In the Kingdom of Brune, as in any other country, religion naturally exists.
Other countries tell the church to pay taxes, using their followers to do so. It's a terrible way to take advantage of them, but in this kingdom, it's a bit different from the rest.
The palace must pay the church to continue preaching its faith.
This is due to what happened hundreds of years ago when the kingdom was founded.
At that time, there was no religion, and the king wanted to find a way for the people to feel love for their country, as all the nobles who appeared were actually vermin who thought of taking advantage of a newly built country.
The only way to raise patriotism and deal with those nobles was to create a non-profit organization that used a donation system to survive.
Thus, the church was born, an organization almost similar to a small territory within the kingdom itself.
It was the way to show the people that the king loved his country and God, so that everyone would see him in a positive light.
It was an absurd plan that worked.
The church collected money, and that money went to the palace.
The problem came several years after its creation when the church appointed a figure who would be its "king" within its territory.
A position known as the elected pontiff, or in other words, the Pope.
The Pope managed to avoid paying the palace using technicalities like: "The church needs funds to build houses for the needy; we cannot pay you, we are very sorry."
Using those words, the church managed to deceive the palace for many years.
The founding king had created a place to get money in addition to taxes, but due to his greed, he created a monster that now drains money from him.
This has been happening for centuries, but thanks to the current Pope, the situation is about to change.
In the territory known as the "Holy Land," the central church is located.
A mass was being celebrated as it was every Sunday.
The central church was an enormous castle decorated with statues of angels bearing weapons and musical instruments.
The walls were filled with paintings by talented artists and marble statues at every corner.
The stained-glass windows were made of precious stones to reflect light inside and illuminate the space with many charming colors.
The enormous red carpet, almost ten meters long, reached the end of a step where a man was reading a bible.
An elderly man of at least seventy years old was preaching.
Among all the attendees, he was the one wearing the most luxurious and fine garments.
Not even his bishops wore clothes adorned with gold or diamonds.
But that elderly man, with a long beard and a kind gaze of blue eyes, was quite the opposite of what he appeared to be.
His name was Casimiro Neville, the current Pope of the church.
Casimiro, despite looking like a pleasant old man, was scum.
For years, he had embezzled funds and lied about many things.
He was even responsible for harming the wife of a certain man.
And now, he found an opportunity to aim for something higher.
"The demons are ruining this country."
"For some time now, strange events have been occurring in our beautiful land."
"From nobles belonging to our church to our own bishops being murdered."
"The only reason for this to happen is to mock the church. Our country is cursed."
"And the culprit has a name and a face."
Casimiro smiled wickedly as he pronounced the name of the guilty party.
"None other than the royal family!"
"The current king made a pact with the demons and later broke it. Now those demons, to take revenge, have decided to harm our members."
Everything he said was partly lies.
He had ordered the assassination of some traitors because they opposed him.
But also, those demons he spoke of were actually the work of Rei several years ago.
He continued to lie and defame the king.
"I am sure that many of you support the royal family out of patriotism. But I remind you of what happened a few days ago."
"When a demon, no, a group of demons attacked different areas of our country. Those demons used the poor Bartolt family as vessels to enter our world and exact their revenge on them."
He began to cry, like a terrible actor trying to evoke pity.
"Poor Klyde Bartolt and his sons were good men who supported our church and their country!"
"They did nothing wrong, but those demons… The royal family ensured that they were turned into demons and had to eliminate them."
He slammed his bible with his fist in anger.
"That's why we must destroy them."
"The royal family must not go unpunished, for they are capable of wiping us out to calm the wrath of the demons!"
"He's right, Your Excellency!"
"The royal family has caused great harm to our country."
"The Pope is the only one who deserves to rule, as he truly cares for us!"
Casimiro watched as everyone praised him, feeling equally pleased in his mind.
(Foolish apes. They just wag their tails and squeal when they see a banana.)
(That's why I love them. I keep them in misery, and they can't even see it.)
◇◇◇
Once the mass ended, Casimiro went to rest in his room.
He had his own house, but like many church members, he was required to live there.
In his room were a group of important men from the church, including the knight leader of the temple knights.
A man over forty who looked to be in his twenties, with long blonde hair and brown eyes. He was Casimiro's son, Karlheinz Neville, or Karl.
Karl congratulated his father.
"Father, it was a splendid mass."
"It was. But it's useless if I want to take the throne. I need more than that."
Since Casimiro was appointed Pope, he had always desired the throne, as he considered himself the only person in the country worthy of taking it.
(Being God's representative is worthless if I can't control an entire nation.)
(This country is small, so taking control of it shouldn't be a problem. But that royal family is troublesome.)
"My main problem in taking the throne is not that I can't manipulate the masses. The real problem is that the royal family has a guard dog who protects them at all costs."
"Sieghart Hogan, commander of the royal knights."
