The first reason Pope Louis summoned the Princes and Cardinals of each country to Trevero was to determine who had attempted to poison him.
But the second, and only productive, reason he undertook this tedious task was to find his successor.
'No one should be too young.'
Since he would die within half a year at the most, he had no choice but to find a priest with some foundation.
Half a year is an incredibly short time to start something new, and if the Pope passes away without establishing a foundation for a successor by raising a child, it is clear as day that the old foxes will prey on him alive.
He was not given time to find new ones, like he had with Arthur, young friends to develop into tailor-made talents.
Heaven didn't give everything.
'He must be competent and yet... obedient. He must uphold my will and lead the Fourth Crusade to victory.'
Cardinal de Mare was naturally excluded from Pope Louis's list of favorites because of this 'obedience' requirement.
It wasn't even on the long list, let alone the short list.
But it was understandable. The two were only two years apart in age, and they even came from the same Etruscan kingdom.
Naturally, he had a sense of rivalry from a young age.
Of course, it was Ludovico who always had the upper hand.
As a scion of a prominent family, Ludovico, with his large stature, handsome appearance, and manly leadership, overwhelmed the small and petty de Mare, who had nothing to rely on but his head.
But there was something about de Mare's rebellious face that was hard to laugh off as he glared at him with his small, rat-like eyes that sparkled like obsidian and spouted painful theological theories.
Looking back, it was a kind of excellence that Ludovico lacked.
But at the time, he didn't think about that at all and just raised and lowered his fist.
If he had met him when he was a little younger, he would have beaten him up, even though they were doing the same thing.
Sometimes, de Mare would raise his fist and turn around the way he came, holding his nose high as he walked away.
But young Ludovico would chuckle every time he saw de Mare's trembling legs.
'Knock knock knock. Life is so strange.'
Really, life just goes on and on.
He had no idea that Arthur, whom he loved the most, would hit him on the back of the head like this, that his life's most worldly project would become a holy war, and that he would choose his youthful rival, de Mare, as the person to complete that project.
'The weirder it is, the more closely you have to look at it.'
There were a few more things to check, for example.
'Really, will de Mare just follow my orders?'
Same trivial questions. But it will be fine. The Pope stroked his full beard with satisfaction.
So that the world without Ludovico can still be filled with Ludovico. Cheers today too.
Cardinal de Mare, who had been waiting endlessly for his daughter, who would not return, soon completely forgot about such trivial and insignificant matters.
Suddenly, the Pope's summons rang out.
“You have to come right now. Right now!”
The Pope's messenger made a fuss as if something big had happened.
He hated the sight of him acting like that without even revealing his purpose, but he had been dragged from San Carlo to Trevero in tears, falling for the same trick, so there was no reason why he shouldn't have been dragged all the way to the Pope's residence once he got to Trevero.
Cardinal de Mare ran out in a hurry without even having time to adjust his attire.
He responded to the call so quickly that he even put on his vest and went out. It was embarrassing, but it could happen.
But once he arrived at the Pope's residence and got down on his butts, things got even more confusing.
When he first sat alone on that tiny chair in the corner of the hallway, it was actually nice.
Using the time that was just a fingernail's length, he fixed the seams of his own hair reflected in the stained glass and the vest he was wearing inside out.
After spending a while alone, he managed to get his bearings and put the problematic vest on inside out. The problem came after that.
For a really, really long time, no one looked for him.
Although they arrived in the morning, no one came to see Cardinal de Mare until lunchtime, afternoon tea time, and dinnertime were well underway.
'Have you forgotten me?'
It was a very humiliating experience. If you didn't want to call me, then you didn't call me. And now you're treating me like I'm invisible!
It was even more frustrating and saddening to try to figure out whether Ludovico had called him over and made him sit there on purpose to have a fight over pride, or if he had really forgotten.
As he sat there blankly, hugging his hungry stomach, he heard some muttering on the other side of the closed door.
“...That time, what I did...”
Cardinal de Mare pricked up his ears.
He couldn't do the foolish thing of running forward and putting his ear against the door because he was afraid that someone might come in, but he tried his best to listen more.
“...That damn de Mare guy, he stole my place in the best papers collection... My father used his influence to steal it...”
