Book 17: Chapter 17
The pope’s statement rendered me a puzzled man: “Holy hoary emblem? The Valkyries couldn’t have forgotten something. The emblem wasn’t on him, and it shouldn’t have dropped into the water. He died by the bank, not in the water, so…”
“So it was taken!!” The pope gave me a fright when he suddenly jumped to his feet and shouted. He spun his head around and belted in my face: “It was taken! Your Majesty, it is our church’s totem. It is our emblem, our holy item. It is what we give to our most trusted followers, which is why it is rare. It represents the existence of our church, but it has been taken! It has been taken!”
I immediately understood what he meant by that. It was the emblem that represented the old church and was their coat of arms. There was nothing missing from the official. Only the emblem was taken; therefore, we basically knew who the culprit was. This assassination was a result of religious problems. It was the work of the new church. Not only did they show total disregard for the Royal Palace, but most importantly, they waged a war against the old church.
“Your Majesty, you understand now, do you not? You now understand what sort of religion the new church is after doing this, do you not?!” The pope balled his hands into fists. He gritted his teeth. The pent up rage saw his young body shake. He bellowed, “We did not do anything wrong. There is no need to kill just because we share different beliefs, is there? Why did they do that? Why did they kill him? Why did they have to commit this violent act that God forbids? We merely shared different views on religion. Why did they have to be so ruthless? Your Majesty, do you understand now? Do you understand how crazy the new church is?! Do you understand how much danger we are in?!”
“Wait, calm down…”
“Your Majesty! Is there still a need to calm down? Is there still a need to think? Is there still a need for me to explain anything? Someone was killed right in front of you. Is there still a need for you to consider things?! This is murder! What exactly are you still hesitant about?! Your Majesty, Your Majesty, we are not trying to get revenge against the new church but retribution for murder!”
An intense flame burned in the pope’s young eyes. The intensity of the flame was virtually enough to burn the entire Royal Palace. Despite being used to seeing death, I still took a step back from his enraged gaze.
“My son is right. You need to calm down with regards to this matter.” Suddenly, Mom’s voice came from behind the Pope.
The terrified pope turned his head. He respectfully bowed to Mom. In an anxious tone, he responded, “Your Majesty, I… I…”