Chapter 107
Chapter 107
Grand Sanctuary (3)
“So, what’s the situation?”
At the Pope’s yawning question, the priest fumbled through the documents he had hurriedly brought with him.
“The relocation to the Grand Sanctuary has been successfully completed, and the estimated number of people is—”
“Not that. That’s not what I asked.”
When one serves those in high positions for a long time, the first skills to develop naturally are tact and political savvy. The priest, too, had honed such skills to their peak while serving the Pope.
After all, he was well aware of the one subject that had recently drawn the Pope’s exclusive attention.
“I’ve heard that Aiden Kellermain and his party have safely arrived inside, Your Holiness. However—”
As expected, the moment he heard that, the Pope straightened up in his seat.
“However?”
“They displayed some interesting behavior as soon as they arrived at the Grand Sanctuary. I heard they tried to make contact with Princess Milene.”
“...Hmm.”
The Pope exhaled through his nose and brushed back his hair.
Of course, for the priest watching him, it felt like his blood was draining from his body.
...He could immediately tell that something about that expression seemed displeased.
“He’s like a wet swallow, that one. Does he flirt with every woman he sees?”
And when the Pope muttered something so cryptic on top of it, the sense of dread only doubled.
The priest was so terrified that, the moment he read the content of the first event of the succession ceremony thrown at him by the Pope, an irreverent thought crossed his mind—could this have been decided out of pure emotion?
“Y-Your Holiness. If we proceed with this format—”
The priest’s face turned pale as he stammered after reading the contents regarding the “Tournament.”
“They’ll get seriously injured.”
The Pope cut him off indifferently before he could continue.
“And so what?”
“......”
“It was worse when I became Pope, you know?”
The Pope’s casual remark was brimming with old-man condescension, but the priest didn’t dare refute him.
Not just because the other person was the Pope, but also because the statement was undeniably true—something the priest knew from observing past succession ceremonies.
Although the ancient succession rituals, notorious for their brutality and near-massacres, had been reformed and casualties had drastically dropped, it was still well-known that Pope Abigail III’s succession had produced a death toll comparable to those dark times.
This man was the one who shattered records in such a succession ceremony to become Pope.
It wasn’t for nothing that he ranked among the most notable figures in papal history.
‘…….’
In that regard—
“What reward will you bestow upon the one who stands out in the Tournament? If nothing particularly enticing is offered, most will likely forfeit early.”
“Anyway, the one who’ll rack up the most points is already obvious, so we can just set the reward for him.”
“...Excuse me?”
“I’m talking about Aiden Kellermain, that one.”
For someone like him to speak with such certainty about another man’s potential—it was unsettling in and of itself.
To be so sure someone would come out on top in an event this... ‘violent’ despite its extreme nature—it was enough to convince anyone that the man in question was no ordinary human.
And the reward being prepared for that man was, without a doubt, extraordinary.
“Tell him we’ll allow him access to the Altar.”
The priest’s eyes widened at those words.
The First Vow—more specifically, the altar that held the hottest divine flame—was the place where Sia and humanity first made contact. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the holiest site in the Holy Crown Kingdom.
Even among royalty, only a very select few had ever stepped foot in that place.
‘...This man.’
The priest muttered internally, almost like a groan.
He truly intended to make that man Aiden the centerpiece of this entire succession ceremony.
Granting access to the altar meant bestowing a level of “power” that, symbolically speaking, was enough to justify naming someone the next Pope.
“......”
Honestly.
He couldn’t tell what this man was aiming for.
As those unspeakable thoughts swirled in his mind, more words came flowing from the Pope.
“Oh, and one last thing.”
The Pope suddenly spoke again, as if remembering something.
“Who is that?”
“...Excuse me?”
“There’s someone who keeps obsessing over the promising candidate I’ve marked.”
“............Excuse me?”
The priest, completely lost, stammered in confusion. The Pope continued, clearly irritated.
“I attached a spell that lets me see who’s trying to get close to that guy, and there’s someone who keeps watching him from a distance.”
“......”
“I’m asking who it is.”
...No, seriously.
This level of obsession—monitoring someone even beyond the priest’s assigned duties—was disturbing.
And to be this possessive while also resenting others for doing the same—what kind of logic was that?
“...Just a moment. I’ll look into it.”
Still, orders were orders. He had to comply.
Rummaging through the documents using the physical description provided by the Pope, the priest hesitantly recited the information.
“Elisha Gillias Craven... that’s the name, but there’s something odd about her profile.”
“What’s odd about it?”
“...Apparently, she came to this succession ceremony looking for someone to be her family?”
“......”
The Pope’s expression twisted into something bizarre.
...It was certainly unusual.
▣
“Hm—”
Under the pitch-black night sky, Aiden sat on a crashing seaside cliff, stroking his chin as he marked a check on the makeshift map in his hand.
Similar markings densely covered the map.
He had spent the entire day tearing through buildings, but without any meaningful results.
‘The layout’s the same...’
