How to Survive as the Second Son of a Mage Family - Chapter 394
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The culprit?
Only that question remained on Sabelli’s face. The fact that France kept insisting they hadn’t stolen Austria-Hungary’s sapphire, Austria-Hungary’s ambitions to swallow up territories, and that he hadn’t even greeted the 4th in line for the German throne sitting beside him – all of this seemed to have been pushed from his mind. Only the cathedral thief occupied his interest.
I quietly observed such a Sabelli, then exhaled calmly and answered.
“Top secret.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said it’s classified.”
Then Sabelli rose from his seat with a flustered expression, looking around at us while waving his hands.
“No, no. You must tell me, Your Excellency. How else can I decide where and how many honorary clergy to deploy?”
Narke stared at me intently. He had remained silent no matter what I said to the Archbishop of Trier Cathedral. We both knew how awkward that atmosphere had been. He knew there were untruths in my words, and I knew he had noticed. But that was fine.
“Count Sabelli, and Lord Farnese. Since you were at the Papal States and know well, let me ask something. To whom exactly are the letters Count Sabelli sends addressed?”
Narke was first to answer my question.
“The Pope. The first place to receive news is the Congregatio pro negotiis ecclesiasticis extraordinariis.”
“That’s right. It’s delivered to the Foreign Ministry.”
Sabelli translated Narke’s words into simpler terms while looking at me. Silence flowed. Now it was time to recite to him the contents for the letter – that is, the identity of the thief. The tense gaze of Sabelli, who was half-doubting our previous statements, and Narke’s emotionless expression entered my view in turn. I met their gazes and opened my mouth.
“Extreme danger, but contents cannot be disclosed.”
“…”
“Write to the Foreign Ministry like this. This is my answer.”
Sabelli opened his mouth with a bewildered expression, then urgently looked at Narke.
“Lord Farnese.”
“My opinion is also the same as Ernst Yha’s.”
“…No…!”
“What is wrong?”
At Narke’s sharp question, Sabelli remained standing while looking back and forth between us, then narrowed his eyes with a tense expression and asked me.
“Your Excellency. The letter I’m sending to the Papal Foreign Ministry now is the official opinion of you who have taken charge of this case. Can you take responsibility for those words you just spoke?”
“Responsibility. Of course I’ll gladly do so, but I haven’t said anything worth such a reaction. What are you thinking? I’m simply having you write and send ‘Extreme danger, but contents cannot be disclosed.'”
“…”
Wrinkles formed on Sabelli’s forehead. Instead of responding to his implicit protest, I pressed forward with my earlier assertion.
“Write to the Vatican right now. The Foreign Minister will be waiting.”
* * *
“Peace be with you.”
“Peace be with you.”
As the Bishop of Trier passed by, Simon Sabelli greeted the nearby bishop in a soulless voice and turned toward me. We were at the Papal direct-control post office set up in a building of Trier Cathedral. Letters carved in relief on the wooden signboard revealed the Vatican’s name. Though it hadn’t been long since it became the Papal post office, the space itself had been used for a long time, so traces of years could be felt in the wooden pillars supporting the ceiling and walls. That was enough observation. What mattered was that Sabelli had grabbed my shoulder.
“No matter how I think about it, this isn’t right.”
“What isn’t right, Count Sabelli.”
“I can’t send a letter like this!”
I closed the ink bottle cap and snatched the black quill pen from his hand. On the Papal exclusive letterhead he had brought, the phrase I had recited earlier was written in neat handwriting. I pointed to it and smiled.
“But you’ve already written it all. Extreme danger. But contents cannot be disclosed. Even I can read this much.”
“But this isn’t right. What on earth…!”
“Lord Farnese, whom you cherish so much, also said the same thing as me. Do you doubt him?”
“He said his opinion was the same, not that his words were the same~?”
“Same difference. And I only said exactly two sentences. What’s the problem with not being able to disclose the contents, really.”
I snatched the letter, blew air on it to dry the ink, then folded it and put it in a black envelope. Sabelli just watched with a dazed expression. I thrust the letter envelope toward his chest and continued speaking.
“If you don’t like it, don’t send it. But my intention won’t change.”
“…”
“And you’ll have to convey our intentions to the Vatican eventually anyway.”
