How to Live as a Tyrant’s Spoiled Brat Chapter 224

(224)

A high-pitched scream echoed among the priests.

An old man dressed in purple collapsed on the carpeted floor.

His name is Argos.

He was the Pope of the Gwangmyeong Church, which had hundreds of millions of followers.

“Where are you?”

Saint Matthew arrived in less than ten minutes.

He ran so fast that a long cloud of dust formed in his wake.

A white light emerged from his hand, and after a moment, life returned to Argus' face.

“… … Saint?”

Argus blinked twice and realized he was lying on the tent floor.

Mateos said, helping him sit on the floor.

“He collapsed for a moment.”

“Ah. Sorry. I made a fool of myself.”

“You need to rest. Isn’t this the fifth time this week? You’re not the same age as you used to be.”

Argus shook his head, staggering, and searched for his fallen glasses, placing them on his beak.

“Saint, these are days when the teachings of the Church are most urgent.”

"please."

Pope Argos lived a life of dishonorable acts before God in order to maintain the power of the church.

A representative example was joining hands with Valencianus and sending his fellow Bishop Hong, Paul An, on a pilgrimage.

But he was not a man who sought power for power's sake.

“If we don’t reach out now, they will reach out to the old ways.”

“… … .”

Matheos closed his eyes tightly and raised Argus, infusing him with additional divine powers.

Immediately after that, Saint Matthew's body began to stagger.

“Oh my!”

"it's okay."

The gathered priests and paladins were terrified, but Mateos eventually managed to regain his balance on his own feet.

Argus said nothing and brought out a cup of tea, and Mateos accepted that if he went back without drinking it, he might collapse on the way back.

“Saint, how is the condition of the demonic realm?”

“It’s still stable. The Grand Duke and the Ivory Tower in Sereraji have developed a magic that refracts and gathers the energy of the Demonic Realm. From now on, you only need to go and purify it once a day, so starting tomorrow, many manpower will be gone. At least, it won’t be like now where dozens of priests have to be chanting hymns under the Demonic Realm.”

The two shared the situation during that time.

“Oh. That’s good. Then we’ll have priests to clean up the water towers and the encroachment of insects and small animals.”

Argos sighed in relief, and Mateos shook his head.

“The Archduke Valencian has taken care of that. The remaining manpower can be sent straight to the tent village. I don’t know where he got it, but the Archduke has been stockpiling holy water. I heard that it was something to do with black market confiscations, but I thought I’d just get mad if I heard more, so I told him to just do whatever he wants.”

“Well done. Oh, the distribution problem in the southern area of the tent village was resolved by the Academy.”

“Thank goodness. I’m glad that the distribution gap didn’t lead to a medical gap, and that the medical gap didn’t lead to a erosion and purification gap. I’ll take care of the wounded you sent.”

“The makeup room is also gradually stabilizing. The academy students have worked very hard. Grand Duke Sereraji was also surprisingly cooperative.”

“I don’t know how many were burned. It must have been over 50,000.”

The church was close to everyone, from the royal family to the poor, regardless of social status, and was a capable organization that could eradicate evil, heal the wounded, and distribute food.

Inviting people to Mass and singing hymns could have several effects at the same time.

Administration to determine the number of people in a given area.

A remedy that purifies various contaminants, expels corrosive energy, and quickly heals injuries by emitting divine power.

From collective fear to psychological care that soothes citizens' anxiety.

If they gave each person a loaf of bread on the way back, that was controlled rationing, and if someone suddenly stopped coming, that person was a thief.

In a situation like the present, it is especially important to appease citizens' anxiety.

That was why Argos and Matheos dragged their tired bodies up to the dais and cursed Valencian until their teeth fell out, and why they sat down with Valencian that evening to relay the grievances of their subjects.

'Since the food distribution has become smooth, the complaints that only the Grand Duke and his followers are enjoying luxury have almost died down. However, as there are many cold patients, complaints that the Grand Duke is stealing away the clergy are likely to arise. For now, I've pushed them in that direction… '

'It will eventually undermine the credibility of the church, so I won't be able to use it for long. Today, I introduced the owners of the magic potion shops in the Street of Learning and the Street of Magic to the elders of the Ivory Tower School of Life. I will make sure that the supplies are transferred to the church within a week.'

