Chapter 161 - Live to Sienna Pt.161

It gave Sienna goosebumps to think about how fast his ability was developing. Wouldn’t he be enough to cure hundreds of people with just a flick of a hand later?

“That’s great!”

“Nah, it’s not my ability, is it? It’s all a blessing.”

Roy said politely. His answer raised another question for Sienna.

“Then how much power does the Pope have?”

Sienna wondered if his abilities could lead to thunderstorms, earthquakes, and the collapse of a country.

“You don’t think he could manipulate people’s thoughts with one gesture…”

“Hahaha! No. He doesn’t do what they call a visible divine transfer.”

“Can you be a Pope without miraculous powers? Is the Holy Father a hereditary succession?”

“No way. He was an orphan like me and started cleaning the altar and slowly raised to his position. It’s complicated to explain, but he has the abilities necessary for the position.”

Sienna nodded at his words.

‘Does the Pope have a better political power than others? It is an important virtue for a leader to have.’

“If it’s not a hereditary system, then Roy could become pope later.”

Roy said with a troubled look on Sienna’s words.

“Anyone in the Holy Empire, of course, can be the Pope. But I think it’s beyond my ability. I’m not confident that I can stand the papal position.”

“Well, it can’t be comfortable to have a country’s destiny. I’ve never seen the Holy Father, but I’m sure he’s old.”

“Yes. He’s very old. But he’s still very active. He still attends all the Masses that are held from dawn until late at night. Oh, the reason I came to the imperial court today was because of the order he gave me.”

“I thought you were here for the knights’ issue, but you weren’t?”

Sienna thought Roy’s visit was due to the friction between the Holy Knights and the Imperial Knights that happened not long ago. Sienna knew that the imperial knights had prevented them from entering the palace under Carl’s orders, though he was just treating it as a matter of rivalry between the knights.

Roy would need to deliver his message instead of them, who came all the way to the empire and could not go back without doing anything, and could not bend to the empire.

“Of course that happened, but above all, the Holy Father wanted to see Lady Sienna.”

“Me?”

“You are invited to the Holy Empire.”

Sienna looked at Roy with a fluttered face.

Sienna used to wonder if the goddess of the earth was involved in her return to the past. This was because the first change that happened after the return was the meeting with Roy. Later, when she learned of Roy’s outstanding power, she thought maybe the goddess sent her to save him.

So there was a vague expectation that if she went to the Holy Empire, she might find a reason for her return. Of course, the current pope, who has a good sense of politics, would have invited her for more secular reasons, but she was still excited because it was a country she had never been to.

Roy shook his head with a regretful look.

“So I asked the Emperor, and he turned me down immediately.”

Sienna smiled tenderly as she thought she could see how Carl refused. But Roy looked so down, so she soothed him with a friendly voice.

“We are not a colony state, so if the Empress visits at the request of the Holy Empire, it could be seen as humiliating. Priest Roy and I are friends, but we are also the cardinal who represents the Holy Empire and the empress of the Leipsden Empire.”

Roy nodded reluctantly.

“Maybe the Pope also said this knowing that the Emperor would refuse. So he’s not going to scold Roy. Don’t worry too much.”

“I’m not worried that he would be angry. It’s just a shame. I wanted to show you what the empire I grew up in is like.”

“I’m curious too, where you grew up. If I get the chance, I’ll come to visit the Holy Empire.”

“If that time comes, I’ll make sure to show you around. There are so many places I want to show you!”

Roy’s voice got a little brighter.

At the time Roy and Sienna were chatting, Carl was staring at the nobles who appeared at the political meeting with a wistful face. The nobles bowed their heads, avoiding his gaze, because of the fierce spirit of his body.

“You were all pretending to be so proud, and you finally managed to get the Holy Empire knights to step on this land.”

The nobles were antsy even though Carl didn’t raise his voice. Carl continued, with one lip curled up.

“Not only the Holy Empire and the Castro Empire but also the numerous kingdoms on the border here and there, they’re talking nonsense about reducing the number of central forces when there are only enemies everywhere…”

“But, Your Majesty the Emperor!”

Count Ferrer hurriedly opened his mouth to make an objection. Despite Carl’s fierce eyes, he forced himself to speak.

