"—Look there, the decorative princess."
I hate it.
"Just because she's His Holiness the Pope's only daughter, she goes around acting all high and mighty."
"See? She couldn't even measure up to the Former Second Prince, who ran around doing whatever he pleased—and someone of her standing, no less!"
The people around her who badmouthed others freely without regard for status, the Church's atmosphere that treated such behavior as perfectly natural, and above all... herself, who couldn't put a stop to any of it.
Everything surrounding her... for Laila, it was all a source of ever-mounting stress.
"On top of that, they've invited the 'real' saintess with Dual aptitude, haven't they? But for reasons beyond me, she supposedly chose to follow the Third Princess—the one who can't use Bloodline Magic."
"And before that, she was even the Second Prince's fiancée... Her magic and her appearance are both magnificent, but her eye for people is just terrible, isn't it?"
"No, no—she's surely been taken in by sweet words! If anything, shouldn't our duty be to rescue that lady and bring her properly into the fold of the Church!?"
"Exactly! Or rather... shouldn't the Second Princess be the one taking the lead to do so? Yes, because you see... she is a 'fake' saintess, after all."
"How true!
Lady
Hartmann's
Bloodline Magic—
she can only use
one of
them.
It's obvious just from that alone that she was never the chosen one, so why must she so shamelessly exploit her position to cling on?!"
"Oh, absolutely! If I were in her position— I would immediately beg God's forgiveness for my own inadequacy and gladly surrender every last one of my rights to Lady Hartmann! Even if it meant having my head severed, I would accept it with joy!"
"Wonderful! Now that is a true servant of God! My, what a world of difference from that princess!"
──So noisy.
So noisy, so noisy, it was unbearable.
……But she couldn't say anything back.
In cases of obvious rule-breaking like the guard incident earlier, that was one thing—but when it was "just someone badmouthing her"? If they played dumb, that was the end of it, and there was nothing she could do. Besides, even if she condemned one or two, more seeds of malice would sprout up in no time.
That was just how dire her standing in the Church had become.
……Besides.
Right now, she had no time to
dwell
on such things. From the very beginning, her objective had been singular.
Having reached that conclusion, she shut out the malice leaking from her surroundings.
Laila continued forward with an indifferent stride. Eventually, the figures around her vanished, and she arrived before a grand door.
That was only to be expected. After all, this was—the chamber of the Church's ruler.
"……Are you alright? Mother."
She knocked and called out. Confirming that a response had come, she quietly opened the door.
"……"
And then, she saw.
Before her gaze, seated at the desk—Pope Ortesia. Her mother's demeanor was, as always, languid.
──She hadn't always been this way.
There had always been a certain shadow to her atmosphere, but even so, she had properly showered her with love.
She had always known, from the moment her brother came into existence, that she could never become "Queen," but that had still been enough to make her perfectly happy.
Somewhere along the way, however, she had grown utterly apathetic about everything.
She didn't know why her mother had become this way. She couldn't even begin to guess.
But there were two things she knew for certain.
The first was that her mother had begun to change around the time Laila was six—shortly after her own Bloodline Magic was discovered.
The second was... that this version of her mother was energetically active in only one matter: this war of succession for the throne.
If that was the case, then Laila would act for that one wish.
She didn't know what her mother's "sole wish" truly was. But if this war of succession was necessary for it, then she would fight with everything she had.
And so—
(...I will find the cause of what made Mother like this. If it's something within me, I will fix it. If it was done by someone else, I will chase them to the ends of the earth and crush them.)
If she did that, then someday, surely...
She believed that the world, which had been the only happiness available to a girl devoid of magic on that day, might finally return.
Laila continued her actions today as well—for herself, for her mother. For that sake, she would use and exhaust whatever, or whoever, was necessary.
With that resolve, she reported her day's work to her mother as usual.
"...As reported, I have conveyed the general conditions to the Third Princess faction. Traukia is over there, so I doubt they'll make a foolish decision."
"...I see. ...You've done well, Laila."
Having listened, Ortesia offered a faint word of praise.
As Laila savored the thought that her efforts had been worthwhile just to hear that, the Pope continued.
"...I also expect Traukia will accept. As long as they cooperate obediently in subjugating the High Bishop, that will be fine. But, if they refuse—"
She stated this.
"——Make sure you kill Liliana properly, all right?"
"……That, is..."
"I told you so, didn't I? ...That girl above all else—no matter what, she absolutely must be eliminated. If left alone, she'll certainly become a blight on the future. And in fact, isn't that already starting to happen?"
……There was no room for argument.
Indeed. For some reason, Pope Ortesia had been convinced from the very beginning—
—that Liliana was a dangerous factor, long before the coup d'état even took place.
Before she had inherited Creation Magic, when she was nothing more than an Incompatibility that nobody gave the time of day—since all the way back then.
Whether that came from knowledge only the Pope could access, or was simply intuition, was unclear.
But in truth... Liliana had already begun to wield powers far beyond anything previously known.
There was no mistaking it—she was well on her way to becoming a major threat.
"The only thing that overturned all that was your sentimentality. You said it seemed a waste to kill her right away, and I conceded there was some merit to that. That's all there was to it.
That's why..."
"I understand, Mother."
Having fully acknowledged all of this, Laila replied.
"Lili still has her uses.
She's far too soft on family—even if we end up as enemies, as long as I'm here, she won't make any extreme decisions that would put us at a severe disadvantage.
—If we play our cards right, we can ruthlessly put every last one of her capable subordinates to work for us."
She, on the other hand, was different.
When the time came, she wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to cut Liliana off. Family or not, at the end of the day she was merely a half-sister. Compared to the bond with their mother, she meant nothing.
