The Medieval Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset
Chapter 45

The Medieval-Modern Man With A Gamer Mindset 45

45. The Logic of the World

The negotiations between the Principality of Powys and the Holy See continued to be sluggish for a while.

This was because both sides were well aware of the significance of the right to invest. In particular, Prince Aestelon clearly showed an unfavorable attitude despite being in a disadvantageous position.

“I understand that His Holiness has given me much consideration. However, our family has held the right to invest in the Diocese of Powys for 400 years. What is the reason for asking us to give up the right to invest now, when you have not said anything for 400 years?”

There was a reason for Aestelon’s aggressiveness. A bishop is not merely a spiritual pillar who comforts people.

In this era, in this world, the clergy who served Lux Stella were intellectuals with roles and missions beyond that of priests. Among them, the bishops were involved in more secular tasks.

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Administration, legislation, judiciary, charity, education, research, and pastoral care.

One could easily guess their influence just by looking at the seven items that the bishops were involved in. The smaller the secular monarch, the greater the influence of the bishop.

Furthermore, bishops also manage religious orders that are free from secular influence. In terms of influence alone, it was a position close to that of a prime minister appointed by a monarch who was above the rank of a king.

Because of the great authority and symbolism that bishops possessed, Aestelon could not easily back down.

However, the Holy See was also not one to back down easily.

Vice-Captain Marcello of the Inquisition squirmed his eyes under his dark eyebrows and launched a fierce attack.

“Originally, the right to invest bishops belonged to the Church. As time passed and faith waned, there were many cases where the basic conditions for clergy, such as the manifestation of stigmata, were not met. The situation was not favorable, so we left the judgment to the secular monarchs.”

The Holy See wielded the traditions and customs of the early Church as a weapon.

According to the Holy See’s argument, originally, all clergy had to manifest stigmata. However, as faith declined and stigmata became rare, the Church had no choice but to compromise.

Upon hearing this, Aestelon leaned back on the backrest and laughed.

“You’re going to use the customs of the early Church, which weren’t even codified, as an excuse?”

“Your Highness is too arrogant to say that. His Holiness has shown great consideration for Your Highness, who is in a precarious position due to the controversial succession, but you are burying it like this.”

“It’s only natural. Do you not know what it means to give up the right to invest? If I were to back down easily, how could I face the previous princes?”

“If Your Highness thought so highly of your family, you should have done everything in your power to prevent the death of your brother, Aethelbear.”

At those words, Aestelon’s pupils began to tremble.

The death of the former king, Aethelbear, was Aestelon’s sore spot. Oberth, who had been standing behind him and watching silently, was now trembling with a cold sweat, clenching his hands behind his back.

“Your Highness…”

Oberth opened his mouth to calm the situation, but.

“Do you doubt me too, Your Holiness? Me, Aestelon, who killed my brother and took his place?”

Aestelon, whose eyes were already bloodshot, was showing his teeth.

However, the Inquisition, including Marcello, did not show any sign of agitation. They stood still like heavy pieces of iron and looked at Prince Aestelon.

“His Holiness believes that there is no problem with Your Highness’s succession. However, Your Highness’s vassals, Aethelbear’s loyalists, will think differently.”

“Don’t pretend to be concerned about me.”

Aestelon waved his hand and put his forehead on it. The prince was deeply troubled because his sore spot had been touched. Marcello looked down at him and quietly rolled his eyes.

At about the same time, Chief Inquisitor Bonichego also shifted his gaze. For a brief moment, the two of them exchanged simple intentions with just their lips moving.

‘What is your judgment, Chief?’

‘He is not the kind of man who would kill his own brother to take the throne.’

The sudden and suspicious death of the late King Aethelbear had cast a shadow of suspicion over Aethelton, the current king, as a potential kinslayer. Aethelton had mourned and honored Aethelbear’s death for a long time, but people did not easily believe his intentions.

They wondered if it was all just a show.

Perhaps Aethelton’s devotion to his family was a way to atone for his guilt over failing to protect them and to clear his name from the stigma of being a kinslayer. And among the purposes for which the Inquisition was dispatched was to ascertain Aethelton’s true intentions.

Boniface, who had been watching silently, observed the king for a brief moment with his characteristic insight and came to a conclusion.

‘He is not the kind of man who would oppose the Bishop of Canterbury or engage in political strife to consolidate his power.’

Self-interest sometimes warps and corrupts the human heart.

It was a world where even blood relatives could not share wealth without secretly killing each other. A world where it was not uncommon for impatient heirs to seize power and for monarchs to be overthrown by their own children.

It would be foolish to believe that there would be no discord simply because they were brothers. The Church, having long guarded the light of humanity, knew better than anyone the light and darkness within humanity.

‘He is likely to become an ally to the Bishop of Canterbury. Instead of excluding Aethelton, he will try to win him over.’

‘Yes, Chief.’

Marcellus, who had received Boniface’s instructions, cleared his throat several times. It was a gesture to lighten the atmosphere. It was then that Aethelton, who had been hanging his head and groaning, showed interest.

Even the anxious Oberth was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Marcellus looked at Aethelton with a much gentler gaze and smile than before and said,

“Your Majesty, of course, you may resent His Holiness’s desire to use your difficulties as an opportunity to regain the right of investiture.”

