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

With lips perfectly shaped, like a serpent residing in the skull of a mute skeleton, Anastasia spat venomously as she extended her long tongue.

“Are you saying we should just sit by and watch as the Cardinal of Cologne is captured by the Pope?”

Her fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, her mood sour. I glanced around the room.

Anhalt Elector House’s First Princess, Anastasia.
Virendorf Elector House’s head, Katarina.
Mainz Elector House’s designated successor, Eugen.
And lastly, me, Charlotte, head of the Temeraire Ducal House.

The meeting continued among the four of us. While Anastasia’s advisor, Duchess Astarte, and other trusted individuals stood behind each of us, they had no right to speak.

Now then.

“I sent word to the ‘Knights of Cologne,’ who are stationed with my knight order to check on the situation. Not only did they evade the imperial capital, but they also refused any protection from us.”

Somehow, I must ensure that this meeting—originally convened with the intent of assassinating the Pope—doesn’t spiral out of control. Guiding the younger ones is the duty of this old boar, after all. Although, it would be impossible to manipulate these electors and their successors, unlike Faust, who is far simpler in nature. And yet, Faust’s simplicity stirs something deep within me. When he listens to my words so earnestly and gazes at me with such unwavering sincerity, I can’t help but feel a chill down my spine.

But enough of such indulgent thoughts.

“So, the Cardinal of Cologne is willing to be captured and subjected to the Inquisition without resistance?”

“He said he wants to question the Pope, to ask him what he truly intends for this ‘Empire’ and ‘Religion.’ He claims his life is irrelevant to this matter.”

“Foolishness.”

Anastasia sharply dismissed it as idiocy.

“The Inquisition is nothing but a sham court designed to spout arbitrary conclusions, where those self-proclaimed paragons of righteousness are nothing more than bloodthirsty oppressors. There is no justice, no fairness, not even a true judgment. They are drunk on God’s power, not serving Him, but intoxicated by their own might as they execute their so-called justice. The moment he asks his questions, he’ll be killed.”

“It seems the Cardinal of Cologne doesn’t see it that way. To add—”

I intentionally paused, presenting my opinion as though I was merely delivering information.

“At least, the Pope has chosen the Inquisition as the public reason to ‘kill’ the Cardinal of Cologne. However, there must be a hidden motive, and he’ll likely reveal it just before the execution. I, Duke Temeraire, guarantee it.”

The Pope doesn’t truly believe that the ‘Orthodoxy’ she claims to protect is pure or righteous, not even in the slightest. If anything, she despises the current corruption. It seems as though she believes in some other set of values altogether. She—the Pope—is a traitor willing to sell the Empire to the Mongols, indifferent to the fate of its people. There’s no way I could ever ally with someone like that, but I am somewhat intrigued by what exactly she’s thinking.

“And what does knowing all that achieve? What value is there? What significance? Kill her, and it’s over. Don’t kill her, and nothing gets resolved. That’s all there is to it.”

Katarina asked with genuine confusion, as this was of no importance to her—the Queen of Virendorf. To her, the solution was simple: behead the Pope, burn her along with some old firewood, dead grapevines, straw, and a worn-out fishing net, and that would solve everything. Her mindset was straightforward: eliminating the enemy was the only way to solve the problem at hand. Whatever the enemy might think, once they’re burned, there’s nothing left, so there’s no point in caring.

That’s just how they are in Virendorf.

Even ‘that’ Reckenberg was wise but shared this particular personality trait, I recall fondly. Though she’s a cold-blooded girl devoid of emotion, it seems inevitable, having been raised by ‘that’ Reckenberg.

“…Daughter of Reckenberg. People seek understanding. They seek resolution. They seek empathy. Know this: I am not aiding you electors for your benefit. Just because my rank is lower within the Empire does not mean I consider myself your servant. Surely, you understand that in order to move people, you need more than just profit—you need their conviction as well.”

I feel the urge to curse her, but doing so won’t solve anything. I must gain the understanding of Anastasia and Katarina if I am to achieve my goals. There’s no other way.

