Circumstances of a Fallen Lord - Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Carlton took off his hood, and, copying Luisen, greeted the man politely. The pope was the head of the church–the person said to be the most loved by God. Carlton had even been flustered to see someone who an ordinary person could possibly from afar once in their life appear right before his eyes.

“It has been a long while, Duke Anies. You’ve grown much since we’ve last met.” The pope approached the young lord like he was Luisen’s relative.

“I’ve come because I heard Morrison called for me, but…” 

Morrison was nowhere in sight.

“Ah–I wanted to see you, Duke, so I asked him to call for you. He shall be here soon.”

“Ah….” Luisen thought, ‘Morrison should have told me that in advance! I thought I might meet the pope at some point, but this is so sudden. And, my mind is already so complicated.’

“Before that, there’s something I’d like to check.”

“Yes?”

The Pope suddenly approached Luisen. The Pope’s face was so close that their nosetips almost touched. Surprised, Luisen tried to push the Pope away. However, he could see a blue flame in the Pope’s eyes at that moment. It flared before instantaneously engulfing Luisen.

‘What is this…’

The greenhouse and the exotic scenery disappeared, replaced by an old chapel. A massive light filled the space, making it difficult to even look at anything. Luisen squinted, covering his eyes with his arm.

A strange yet familiar voice emanated from the light.

[Your wish, I’ll grant it.]

Wish?

Just as he was about to reply, Carlton grabbed Luisen by the shoulders and separated him from the Pope. At the same time, Luisen returned to reality.

“Hagh, cough,” Luisen gasped loudly. The air he inhaled was so cold that his mind came back a little. He was still standing in the greenhouse. Carlton was guarding Luisen’s front, standing in between him and the Pope.

“What’s this? What did I just see… Carlton, did you see it too?” Luisen asked.

“What are you talking about?” All Carlton could see was that Luisen and the Pope made eye contact. Even that was brief, as Carlton managed to separate them quickly. Of course he hadn’t seen what Luisen had seen.

“Sir Pope. Would you explain…” 

The Pope only smiled at Luisen’s inquiry. With shining eyes, he caught Luisen’s face with both hands. Luisen reflexively closed his eyes, fearing another strange scene. 

The Pope’s excited voice reached him, “My Duke! You’ve experienced a miracle!”

Startled, Luisen opened his eyes.  Fortunately there was no strange scene this time; he saw the Pope’s eyes.

“A Miracle, huh…” Luisen had a hunch the man was talking about his regression. Perhaps the Pope might know something about it. ‘I need to hear more.’ 

Luisen piped up, “I’d like to hear more about that in detail.”

“Of course.” The Pope looked at Carlton. It seemed like he wanted the mercenary to step aside.

“Carlton, could you wait there for a minute?” The young lord asked.

However, Carlton didn’t let go of the young lord and instead gazed at him. It was as if the mercenary was appealing to Luisen, pleading to not separate them. He understood Carlton’s concerns, but he needed answers about the regression.

“I’m sorry,” After soothing Carlton, Luisen took the Pope deeper inside the greenhouse. This space was larger than he first thought, and they moved to a location where, even considering Carlton’s sensitive hearing, the two wouldn’t be overheard.

Luisen spoke first, “A miracle? What are you saying? And what did I just see a little while ago? It was…”

“Did you hear the voice of God?”

“…The voice of God?”

“What you saw was the moment God bestowed a miracle. A miracle closely related to Duke Anies.”

There were traces of the divine in Luisen’s soul. The Pope discovered those traces in Luisen and, seeking to understand what they were, examined the young lord carefully. In the process, he witnessed the moment when God had worked a miracle.

The pope explained all of this kindly.

‘I can’t believe it even though I just heard his explanation.’ Luisen thought.

What did he mean by traces within the soul? Did that mean someone as high-ranking as the Pope could perceive such things? Luisen was taken aback, but he wasn’t surprised by this revelation. From the beginning, he had suspected that God had turned back the hands of time. There were tales of saints praying to God and fulfilling their wish of returning to the past.

“It’s as you said. I… When I came to my senses after my death, I found myself back in time.”

“Was that around autumn?”

“Yes.”

“At that time, I felt a strong energy. Looking closer, the energy originated from the South. Afterwards, when I heard the rumors regarding the Duke, I had wondered if some miracle occurred.” The Pope drew the holy sign with his fingers and adopted a reverent expression.

“Did you summon me to figure this matter out? I thought it was because of the demon worshippers.”

“Partly this, partly that.” The Pope’s answer sounded so calm, so Luisen felt so out of place.