"That man alone has built a legacy of fear and respect. Anyone who tries to go against him will die."
"That's why the other captains of the knight order would never think of betraying him."
Suddenly, his son introduced a new name into his father's problems.
"I'm very sorry, Father, but I don't think Commander Hogan is a real issue for us."
"What are you talking about?"
"Father, have you heard of this man, Bret Elliott?"
"No. I've never heard that name in my life. Should I have?"
His father had no idea who he was, but if his son mentioned him, it must be because he was something special and important.
But he wasn't the only one; the others present also asked who he was. Karl explained who he was.
"Bret Elliott is the newest captain of the knight order, a nobody from a poor noble family who was the laughingstock during his time at the knight academy."
Upon hearing this information, no one understood why he was mentioned until Karl added,
"For the past few months, Bret's innate and dormant talent has been discovered to such an extent that many, including even the second captain of the knight order, respect him."
"...!"
"And as if that weren't enough, he's been involved in certain incidents and came out victorious."
"Like discovering who stole money from the Harveys, being the main destroyer of the principality's plans, and even defeating Klyde himself, who had been turned into a demon and tried to kill the royal family."
He mentioned not only those vaguely true events but also many things that were false, as no evidence had ever been presented.
"Even though I always saw him as a loser in the academy, he is someone respected by Hogan, to the point that rumors are starting to circulate that he'll become his successor."
An infernal rage was born within him because of this.
(Even though I originally tried to join the royal knights, my father ordered me not to. But even so, that a loser like him has earned so much merit?)
(I can accept it from any other qualified captain, even Eisenberg, but from him?)
(It's unacceptable!)
His father put an end to the matter of Bret.
"That's enough. Everything you say about that individual is irrelevant."
"What matters is that we must decide what to do about the demon situation to corner the royal family."
"Sooner or later, the weight of mentioning demons will diminish, as no incidents have occurred since that day. If this persists, my words will be seen as lies."
(Since that princess appeared to lecture the church, many apes have begun to question our authority, and that must not happen.)
"We have only two options left to hasten our goal."
"We either forcibly subdue the royal family, facing a conflict that would involve not only their allies but also Hogan..."
"Or we get small territories to start a fight against the palace to weaken them. And we subject ourselves to the possibility of being invaded by an enemy country."
Both options were terrible for them.
But suddenly, one of the cardinals raised his hand.
"Excuse me, Your Excellency. May I offer a suggestion?"
"Go ahead, share your thoughts, Raphan."
An older, heavyset man with a long beard, and a belly resembling that of an elephant, finished chewing his food before speaking. His name was Ronandt Raphan, and he presented an idea that would please them all.
"You suggest that the royal family needs to be proven to be involved with demons. In that case, allow me to take care of it."
"And how do you plan to achieve that?" Casimiro asked, curious about the proposal.
"I have a friend in the Republic. They've made significant magical advances over there, including the creation of monsters to fight against the Empire. I'll seek his help. It won't be cheap, but we will gain far more than we invest."
Casimiro stroked his beard thoughtfully. Ronandt had never failed when given the chance to prove himself, and this plan seemed promising.
"This must be a sign from the heavens. Very well, Raphan, contact your friend. Tell him we will pay whatever amount he asks for; our followers will gladly hand over their homes if necessary."
"But that won't be the only target, if you'll excuse me."
"Is there someone else?" Casimiro asked.
"Yes, the current Duke."
"I see. I'm not interested in that man, so you may eliminate him if you wish."
"Thank you for your words, Your Excellency. I will make the necessary arrangements immediately."
◇◇◇
After leaving the room, Ronandt spoke to the shadow lurking beside him.
"How is everything proceeding?"
The shadow responded, "I was waiting for your update."
"Those old fools fell for it easily, heh heh."
"Now we just need to wait for you to come."
"I don't think I'll be able to come in person. I'm tied up with something else, but I can still assist you."
"That will suffice, especially since I no longer have any pawns left."
The pawns Ronandt referred to were those whom Rei had defeated in the past, such as the former Prime Minister, Calvin, and even Klyde himself. This was why Ronandt had now decided to make his move.
"Very well. But there's something you should know about the cult."
"What is it?"
"The cult leader has been acting strange lately. We don't know what's going on, but they've been pushing for everyone to hurry up and install those strange heads."
"Remember, the royal family must not be harmed. We can replace them, but the leader doesn't want that."
"Got it. Well, that's all for now. Goodbye, Bloodman."
The shadow vanished, and Ronandt resumed his walk.
"Indeed."
(It doesn't matter who I serve. My goal is to obtain total power.)
(Whether it's the Cult of the Death Goddess, the Church of the Necessary Evil, or even the palace.)
(My desire to be rich and powerful on the right side of the board will not be disrupted by anyone!)
On that day, a sinister plan began to take form.
___________
The fanservice is for Rose since there is there's nothing else to get XD
https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/8127613