“Hah…”
Sabelli moistened his lips with his tongue, swallowed, and took out a Papal exclusive stamp from inside his jacket. Then he scooped a little glue from a tin case, applied it to the back of the stamp, and attached it. Divine power flowed from the artifact stamp, and after it was attached to the letter, strange magical power began flowing through the envelope. Now all that remained was to hand this letter to the postal priest in front of us. Sabelli hesitantly handed it to the priest inside the window.
“…It’s done.”
“You’re sending this to the Vatican’s Papal States, correct?”
“Yes.”
Sabelli answered in a solemn voice. The priest nodded, opened a drawer inside the window, put the letter in, and closed it.
Creak— Thud—
Again, a creaking sound came, then the priest took out a golden ticket from inside and handed it over. It was a ticket stamped with the date and the seal of the Roman Curia.
“It was received directly by the Papal States. This ticket will be kept in Trier.”
“Ugh…”
I can’t believe I sent this— Since Sabelli grabbed his head and made a strange sound, I smiled and bent down to speak to the priest inside the window.
“Brother. This is the end of letters going to the Papal States. Lord Farnese has also declared this. If this person comes again saying he wants to send more letters, you must refuse unconditionally.”
“No? Your Excellency is infringing on my autonomy…”
I placed my hand on Sabelli’s shoulder as he tried to protest, applied pressure, and asked again.
“Do you understand?”
“Yes, yes. I’ll tell the replacement priest as well.”
I smiled at the awkwardly smiling priest, then turned around with Sabelli. Sabelli walked a few steps through Trier’s garden, led by me, then opened his mouth.
“Ernst Yha, you’re stronger than I thought.”
“What did you think I would be like.”
“You’re so skinny I naturally thought you’d be like paper.”
“Hmm.”
He, who had been walking in step with me, shook off my hand and stopped me.
“This isn’t the time for this. Your Excellency’s words mean this. You’re saying there’s someone among us who loves Caesar but loves Rome more, aren’t you?”
“You mean Brutus. That’s right. Is that not acceptable?”
Since Sabelli was about to retort immediately, I continued speaking right away.
“Count Sabelli came to solve the cathedral theft case. Can this case be considered separately from the Holy Cross – that is, the stolen Lignum Crucis?”
“…”
“Osterreicheste’s sapphire Peruer, the Holy Cross kept in the Vatican, and the cathedral’s holy relic from Trier Cathedral in Germany all disappeared at the same time. Of course, in the case of the Holy Cross, that’s speaking of when it disappeared from the Vatican Papal States. Right? I think Count Sabelli knows well about the Holy Cross’s movement route. Once, while we’re reviewing, please tell me.”
Sabelli, who understood what I was trying to say, widened his eyes for a moment, then answered with suspicious eyes.
“…The Lignum Crucis that was at the Santo Toribio de Liébana monastery in Spain was somehow discovered in the Vatican, and the Papal States immediately prepared to store it in the safest place and return it to Spain. But then the Lignum Crucis was stolen at the same time as the holy relic, so the magical power of the security magic cast on it was last detected at a checkpoint heading from Italy to Germany. That’s all.”
He finished speaking while glaring at me with eyes that knew what I would say in response. I gave the trite answer he expected.
“Thank you. But how, for what reason, is the Lignum Crucis that should be at the Spanish monastery in the Papal States?”
“We don’t know that either! Don’t tell me you’re trying to frame our Papal States as the culprit in this cathedral theft case because of that?”
He burst into laughter, then immediately continued protesting when I closed my eyes and waved my hand.
“That’s hasty. I know you can reasonably suspect that, but no one from the Papal States moved to the Italian checkpoint heading to Germany that day. Also, looking back at previous dates, no one who stopped in Spain and came to the Vatican either. Who do you think couldn’t have thought of this much? The Papal States, unlike anywhere else, is a group optimized for interrogation. There can be no ultimate secrets there.”
“I know…”
“Ernst Yha is now saying that someone who picked up a wallet dropped on the ground and contacted the owner to return it is the very person who stole the wallet. That wallet was clearly already stolen by someone before it came into that good person’s hands. You already told us that knowing the culprit is an easy problem, but precisely because of that, since the Papal States’ honor could be damaged, to now overturn a thoroughly investigated matter with mere speculation. Is it proper to make such an evaluation of the Papal States?”
