then maybe it’s worth trying.”
“Surely, similar uprisings will occur in other regions. If we all revolt together here and there, our chances of success are high. Overthrowing everything is entirely possible.”
These were the optimal conditions that would never come again in their lives.
If they didn’t act first, someone else would.
If they failed to become bishops, it might end up with someone they despised taking their place.
Human nature is such that, even if they fail, they can’t stand seeing others succeed.
Even for those who devoted themselves to a religion that values sharing and charity, this was no different.
No, perhaps even more so because of it.
As religious people who had abandoned sexual desire, their desires for honor and wealth had become much stronger than those of ordinary people.
“Damn it, I don’t know. Let’s just go for it like we’re already dead!”
“Anyway, even if we fail, we’ll end up beheaded at the guillotine, right? Now that it’s come to this, we go all the way.”
In the face of the desire for advancement, individual morals, self-restraint, and the dignity of being priests quickly crumbled.
What emerged was a determination that showed just how ruthless humans can become to elevate themselves.
Survival threats? Dangerous challenges where I might die? Who cares about that. I can get promoted.
It had been four days since the meeting at the training ground.
Finally, in a small town near the royal capital, the prelude to the collective rebellion of the priests began.
“Children of the goddess! Those who are building grand mansions and living in luxury by sucking our hard-earned blood are over there! Let’s punish those bastards together in the name of the goddess!!”
“Brothers and sisters! Hold torches in your right hands and Bibles in your left! This is a purifying act to punish heretics who have violated God’s word!”
“Follow the priests! Let’s beat to death those bastards who have been exploiting us!!”
Starting with the determination of a passionate young priest, the uprising spread rapidly across the nation.
First in Rahator and other nearby villages and towns, then in adjacent rural areas and ports.
Even in regions where Carolus had not made proposals, the fervor of the uprising quickly infiltrated.
Even though they were the ones leading it, they could sense the atmosphere of the unfolding situation.
They quickly understood how things were progressing and each started to rise with spears, declaring they would become bishops.
Indeed, it’s hard to pioneer the first, but it’s easy to follow. It took less than two months for the kingdom to be engulfed in the flames of a religious revolution.
“Revolution is innocent, Jovan Yuri! There is no crime in revolution!! Everyone, join the temple to reform the church!”
“Self-criticize those bastards! Punish the pigs tainted by usury!”
“Construction offerings, seasonal offerings, relief offerings, thanksgiving offerings! It’s already hard enough to pay the tithe, how many types of offerings are there!! Let’s also have some to live on!”
Of course, there was incitement by the priests, but the participation of the people was distinctly voluntary.
Because they also had a lot built up inside.
The Goddess cult had been extracting donations by various excuses up until now.
Their methods were so varied that few people fully understood them.
Because of this, the peasants who barely made a living by paying rent and taxes always had to suffer from financial hardships.
As soon as the opportunity arose, they rushed in, thinking, “This is the time.” They thought, “Let’s eliminate those annoying higher-ups and fix the church while we’re at it.”
“But in the end, the only thing that will change is the name of the top dog.”
Well, since they were going to overhaul everything, some degree of reform was inevitable.
From the priests’ perspective, if they were going to incite and exploit the congregants, they needed to show something, right? Moreover, Carolus was planning to forcibly eliminate some miscellaneous types of donations.
Thus, countless cathedrals and churches across the nation were properly “normalized” by the hands of the Red Guards who believed in the religion.
My office, situated in a palace annex attached to the royal palace.
“It seems the retrieval of donations and the power shift are going well.”
I mumbled to myself while reading the report sent by the intelligence department.
The Cultural Revolution project that started with the priests was highly successful.
It seemed almost grandiose considering the results of just gathering a few clergymen and having them work hard.
“Honestly, I thought there was nothing I could do even if it failed… Now, this is a great welcome for me.”
I hadn’t launched the operation with the assurance of a perfect power shift or the complete devastation of the church.
