I Became the Master of the Empress - Chapter 187
187 – 191
The Pope’s office.
The atmosphere was heavy.
“Hoo… Is the Grand Duke’s condition that bad?”
Pope Gregory XV asked Cena with a worried expression, and Cena nodded with a hardened face.
“His left eye has started to suffer from optic nerve damage. If he doesn’t get surgery soon, he won’t be able to recover.”
“Haha… To think that someone who has hidden his identity and suffered for the sake of humanity might become blind.”
The Pope felt a deep sense of regret for Debien.
No one would ever know the efforts he had made for the Empire and humanity up until now.
The Empire… No, the Pope, the representative of God who received the respect of all the nations on the continent.
He felt a deep sense of remorse for not being able to help Debien, who had the noble mission of protecting humanity against the demons.
“This is the first time I’ve ever felt so helpless as a Pope.”
He sincerely wished for Debien to receive surgery, but the Pope also knew how great a disgrace it was for a physically imperfect person to be considered in Roman culture and the Nicene cultural sphere.
Cena lowered her head and clenched her skirt with both fists as she spoke.
“I feel the same way; I’ve served God for a long time and healed many people, but there’s no one I’ve wanted to heal more than him.”
She also didn’t know how much she had hated Debien after he had ascended to Grand Duke.
He had changed the name of the Augustus family, chosen by the divine God, to the Lion-Augustus family, and waged war after war, sacrificing so many people.
Cena, who had hated Debien, thinking that it would have been better if he had executed Vallorang and returned to the Grand Duchy.
As for her, she now realized how noble Debien’s actions were, how wrong her own thoughts had been, and if only she had known his actions sooner and been by his side before his eyes became like this…
Things would have been much different, Cena reproached herself.
It made sense. If everything he had done up until now had been to stop the demon worshippers, then it all made sense.
‘He’s like a saint from a fairy tale, sacrificing himself to save humanity.’
A saint who appeared in legends.
He received the title of saint after he died, but his life had been incredibly unfortunate.
A man who had sacrificed everything he had for others.
Having learned Debien’s secret, she felt as if Debien was as noble as a saint from a fairy tale, and her heart ached as if it were being torn apart.
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‘Why… Why did I study medicine? Why did I become a candidate for sainthood?’
As she reproached herself, the Pope spoke in a desolate voice.
“No, this is all… When Vallorang died and the Grand Duke asked us for help, it must have been a problem that I refused.”
It was something that had already passed, and it was almost taboo for the Pope to intervene in politics.
If the Pope had actively supported Debien, Debien wouldn’t have had to struggle so hard to restore order to the Empire.
Perhaps there would have been no reason to give up Epirus and Egypt to the Imperial faction either.
Because it was something supported by the Pope, who was respected by all the people of the Empire, no, all the people on the continent.
“But, do you know why he’s rejecting my support now, Sister Cena?”
Recently, she hasn’t been going out to the Grand Duchy to make eye drops for Debien, but she used to commute to the Grand Duchy until recently, so she asks him if he might know his thoughts.
Sena shakes her head slightly.
“I don’t know much either. But the Grand Duke is wise and patient. Perhaps he thought that receiving the Pope’s support would not be advantageous for annihilating the demon worshippers.”
The Pope feels frustrated at Sena’s words.
“I don’t know what the Grand Duke is thinking. Why my support wouldn’t be helpful for annihilating the demon worshippers, I don’t understand that much even with my abilities.”
But he can’t force the Grand Duke, who has refused his support, to support him.
That would be like disregarding the Grand Duke who has worked alone until now.
“I’ll visit the Grand Duchy once I finish the eye drops, and I’ll ask His Highness the Grand Duke’s intentions then.”
The Pope nods at those words.
“I hope you do that first.”
As the Pope fiddles with the lukewarm teacup, Sena nods and says,
“I’ll be going now.”
“Sister Sena, you look like you haven’t been sleeping well lately. Please take it easy.”
At those words, Sena coughs in vain and says,
She knows better than anyone that her skin has become loose because she hasn’t been able to sleep lately.
“Ahem… I understand. May God’s protection be with you.”
The Pope replies to Sena’s words.
“May God’s protection be with you.”
***
Sabinelly is currently writing a letter to the Pope.
This is because he is convinced that Debien is connected to the demon worshippers.
‘If the Vatican comes forward and says that they will question him, it could increase the nobles’ and the empire’s people’s resentment towards the Grand Duke.’
Of course, the Grand Duke can exercise the Emperor’s privilege, so he cannot be arrested or prosecuted.
However, just that event alone will shake his authority, and it will be much easier to unite the nobles and the empire’s people who hate him under Theodora’s name, Sabinelly thinks.
Well… in fact, it’s putting humanity in danger, but he doesn’t know that fact right now.
-Swish…
Sabinelly, who stamped the seal of the Minister of Justice and the seal of Count Lazio.
He strokes his chin and falls into thought.
