Chapter 136 - Cardinal Lacroix

“The same goes for your brother’s mother, right?”

He was always at it.

When I returned the same question, his dark black eyebrows scrunched up.

“……why do you talk like that?”

“I just told you the same thing you did.”

“When did I ever insult your mother?”

“Are you okay? Is this an insult?”

“What? Are you doing this on purpose?”

“If it’s not an insult, then what is it?”

When I asked him this, he gave me a very confident answer.

“You said before that you were curious about what your mother looked like.”

“… what?”

“That’s why I just told you that it would be similar to you now.”

I felt out of focus with this man every time.

I didn’t know which one of us had a missing screw.

Maybe it was both of us.

“Now that I’m not curious about anything like that, you don’t have to tell me. More than that, why don’t you tell me what happened to your father? Did you poison him?”

“Why that question, apart from the fact that it’s not worth answering?”

“I’m getting more and more confused about what you wants. Didn’t you hate the clergy? Why do you want to be Pope all of a sudden?”

“Well, what do you want me to be?”

“A martyr saint. What are you doing with me? Why don’t you just beat me up and lock me?”

There was a moment of silence.

Cesare suddenly stared at me with his mouth shut again, and then grabbed my shoulder with a strong grip.

It hurt so much that I managed to hold back the groan that almost leaked out.

“I hope that day won’t come.”

“…….”

“I don’t want to punish you either. So don’t keep provoking me like this. Don’t even walk around with this rag on!”

At the end of the eerie growl that penetrated my ear, he turned around.

He walked away.

Yeah, that’s him alright.

I rubbed my throbbing shoulders a little and was about to go out in the opposite direction.

“Is that you, Duchess?”

My body stiffened automatically.

Who here would call me Duchess, and not Lady Rudbeckia…

“I’m sorry to surprise you. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”

Of course, it was an old acquaintance.

A chestnut-haired cardinal, clad in crimson robes, approaching quietly near the wall where I stand.

He was in his late thirties…

My heart began to beat violently.

“Cardinal Lacroix.”

“Oh, I’m glad you remembered right away. I was just in the middle of receiving the urgent news from my poor nephew, but of course, just a while ago, what kind of announcement did the Cardinal make?”

* * *

Who would have guessed that the links of small relationships would be intertwined and brought about the same situation today?

I didn’t know if I should praise my father’s political power, praise Alfonso’s pioneering vision, or applaud the original’s persistence in trying to keep it as it is in the end.

I was sure I should thank Arien.

He didn’t seem to know about the baby dragon or my husband’s condition, but anyway, Cardinal Lacroix, who briefly told me the situation in the North, asked me to do only one mission.

To find a way to secure the Holy Grail first and foremost.

It was strange that Rudbeckia was leading the way in stealing the Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail, which was also a decisive factor in the ending of the original <Sodom and the Holy Grail>.

A sacred source of saints and, in a way, a big pillar of this worldview…… Should I say it was at the centre of everything?

As it is a fantasy novel, I remember that it had quite a lot of abilities beyond just being a symbolic relic.

For example, it was said that names of all priests, including Paladins, who exist in the era of the pope, those who have pledged, were written in it, but by destroying a name in it, it would destroy their sacred core, making it impossible for it to be recovered.

Although destroying a name was an ability, it was impossible for the Pope to use it arbitrarily because of various restrictions.

In any case, from the perspective of the main character, it was reasonable that the first priority was to steal the Holy Grail.

To make matters worse, they had to be very careful, as the Pope’s son wouldn’t leave me be.

The question is, where did the Pope keep the Holy Grail…

I need to try my best to find it.

Funny how the Pope’s condition turned out to be an unexpected straw.

If he was in good condition, how could I ever find out?

“Oh, Carmen…”

The Pope still didn’t recognize me.

Whenever I faced him welcoming myself by mistaking myself for a mother, I felt strange and annoyed.

Lady Adela, who seemed to be next to me day and night, sat up from her seat when I came in.

I opened my mouth cheerfully, replacing the chair in which she had been sitting a while ago.