Since the incident, Matteos has dared to admit that Valencianus is a man who is desperately needed by the empire, regardless of whether he is good or evil.

He treated himself as if he were a cog in a wheel.

It seemed like he knew that if he went back first, everyone would follow.

He took up the role of a villain.

He gave his life, believing that the church would not push him to the edge of a cliff for the sake of immediate popularity.

It seemed as if he was confident that the church would also understand that he and the church had to kiss.

And the scriptures say that the God of Light helps those who help themselves.

'Your Majesty, I will use my divine powers for you.'

Mateos knew he would be happy to accept it.

But that scoundrel, Hwang Hyung, after thinking for a moment, shook his head.

'There must be people who are more desperate than me.'

'grandee?'

'In fact, I'm not sure how it will react to divine power since I'm in the process of becoming a spirit, not to mention Yongchan. I don't want to be labeled as an eroder again, so I'll decline today.'

Mateos had a good sense, and his instincts told him that the first statement was sincere, and the second was an excuse.

When a rascal is talking straight, it means the world is turning upside down.

Matheos looked at the cool, blue-green magic mirror, recalling the moment of confusion when he had retreated without saying a word to Valencianus.

“I want to smash it to pieces.”

Grinding my teeth in inexplicable frustration.

* * *

A cold wind began to blow.

The harvest was over, and the imperial family bought up all the grain in the central region with bills of exchange and distributed it to the people of the tent village.

The four knights, the central knights, and the academy students who moved in the name of Jaylilith defeated the encroachers.

“In the name of His Majesty the Emperor, I banish you!”

The mechanical knights of Marcus, who moved in my name, and the Academy thugs led by the woman who called herself Sir Tentia's 'sister' controlled the impure movements.

“No more than ten people should gather together!”

“The right to assemble, to press, and to trial is suspended!”

Basically, the basis of governance was to pass on the blameworthy work to others, and in this case, that 'other' was me.

Marcus began to be seen as a captain under the wicked Valencianus rather than a loyal vassal of Jaerilis.

It was my hope that he would lose popularity with the citizens of the capital, which would make it impossible for him to survive and build up his power, and he would become more dependent on me.

“They say that the citizens of the capital are fighting among themselves.”

“Isn’t it?”

“That’s right. But my knights are not without their complaints. After all, they were honorable knights.”

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

It is a situation where the lord you served loses his territory overnight.

There must have been many requests for conversion from other great lords who wanted Marcus' skills.

Cariosa, cariosa, cariosa.

Even in such a situation, the knights who remained under Marcus would be extremely loyal, but they would also be very vicious.

“Can you read it well?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll build you a huge workshop while I’m restoring the capital.”

The beast that came to me had to be fed bread well.

Marcus smiled as if he had been waiting for this, as if he knew everything.

“Yeah. I guess we can communicate.”

“… … .”

For now, the food shortage has been resolved, and public security is stabilizing from the shaded areas to the sunny areas.

He relieved people's stress by smuggling cigarettes and donating grains that the royal family had bought to the church in bulk, thereby securing relief supplies for the church.

The big issue now was not public security or people's livelihood, but the oath of loyalty.

“Archduke Valen.”

“We can’t stay in the capital forever either.”

“I miss home. I’m newlywed.”

The great lords were like kings of their own domains.

“… …Please hold on for a few more days.”

The original oath of allegiance was scheduled to be completed within the summer, even if negotiations and fighting dragged on for some time.

It was now late autumn.

The kings were away from their kingdoms for months.

In particular, Severic was not just a symbol, but a powerful force in his own right, and he was even more restless than I was.

“Severic. I will get you the floating port within this week. Please stay for one week, no, three days.”

“Valen. Why don’t we just write down the oath of loyalty? The ice golems should be on the front lines by now.”

“On the way back, I will lend you a wyvern equipped with a cold-resistant magic tool. I mean, there should be a picture of you bowing before Jaylilith. Please.”

“… … I’ll try my best to hold on, Valen.”

Severic is fidgeting.

“Archangel Valen. I will send my soldiers back. There are some damned nomads on the border.”

Cesar suddenly appeared out of the shadows and made a death sound.

“It’s about time the fish people came out, so I think I should go back too.”

Cariosa let out an awkward laugh.

It was Signine who appeared in front of me at that time.