Fluent Etruscan. A deep, booming voice. This was Pope Louis.
The Pope's story continued to be heard.
“de Mare missed the Bishopric of Chiriani...That was also me...”
The diocese of Chiriani was a stepping stone to the archdiocese of San Carlo.
It was a key department for promotion, and the bishop's seat there was a coveted golden egg position.
It was close to the capital, had abundant parish finances, and had a monastery attached to it where young monks studied theology, so it performed very well.
“...Please recommend a candidate as you go up... de Mare... I said that de Mare absolutely cannot be it. Hahahaha!”
After serving as Bishop of Chiriani for a long time, Pope Louis XIV became Archbishop of San Carlo, and was subsequently created Archbishop and Cardinal before becoming Pope and leaving for Trevero.
“...There was no need for that... the expression on that rascal’s face when he missed his chance to come up to the capital was superb. It was just... I did it because... I wanted to see that face.”
'!'
Cardinal de Mare bit his lip without realizing it.
When Bishop Ludovico de Giustini, then Bishop Giustini of Chiriani, was transferred due to the death of his predecessor, Cardinal San Carlo, everyone nominated Archpriest de Mare to take charge of the vacant diocese of Chiriani.
“I think de Mare will take that seat.”
“Whether it’s career or achievements, there’s no one else better.”
“Simon, you’re finally going to succeed! To be honest, you’re a total idiot! Hahaha!”
And contrary to everyone's expectations, the post of Bishop Chiriani went to a young man five years younger than Cardinal de Mare.
The new bishop, Chiriani, was a scoundrel from a noble family who had been put in a position of honor by the head of a prestigious family.
The world's people are really cold.
People who had been friendly and called him by his name until yesterday immediately turned pale and pretended not to know him as soon as the announcement was made about the appointment of the Chiriani Parish priest.
“Oh, really... That’s too bad.”
“No, it’s not. It’s okay.”
No, it was the nobles who pretended not to know. It was really humiliating to have to manage his facial expressions while checking his mood by saying a few words at a time.
And Cardinal de Mare still remembered Lucrezia's reaction when he returned home that evening, then a small brick house in Taranto.
Lucrezia vented her anger as she watched Ippolito, who was walking around unsteadily, causing all sorts of accidents.
“I told you to trust me! I told you I’d take you to the capital! Why did I trust someone like you to give birth to and raise that little bastard? We’ll never be able to leave this stinking seaside village, and it’s all because of your incompetence!”
That day, Lucrezia almost left him.
Cardinal de Mare returned home at the end of the day without any feeling that he had done anything wrong, but at some point late at night, he began to tearfully reproach himself for his incompetence and held onto Lucrezia's skirts to comfort her all night long.
That day was definitely ranked as one of the worst days in Cardinal de Mare's life. And then... This is all... Giustini's doing?
As his ears opened, the Pope's words became clearer and clearer. The Cardinal's hands trembled.
“I sent the Apostle of Asereto on purpose. He had to be removed so that Arthur could receive the Etruscan regional vote in the conclave to elect the next Pope.”
The day he was almost dragged to the inquisitor's office because of the apostle Asereto also flashed through the Cardinal's mind.
If it weren't for his daughter, he would have been accused of supporting heresy and punished by the church that day.
No, it would be fortunate if it ended with a disciplinary action. If the Pope wanted, he could frame him for any crime and get rid of him altogether.
Just look at the fact that Cardinal Velasco was captured and killed.
The execution of a Cardinal? It was not impossible, even if Ludovico had clearly crossed the line.
The Pope was a position that held such power over the priests under his command.
His mouth was dry, and his saliva was dry. His eyes were bloodshot. He had always lived watching Ludovico's expression.
Even when he was young and was considered one of the most accomplished priests of his age, and even after he had gone through many hardships to become the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of San Carlo and was able to lead a decent life, in fact, his leash was always held by Ludovico.
'Are you going to live like this for the rest of your life?'
If it were the result of a fair competition, he could accept defeat. It's right for the loser to follow suit.
But... He was so envious and hated that he almost died because he had parents behind him, but he actually used his parents' background to push him away.
And he wasn't even competing for a promotion; he was just deliberately picking on him because he hated him?
