Chapter 669 : Struggle

Beneath the setting sun at the Temple of the Goddess of Beauty, in the Hall of Glory, Falano’s Consul Samson was calmly conversing with Adèle. As she listened to the various Falanoan secrets flowing from his lips, Adèle’s expression grew increasingly grave.

“So what you're saying is, Charles may have been assassinated by the Church, and Robert’s tyranny was simply due to his nature—not a frame-up by the Church?”

Adèle asked with a serious expression, to which Samson, having finished his cigar, tossed the stub into the ashtray and replied.

“I never said with certainty that Charles was killed by the Church. I just believe the Church couldn’t have been uninvolved. As for the Greedy King… according to the information I’ve gathered, he really was exceedingly greedy during his reign—imposing harsh levies, extorting the populace. His personality was flamboyant and erratic, just like Charles, but without Charles’s competence. A character that radical, without ability to back it up, breeds nothing but a tyrant—and Robert was the textbook example of one.

“Under Robert’s rule, Falano fell into chaos. The Church didn’t need to expend much effort to stir up opposition—he collapsed on his own. The Cold Moon Revolution was more a matter of the Church going with the flow. The primary cause was Robert himself. Most of the atrocities committed during his reign were true. The Church and the current Falano government may have embellished a bit in their propaganda, but not by much.

“Robert brought his downfall upon himself. The tragedy lies in how he ruined Falano’s future. His father, Charles, was vastly superior—but tragically lacked the patience and restraint required to preserve what could’ve been a golden opportunity.”

Samson glanced around the Hall of Glory, at the various trophies once belonging to the Splendor King, before continuing, a note of lament in his voice. After listening, Adèle narrowed her eyes slightly, then asked again.

“You just said someone tried to harm you—your political rival, another Consul. You mentioned that mutual impeachment between Consuls can cancel out each other's powers, but that the procedure must be formally executed unless the Archbishop of Falano grants an exception…

“So today, when you were suddenly impeached in this manner, doesn’t that mean your rival has gained the support of the Archbishop? Weren’t you always opposing the Bourbons? The Church is also against the Bourbons. Aren’t your positions aligned?”

Adèle asked seriously. Samson, however, merely let out a quiet chuckle before responding.

“Heh. You may be misunderstanding something, Miss Adèle. I oppose the Bourbons not to curry favor with the Church, but because their remnants genuinely endanger this country. They’ve brought in a flood of cult activity and caused numerous severe mystical incidents.

“Artifacts and ruins related to the Bourbons are constantly being targeted by cults—especially Afterbirth Cult and its ilk. They’re active across Falano, using every trick imaginable to seize Bourbon relics. Recently, nearly 10% of major mystical incidents nationwide were tied to Bourbon remnants. In the last year or two, that number has surged to 30–40%.

“For reasons unknown, all three Afterbirth faiths have been unusually active in Falano lately, causing waves of mystical disasters. Their main goal? Bourbon remnants. That’s why I’ve been working nationwide to seal and confiscate all Bourbon-related relics, and to arrest royalist sympathizers tied to hidden societies. Those who dream of restoring the monarchy are the easiest to manipulate. In many incidents, they’ve been used as pawns by cults—causing severe damage.”

Samson laid it all out in a calm, unhurried manner. Adèle nodded in thought, then asked again.

“So your anti-Bourbon stance is… essentially meant to suppress major mystical incidents across the nation. But then why would this draw the Church’s ire? Did you do something else to offend them? Enough for the Church to silently consent to Afterbirth collaborating in an assassination against you?”

Samson paused slightly at her words. He stared at Adèle for a moment before continuing.

“This touches on deeper internal matters within Falano. Forgive me for not being able to explain in detail. But I will say this: the Church’s discontent with me certainly has its reasons—but perhaps the attempt on my life wasn’t solely about me, Miss Adèle. Maybe you should consider… whether you had something to do with it.”

Pointing directly at her, Samson spoke steadily. Adèle was visibly taken aback.

