When the Pope Becomes Competent - Chapter 62



Only Noblemtl

◈62. What the Duke brought to the banquet hall

Reunion. Almost as soon as those words left my mouth, Ernen’s movements stopped.

He was fidgeting and chewing his fingernails, then he blankly looked at me.

It seemed like all the anxiety I had felt because of the peacock was completely forgotten at that moment.

“Come to think of it, brother.”

“He’s outside. He said he’d come in once he was sure the cursed mark was gone. Should I call him now?”

“Yes, please. I have already checked several times to make sure the mark has been completely removed.”

I went out into the hallway and gestured to Bliss.

“I’ve confirmed it. I can’t feel the curse, so it seems to have been lifted. They also said the brand has disappeared.”

“… … .”

The Bliss guy moved his lips as if he was about to say something, then closed them again.

Then he quietly bowed his head.

It was a simple greeting, expressing only gratitude, without any elaborate details.

I also didn’t add anything here or there.

I just passed by and lightly tapped the guy on the shoulder as a greeting, and then quickly left the place.

* * *

When he returned to the cathedral, he immediately summoned the high priests.

Then I told them everything about what had happened with Timor.

I told him everything, including that I had to attend a banquet soon and that I had to prove my power there.

Luciana’s reaction to his return was simple and clear.

“… …Why did you do that?”

“I have to prove it. I can’t say I can’t prove it.”

“That’s true, but… doesn’t it seem like a trap too obviously?”

Luciana tapped the conference table with her fingertips in discontent.

“If you were the one who brought up the issue of proof first, there must be some hidden agenda. For example, you may have hidden a skill-sealing item nearby to prevent His Majesty from proving his strength… Or you may have secretly put a drug with that effect in your glass… … .”

“Hey, no way. And don’t forget that the Duke’s younger brother is here.”

I pointed to Argelio, who was nearby.

It was strangely nerve-wracking to openly badmouth the Duke of Freeburn, the guy’s family, while Argel was watching.

But Argelio’s reaction was different from what I expected.

“I agree with Sir Luciana. That author is a man who would prepare a trap.”

“……okay?”

“He’s the kind of person who tried to poison his own younger brother in order to take over the position of the Duke’s head of the family. Wouldn’t he have prepared a trap of that level?”

It seemed that the Duke’s brothers were not on very good terms.

By the way, poisoning?

If he was that evil, there was a chance that he was really up to something.

[No, Your Majesty. If Your Majesty is poisoned, I might lose my mind and use my skill on the spot, squeak―]

Following Luciana and Argel, Delsi also showed her concern.

That sounds pretty dangerous too.

“No, calm down. Who said anyone would get poisoned? I have a plan, too. Just like I always have.”

I’ve surprised them quite a few times so far.

We found the ruins―

The crime of Count Philma was revealed―

I also created an elixir.

That’s why everyone nodded in agreement.

“Well, you’ve done well so far. I’m sure you have something in mind this time too.”

Luciana was the first to say so―

“I don’t think there will be any trouble. There were many people who had their teeth cut off by His Majesty, but he is still alive and well… … .”

Argelio acknowledged me with a somewhat ambiguous tone that was neither an insult nor a compliment.

And finally, Delsey also agreed with them.

[I believe you this time too. Show me anything, kkkk!]

I nodded and gave them simple, clear instructions.

“I’ll take care of the rest, so you just focus on preparing the banquet.”

Preparations were then made quickly.

A splendid banquet costume has been prepared, and those who will escort me and Luciana to the banquet hall have been selected.

He also sent people to thoroughly investigate and monitor the banquet venue under the pretext of helping prepare for the banquet.

So that Timor can’t use tricks like installing strange items there or casting curses on it.

Meanwhile, with the help of Thomas and the other servants, I was able to get dressed.

She wore a splendidly decorated banquet dress and had her hair done with the same elaborate decoration as other nobles.

When Toma saw me all dolled up and said, “You’re really, really cool!”, I smiled appropriately at his flattery.

