──To destroy the Church.
Quite the grandiose statement, once again.
But there were questions too. Ermes was the first to voice hers frankly.
"The Church is currently split, isn't it? So what exactly do you mean by 'destroy'?"
"Oh, you haven't heard it from Trackia? ...It's a bother, but this might actually be good timing. Shall I explain?"
Leila, for her part, furrowed her brow for just a moment before opening her mouth.
From there, she began her explanation. About the Church's power structure.
"...First, you need to know this as a fundamental premise.
The Church originally—the Pope and the Archbishops had a terrible relationship."
A somewhat surprising opening.
"!"
"I should clarify—this isn't just about the current generation. This has been true across every generation—well, that's not quite accurate.
From the very beginning... ever since the position of 'Pope' was created, it has always been this way."
"...Ever since it was created?"
More surprising information. What Leila's words implied was essentially:
"The position of Pope... originally didn't exist, is that what you're saying?"
"Yes. Up until about a hundred years ago, that was the case. The Church was originally led by four Archbishops."
The history of the organization known as the "Church" was terrifyingly ancient.
It was established at the nation's founding as the body responsible for managing the "Bloodline Magic" involved in the kingdom's creation. Governance was carried out through a council system led by the four Archbishops at the top.
With that much history came immense power and authority. The decisions of an Archbishop carried weight that resonated across the entire nation.
──Even the royal family sometimes could not defy them.
Therefore, about a hundred years ago, a certain king grew alarmed that the Church's growing authority might upset the balance of power with the royal family. To restore equilibrium, he launched a great undertaking.
What came of it was the position of "Pope."
The Pope naturally stood above the Archbishops. Moreover, the right of appointment belonged not to the Church but to the royal family, and as a matter of custom and practical benefit, a relative of the king was placed in that role. Naturally, the position also came with decision-making and veto power befitting that status.
──In short, it was a position created to make it unequivocally clear that "the royal family is above."
Surely the Archbishops of that era would never have accepted such a thing willingly... yet the fact that it was pushed through regardless suggests the king of that time was a truly remarkable individual.
In any case, the position of Pope was born in this manner.
And naturally, the Archbishops bore no goodwill toward someone placed in that role. From that point on—in some generations, skirmishes broke out between the Pope and the Archbishops; in some generations, the Archbishops turned the Pope into a puppet; in some generations, it was the other way around.
The only constant was that the periods of harmony were overwhelmingly shorter than those without.
"...I see. That certainly makes it hard to say they had a good relationship."
"Right?"
Ermes and the others of the Third Princess's faction nodded in agreement.
Furthermore—taking into account the Church's power structure, the subsequent course of events became largely clear.
Leila spoke.
"And it was during such times that the current regime coup took place."
"...Yes."
Indeed. The Archbishops of a Church with such a history would naturally harbor no favorable impressions of the royal family.
And now, during such a time, a regime coup—the royal family had fallen into internal strife, and its power structure had begun to tremble.
──It was not at all unreasonable to think that they would seize this opportunity to abolish the Pope, and ultimately, to establish complete dominion over the kingdom.
"So that's how it came about."
At this point, the general situation was easy to piece together.
"Your suspicions are exactly right.──Due to the chaos in the Royal Capital, the current Pope and the Archbishops—who had barely managed to maintain a cooperative relationship—have completely broken apart. We've seized the headquarters, but their influence is greater, so most of the Church's personnel... especially the powerful figures... have defected to their side."
After outlining the flow of events—which largely matched their own deductions—the Second Princess Leila paused for a breath, then raised her voice slightly.
"As a result, to establish a new base to replace the lost Church headquarters──Archbishop Johann has launched a full campaign to conquer the north."
"...!"
──So that's where it connects.
Even among the Third Princess's faction, many held their breath at this information.
And then.
If one took this information into account—then they had, even if inadvertently, completely crushed Archbishop Johann's scheme... which was almost certainly the cornerstone of the Archbishop faction's strategy.
"The Archbishop faction is now cornered."
Leila continued, describing the dramatically changed situation.
