At that time, the Cathedral of Saint Katzen.
Unlike the dark outside, the inside was as bright as daylight with dozens of candles.
"Ugh...!"
Cesare looked down at the man kneeling on the floor.
The priestly robe that exuded dignity at the coronation was stained with dirty dust, and the towering mithras lay on the floor and crumpled.
It was the high priest Norman.
Cesare couldn't let go of the one who had given Medea a broken tray of flowers at the coronation.
"Now, you are wrong! I can't help it... The Empress Western forced me!"
As is the case with all cornered people. High Priest Norman tried to escape the situation by placing all the blame on Empress Western.
"Your Highness didn't know about it... I can't help it.. No, there was not... I had no choice. If I don't follow what they tell me, they threaten to throw me out of the diocese..."
"His Holiness didn't put the high priest's crown on your head to crawl at the feet of the imperial family."
Cesare chuckled.
As a lame excuse was added to his desperate face, he couldn't open his eyes anymore.
"I mean, I finally took your hand."
Whoops. Norman bit his tongue in a hurry, but it was too late.
"At that time, I really had no choice. The Count of Montfort approached me first-"
"It's not funny to make excuses. I should have told you three years ago."
Cesare cut off the urgently added excuses as if he didn't need to hear any more.
"You must have had enough time, right?"
Cesare's light words made Norman's face turn white.
"I knew about your collusion with the Emperor Western for three years."
He remembered his time when he believed that the First Prince would never survive the curse of the beginning.
In other words, they already knew everything, but they were just watching.
"Your Highness, the gods are blind for a moment. You should not be deceived by vain desires and be a servant of God..."
"Humans are beings who pursue desires, but what is the difference between being a servant of God?"
Cesare mended Noman's disheveled collar with a benevolent voice that seemed to fully understand.
"There is only one fault on your part."
His hand caught his collar, and Norman gasped. It was a grip that was close to grabbing the flesh.
"You touched someone you shouldn't have touched."
"Your Highness..."
"Did you go on a rampage without this much determination?"
"Forgive me, please forgive me! I will never do anything in vain again. I will give you all the power of the gods the Your Highness. All support for Your Highness to take control of the imperial family..."
The fierce power tightened more and more in his throat.
When the gold eye pierced him, Norman was motionless, as if he had been bitten in the neck by a beast of prey.
"What do you use the power of a lay priest who is not a high priest?"
"Huh, yes?"
'Lay Priest'?
Norman's eyes widened. Why did he, the highest cleric in this empire, lead the Protestant religion...
As if confirming the faint surge of anxiety.
Cesare stepped on Norman's Mithras as he fell to the ground and laughed coldly
"A new high priest will come from the Holy Kingdom."
By now, today's news from the Facade must have reached the ears of Pope Benedict.
The head of the diocese of Katzen will be replaced soon.
"Well, I can't, I can't! Your Highness will choose the affiliation of the Holy Kingdom... You can't do this!"
How did he get here?
"Oh. They can't stop me. No, they won't stop me."
Cesare twisted his lips. A mischievous voice rang out.
"In a country where the vicarious person who has been waiting for hundreds of years may abandon the old religion, the old priest who does not know the deputies and the faction. Which of the two would you choose for the temple?"
Norman even targeted Saintess Medea.
Ignoring the central temple and the Pope's urgent message.
Did they say that ignorance is brave? He had never felt the atmosphere of the Holy Nation being rejected by Medea, so it was a foolish thing that he dared to commit.
So the result was obvious.
Rather than protest against Cesare's expulsion of Norman, they will send a high priest of the pro-saint faction to help Medea.
"Oh, no..."
Noman, who finally understood the situation properly, groaned.
The price of the same trick has returned to an unimaginable size.
"If I had known that this would happen, I would have rejected the request of the Empress Western, even if I had to cut my throat!"
However, it was too late.
"Uh Ugh...!"
Norman's decrepit body could not withstand the shock and regret.
Clutching at his stiff chest, he collapsed helplessly, his eyes turning white.
"Je fainted."
Alpha turned Norman over and saw it.
"Do you dare to call the Knights of the Crusade to Katzen? Send it to the border."
Cesare touched 'this' with his foot, which was stunned nonchalantly
"Yes, Your Highness."
Alpha put Norman on the donkey's back and tied it up while Cesare turned to the priests behind him.
"Before the new high priest comes, I hope this is a useful lesson for you."
Boom!
He twisted the corners of his mouth viciously and kicked the donkey's side.
"Heheheh."
The donkey cried for a long time and jumped forward in surprise.
Rattle.
The pitch rose and fell, and Norman's soiled priestly robe fluttered unnervingly.
The priests silently watched as the rattling donkey and the Norman tied to its back disappeared out of the cathedral gates.
"You can go home."
Only then was the congratulatory order issued.
They stared at Cesare with tired eyes.
