Let’s start with what can be done right away.
How many people in the Holy Kingdom actually know this secret?
“Is anyone there?”
“You called for me, sir?”
“Bring me those priests we captured earlier. Every single one of them—no exceptions!”
After heading upstairs, I ordered my subordinates to gather the top officials of the Holy Kingdom who had been taken as prisoners.
Then, one by one, I interrogated them in a way that left no room for denial.
“Do you know what’s hidden down there?”
“I-I don’t! His Holiness never told us anything!”
“Why not? You hold key positions in the Holy Kingdom’s leadership. You’re the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, and the Treasury Minister, for God’s sake! And yet you claim ignorance?”
“Our predecessors perished in unfortunate accidents, so we were only filling in temporarily…”
“Please, believe us! We were going to be replaced as soon as the war ended anyway!”
Fortunately, not a single one of them knew anything.
It seemed my previous sabotage of the Holy See had a far greater impact than I had expected.
They must have been in such a rush to find replacements for the late bishops that they hadn’t had time to share classified information or train successors.
For me, that was the best possible outcome.
There was no need to silence them.
“That’s enough. Load them into carriages and have them transported back to the homeland. There’s nothing more to extract from them.”
“Understood, sir.”
After sending off my subordinates and the prisoners, I was left alone with my thoughts.
The truth about the Goddess Church—normally, it would have only been shared among the highest ranks.
But thanks to the series of recent events, that information had ended up being known only to the Holy Pope… and now, no one in the world knew about it anymore.
No one except me and the Saintess.
So… should I reveal this to the public?
Should I expose this wretched, disgraceful truth and let the world realize the original sin of the clergy?
“Ha… damn it.”
To be honest, I wanted to.
I had never been fond of hiding or deceiving people.
And after centuries of being exploited and lied to, the people deserved to know the truth.
I had no intention of continuing the deception.
But…
‘Realistically, it’s impossible.’
There are things in this world that can and cannot be done.
And unfortunately, this matter fell into the latter category.
Even if I used all the power, status, and connections at my disposal, it simply wasn’t something I could handle.
“It can’t be helped.”
This time, even if I didn’t like it, I had to be pragmatic.
When I went back downstairs, the Saintess was still in the same place as before—collapsed on the floor, her nun’s habit soaked with tears.
“Saintess.”
“G-Grand Marshal…”
At the sound of my voice, she looked up at me.
Her bloodshot eyes and tear-streaked face carried an unmistakable expression—desperation.
I’d seen that look before, countless times.
People pushed to the very edge, clinging to the last thread of hope.
And really, considering her situation, it wasn’t an unfair comparison.
“W-What am I supposed to do? I’ve lived my whole life as the Saintess. I was taught, told, and trained that I was the Goddess’s representative… But it was all a lie. My entire life was a lie. The faith I believed in, the doctrines I followed—it was all fabricated! I devoted everything to an empty illusion. What was it all for? How could—”
“Calm yourself. You’re too overwhelmed right now.”
I knelt down and wrapped my arms around her.
Just like Camilla had done for me once, back in the royal palace.
Using my body as her support, I let her lean on me, giving her the chance to steady herself.
“I understand your pain, truly. But no matter how much you cry and grieve, it won’t change anything.”
“…Hic… Hhic…”
I wiped away her tears with my sleeve.
She still didn’t seem to have the strength to stand, so I stayed seated beside her and spoke in a quiet, steady voice.
“I’ve had a similar experience. Back when I served on the Northern Front.”
“…Are you talking about the war with the Empire?”
“That’s right.”
To form a sense of understanding, I recalled those painful memories.
It had been over a year now, but even just thinking about it still made my hatred for the royal family burn anew.
“I was stationed there from the moment I was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Despite the cold, it was a decent place with good superiors and comrades. Then, one day, war broke out just like that.”
A diplomatic catastrophe triggered by the crown prince’s inability to keep his affairs in order.
And from that blunder came a full-scale war between two great powers.
The man responsible lived in luxury in the capital, while the price of his folly was paid by those of us on the front lines.
“We fought for ten long years. No proper leave, no rotations with other units. Nearly a decade spent buried in snow, locked in a desperate struggle. If you failed to kill the enemy, you died instead. If you let your guard down for even a moment, you froze, starved, or perished in some accident. It was a living hell.”
“…That must have been incredibly difficult.”
“No more than what you’ve been through.”
I made sure she understood—we had walked similar paths in life.
Then, I gently led the conversation toward my main point.
