Luther was making his way to the greenhouse of the Church, wearing his usual clothes: a white cassock, a golden stole that was only made for the Pope of the Holy See.
His shoes was made of luxurious red leather, embroidered with the insignia of the Holy See, a white dove with one big eye. He looks like he was in a good mood, considering his repeated skipping and humming while he was walking towards the greenhouse.
'I should select another another girl to go with me for a ritual.', Luther thought, looking around. He was being followed by a group of high priests and nuns that were keeping their head high all the time.
"Good morning, Your Holiness."
"Hoh, what a good morning it is.", Luther simply greeted the people who greets him with a smile. But his smiling and greeting streak was broken when the group led by him reached the big doors to the entrance.
"What purpose do you have to want to enter the greenhouse, Your Holiness?", a Paladin with black skin and low voice questioned the Pope without batting an eye.
"I just wanted to take some herbs necessary for my experiments, Sir Gregory. Would you let me in and the high priests behind me, so that you can continue on your duty as a guard?", Luther, with his sharp tongue, pleaded Gregory on the surface, but his words were arrogant and mocking.
The high priests and nuns behind Luther chuckled by what he said, daring to laugh at the third strongest Paladin of the Holy See. Doing something like this was a gamble for them, actually. They're gaining favor from the Pope by staying at his said while disrespecting the people who were obligated to protect them from harm.
Sir Gregory kept his position as he huffed in irritation. This was his everyday duty anyway, and no one can change it except the Commander and the Saintess themselves. Letting down your pride for the greater good was a good mental training for him.
"You may enter the greenhouse then, Your Holiness. But, those spiteful people behind you, cannot. They are not worthy to be inside a sacred place that was being guarded by the First Division Captain of the Paladins. I hope you'll understand, but if you don't, you may speak your feelings to the Saintess when she gets here.", Gregory spoke to them with a low and domineering voice telling that he was not someone they can bully.
Luther gritted his teeth in anger as he hated being ordered around and be compared to the Saintess. 'Everytime..! This happens everytime I go in here! That damn little girl... How can she mock me even though she's not here?!'
Luther suppressed his anger and quickly passed through Gregory to open the big double doors of the greenhouse. "Stay right there... I'll be back soon.", he turned and looked at his nine assistants.
"Yes, Your Holiness. We will be waiting.", they said in sync
Luther closed the doors, but he can still feel Gregory sizing him up and watching his every move. Putting his uneasiness aside, Luther continued on going through the rows of different and rare herbs, he avoided to touch them so that they cannot get damaged.
'The herbs in here are all rare and holy, but some of them are poisonous and can cause unknown illnesses to whomever touches it...', he pondered while looking for a specific specimen that he wanted to use.
This greenhouse was being tended everyday by the high priests that are subordinates of the Saintess. The herbs were always changing positions depending on the day that they should get sunlight.
As for the herb that the Pope was looking, it was placed in a dark corner of the greenhouse, making it hard for Luther to look for it.
'Found it!', Luther said excitedly as he gets close to the red flower that was pulsing like a heart. He forced himself not to touch the deadly flower that took the previous Holy Pope's life, and Luther was the only person in the Church that knows about it.
The Fire Lotus - it was a very rare herb that came from the eastern continent that was said to cure any diseases, but no one actually confirmed if it was true.
Luther studied this rare herb together with his accomplice that he trusted and used this to poison the Holy Pope. He always had a vision of himself, overseeing all the believers that was bowing to him in reverence, but it couldn't happen if Luther did not kill the Holy Pope.
Now that he is the Holy Pope, he felt like his power was not up to par with the previous Holy Pope. So he studied the other usage of the Fire Lotus; if the flower was basked in sunlight, it's color will turn red and becomes very poisonous to someone not worthy to consume it, and if the flower sees the moonlight, it will turn white, then a non-poisonous petal will fall from it that could then be consumed.
Luther succeeded poisoning and killing the most powerful Holy Pope in the five thousand years history of the Holy See and ate the white petal from the Fire Lotus.
However, what he thought was a blessing became the catalyst for his corruption. The white petal rejected his unworthy body and the same thing happened to him just like the previous. Holy Pope; he was poisoned.
Luther was now trying to find the cure to this karmic poison that was eating away his body and gracia. He had to absorb the life force of a virgin girl just to balance the amount of life force he loses everyday.
He was keeping this issue to himself so that his reputation will not be tarnished. He doesn't want to be labeled as a cruel Pope by the believers.
In the worst case, he will be executed in the Pyre of Light - the most sacred but was considered the most cruelest purification of the Holy See.
The sinful person will be tied on a big white pillar with the insignia of the Holy See to be lit on fire!
The Church believed that if they make the Pyre of Light bright enough, the God of Truth and Justice will see the execution and judge the criminal as they wish.
"I will burn if they find that the Holy Pope was doing something demonic! I must find a cure for this poison and stop sacrificing the innocent girls!", Luther muttered to a crimson stone that he held firmly.
The stone glowed like it was beating a red light out, then a sound of a man chuckling was heard from the stone.
Luther's face became red in anger and wanted to smash the stone to the floor but he suppressed his emotions. This man was a key accomplice to his plans and Luther treated him greatly because this man has the powerful Regulus Empire backing him.
"Didn't I tell you that you have nothing to worry about as long as you absorb the life force of the nuns in there? You will live for two hundred years if you continue this lifestyle, Your Holiness.", the man's voice was hoarse as if it was meant to be unrecognizable, but the way he talked was like the nobility; dignified but sharp.
"T-tell me... Are you one of the Zodiacs? Why are you s-so confident that I will be cured?", Luther stuttered as he feared for his life. This man was his last chance to live like a normal person again.
If it wasn't for him consuming the white petal of the Fire Lotus, he wouldn't have been begging for his life like this.
The man Luther was talking to went silent and never gave him an answer. 'So, I was right?!', Luther thought.
His guess was correct! From the first time he received the crimson stone that he was holding now from an Imperial guard that was later tortured in the dungeons of the Church.
"Let's just say... that I'm related with them. You should take care of you body first. The Legion Commander will be entering Vider in a fortnight and will continue to march all the way to the north west coast of the continent.
"It's time reclaim the land that was given to the dwarves a thousand years ago. The army have conquered all the lands from the south to the west, sparing Vider, the holy nation. I hope you uphold your role and treat us the way the Empire spared you."
The man's words were serious, unlike his first tone towards Luther. Seems like Luther's guess took away a chunk of the man's fortitude.
"Yes...yes, I'll be waiting for the Empire's arrival. Until the next we chat then, benefactor.", Luther politely said.
"I'll see you when I got the chance, Your Holiness. Until next time...", the crimson stone ceased to glow and it turned back into a normal stone.
Luther buried the stone under the pot of the Fire Lotus with a grimace. 'You are my comrade now as you're still my benefactor, but when you've become useless to me, I'll get rid of you... just like the way I did to the Holy Pope.', Luther thought while laughing in a trance.
The Pope Luther continued laughing until he exited the greenhouse, being met with confused faces after he opened the double doors, especially Sir Gregory.
Luther patted Gregory, who was a foot and a half taller than him, by the shoulder and smiled at him amiably. "I already found the herbs that I was looking for. Thank you for the wait, Sir Gregory."
The black skinned Paladin steadied his big body while holding his drawn sword in two hands downwards, "I hope you have a good day, Your Holiness.", Gregory looked at Luther with stoic eyes of a warrior and kept his face focused.
"Hoh... I had, Sir Gregory. I already had.", Luther said, walking towards his assistants.
"Until next time...", Luther said his farewell before his group looked for another nun that can be used to sustain his life again.