He swept his eyes over the map with a sour expression.
The actual structure of the Grand Sanctuary was nearly identical to what he remembered.
“So even the interior facilities are the same?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
At the sight of Alex rubbing his hands together as he replied, Aiden’s expression grew even more grim.
Which meant, in other words—
The events originally scheduled would likely proceed exactly as he remembered.
‘The first event is…’
The Tournament.
A land-grab battle conducted after each side had set up their own base.
You could call it a mock war. It wasn’t a brawl between nobodies filtered out in preliminaries—this was a brutal free-for-all among royalty. Starting the succession ceremony with something like this said everything about how ruthless it was.
It was also that important.
‘...The general outline gets solidified here.’
Alester, Milene, Julius.
It was likely the camps would eventually be divided among these three, the most prominent candidates in the succession ceremony. Among them, however, a few individuals always stood out purely by their own ability.
And as Aiden figured, that was where the real “variable” was most likely to emerge.
‘Who is it…’
The traitor.
Someone whose reason for entering the succession ceremony wasn’t to claim the Pope’s seat, but simply to kill as many as possible.
At this point, anyone could be a suspect. None of the participants in this event had clean pasts.
And by all accounts, tomorrow’s Tournament would be the perfect stage for such a traitor to make a move.
Without a doubt, someone would try something.
“...There is, however, one minor but peculiar thing.”
In that sense, what Alex hesitantly said next made Aiden’s eyes narrow with interest.
“Something peculiar?”
“There are people targeting you.”
“......”
Aiden ran his eyes up and down Alex through narrowed lids.
“Not you guys?”
“......”
Of course, if given the chance, Alex would love nothing more than to clock Aiden in the back of the head—but the truth was, they were tied to him by their royal status, entire fortunes, and everything else.
Doing something reckless would only bring ruin upon themselves.
“...It’s not us.”
“Then who?”
“Someone named Pierce—he’s an acquaintance of mine… It seems word got out that you spoke to Princess Milene.”
“And why would that be worth spreading around?”
He had only exchanged a few words with her as a courtesy—it wasn’t something that should’ve been a big deal.
But Alex looked back at him with an oddly amused expression.
“...Weren’t you trying to seduce her?”
“......”
“All your attendants are women, after all. Lionhearted and Deathwish, no less.”
…It seemed his image had now been firmly cemented in the public eye.
Before Aiden could even attempt to explain otherwise, Alex casually shrugged and continued.
“Anyway, Pierce has admired Princess Milene for a long time. He’s the kind of guy who volunteers for a black knight role no one asked for.”
“That’s... exhausting.”
He couldn’t help but voice that sentiment.
What other way was there to describe someone who jumped into other people’s business uninvited?
“But you said he’s your friend. Why are you spilling everything about him like this?”
There was a noticeably negative tone to his question.
Alex gave a small laugh as he replied.
“I don’t feel much loyalty toward him.”
“...Huh?”
“He was the first to laugh at me when I ended up like this. Said I’d lost my edge. I wouldn’t mind seeing him end up in the same state after going up against you.”
“......”
Such a futile friendship.
As Aiden mulled over that impression, a voice suddenly called out from behind.
“That’s kind of harsh, Alex. Though I always knew you were the kind to cling to someone like that.”
“......”
At the sound of such pompous words, each syllable dripping with arrogance, Aiden began massaging his temples.
‘...Guess none of these guys are noble material.’
When someone picked a fight this blatantly, it wasn’t even infuriating anymore—it was just absurd.
That must be Pierce, the one they were just talking about.
‘Another one picking a fight, again.’
Why did someone like this always pop up, no matter where he went?
But this time, things unfolded a bit differently.
“Hey, you, you’re Aiden Kellermain, right—GAH—!”
Pierce, swaggering over to pick a fight—
-!
—was sent tumbling across the ground after being kicked by someone who leapt in as if falling from the sky.
“......”
“......”
His entourage stared in confusion. The sudden appearance was just too abrupt.
She was a girl who barely came up to Aiden’s chest in height. Shoulder-length orange hair, a fixed headband, visible scars across her body, and lean, panther-like muscles.
She gave off a strong impression of someone hardened by countless battles. In some ways, even more so than Dame Noel.
“...Um, and you are?”
The problem was, Aiden had no idea who she was.
When he asked in a hesitant voice, the girl spun around quickly to face him.
“Uh, uh, uh, h-hello—!”
She bowed her head in a flustered panic, like a girl meeting the object of her one-sided affection for the first time.
“My name is Elisha! It’s an honor to meet you!”
“...Yes, nice to meet you. But what was that just now...?”
“N-no big deal!”
Elisha pointed her thumb over her shoulder as she replied.
“I just couldn’t stand seeing filthy bugs like that cling to you, so I stepped in!”
“......”
“I just did what I wanted to do, so please don’t feel burdened—!”
...Strangely enough.
It seemed Aiden had picked up another one.
Someone else playing the black knight, unasked.