“It’s not the Papal States.”
I answered coldly. He had completely erased his playful attitude from the night before and looked at me with an angry face. Anyway, as long as Narke’s and my intentions didn’t change, he who came as a simple messenger couldn’t overturn the case’s progress. Therefore, though he sent the letter as I dictated, he was still indicating he couldn’t agree with me.
I looked at him quietly and opened my mouth.
“Watch your words, Count Sabelli. Lord Farnese and I are saying there’s someone within the Papal States who received 30 pieces of silver.”
“From the very fact that the Papal States keeps such a person, Count Ernst has made a blasphemous statement.”
Sabelli stepped closer to me and wheedled. The faintly mixed laughter was cold. I looked over his face that had come right up to mine and answered his denunciation.
“I know well about The Pope’s infallibility. But if you put it that way, how did Christ have Judas Iscariot as a disciple? Was it because He was incompetent?”
“…”
“I didn’t say there’s a cathedral thief within the Papal States because the Papal States is incompetent. Is the reason Count Sabelli is feeling defensive now because, unlike Christ who knew Judas Iscariot would betray Him, the Papal States doesn’t know there’s a cathedral thief in its bosom?”
I watched Sabelli’s eyelids tremble finely up and down, and continued speaking without closing my eyes the whole time.
“If so, then the one who revealed this case’s culprit is also a member of the Vatican, so there’s no need to worry. The Papal States knows there’s a cathedral thief in its bosom and has the ability to solve it directly.”
Sabelli glanced at the stole draped over my shoulder and looked at my clerical collar. Though we met in Germany, I belong to the Vatican. I don’t belong to any German diocese. Just like Farnese. He must not forget that fact.
The way Sabelli’s hand kept moving toward his chest seemed like he was trying to fidget with the stamps inside his jacket. His unconscious mind must be continuously reflecting this. I grabbed his hand and lowered it while speaking.
“No more letters.”
“…”
“Loving Rome, 30 pieces of silver – these are not our official opinions. Do you understand? Only what was sent in writing, only that initial letter is everything Lord Farnese and I convey to the Papal States. If you don’t want to ruin things, don’t send more letters and wait.”
Simon Sabelli, having discarded somewhere the slimy attitude he showed at night, held his forehead and asked quietly.
“At the very least, accomplices… the French Imperial Family. I heard they’re puppet rulers. Didn’t the mage organization behind them order them to steal that holy relic? A jewel was also stolen at the same time, wasn’t it?”
I shook my head.
“Is that what’s important right now? I also think they’re involved. But bringing up that story now only muddies the waters, doesn’t it? Besides, there’s this problem. Who is the main culprit? Who used the holy relics for personal gain? Which side is the accomplice and who is the real perpetrator with evil motives?”
“So you’re saying the one who used the holy relics is the organization behind the French Imperial Family! The person in our Papal States only helped…”
I didn’t answer and just let out a deep sigh. Then Simon Sabelli trailed off on his own and spoke again in a troubled voice.
“…You’re saying there’s someone in the Papal States who stole those relics to directly use the holy artifacts for wicked purposes.”
“You shouldn’t send letters based on arbitrary interpretations.”
“I asked if my question was correct.”
“It’s a nice day today. Would you like to take a walk?”
Simon Sabelli laughed as if dumbfounded, then with an enlightened expression. Just then, I could see Narke approaching from afar. There clearly wouldn’t be time for a walk.
* * *
“Top secret~ Wow.”
Elias muttered, pressing his cheek against the table and pushing his chair back. Several clergy members sitting nearby looked at him. It was dinner time now, and most of the clergy had finished eating and left the dining hall. Elias cast a sound-blocking spell and looked at Narke and me with a smirk.
“I heard a secret too. It was worth following Narke. Getting to hear secrets and all.”
“I only said I couldn’t reveal the contents.”
“Right! ‘However, the contents cannot be disclosed.’ That one line is enough content in itself.”
“Elias is quick as always.”
Narke said gently as he put down his spoon. Then Elias tried to grin but came to his senses, quickly shook his head, and suddenly held out the back of his hand to me. Somehow it was bruised blue.
