Atop Holy Mountain, holding the plea for help in his hands, Shelter VII silently fretted.
Although he had played a part in the outbreak of the continental war, the specific timing of its eruption was out of his control.
At the very least, at the end of the war against the Orcs, Shelter VII had no idea that the continental war would erupt so quickly.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have paid a hefty price to place his nominal nephew, who was in fact his son, on the throne.
Although a bastard, this son was the one he valued most.
It wasn't that Shelter VII was breaking societal norms, but rather that the Dawn Church decreed: the Pope does not wed.
Without a legitimate son, his paternal affection could only be satisfied through a bastard.
Initially, he had planned for his son to succeed him as Pope, but later, considering the difficulty of managing this, the emergence of the Prairie Seven Kingdoms presented another option.