“Lord Faust von Polydoro isn’t simply following you for mutual interests.”

At the same time, I voiced a truth while bringing up the name of the knight both Anastasia and Katarina are smitten with.

“Princess Anastasia bowed her head for my sake, calling on the knights of Anhalt to aid in resisting the Mongols. Because of that, Faust says he must fulfill the trust bestowed upon him. Should he fail to meet that promise, he claims he would take his own life as reparation.”

I whispered while gazing into Anastasia’s eyes, who glared back at me, clearly displeased that I would dare bring up Faust’s name in front of her. She was as fiery as a serpent.

“He has also spoken of his shared understanding with Queen Katarina about the love for one’s mother and the dedication it requires. He promised to unite with her in order to create children in the future. He swore that he would never betray Queen Katarina.”

Now, I looked directly into Katarina’s cold eyes, who was clearly wondering why I dared to mention her relationship with Faust. She was as frigid as ice.

“You both share a bond beyond just a lord and knight relationship. It is built on trust, affection, understanding, and agreement. People don’t move unless they are convinced. While most will compromise out of fear of death, if they are not convinced, they will not move, even if their heads are on the chopping block. People only act the way you want if they’re fully convinced.”

It is tiresome, but I touched upon their relationships with Faust—how Faust truly trusted Anastasia and Katarina.

Why must I be the one to speak of the worth of Faust’s relationship with other women, the man I myself adore? It’s exhausting, but I can think of no other way to improve the mood of these two. Though they’re glaring at me now, their mood has subtly improved beneath the surface—or so I hope. If not, this is all too miserable for me.

The wound Faust dealt to my skull still seems to ache, even though the doctors told me it had fully healed.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Eugen murmured, sensing the tension in the air.

His thoughts were inscrutable, but it was clear he harbored a desire to kill the Pope for the insult rendered against his mother, the Elector of Mainz. Was everyone here driven by murderous intent?

I, too, thought it best if the traitorous Emperor and the Pope were dead, but honestly, as long as we could defend against the Mongols, I didn’t care who held those titles.

But now, it seemed the Pope had gone too far in underestimating the electors.

“The Pope must be killed. It will be done, no matter whether the deed becomes public knowledge or remains secret. Killing him will solve everything. Violence is the only answer in this world. Since the Pope has dared to scorn us, we have no choice but to kill him. There are already rumors in the imperial capital that His Grace, Valiere-dono, was almost intentionally killed by the Pope. At this point, Anastasia must kill the Pope, or it will affect her reputation. That’s a fact.”

I voiced the response they wanted to hear, aligning with their thinking.

I feared the rashness of youth.

For these three, accomplishing the murder of the Pope would be simple enough. A happy ending, indeed.

But it was insufficient for achieving the “true ending” of this “Assassination of the Pope” plot.

“Does that satisfy the Cardinal of Cologne? That is my concern.”

I doubted we could achieve agreement from those mad heretics.

They must understand that their goals and my goals differ.

“So you’re saying we should wait because the Cardinal of Cologne isn’t personally convinced yet? We should ignore such clerical nonsense.”

Eugen spat out, seemingly forgetting he was set to join the clergy himself.

If problems could be solved so easily, I, Duke Temeraire, would have killed the Pope long ago!

My skull, previously cracked by Faust, throbbed with pain, urging me to remain calm.

“I am saying that the entire Cologne Sect does not understand why they were subjected to the Inquisition. The Cardinal and his followers are questioning this. They likely won’t be convinced until they hear the Pope’s true intentions.”

I muttered this, scanning the room.

Anastasia, the “Man-Eating Snake Princess,” murmured curiously.

“The Cologne Sect is heretical. Isn’t that obvious? They’re heretics.”

Anastasia pointed out, repeating it three times.

I ignored her. We weren’t discussing known facts.

“For the Cologne Sect, this Inquisition is truly unacceptable. They believe they have been revealing the most sacred words of God to the people through the episodes of the Redeemer.”

