Chapter 1008 – #99. The Story of the Three Thousand Concubines and the Emperor (66)
While the empire is considering how to punish the priests and paladins.
A commotion broke out between the priests who had previously been taken as prisoners and the priests who had been captured after the war.
“We did nothing wrong, but we are being persecuted just because of you! How are you going to take responsibility for this?!”
The reason the commotion broke out between them was none other than the hateful gaze of the people around them.
When the priests’ actions were revealed in detail, people did not hesitate to hate them.
And the people’s gaze of disgust did not escape even the priests who were previously prisoners.
Although the treatment was not good, there was no one who treated the soldiers and showed a friendly attitude toward them.
In some cases, convenience was provided little by little, and the hour spent in the prayer room was the only time that soothed their hearts from the anxious and uncomfortable life of captivity.
However, after the war ended and newly captured priests came in, all the conveniences that the existing priests were receiving were cut off.
“It’s terrible to be in the same space as demons who use people as material! Can’t you just send them somewhere else, or send us somewhere else!?”
The existing priests wanted to thoroughly distinguish themselves from those who came later.
Honestly, aren’t they no different from enemies who tried to kill them?
“Would you feel better if you drew a line like that between people from the same temple?”
“Of course we have to draw a line! We didn’t do anything wrong!”
“What did we do so wrong? Offering is the right way!”
“How can it be justifiable to destroy a person’s life? And if it was really justifiable, why did they hide it until they were tortured?”
“… If you were with us, you would have agreed to the offering!”
One side claimed that you and we are different, and the other side argued that you are the same as us.
Was it just me who felt like a water demon that couldn’t be defeated?
In any case, loud noises were made every day from where the priests were imprisoned.
“Wow, it’s really noisy.”
“That’s right. In our eyes, it’s the same here and there.”
The guards shook their heads and reported to their superiors that the priests were fighting every day.
I wanted to just ignore it, but the fuse issue was something that was being closely looked at from above, so I couldn’t just not report it.
“It looks like the relationship between the priests is worse than expected. They say they fight every day.”
The report went through several procedures and reached the crown prince’s ears.
“You’re saying we don’t get along?”
“Yes. It looks like the priests who were previously held captive are drawing a line.”
“It’s worth it. Who wouldn’t want to be treated the same way as those who did devilish things?”
“But they’re all the same. Don’t you know that?”
If they had not been held captive, they would have eventually contributed to the offering.
So, they are all the same whether they are over there or here.
“Ah! Now that I think about it, there’s something I heard from Abama.”
“Your Majesty?”
“He said he would tell me in detail later, but he said there was a priest among the priests who wanted to take refuge in our empire.”
“Going into exile in the empire?”
“A priest?”
A temple does not belong to one country.
Even in war, is it so great that soldiers cannot touch priests?
Priests are spread out across many countries, not belonging to one country, but only belonging to a ‘temple’ and being dispatched.
That was why, after this war broke out, priests in the empire went on strike or went to temples in other countries.
“I wanted to hear more details, but Abama said that the conversation had not progressed much yet and that she would let me know later.”
“Oh my… We’re in trouble.”
In a situation where he did not know who the priest was, he could not punish the priests carelessly.
Still, it was absurd to ask His Majesty, who had barely come to his senses for a few minutes, who the priest was.
“In that case, why don’t you ask the priest directly?”
“It seemed like there was something going on that only Abamama and the priest knew about. What if I say something carelessly, and it gets in the way of what Abamama is doing?”
“Hmm… Then, first, I will tell the guards to watch the movements of the priests more carefully. And if a priest who is secretly looking for superiors appears, I will call them in right away. There is also a discussion with Your Majesty over there, but if there is no response, I will feel relieved. It will be urgent.”
Between the emperor and the captive priests, the answer to who was more anxious and who was the ‘B’ was something that could be answered without much thought.
“Let’s put the existing priests on hold for now, but how should we punish the priests who committed devilish acts?”
“We have to kill them all. We can’t let those guys live.”
“The temple is desperately denying the rumor and trying to prevent it from spreading. I am worried that they will shamelessly claim that there is no evidence after killing everyone.”
“How many times have the temple bastards come out so brazenly? Even if you bring evidence to them, they will say they don’t know what happened. I think it’s right to just cut off their heads and send a warning.”
There was a strong back and forth between opinions that we should keep them alive and find a place to use them, and opinions that we should just kill them cleanly, wondering if we should keep such ominous guys alive for too long.
The crown prince postponed the decision and ended the meeting, saying he would think about it a little more.
