Chapter 371: Jeremiah Was Not Angry
When Jeremiah finished speaking, Gregor finally had time to think.
And after a brief moment of reflection, Gregor said,「I don’t know. I don’t understand either.」
Jeremiah was not angry. How could he be angry at something he had already anticipated?
Jeremiah even knew that what Gregor meant by “I don’t know” wasn’t that he didn’t know how to answer Jeremiah’s very simple questions.
What Gregor meant by “I don’t understand” was actually that he didn’t grasp the meaning of Jeremiah’s words.
Jeremiah said,「It’s alright if you don’t understand. You have enough time to think about these things. But for now, you need to head to the territory of Marquis Shalier with Knight Edwin and Knight Kelton. Your wedding with Camilla is approaching, but there will be some changes, so you two need to get engaged again.」
「You need to inform Marquis Shalier about this change, and tell him to bring Camilla to the Great Cathedral of Doyle next month when your original wedding was scheduled. You and Camilla shall, under my witness, beneath the Sacred Cross of the Lord, and swearing upon the New Testament Scriptures, form your engagement.」
Gregor understood what Jeremiah was saying. With such straightforward words, he didn’t even ask why they had to be engaged again. He agreed without hesitation.
But after agreeing, he hesitated a little and asked,「Only Knight Edwin and Knight Kelton will go with me? And what about the Senate’s policy on the Knights’ Guild?」
Jeremiah stood up, walked beneath the Sacred Cross, turned his back to Gregor, and said,「There are nearly over 800 registered Tier Four and above powerful individuals in Greenwood right now. Your Doyle Knight Order alone has over a hundred. Including other nobles in your territory and their loyal knights, there are close to 200 Tier Four powerhouses in Doyle Territory alone. So when the policy on the Knights’ Guild is implemented, the biggest impact will be on Doyle Territory.」
「Knighthood itself is a kind of class. They are distinguished from warriors, recognized as high-level power. Once conferred by nobles, they are entitled to the support of their fiefs. They only need to demonstrate their strength—that is enough. Their sheer number represents the power of a noble.」
「And a territory like Doyle with so many knights is already praised by other nobles. In this regard, you’ve long surpassed Marquis Richard. After all, he’s despised by all nobles.」
「That’s why all the nobles of Greenwood are now waiting for Doyle Territory’s stance.」
Jeremiah turned around to look at Gregor and said,「Stand up first. After all, you are a Marquis, the leader of the Doyle Knight Order, and a father to your children. You must not grow used to kneeling like this. You should straighten your back, be the noble who shelters your people, the lord whom knights are willing to swear loyalty to, and the role model for your children.」
Gregor hurriedly stood up. While he understood that the latter part of the speech was telling him what kind of person he should become, what he heard most clearly was that he was being told to get up.
Looking at Gregor, who though standing, still slightly bowed his head, Jeremiah continued,「The Adrian Territory, including Richard’s Oath Knights, only adds up to a little over a hundred Tier Fours. Excluding the knights from your two territories, only about 400 Tier Four powerhouses remain.」
「Among those numbers, over 200 can be publicly seen in the York Territory. As for the remaining hundred or so Tier Four powerhouses, they are either nobles or knights under nobles. If we only count Tier Fours, Doyle Marquisate alone is already comparable to all other nobles combined—and may even exceed York’s numbers.」
「But precisely because Doyle Territory is so powerful, only if Doyle is willing to take the lead in challenging the Senate will the other nobles dare to respond.」
「Otherwise, just the disparity in Tier Four numbers alone would make those nobles too afraid to oppose the Senate outright. You must know that Greenwood has no more Sacred Relics to rely on now.」
Listening to Jeremiah’s words, Gregor couldn’t help but straighten his back, looking quite proud.