"Honestly, we were at a disadvantage, so this was a tremendous help. ...Of course, we had prepared a reversal of our own—but we cannot let this opportunity slip. Therefore..."
Finally, once more, she drove the point home.
"──Let's join hands. Together, shall we sweep away this old embodiment of the Church that will be a common nuisance to us no matter what? This is our chance."
This was the request she had come to deliver.
"............"
A brief silence fell over the Third Princess's faction.
"...There are several things I would like to confirm. Your Highness the Second Princess."
"Please."
Yurugen—apparently judging that this was not a matter to leave to the younger ones—stepped forward to question her. After seeing Leila nod, he continued.
"We understand your proposal. From our perspective as well, the 'Church' is undeniably an enemy that must eventually be defeated. However..."
His azure eyes, which housed a profound intellect, fixed on her with something close to coldness.
"...There is currently no need for us to cooperate with you.
In the present situation, it benefits us more to simply watch you and the Archbishops destroy each other."
"──!"
"Yurugen, that's—!"
His judgment was so ruthlessly pragmatic that Liliana instinctively cried out—but she quickly fell silent.
She had realized immediately, hadn't she... this was not a moment for personal sentiment.
Offering a faint smile at Liliana's understanding, Yurugen turned back to Leila.
"Our ultimate objective is the recapture of the Royal Capital. If you are busy fighting among yourselves within the Church, that is actually ideal. It would benefit us more to leave you to it and focus our resources on gathering the military strength needed for the recapture──"
"──Then what if I were to help with that 'gathering of military strength' as well?"
──However.
As if she had anticipated this very objection, she delivered her counter.
"...Oh?"
"I know full well that we're in the position of needing your cooperation. So naturally, we should come bearing an appropriate gift.
...The ones you're counting on for your recapture force would be the neutral nobles, wouldn't they?"
She presented her final condition.
"Those 'neutral nobles' will also participate in this crusade against the old Church faction."
"Huh──" "!"
"...I see."
Liliana and the others were stunned... but Yurugen, in contrast, showed a look of understanding.
It seemed he had an idea of what she meant. Leila, having read the difference in their reactions, explained.
"Trackia seems to have figured it out. That's right—the family that leads the neutral nobles, as it were, has for generations never once sided with any particular member of the royal family.
──But they have always sworn loyalty to the 'royal family' itself, and as nobles, they have properly risen to the occasion in times of national crisis. They're not mere fair-weather opportunists, that family."
In other means:
"They too will not stand by while the Archbishop faction openly turns against the royal family. They have already recognized this as an undeniable 'national crisis,' and I have already secured their cooperation for the crusade."
...Naturally.
Ermes and the others had been engaged in conflict with Johann for a considerable time. During that period, the other factions had also made significant moves regarding this matter.
Understanding this, Yurugen asked:
"So in other words..."
"Yes. Of course, this assumes they do cooperate... but we will also arrange the bridge to the 'neutral nobles' for you."
"...!"
"After the crusade, we will be enemies. But other than that, I promise we will not interfere with you."
In other words... to summarize the content of the "deal" she had brought to them:
What they would offer was cooperation in the campaign against the Archbishop faction.
What Leila's side would take on was a promise not to oppose the Second Princess's faction during that period, plus a path to the "neutral nobles"—one of the military assets they desired.
For a time, every member of the Third Princess's faction considered.
And then──Ermes and Yurugen exchanged a glance. Confirming that they shared the same thought, they signaled Liliana.
With that... Liliana, despite the complex feelings toward her sister... still, as the Third Princess, spoke:
"──Please grant us time to consider."
It was a reasonable request, and Leila nodded as if she had expected as much.
"There's no way you could decide immediately, so of course. But the deadline is tomorrow. We're also preparing for a full-scale offensive at full speed on our end, so we can't wait any longer than that.
...And one more thing, before that."
After firmly setting the deadline... she added one final item.
"As one more factor in your decision, I'd like you to meet someone.
The current 'Pope'—and the Second Queen of the Yustia Kingdom."
After everything she had said up to this point, it was a natural request.
But it came with yet another surprise.
"──In other words, my mother.
The preparations for an audience are already complete, so... follow me."