Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 154

At the Temeraire Estate garden.

As the commotion in the capital quieted down, each person had finished offering their “excuses” to the Empress without facing one another.

I was visiting her, still recovering from a head injury.

In truth, it was less a visit to the sick and more a lesson for me, lacking in wisdom.

“Duchess Temeraire, how do you fare?”

“Exceptionally well, Faust.”

Duchess Temeraire was sunbathing in her estate’s garden.

It seems her cracked skull had somewhat mended; not fully healed, but enough to venture into the garden.

“There’s still time before we assess the capital’s condition. Anastasia and Katarina mentioned that the assassin they summoned, Lady Sabine, should arrive in time.”

“…”

Lady Sabine, huh?

Well, it’s an old story, and if necessary, she should be up to any task, even assassinating the Pope.

But.

“Do you really think assassination suits Lady Sabine?”

“Are you opposed?”

“Not to the method, no.”

What I question isn’t a feeble, knightly distaste for killing a clergyman or disdain for earning infamy by assassinating the Pope.

“Indeed, if it’s Lady Sabine von Wesperman, she would execute the Pope’s assassination without hesitation. I have no doubt about her temperament or talent; she’s even been trained as an assassin. She’d probably strip the Pope’s silk vestments and sell them at a thrift shop.”

“So?”

Duchess Temeraire gestures with her chin, urging me on.

My concern is that she might not just assassinate but could hang the Pope’s body in place of the capital’s great bell to incite uproar—she tends to adopt a flamboyant approach when given the means.

“…”

Duchess Temeraire looks at me skeptically.

As if to say, you’re one to talk.

I’m aware that I am a brute, but I have always considered myself moderate in my problem-solving methods.

I have done nothing I would be ashamed to confess to my late mother, Marianne, in the afterlife.

By anyone’s standards, I’m considered mild-mannered.

“If she prefers flair, then let there be flair. As long as the assassination of the Pope is confirmed. Chaos is inevitable regardless… Originally, the current Pope ascended to power through a substantial bribe that secured the cardinals’ votes after the previous Pope was ousted, and she has profited greatly from the gunpowder trade, promising a cardinal position to the Bishop of Cologne in return for major investments.”

If it’s about flamboyance, a religious war is truly flamboyant.

Corruption is conducted openly; accusations are hurled openly, whether true or false, and the outcomes in court are determined not by debate but purely by a game of money and brute force.

The election of a Pope is a bloodbath, a demonstration of who truly holds power to Empress Gusten and other rulers.

“That I learned last time. Honestly, such high matters are beyond me.”

“It’s hardly expected of you to know the Pope’s name. A review from our last lesson. Name the Pope.”

I hadn’t thought I’d ever meet the Pope, hence my lack of interest.

But, well.

If a boastful knight were involved in religious warfare, she’d be diced up for stray dogs within an hour.

Whether it was so in a previous life, I don’t know, but clergy indulge in carnality, openly having illegitimate children, and religious positions are sold openly as familial support; society is built on this.

It was news to me, a devout follower from the fringes, but as a lord knight governing a border territory, I understood it.

“Faust?”

“My apologies. Here’s my answer. The Pope is Juliana II, known publicly as Pope Juliana and nicknamed ‘The Warlike Politician Pope, Violent Juliana.”

“Continue.”

Duchess Temeraire listens as she takes notes.

She’s a 28-year-old buxom, bespectacled beauty with a husky voice, and her nature is to point things out vigorously.

She fits my extreme standards for a stern, glasses-wearing female teacher from my previous lives, and I was terribly excited by this, though expressing such would have earned me disdain.

That was acceptable, but now was not the time.

I racked my brain, voicing what I had learned.

“His background comes from a mendicant order. Born a superhuman, he excelled in Scholasticism (natural sciences) and climbed the ranks, receiving a nomination for cardinal at a young age. At the Conclave (papal election), he was once defeated by a former pope who excelled in the use of substantial bribes, but Pope Julia did not give up. He survived the storm of condemnation, purging, and assassination launched against his faction by the former pope, and as a countermeasure, he promised the position of cardinal to the Bishop of Cologne, who had amassed wealth through the trade of gunpowder.”

“Please continue.”

“He demanded a huge investment as an alternative, using those funds to build a powerful political force. Not only did he strengthen his influence in the Holy Gusten Empire, but he eventually succeeded in influencing even the kings of other countries. After invading the papal states and thoroughly defeating the former pope, he executed him. Buoyed by his success, he personally led the church’s army to repel the nobles who tried to occupy the papal states amidst the confusion, spreading condemnation, purging, and assassination. Thus, he is sung of as the Violent Pope Julia.”

A light round of applause sounded.