“Resent?”

“Yes. You would resent it.”

Marcellus smiled wryly at Aethelton, who was still scowling.

“But Your Majesty, you are by no means acting out of personal interest. Consider the consideration you have shown. Not only did you designate your third son, Prince Narva, as the next Bishop of Canterbury, but you also granted him as much authority as the Church could afford.”

“…Do you think I don’t know that? I helped Yubas, but now that Yubas is running wild like an unbridled foal, I am looking for an alternative.”

“You have given the House of Povis the influence and presence to oppose Yubas.”

Marcellus’s smooth tongue was enough to evoke admiration.

Enough to make Aethelton, whose scales had been tipped, take a step back. However, it was not as if Aethelton had lost all of his sharpness. The king straightened his posture.

Of course, he had to resolve the inevitable question.

“Why don’t we just excommunicate Yubas?”

***

His question was not solely born out of the animosity he had developed from suffering at Yubas’s hands.

The king pointed out the Church’s inconsistency with a rather sharp tone.

“If you excommunicate Yubas, the other duchies that have been watching silently will raise their armies at once, and the malcontents within Yubas will join forces to tear him apart. From the Church’s perspective, it would be much easier to rule over the fragmented duchies .”

“…”

When Aethelton thought about it carefully, he realized that the best way for the Church to gain dominance in the Dawn Archipelago was to divide it. All they had to do was prevent anyone from unifying and entice those who were caught in the chaos with sweet words to join them.

If anyone grew too strong, they would replace fault with their morals, rally those who opposed them, and bring them down. By repeating this process, the Church’s authority would naturally overshadow secular power.

In fact, it was the future that the secular lords of the Dawn Archipelago feared the most. He wondered how the Church would react when confronted with this idea, but he was too afraid of the future to ask.

However, the answer he received was unexpected.

Marcellus dismissed it as a mere conspiracy theory with a small sigh.

“Your Majesty does not wish for humanity to be divided.”

“What do you mean?”

“From the previous generation and the generation before that, and even long before that, the Papacy has protected Yubas not out of any vested interest, but solely out of dedication to the unity and stability of the Dawn Archipelago. In order to protect humanity from the remnants of the Age of Darkness…”

Marcellus trailed off because Aethelton and Oberth’s reactions were so dramatic.

Both of their faces were twisted as if they had bitten into something sour. Aethelton and Oberth showed through their words and actions the reason why secular power and the Church were bound to clash in nature.

“Your Grace, it seems that even now, you continue to exploit people’s fears for your own gain.”

“…The church never changes. Still clinging to the old world that ended a thousand years ago.”

It was no wonder that King Athelstan and Oberth were growing impatient.

1208 years had passed since the twilight of the old world and the dawn of the new.

The races that had ruled as masters in the old world were now only legends and myths, and the pagans were being hunted down one by one by the relentless church. Moreover, the old gods of the old world, vilified as demons, were gradually being forgotten after their records were thoroughly erased.

Even in the frontier, the Isles of Dawn, where pagan influence was said to be the strongest, there were hardly any pagans left who dared to show their faces.

As a result, for the vast majority of people who did not belong to the church, the old world had long since ended.

However, it was different for the priests who had made enemies of the church.

The members of the Inquisition, who had remained silent and watchful until now, all began to show signs of anger. The veins on their clenched fists bulged. The same was true of Marcello, who had been leading the negotiations, and Vonichego, who had stepped back.

Marcello cast aside the calm demeanor he had shown until now, his eyes blazing fiercely as he raised his voice.

“The old world has waned, but it is not over. Do not misinterpret the meaning of the twilight of the old world and the dawn of the new. They are still…”

Until Vonichego put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Captain.”

“To worldly people, we must speak in worldly terms. As the Bishop’s lord and ally, I will convey His Grace’s concerns to you in a way that you can understand.”

Vonichego turned to face King Athelstan, replacing the agitated Marcello.

“Yubas is a shield against the pagans from across the sea.”

“A shield? That rabble of savages who run wild and do as they please?”

King Athelstan, who had been harboring a lot of resentment, lashed out, but Vonichego’s response was unwavering.

“Yes. The church has long recognized that the political instability in the Isles of Dawn aids the pagans, and has been working to unify the region. Yubas is a group of people who, regardless of existing interests or logic, wished for the unification of the Isles of Dawn as true believers.”

“And this is the result? If what you say is true, then those who were slaughtered by Terbear were not pagans, but some kind of fools playing at theater.”

It was a typical retort from King Athelstan, who was already at his wit’s end because of the relentless raiders who were pouring into his shores.

If he had not heard Vonichego’s next words, he might have been somewhat satisfied.

“An estimated 100,000.”

“…”

“Across the sea, the conflict between the pagans is coming to an end. The Silver Wolf Mantle. A man who leads an army of at least 50,000. His Grace has judged that you should be prepared for up to 100,000 if the conflict ends completely .”

King Athelstan and Oberth could only look at each other for a moment.

-The order of magnitude is different.

Even the mighty Yubas could not mobilize more than 50,000, or so the rulers of the Isles of Dawn commonly believed. And yet, they were being told to be prepared for at least 50,000 to 100,000.

But even this was less shocking than what came next.

“And the Silver Wolf Mantle is estimated to be at Devotion Level 5.”