“It is true that there are many countries around the empire, but not all are enemies. There are also too many central forces in Leipsden, as the Castro Empire has just reached a truce. The tax burden to maintain the Central Army is too high.”

“That’s right. It’s a waste to maintain the Central Army for a war that may happen again at any time.”

The nobles came out to defend Count Ferrer. Carl watched them with a cold smile. By the time the commotion died down after they had been talking for a long time, Carl said next.

“So you all can’t just sit and watch the Central Army playing, is what I am getting here. Because it’s a waste of some tax money.”

“Your Majesty, you’re going too far.”

“Too far? I agree with that to some extent. You don’t have to let the Central Army, trained with the highest honors, just play. So I decided to accept some of your opinions.”

“…”

Everyone gasped at the unexpected reaction. They all thought that Carl wouldn’t take it easy. Moreover, what did he mean by saying that he will accept only a part of their opinions?

“So I plan to deploy some of the central forces to each of the territories.”

“What do you mean by that? Are you saying you’re going to let the Central Army stay on the territories?”

As the nobles raised their voices, Carl frowned and raised his hand. His gesture shut them up. As the hall quieted down, Carl continued.

“It’s total nonsense to raise soldiers in each of the territories to increase the Empire’s defenses. How can you, who never even managed ten soldiers, manage to do that?”

The nobles flinched their lips as if to refute Carl, but no one spoke up. Most of the high-ranking aristocrats here now had no experience of participating in the war and had no justification to refute it.

“But there’s a point in what you say. You know how much time and money it takes to raise a knight. However, deploying the Central Army on a permanent basis will save you money to grow your knights, and there will be some benefits in managing the army. We can move more efficiently than we do now, which is mainly based on wires. It’s good for you and me. Count Ferrer, of course. I can’t believe you came up with this brilliant idea for me.”

Count Ferrer’s face was distorted by Carl’s words. The nobles looked at the emperor with a look of disbelief.

Although the Emperor of Leipsden was said to have a strong imperial power, the basic authority of the estates lies with its lord, the owner of the territory. However, the emperor said that he would strengthen the monitoring system for the nobility by deploying his central army in each territory, and reduce the influence of the lords and place it under the influence of the emperor in every corner of the empire. This was a grave matter that might shake the foundations of the feudal system.

“I almost thought you were going to hold hands with the Castro Empire and start a rebellion because you knew exactly what the situation was like, and you were talking about reducing the number of troops, or increasing the number of soldiers.”

The faces of the nobles turned blue at his words. Carl’s words were heard as saying that he would accuse them of collaborating with the Castro Empire if they opposed his opinion or would be charged with treason.

“Our territory can do its job well without the Central Army.”

Baron Sention plucked up his courage and said to Carl, he had a territory located in the northern part of the Marl Mountains and was the owner of a large territory out of proportion to the title of Baron.

“Baron Sention…You asked for tax relief last year and the year before, saying that you were harmed by monsters, right? Don’t worry, unlike your poorly-trained territory soldiers, our well-trained Central Army will take care of the monsters well. Next year, the damage caused by monsters will be reduced, so you can afford to pay more taxes. Consider it when you do your taxes next year.”

“No, it’s not that…”

As he shook his hand in embarrassment, Carl looked around the nobles and said, “If I had known that the dispatch of the Central Army had so many advantages, I would have done it earlier. If it had been so, the damage to the land would have been reduced. What a waste of taxes that could have been collected.”

Carl stood up and continued his words, “Think you understand, then, and I’ll call this political meeting over.”

Carl left the conference room as if he would not give room for discussion. As soon as the door closed, angry-faced aristocrats approached Count Ferrer, raising their voices.

“What the hell is going on here? I can’t believe we’re deploying the Central Army to the territories! How can this be?!”

“Wasn’t it a mistake to bring up the idea of reducing the number of troops in the central region to begin with?”

“Was there a secret deal between you and the Emperor from the beginning?”

Count Ferrer looked dismayed at the nobles protesting against him. Having been with Carl for a long time, he was unaware of what he was capable of. It wasn’t until Count Ferrer faced Carl that he felt how evil and scary he was.