Chapter 40 : War (2)

The next morning, after finishing her morning prayer, the Saintess set out into the streets accompanied by a few attendants.

She wore modest, common women’s clothing instead of her usual ornate robes.

“Must you really go out like this? It could be dangerous.”

“Do you really think something will happen in the middle of the street in broad daylight? We’re with you, so it should be fine.”

Although she had been encouraged to rest and enjoy the comfort of the hotel, it might have been better for her to unwind there, as the other clergy members were doing.

However, Joan could not do that.

The horrifying scene she had witnessed yesterday still lingered in her mind.

She wanted to confirm the gruesome sight she had encountered firsthand.

“There’s also a row of trees here.”

“….And bodies hanging from them. Why are they so obsessed with hanging them like this?”

There was no need to go far.

Just stepping out of the hotel and walking two blocks, the bodies were already scattered around.

Along the main crossroad of the city and its smaller branching roads, bodies hung like fruits from the trees in every place where people would pass.

“I saw it yesterday too, but seeing it up close is even more dreadful.”

“Saintess, please don’t get too close. You might get blood on you.”

“It’s fine. I can just clean it later.”

Despite the guards’ protests, Joan approached the tree.

Perhaps the bodies hadn’t been dead for long, as the decay had only just begun.

Flies had laid eggs in the open wounds, and swollen lumps were visible on the arms and legs.

It seemed that they had died with a great deal of resentment.

Even their expressions, frozen in death, conveyed sorrow and injustice.

‘Were these deserters that were caught?’

If Joan had known that desertion would be treated as such a serious crime, she wondered if the soldiers would have still fled the battlefield.

But before that, they likely never imagined that they would be drafted at all.

The wars up until now had been fought with a small army of mercenaries and regular conscripted soldiers.

Ordinary people never had to worry about seeing the frontlines in their lifetime.

Unless the enemy invaded, there was little chance they would even encounter a proper army.

Then, Ishmael’s treatise on governance changed everything.

Starting with Helvetia, countries began introducing conscription, and an era arrived where every man became a soldier and every woman became a laborer.

In other words, these people were sacrificed because of a few books written by Ishmael.

‘May you rest peacefully in heaven.’

Joan silently prayed for the souls of the deceased and moved to leave.

Then, she suddenly felt the gaze of someone watching them from nearby.

“Mm?”

Turning toward the source of the gaze, she saw an old woman in a robe.

She seemed to be quite elderly.

“Grandmother? Is there something you need from us?”

“Oh! No, that’s not it…”

The old woman hesitated before murmuring softly,”I never thought I would meet someone who would offer condolences for my son.”

“Was he your son?”

Joan was shocked.

It turned out she was the mother of one of the executed men.

The guards, who had been wary, suspecting she might be an assassin, suddenly became solemn.

“I am sorry for your loss.”

“Yes… it’s tragic. He left me, his old mother, behind… What a terrible son. If only he had died in battle, at least he would have gone to heaven.”

As she expressed her sorrow, the old woman’s eyes became moist.

But there was something strange in her words.

To die in battle and go to heaven?

Heaven and hell are the domains of gods and angels, not human rights.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’ve heard it in the Church too, right? The goddess favors those who bravely fulfill their duties. So, we must fight hard for our country and His Majesty the Emperor.”

That can’t be true.

There isn’t a single mention of such a thing in the scriptures.

There are verses about living a virtuous life and avoiding crime, but there is no mention of fighting hard.

Why would the Church encourage fighting in a war where fellow followers of the same goddess are killing each other?

If the Church were admonishing people to stop such acts, I could understand that.

“I’m just sad that my son, who fled in fear, ended up like this. If only he had returned as ashes, I would have buried him next to his father.”

“…..”

“Then people would have praised him as a patriot, and the funeral would have been held properly at home. What a fool.”

The Saintess couldn’t respond.

It wasn’t because she sympathized with her feelings, but because she had no idea how to react.

Her son died trying to escape the war, and the mother was upset not because he died, but because he didn’t die fighting in battle.

The country seemed so twisted.