As soon as the meeting was over, the place the crown prince headed to was the bedroom where the emperor was sleeping.
“Abama, at today’s meeting…”
There, the Crown Prince explains in detail what decisions were made at today’s meeting and what agenda items were brought up.
It did not matter whether the emperor heard him or not.
It was just an act of reporting to Abama and organizing my thoughts.
“And the most troublesome thing seems to be the problem with the temple. The temple is not making any moves right now, but one day, it will definitely pressure us with the issues of the unequal treaties and contracts it made with the Kingdom of Geos.”
“…”
“I don’t think our empire is strong enough to engage in a head-on war with the temple yet. I’m glad the war with the Kingdom of Geos ended sooner than expected, but I don’t think the temple will give us time for a long time.”
“…”
“There was another opinion, that the temple might try to reconcile with us. To be honest, I think it might be easier to attack them outright. Even if they extend their hand to reconcile on the outside, it is obvious that thorns will grow out of their palms. .”
“…”
“It’s been a while since King Geos made the excuse of being sick and didn’t come out. They say he’s been taking drugs for a long time, but these days, he refuses to get treatment and continues to use drugs. Even though he begged for his life, it seems like he has no intention of living. I saw it.”
In fact, that wasn’t the only problem that arose.
The people of the Kingdom of Geos was tired of the persecution and exploitation by the emperor and nobles.
“What’s even more terrible is that these guys were collecting as much as 80% of taxes. They took away all the young people who could work as soldiers, so there was no one left to work in the farms.”
There wasn’t even a bad harvest, but the farm was ruined.
“There are so many holes in the country. I wonder why I should be fixing this, because only by fixing this can we take care of ourselves.”
The king has put the country in charge, and most of the nobles have already fled.
Even the remaining nobles are not in good condition.
They were hyenas who stayed behind because they thought there was nothing more to eat in the ruined imperial family.
“I have no idea when I will be able to sort this out and return to my home country.”
The prince sighed deeply.
The crown prince could only sigh as Abama’s physical condition worsened day by day.
If Momma had been awake normally, I think she would have finished her work quickly rather than struggling like the crown prince.
She did not yet have the ability to take on such a big task.
“I am acutely aware of my lack of ability.”
“… If this is the case, we are doing well enough.”
“Oh, Abama? Are you awake?”
“How can I just sleep when you’re talking so chatteringly to your father?”
The crown prince’s face turned red at his words because he didn’t expect Abama to be listening.
⁘ ⁘ ⁘
It looks like the kid is having a hard time.
Still, it did much better than I expected.
If you’ve done this well, it’s time to give a carrot.
I stood up, pretending I had just woken up.
“You must not stand up! Shall we bring a healer? Would it be better to bring a priest?”
“No… Don’t you know that there’s no use in calling? It’s okay, so don’t worry. My father isn’t dead yet.”
“Abama! Don’t say that!”
The crown prince jumped when he heard that she was not dead yet.
I must have been in tears when I saw the red corners of my eyes.
“Our prince is having a hard time because of his sick father.”
“Don’t say that. I was just worried that it would ruin Abama’s accomplishments.”
“The prince took care of things well, so the father will finish the job.”
“No, you shouldn’t overdo it!”
Perhaps because he was worried about my physical condition, the crown prince opposed it, saying absolutely nothing.
But now I have to step in and decide the ending neatly.
“After finishing the work, the crown prince will return to his country with his luggage.”
“Me too? There’s still a lot of left to do…”
What I learned was politics and governing the country, so it seems like I don’t know it…
This is someone else’s country.
The royal family, no, the royal family is in such a mess that it seems to be frustrating and trying to fix things, but it’s all useless.
“All the nobles will run away, so if we go back, the country will be in shambles.”
“You underestimated the desire for power, prince.”
“Yes.”
“When we go back, the rats that ran away will come back. And they will get on the wheel to revive the country that was in shambles.”
“Is that really true?”
“To our eyes, both the inside and the outside are a mess, and it seems like there is no sound anywhere, but to the eyes of a rat, there is no feast like this.”
Geos nobles will not be able to give up their greed for power.
Even if you run away to save your life, when you think the situation is going well, you will show up here again and shamelessly raise your head and stick out your big belly.
“All we have to do is watch them support and fry the country and then threaten them to give it up at the right time. If we don’t, they will bow their heads in front of us so as not to let go of the power and wealth they have accumulated.”
That is power.
The young prince still didn’t seem to fully understand what I was saying, but he will understand as time goes by.
The Geos nobles will not escape my guess.
