Chapter 123…
Wildfire
“Very well, I accept the temple’s opinion.”
The king answered meekly, leaning back against the chair.
Bella narrowed her eyes and scrutinized the king, but the veil obscured his face, making it impossible to see clearly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said. I don’t need a temple that won’t serve the king, so whether it separates itself or not is none of my concern.”
“…!”
Bella’s eyes widened, her dark pupils shaking. Just as she was about to leap up, sensing something ominous,
“However, the temple will lose its saint for the first time in a hundred years today. Unfortunately.”
“What!”
Thud. The heavy doors slammed shut, and armed soldiers blocked the way.
The king’s army, trained and funded with enormous expense, aimed their spears at the temple and the council.
“If I had merely appeased the council, they would have accepted. But seeing this outcome, it seems only the foolish have gathered.”
The king’s leisurely voice echoed through the hall. Only then did Bella grasp the situation and pressed her palm to her forehead.
She had been outmaneuvered. The king now held hostages from the two most powerful forces she could oppose.
“An armed army at a negotiation table!”
The council representative shouted in anger, but the king remained unbothered, as if daring them to speak.
“You were sincere about negotiating. Of course, I intended to dissolve the council again afterward.”
“How can the king of a nation say one thing and do another!”
“Here I am. The king of this country, myself. Saying one thing with one mouth and another is a privilege of the strong. If you feel wronged, become strong yourselves, why don’t you?”
Bella, quietly observing the conflict between the king and the council, twisted her mouth into a crooked smile.
“So being the king of a nation must be quite terrifying.”
Bella’s clear voice caught the king’s attention.
With a look of disbelief, the king strode toward her, leaning his face close, as if trying to peer past the veil at the saint beneath.
“Step back.”
“It’s fine, Hael.”
Hael tried to intervene, but Bella lifted her hand lightly to stop him.
“But, Saint—”
“The reason the war is being pushed forward despite all this noise is fear, isn’t it? The people of this country are directing their arrows at the king. That’s why he diverts attention outward, toward war.”
Bella’s smooth words made the king flush with excitement. He glanced at Hael and pressed his face even closer to Bella’s, threateningly. His nose poked the veil, crumpling slightly.
“Saint, it seems you haven’t grasped the situation. You’re trapped here. A canary caught in a cage.”
“Oh, thank you for the lovely metaphor. But I understand the situation perfectly. For instance…”
“…!”
Bella reached out her hand. Naturally, she wasn’t a saint, so she couldn’t use divine power. Yet,
“Why you threaten me instead of killing me outright.”
If the saint were killed here, the people’s anger would focus entirely on the royal family. That would be the one scenario the king most wants to avoid.
By some means—threatening or cajoling the council and the temple—if he could start a war…
War focuses attention outward. It hides the rot and corruption within. The king was exploiting that gap.
Once all the crowd’s anger was directed at the enemy, the king planned to strike the temple and council within, crushing them completely.
“Hahaha. Looks like the saint’s mind is the busiest in this hall. Am I right?”
The king asked in an exaggeratedly kind tone and lifted his bowed torso.
He stared at the fearful council representatives, then smiled with the corners of his eyes curving. It was not a victor’s smile, but the frenzied resignation of one who senses defeat.
The moment he abandoned fair play and used hostages to threaten, the outcome of this battle was already decided.
“What? Kidnapping?”
Ridel asked in shock. The Pope pressed his temples, grimacing from the headache.
As expected. Even though they thought the king was mad, they had put Bella into that den.
“I should have stopped her…”
“Don’t worry, Count. She wouldn’t have listened even if you tried.”
Hearing Ridel’s mutter, the Pope nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. Bella would have entered no matter what.”
“So, let’s figure out what we can do,” the Pope said.
Ridel’s gaze drifted to the view outside the temple window. The scenery was peaceful and beautiful. But the square was probably in chaos.
“There’s nothing we can do, Your Holiness. Those who have been observing the situation have already acted.”
“What do you mean? The Count seems to have faith in the crowd outside.”
The Pope snorted and abruptly closed the curtains. Darkness filled the room in an instant.
“They are people. They can discern right from wrong.”
“Well, from what I’ve seen, most of the crowd can’t.”
The Pope, standing at the table, replied cynically and pressed his seal on a document. A temple official entered to receive it. The Pope, however, addressed Ridel instead.
“Make it clear that the temple will not tolerate the royal family detaining the saint.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
The official left, and silence followed. No one averted their gaze.
Amid clashing eyes and unspoken dialogue, Ridel lowered his own.
The weak are not always good, nor are the strong always righteous. Those outside were certainly the weak Ridel wished to save, but not all were truly good.
“Count, even the temple cannot judge who is good or evil.”
“…”
“We only judge right from wrong, based on our own convictions.”
“It may be somewhat irreverent for one who serves God to say so, Your Holiness.”
Ridel spoke lightly and stood, intending to find a way to contact the council representatives inside the palace.
“People cling to their beliefs based only on their experiences unless they constantly question themselves. Do you think they came together here after thinking for themselves, Count?”
The Pope’s calm voice caught Ridel’s foot as he was about to leave.
“…Still, humanity will move forward. When the commoners strike the king, it will mark a turning point. I believe the injustices will gradually diminish. I trust not in people, but in the era, the flow of time.”
“Count, freedom comes with no conditions or sacrifices. That uprising may succeed because of someone’s sacrifice, but it won’t immediately lead to freedom.”
“Your Holiness!”
“I favored Bella because she chose knowingly. She entered the enemy’s lair merely to ascertain the queen’s intentions.”
Ridel and Bella shared the same destination, but their paths differed. Ridel sought justice; Bella sought life.
Bella could not ignore the queen’s sacrifice. She could not accept half-measures of freedom.
“Haha…”
Ridel laughed, covering his eyes. Only now did he fully understand why Bella had chosen the temple’s help over his.
“Wait, Count. You misunderstand. Bella didn’t choose me. I would have been glad if she had.”
“…?”
“From start to finish, Bella chose Duke Prelorde. At first, I thought it was sacrifice, but it was companionship. Even if that ghost disappears, Bella will go to the end with the Duke.”
Bella needed someone capable of embracing even the ugliness hidden beneath beauty and grandeur.
Cheire Prelorde.
Why his name, and the dreamlike ideals he wrote a hundred years ago, suddenly came to mind, she didn’t know.
The Prelorde of that era understood the madness and ignorance of the crowd. Yet he loved people to the end. Just like Bella.
He did not realize it himself, and in that, he resembled her.
“I only hope Bella’s end… will not be as tragic as Duke Prelorde’s.”
The Pope smiled quietly at Ridel’s sigh. Prelorde’s story was never truly over, and meeting Bella would have prevented any real tragedy.
