Chapter 7. Covetousness (4)
Tariq nodded slowly, then suddenly raised his voice and spoke words that didn’t match the context.
“Since our conversation seems like it will be long, how about we go inside? I’d like to offer tea to a knight I haven’t seen in a while. I have tea leaves brought from the Ilknur Kingdom – they have a wonderful fragrance.”
At these words, clearly spoken with the soldiers in mind, Eckart quickly replied:
“I’m honored that you would offer me such precious tea.”
The two men entered the mansion. The soldiers followed behind them as well.
When the sun had risen a bit higher through the dark clouds, Eckart emerged from the mansion. Leaving the soldiers’ greetings behind, he led his horse to a secluded spot.
Only after repeatedly confirming no one was around did he take something from inside his coat and secure it firmly to the saddle. Mounting it, Eckart spurred his horse onward. Since there were still several more people he needed to meet, there was no time to spare.
This time he headed to the prison in Duran. The soldiers there also readily let Eckart in, and he went straight to the cell where Ardwino had been imprisoned.
But he wasn’t there. Thinking he might have been pushed further inside due to newly imprisoned criminals, he called out Ardwino’s name, but all he heard in return were the groans, curses, and oaths of the prisoners.
Though it seemed unlikely, perhaps he had been moved elsewhere – Eckart searched through the prison. Ardwino was nowhere to be seen. His heart pounded violently and his vision darkened.
No way. No way… Eckart clenched his hands, cold sweat seeping through. The nightmare he’d once had unfolded in his mind. When he rushed to the execution ground, he saw criminals lined up waiting for their death.
But Ardwino wasn’t there either. Checking each face one by one as he moved forward, Eckart suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A charred corpse hung on a pile of logs where only smoke still rose, as if an execution by fire had just been carried out. What remained was barely recognizable as human, with only the basic form left to indicate it had once been a person – even gender was indistinguishable. The burned bodies were nothing more than piles of ash, making it impossible to imagine what they had looked like in life.
The nightmare he’d had recently came vividly back to life. The voice calling his name while engulfed in flames, those agonized screams echoed in his ears.
His heart sank with dread. Though he thought it couldn’t be, fear crept over him. An ominous, terrible sensation crawled up from his toes to cover his entire body. His face turned pale, cold sweat broke out, his eyes grew cold and distant, and his clenched fists trembled slightly, revealing his inner turmoil completely.
“Ah, Commander.”
Startled by someone approaching without his notice, Eckart turned his head to see a soldier bowing deeply. It was one of the guards watching the prison. He seemed to have chased after Eckart quite urgently, as his breathing was rough.
When Eckart forced out his voice to ask what was wrong, the soldier hesitated before answering:
“Are you perhaps looking for that knight from before?”
Instead of answering, Eckart stared at the soldier with a completely hardened expression. Taking this as affirmation, the soldier scratched the back of his head and said:
“That knight, you see… Papal Court knights took him away a few days ago. I thought you might not know, so I wanted to tell you…”
“Papal Court knights?”
“Yes. I don’t know the reason, but… it seemed like they were taking him to the Papal Court.”
Eckart’s eyes shook violently. Why had they taken Ardwino to the Papal Court? Had there perhaps been some kind of deal with the Duke of Estania?
If so, that was fortunate. As long as he was safe, it was fine even if they never met again. So this should be cause for joy.
What on earth was this? This spine-chilling ominous feeling?
“Thank you for telling me.”
“Not at all.”
Eckart immediately mounted his horse. Unlike his previous route through remote paths to avoid meeting the Grand Duke, this time he cut straight across without hesitation, heading back toward the papal territories. Thanks to spurring his horse on without rest, Eckart arrived quite quickly and entered the Papal Court.
The usually peaceful Papal Court was somewhat chaotic. Cardinals in red robes were gathering in one place, and the road was complicated with the carriages they had arrived in.
“What brings Your Eminences here from so early in the morning…”
Since it wasn’t a day for official meetings, this surely meant the Pope had urgently summoned the cardinals. It seemed so busy because cardinals from distant places had rushed here after receiving urgent messages.