Luisen said, “How are you this relaxed when a man like that is sitting on the throne? The church must be in great danger.”

“That’s true. The recent opponents are different from the heretics we’ve seen before. They are much more cunning and sinister. If it weren’t for the Duke, we might have been slowly infiltrated without realizing it. We must be grateful to you.”

“They’re still causing a mess out there. Isn’t it a little early for gratitude?”

“No–I was very relieved to see my Duke today.”

“?”

“I will leave everything concerning the demon worshippers to the Duke. If you need anything, please let me know. The church will actively assist.”

As Luisen listened, the Pope’s words seemed somewhat peculiar. Luisen immediately responded, “Wait a moment. Isn’t dealing with heretics originally the church’s responsibility? Why am I in charge?”

The Pope’s tone was so lovely and polite, Luisen almost agreed automatically. However, the church was indeed originally responsible for dealing with heretics. Luisen was merely involved due to Count Doubless.

“My Duke, in these precarious times, God’s miracle has alighted upon you. Could this be a coincidence? Of course not. In these precarious times, God has given you a precious miracle for you to use well. To overcome this ordeal that is upon us, my Duke must definitely be in charge.”

“No, still. Shouldn’t the church do its part? I’m a civilian, what could I accomplish?”

“However, have you not received a miracle? Mustn’t you repay the grace you received?”

Luisen was speechless. It felt like being pressured to pay for something after being given a meal. Somehow, he felt swindled.

“I became certain after meeting you, my Duke. As long as you are there, we will win this fight.” The Pope smiled softly. Behind the smile was a strong conviction that, no matter what was said, he wouldn’t be swayed. “Don’t worry, your dedication will incur another reward.”

Seeing the Pope speak so confidently, it didn’t seem like baseless talk.

‘Anyway, I can’t avoid the fight against the demon worshippers.’

Upon reflection, as long as Count Doubless targeted Luisen, Luisen had no choice but to be at the center of this conflict, even if he hated it. The Count would find a way to involve Luisen. Luisen, in turn, also wanted revenge against the Count. Even if the regression erased the future, the pain he felt in the previous timeline was real.

If he was going to fight anyway, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad for the church to be in his debt. Luisen nodded, “Okay. I shall accept your offer. I’ll also certainly remember that there’s a reward for my dedication.”

Those words mean that if God didn’t provide, Luisen would surely take the reward from the church.

The Pope smiled and nodded. “By the way, I was incredibly surprised. The Duke I knew was a man of no faith, yet God granted his wish. Just what happened?”

“Ah, he didn’t really grant my wish. I merely ran away. Perhaps God granted *his* wish…”

At Luisen’s words, the Pope seemed to recall something. “Ahh, that person? The old man with no left arm?”

“Old man? It’s true that he didn’t have a left arm, but… How do you know that?” Luisen asked, startled.

“Didn’t you see the scene where God’s miracle was granted just now? There was an old man without his left arm kneeling before the altar.”

“I didn’t see him…” There was no way Luisen could have seen when there was a bright light hanging midair. 

Wait, but the Pope said he saw the pilgrim?

Luisen hurriedly asked, “Did you see his face? Can you recognize that person?”

“Yes. I did see his face.”

“I’d like to find him. Could you give me a description of his face? Or we could call for a portrait artist…”

With a puzzled look, the pope asked, “Why are you looking for him?”

“What do you mean, ‘why?’ I need to find him, so…”

“He came with the Duke? Didn’t you travel with him because of that?”

“What?”

“The man who arrived with you. Carlton or something like that? Though much older, pilgrim definitely had his face.”

Luisen was stunned. He felt that the Pope’s words had hit him hard on the head. “No, no. Are you sure you saw correctly? The person over there is Carlton, and the man in the vision was the saint. They can’t be the same person, right? Carlton hated me back then. God’s miracle? Why would he waste such luck on me? Why would he help me when I was dying? Hm?”

“My duke… I’m sorry, but, my vision was accurate.”

“Ah….” Luisen shook his head. There’s no way. But, on the other hand, the young lord knew that there was no reason for the Pope to lie about this.

‘My Saint… He was Carlton, not anyone else…’

Luisen clasped his head–it ached as if it were about to break apart. This was the worst–perhaps this was a nightmare.

When Carlton saw the young lord’s behavior, he came running over.

—

TL: Poor Carlton. I know people are going to ask why this even matters, but I imagine that Luisen wanted to believe in the altruism of humanity. That was the principle which guided his actions in saving his territory and the world. If Carlton was a saint, that meant that the altruism wasn’t true–there were ulterior motives.