“Me?”

“Yes… earlier you helped me reconstruct the assassination plot. You noted how you and other Bourbon descendants were inserted into the Temple of the Goddess of Beauty as scapegoats. But think about it—if the sole objective was to frame the washed-up Bourbon royalists, then the others alone would have sufficed. Why go through the trouble of bringing you in from abroad? The Afterbirth cult knew full well how difficult you are to deal with. Why introduce such an unpredictable element into their plan?”

Samson's question left Adèle momentarily stunned. After a long silence, she finally answered.

“The reason the Afterbirth Cult sought Bourbon relics was to find materials for their research into the Desire Path. And I… I’m a living White Ash-rank specimen of that very path. To them, I’m extremely valuable. They lured me into this scheme so they could eventually capture me…”

Adèle explained seriously. Samson shook his head slightly and then responded.

“From what I’ve seen, Afterbirth already has a fairly complete grasp of the Desire Path. Creating White Ash-rank subjects themselves likely isn’t a problem anymore. You’re useful to them, yes—but probably not enough to justify the risk of inserting you into this plan.”

“Then what other reason could there be?”

Adèle asked, brow furrowing. Samson, as if offering a hint, continued.

“In your profile, I recall seeing… you once sought the Church’s protection in Pritt, didn’t you?”

Adèle froze, then suddenly seemed to recall something and muttered aloud.

“The Church… That’s right… the Church… So it really is tied to them again? Could it be… internal political strife within the Church itself?”

Adèle spoke with a sudden realization. After hearing her words, Samson nodded and responded.

“I can tell you seriously—there’s an eighty percent chance that this is the result of escalating political strife within the Church. Think about it: what kind of people were those Church members who originally offered you sanctuary?”

Samson posed the question, and Adèle began to recall as she replied.

“The ones who sheltered me… were members of the Redemption Faction of the Church. After the Great Hunt launched by the Wolfblood Society, the Redemption Faction had been gathering remnants of Chalice societies that survived the purge, offering them protection while also incorporating them for use.

“I was just a Black Earth-rank back then, completely powerless against the Wolfblood Society, so I turned to the Redemption Faction and joined their sanctuary program. I traded most of my knowledge on the Desire Path at the Black Earth level in exchange for privileged treatment. They assigned me to a district dominated by the Knighthood Faction, known for its high level of safety, and allowed me to build my own faction. All I had to do was occasionally follow the local Church’s orders to eliminate Afterbirth infiltrators and perform regular divinations for them.

“The reason I’ve been able to live peacefully in Tivian is apparently due to the cooperation between the Knighthood and Redemption Factions.”

Adèle spoke with a grave expression. After she finished, Samson waved his hand lightly and said:

“Rather than cooperation, it’s more like a compromise. Since you’re involved with both the Redemption and Knighthood Factions, that explains everything. The Judicature Faction has been in sharp conflict with those two recently, and in disputes over certain incidents not long ago, the Judicature Faction ended up on the losing side. This has left them extremely agitated, and they’ve been seeking ways to retaliate from other fronts. Unfortunately for us, the Falanoan Church Diocese is under Judicature control. The Archbishop of Falano belongs to that faction.”

Samson’s words made Adèle immediately grasp the implications.

“So what you’re saying is… the Judicature Faction wanted to drag me into this assassination attempt—which was originally aimed at you. Once you died, I would be blamed for leading the Bourbon remnants in openly assassinating a Falanoan Consul. Since I’m connected to both the Redemption and Knighthood Factions, that charge could then serve as a pretext for the Judicature to strike back at the other two and regain their lost footing!”

Adèle laid out the analysis, and Samson nodded slightly in agreement. From the sidelines, Dorothy rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

Dorothy already knew the exact event that had caused the Judicature Faction to lose ground in recent Church power struggles: it was undoubtedly the Hymn Cathedral incident.