It would be troublesome if I were asked for more detailed content, but I should be fine since I have been tutored extensively by Martina, who is far wiser than I.

“Very good. Any questions?”

“Then, I will ask. Even though Pope Julia himself granted the Bishop of Cologne a cardinal’s position, does he initiate a heresy trial against him?”

The worlds of religion and politics are complex and bizarre, and as a commoner, it doesn’t quite make sense to me.

“Yesterday’s enemy is today’s friend. Today’s friend is tomorrow’s enemy. Once, Pope Julia even coerced the daughter of the former pope, who had been the supreme commander of the church army, to collaborate during the invasion of the papal states and executed her afterward. To her, even the Bishop of Cologne is now disposable.”

The fact that the daughter of the former pope openly participated as a military officer and collaborated in killing her mother was already beyond Faust’s understanding.

I decided not to voice such pathetic thoughts, lest I be met with the usual stern gaze from Martina, my attendant.

“I, Duke Temeraire, will cooperate to save the Bishop of Cologne as a believer,”

Still, the idea of killing clergy was one thing, but facing the Pope was difficult.

I knew there was no piety in the opponent…

“Is God frightening?”

“…It’s hard to say.”

Proof of God’s existence.

Whenever religion is involved, one cannot help but ponder it.

In this world, magic exists, and so do oaths to gods, known as geas.

Yet, people are poor, each living just to secure daily bread, and would readily kill others if it benefits their kin.

As long as people live, they will not cease to fight.

If God truly exists, why would He allow such an ugly world to continue?

“I do believe in God. But I think perhaps God has already left this world.”

What I truly think is that God functions as a system but no longer has any will.

He doesn’t sympathize with the ugly nor enjoys observing them; He lacks such sensations altogether.

He mechanically responds to entreaties, viewed simply as a system.

There’s no meaning even in His having created humans.

“So, you don’t believe we knights, when we die, reach Valhalla blessed by God?”

“I believe Valhalla exists, but it too just mechanically sorts people.”

Knights accumulate points of virtue, and if they amass enough, they can go to Valhalla.

Of course, someone like me wouldn’t know the grading criteria.

“…My apologies. Since I’m not a religious figure, shall we drop this subject?”

Continuing this line of thought would be endless.

I enjoy reading books, but not philosophy; it has no limits.

“It’s alright. Any topic is fine if I can talk with you. But if it’s a distasteful topic, let’s stop.”

After Duke Temeraire adjusted his glasses and muttered that…

“Thank you. But let’s get back on track—I’ve heard it’s left to Lady Sabine, but I have my own purpose. I swore by a geas to confront the Mongol invasion. For that purpose, I would kill even the Pope or the Emperor.”

“It’s reassuring to hear you say that. I wasn’t doubting your resolve anymore—right, right.”

As the conversation about politics ended, another topic was brought up.

“I’ve heard it’s to summon Lady Sabine. But, well, your fiancée is coming too, isn’t he?”

“That’s right.”

Well, just calling Sabine herself might not have made her come.

It was natural for Lady Valiere von Anhalt to come as well.

“Honestly, I don’t know much. I’ve been gathering information on Anhalt, but I haven’t found anything outstanding about Miss Valiere. She’s not incompetent, but I wouldn’t call her excellent either.”

That’s a fact.

I, too, don’t think highly of Lady Valiere’s capabilities.

She seems fitting for the term ‘honor student’ rather than intellectually brilliant.

But people don’t always choose their superiors based on merit alone.

I’d rather not be spoken ill of, but…

What Duke Temeraire seemed to mean wasn’t really about capabilities…

“How do you see it? Since she’s your fiancée, I also want to talk about various conditions and such. The berserk samurai of the Knight Order would like to meet you at least once.”

“Ah.”

I don’t know what he wants to talk about, but if he wishes to speak, I can’t find fault.

“It doesn’t bother me, and I’ll arrange the introduction. But honestly, I don’t really feel like she’s my fiancée…”

“Oh, is that so?”

“I don’t dislike her, and we will probably get married if I’m still alive in two years.”

Her personality is likable.

We could have a happy married life supporting each other.

She’s a wonderful partner, flawless in her demeanor.

In managing my Polydoro domain, even the power derived from her lineage was sufficient.

But still.

Lady Valiere von Anhalt had a fatal flaw—she was a flat-chested little girl.

To me, an oppai star, that could even be called a sin.

So, because of that.

She’s still only 14, and with her mother and sister like they are, I pray every Sunday at worship for her to grow into a big-breasted older sister.

But God has already left this world, so probably, He won’t grant it.

I don’t even know how to accumulate virtue to receive a blessing from the oppai god, so it’s probably hopeless.

I was almost giving up.