Chapter 48: The Inquisition Church Below

  "Five diocesan bishops, five archbishops, and three metropolitans! Almost half of the named diocesan bishops in all Constantinople have arrived! Two deputy abbots from Mount Athos! All the major figures of our imperial church are attending this grand gathering. No wonder that even the humble Holy Spirit monastery has suddenly produced a dozen or so other regional abbots and deputy abbots! What, is today's gathering to be an ecumenical council? The group of clerics who knew they couldn't hide and had come out, I saw them exchange cold smiles and glances, then cast a chilly gaze at the abbot of the Holy Spirit monastery. 'Or perhaps it's a plot to rebel!'"

  "Your Highness, no! We absolutely did not have any intention of rebellion! This is absolutely a miscarriage of justice!" An old bishop immediately cried out in protest.

  "That's right! We've always been diligent! How can you say such treasonous things!! On the contrary, Your Highness, bringing a large group of people to barge into the sacred grounds of the church, do you have any regard for the church?!"

  I laughed, laughing very happily, just don't know if it had the effect of extreme anger turning into laughter. Which one is this? Turning my head to look, a relatively young guy among the old men was standing out from the crowd, and after taking another look, I didn't have any impression of him in my mind. "You say I don't put the church in my eyes? If I didn't put the church in my eyes, what's appearing here now wouldn't be just a cavalry squadron of the Seoferno family, but an imperial battalion with four squadrons and four six-pounder horse artillery! If I didn't put the church in my eyes, let alone the Holy Spirit Institute, even if you hide in the Sophia Cathedral, I can still tear it down! If I didn't put the church in my eyes, you wouldn't be able to stand here!"

  "...desecration..." It was that young priest again, this time he had barely uttered half a word before the elderly abbot grabbed his robes. Although it was just one word, I still understood what he wanted to say and where he stood!

  Among the group of bishops, a middle-aged clergyman smiled and said: "Your Highness, what exactly made you so angry? Was it some blind bishop who provoked you?"

  "Right, right, what's going on?"

  "What's going on? It's nothing, just a rebellion!" I drew out my dagger and tapped it lightly in the palm of my hand. "Speak up, who is the ringleader? Why have you betrayed your country, and which kingdom have you sold your souls to?"

  "Slander! This is a bloody insult!! Don't think that just because you're the second in line to inherit the Sefano family, you can do as you please here! You should know that without the orthodox recognition of the church, the Sefano family will never become emperors!"

  "I slander?!?" This is really quite cooperative, no mistake, I am indeed slandering them, but what's the big deal, a few steps forward, my saliva flying everywhere, "Well, how do you explain that in broad daylight, you seized a Prussian noble heir, an envoy of the Kingdom of Prussia, and threw him into the church's private prison!?"

  As soon as this remark was made, all the priests present, regardless of their rank, changed color in unison.

  "You dragged them into the dungeon, and I saw it with my own eyes! Now people are in the courtyard of the dungeon, you want to use cruel torture to drive them mad, I not only heard it with my ears, but also have witnesses and evidence! Now one of them is covered in scars, what? Do you still have anything to say? Are all the things I saw with my own eyes just illusions?"

  "Your Highness, did you just say they are of high nobility?" A shocked bishop rushed out and grabbed my hand, his eyes still filled with fantasy. I knew what he was fantasizing about - that this was an outrageous rumor!

  But unfortunately, it's not!

  "A Prussian noble from the German region has come to negotiate with us! Don't you know the importance of the Kingdom of Prussia in that area of Northern Europe? Although the territory of the Kingdom of Prussia is not large, it is a force that must be won over between Austria, Sweden, and Russia. This weight can tip the balance of the entire scale no matter which side it leans towards! Now look what you've done, you've caught that noble and beaten him up! We're finished with the Kingdom of Prussia! The entire empire's strategic layout is ruined!" I pushed the bishop away, and he fell to the ground, sitting there in a daze. He looked up, and all the other abbots and bishops were stunned on the spot, especially the two deputy abbots from Mount Athos, whose faces changed color rapidly.