Cardinal de Mare shook his head to shake off the distracting thoughts. Thinking like this only harms him.
Ludovico... That bastard must be playing with his head.
There's no way that dragon-led prankster doesn't know he's sitting here, and he probably hears everything he says.
As Cardinal de Mare gritted his teeth and endured this thought, he finally heard the voice of Pope Louis.
“It’s not just because of Arthur... de Mare... Because of... What a piece of luck. A skinny, lanky brat who only cares about what other people think.”
Pop.
Something exploded in his head. Ugh, his blood flowed back, and something like fireworks or a very bright light exploded in front of his eyes.
'This kid...!'
The words of Pope Louis were finally heard by the enraged Cardinal de Mare.
“...Bring me tea. I don’t drink hot tea. Cold tea. What? You only have hot tea?”
Cardinal de Mare saw a side door and a tea trolley parked right in front of it, as if waiting.
The space where he was sitting seemed to be the space where servants were usually waiting to do chores.
A palm-sized break room with a tea trolley to take out and various cleaning tools.
On the tea trolley sat a mug of ginger tea, old and cold—it had been there since before the Cardinal entered—and on the shelf just below it was a jar labelled “Rat Poison.”
Rat poison, also known as arsenic.
Cardinal de Mare's hands began to tremble in agony. He heard words that added fuel to the fire.
“Come find it somehow! Bring it to me now!”
And the unlucky loud voice that shouts loudly.
“...Temperament... Is that why there was an attempt to poison me last week? Hahaha.”
There is no way to pretend to be generous.
And Cardinal de Mare found an interesting clue in that sentence.
Was there a poisoning attempt last week? If so, who can we find out? Are there only one or two people who want to kill that little Ludovico?
“Why did you do that? Hahahahahaha. I did it because it was similar. After all, it was similar. Actually, there was that big butt woman that de Mare loved so much. She used to wag her tail at him like that. Without even knowing it, she hugged him and bared her teeth and growled at him, because it was so similar.”
It was a second explosion. Firecrackers were going off in his head. Cardinal de Mare licked the jar of rat poison with bloodshot eyes.
But the second, and only productive, reason he undertook this tedious task was to find his successor.
'No one should be too young.'
Since he would die within half a year at the most, he had no choice but to find a priest with some foundation.
Half a year is an incredibly short time to start something new, and if the Pope passes away without establishing a foundation for a successor by raising a child, it is clear as day that the old foxes will prey on him alive.
He was not given time to find new ones, like he had with Arthur, young friends to develop into tailor-made talents.
Heaven didn't give everything.
'He must be competent and yet... obedient. He must uphold my will and lead the Fourth Crusade to victory.'
Cardinal de Mare was naturally excluded from Pope Louis's list of favorites because of this 'obedience' requirement.
It wasn't even on the long list, let alone the short list.
But it was understandable. The two were only two years apart in age, and they even came from the same Etruscan kingdom.
Naturally, he had a sense of rivalry from a young age.
Of course, it was Ludovico who always had the upper hand.
As a scion of a prominent family, Ludovico, with his large stature, handsome appearance, and manly leadership, overwhelmed the small and petty de Mare, who had nothing to rely on but his head.
But there was something about de Mare's rebellious face that was hard to laugh off as he glared at him with his small, rat-like eyes that sparkled like obsidian and spouted painful theological theories.
Looking back, it was a kind of excellence that Ludovico lacked.
But at the time, he didn't think about that at all and just raised and lowered his fist.
If he had met him when he was a little younger, he would have beaten him up, even though they were doing the same thing.
Sometimes, de Mare would raise his fist and turn around the way he came, holding his nose high as he walked away.
But young Ludovico would chuckle every time he saw de Mare's trembling legs.
'Knock knock knock. Life is so strange.'
Really, life just goes on and on.
He had no idea that Arthur, whom he loved the most, would hit him on the back of the head like this, that his life's most worldly project would become a holy war, and that he would choose his youthful rival, de Mare, as the person to complete that project.
'The weirder it is, the more closely you have to look at it.'
There were a few more things to check, for example.
'Really, will de Mare just follow my orders?'