“Look at this, Narke hit me yesterday and burst a blood vessel! Is this okay for a Cardinal to do?!”
“What?”
Incredulous, I looked at Narke, who smiled sheepishly and explained.
“Ah, Elias kept losing at the game… I absolutely didn’t mean to burst it. Why would I intentionally do such a thing.”
“…You can tell with insight whether it’s about to burst or not.”
“I don’t usually use it~”
Then Elias slapped the table with his palm and grumbled.
“Use it at times like this. I need to go see Leone’s mother today. Leo won’t do since he’s hopeless at healing magic.”
“Haha, you’re stuck in Trier with no way out, where are you going to go.”
“Then you heal it!”
“Hmm, divine power would help with blood vessel regeneration too. Alright.”
There’s too much pointless conversation. I looked around, about to get up from my seat. Just then, a familiar face was entering the dining hall with a troubled expression. Simon Sabelli spotted me, pointed, and walked quickly toward us.
“What’s the matter?”
“The Foreign Minister has requested an immediate response. The Foreign Minister has also caught on! What ‘extreme danger, but contents cannot be disclosed’ implies! Who wouldn’t know! There’s someone mixed in there who shouldn’t hear the story, so you can’t give details and are just telling them to be careful for now~ Right?”
“Good. Only quick-witted people are in there.”
I took a sip of digestif and answered Sabelli, who was standing with a headache-stricken face.
“No matter how much he’s the Foreign Minister, I cannot give a response. Don’t send a reply. I keep sending confirmation contacts to the post office, so don’t think about cheating.”
“You won’t answer the Foreign Minister?”
Simon Sabelli laughed incredulously and looked at Narke. Narke just looked at him expressionlessly as usual.
“Please reconsider, I’m speaking to both Your Eminences. The Foreign Minister is also an honorary Cardinal like you. Wouldn’t it be better to handle this amicably rather than making relations bad by not responding? Also, facing such a major theft case that could easily escalate into a diplomatic issue, you can’t just throw a bomb at the Papal States and remain silent.”
“Would Lord Sabelli not remain silent?”
“I suppose I’d have to do as ordered.”
“Then you’ve come to the right place. This is a contrarian gathering. Take this chance to learn new work methods.”
“Are you planning to get fired?”
“Don’t you want to find the holy relics?”
Sabelli was looking at me like I was crazy. Getting such a look from someone who seems to take everything lightly was somehow absurd. Of course, I must look absurd to him too. I clicked my tongue and clasped my hands together, interlocking my fingers.
“Let me give you a psychological test. The enemy is watching us from outside the window. The curtains at the window are pulled back as usual, so the inside is clearly visible from outside. Of course, the reverse is also true. What would you do?”
“I’d close the curtains!”
“Right. I wouldn’t close them.”
“Why?”
“Why indeed. We go that far. Lord Farnese’s will is the same as mine, so I’d be very grateful if you’d do as I say.”
“Phew…”
Sabelli touched the back of his neck and let out a long breath. Then he smiled and said.
“I like Count Ernst’s way of speaking.”
“Thank you.”
“Why do you keep saying thank you? That was a bit off-putting.”
“Yes, you worked hard getting replies, so please have your meal now, Lord Sabelli.”
I left my plate and got up from my seat. Then I suddenly remembered a question and turned to look at him.
“I have something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
“The holy relics, do they have abilities contained within them?”
Both Elias and Sabelli tilted their heads simultaneously as if asking what I meant, so I added an explanation.
“I mean things like this, for example, some people say that quartz is a mineral with the power to absorb cosmic energy, like how some people believe stones have certain specific effects. Couldn’t holy relics have something like that too?”
“…That’s possible but a bit fanciful. Besides, isn’t it hit or miss? How could we know all of that individually.”
“Fine. Enjoy your dinner.”
I nodded and greeted them. Then I left the dining hall, leaving behind Sabelli who remained with a subtle smile.
* * *
[By now the Papal States must be filled with chaos. We need to make some explanation.]
The garden of Trier.
It was now one hour before midnight. The moonlight was brighter than expected, making it possible to read even in the darkness. I crumpled the note and put it in my pocket, looking up at the sky. A carrier pigeon circled overhead, then landed on my arm when I raised it to the sky. I untied the long paper note attached to the pigeon’s leg.