  The appearance of the monks from Mount Athos here is an unexpected surprise, even for me. But better still, this place has been a sacred site of the Imperial Church since the eleventh century and has enjoyed a privileged status under the protection and favor of the Imperial Emperor Konstantinos IX, who prohibited all female creatures from entering the mountain. For centuries, they have maintained their influence, surpassing even that of the other sacred site, the Mandylion Monastery. In recent centuries, the Church's activities in the Empire have been ubiquitous, with their presence felt everywhere.

  "This is a trap! This is a trap!!!"

  "Yes, listen to our explanation! We are innocent!!!"

  Several bishops were there wanting to rush up and explain, I quickly had several guards hold them back. Now they know the taste of being wronged... what about before?

  "Your Highness!" A bishop knelt on the ground, crying out in a loud and clear voice, "I came here only because I heard that an heretic was to be tried, a heretic from Germany! They!" The priest pointed at the abbots led by Mount Athos, "Everything is their doing! They said that man was just a minor German nobleman! This has nothing to do with me, I only came here because one of them had once done me a favor in the past!"

  Soon after this bishop, several bishops and archbishops also made similar statements, hastily disavowing any connection to the matter, saying they had come here more out of courtesy than anything else, and had no idea that a simple heresy trial would involve treason! Treason, my words have been clear, the church has arrested two high-ranking nobles from the Kingdom of Prussia, who were also envoys, this is no longer a purely religious matter, but a diplomatic incident, rising to the level of imperial strategy, anyone involved who isn't an idiot would know what that means!

  All the accused will be arrested for treason, and only death can appease the indignation of the Prussian king's envoy!

  "However, Your Highness, we did an investigation beforehand and they are just ordinary minor German nobles! If they were envoys, how could it be possible for them to not stay in the embassy?"

  "Yes, and another thing, Your Highness, don't be deceived! They've written a book of blasphemy! Not only does it desecrate the gods, but after verification and investigation, we found that the Satan in that book is actually you! We also know that they're conspiring with others to rebel! Their goal is to overthrow the Theocracy of Seoano!!"

  "Your Highness, we can just let the mistake be a mistake. Let's put those two German nobles back in and kill them! As long as we silence the relevant people, after the fact, we can release the news of their accidental death to the outside world, and tell Prussia that they died accidentally while playing, isn't that enough?"

  Those who cannot extricate themselves from this matter are still making a dying struggle, and the books written by artistic girls and young people are their last straw to save their lives. These people can do anything to survive and maintain their power!

  Facing these hypocritical swine, I can only make the reality they face even more cruel to justify my conscience: "German petty bourgeoisie? You may not know,

  "I was the first to receive this messenger! I was the one who introduced him to Miss Pennywise of the Jimski family! Otherwise, do you think I would have been the first to receive news today?! As for treason and rebellion, go tell my father Caesar about it! See if he believes your one-sided words or the messenger with all the evidence! Caesar won't wrong a good man, but he also won't let off a bad one!"

  "Bring them in! Separate these priests, each one to a solitary cell! No one is allowed to visit during this time! Nothing can be delivered to them! Even if food is sent in, it must be thoroughly searched! But also pay attention, don't let them commit suicide in the room!" The guards took orders. I turned around and rode my horse to the side of that priest who had just spoken loudly. I still have a few words to say, but these words are not only for him to hear, but also for others to listen: "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, render unto God what is God's! These are the original words of the scriptures and the warning from God to the church! Have you forgotten? Even Jesus Christ had to obey Roman law. On Judgment Day, he will truly judge people based on their merits! You, your church, what right do you have, who gave you the power to decide a person's soul? Ah, are you, do you think you are God?"

  "Oh, right!!" I lowered my head and looked at the young priest who had bumped into me several times, "You said that our Seofano family can't do without the church, that's true! But you forgot, the church isn't just yours! The position you're sitting on with your butt! Hehehe, many people are watching!"