Chapter 193

The capital Bless of Holy Arthenia .

Over the central boulevard was a giant carriage being escorted by paladins .

Densely lined side to side, people couldn’t take their eyes off the carriage; ornately decorated with gold leaves and jewels .

Some were cynical, some were angry, but most of them were curious and in awe .

“Dad, is the Pope in there?”

At the child’s question pointing to the carriage .

The middle-aged man who was holding the child on his shoulder said, “Yes, an angel from heaven . ”

“Waw, really?”

“Yes! The bishop has said that El Kassel has sent her to look after the poor people like us . ”

At the end of the words, a man standing nearby him laughed .

“Angel, what the… I heard that it was the daughter of the Pope . ”

“What? Why would you lie?!”

The man enraged, turned around and grabbed him .

“Kuak! Why, why are you doing this?! I am saying the truth!”

“Shut up, will you? Say the truth, you are a spy from the Baroque empire, right?”

The controversy about the new Pope’s identity did end with the home nation . Many people were talking about it .

“Is the new Pope really an angel? Do angels really exist in his world?”

“I wish it was really honest . ”

“It is real! My cousin is a paladin apprentice and I heard from him about the things the seniors talked to him about . ”

“Really? Bringing the princess from a foreign land and placing her as a Pope?”

“Right, is there anyone who knows about the Pope?”

Politically defended, Archbishop Constantine presented the new Pope before the people .

The new Pope had made an appearance in the central square of Bless, which was called Holiness Square .

But, the face of the new Pope wasn’t shown .

He said that she blessed thousands of people who had come to see her .

And just because the Pope was said to be a young, beautiful woman, the controversy intensified .

“But, is that really true? The thing about her coming down from the sky?”

The man next to him answered, “It is, I was in the square at that time . ”

“I saw it happen too . It all happened in a very short time, but she definitely fell from the sky . ”

“Rather than flower, she was more like a blessing . My friend was suffering from illness but he got cured after that . ”

“Hey! That sounds like a lie!”

“Ah, it really is true . I too had injured my leg 10 years ago on a bridge, but since that day, I can walk normally again!”

As people talked, the virgin Pope in the carriage, took a peak while sneaking past the red velvet curtains covering the windows .

But then, Archbishop Constantine, who was seated opposite to her, raised his voice, “Holy Pope!”

“I was feeling a little frustrated…”

“No, you can’t do that . How many times have I told you not to do those things when you are inside a carriage?”

At the words of Constantine, Veronica III moved away from the window seemingly upset .

“Keep in mind . You are an angel . At the command of the Lord, you became the ruler of this divine land . It is his mission to purify the world and remove the foolish people according to his wish . You don’t need to show interest in the lowly people and their dirty conditions . ”

“But, I need to know how the people live and then awaken them…” Veronica said .

“That is our job . So the Pope should also stick to what you need to do . ”

“…Understood, grandpa . Ah, Archbishop . ”

As the virgin pope nodded, a satisfied smile came on Constantine’s face .

Compared to the time when he first met her, there was a difference between earth and heaven .

Two years back, Veronica didn’t know her own name .

She had the intelligence of a 5 to 6-year-old; curious to look around and see how things had to be done .

To giving the life to a statue, or to run away or spread her wings of light and fly around .

‘I thought angels were pure beings, but she was just an idiot . ’

At any rate, she couldn’t be introduced as the Pope .

She still lacked in many things, but he did educate her enough, so she could be shown to the people .

‘The problem is with the local rebels . They don’t believe what they can’t see…’

The miracle of the Virgin pope succeeded in bringing the people of the capital Bless to their side .

But the problem was with the local ambitious nobles or the minority races which were excluded from the seven tribes of El Kassel .

They sought political assaults against the Pope’s authority on the ground or rebelled with the local nobles .

The most troubling ones were the Sanctity of Holiness .

Luther, the head of it, even after witnessing the Pope’s miracle in the square the last time, he kept denying by saying .

“Real salvation cannot be accomplished with miracles . It can only be done when people begin to take care of one another . ”

He criticized Constantine for being a merchant and not a bishop . In other words, he meant that the Archbishop was selling God .

It would have been nice if they rebelled, he could send a paladin and take him down .

They were strengthening their service and devotion to the poor people, rather than trying to revolt during the Empire’s turmoil .

It was reported that the believers of the Sanctity of Holiness were increasing .

‘Yeah, wag your tail all you want . I will bury you without anyone knowing, just like I did with Michael . ’

When Constantine was grinding his teeth thinking about Luther, the Virgin Pope was dozing off . She was tired of all the studying she did the previous night .

Seeing her, Constantine sighed but didn’t wake her up .

In a little while, they would arrive at the cathedral and proceed to the mass, so he thought that it was okay for her to close her eyes for once .

And that allowed Veronica III to sleep for some time .

‘Where am I?’

Veronica III stood in front of a burning palace .

After passing the palace, people with ignominious behavior reached out and begged her .

The old people were surrounding her .

It seemed like the first time, but she didn’t feel it to be strange . Rather, all of it felt much familiar than having the Archbishop on her side .

As she was looking at it, she and the old man in an armor pointing to somewhere .

A black castle on the hill .

With a single step she managed to get to the castle, and the large gates opened spontaneously .

Veronica III arrived at the castle, she passed through the corridors of the castle where she never went .

In the end, inside of the castle was a young man with silver hair sitting on the throne .

Upon the first time seeing him, or maybe she saw him somewhere before; he felt like a very precious and kind person .

When Veronica’s heart began to beat rapidly, she heard someone talk inside her head .

-Call him .

‘Whom?’

-You belong to me, and I too belong to you .

She didn’t understand what the voice was talking about .

While Veronica was bewildered with that experience, the young man approached her .

She looked at him rather cautiously, yet hoping for something to happen .

Then again, the voice said .

-Call his name .

‘I don’t know!’

-Just as I know him, you know him too . So call his name .

The voice kept on prompting the same thing .

Veronica was troubled, she wondered if she really knew the name or if she could really call for him .

However, contrary to her concerns, her closed lips soon opened and the name came out .

“Luke de Rakan…”

Veronica III or Reina’s consciousness was still intact in her dreams .

From her eyes which were shut with heaviness, a drop of tear out of longingness flowed .