What could have prompted such an emergency meeting? Could it possibly be related to Ardwino…?
Looking up toward the Pope’s office, Eckart dismounted his horse. Just as he was taking steps with a hardened face, thinking his priority should be checking the prison first to confirm Ardwino’s safety:
“Commander.”
Soldiers blocked Eckart’s path. They spoke politely but firmly:
“His Holiness has summoned you. Please come with us.”
“…His Holiness?”
Whether they had seen him entering the Papal Court or had expected he would naturally come, they called for Eckart as if they had been waiting.
Eckart followed the soldiers. Even so, he cast his gaze toward where the prison was located. He hoped this rising anxiety would please be just groundless worry. And… His Holiness was always kind and benevolent as usual, so he earnestly hoped it was merely his own lack of faith that made him doubt and waver.
***
A red tide swept through the hall. Though the cardinals had gathered in a fairly solemn atmosphere, they gradually became more unruly while waiting for the Pope, who served as chairman.
“Calling us so suddenly like this – surely it must be because of the scandals circulating in society? Everyone must already know. The fact that the sacred Papal Court’s prestige is rolling in the dirt!”
“That’s exactly what I mean! How could such a thing happen! A child? And without even marriage, getting a pure woman pregnant!”
“It goes against doctrine. A priest’s duty is chastity – this means he didn’t live an ascetic life even after receiving episcopal ordination, doesn’t it?”
“Wasn’t there a similar scandal long ago? Back then I couldn’t understand why such scandals about someone so clean and full of God’s grace were circulating… But he was unqualified from the beginning. To seat someone unworthy on the papal throne – what is this…”
“Everyone please lower your voices. If this leaks outside, the Papal Court’s authority and trust will hit rock bottom.”
“It seems to have spread as much as it could already! Shouldn’t we take some measures before it’s too late? How can someone unqualified sit on the papal throne? We should nullify it and vote again…”
“This is unprecedented. I don’t think it’s something to decide so hastily.”
“That’s right. Perhaps this is a scandal fabricated by those who bear grudges against His Holiness…”
Opinions were divided among the cardinals. However, most were gravitating toward the position that they should remove the unqualified one and elect a new pope, because they were all inwardly displeased with how things were going.
If they opposed the scripture-citing initiatives, they would appear to be protecting criminals, but if they just stood by and watched, too many people had lost their lives. There had already been much talk that the measures were too harsh.
“Truly, it’s like a sinner citing scripture. He was unqualified from the beginning. How shameless.”
“How can we call someone who abandoned the woman he had promised marriage to, and also abandoned his own child in her womb, God’s representative?”
“What do you think of this matter, Chief of the Curia?”
The Chief of the Curia, who had been quietly listening with a troubled and difficult expression, felt the gazes turning toward him and reluctantly opened his lips:
“If these stories are really true… But these aren’t yet confirmed matters, are they?”
A cardinal stepped forward:
“As for evidence… The Duke of Estania said he found a witness. The woman who bore the Pope’s child threw herself into the river right after being abandoned, ending two pitiful lives, but fortunately left behind a token she had received when promising marriage. The Duke of Estania said he would come here personally with that token.”
“C-Cardinal Clemens. Is that true?”
“A token!”
At the mention of a token, the hall stirred again. Even those who had been taking the Pope’s side lost their words and fell silent. The atmosphere instantly shifted toward the view that they should severely punish this unprecedented schemer who had coveted power even while abandoning his wife and child, thereby causing a pitiful woman and child to sink into the cold riverbed, sat on the papal throne despite being unqualified, deceived people with lies, and took countless lives in God’s name.
The Chief of the Curia calmed those who were speaking rather roughly:
“Please calm down first. We shouldn’t be certain until we directly examine the token. Even if that token is genuine, we should also hear the Pope’s side of the story.”
The somewhat calmer cardinals were considering whether there had been similar precedents, how to strip the qualifications of one who had not maintained chastity as a clergyman, what punishment would be appropriate for someone who abandoned his wife and child out of lust for power, and what methods they should use to elect a new pope while keeping this matter secret.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
