“Did you hear? The Bertica Kingdom has completely fallen into the hands of vampires.”
Luminous Kingdom’s Palace.
Cardinal Benelian Lior spoke in a slightly protesting tone to Pope Argo Servinus, who was leisurely tilting his teacup.
While it couldn’t simply be dismissed as a report, considering the status of the parties involved, it might sound somewhat provocative. However, since the cardinal had ambitions for the papacy, he was trying not to upset the current pope too much, but the situation was far from ordinary.
“I heard just an hour ago.”
Clang. The sound of the pope setting his teacup down broke the heavy silence.
After a moment of staring off into the distance, as if pondering something, the pope finally added, almost in admiration, “That was fast. I expected it would take at least another month… It’s definitely beyond imagination.”
The foundation of the centuries-old Three Kingdoms Alliance had completely crumbled.
Even though subtle competition was ongoing among human nations, the weight of this matter was on another level compared to trivial squabbles over petty interests.
Yet, despite putting on a serious front, the pope remained relaxed.
Even though he surely knew what impact the fall of the Bertica Kingdom would have on the continent, he adopted the posture of a spectator watching someone else’s affair, which was gradually pushing Benelian’s patience to its limit.
Starting from the recent coalition war, it was Cardinal Benelian Lior who trudged through negotiations at the pope’s direction. While he followed the orders feeling obliged to make up for past mistakes, it was incredibly unpleasant that his interventions had consistently ended in failure.
Ultimately, he burst out with the frustration he had been holding back.
“Didn’t I clearly say we should send support to the kingdom, even if it meant incurring a bit of debt to the Empire? Yet you dismissed my worries! And now, what’s the result? If they swallow the Bertica Kingdom, we won’t even be able to deal with those filthy vampires!!”
Regardless of his motivations, Benelian’s anger was entirely justified in this instance. Just until recently, he had been arguing with the pope about the severity of the situation and insisting on prioritizing sending reinforcements to the Bertica Kingdom.
But the response had been one of delaying support due to difficulties and the need to avoid increasing debts to the Empire.
Of course, the pope’s judgment wasn’t without basis. The presence of the Suwong Kingdom to the east made it difficult to act, and if he sent troops or diverted the defense forces of the Luminous Kingdom to the Bertica Kingdom, they might encounter unforeseen variables.
Someone might criticize Benelian’s anger as mere post hoc reasoning. But what of it if the situation had come to this?
The critical point was that based on the pope’s judgment and decisions, the Luminous Kingdom had abandoned its ally, the Bertica Kingdom, resulting in vampires acquiring vast tracts of land in central continental regions.
The price to be paid for ignoring responsibility was far too steep.
“The position of the Luminous Kingdom is also the same! This way, the divided Armes Kingdom to the south will practically fall into the hands of vampires, and now we have to be careful around the Empire! Most importantly, a significant portion of the silver used for the knights’ holy weapons and the grain to feed the soldiers comes from the Bertica Kingdom. What shall we do from now on—”
“Cardinal.”
A quiet but forceful call.
Just the mention of his name made Benelian feel an overwhelming sensation, compelling him to stop his tirade.
“There’s no need to worry.”
“… What?”
Benelian hesitated, a bit dazed by the extremely succinct and calm response.
However, Pope Argo Servinus remained utterly unfazed.
It was as if the impending calamity he predicted didn’t frighten him, or as if he still had some kind of backup in hand, maintaining an air closer to that of an observer than a participant.
“I do acknowledge that the vampires’ movements were faster than expected. Losing the Bertica Kingdom is a painful loss. However, this I can assure you: even if the Progenitor of Vampires were to march here at this very moment, we still have ways to stop them.”
Was he being sincere?
Benelian knew very well that the defense of the Luminous Kingdom was by no means lacking.
It wasn’t simply about the castle walls or the stationed troops. The defensive magic inscribed all over the key facilities, to an obsessive degree, was what truly constituted their foundation.
Most of that defensive magic was in counters against dark magic.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that vampires below the marquis rank couldn’t use dark magic at all within the Luminous Kingdom.