“Are you okay?”

“Thanks to you, I got a lot better…”

“Get well soon. You have to get up and roam around with me.”

“Oh, do you want to go to Silver Lake again? We can’t go there anymore.”

“Silver Lake…?”

“Well, you’ve always liked that place the most… You must be sad. Can you tell me another wish?”

“Hmm, will you grant my wish if I say something else?”

“Of course, my love, whatever you want… I can do anything for you…”

Really, Father?

I tilted my upper body slightly and looked closely into the Pope’s face, my hands tight.

His eyes were struggling to stay open…

Damn it, why do you all look the same at times like this.

“You know, then show me the Holy Grail.”

“The Holy Grail…? There’s not much to see. It’s just an old-fashioned goblet…”

“But I’m curious. What? You don’t want to listen to me anymore?”

“That can’t be possible, my love… But the Holy Grail is dangerous… It’s okay for you to see, but if other people see it and touch it freely, it’s going to be troublesome… Especially if my son knows…”

He gasped with difficulty.

I stared at his figure for a moment, and then whispered with a playful smile.

“That’s all right. Just give me a sneak peek of where it is.”

* * *

“Was this your final goal?”

Beyond the balcony, there was a scene of Romagna, which was in the midst of preparing for the Christmas festival.

Santa Maria Square and Venice Square, which were hung with round roofs, spires, and colored papers in the warm afternoon sun, could be seen.

Our madman cardinal was staring at the city, which was a peaceful painting itself, taking in the broad daylight.

To make matters worse, he looked like a mess, not even properly buttoning his shirt.

“Well, why would I tell you that?”

“Are you afraid I’ve had a secret meeting with someone? The sound of people talking around us right now is that, right?”

“Hmm.”

“Did you intend for me to divorce while Father was sick and subjugate me immediately? Since it’ll be too late when he comes back to his senses.”

“Did you think I would let Father die?”

“You killed our brother, what else can’t you do?”

“You talk like you want me to kill Father.”

“That seems quite reasonable coming from you. Now you’re going to be Gonfalonier?”

“Wouldn’t it be better than Enzo at least?”

He looked serious.

It would be great for Cesare if the Pope really died.

After his death, the family may collapse helplessly.

In fact, it was already going to collapse.

“What are you thinking about?”

He muttered to me, staring at the cityscape without saying a word.

The nerve he has.

“It’s just, it’s a little futile.”

“What?”

“Well, should I say that I thought your plan would be a little more grandiose? Even with Father. To think you used pagan magic to send one sibling away and bring the other, it doesn’t sound that grand.”

“It’s because of you that I did that, and is there a need to make such efforts in other areas?”

He was surprised.

As if this was enough.

I didn’t know if it was really enough or if he just wanted me to believe it was enough.

“It seems becoming the Gonfalonier is just the beginning of your plans of making a kingdom.”

“…….”

“Then it would have been nice to just leave me alone. Aren’t I an obstacle to your grand ambition?”

The gentle southern wind blew and scattered my hair.

The two of us were staring at each other, silent for a moment.

It felt strange, very familiar and unfamiliar at the same time…

“Yes, that’s right.”

He finally growled.

It was more of a low and gentle whisper, but it sounded like a growl to me.

However, it was more of a self-help echo than a threatening or warning.

“Sometimes I had the urge to get rid of you.”

“Why?”

“I feel like it would be enough if you were by my side. Like the story I told you about then.”

“That’s why you brought me here? That’s terrible.”

“That’s right, it’s terrible.”

He sipped his drink again.

I also drank from my own glass.

The view from this balcony felt like the one I saw in my dream, where everything was burning.

What was that dream again?

“Then, were you venting your anger when you hit me?”

“No.”

“Then, you thought you’d fix me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why don’t you know, of course you do. Or are you just an idiot?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“No matter how stupid you are, you should have known before it was too late.”

His blue gaze, half dazed from drunkenness, stared at me blankly.

On the other hand, I still only appreciated the cityscape.

“Then at least I could have sympathized with you. What is this?”

“…….”