«The repeal of the Corn Law… the unified examination for government employees… concessions that bring the Church's influence into the army… all of these would seem to be in keeping with the currents of the age, but in essence they amount to suppressing and weakening the nobility and propping up new classes. Compared with the manner of rule of the past thousand-some years, this can truly be called a 'rule running counter to the normal state of things' — that very kind of order required to make the 'Black Emperor'…
«Over these last ten-odd years, the changes in architectural style have also been considerable…
«That Roselle could obtain 'uniqueness' and gain the corresponding Sequence 1 extraordinary characteristic — that ancient hidden organisation must surely have lent no small portion of its strength, possibly even providing parts of it outright. Once this Great Emperor fell, by whom were those characteristics gathered back up?
«And then there is Bernadette: these past several months she has been in
«Ah — the trouble is that the asymmetrical aesthetic of those Fourth Epoch empires has biased my own understanding, and I had taken 'rule running counter to the normal' to mean some bizarre order at variance with human nature. Thinking it over now: what is 'normal'? It is no more than the state to which everyone is, by past habit, accustomed, the state that does not run directly against instincts such as the desire to live. From tribe to state, from feudal monarchy to republic — were not all of these contrary to what was 'normal' at the time, and were there not innumerable people who longed to return to the past?
«The expression 'old guard, young guard' encapsulates the problem rather well…
«Seen in this light, so long as no god intervenes, the transformation the 'Black Emperor' requires is bound to come about — there is only the question of when. The tide of the age rolls forward, and is truly hard to oppose.
«What lies hidden deep within the 'Blood Emperor's' relic ought to be a tomb resembling a pyramid; and this, according to the demands of the ritual, must be restored by mustering the common people, which is why there is the matter of disappearances in the East District, the overseas slave trade, and so on…
«Then, once the war advances to a certain stage, under the pretext of praying for victory or mourning the fallen soldiers nationwide, vast numbers of common folk would be organised in different cities of the kingdom to take part in sacrificial rites…
«Hm — and many years ago the Loen royal house obtained the crown of the Bayrand Empire, linking the name of the King to the title of Emperor.
«What a fine plot indeed!»
Awakened by the matter of the «Crimson Angel» evil spirit, Klein's mind drew taut; numerous thoughts flashed at lightning speed across his head, and other queries arose besides.
He looked at the gaunt, tall, bloodless young «Doorkeeper» opposite him and said, weighing his words: «Does George III wish to become the 'Black Emperor' himself?
«But he is not even yet a Sequence 4…»
Even granting that he might play the role ahead of time and become «more talented», thereby lessening the impact of the spiritual imprint within the potion, Klein still did not believe a Sequence 5 could ascend straight to godhood — unless he were fortunate enough to seize an utterly minute probability of success.
And such fortune cannot be described as merely «sufficient»: not even
The «Crimson Angel» evil spirit, hearing this, let out a derisive snort: «How do you know George III is only at Sequence 5?
«How are you certain that the George III who was examined is the real George III? Could it not be a fabrication, or perhaps some 'Faceless' at the angel tier transformed into him?
«These are, granted, extraordinarily hard things to bring off, but to a certain paranoiac they all lie within his own capabilities and within the resources at his command.
«I rather suspect George III to be a formal member of that hidden organisation modelled upon our 'Rose of Redemption'; his actual position may already be at the angel tier — heh, even were he at Sequence 1 I should not be surprised.»
…This… Emperor Roselle once said the members of that ancient hidden organisation were each a personage beyond his own reckoning, and that united they could accomplish anything save take on the Churches of the Seven
«Their understanding of the 'Black Emperor' cannot be less than yours…»
After all, the two great Churches of the Night and the Storm had both lent support to the Tudor–Trensost United Empire!
The «Crimson Angel» evil spirit again showed an amused expression, and looked Dawn Dantès and his manservant up and down a few times: «How old are you?
«Why are you still so naïve and childish?
«The Six Gods and the Churches of the Six Gods do not always, at every moment, amount to the same thing; what the Six Gods know need not be conveyed to the angels and saints below.»
Seeing that Dawn Dantès still frowned, unable to grasp it, the «Crimson Angel» evil spirit gave another low chuckle and said: «Trust me — what I have just said, and what I am about to say, is no doubt all calculated to sow discord and to mar the image of the Six Gods, but you may judge for yourself whether it is true.
«Put it this way: as to someone's desire to become the 'Black Emperor', the attitude of the Six Gods — er, of the Seven Gods — is rather ambiguous and often self-contradictory; more accurately, They are glad to see the birth of a mentally sane 'Black Emperor', but They would prefer it be the one each of Them supports. Therefore They will not give Their respective churches any very specific revelations; They merely let the churches go about things in the ordinary way — should it be uncovered, they punish; should it not, They tacitly allow the matter to unfold.
«Of course, in the course of this, it cannot be ruled out that some particular Existence may wish to do a bit of sabotage, but it will not be so direct or conspicuous, for the other gods would inevitably stop it.
«Had he not grasped this attitude, how would George III have dared to take such a risk?
«Well, the war has broken out now; he has weathered the crisis, and may patiently await later opportunities.»
Klein was at once put in mind of how the operation to ambush the «Blood Emperor's» relic had been betrayed in advance; he could not, for a moment, decide whether to suspect that there were members of that ancient hidden organisation within the higher echelons of the three great churches, or whether some god in person had warned Amon's brother — and if it were the latter, the «