Book 17: Chapter 23


    A bishop in red stood up. His red robe fluttered along with his rage. He pressed his hands down on the table and looked at the group before him, especially the pope, with a furious look. He thundered, Is that how this is going to end? Thats it?! Do we have to just brush it off with that? Thats all?! He was our believer. He was our friend. Are you just going to let him die an unjust death?! Furthermore, he did not die from old age or illness but was assassinated! Those shameless frauds assassinated him!! Are we just going to end it with this?!


    The pope eximed, It wasnt my idea. I cant ept this oue, either. I, too, want revenge on the new church. I, too, am angry; however, this is Her Majestys idea, which is why this is all we can do despite our anger. We cant oppose Empress Elizabeth!


    That is because this incident has nothing to do with Her Majesty!


    The bishop in red had to clench his teeth. He didnt dare to say another word. After all, they couldnt disrespect her. Nevertheless, not even Empress Elizabeth could suppress their rage. The old church didnt just simply lose a member. Apanying the loss was insult. As the religion that existed for the longest time, they couldnt ept having a scapegoat take the me for killing one of their own.


    The old church wasnt convinced that the new church wasnt connected to the assassination notwithstanding the new churchs denial. The two churches co-existed together for so long, but it an assassination took ce then of all times. Why was there never any assassination or assaults previously? One nce and one would want to dig deeper. This assassination was premeditated. If the old church didnt retaliate, theyd be at great risk in the future. Henceforth, there might be countless more assassinations.


    Though Her Majesty considered it an assassination, it was a dignity and survival issue for the old church. They really wanted to open fire and wage a true war against the new church. To that end, they considered revenge. At the very least, they wanted to kill all of the new churchs followers in the city!


    Another member got to his feet. He looked at his brethren and, in a justified manner, dered, We must retaliate. If the new church finds out were this weak, then their attacks on us will continue to escte in the future. Empress Elizabeth still hasnt explicated her stance; she wont protect us. If we make apromise this time, itll be us who spills even more blood in the future. Weve already put up with this for long enough. We didnt pick fights or start trouble. The furthest we went was verbal arguments. But, this time, the new church has gone too far! We should retaliate. We should take up arms and protect ourselves. We should attack our enemies. This retaliation is one that God supports. For our faith, our friends and our lives, we must take up arms and retaliate!


    His speech garnered the support of many there. After everyone was rallied, they looked to the pope with fervent gazes. The pope firmly shook his head. He resolutely responded, Her Majesty gave me an order, and that was to not start any trouble. Think about it carefully. This is Hilles City. Were right under Her Majestys thumb. Have you forgotten what the consequence of angering the royal familyst time was? I will not destroy our entire church just to appease your anger!


    Your Excellency, are you being serious?! You must not forget that the new churchs headquarters are located at Troy City. Troy City! That is the city named after Prince Troy. The royal familys refusal to give us permission to retaliate is a sign that they are bias toward the new church. It was our member who died! They are sheltering the culprit!!


    The pope rose to his feet and exined, Prince Troy has not been back to Troy City in a very long time. He has been living in the North all this time. He does not know about the new church; therefore, the royal family is not sheltering them this time! Gentlemen, gentlemen, I am just as angry as you are. Listen to me. The victim is my brother and my friend, too. Im also vexed, but we must remain level-headed. We cant allow our impulses from anger and a desire for vengeance to control us. This is Hilles City, the Phoenixs Nest. This is the ce that Her Majesty rules. We cant stir chaos here; else, we will be exterminated before we even do anything about the new church. We have justpleted a job perfectly. Dont allow our anger to make it all for naught! Everyone, calm down!!


    We have already worked so hard, so why does Her Majesty and His Majesty refuse acknowledge us? We earnestly carried out the baptism, and there were no errors of any kind. Why were we not rewarded and given the respect we deserve? Will we never be respected due to the past incident?!


    Anxious, the pope jumped up onto the table and shouted to the people below, Calm down!! The new church killed one of our own. It has nothing to do with the royal family. It has nothing to do with Her Majesty and His Majesty. Even if you are going to avenge him, do not give the royal family any trouble. They are not our targets. We can only trust in Empress Elizabeths fairness. We can only believe that we will receive the respect we deserve. Its precisely because this was so sudden that we will be able to be rewarded for our loyalty  provided we live on in peace.


    The other bishops in red were stunned. They stopped speaking when they saw how emotional the pope was. Even so, their rage and their desire for war didnt diminish. They exchanged eye contact with each other then looked back at the pope. One of the bishops nodded: You are our pope, and we trust the church. We will not destroy our church. In saying that, we do not intend to take this lying down. We will retaliate. We must use our rules and reasons to punish the killers. One life isnt enough topensate the death of our member. We want to punish the mastermind. This entire incident is the fault of the new church, and it is their responsibility. You need not worry, nheless. You need not worry at all. We are acting without your knowledge. We will not tell anyone that this had to do with you. We will not use the churchs power, either. We will find mercenaries. In short, we must get revenge. This is our hatred. We must make them pay with their blood!