However, Benelian recalled how the Bertica Kingdom had fallen.
Though it didn’t possess defenses on the level of the Luminous Kingdom, it had quite adequate magical defenses, and while the average quality was lower, it had a far larger force available than the Luminous Kingdom.
He knew well enough the level of their defensive magic. After all, it was the Luminous Kingdom that provided the holy magic installations to counter vampires to the Bertica Kingdom.
Yet, still, the kingdom fell due to the overwhelming, alien power that could not be subdued even by overflowing holy magic.
“Blood Magic.”
A term without a clear substitute, almost like a unique power of the Progenitor—an unexplainable force.
The vampire kin were limited to using dark magic, rendering the tailored defenses utterly powerless against blood magic.
Benelian calculated.
If the Progenitor opened a path with blood magic and the vampire army followed, could the current Luminous Kingdom stand against them?
“Impossible.”
No matter how many times he reviewed the situation, Benelian’s conclusion remained the same.
The forces had worn thin due to continuous wars and supplies were running dangerously low. The Bertica Kingdom—the very source of their reinforcements—had now fallen to the enemy.
Considering the variables introduced by the Suwong Kingdom, completely stopping the vampires with only the resources of the Luminous Kingdom was a fool’s errand.
If the Empire intervened, perhaps then it might be another story; however, given they had already cut ties with the Bertica Kingdom, it was hard to envision the Greysia Empire keeping its loyalty to the Luminous Kingdom at such a cost.
Unless some ridiculously absurd variables were to occur—like the Suwong Kingdom suddenly retreating completely or if there was yet another hidden knight order within the Luminous Kingdom—they would inevitably face a fate similar to that of the Bertica Kingdom, merely a matter of how long they could hold out.
“Believe, Cardinal. Thus, Lord Luminous will guide us to the right future.”
Despite reviewing it countless times, only a bleak future lay ahead.
Thinking things would somehow turn out alright was overly optimistic and downright foolish.
Yet, despite this, Cardinal Benelian Lior found himself unable to raise his voice any longer, his words stuck.
The reason was simple.
Had someone else said such words brimming with unfounded confidence, or offered excuses to gloss over their mistakes, Benelian would have dismissed them as sheer optimism; yet, the one asserting these points was none other than Argo Servinus himself.
As someone harboring ambitions for the papacy and having observed the current pope up close, Benelian knew better than anyone how meticulous and crafty Argo Servinus was.
He was a man who knew no failure.
Even someone aspiring to be a cardinal, like Benelian, who had climbed the ranks in the Luminous Church where only the strong survived, couldn’t help but acknowledge that Argo Servinus was an experienced and thorough human being.
With him, there was always a plan prepared.
He had never been ordinary, but since becoming pope, it was almost as if he had been waiting for a chance to reveal his capable foresight and talents, leading to success in everything he touched.
Like someone who could read the future, or genuinely had divine revelation, he had never once erred in his predictions.
The only blemish on his record, the escape of the Fourth Progenitor, was an incident born out of Raul Carlos’s rampage; yet, in events that were directly involved from beginning to end, the pope had never known defeat.
“… Do you have any plans?”
That’s why he couldn’t help but waver.
Though Argo Servinus acknowledged that the rapid fall of the Bertica Kingdom was unexpected, in this situation, where Benelian could only foresee a grim future after countless reviews, the pope’s calm demeanor made him wonder if there might be another plan at play.
“I cannot answer that right now. However, it will undoubtedly incur some painful expenses, but rest assured, there shall be no shadows cast upon the glory of Lord Luminous.”
The pope raised his teacup with a cryptic smile.
In the end, Cardinal Benelian Lior left without gaining any more meaningful information.
The familiar silence returned, and the now solitary pope quietly emptied his teacup.
“Such meticulously tended tea leaves… Have they wilted like this?”
The low mumble of the pope, turning the empty teacup in his hands, scattered quietly into the air.
However, no one remained beside him to ask what his solitary musings meant.
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