During our covert infiltration mission, we somehow managed to burn down the enemy government building, which also served as the headquarters of their church, causing astronomical damage.
Quite the adorable blunder, wasn’t it? Anyway, despite the fiasco, we miraculously succeeded in escaping unscathed and reunited with our other comrades to begin the journey back to the kingdom.
“The inspections seem to be at the usual level. You’d think they’d have raised their alert level by now, given the situation.”
“They probably don’t even have the wherewithal to think about it. With their leadership wiped out, who’s left to make decisions?”
The road back was smooth.
We didn’t have to cut our way through checkpoint guards like Guan Yu from the old tales.
Their defenses were laughably lax.
We just hid our loot, applied a bit of disguise, and they bought it—didn’t even check our nationality.
Thanks to that, we passed through Kailas Kingdom with ease, even stopping briefly at the Ammas Cathedral we’d plundered before.
By the time we returned to the kingdom’s territory, our party had grown by one but suffered no losses.
Once we sent a messenger to announce our arrival, we decided to take things slow and relax a bit after our long journey. Inside the kingdom, it wasn’t necessary to be so on guard anymore.
“So this is the Kingdom of Ulranor…”
“You seem quite fascinated. Isn’t this just another rural farming village? Places like this are common even in your theocracy.”
“Common? Not at all. It’s completely different. Back home, everyone’s obsessed with religion—people stop farming midway to pray, or offer sacrifices to the gods even when they don’t have enough to eat themselves. How I managed to survive in such a country, I’ll never know.”
Well, part of it was because she had to maintain appearances as the saintess.
She said she wanted to see the land she’d be living in from now on, so while we couldn’t wander everywhere freely, I made sure she got to look around a bit.
After all, she’s going to become one of the most important figures in our goddess’ church. It’s best to foster a positive impression.
“But how do you know what rural areas look like? I heard you were always in the capital, healing patients.”
“Occasionally, the Holy Emperor would drag me out under the guise of ‘boosting faith’ or ‘managing public sentiment.’ I was paraded around like an ornament and saw it all.”
“…Ah, I see. You must have had a hard time.”
“Hard time? It was hell. Just thinking about it makes my teeth clench.”
With plenty of pent-up frustration, she continued venting as we traveled for a few more weeks.
Before we knew it, we were finally approaching our ultimate destination: the capital, Rahator, where our beloved people were waiting for us.
“Your Excellency, there’s a crowd gathering over there. It looks like they’ve come to welcome us.”
“Ah, all familiar faces.”
There was my brother Julius, General Albrecht, the archbishop of the capital diocese, Lieutenant General Vaden, and so on.
These were the close confidants I frequently entrusted with major responsibilities.
Judging by their expressions, it seemed they’d been worried about me during my absence.
Their faces were lined with concern, reflecting the weight of their care.
And then.
“Your Excellency!!”
My beloved ran toward me, tears streaming down her face, and threw herself into my arms.
“I’m back, Camilla.”
Basking in the warmth of her affection, I whispered my return report to her.
“Send all the documents we brought back to the Intelligence Department. Have them sort through it and forward only the critical information to me.”
“Understood. And what about the treasures?”
“If they’re identifiable as belonging to the kingdom, sort them out and store them in the royal treasury. As for the rest, gather them and keep them in a secure location for now.”
While the soldiers had been granted leave to enjoy themselves as a reward for their mission, I, unfortunately, couldn’t join them.
The position of a powerful nation’s leader is perpetually buried under mountains of work.
Without much rest, I managed to splash some water on my face and hurried to the office to handle urgent matters.
Signing off on documents that only I had the authority to approve, issuing directives on how to manage the spoils, authorizing executions for convicted criminals—hours flew by just addressing the most pressing tasks.
“Are these all the documents for today?”
“Yes. But tomorrow, you can expect about 2.5 times more.”
“Getting back into paperwork after so long feels like torture.”
Hearing what essentially amounted to an announcement that I’d be stuck in the office again, I felt a sigh creeping up.
But what could I do? This was the life I chose. I’d just have to power through it.
…Or not? No, come to think of it, this was all because of the damn royal family.
It was those idiot king and queen who messed everything up, forcing me to stage a coup and seize power just to survive.
If it hadn’t been for those three bastards, including the crown prince, I could’ve quietly served in the military, retired at a decent age, and spent my later years in peace.
Seriously, those jerks were absolutely useless.
I should order the evening menu to only include mint chocolate and pineapple pizza starting today.
“Still, work must go on. Camilla, would you mind stepping out and sending in the saintess?”
“Understood,” she replied.
It was still early afternoon, with plenty of time left before dinner, so I decided to continue the conversation we hadn’t managed to finish in the Holy Kingdom.
Specifically, I wanted to hear more about the saintess’ past.
—Clunk.
