Chapter 6: Aftermath
I was summoned by Duke Asleton after dark.
Duke Asleton’s office looked very different from during the day. The furniture, which once appeared bright, now looked like withered old trees with the sunlight gone. The Duke’s expression added to this atmosphere.
Duke Asleton, with his gaze lowered, pressed his eyes with his right hand. He looked like a mourner facing a funeral. His lips parted as the wax dripped down from the melting candle under the dim light.
“Is this what you meant by your secret plan?”
“It was an important part of it.”
“Narva. You have insulted Yubas’s daughter. Very seriously. If, as you say, they have plotted a conspiracy, they will use every trick to force you to acknowledge the child as your own. As your lord and father, I have the duty and the will to protect you, but…”
Duke Asleton lowered his hand from his eyes. He slightly bowed his head and looked up at me, his eyes reflecting the small, sharp light of the candle.
“If you cannot provide sufficient evidence, we will have to impose a punishment that satisfies Yubas.”
If It were truly his child, he might have been somewhat disappointing. However, as a modern person with understanding, I could appreciate Duke Asleton’s decision. Even the most affectionate parent has limits on how indulgent they can be.
Yubas, the in-laws, was the most powerful force in the region. Even if I defended my child’s honor, mocking comments would follow as the marriage was already a political arrangement.
Moreover, Duke Asleton’s responsibility wasn’t only towards me. He was a leader responsible for the lives of all under his rule. Decisions based solely on family would be inadequate for a leader.
Fortunately, Duke Asleton was a rare example who balanced both his role as a ruler and his care for his family. In the medieval standard, a father like that would have lashed out with a whip at supersonic speed if his child behaved as I did.
The time for persuasion had come. The key here was unwavering confidence. I nodded, then slightly tensed my stomach to make my voice clearer.
“I previously mentioned that there seemed to be a rift between Yubas and the Church. Whether it was speculation or truth, I thought it would be beneficial if we could join forces with the Church instead of Yubas.”
“…Continue.”
“As a result, I have had continuous meetings with the resident priest within the castle to understand each other’s positions and reach a compromise.”
Even when cooking rice, a little delay can be beneficial. The same applies to speaking. It’s important to break up significant points to capture attention rather than just spilling them all at once. That way, there are no complaints of not hearing it later. Avoid dragging it out too much, a little bit is sufficient.
“I was able to learn all the circumstances surrounding why the Church turned against Yubas.”
Just like now.
When Miriam was nearing her full term, my calls sent to the Papacy and the Church seemed to be ignored for a while.
It wasn’t that meetings with the priest had ceased. In fact, they increased, but nothing more. It was as if we had agreed to talk without discussing what had happened or what would happen next.
The priest continued to talk about things I was curious about, such as doctrines and local saints. Like medieval Europe, doctrines were rarely exceptional.
Stories about local saints were also just about someone using a tree stump that sprouted blood and later ended a drought. But such folklore reflects people’s awareness and mindset.
It was a reason to endure the drowsiness by biting my lip. There were some somewhat mystical and interesting parts, particularly stories about magic and the other races that once roamed the world.
“The gods granted miracles to their favored followers, and the followers made offerings to the gods. This period, when many old gods generously bestowed miracles on their favorites, is called the ‘Age of the Gods.’ Many races flourished in that favor, but… it was a painful era for us humans.”
The ‘Age of the Gods’ refers to the time when non-human races, like elves, dwarves, beastmen, or giants made of rock, flourished. Naturally, living alongside such beings was a great suffering for humans.
Especially, the old gods of this era did not particularly favor humans. The main reason was their mediocrity. From the gods’ perspective, humans were like a necessary evil. Not the worst, but not the best either, just kind of there.
War gods favored orcs with immense muscles and ferocity. Nature gods favored elves who valued harmony with their surroundings. Proud dragon gods favored kobolds, which resembled them.
With each god having their favorite race, humans were left isolated. Humans were abandoned without any divine favor, had to struggle desperately to gain attention from the gods, and the majority ended up as slaves to other races.
The problem was that humans were not a despised race. If they had been outright discarded, they might have lived a primitive life in some remote place. Instead, the gods considered humans to be adequate sacrifices. As a result, the races of the Age of the Gods used humans extensively for human sacrifices. For thousands of years, human pleas were thoroughly ignored.