[Your Eminence Ernst.]
Flutter—
Since it was the day the meeting article was published, I had to communicate with countless people today. All the carrier pigeons coming here now were from other cathedrals, this cathedral, or the Bavarian royal family and government. And 99% of these were sent by just one person. While reading, another pure white carrier pigeon circled around me.
[Your Eminence. Are you reading?]
[Two more letters have come from the Papal States now. To different people respectively.]
[The fact that the Papal States contacts us this frequently means the situation has already become difficult. What will you do.]
‘This guy really.’
Simon Sabelli seemed determined to use all the carrier pigeons here, sending short sentences split into multiple messages. I looked at the white pigeons filling the sky and shook my head. Then I leaned against the railing and fell into thought while unfolding and reading whatever notes from the carrier pigeons rushing toward me that I could grab.
Earlier I said that abilities would have been infused into those holy relics. Abilities with two keywords: soul and remote. It’s a bizarre ability that makes you wonder where it would be used and who would develop such an ability, but first, the idea that specific abilities were infused into the holy relics makes sense. The mage organization behind the French royal family might have absorbed the techniques of the 18th-century French human noble occult gathering—Ecla Literer. There’s no guarantee they didn’t create bizarre techniques.
‘But the problem is this. Why did it have to be the holy relics? Why did it have to be the Holy Cross.’
The Papal States has better items. In that sense, the Trier Cathedral Archbishop’s demonstration of ‘using magic with holy objects’ was helpful to me. However, it wasn’t helpful in the way he intended.
Saint Helene’s skull, various items made from papal relics and bones scattered throughout the Papal States treasury, holy objects blessed by the current Pope, etc.—couldn’t all of these produce holy power? As the Trier Archbishop demonstrated. They are good tools that amplify magic more cleanly. Why doesn’t the culprit use such holy objects.
Why must it specifically be the Lignum Crucis that came from Spain, why must it specifically be Trier Cathedral’s holy relics. Why did they have to endure the distance, location, surveillance troubles and difficulties to steal two items from Spain and Germany.
From this fundamental question, our thinking can naturally converge on one thought.
The reason the culprit chose Trier’s holy relics and the Lignum Crucis from Santo Toribio de Liébana monastery is not simply because those objects were holy and could produce multiple times the effect when certain abilities were infused.
It’s because those objects have unique abilities that only they possess.
Flutter— Whoosh—
The sound of wings flapping comes close to my ear.
In other words, the abilities we were theorizing about were likely not infused into the holy relics, but abilities the holy relics possessed inherently. Now we know what we must do. Let’s narrow down those who could have all the information about the relics of Spain and Germany, this massive international stage. The two major suspects I’ve narrowed down are: the French Imperial Family, or the Papal States.
I looked up at the sky. Among the countless pure white pigeons sitting on buildings and railings and flying in the sky, one carrier pigeon had a blue string tied to its leg. A Bavarian royal carrier pigeon. I untied the string attached to its leg and read it.
[To His Excellency Nicolaus Ernst.
A letter has come for His Highness Emanuel Wittelsbach. He requested your review, so I’m sending the original along.]
As expected, the string was from the royal family, and the handwriting was also from a friend and superior I knew well.
Now, let’s go back. From here it’s a probability game. Which of the two suspect organizations would know the abilities of that Arma Christi. Who indeed?
The most likely would be someone who could directly visit to see the holy relics, that is, someone from the Papal States, wouldn’t it? So my first choice was the Papal States. There are several other factors that follow, but let’s stop here for now. The only thing that can prove the success or failure of this probability game—the accuracy of my reasoning—is the party from the Papal States themselves. The Papal States fell into chaos over the two-sentence reply that flew from Germany. I sent an action, so now I’m waiting for the reaction to come.
If a reaction really comes here? What would that mean.
It means I chose the correct answer.
I raised my arm toward another carrier pigeon flying toward me. When I pulled the blue string tied to the bird’s leg, it transformed into a letter envelope. On the white envelope, the recipient and sender were written in ordinary black ink.
[To His Highness Emanuel Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria, From Hermetic Society]
“…”
I whistled and smiled as I put the letter in my pocket. Then I left the building, leaving behind Sabelli’s various carrier pigeons still sitting on the railing.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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