I did, of course, do my best in the arrangements and preparations for success.
At best, it was just a disturbance caused by lower-ranking priests, and even being satisfied that the church was in disarray and couldn’t pay attention to external matters for a while.
In the meantime, we could prepare measures to counter the nobles’ schemes.
However, if all the annoying bishops and cardinals were eliminated, it would reduce our efforts.
There would be no need to struggle against the religious circles.
“Deacon. Tell our central troops to control the capital to prevent any crimes against the people. Do not suppress them under any circumstances.”
“Understood. Is there anything else you would like me to do?”
“Instruct the intelligence department and my brother to seize church-owned farms or treasures. We need to recover the wealth accumulated by the church while we’re at it.”
All the chaos, the mismanagement of property, and the complete dysfunction provided the perfect opportunity to strip the Goddess Cult of its resources.
These guys had been ignoring the kingdom’s official religion and not paying taxes all along, so now was the time to reclaim them.
Let’s make sure that the seized wealth is used effectively in our budget.
“Oh, and prevent the rioters from damaging ancient documents or setting buildings on fire as much as possible. Those are valuable assets too.”
Preserving cultural heritage is also important, so emphasize minimizing property damage.
“I’ll relay that.”
“Good work. I’m going to meet the king.”
Having patted the shoulder of the deputy, now a major, in encouragement, I left my office.
I was going to scold our King Carl VII and the nobles who attempted to regain power without understanding the situation.
“The Vice Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction is entering!”
As I entered the Hall of Approval accompanied by the guards, foolish sinners greeted me.
There were officials sighing, having anticipated why I was here; idiots still exuding murderous intent; and even His Majesty looking at me, pretending to be calm.
Facing clearly unfriendly gazes, I confidently began to speak.
“Long time no see, everyone. You must have figured out why I’m here, right?”
Unlike last time, my tone was somewhat polite.
Even if I wanted to mix in some f-bombs with every word, I didn’t need to show my teeth in every situation.
Having led the Supreme Council and somewhat alleviated the accumulated resentment, I decided to maintain at least basic manners.
“You’ve done quite a clever thing. Trying to mobilize the religious figures. Thanks to that, I’ve been having quite a headache.”
“…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
“Don’t lie. You both know everything.”
I lightly scolded King Carl VII for his excuses.
“If we end up fighting a numbers game and determining a winner and loser, at least you shouldn’t deny the facts. Aren’t you ashamed as the king?”
“Did you not hate it so much when I took your power and used it? To the point where you tried to hand over the authority essential for religious control to the Papal Court?”
They are truly disgusting offspring.
Originally, why did the revolutionary army rise up?
Wasn’t it because you tried to wipe us out on your own and treated our sacrifices as nothing?
After you betrayed us first and tried to suppress us like beasts, why can’t you consider the other person’s standpoint when your position changes?
Is a coup both treason and handing over the core national interests to a foreign country not treason? Where is such an absurd logic?
‘Bastards.’
No, they were tribes that had no such concepts to begin with?
Because they were born and lived their entire lives as the privileged class.
They probably never thought they could be wrong their entire lives.
Then I have to teach them.
I have no choice but to suppress and beat them until they realize it themselves.
So that royalty, nobility, and commoners are no different.
I will gradually strip away all authority and privileges.
“As of today, I will take over the bishop’s ordination authority. From now on, it will be used correctly through majority consensus, not the monarch’s arbitrary decisions.”
“The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction is going to take away Your Majesty’s rights? Do you think such a dictatorial act is tolerable?!”
“When did I say I would take the ordination authority from the Supreme Council?”
But I don’t do things stupidly by pushing forward. It would throw the country’s system into chaos.
If I’m going to do it, I have to do politics based on justifications and logic.
“Soon, we will establish the Kingdom’s parliament. It will be the new assembly of the Ulanor Kingdom replacing the tricameral system. The bishop’s ordination authority will also be transferred there, so keep that in mind.”
And the beginning of that is a constitutional monarchy.