Virgin Knight Who Is the Frontier Lord in the Gender Switched World

Shouts enveloped the entire encampment of the Elector of Mainz’s household.

“What kind of foolish noble would accept a disadvantage for something as trivial as a mother’s life or whereabouts! Eugen, are you really my daughter? Even if we don’t claim mother and child, I intended to provide you with the finest education!”

In front of my eyes, my mother was furious.

To the world—at least ostensibly—I, Eugen, as a soldier of the Electorate of Mainz, and for my mother’s sake, had reluctantly accepted that girl Martina’s proposal due to our dire situation.

For the sake of saving everyone’s lives, I reluctantly agreed to convert to the Cologne Sect, with the help of Valiere, in full view of the public.

That was the story we presented, and that was the story we pretended was true.

“Mother, please calm down.”

I clasped my hands together and smiled to soothe her.

There was no way there could be any joyful feelings in this situation.

Regardless, I must convince my mother.

“How could I possibly calm down! Ah, Eugen. Indeed, your judgment was mostly correct. There are praiseworthy aspects to commend. In that situation, there was no alternative but to surrender, and you surpassed even my predictions. You anticipated that Lord Polydoro, Valiere’s fiancé, would join the fray. You ingeniously found a way to communicate directly with Valiere and connected a plea to surrender. Thanks to you, our army was spared from fatal damage.”

That was good.

That was indeed good.

I muttered like a refrain, shaking my head with my hands covering my face.

Mother bitterly spat out:

“As an Elector, one of the three ecclesiastical princes, and a successor to the Archbishop of Mainz, how could you have accepted conversion to the Cologne Sect! It would have been better to let them kill me, to give them my dead body, and negotiate the terms of surrender. Do you even understand the significance of what has been done?”

“I do understand, and that’s why I acted as I did,” I stated nonchalantly.

It was all within calculations.

Of course, as negotiations of surrender go, they were inherently a loss, but at least it was a better loss to choose.

“What!?”

“It was an improvisation… well, I let it go as Martina, the negotiator on Valiere’s side, would prefer. Frankly, it wasn’t a bad deal for our side either.”

“What are you talking about?” my mother asked, as if doubting my sanity.

I was sane.

“Indeed, the house of the Elector of Mainz, being one of the three ecclesiastical princes, was pushed into a situation where we had to convert from the orthodox faith to the Cologne Sect. This seems problematic at first glance.”

“That’s right. Whether it’s the orthodox or the Cologne Sect, I couldn’t care less which sect is correct. Religion is not God’s; it’s man’s. If the Archbishop of Mainz were to speak frankly, he’d even consider it a tool for accusing people, exerting violence, and seizing wealth! A shield to protect all of my territory and people, a tool to accumulate wealth for the citizens and enrich their lives! The real issue in this defeat is that the daughter of the Archbishop of Mainz, the future successor!!”

You are.

Not even the heir of the Elector of Anhalt, a mere Valiere, has been subjugated and forced to convert as a counter-move to the heretical inquisition. Eugen von Mainz will now be despised by other Elector houses.

That’s what mother sorrowfully informed me, and it was not incorrect.

“Where is this a better loss? It’s nothing but a mortifying humiliation! Being despised as a lord means that all who follow will be despised as well! It’s natural that the currency issued by our territory will fall, knights, soldiers, and all citizens living in our electorate will suffer some disadvantage!”

“There’s no problem.”

There’s no problem at all.

My mother is competent, but it seems she cannot see the situation clearly.

Let me be clear.

“Indeed, we will suffer some disadvantages temporarily, but that was something we had to accept the moment we surrendered. Please release the wealth you have accumulated throughout your life and pacify them. As for converting from orthodox to the Cologne Sect—I see no issue with it. It was good timing.”

That girl Martina indeed presented a ruthless choice.

Though initially enraged, upon calm consideration, it wasn’t a bad situation.

I even performed a deeply regretful act to accept it.

“Mother, please think carefully. Compared to that heresy, even our corrupt orthodoxy needs improvement. Who was it that said these words, and to whom?”

It is time for a lesson in scholasticism.

I must teach my mother about the arrival of a new era.

I will pose a question and allow her time to think it over, giving her a moment to reflect.

“Those were the words of Pope Yulia. She said them regarding the orthodox view of the Cologne Sect, which she deemed heretical, through the Archbishop of Mainz, directed at Valiere.”

“That is correct.”

My mother is not foolish.

She understands if explained properly, so it’s hardly a big deal.

“The orthodox has completely rotted. Even the Pope has blatantly stated as much. Hasn’t the era of Reformation arrived? I, Eugen, believe so.”

Once, a Pope began selling indulgences to raise money for a Crusade.

It has been a downfall ever since.

