Chapter 96

Edwin had a secret he hadn’t told Eli.

In truth, he had willingly shared everything he possessed with Elicia. His wealth, power, and honor. He even considered that a great happiness.

But there was one exception.

Anything that might hurt Eli, any danger that could harm her. Those were things he quietly dealt with on his own, making sure she never knew.

He had done so countless times already.

‘We received a reply from the Holy City Argenbach.’

‘And what did it say?’

‘They said they wouldn’t overlook the imperial family daring to make use of the Holy City. However, judgment of heresy is the exclusive authority of the Holy Office, so they are rejecting Your Grace’s proposal as well.’

Before departing for the Capital, Edwin received urgent news from an agent he had planted in the imperial palace.

The emperor was trying to pin the crime of heresy on Elicia.

Even after driving her to the frontier, he hadn’t felt secure. He was conspiring with political priests in the Capital to completely strip her of power.

Edwin secretly passed this information to the Holy City Argenbach.

He warned them that there was concern the sacred authority of faith might be reduced to a political weapon by a handful of corrupt priests colluding with secular power.

There was no need to even activate the spy he had placed in the Holy City.

He didn’t like it, but he was certain that if Brother Vincent, head of the Inquisition and the pope’s closest confidant, learned of this, he wouldn’t let it slide.

Because Vincent was conscious of Eli as a woman.

‘For a priest.’

Even though things had gone smoothly, that was why Edwin couldn’t shake his irritation.

The Holy City had no intention of playing along with the imperial family. At the same time, they said there was no reason to clear Elicia of her accusation either.

Edwin wasn’t bothered. He had expected that answer. The Holy City’s role was sufficient as it was.

Unlike his foolish and pitiful first life, he now had the means to do many things to protect her.

However, the ministers’ statements today were completely unexpected.

The Holy City’s own ministers had personally cleared Eli of the heresy accusation.

As a result, no matter how hard the Capital’s dioceses tried, it was now impossible to brand her a heretic.

‘What is the pope thinking?’

The Holy City was a place with a history spanning a thousand years, and it took immense pride in its traditions and authority.

They weren’t the sort to change their stance this easily.

As he retraced the reasons, one face naturally surfaced in his mind. Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, it left a bitter taste all the same.

‘Brother Vincent.’

Did Eli know.

That he wasn’t the calm and generous man she believed him to be.

To the point where even the gaze of a priest who couldn’t freely hold a woman’s hand was enough to turn his insides upside down, he actually wanted to monopolize her completely.

Her smile, her gentle looks, even her smallest touch. He wanted them all to belong to him alone.

“Am I wrong for being like this?”

The sight of Eli sleeping defenselessly beside him was unbearably precious.

At the same time, a certain desire stirred within him.

He wanted more than just to protect her. He wanted to draw closer.

He wanted to share not only her joy and happiness, but also her sorrow, anxiety, anger, and even the deepest emotions at her lowest points.

And at some point, so naturally he hadn’t noticed when it began, he had started wanting to touch her.

To truly become husband and wife. For the first time, that thought crossed his mind.

To him, Eli was both his most precious treasure and a taboo he dared not touch.

But after experiencing the happiness of walking through the city streets hand in hand with her, there was no going back to the time when he didn’t know that overwhelming feeling.

“Please tell me it’s okay to be greedy. That it’s allowed…”

Edwin quietly curled himself closer beside his wife, who slept unaware of everything.

The moon was slowly sinking.

* * *

“What on earth is going on?!”

Late at night, faced with Vittorio the Fourth’s fury, the archbishop of the Capital’s Belenoir Diocese hurriedly dropped to his knees.

Something completely unexpected had occurred.

The outcome was the exact opposite of the intelligence they had gathered in Lombard.

The ministers from the Holy City Argenbach had publicly declared Elicia to be a soul pure and without sin.

Those who knew nothing laughed it off, saying the ministers clearly couldn’t judge people properly.

But the emperor and the archbishop couldn’t do that.

“Didn’t you clearly say that woman Elicia was tainted by heresy?!”

“I-I heard the same, Your Majesty. That the Duchess of Lombard’s soul was surely corrupted…”

“Then why did those ministers spout such nonsense?!”

The emperor had gone to great lengths to invite the Holy City’s ministers.

He had spared no diplomatic courtesy, and politically the empire had made significant concessions.

He even rearranged ceremonial rankings to elevate the Holy City delegation and granted them full freedom to preach and conduct religious activities within imperial territory.

He went so far as to propose the extraordinary condition of seeking the Holy City’s approval on critical matters like territorial disputes and succession to the throne.

The officials had voiced fierce opposition, but the emperor had remained firm.

If he could completely ruin Elicia, any price was worth paying.

Yet now he had only stirred the council into an uproar and gained nothing. Vittorio’s rage hit its peak.

“At this point, fabricate proof of heresy. Hide it in the Lombard estate if you have to!”

“I-I beg your pardon, but that is impossible…”

They said the eyes were the windows to the soul.

High ranking priests could glimpse the true state of a person’s soul just by looking into their eyes.

And the three ministers who visited this time were among the most powerful in Argenbach in terms of divine authority.

Since they had firmly declared that Elicia’s soul was untainted, forcing a heresy charge would only backfire on them.

“Damn it all!!”

The emperor screamed and hurled objects without regard for who was watching.

He had thought that once Elicia was branded a heretic, he could easily suppress the council’s opposition. Instead, he had handed them endless ammunition.

And what about all the support he had promised the Holy City.

If he pushed this through, even the fragile support he still had from court nobles and the people would collapse in an instant.

“No. Wait. I just don’t have to keep the promise, do I…”

Pushed to the brink, a word suddenly flashed through Vittorio’s mind.

Religious reform.

If he declared conversion and changed the state religion, he would no longer need to honor the promises made to Argenbach.

Not only that, but after seizing political power, he could also grasp religious authority. There would be no need to mind the proud pope anymore.

“Yes. That’s it.”

Vittorio twisted his lips, marveling at his own cleverness.

What he failed to consider was one crucial thing.

To some, religion was a belief worth trading their life for.

At that moment, the spark that would bring a storm of blood to the Valdin Empire was ignited.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the world outside the window was bright.

Judging by how refreshed I felt, I must’ve slept very deeply.

I was about to get up more briskly than usual when something held me back and I flopped right back onto the bed.

“…!”

Blinking in shock, I realized what was going on.

Edwin was sleeping soundly right beside me, completely unaware of the world.

I was sure we’d left a decent amount of space between us when we fell asleep. When did we get this close?

And there was another problem.

Edwin and I were holding hands, our fingers tightly intertwined.

Staring blankly at it, I felt my face heat up.

‘This is why you can’t trust a man who says he’ll just hold your hand while sleeping.’

Of course, Edwin had never made such a promise, and technically we really had just held hands.

Still flustered, I muttered nonsense under my breath and slowly shifted my body to the side.

I rarely had the chance to look at his face this closely.