The priest began to recite the scriptures with an elevated voice.
“However, after long pleadings, Lux Stella, the Starlight of Humanity, emerged. A deity of entirely different origins appeared and led humans to the light of the stars.”
This was when I first learned whom the Church served.
Lux Stella, the Starlight of Humanity.
An extraterrestrial deity had chosen humans as its favorite race. Although this was likely for expansion purposes, it must have been moving for the humans who had been abandoned at the time.
When humans eventually united under Lux Stella and rebelled, the old gods of the Age of the Gods were resigned to it. Rebellions were frequent during that long period. Humans had always been defeated, and the old gods believed it would be the same this time.
However, Lux Stella led humans to victory.
As many of the old races of the Age of the Gods fell, the old gods hastily chose humans, but the trend had already shifted. Lux Stella had long since become the dominant faith among humans.
The followers of Lux Stella thoroughly rejected the faith of the old gods, denouncing them as demons and degrading their artifacts with magic, suppressing opposing forces.
After listening to the priest’s myth with interest, I asked a question.
“You must have a specific reason for telling this story during our private audience, rather than during a worship.”
If this was just something he wanted to share, I would have considered giving him a piece of my mind. Fortunately, our priest was a civilized barbarian, so I was relieved. The priest’s face hardened, and he bared his teeth, clearly showing his anger towards Yubas.
“For us who follow the Starlight of Humanity, the relics of the Age of the Gods are completely incompatible. Considering that most of their mystical relics were obtained through human sacrifices, they deserve to be utterly destroyed! Yet, Yubas has been coveting the relics of the Age of the Gods!”
“Is that really true?”
“According to monks moved by suspicious rumors, it has been confirmed that Yubas has been secretly excavating and researching relics of the Age of the Gods without the Church’s knowledge!”
My medieval priest sensitivity made me involuntarily snap my fingers. Oh, this is serious. The Church has ample reason to turn against Yubas. But this doesn’t seem to be the whole story.
“The absence from the Feast day of Saint Elenio was due to this reason. How could someone dealing with relics tainted with human blood from the Age of the Gods stand under the Starlight of Humanity? Naturally, it was fitting to repent and atone.”
The priest, who had been passionately speaking moments ago, suddenly began to stammer. He mumbled, touched his nape, and cleared his throat repeatedly. It wasn’t just a pause.
It meant that Yubas’s actions were too difficult to articulate. Apparently, it was so shocking that the priest needed to compose himself… While the realm of deities and ages might be the priest’s domain, this matter falls under my realm.
My instincts honed from playing fantasy monarch game told me how the situation was unfolding.
“Yubas, instead of repenting, sought his own survival, choosing to disgrace our family as his method. But that wouldn’t be all.”
“…Young master, could it be?”
His eyes, filled with shock and disbelief, were now fixed on me. It was only natural, such a blatant and sordid scheme was far beyond what a mere twelve-year-old should grasp.
But having immersed myself in the multiplayer battles of pure evil within “Fantasy Monarch,” I could easily surmise the truth.
“Yubas, who sent Miriam as my wife, is the head of the Yubas family. The one who impregnated Miriam is Yubas himself, isn’t it?”
***
As I had previously mentioned there was such a scheme in fantasy monarch games.
[Send a daughter pregnant with the landowner’s child to cause a scandal, then use the child as a pretext to claim the land.]
At first, I called it a strategy that served multiple purposes, but this plan had a very critical flaw. The main issue was that fulfilling all these prerequisites was exceedingly difficult.
There’s a reason why speed is crucial in conspiracies. Conspiracies are also strategies and life. Missing the timing renders any subsequent effort meaningless. A little thought immediately reveals the answer.
If the landowner already had an heir or spouse, the marriage itself becomes invalid. If the landowner dies suddenly, causing inheritance chaos before the child is born, it becomes invalid. If the daughter couldn’t get pregnant from the start, it’s also invalid.
The players who initially used this strategy soon realized these critical flaws and began to give up. There were many other issues as well.
Then, a madman thought of a way to improve this strategy.
[Instead of just using a pregnant daughter for scandal, why not just send a daughter who got pregnant before marriage?]