‘But it’s strange… If he’s connected to the demon worshippers, there should be some sign that he’s trying to lie.’
In fact, it would be easy for Debien, who has a tight grip on the intelligence agency, to fabricate evidence.
Rather, he could arrest the nobles who join the Emperor’s faction under the pretext that the demon worshippers are active and make an example of them.
And the more chaotic the empire becomes, the better the environment for the demon worshippers to run wild.
‘Is he really not connected?, or is he not doing something that he could easily get caught doing?’
Honestly, Sabinelly finds it difficult to understand the Grand Duke’s intentions.
Sabinelly personally thinks that the Grand Duke is unlikely to be connected to the demon worshippers, but if that’s true, he expects him to share the information with the 5th Bureau.
In order to catch the demon worshippers, the empire’s full force must be used.
It goes without saying that it should be shared with the 5th Bureau so that they can respond quickly.
No matter how much the Grand Duke rules in place of the Emperor, he cannot exercise his authority without following procedures.
But there are many hard-to-see corners to say that Debien is a demon worshipper.
Currently, neither the Emperor’s faction nor the neutral faction has the power to stop Debien.
In that case, I need to plunge the empire into chaos and create an opportunity for demon worshippers to make human sacrifices, but he’s managing the empire so stably that it’s hard to see any connection to demon worshippers.
‘Oh, man… I don’t know, I don’t know! I think I’m quite good at reading people’s minds, but I have no idea what he’s thinking.’
The Grand Duke is currently expanding the protests against him nationwide.
Sabineli can’t help but feel uneasy, as if he’s doing something that’s impossible without being crazy.
‘Is he crazy?’
There have been times in history when a crazy emperor ascended to the throne of the empire and did bizarre things.
Throughout the empire’s thousands of years of history, there have been many holy kings, but there have also been many dark kings.
Some appointed horses as the empire’s prime minister, were beaten to death by citizens while chasing after nuns, or issued orders that men should be executed if they showed their lower bodies…
Such dark kings did not hesitate to act crazy even before they ascended to the throne, but they became emperors due to their strong legitimacy and inheritance laws.
And the tyrants were also quiet when they were crown princes, but once they became emperors, they constantly committed cruel tyranny.
However, the Grand Duke does not fit into either type of case.
Having dealt with him several times, Sabineli knows how wise, cunning, and thorough the Grand Duke is.
His politics are always reasonable and highly appropriate.
When he looks at the empire he rules, he shows excellent governance that even Sabineli has to nod his head to.
Thanks to this, the overall economic and political situation of the empire has improved to the level of the previous emperor.
‘Except for the technology investment fund, the Grand Duke’s politics are perfect.’
Sabineli is afraid of the situation in which the Grand Duke, who is so sane, is organizing a nationwide protest denouncing him through the intelligence agency.
‘Did he go from being a holy king to a madman?’
That doesn’t seem to be the case in Sabineli’s eyes, so Sabineli feels fear.
‘I don’t know what he’s thinking or what he’s after…’
And that’s not all.
He appointed himself, a figure of the emperor’s faction who is the only force that can drive out the Grand Duke, as the Minister of Justice.
Considering the authority that the Minister of Justice has, his actions are not easily understood.
The fear of the unknown, and the fact that he can’t even sense what he’s after despite his excellent calculation and reading skills.
‘I… I don’t know what he’s looking at or what he’s thinking.’
To be honest, the reason he blabbed about being in cahoots with demon worshippers is nothing else.
I just wonder why he’s expanding the protests nationwide.
The reason he’s increasing the number of guards is to find out why.
The Grand Duke is actively organizing protests denouncing himself and spreading radical claims.
The Grand Duke must step down.
In fact, it may feel like a windfall to the emperor’s faction, but Sabineli doesn’t think so.
Currently, the empire’s politics are stable due to the power of the Grand Duke.
The peace that came about because he subdued the strongest kings in the empire with his overwhelming military power.
If Debien were to step down here, it would be the perfect situation for an internal conflict over who would fill the power vacuum.
‘The goal is to make him lose his position, but that doesn’t mean I want to make him lose his position this way.’
Theodora’s goal is not to dethrone and kill Debien.
Her goal is simple.
She plans to take away the omnipotent power that Debien has and give him a position that can be controlled.
Sabineli, who is better than anyone else at reading his lord’s mind, is convinced of his thoughts.
Sabineli is impatient with his behavior, which seems to be making him lose his position.
“Hoo…what are you thinking?”
He is wise, so there is no greater fear for Savinelli than not knowing what he is after or what he is thinking.
After writing the letter.
“I hope you are not…a demon worshiper.”
His heart is sincere.
If the Grand Duke is a demon worshiper…
The empire is already over.
In fact, the reason for writing a letter to the Pope saying that the Grand Duke is a demon worshiper is simple.
It is just to create a gap to bring down his authority and make him lose power.
Because Savinelli doesn’t really think he is a demon worshiper.