……That was right.
The reason she had once been kind to Liliana was simple: Liliana was weak, insignificant, and no matter how she struggled, she posed no threat whatsoever. If anything, it was like doting on a pet.
But that premise had crumbled—if Liliana had gained the power to defy her, if she had obtained a position where she could sink her teeth in.
Laila despised those who hated her, and those who were stronger than her.
Naturally, she loathed every last one of those in the church who looked down on her with contempt.
Those so-called "chosen mages" of the Third Princess's faction—starting with Lord Hartmann's young lady—made her sick to her stomach.
And Liliana, who had brought them all under her command and obtained terrifying magical power of her own...
"...I hate her the most."
The more she had once doted on her, the hundredfold greater her hatred now.
So she would use her. She would use her up completely.
And once she had served her purpose—or the moment she dared to rebel—
"—I'll make sure to deal with her properly. So, Mother, leave the conflict with the Archbishop's faction to me."
With words spoken as if laying down the law, Ortesia was likely convinced at last.
"...Very well. I'll leave it to you."
Those words marked the end of the mother-daughter conversation.
Laila turned on her heel, closed the door behind her—and in her beautiful crimson eyes, a look of steely resolve took root.
"I'll do whatever it takes. ...If it's for what I want."
Murmuring that to herself, she set off once more with firm, unwavering steps.
◆
"I think... I will accept Lady Laila's offer."
At that same moment, in the Third Princess's camp...
The Church — a joint operation against the Archbishop's faction, proposed by the Second Princess's camp and the Papal faction.
Princess Liliana stated the conclusions they had been deliberating over.
No objections arose.
"I see no reason to dissent, Princess Liliana. ...In any case, the Archbishop's faction won't leave us be now that we've crushed their linchpin, Archbishop Johan. Even with their war against the Papal faction... ignoring us would be far too dangerous. Let us sever any lingering threats for certain."
"...Indeed. The offer to help bolster our fighting strength is, honestly, quite appealing."
"There's a risk of it being too appealing... but even so, the overall risks of ignoring it are far too great."
Yurugen's affirmation was followed by Sarah and Albert.
The others offered no objections either... and then Katia spoke up.
"Besides... there was one piece of information we simply couldn't afford to overlook. Nina?"
Nina was deliberately put on the spot. Understanding the intention perfectly, she gave a single nod. A critical piece of information, bearing in mind her position. She now recounted the most important detail from when Laila had told them about everything leading up to this point.
"That's right. ...Princess Laila had this to say.
The coup—
—its consequences led to a falling-out between the current Pope and Archbishop. Since the Papal faction seized control of headquarters, Archbishop Johan moved to establish a new base to replace the lost Church headquarters by... taking complete control of the north. That's what she told us.
—But here's the thing."
A fatal inconsistency that only she could discern.
"Johan's move to seize the north—
happened before
the coup
even took place."
Indeed. The northern rebellion had broken out, the report reached the Royal Capital, and Liliana was ordered to suppress it... and that very night,
The coup d'état
Since it took place, there was no other possible sequence of events.
Of course, one could argue that the timing merely happened to align—that Johan had originally planned to seize control of the north, and the incident with the First Prince just happened to occur along the way.
But everyone understood. If you knew the personality of that Archbishop Johan... such a perfectly convenient "coincidence" was simply impossible.
Therefore,
there was only one conclusion to be drawn.
"The Church... or at least, the Archbishop's faction—
──
the coup d'état—
was going to happen—
and they knew
beforehand."
"
In other words, the First Prince's faction... no.
This was definitive proof that the "Organization" lurking behind the scenes and the Archbishop's faction were connected.
"Well, from the start I was ordered by Archbishop Johan to spy on the academy, and since that incident happened there, it was already certain they were connected, but—"
"—We're starting to catch a clearer trail now."
"Yeah. We already knew from being in the Royal Capital that the Church had 'Organization' members among them... but it's becoming clearer now.
Princess Laila had said that His Holiness the Pope would never overlook anything fatal—but honestly, looking at how His Holiness behaved today, we might be better off treating even that with suspicion."
Niina nods at the supplementary comments from Katia and Yurugen.
"……If that's the case, then we absolutely cannot back down."
Ermes declared.
The original purpose of coming here was to gather information. About the Church, and about—'Organization,' whose full picture they still couldn't glimpse. To better understand those they would inevitably have to face head-on in the future.
If the Archbishop Faction's subjugation operation meant both of those could be obtained at once… then all the more, a choice not to participate was simply out of the question.
"Then—allow me to reiterate. We of the Third Princess's faction will join forces with the Papal faction and the neutral nobles to subjugate the Archbishop Faction."
"The enemy is… if I dare say it, three individuals of roughly Johan's caliber. It will be a fierce battle, but—just as this one has been. I humbly ask for all of your strength once again."
With a courteous and graceful gesture, Lilliana bowed her head. The members of the Third Princess's faction voiced their strong support at the sight.
And so, their participation in the Archbishop Faction's subjugation operation was decided.
—At the same time, Ermes thought.
(……If the Archbishop Faction and the Organization are connected to that extent…)
Then. Even in this subjugation operation.
It would be unwise to entertain any optimistic notion that 'nothing will happen.'
"……"
While picturing the face of the First Prince's confidant and rival—the man with whom they had clashed several times before, and with whom he had a gut feeling they would inevitably cross paths again.
That night passed on peacefully.
Starting next time, we'll be inserting one more episode involving characters who only appeared in this chapter.
After that, the Archbishop Faction's subjugation operation will finally begin. Stay tuned!