The Hero Party Couldn’t Kill Me

Chapter 7: The Madness of the Saint and Iris (2)

I was surprised. I never dreamed that Archduke Charles, who was stuck only in Frostville, would visit the Grand Crusade himself.

‘I wonder if he’s that ambitious.’

The saintess thought about Archduke Charles.

His father was the emperor’s younger brother, but he had a conflict with the emperor and was banished to Frostville.

Naturally, Archduke Charles followed in his father’s footsteps and became the lord of Frostville at the age of 20 10 years ago.

‘The problem is… Most people don’t know about Frostville.’

However, Frostville is a land that was incorporated into the Empire 50 years ago, and it is too far from the capital, and because of the extreme cold, there is very little exchange with other provinces, so its recognition is very low compared to its strategic importance.

Thus, Archduke Charles was completely forgotten when the princess and the prince were in a power struggle for the position of emperor.

… At least so far.

“Are you a saint?”

The saintess faced Archduke Charles who was waiting inside the Grand Sanctuary beforehand.

The first thing that catches your eye is his muscular body and wild appearance. Even so, the aristocratic dignity was felt along with the unique aura of her royal family. She was like a lion.

When he spoke in a dignified, low-pitched voice, even her saintess shrank.

“Yes, you are Archduke Charles.”

“I will speak directly. Please help me to become the next emperor. If so, I will spare no support for the Etoile Church.”

Archduke Charles proposes with a powerful voice. Of course, there were still many uneasy factors to hold hands with him.

“I like the guts, but specifically how do you plan to drive Her Highness out?”

“Historically, the end of the emperor who was in conflict with Etoileism was not good. A mere human cannot fight a goddess. Considering that, it would be reckless for a princess who is not yet officially emperor to openly fight against the Etoiles.”

“Then Grand Duke, do you believe in the power of our Etoile religion?”

“I believe in Goddess.”

The saintess was in deep trouble. She seemed to have the purest faith among the upper-class people in the empire.

But apart from that, she wasn’t sure yet whether it was right for her to fully support Archduke Charles at Etoile Bridge.

She will not be a match for the princess with her political power.

It would be nice if the revelation of the goddess fell on her at such a time…….

A saintess who is in trouble for a moment. For a moment, she gazed at the muscular body of Archduke Charles.

Nothing is known about his fighting power, but his long fighting experience and the aura that radiates from his strong body make him worthy of competing with Edmund in terms of pure force alone.

“As you know, Etoileism has no choice but to be neutral on the issue of the throne in principle. However, if a candidate for emperor goes against the will of Etoir or the goddess like now, they can be publicly criticized and even excommunicated.”

“Then….”

“We have the same mind right now and want to excommunicate the princess, but there is no evidence yet to prove that she is in collaboration with Edmund. Not psychological evidence, but material evidence.”

“Then what can I do?”

“I need someone to hold onto Edmund. And we have to interrogate him to find out his connection to the princess. If that happens, she can officially excommunicate the princess, and the princess who has lost her people’s heart will naturally break away from her rivalry with the emperor. And you will be praised as the hero who defeated Edmund, and you will quickly emerge as a candidate for the next emperor.”

Thus, in the eyes of the saintess, in order for Archduke Charles to become the next emperor, he must catch a great fish called Edmund.

“So you’re saying we need to catch that Edmund. But isn’t there a person in the empire who deserves to catch him?”

“Did you not hear the news? The hero Calia went to capture Edmund with the Empire’s elite troops, including the wizard of the Blue Mage Tower, but was brutally defeated.”

“… That’s because the hero, Calia, is weak enough to be brutally attacked by the demon lord from the start. This Archduke Charles is different.”

As expected, Archduke Charles showed confidence. The saintess also saw his reliable build, and she was trustworthy.

If the mages of the Noir Mage Tower can join in and stop Edmund in the magical part, then Edmund might be able to be caught this time.

“So, where is Edmund?”

“We have a hard time tracking him down. However, he has a grudge against the Duke of Rosie and will try to kill her.”

“… If you’re Duke Rossier, aren’t you the former hero?”

“With her recent death, the daughter inherited her dukedom.”