“I-I heard you called for me, Your Excellency.”
“Welcome, Saintess. Please, have a seat here.”
Despite my instructions to treat her as an honored guest, the saintess seemed a bit tense.
Her speech was stiff, her demeanor reserved.
It didn’t seem like she was uncomfortable with the environment itself—so, was it because of me?
Well, if I were in her position and realized the person who helped me escape my country was actually the de facto ruler of a major power, I’d probably feel the same way.
After all, who could remain completely composed in front of someone who literally held their life in their hands?
“Don’t be too nervous,” I said gently.
“The reason I called you here is that I want to hear the full story.”
It was just the three of us in the room—myself, the saintess, and Camilla, who stood off to the side.
Carefully, I made my request. I wanted to know why she had fled her country and abandoned the land devoted to the goddess.
Last time, she had refused to explain, citing a lack of time.
“Why did you, Saintess, choose to abandon the country that serves the goddess? What happened between you and the Holy Emperor?”
“…I doubt you’ll believe me, even if I tell you.”
“How could I ever doubt the words of the saintess, who stakes her honor on them?”
I urged her with a polite but firm tone.
“I promise that this will never leave this room. Only Lady Arschach and I will know. Please, tell us the truth, without holding anything back.”
“…Are you certain?”
“Of course. If necessary, I’ll stake my honor on it.”
After taking a few deep breaths, she seemed to make up her mind.
In a quiet voice, she began recounting her story.
She spoke of how she had once been nothing more than a shepherd girl from a remote mountain village and how she came to be the saintess.
She told of the hardships she endured growing up within the Holy Emperor’s court, the abuse and exploitation she suffered at his hands, and the crushing sense of shame, misery, and despair she had felt over the years.
She laid bare all the experiences that had defined most of her twenty-some years of life.
When her two-hour confession finally came to an end, the atmosphere in the office was on the verge of complete devastation.
“—That’s all. That’s everything I can share with you.”
“I… I need to step out for a moment. I can’t… Ugh!”
Camilla, unable to suppress her nausea, bolted for the restroom.
The saintess, meanwhile, was left with her clothes soaked in tears, having been overwhelmed by the pain of reliving her past.
As for me, all I could do was lean back against the sofa, lighting cigarette after cigarette in stunned silence.
“Thank you for your honest confession, Saintess. It’s been immensely helpful.”
“Not at all. If you don’t mind, may I be excused now? I’m not feeling very well.”
“Of course. I’ve arranged for a comfortable residence nearby. Please stay there and rest for the time being.”
A saintess who could heal any illness with her divine power claiming she wasn’t feeling well was, of course, an absurd statement.
But I didn’t press her.
It was clearly a subtle way of saying that she was mentally and emotionally drained and needed to recover.
Once she left, and I was alone in the office, I sat there blankly, lost in thought.
“Madmen.”
Draining someone’s blood just to regain youth and vitality?
What did they think they were—vampires?
I had anticipated they might exploit the divine power bestowed by the goddess or misuse her abilities.
Even charging exorbitant fees for her healing didn’t surprise me.
But this?
This was beyond anything I could imagine.
Not even slaves in the past were treated like this.
These so-called servants of the goddess treated her very representative with such appalling cruelty?
In a world where the goddess’s existence is undeniable, how could they not fear divine retribution?
If this is all true… then this is an opportunity.
If the Holy Emperor’s court was rotten to this degree, then there was a way to use it to my advantage.
They must know better than anyone else just how much dirt they have on themselves.
With evidence like this, I have more than enough leverage to use it against them.
While I promised not to reveal the saintess’ past, this is information they’re already aware of anyway.
I don’t need to spread it around to threaten them—just the possibility of their filth being exposed should be enough to make them fall in line.
Not only could I force an apology for sending troops to assist the royal family’s escape, but I could also extract diplomatic concessions.
When combined with the various pieces of information the Intelligence Department is currently analyzing, this could even allow me to claim both moral superiority and religious legitimacy.
“Wait.”
A sudden, brilliant idea struck me.
The saintess is the goddess’ representative, her authority and reputation exceeding even that of the Holy Emperor, the head of their church.
While she may lack real political power, in the realm of faith, her every word is as good as absolute truth.
If I could use the saintess to seize the authority and legitimacy of the entire church for our side… wouldn’t that be possible?
And with the Holy Emperor’s court in shambles, there’s no way they’d be able to respond effectively.
From what I heard on the way back, they still haven’t even finished calculating their casualties.
“Not bad at all.”
I needed a decisive act of retaliation and punishment for the Holy Kingdom meddling with us.
If I could wrest away the religious power that forms the foundation of their society…
“Lieutenant! Where’s my lieutenant?!”
I decided it was worth taking a gamble.
With my mind made up, I immediately called for someone to set things in motion.