Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World - Chapter 182

The founder of the Anhalt Elector House came from a clan of berserkers.

When something dear to him was harmed, he would rage uncontrollably, forgetting everything before and after, charging relentlessly and delivering a killing blow to the enemy’s head with his axe-sword.

No matter how injured his own body was—whether pierced by arrows or having his fingers and arms torn off in the worst of times—he would still run toward his enemy and annihilate them.

They were insane.

Therefore, everyone feared them as reckless but simultaneously revered them when they were under their protection. Eventually, his clan of berserkers rose to become the Elector House.

“The past is but a story now.”

Nowadays, they are tame.

Anastasia, who was awaiting the Elector succession ceremony in the Imperial City, surprised many when she defeated Lord Reckenber.

After all, even the demonic superhuman, Lord Reckenber, was but a human child.

Surrounded and beaten by several armored cavalry, a human would normally die.

We talk about tearing off human heads—helmets and all—with bare hands, splitting a disobedient Landsknecht from top to bottom with a halberd, caving in a human skull with one finger, or slapping someone so hard that the flesh flies off, exposing bone.

Even now, tales of the incredulous Reckenber legend are told in Virendorf and the Imperial City, instilling fear.

No matter how superhuman, no human could do such things.

It was all lies.

In her first battle, Anastasia wasn’t misled by the legends of Lord Reckenber and handled the situation well.

Anyway, those are just stories of the past.

Reckenber is no more.

Even if the Anhalt Elector House was descended from berserkers, their blood has since thinned.

“Well, that’s not bad for me.”

In fact, things are moving in a good direction.

Was it Sabine who handled the negotiations?

Valiere’s side didn’t react badly.

The herald I sent returned this morning, and it seems Sabine wants to cut off the half-thieves and mercenaries who are unnecessary for the Second Princess of Valiere.

If it’s about maintaining the face of Princess Valiere, then the Cologne Sect, aside from the clerics affiliated with Anhalt, really doesn’t matter, she asserted.

Given all this, it’s only natural that the likes of Berlichingen can meet a gruesome end.

The negotiator, Sabine, has conveyed these pleasing words.

Moreover, according to the herald, there seems to be no fighting spirit left in the brigade, and sobs could even be heard around.

Very well then.

Everything is moving in the right direction.

“Then, I shall protect the honor of Valiere von Anhalt, the Second Princess of the Anhalt Elector House, and ensure her interests.”

That should be no problem.

After all, for Mainz, killing Berlichingen to restore its honor is the main concern; other matters are relatively trivial.

Of course, if pursuing benefits, it would be acceptable to kill Valiere and annihilate the brigade altogether.

But there’s almost no merit in incurring the displeasure of the current Elector, Liesenlotte, to do so.

Let’s confirm the benefits.

I will proceed with the heresy inquisition under the pretext of converting Valiere from the Cologne Sect to orthodoxy, disband the assembled forces in the Imperial City, capture the Cologne Sect clerics except for a few, and arrest Berlichingen.

Without starting a war, I’ve led us to this outcome as one of the three ecclesiastic princes and as a cardinal.

A masterful move.

If I pull this off, the tarnished honor caused by Berlichingen will be restored.

“Now――”

I look ahead.

Amidst 3000 brigade members, a lone girl stands.

Even in tattered clothes, her fairy-like appearance unmistakably identifies her as a noble.

Valiere has dismounted her horse and is waiting just to greet me.

Isn’t that a commendable attitude?

I smile, considering whether to shake hands first or perhaps to embrace in front of the crowd to show friendship.

Well, I never really harbored any malice towards Valiere; in fact, I even sympathize with her meticulousness about money.

Thinking this, I begin to approach.

“I announce to the Elector of Mainz!”

Her voice was clear and fragrant, yet it boomed with such force that it seemed to shake my entire body.

“Let it be heard from afar and seen up close by those near! All the words I am about to utter are my response, Valiere von Anhalt’s response, to the seven demands you have made!”

I frown.

I expected a virtuous greeting, yet she discards that with a scream.

Valiere’s complexion is pale, her neck veins bulging tremendously as if she might vomit blood right then.