Seeing this, Jeremiah couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his eye, took a deep breath, and continued,「Right now, the king hasn’t yet ascended the throne, and the ones in the Senate are merely viscounts and barons. Why should the other nobles fully recognize them?」
「Besides, those nobles believe the so-called delegation of royal power by the Senate is only something the Church needs. The members of the Senate can be replaced; as long as they follow the Church’s will, it doesn’t really matter.」
「Before you, those nobles had already tested the priests in their territories. And the answer they all received was the same: the Senate’s policy is not the Church’s intent.」
「Of course, the priests emphasized that the Senate is not subordinate to the Church. But nobles only believe what they want to believe. Perhaps because priests have long served as their political advisors, they see them as politicians, believing that priests also crave power like officials. They don’t think Church priests are honest as the Scriptures claim.」
「In any case, the nobles interpreted the priests’ answers to mean that the Church tacitly approves of them taking some action against the Senate—or even having thoughts about the vacant throne.」
「I won’t call them foolish. They are simply projecting Church matters using the rules of the Old Testament Era, which they relied on to survive. They don’t believe some people would avoid political power. They think the Senate bypassing the Church and directly issuing political decrees, especially those aimed at knights, is a move to concentrate power in the Senate—contrary to the Church’s needs.」
「After all, there has never been a precedent for the Senate governing or exercising royal power. It breaks tradition. So they only consider that the Senate is merely a body created by the Church out of necessity. And the Church needs such a Senate only because it wants to avoid a return of Grand Dukes or Kings, preferring the current priest-led politics.」
「At least for now, everyone is satisfied with this priest-led politics.」
「So the Senate, using the guild issue as an excuse to centralize power and strip away some noble privileges, is going against the Church—trying to escape its control. They even explicitly stated that the Church’s Guardian Knights and Holy Knights must be evaluated through the guild.」
「In their eyes, this is the Senate attempting to interfere with the Church’s armed forces.」
Jeremiah spoke in great detail, like an elder patiently explaining things to an apprentice.
Yet this apprentice looked utterly confused.
Jeremiah took a deep breath, then said,「And these nobles all hope that Doyle Territory can stand up and oppose the Senate—even challenge its authority.」
「As for Marquis Richard, they only tested him hoping he wouldn’t interfere. After all, the Richard Knights offended every noble, and the Oath they uphold does not side with the nobles.」
「But the Doyle Knight Order is different. Its knight recruitment philosophy is completely aligned with the nobles: ‘All that can be used by me shall become my strength.’」
「So they all hope that Marquis Gregor Doyle can step up and lead them.」
This time Gregor understood. He straightened up and said energetically,「That is exactly what I, as a Marquis, ought to do!」
Jeremiah couldn’t bear it anymore. He grabbed the candlestick placed beside the Lord’s Throne and smashed it at Gregor.
Not knowing why Jeremiah suddenly got angry, Gregor didn’t dare to move. He let the candlestick hit his head, leaving a wound and drawing blood.
Gregor wore a pained expression, baring his teeth and howling in agony.
Gregor was still a knight—this level of injury was nothing to him. He was acting like this only to hope Jeremiah wouldn’t be so angry.
Even though he didn’t understand why Jeremiah had suddenly gotten angry.
But the more Jeremiah looked at him, the angrier he became.
Jeremiah’s chest heaved violently. He closed his eyes and slowly calmed himself.
Finally, he took a deep breath and said,「But what they’re thinking of are still the rules of the Old Testament Era. And now, it is already the New Testament Era. Marquis Doyle and the Doyle Knight Order they so respect also belong to the Old Testament Era.」
At this point, Jeremiah paused. Seeing how cautiously Gregor stood, he ultimately chose not to explain in detail and instead said directly:
「In the New Testament Era, everything belonging to the Old Testament Era must vanish. That means, if these remnants of the Old Testament Era cannot embrace the New Testament Era, they will be sent to… they will be killed—all of them killed, including everyone stained by the Old Testament Era around them.」
「The New Testament Era must be proclaimed with absolute authority—that this is the age of the New Testament. Not just in places already using the New Testament Era, but also those that will in the future. And in the New Testament Era, if one still embraces the Old Testament, they will be killed.」
Jeremiah had originally wanted to phrase “kill them” in a more priestly manner, but feared he’d only get angrier, so he bluntly said “killed.”
This time, Gregor understood. His face turned pale, his voice trembling as he said,「This is such a cruel thing… Surely, you don’t approve of it, right? Or rather, the merciful Church, the merciful Lord, and His Holiness the Pope wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen, right? If it’s truly as you say, this will result in the deaths of nearly ten thousand people—people who are nobles or of noble bloodline.」
Jeremiah responded coldly,「『The world henceforth enters the New Testament Era』—these words were spoken by His Holiness the Pope. And Gregor, you must remember: the current Governor of the Senate, Priest Agamemnon, came from the Church. Most of the current priests were trained by Agamemnon. I must even address Governor Agamemnon as Teacher.」
「You must further remember: the Lord is the present, the past, and the future. The Lord dictates the world’s order with His words.」
Jeremiah had planned to stop here, but seeing Gregor’s dazed expression, he added one last sentence:
「So long as the priests and bishops do not explicitly oppose it, then it is something permitted by the Lord.」