Chapter 137 (1/2)

Chapter 137 Secret Meeting

When he opened the thick wooden door, the light fragrance of straw hit him in the face, Archbishop Maine liked this mixed smell of herbs and spicy candles, especially in a space which had no windows for ventilation. Every time he smelled this combination of scents, his mind became clear and he felt at peace.

The chamber wasn’t particularly large, it offered just enough space for one round table and four chairs. The other two archbishops were already seated on their chairs, while the chair facing the wooden door was still empty. The Pope’s physical condition had been deteriorating in recent times, it was almost half a year ago, since the last time he had shown himself in front of anyone. Only for cases that were too difficult to solve by themselves would he leave Hermes’ underground castle, seeking the answers for himself.

“It seems everyone is there, so let’s get started,” Mayne announced. he then bolted the door and sat between the other two, “Archbishop Tayfun, what are the last reports from the Kingdom of Eternal Winter?”

“Besides some former nobles, there are only a few other places where they still rebel against our rule, ‘au contraire’ it seems the civilians are even welcoming us to take over the kingdom.” Tayfun explained while stroking his beard, “Of course, those stubborn nobles, holding on to the dreams of their past glory, will be eradicated soon enough.”

“That’s sounds really good” Heather licked her lips. “In the case that you let me hold the next trial, the civilians will all become more aware of how ugly and dirty the former nobility were, but unfortunately, I still have a lot of things I still have to do here, so I can’t go to the Kingdom’s of Eternal Winter’s King’s City.”

Mayne ignored her words, and instead spoke to Tayfun, “We have to fill those vacant positions of power, as soon as possible with our own people. During the years that have passed, the Church has trained a lot of skilled people and now the time has finally arrived that we can use them.” However, the Kingdom of Eternal Winter has forever been the kingdom in which our Church had the biggest influence, but if we are able to ride on this wave, we will be able to handle the Wolfsheart Kingdom and the Kingdom of Dawn a lot sooner.

“That seems only natural.”

“What should happen with the nobility who have always relied on the Church, or to the ones who always turns in the direction the wind blows?” Heather asked, “the reason why the Church was able to attract so many good believers, was because we didn’t ask for their lineage, but for their actual skills. However, those idiots would shake the foundation of our entire Church… so my idea is…” She made a gesture of slicing open her neck.

“In the beginning we still have to use them, to reduce the resistance we received, but after the kingdom has become stable, we can talk about them then.” Regarding this point, they had deliberately decided to ask the Pope, “the church can provide them with the same authority equivalent to their title, but this position can not be inherited by their future generations. After all, our end goal is to destroy the kingship, so don’t be anxious for the moment, Lady Heather.”

Heather had been born poor and before she had been accepted by the Church, she had suffered from hunger and living a homeless life. But with a naturally keen mind and gift of extraordinary judgment of the human character, she had climbed up in the ranks until she had reached the position she held today. Mayne was well aware of her dislike for the nobility, but for the moment it was more important to look at the overall situation.

“What is the actual situation within the Kingdom of Graycastle?” Mayne asked.

“Our spy network reported that after his defeat, King Timothy didn’t come back to King’s City and instead went to directly stay within the Eastern Territory.” Replied Teflon.

“A smart choice,” Heather snapped her fingers, “he has taken Duke Frances with him to challenge the Queen of Clearwater, yet the Duke died during their attack and now he immediately went back to the east and divided the Duke’s territory to stabilize the morale of his soldiers and at the same time to win over the other nobles, Gee… the royal family doesn’t only consist of fools.”

“In this way, we can save a lot of trouble, let the High Priest of the Kingdom of Graycastle get in contact with him. Timothy’s situation has become so precarious; he won’t be able to refuse our offer. We will reduce Port of Clearwater’s drug supply by 30% and with this balancing the strength between those two. This situation will be handled by you Tayfun,” Mayne decided, “After two years’ there won’t be any soldiers in the kingdom left to stop our conquest.”

“You can rest assured,” Tayfun nodded. “But … there is something wrong with the situation at the Longsong Stronghold in the Western territory.”

“What is the problem?”

“The 4th Prince Roland, after his victory against Duke Ryan, he immediately went back to Border Town, and furthermore he didn’t answer to High Priest Taylor’s offer, doesn’t he have any intention of fighting for the throne?”

“Well … what are your thoughts about it?” Mayne asked while looking in Heather’s direction.