“The seven demands, worthy of the seven deadly sins, none of them merit consideration! All the forces gathered by Valiere von Anhalt are here to celebrate the Elector succession ceremony of my sister Anastasia in the Imperial City! There is no reason for our proud knights to respond to the arrogance of weak clerics!”

The dissolution of the forces was a request even Pope Yulia had approved.

Yet, Valiere regarded it as arrogance from weak clerics.

“We will not allow the burning of the ‘New Century Atonement Legend’ that the Cologne Sect calls the ‘Scriptures.’ There is no reason to respond to the jealousy of a decaying orthodoxy that seeks to regain believers by burning the scriptures of the sect we believe in!”

As far as preliminary research goes, it’s not that Valiere particularly believes in the Cologne Sect.

She only adhered to it because the region ruled by her fiancé, a knight, followed this sect.

Yet, she viewed the request to burn books as jealousy from the orthodox toward the Cologne Sect.

“Moreover, there is no way this Valiere would convert. This body has already been dedicated to protecting the faith of the Cologne Sect. It is not permissible for a knight to forsake the sect to which my fiancé has sworn a geas and betray our faith! Any sensible person would understand that this demand is absurd and nothing but an insult to me! Does Cardinal Mainz not understand reason at all?”

Everything, absolutely everything, is not what I thought!

Suddenly, the same words echoed in my ears.

The words that Valiere has been shouting earlier are now being repeated throughout her brigade.

Knights in armor, presumably her guards, are shouting so that the entire brigade can hear.

At this point, I understood.

Valiere is declaring war on me, Cardinal Mainz!

“Of course, converting the Cologne Sect and executing its followers is something I, as a believer, cannot overlook! This is nothing but fear from the Cardinal because the Cologne Sect, which continues to embody the ideal form of God’s desire through Agape, threatens orthodoxy!”

I grit my teeth.

This is not a sudden madness from Valiere; she had planned to do this even before greeting me.

I glare at the herald standing behind me.

The herald, terrified, points at a woman.

Among the brigade, a female knight, likely named Sabine, is loudly repeating Valiere’s words.

She is looking at Valiere intently with a rapt expression, like a fanatically devoted believer.

That woman dared to deceive this Cardinal Mainz!

“There’s absolutely no reason I should handle the financial affairs of the feudal lord with whom I’ve signed a lord-vassal contract! All the assets of my brigade are gathered solely to provide bread and wine to each member of my forces. There’s no reason to even give away an apple core, let alone a copper coin. Your Eminence, as a cardinal, covets my assets because of your greed!”

How did it come to this?

I did not desire a war with Valiere.

I tried to compromise.

I intended to assure her of her position and benefits.

So why?

“Furthermore, you mentioned turning the Cologne Sect into serfs. This is nothing but proof of the Cardinal’s own immorality, unworthy of a clergyman. They say that lies can be expedient, but your words are unfit for a clergyman and should be considered tainted. Thus, it’s highly questionable whether all your statements truly reflect the Pope’s intentions!”

Why is Valiere glaring at me with a berserker’s expression as if her precious things are in danger?

Isn’t everything different from what we discussed?

I didn’t intend to push her to this extent.

I came here merely to restore my honor, and though I do intend to crucify and burn the inconvertible Cologne Sect clergy…

I don’t intend to steal Valiere’s assets, but well, perhaps my assembled forces, unseen, might meddle with some mule driver here, kill him, and steal all his possessions.

Lord Berlichingen is intended to be tortured to death without allowing him to commit suicide on the way to the capital.

It shouldn’t be that terrible.

It’s a common occurrence.

Yet why is she so furiously enraged?

Why is she raging like a mother wolf whose cub has been beaten with a stick?

“Finally, let me make one thing clear. I’ll shout out my true feelings. This Valiere von Anhalt, even if she lacks the strength, believes it’s good if all those under her can grasp happiness. If my eyeballs were sapphires, my sword’s hilt decorated with rubies, and my skin wrapped in gold leaf. If I could peel off this layer of skin and distribute it as golden brooches, how many people could I have saved? But unfortunately, reality is not so. And if that cannot be done, I will not forgive those who harm anything important to me, related to me!”