Only then was I able to board the carriage heading to the palace.

Originally, I was planning to ride alone to the palace in a carriage, but for some reason, Argelio got into the carriage with me.

Saying that there was something they both wanted to talk about.

It was about three minutes after the carriage had started that I heard what the ‘story’ was about.

“I trust you, Your Majesty, but I still tell you this out of concern. Please be careful. Timor Van Freeburn… He is a cunning man, beyond anything you can imagine.”

“Do you have a lot of things piled up inside you?”

“… … .”

“Tell me what happened. If I hear that, I’ll at least get a rough idea of ​​what his methods are.”

Argel didn’t answer right away, but just stared quietly out the window.

The answer I finally heard after waiting was quite bland.

“… … It’s not something worth saying out loud.”

Although he says that, it doesn’t seem like he really intends to keep his mouth shut until the end.

If you really didn’t want to talk, you wouldn’t have hesitated for so long.

‘I think you wanted to ask me something… … ? I think you rode in the carriage with me because you wanted to tell me what’s on your mind.’

A warning to be careful of Timor would have been enough, just a few words would have been enough, without the need to ride in a carriage together.

But if you had followed me into the carriage… … .

“What is it? Tell me as if you were going to confession.”

“… … ?”

“Say it as if you were confessing to God. What you’re saying now isn’t something I’m hearing, but something that’s being relayed to God through my ears… … something like that. Either way, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything.”

I’ve never been to confession, so I’m not really sure what that is.

I thought that if I just talked around it like this, this guy would feel more comfortable opening his mouth.

That doesn’t mean everything he just said was a lie, and in fact, I was going to pretend I didn’t hear anything he said.

There is no way you can go around telling people what you trusted me with.

“Are you saying you didn’t hear it?”

“Yeah. I have a habit of talking a little bit, but I’ve never lied before. Trust me and tell me.”

“That’s right. That’s what happened… … .”

The guy hesitated for a while as if trying to calm his nerves, then finally opened his mouth.

“Actually, I wanted to run the top. I was good at playing with numbers.”

The guy slowly continued his story of the past that had started somewhat oddly.

“I had no interest in inheriting the archbishopric or the dukedom. I was content to just spend my days calculating how much money came in and how much went out, while managing my household.”

“I heard there was quite a war of nerves between Timor and the Duke of Edinburgh.”

“It’s just a rumor spread by people who don’t know the details.”

As I nodded, the guy continued talking.

“When Timor said he would take over the family, I was secretly happy. I was glad that he would take on the troublesome work for me. That’s why I was always willing to lend a helping hand when he asked for help.”

“help?”

“Invest in research here and there, import certain foreign medicinal herbs… things like that. They said it was absolutely necessary to lead the family, so I just gave in. I didn’t really have any intention of looking into it.”

After a while, Argel’s gaze turned towards me after looking out the carriage window.

I’ve seen that kind of gaze from Ernen too.

It was the gaze of someone with a heavy burden on their mind.

“Then Timor’s position became more and more solid. Explosives with great lethality were developed and deployed in the dukedom, and his arch-enemy was assassinated with a rare poison imported from abroad.”

“No way, that… … .”

“Yes, all of those were my doings. The money I invested under his orders was used to develop weapons. The medicine I brought in was actually a colorless, odorless poison.”

‘Ah, so that’s why.’ I exclaimed inwardly.

Somehow I felt like this guy’s karma points were too low.

The guy’s points were -132 points. It was a score that you would get by killing one or two people.

I thought it was strange because he was a little arrogant, but not the kind of guy who would kill someone… … .

‘Is it karma that I have unknowingly harmed people by smuggling poison and investing in weapons development?’

If the guy really did that ‘without knowing anything’… then maybe his karma wouldn’t have been reduced that much.

But when I heard it, it didn’t seem to be that either.

“At the time, I didn’t know that people were dying because of me. To be exact, I didn’t even think about finding out. I was so focused on growing my own group.”