Today, in front of the priests gathered in the cathedral, the First Prince personally brought down the High Priest Norman.
The intention behind the languid voice was so clear.
The reason why they were held up like prisoners at this late hour was so that they could see Norman's fall with their own eyes.
As a reward for touching the 1st Princess, the High Priest, who once reigned at the top of the cathedral, was quickly brought down to the ground.
The back of Empress Western, which Norman boasted about, did not provide any protection until the moment when he trudged away like a bundle on a donkey.
"..."
"God."
The priests who witnessed the horrible scene closed their eyes and drew their names. And they swore a firm vow in their heart.
"No matter how the Katzen imperial family fights in the future, we will devote ourselves exclusively to the capital as servants of the gods."
***
Noman was expelled, and all the priests had returned.
Cesare casually checked his watch. It was already past midnight.
"Boss, are you going to the Facade?"
On the way out of the cathedral, Gallo stretched out his sullen body and stepped beside Cesare.
"Nope."
"Huh? For what? It's too late. Why don't you just sleep on the Facade and go tomorrow?"
"..."
"Huh? If the boss goes to the palace, I have to go back to report to the palace in the morning. What a waste of time. If you are on the Facade, you can see the message coming from the Holy Kingdom..."
Terrence snapped bluntly.
"Gallo, did you forget? Cesare now has a wife. He's not idle enough to hang out with you day and night anymore."
"Oh, that's right..."
Gallo scratched his head and looked at Cesare. The silence meant that Terence was right.
"Hmm, then I'll go to the palace too, well, move the scorpion there."
"..."
"Huh? Boss, is that okay? Shall Terence go with me? We just went to the palace all the time..."
"If you want the world to know that Facade is a member of the First Prince, do it."
Gallo was furious, but Cesare's languid sneer didn't stop.
Under the light of the cathedral, shadows fell over the smooth sidelines like sculptures.
"You must be quite livable these days."
The mad Emperor is also here, in the middle of Katzen, where the whole royal family is trying to drag the Facade in.
"Oh, yes, yes. I won't go! You don't have to do anything about it."
Gallo grunted, his mouth hanging out.
You just have to say you want to be alone, do you have to say it so harshly?
Whether he was upset or not, Cesare leaned over and rode on his horse, as if it wasn't worth paying attention to.
His light and nimble movements revealed his firm thighs through the hem of his clothes.
"See you tomorrow."
After a brief and nonchalant greeting, the black horse carrying him quickly disappeared into the darkness.
"Oh, look at how he ran away like that for fear of catching him. Since when has the boss been so family-oriented?"
Gallo scratched his head in bewilderment.
The puppy that ran to greet its owner with its tail wagging looked like it had been scolded again.
His bushy blond hair was even messier.
"If I tremble like that, will I live in a sad state because I don't have a tenant? Isn't that right, Terence?"
"..."
"Huh? At a time when our friendship is falling apart like this, what do you have to say?"
"Go home."
Terrence brushed his tired face and waved his hands in the air, as if it wasn't worth replying.
Pot-!
The moment a thin flame bloomed, he disappeared. It was movement magic.
"Oh, really! Isn't everyone doing too much?!"
Gallo's screeching voice scattered in the cold night air.
***
The Palace.
Cesare's feet stopped as he entered the bedroom.
It was late as dawn approached, and the lights were still on in the room.
"Dea?"
The candlesticks were brightly lit.
On the table was a cold teacup, and next to it was a woman who sat asleep with her back to the head of the bed.
The shadow of the candlestick swayed over her face.
It was imprinted in Cesare's eyes like a landscape painting.
Maybe it was because it was the first time he saw someone waiting for his return.
He was always flowing and unstoppable, but no words could describe the strange feeling he was feeling.
"..."
Cesare, who had been staring down at Medea, who had slept in an uncomfortable position for a moment, reached out. He carefully picked her up and put her to bed.
Ugh.
As the soft sheet touched her skin. Medea flinched.
A clear green shimmer between the faintly open eyelids.
"...Cesare?"
"Yes."
Even though it was only one syllable, Cesare felt that his voice was strangely sunken.
"...I'm back."
A soft voice scattered across the air.
He pressed his lips to Medea's temple.
Medea blinked to see him properly, but she soon fell back asleep because she couldn't cope with the rush of horses.
Cesare looked at her as she fell asleep again and quietly placed his head next to her.
Every fluff on his skin, which had cooled down in the cold night breeze, seemed to recognize the warmth that radiated from her.
A thick hand covered Medea's hand.
His outstretched index finger wandered around the soft back of her hand as if playing.
"Hmmm..."
Then, as if tickling, Medea tossed and turned again and exhaled, his fingers stopped.
"I was confident that I could wait as long as I wanted."
It was too arrogant.
A hollow smile leaked out of his sculptural face like a god who fascinates the night.
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