Same trivial questions. But it will be fine. The Pope stroked his full beard with satisfaction.
So that the world without Ludovico can still be filled with Ludovico. Cheers today too.
***
Cardinal de Mare, who had been waiting endlessly for his daughter, who would not return, soon completely forgot about such trivial and insignificant matters.
Suddenly, the Pope's summons rang out.
“You have to come right now. Right now!”
The Pope's messenger made a fuss as if something big had happened.
He hated the sight of him acting like that without even revealing his purpose, but he had been dragged from San Carlo to Trevero in tears, falling for the same trick, so there was no reason why he shouldn't have been dragged all the way to the Pope's residence once he got to Trevero.
Cardinal de Mare ran out in a hurry without even having time to adjust his attire.
He responded to the call so quickly that he even put on his vest and went out. It was embarrassing, but it could happen.
But once he arrived at the Pope's residence and got down on his butts, things got even more confusing.
When he first sat alone on that tiny chair in the corner of the hallway, it was actually nice.
Using the time that was just a fingernail's length, he fixed the seams of his own hair reflected in the stained glass and the vest he was wearing inside out.
After spending a while alone, he managed to get his bearings and put the problematic vest on inside out. The problem came after that.
For a really, really long time, no one looked for him.
Although they arrived in the morning, no one came to see Cardinal de Mare until lunchtime, afternoon tea time, and dinnertime were well underway.
'Have you forgotten me?'
It was a very humiliating experience. If you didn't want to call me, then you didn't call me. And now you're treating me like I'm invisible!
It was even more frustrating and saddening to try to figure out whether Ludovico had called him over and made him sit there on purpose to have a fight over pride, or if he had really forgotten.
As he sat there blankly, hugging his hungry stomach, he heard some muttering on the other side of the closed door.
“...That time, what I did...”
Cardinal de Mare pricked up his ears.
He couldn't do the foolish thing of running forward and putting his ear against the door because he was afraid that someone might come in, but he tried his best to listen more.
“...That damn de Mare guy, he stole my place in the best papers collection... My father used his influence to steal it...”
Fluent Etruscan. A deep, booming voice. This was Pope Louis.
The Pope's story continued to be heard.
“de Mare missed the Bishopric of Chiriani...That was also me...”
The diocese of Chiriani was a stepping stone to the archdiocese of San Carlo.
It was a key department for promotion, and the bishop's seat there was a coveted golden egg position.
It was close to the capital, had abundant parish finances, and had a monastery attached to it where young monks studied theology, so it performed very well.
“...Please recommend a candidate as you go up... de Mare... I said that de Mare absolutely cannot be it. Hahahaha!”
After serving as Bishop of Chiriani for a long time, Pope Louis XIV became Archbishop of San Carlo, and was subsequently created Archbishop and Cardinal before becoming Pope and leaving for Trevero.
“...There was no need for that... the expression on that rascal’s face when he missed his chance to come up to the capital was superb. It was just... I did it because... I wanted to see that face.”
'!'
Cardinal de Mare bit his lip without realizing it.
When Bishop Ludovico de Giustini, then Bishop Giustini of Chiriani, was transferred due to the death of his predecessor, Cardinal San Carlo, everyone nominated Archpriest de Mare to take charge of the vacant diocese of Chiriani.
“I think de Mare will take that seat.”
“Whether it’s career or achievements, there’s no one else better.”
“Simon, you’re finally going to succeed! To be honest, you’re a total idiot! Hahaha!”
And contrary to everyone's expectations, the post of Bishop Chiriani went to a young man five years younger than Cardinal de Mare.
The new bishop, Chiriani, was a scoundrel from a noble family who had been put in a position of honor by the head of a prestigious family.
The world's people are really cold.
People who had been friendly and called him by his name until yesterday immediately turned pale and pretended not to know him as soon as the announcement was made about the appointment of the Chiriani Parish priest.
“Oh, really... That’s too bad.”
“No, it’s not. It’s okay.”
No, it was the nobles who pretended not to know. It was really humiliating to have to manage his facial expressions while checking his mood by saying a few words at a time.
And Cardinal de Mare still remembered Lucrezia's reaction when he returned home that evening, then a small brick house in Taranto.