After all, a child from a scandal would either have its neck cut off or live in house arrest for life. Who cares whose child it is? The logic of the improvement was that even if the child’s parentage was unknown, if the child was born after marriage, it would not be considered a bastard.
But there was still a fatal issue left.
That was the honor of the family.
Even though it was a scheme, many role-playing players took offense at the idea of treating a daughter so callously. They constantly pointed out that such actions were unthinkable for a family of their standing.
The extreme debates among the medieval nobility in this computer game eventually led to the creation of Plan VER.2.
[If the father impregnates and sends the daughter, there would be no controversy over lineage, solving the problem.]
“…”
This was truly an abominable scheme.
Duke Aselton, who had heard the entire story, looked as if he had completely forgotten the strict etiquette of nobility, his mouth hanging open. His eyes were wide enough to be seen even in the dim light of the candle.
His hands, trembling with shock, seemed on the verge of dropping whatever he was holding to the ground.
“He’s…the father?”
“Yes.”
“I can’t believe it.”
Duke Aselton was trembling more than a kitten shivering in the cold. His disbelief was understandable. However, Duke Aselton was my lord and the ruler of the duchy.
Despite the disgust, I needed to understand why Yubas had made such a choice.
“Secrecy is crucial in conspiracies. And secrets are better kept when fewer people know about them. Yubas likely saw the involvement of any random man in the plan as a risk.”
“…”
“With the current shortage of legitimacy and the conflict with the Church, it was crucial that the successor and younger sons, who might be potential heirs, were unimpeachable. Therefore, it was only natural that a head of the family with established authority would take direct action to ensure a smooth succession.”
“Is this for rational reasons, not just lust?”
“Of course, there are base desires and feelings of betrayal involved, but… I cannot deny that.”
The reason I acted like a madman, insulting the pregnant woman and child, was not merely for that purpose. I had vaguely suspected the truth and confirmed it through the Church’s cooperation, which turned my suspicion into certainty.
“Your Highness, when I insulted the child with questionable parentage, it was not merely to attack the mother. People unaware of the situation might think it’s an attack on chastity, but those within Yubas who know the circumstances will perceive it differently. The head of Yubas and his associates will be unable to act due to their mutual suspicions.”
“Was this information also fully revealed by the Church?”
Duke Aselton was repeatedly dabbing his face with a cloth, showing the extent of his shock. His voice was tinged with exhaustion, taking brief pauses. I answered affirmatively.
“The Church was only hiding this information because they couldn’t find a faction to represent Yubas. They feared that exposing the truth might lead Yubas to use their formidable military power to expel the Church’s influence. However, if we could form a faction to pressure Yubas, this truth could become a powerful weapon to shake Yubas internally and externally or even force a peace.”
“…Even knowing the truth, annulling the marriage might be difficult.”
Duke Aselton seemed distressed as a powerless father, engulfed in a sense of helplessness despite having roughly understood the gruesome details of the scheme behind the marriage.
However, preparations for the annulment had already been progressing smoothly for some time.
With a confident smile and my hands clasped behind my back, I looked at Duke Aselton.
“To those who do not know the full story, my actions may seem excessive. And everyone is aware that Your Highness is concerned about Yubas’s anger.”
“….”
“Strip me of all my inheritance rights and expel me from the family, then declare me a traitor and have me sent to the monastery.”
At that moment, Duke Aselton’s head, which had been bowed, suddenly lifted. After staring at me for a while, he covered his face with his left hand and spoke.
“Father you don’t need be so sorrowful. It is actually something to be congratulated.”
“Congratulated?”
“Yes.”
Naturally, there are benefits to becoming a monk. One might think that being a monk means not being able to have pleasures or earn money and living a dreary life. But that’s only partly true.
Clergy also engage in corruption and make money, and they live according to their own rules. If all clergy were strictly righteous, there would be no term like ‘corrupt officials.’ Even clergy do not live entirely according to doctrine.
Moreover, my intention to seek out the Church and establish a connection through becoming a monk was for another reason.
“Which would seem more admirable in the eyes of holy: someone sponsored by the Church or someone directly involved with the Church?”
I would become an unshakeable figure with the Church’s support, standing in for Yubas.