“But through it all, I learned something.”
“And what is that?”
“No matter how horrific the situation, simply wallowing in despair won’t change anything.”
I grasped her shoulders and lowered my gaze, meeting her eyes directly.
My next words were spoken with firm conviction.
“Saintess. From now on, you must become the heart of the Church.”
“…What?”
“You heard me correctly. You must take the lead in rebuilding the Church and shaping its future.”
At the suggestion that she should become the leader of all Goddess Church followers, her face turned pale.
“M-Me? That’s impossible. I don’t have that kind of ability. All I’ve ever learned is how to heal people. How could I possibly guide the faithful—”
“Whether you like it or not, you must. If you don’t, the entire continent will descend into chaos.”
I knew.
I knew she would never want this.
Even I wasn’t thrilled about it, so how much worse must it be for her—the one most directly affected by the Church’s deception?
But it had to be done.
It wasn’t about preference or desire. If she didn’t take charge, the world would fall apart.
“Saintess. What you witnessed today can never be spoken of to the outside world. Even if you were to reveal the truth, no one would believe you. Worse, they would turn their suspicion and blame onto you instead.”
The Goddess had reigned as an absolute truth for centuries, passed down through countless generations.
Even just two hundred years ago, she was still believed to be active.
Her deeds were recorded in hundreds of history books and scriptures.
But who would believe it if we suddenly declared that the Goddess was dead?
No matter how much evidence we presented, no one would accept it.
No, they couldn’t.
This wasn’t a matter of logic—it was a matter of faith and emotion.
The Church reform plan I had painstakingly negotiated with the Empire would be ruined.
Worse, the entire Church itself could collapse.
With their object of worship gone, people would abandon their faith and search for new beliefs, splintering and fragmenting in all directions.
It would be chaos, reminiscent of the Thirty Years’ War in 17th-century Europe.
And the Saintess herself would be in danger.
That wasn’t the only problem.
If the Goddess was already dead, people would start asking—how did the Saintess receive her divine power?
Even if we tried to explain it away as some secret technique of the Holy See, who would believe us?
Even we, who had heard the truth firsthand, still found it hard to process.
How could outsiders possibly accept it?
Fanatics might start spreading rumors that the Saintess was being manipulated by demons.
That the Holy See was innocent, a righteous institution, and that she was attacking it with baseless lies.
And there would definitely be people who believed it—hundreds of thousands, scattered across different nations.
Assassination attempts.
Vengeance.
Political upheaval.
All of it was a real possibility.
In the end, there was only one choice.
We had to bury the truth forever.
Unless we wanted to watch the world burn.
“So please… gather your strength, Saintess. I know you can do this.”
After hearing my reasoning and encouragement, she still sounded uncertain when she asked me:
“…Do you really think so?”
“Of course. And even if you struggle, I’ll be right beside you, supporting you. I’ll make sure you can keep moving forward.”
“And… if I fail?”
“That won’t happen. I’ll be watching over everything to ensure that it doesn’t.”
If she failed, my life, my power, and even the stability of the kingdom would all be at risk.
Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice but to help her.
It wouldn’t take too long to wrap up the war, establish a new Holy See, and restructure the system.
At most, it would take two or three years.
Until then, I would need to guide and support her as much as possible.
“…Alright. If you say so, Grand Marshal, I’ll do my best.”
Hearing her say that, I felt justified in making such a bold promise.
But then, she looked at me with teary yet determined eyes.
For some reason, her cheeks flushed, and her expression softened.
…Why?
Anyway, with the battle over and the Holy See firmly under our control, we officially declared our victory.
“The Holy Pope is dead! The Holy Kingdom has finally fallen!”
“This land now belongs to the Kingdom of Ulranor! Anyone who resists our rule will be severely punished—take heed!”
Managing the occupied territories wasn’t difficult.
After ten years of total war, I had plenty of experience.
We appointed capable locals as administrative officials and stationed enough troops to maintain military control.
We also released prisoners, restored public order, and worked to win over the people—all standard procedures.
The internal administration was still in shambles, so this temporary system would stay in place until the kingdom had enough officials and bureaucrats to govern the expanded territory properly.
“Vaden, I’m leaving this place in your hands. You can handle it, right?”
“Of course, sir. Just make sure to send relief forces on time.”
“I’ll have them here within a year—don’t worry.”
With the administration entrusted to my reliable subordinate, we finally set our sights on home.
It was time to put an end to these long, grueling years of war.