“Then I want to protect the young duke?”

Archduke Charles frowned for a moment. Well, protecting Iris in the position of grand duke is very funny in the picture.

Even the saintess wanted to take her moment away, so she tried to cancel those words.

“All emperors must know how to step up and protect their people, so I humbly accept it. However, he can’t be away from border guards for long, so he’ll be guarding Frostville until there’s conclusive evidence.”

But Archduke Charles gave an unexpected answer.

The saintess was shaken when she heard that she was going back to Frostville, but what she needed anyway was the might of Archduke Charles.

Anyway, if you use a portal or a teleportation magic circle, you can call him in an instant, so just because he’s in Frostville, joining him won’t be too late.

“Yeah, that sounds good. We’ll get back to you later when we find evidence.”

“Then I will come back when Edmund’s location is known.”

As soon as he finished what he had to say, Archduke Charles strode outside. It was as if he was trying to waste even a second of his time.

Seeing his unusual appearance, the saintess looked at his back for a while. Then she headed to her private prayer room.

“… Goddess. What should we do now? If you haven’t abandoned us yet, please answer my prayers.”

A saint praying to Goddess Etoile again today. But unlike usual, her voice trembled.

Suddenly, she became impatient. Edmund’s ominous dream of destroying the Great Temple was her last revelation from the goddess. After that, the goddess gave no more revelations to her saint.

Especially in such a rapidly changing situation, she continued to remain silent.

“Goddess, where are you? Why… Are you not answering my prayers? I just want to keep this church. I am working for the Goddess.”

At last, a saintess praying with a sobbing voice.

She had no intention of stopping now. If we change direction now, the credibility of Etoileism will plummet.

However, now that her faith in herself is shaken in her rapidly changing situation, the saintess needed the revelation of her goddess more than ever. She needed to orient herself again.

But today the goddess did not answer her.

***

“Hey, the saintess is scary as expected. If the situation arises, you intend to use Iris as a discard pile.”

Meanwhile, Mina returned and relayed her story exactly as she heard it in the mansion of the Duke of Valois.

I laughed out loud after hearing the story.

Well, since I measured my hand cut so quickly, I must have abandoned it so easily after praising it so much that my saliva dried up. It was just a choice worthy of a saintess, just hidden by her image.

“Isn’t that good news for you? You can make the saintess abandon Iris without much effort.”

“No, I still need to see the situation. Because the saintess hadn’t completely hardened her heart. And Iris also held up better against the Duke of Valois than I thought.”

Of course, she couldn’t properly answer the question of who she would appoint after driving out the princess, but until then, Iris worked with Godfrey and convinced her nobles quite well.

Deterioration in physical condition due to fatigue also did not have a big impact, at least in the last meeting. It’s such a hard-earned power that he’ll never let it go.

Then I just have to make Iris misjudge.

After thinking about it for a while, I had a good idea.

“Your Highness, do you have the time now?”

And after a while, I got in touch with the princess.

Right now, the princess was busy concentrating her forces in her own way, but she received my call right away.

“What happened?”

“Suddenly, I became curious about the will of the late Duke Rosier. Didn’t he intend to pass the dukedom on to his son?”

“Yes, but until his son Fleance comes of age, Iris will be the next lord.”

“So, when he grows up, he will be Lord of Roswell instead of Iris?”

“If it is according to the will, it will be so. Of course, Iris Rossi will be very repulsed.”

“Still, isn’t it the right of Her Highness to bestow and select dukes?”

“Yes, it is.”

Iris may have forgotten her now, intoxicated with her own power, but she too must have read the will of the Duke of Rossier.

So this deal, maybe it could be done.

At least I can make Iris expose her flaws.

“Then how about this one? Make her deal with her on the condition that her iris preserves her dukedom.”

“I could try, but I really don’t have high expectations.”

“It doesn’t matter. You can shake the iris just by trying.”

Iris’s power is shaking because of the Duke of Valois’ check.

If I remind her of the existence of Fleance, she will be even more shaken.

From noble mtl dot com

Iris, whose anxiety reached its peak… In the end, her judgment is bound to be clouded.