I looked at Katarina, suggesting this thought.

She replied, “In Virendorf, even the head of a fish could gather believers. What matters is whether the religion truly saves people. We do not care about the means or if we are called heretics, because we are mad, as she said.”

So they admit they’re heretics, these fools.

Virendorf is mad, and within it, the Cologne Sect is even madder.

I almost blurted this out but managed to restrain myself, looking towards Eugen for precaution.

“The Cologne Sect is heretical. They should just disappear.”

Eugen von Mainz, you just converted to the Cologne Sect!

I wanted to say this, but of course, she wasn’t seriously following the sect. She was just using it as a means to survive in this empire.

If someone said the Cologne Sect wasn’t heretical, I would be frightened.

“The Cologne Sect is certainly heretical. So what?”

Debating whether they were heretical or not was pointless.

“The important thing is that the Cologne Sect holds all the knowledge on the development of guns and artillery. We must open their hearts and obtain all the knowledge necessary for the war against the Mongols.”

Now was not the time to offend and alienate the Cologne Sect.

Eugen looked extremely displeased.

“So you’re saying let the Cologne Sect do as they please, ignoring the fact that we’re being underestimated right now?”

“At least until the Cardinal of Cologne is convinced and ready to turn his guns against the orthodoxy, we should let them do as they please.”

Anastasia clicked her tongue, her face contorting as if the human flesh she ate was distasteful.

“Call off the plan.”

She tapped a document on the table with her finger. It was probably designed by some assassin—or was it Sabine von Wesperman, a heraldic officer turned killer?

Her assassination plan for the Pope was outlined in the document.

“What kind of assassination plan blows up a cathedral into splinters, killing everything that crawls out, be it the Pope or bishops? This isn’t assassination. What is this scoring system: 100 points for the Pope, 20 for a bishop, 10 for a priest, 2 for a deacon? What are these points?”

“We created a system where killing more clergy earns you points, leading to knighthood or gold coins as rewards. Killers could be Valiere’s mercenaries, Landsknechts, or even a beggar boss controlling the local homeless. We plan to extend our reach and recruit those willing to kill.”

“Discard the plan immediately.”

It was no longer an assassination but a massacre, a retaliation led by the Elector of Anhalt that would likely be written in history books as a one-sided slaughter of clergy.

The Pope would resist, but Anastasia, who wouldn’t choose moderate means, would likely prevail.

Regrettably, even after such actions, Anastasia’s reputation wouldn’t fall; it was just at the level of an electoral successor playing her role, and she intended to maintain that public opinion.

Yes, she could likely pull it off.

In such chaos, was it alright for the imperial capital to be disturbed?

I warned them, albeit reluctantly.

“After all, if the imperial capital is in chaos, only the Emperor will be troubled. The House of Anhalt has nothing to worry about. It’s not their territory or their people. Why should they care for those who are neither their subjects nor their citizens? It’s absurd. If comparing the face of Anhalt and the chaos in the imperial capital, naturally, the face of the House of Anhalt should take priority. Kill the Pope. Seat his corpse and question his crimes. Give the papacy to someone else who is more manageable. That’s all there is to it.”

Well, that’s what you would say, isn’t it?

In the extreme, no one here, except for me, cared what happened to the people of the imperial capital.

Officially, including the House of Temeraire, we all swore fealty to the Emperor, but that was just on the surface.

No matter what happened to the empire, as long as their own lands and people were safe, nothing else mattered.

That’s why I was in despair.

The Emperor, who wasn’t seriously considering protecting the empire, couldn’t possibly unite these electors.

Only by cooperating could we see a chance to win against the Mongols.

Why was I, Duke Temeraire, not even the Emperor, trying to unite these monsters?

There was just one reason.

Because of a promise I made to a man who defeated me in a duel as a knight.

“I wonder what Faust is doing right now?”

He wasn’t here, but he must be fuming with anger, just like Anastasia, concerned for his deeply revered Cologne Sect.