Fraudulent adulterers who purchase male prostitutes and indulge in pleasures on the streets, clergy who sell church offices for gold, clergy shaking their fat bodies while preaching to poor, thin peasants.

This is the current state of the Church.

Even if unspoken, my mother understands this well.

The end of the orthodox is near.

“Eugen, are you suggesting that the Cologne Sect will replace the orthodox? That the Cologne Sect will become the new orthodoxy?”

“No, not to that extent.”

The idea of such a deranged religion becoming mainstream is abhorrent.

I let slip a bit of my true feelings.

“However, it’s certain that the orthodox, the current mainstream, will fall into disgrace. And it’s highly likely that the Cologne Sect will flourish for a while. Perhaps this battle between the Electorate of Mainz and Valiere will be said to have sparked the Reformation.”

I dislike that idea.

I’d rather not have the defeat of the Electorate of Mainz prominently recorded in history books.

But, well, it might be inevitable.

We lost.

We should clearly acknowledge that.

Therefore, we must offset our losses with victories.

Mother looked me squarely in the eye and then murmured in confusion.

“What are you thinking?”

“We’ve embarked on this path. Perhaps we should sincerely convert to the Cologne Sect. Let’s cooperate with what comes next.”

In essence, I’m saying we should back the winning horse.

It’s now almost certain that the orthodox and the Cologne Sect will clash, and our Electorate of Mainz has already sparked the battle and lost.

And likely, Anastasia, Valiere’s sister and the legitimate heir of the Electorate of Anhalt, will attempt to overthrow the Pope.

She must avenge her sister’s near-death experience.

Even someone less perceptive than Eugen can see that coming.

“The Pope will die?”

Though sometimes naive, my intelligent mother should understand.

The Pope will die.

Surely, he will be killed.

At that moment, the authority of the orthodox will crumble, and the era of the Cologne Sect’s prosperity will begin.

“Probably by Lord Faust von Polydoro. Didn’t you, Mother, encounter his superhuman prowess on the battlefield and understand best how exceptional a knight he is? You yourself have said you hope he would be killed in a fair duel.”

It’s almost certain.

That is deadly violence.

A being intent on solving problems by killing.

He, a fervent follower of the Cologne Sect, is furious that the inquisition was directed at his sect and his fiancée put in jeopardy by Pope Yulia, and he will kill her.

His rage is unstoppable, even by his fiancée, Valiere.

How the Electorate of Anhalt and the Electorate of Virendorf manage the situation from here will be crucial.

“Are you suggesting we should join the winning side?”

“Yes. By converting to the Cologne Sect and my being taken hostage by Valiere, at least people like Anastasia or Katarina will reach out to me.”

Planning to kill the Pope, what will the Electorate of Mainz do?

That’s what they’ll ask.

I’ll respond as if greatly aggrieved, extremely vexed.

As if I’m a victim betrayed by everyone.

“My mother, the Electorate of Mainz, was deceived by Pope Yulia. We never wanted to conduct the heretical inquisition or impose demands on Princess Valiere. Lord Berlichingen’s anger was exploited. I am aggrieved. The Pope who used my mother and treated all of us in the Electorate of Mainz as mere toys, leading us to death—I intend to kill him. I want your full cooperation with the killing of the Pope and our plans moving forward. What do you need?”

All true.

Not a word of it was a lie.

This Eugen can perfectly play the pitiful victim of Pope Yulia’s machinations.

“If I say so, Anastasia and Katarina probably won’t treat me poorly. They may think of me as a vile creature, but for a noble, that in itself is a compliment.”

The authority of the Electorate of Mainz has fallen due to defeat, but it remains an Electorate nonetheless.

The damage is significant, but fatal harm was avoided.

And there is still the vast wealth my mother has amassed.

At least, we won’t be treated roughly.

“Mother, I, Eugen, will surely restore the honor of the Electorate of Mainz. By cooperating in the assassination of Pope Yulia, who exploited us. By converting to the winning side, the Cologne Sect. I have decided this is the right course, and I intend to proceed accordingly. Just watch. By the time Mother returns to our territory, the news of the Pope’s assassination will have reached Mainz.”

Likely, Lord Faust von Polydoro will be the one to do it.

Officially, perhaps he will succumb to a mysterious disease that blows him to bits.

Or an accidental death, as if he hung himself with a rope around his neck for health reasons, dangling like the great bell of Windbona.

That seems fitting.

I stated this with a smile, leaving my mother, who looked dumbfounded, behind in the tent.

Now, I must head to Valiere as a hostage.

Let’s wrap my true intentions in a smile.

My dark true intentions must be hidden until I meet cold-blooded Queen Katarina and the Cannibal Princess Anastasia.

And they need to be hidden only until then.

“…Mother, and the Pope, who insulted and used our people like pawns, I will surely kill them. Just watch.”

For now, that was the only goal.

Then slowly.