I also understood clearly.

“Therefore, I will never sell off Lord Berlichingen, whom I have once followed out of self-preservation! That is the honor of this Valiere von Anhalt, and I will not allow anyone to tarnish it, not even the Pope or the Emperor!”

She was mad.

She is mad.

“Die, Cardinal Mainz!”

Ah, yes, Valiere von Anhalt’s eyes are completely mad, madder than anyone else present here.

Now I fully understand.

So, this is what the descendant of the berserker Anhalt clan, the second princess, is like.

When truly in a desperate situation, she acts in such a mad way to protect all her loved ones.

She believes everything under her command is precious.

She behaves in such a mad way, like a mother protecting her young, to guard everything she has gathered.

Who!

Who instigated her!

Who pushed the Valiere I see before me to the brink of madness!!

Ah, but it’s too late.

I have failed.

“I understand! You are an incurable heretic and a backslider against orthodoxy!”

I bluster loudly, throwing back my voice.

I have to.

I can’t back down now.

“You will regret it, Valiere von Anhalt. As a king of heretics who can’t protect anything, you will die a gruesome death here.”

I pull on the reins of my horse and turn back to my army.

I must get back to my army and ensure full military readiness.

There isn’t much time.

The words I hurled at Valiere are just bluster.

Everyone in my army thinks this will end with negotiations, and only a few old warriors are prepared for war.

Even they probably anticipate only suppressing a few resistant mercenary groups, based on experience.

They aren’t prepared for a full-scale battle.

It’s absurd.

Why should I, driven mad by such a lord, sacrifice my precious subordinates to the altar of heresy?

We must be able to win.

Surely, my army, including the Mainz Knightly Order, can’t lose to a poorly equipped and untrained mercenary band.

Against half of their 3000, our 6000 cannot possibly lose.

But, but.

I know.

This Mainz knows.

The troops led by Lord Reckenber and the powerful army commanded by Duke Temeraire have been defeated.

Even if all legends about Lord Reckenber are false, that fact remains.

Morale can overturn everything at times.

Ah, it was a mistake.

I shouldn’t have accepted Pope Yulia’s invitation.

Knowing everything, she meant to feed me this mud.

“That ingrate! That corrupt violent Pope! To do this to me, Cardinal Mainz, to me, the Elector of Mainz!”

The Pope, foreseeing everything, fed me this mud.

Probably even understanding that the situation would turn out like this, she instigated me.

Pope Yulia was mad.

Mad with faith.

Whether I can win or not, she probably thought, “Let’s throw Cardinal Mainz into the mix and see.”

If the Cologne Sect is crushed, good; if not, she’ll deal with them herself in the capital later.

Valiere von Anhalt, the second child of the Anhalt Elector House, was just as mad.

To protect her precious ones, she believes it necessary to kill me with all her might.

She believes this is the only way to resolve her agony.

Even if it means killing another Elector to protect her precious things, she’ll think about it later!

Heretic? I don’t care!

The Pope and the Emperor approved the arrest of Lord Berlichingen? Ignore it!

“It ends when either they die or we do!”

Essentially, because she’s from a clan of berserkers, she’s not thinking about the future.

She’s coming to kill me with all her forces.

To protect her subordinates, she’s ordered them to die for her.

The true nature of a descendant of the berserker clan manifested here.

I was the only sane one, caught in this hell.

“These madmen! There’s no law or reason with them!!”

This scream, believing in victory no matter what, could not be leaked to even one of my closest aides.

A lord fearing the loss of his subordinates is something that must never happen for their sake.

No, there’s only one among the aides.

Unknown to her, she’s my blood-related daughter, and I must tell her.

If Cardinal Mainz falls, she must flee back to our territory at once.

For that, I had to reveal to her the secret that we are blood-related.

I had intended not to tell her.

Without letting her know everything, without telling her about her mother crazed with gold, I intended to leave her the untarnished Electorate of Mainz.

“Damn them!”

I raised a voice unbefitting a clergyman and spat.