Lucrezia vented her anger as she watched Ippolito, who was walking around unsteadily, causing all sorts of accidents.
“I told you to trust me! I told you I’d take you to the capital! Why did I trust someone like you to give birth to and raise that little bastard? We’ll never be able to leave this stinking seaside village, and it’s all because of your incompetence!”
That day, Lucrezia almost left him.
Cardinal de Mare returned home at the end of the day without any feeling that he had done anything wrong, but at some point late at night, he began to tearfully reproach himself for his incompetence and held onto Lucrezia's skirts to comfort her all night long.
That day was definitely ranked as one of the worst days in Cardinal de Mare's life. And then... This is all... Giustini's doing?
As his ears opened, the Pope's words became clearer and clearer. The Cardinal's hands trembled.
“I sent the Apostle of Asereto on purpose. He had to be removed so that Arthur could receive the Etruscan regional vote in the conclave to elect the next Pope.”
The day he was almost dragged to the inquisitor's office because of the apostle Asereto also flashed through the Cardinal's mind.
If it weren't for his daughter, he would have been accused of supporting heresy and punished by the church that day.
No, it would be fortunate if it ended with a disciplinary action. If the Pope wanted, he could frame him for any crime and get rid of him altogether.
Just look at the fact that Cardinal Velasco was captured and killed.
The execution of a Cardinal? It was not impossible, even if Ludovico had clearly crossed the line.
The Pope was a position that held such power over the priests under his command.
His mouth was dry, and his saliva was dry. His eyes were bloodshot. He had always lived watching Ludovico's expression.
Even when he was young and was considered one of the most accomplished priests of his age, and even after he had gone through many hardships to become the Cardinal of the Archdiocese of San Carlo and was able to lead a decent life, in fact, his leash was always held by Ludovico.
'Are you going to live like this for the rest of your life?'
If it were the result of a fair competition, he could accept defeat. It's right for the loser to follow suit.
But... He was so envious and hated that he almost died because he had parents behind him, but he actually used his parents' background to push him away.
And he wasn't even competing for a promotion; he was just deliberately picking on him because he hated him?
Cardinal de Mare shook his head to shake off the distracting thoughts. Thinking like this only harms him.
Ludovico... That bastard must be playing with his head.
There's no way that dragon-led prankster doesn't know he's sitting here, and he probably hears everything he says.
As Cardinal de Mare gritted his teeth and endured this thought, he finally heard the voice of Pope Louis.
“It’s not just because of Arthur... de Mare... Because of... What a piece of luck. A skinny, lanky brat who only cares about what other people think.”
Pop.
Something exploded in his head. Ugh, his blood flowed back, and something like fireworks or a very bright light exploded in front of his eyes.
'This kid...!'
The words of Pope Louis were finally heard by the enraged Cardinal de Mare.
“...Bring me tea. I don’t drink hot tea. Cold tea. What? You only have hot tea?”
Cardinal de Mare saw a side door and a tea trolley parked right in front of it, as if waiting.
The space where he was sitting seemed to be the space where servants were usually waiting to do chores.
A palm-sized break room with a tea trolley to take out and various cleaning tools.
On the tea trolley sat a mug of ginger tea, old and cold—it had been there since before the Cardinal entered—and on the shelf just below it was a jar labelled “Rat Poison.”
Rat poison, also known as arsenic.
Cardinal de Mare's hands began to tremble in agony. He heard words that added fuel to the fire.
“Come find it somehow! Bring it to me now!”
And the unlucky loud voice that shouts loudly.
“...Temperament... Is that why there was an attempt to poison me last week? Hahaha.”
There is no way to pretend to be generous.
And Cardinal de Mare found an interesting clue in that sentence.
Was there a poisoning attempt last week? If so, who can we find out? Are there only one or two people who want to kill that little Ludovico?
“Why did you do that? Hahahahahaha. I did it because it was similar. After all, it was similar. Actually, there was that big butt woman that de Mare loved so much. She used to wag her tail at him like that. Without even knowing it, she hugged him and bared her teeth and growled at him, because it was so similar.”
It was a second explosion. Firecrackers were going off in his head. Cardinal de Mare licked the jar of rat poison with bloodshot eyes.
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