Nobles and the Church

Havent did not react for a moment when he heard the answer.

"The commoners?"

"Yes, the commoners."

Count Havent raised his glass, drained the Blackthorn Wine in one gulp, and slammed the glass heavily onto the table.

"They want to become lords?"

Hearing his son's remark, Count Havent, who had just angrily smashed his glass on the table, silently picked it up and turned his head away.

Seeing that his father had no intention of explaining, Havent turned to Count Mori.

Count Mori scratched his head and gave Havent a puzzled look. Had he misjudged him?

"They do not want to be lords. They need people to believe in their gods. They need followers."

When he had wandered in his previous life, he had slept in churches. He had a favorable impression of the Christian aunties who had not driven him away.

Havent asked in confusion,

"Can't our subjects believe in gods? When I wandered through the countryside before, I saw some farmers placing shrines to the Goddess of Harvest in their fields."

"They can. We do not stop our subjects from believing in certain gods. Some gods are even highly revered by us nobles.

But that does not include the church and gods Aurelion belongs to."

Havent recalled the golden sun emblem behind Aurelion when he left. He remembered that, from the books he had read, the god represented by that symbol seemed to be...

"I remember the Sun God being a mainstream faith within the Empire. There is even the Empire's largest Sun God church in the Imperial Capital. Why does the Northern Frontier resist it so strongly?"

"Hehehehe~

Little Havent, you are rather curious, aren't you? Kevin, you explain it to your son.

I need to rest for a while. Aurelion is not an easy man to deal with."

With that, Count Mori leaned back in his chair without the slightest noble decorum, propped his legs on the table, and lazily swung his feet.

Seeing Count Havent remain silent, he picked up a piece of fruit from the table and threw it at him.

"He will have to learn sooner or later. Little Havent has already proven that he is no child. He is a suitable heir for the territory."

After saying that, he looked over the handsome young man.

"Mm~ Though perhaps the wind and sand of the Northern Frontier need to give him a little more masculine charm."

Urged on by Count Mori, Count Havent slowly began to speak.

"We of the Northern Frontier belong to the Royalist Faction, so we reject the spread of certain divine doctrines. The Eternal Sun in particular is absolutely forbidden from appearing in the Northern Frontier."

"Teacher~

Ah, no, Father, I have a question."

Count Havent nodded at Havent, who had raised his right hand as if asking a question, signaling for him to continue.

"Well, why do we reject the spread of the Eternal Sun within our territory? I read that in some provinces of the south, nearly every noble territory has an Eternal Sun church.

I heard that the Eternal Sun's priests also regularly provide free treatment to people who cannot afford medical care.

Ah~ That should be two questions. What is the Royalist Faction?"

When Havent mentioned the nobles of the Southern Province, Count Mori, seated nearby, gave a contemptuous laugh.

"Those weaklings in the south. Calling them nobles is practically an insult to nobility.

Those greedy rats, those parasites of the Empire, care about nothing but money. They should all be hanged."

Seeing his father so furious, Havent was utterly confused. How had the conversation gone off in this direction again?

He looked to Count Mori for help.

"Hahahahaha~

Those spineless monkeys in the south disgusted your father before. Let me explain it to you.

Kevin is not much of a storyteller."

Having calmed down, Count Havent raised his glass to his friend.

"First, let me tell you about the Royalist Faction.

Simply put, it is an alliance of nobles led by His Majesty the current Emperor, Frederick IV.

As the faction supporting His Majesty, we preserve the Empire's integrity and, most importantly, ensure His Majesty's sole authority.

Therefore, under the Royalist Faction, we do our utmost to prevent anything that might affect His Majesty's rule.

Of course, the actual situation is certainly not that simple. It involves many aspects. When you have time, you can read your father's letters and some intelligence reports."

From Count Mori's words, Havent caught many key points.

"The Empire is not whole now? And I remember that during Simony II's reign, the books recorded that the Eternal Fire repeatedly helped the Empire resist foreign enemies and internal unrest."

After hesitating for a moment, Havent still voiced the question in his heart.

"Hehehehehe~

In theory, the Empire is currently whole and unified.

As for what happened during Simony II's reign, according to the imperial biographies,

you are correct. That was indeed the case.

But you should know that every act of aid comes at a price.

And the party that pays that price always meets a miserable end."

Count Mori fell silent for a moment, staring blankly at the wooden ceiling as though reminiscing about something.

"Then what price did the Empire pay?"

Hearing Havent's question, Count Mori let out a long breath, as if trying to expel all the frustration in his chest at once.

"Dignity, status, and most importantly, our noble rights."

"Hm? What does that mean? I do not really understand. The books seemed to say that under Simony II, the Empire entered a relatively prosperous era."

At Havent's words, both men sneered.

"Of course. Those cowardly, unprincipled historians would not dare write the true details in books meant for public view.

For example, the church attempted to control the succession of emperors, the appointment of nobles, the declaration of wars, and even the lives and deaths of the people.

If Simony II had not suddenly died, and if the Mad King had not ascended the throne,

the Empire~ would have been finished long ago."

Listening to Count Mori's explanation, Havent was stunned. He had never expected the stories beyond the books to be so exciting. It would be perfect if he had a handful of sunflower seeds.

"So that was why the century-long religious war happened afterward?

Wait, that is not right. If things were like that, why is the Eternal Fire still one of the Empire's largest faiths?"

"The century-long religious war is another matter, though it did happen during that same century.

There are many stories here. You can learn them slowly yourself in the future. Returning to our previous topic,

after the foolish measures taken during Simony II's reign, the nobles nearly reached the brink of life and death.

Only after two generations, the Mad King, 'Huquis,' and the Blood King, 'Henherk,' did they manage to turn the situation around."

Havent recalled that the books seemed to contain very little about those two rulers.

"The Brief History of the Empire seems to have very little about those two Majesties?

Since they turned things around, why does the... Royalist Faction still exist now?"

"That was because Frederick II's father, the Sleeping King, 'Keen,'

transferred part of the authority over governing his subjects to the church for the sake of his ridiculous ideals."