After that event, Amanda of the Redemption Faction seized the opportunity to push forward, enabling Vania to be promoted to Crimson-rank ahead of schedule thanks to her merits. The Knighthood Faction also managed to station their own agents in the Pritt Diocese and solidify their hold. Meanwhile, the Judicature Faction, who instigated the whole affair, came away with nothing and were subsequently suppressed politically. Their tacit approval of this assassination plot was likely an attempt to reclaim influence.

This assassination plot involved three parties.

The Afterbirth Cult could eliminate Adèle and gain access to more Bourbon relics. Samson’s political rival could remove a powerful Consul. The Church would gain justification to crack down on the Redemption and Knighthood Factions.

Each party stood to benefit, which explained why the Falanoan Church diocese turned a blind eye to the Afterbirth Cult’s involvement.

“I never expected… that the Judicature Faction would be willing to ignore a cult they normally despise just to win a political battle. Has the Church’s internal strife really escalated this far? How did it come to this?”

Still piecing things together, Adèle muttered in disbelief. Samson then added.

“The internal tensions in Holy Mount have been heating up since last year, and things have only grown worse. There’s been no sign of reconciliation. In both politics and Church circles across various countries, rumors of disunity among the Cardinals are spreading fast. As for what exactly caused this situation—there are many theories, but no reliable explanations.”

“I never thought… that the Church’s highest echelons could be so embroiled in power struggles. It feels… unnatural. Aren’t the Cardinals supposed to be the ones closest to the Lord of Radiance? Model believers—pious and ascetic? How could their lust for power run so deep? They don’t act like clergy at all, more like secular politicians…”

Adèle remarked, clearly incredulous. After a brief pause, Samson gave a slow, reflective reply.

“Based on the years of contact we Consuls have had with Holy Mount, the Cardinal Council truly does function like a political chamber. Most of the ‘saints’ are more politician than priest. After prolonged interaction, it becomes difficult to see any genuine faith in them. I dare say, many Archbishops beneath them are far more devout.”

“What? Are you saying… that even the highest governing body of the Church—the Cardinal Council—isn’t truly devout?”

Adèle asked in shock. Samson replied without hesitation.

“At least for most of them, their level of devotion doesn’t seem particularly high. It’s as if the Holy See, when appointing them, considered factors beyond just piety. In any case, what you need to understand is this: the Cardinal Council is no different from the political arenas of many secular nations—rife with power struggles and vulgar ambition.”

𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Samson gave this explanation to Adèle, then, as if recalling something, he continued.

“Now that I think about it, the Redemption Faction has historically been one of the weaker forces in the Church. For centuries they’ve been repressed. I didn’t expect them to bounce back recently and corner the Judicature like this. Has there been some kind of secret Cardinal appointment we haven’t heard about?”

Samson mused aloud. Adèle, hearing his words, paused and—with Dorothy’s silent prompting in her mind—immediately asked.

“You’re saying… up until recently, the Redemption Faction was the weaker one? But isn’t the Holy Mother’s faith the most widely followed across the Church?”

“I don’t know the specifics of the Church’s internal power shifts, but I once heard that before this recent resurgence, the Redemption Faction did indeed wield significant influence. However, something happened four or five centuries ago—something that caused a sudden and steep decline. They were suppressed by the Judicature for hundreds of years, right up until a little nun named Vania emerged.”

Samson concluded. Adèle nodded thoughtfully after hearing his explanation, then replied with a note of seriousness in her tone.

“Thank you for your answers, Consul. Your information will be quite useful to us.”

“Oh? Sounds like you've finished asking your questions. Is that all I get in return for saving your lives—just a few inquiries?”

Samson replied with a light-hearted chuckle, and Adèle quickly shook her head.

“No, no. A proper thank-you includes more than just questions. What we really need… is for you to do us two small favors.”

“Two favors?”

“Yes. One relates to the Temple of the Goddess of Beauty, and the other… to some artifacts you ‘acquired’ from North Ufiga and brought back to Falano…”