“So you’re saying you ignored it.”

“That’s right. My younger sister once said in passing, ‘Not knowing doesn’t make you innocent.’ But even after hearing that, I never really looked into what it meant.”

The sin of killing a person without knowing it, but not trying to recognize one’s own sin and ‘turning a blind eye’.

This was the specific karma of Argel guy.

So, the points are high for killing someone directly, but lower than someone who committed no crime.

As I was putting the puzzle pieces together in my head, the guy continued talking.

“When my hands were sufficiently stained with blood, Timor inherited the dukedom. After that, he sent me some high-quality liquor as a gift, saying that it was all thanks to my help. Suddenly, I remembered what my sister had said.”

“So, did you check out the alcohol?”

“Yes, the result is as you expected.”

The poison must have come out. Perhaps Timor had wanted to kill Argel even before he took the throne.

Since Argel was so resourceful that he could freely smuggle poisonous plants and was the second son of a duke, he must have thought that he could easily threaten his position.

So it seems that the poison was sent as soon as it was decided that Argel’s help was no longer needed.

After I finished organizing my thoughts in my head, I slowly opened my mouth.

“I told you earlier that I wouldn’t listen and would relay it to God, but can I still tell you just one thing about my opinion…? …? It’s probably something you don’t want to hear. If you say no, I won’t do it.”

“Please do so.”

“Selfish guy.”

“I know. I’m such a selfish guy who doesn’t care about anything but my life and money, so I threw everything away and ran away to the cathedral to avoid Timor. But… but if there’s one thing that bothers me―”

In a slightly trembling voice, the guy continued his interrupted conversation.

“That would be my sister.”

Argelio’s younger sister.

I have never seen the Duke’s daughter in person, but she certainly seemed like a kind and loving child.

I could tell by the look on Argelio’s face when he spoke of her.

“The child who was left alone in Timor’s hands because I ran away alone is my last worry and regret that I couldn’t let go of.”

After Argel’s words, there was no more conversation between us.

* * *

The place designated as the banquet hall is the Sapphire Palace, one of the many villas of the Imperial Palace.

Before entering there, we joined up with Luciana.

She had come here first to investigate if there was anything suspicious in the banquet hall and was waiting for us.

So, I finally got to the palace to meet her… and I was a little surprised.

‘Are you wearing a dress?’

I thought that since she was attending a banquet, she might have dressed up like other nobles.

But I thought it was real.

She was wearing a black evening party dress as she approached me from a distance.

The dress was made of a thin, skin-tight material, and the hem of the skirt was studded with white jewels like stars in the Milky Way.

Black hair that was smooth and seemed to have been combed more carefully than usual.

And a dress with star-like jewels on the hem.

These two things made her look like she was wrapped in the night sky all over her body.

My gaze was drawn to the night that followed Luciana’s footsteps, and I was momentarily lost in thought when she started making excuses.

“I don’t really like this kind of attire, but… I have to wear a dress to enter the royal banquet hall.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes, I know that the dress doesn’t suit me. I know that, but I can’t help it because of the rules—”

“No. It suits you well.”

I really didn’t expect that.

I never thought that those words I spoke honestly would become the beginning of a long silence.

“… … .”

“… … .”

I would appreciate it if you could answer me, no matter what… … .

After hearing me say that it suits her well, Luciana kept opening her mouth as if she was going to say something, then closing it again.

Because of that, I also didn’t know what to say.

It was Argelio who broke the silence on our behalf.

“Sir Luciana? How about telling me what the banquet hall was like?”

Only then, as if she had remembered her purpose, did Luciana wake up from her frozen state.

She soon took me and Argel to a secluded corner where no one could hear, and quietly reported the situation.

“There was no sign of a trap or anything, but it looks like they’re planning something.”

“hmm?”

“I brought something that I thought was necessary to test His Majesty’s abilities. It was in a sturdy wooden box, so I couldn’t see the contents. But inside―”

She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice to a more private level.

“It seemed like there was some kind of living creature inside.”