Until just before the war, the empire had been functioning decently, so why had it descended into madness and misguided beliefs?

*****

Bang!

“What the hell is going on?”

The Saintess, having fled the scene, headed towards the nearby cathedral—the same one the delegation had visited earlier that morning for a mass.

She grabbed a priest who seemed startled at her presence and shouted at him in earnest.

“I heard outside that the Church is inciting people to join the war! Since when have you been spreading such groundless rumors?!”

“It… it’s—”

“Shame on you! You’re supposed to serve the goddess, but you’re inciting innocent people! And you still call yourself a priest?!”

Under the continuous scolding, the priest finally raised his voice in protest.

“You’re blaming us, but—”

“We had no choice!”

“…..What?”

“When the Saint’s Territory fell, the supplies were cut off, and the Imperial Court kept pressuring us to follow orders! What were we supposed to do?!”

A heavy silence followed.

Finally, the priest continued.

“Saintess, do you remember the 115 Articles of Rebuttal that severely damaged the prestige of our Church?”

“…..Yes.”

The mysterious document, whose origin is still unclear, was widely believed to have been written anonymously by Ishmael due to its style and reasoning, but for now, the creator remains unknown.

That damn document led to the collapse of the goddess’ church.

The headquarters, the Saint’s Territory, was seized by the Helvetian Republic, which used it as a pretext for conquest.

In the Allein Kingdom, the Church was forced under royal control, and everything started to fall apart.

Before the war, the Church’s influence had already fallen to around 40% of its former power.

No, to be honest, even 40% was generous.

The young Saintess was both the head of the Church and couldn’t even secure a proper place for the leadership to stay.

“In the Krams Empire, the Church was able to survive under the government’s protection, but in return, we had to give up a lot of things. Especially for the execution of the war.”

“Execution of the war?”

“Yes. We had to help the Empire easily organize its military and send troops to the battlefield. The incitement to join the war, which you mentioned earlier, is part of that.”

After the Church’s Krams branch was severely weakened by the rebuttal document, it had to cooperate fully with the Imperial Court.

Only then could it continue to receive protection and support.

They interpreted the scriptures and the goddess’s words in a way that supported the Empire, and they urged the common people to view participating in the war as a sacred and righteous duty.

They went as far as committing acts that could be classified as heresy, in order to encourage the people to actively cooperate with the war.

“Do you know what this tapestry is?”

“…I’ve never seen this painting before. Was there such a saint?”

“It’s not a saint; it’s the Emperor. The one currently ruling this country.”

That wasn’t all.

Personal worship and idolization were part of it too.

In fact, this was the main focus.

By elevating the Emperor as a great and sacred figure, they raised his authority.

The more the Emperor was treated as holy and sublime, the more the argument “participating in the war = fighting for the Emperor = a guaranteed path to heaven” made sense.

The Imperial Court actively encouraged this, and the Church followed suit.

“I know this goes against the teachings. All the priests in the Empire know it too. But what else could we do? We had to survive.”

The priest, bowing his head, muttered in justification and pointed towards the southeast.

“Still, we are relatively better off. At least we haven’t desecrated the goddess’s authority and sanctity.”

“…This?”

“Have you been to the Helvetian Republic? They treat their leader as equal to a god. They call him the ‘Duce’ or something like that.”

“That’s madness. Treating a god and a human as equals.”

“Yes, it’s mad. Everyone’s mad. Whether they are enemies or allies. This damn war is making the world strange.”

The Saintess could no longer scold the priest.

She knew that he was doing his best under difficult circumstances, and her temperament wasn’t one to get angry over such things.

‘Where should I start fixing this?’

What should be touched first to restore this twisted system to its original state?

Was it even possible to go back to living a normal life, like before—where people could worship peacefully and live in harmony?

Before the war, there were issues, but the world wasn’t filled with this much madness.

After a moment of inner turmoil, Joan swallowed her thoughts and ended the conversation.

“I apologize for the intrusion. I’ll come back later.”

“Please, take care.”

There was no point in just thinking about it alone.

She would have to meet with the Emperor.

Maybe there, she could find some answers.