A western lord with brown hair and sky-blue eyes, as clever and intelligent as Cornell, but unlike Cornell, he only has fiery ambition.

“Wouldn’t it be a problem if Duke Cariosa were to return? The troops he led were also helping to maintain public order, knowingly or unknowingly, so there would be a vacuum.”

“You mean to put your soldiers there and ask for the price?”

“That’s right. I’ve already laid a good foundation, so I can stay here a little longer. As expected, it’s good that you have deep thoughts. Now, how much did you figure out to pay for my soldiers?”

I thought for a moment, then remembered the land I had received and the governor's decree that Jaylilith would send a governor.

All together they did not exceed two-thirds of the instrumentum.

“Rudy. Can I have a map?”

Rudy brought out a map of the old Instrumentum territory and unfolded it, and I pointed to the southern area with my finger.

“You. I was thinking of going to war with the Marquis of the neighboring village.”

“Haha. I got caught.”

“What do you mean, you got caught? You leaked information as if you wanted me to know.”

“That family is currently being torn apart by an inheritance dispute. Many of the vassals have already come over to our side. I brought in some of them when I came here.”

“Then you won’t see much blood. Good. Hmm… … If you eat them all and come up here, you’ll become a great lord worthy of the title of Duke.”

Signine's eyes shook greatly.

Perhaps what she wanted was for the royal family to tolerate her scheming over the Marquis' vassals.

I raised my head provocatively and asked.

“Can you manage all of this? If a civil war breaks out and we get bogged down, will Freuheit be torn to pieces? You need to become the Kariosa of the West and firmly hold the center.”

Signine answered after thinking for exactly three seconds.

“Your Majesty. Thank you for trusting me.”

It was a clever, but not unpleasant, laugh.

“Okay. Do your best.”

“Oh, as the Great Lord, may I say something about stabilizing the current situation?”

“I’d be happy to take any advice you might have.”

Signine spat out monotonously.

“Please ascend to the throne.”

“… … !”

“I’m not asking you to usurp power. But right now, in order to stabilize the capital, you need a solid center of gravity. Right now, you’re pledging allegiance and maintaining the tent village, and you’re doing two things at the same time. After you send all the great lords away, stabilize the capital. Then, when Your Majesty returns, you can abdicate immediately.”

She also knew about the loyalty I showed, so her tone and choice of words were very gentle.

I tried to respond to that sentiment with a smile on my face.

"get out."

"yes."

* * *

He walked forward, holding a document in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

Of course, I had no intention of having a drinking party in this situation.

But I couldn't go empty-handed and complain.

“The Duke of Cariosa. Are you in there?”

As if she had told me in advance, none of the Eastern knights stopped me.

“Valencian. I waited.”

After the incident, Cariosa set up camp on the east side of the capital city walls and remained there.

In the summer, they used to play with cold salt water in a large wooden barrel, but now they were playing with hot salt water inside a tent.

Beneath the shirt, which had become transparent due to water, was visible the glistening white skin with scales.

I entered the dark tent, placed a glass of wine on the table, and asked.

“Are the preparations for the retreat going well?”

“There’s no problem at all. It seems like everyone has sorted things out.”

She captured and imprisoned all the counts and marquises who were originally direct subjects of the same imperial family, made them swear allegiance to her, and rose from the ruler of the East to the absolute ruler.

I took a step closer and asked.

“I have a favor to ask. Can you do it for me?”

Cariosa's gray vertical pupils dilated with anticipation.

She plucked out feathers with her beak and drooled as if she was looking at a chicken jumping into a pot, then she stretched out her white arm and grabbed my sleeve.

“It’s too far to ask for a favor, isn’t it?”

Cariosa pulled me into the barrel.

"for a moment-".

"fizzle!"

My words were not continued.

Splash, splash, splash, the white uniform and red belt were soaked with hot salt water.

In an instant she was on my lap, arms outstretched, and I was trapped between her and the barrel.

Less than a hand's length away, sharp shark-like teeth flashed.

“That, another man’s favor? A floating port?”

Her damp, water-colored hair brushed my cheek.

“I’m letting it slide because it’s not another woman’s request.”

Cariosa clicked his tongue as if his pride was hurt, then touched my neck as if to say that it wasn't a bad thing.

The gray eyes sparkled brightly.

“You came to me in the end.”

The white teeth slowly came closer.