Chapter 372: The One Who Was Needed
「So… so…」Gregor could barely speak.
Even though there were still many things he did not understand, at this point he finally understood.
They were going to kill people—and the ones to be killed were precisely those nobles Jeremiah had just mentioned. Even he himself was within the range of those to be killed.
Only now did he wish he had never understood.
Jeremiah said, 「So now, you must head to Marquis Shalier’s territory, explain the matter of the marriage contract to Marquis Shalier and to Camilla, and on the originally scheduled wedding day, return with them to Doyle Territory. Knight Edwin and Knight Kelton will accompany you. I have already arranged people to wait for them on the road.」
「As for how you should leave, I have also found someone to help you depart.」
As Jeremiah’s voice fell, a figure wearing a black hood emerged from the shadows in the corner of the Great Church.
「Marquis Gregor, please follow me,」 the person said.
His voice was clearly forced into a hoarse tone.
Gregor looked at the man, then at Jeremiah, who had already turned around to face the Sacred Cross, his back to him.
In the end, he said nothing more—only said, 「I… I understand. I will wait in Marquis Shalier’s territory until the originally agreed date of the marriage contract.」
After speaking, he prepared to follow the hooded man out.
Suddenly, Jeremiah spoke with his back still turned, 「Remember, after you arrive, read more of the New Testament Scriptures. Marquis Shalier has copies there. And… when something happens, communicate more with Camilla. She will be your wife, your closest person. She is also a clever girl.」
Gregor bowed deeply. 「I will do as you say.」
Jeremiah raised his hand slightly, and Gregor followed the hooded man out.
The Great Church quieted. Jeremiah’s back bent slightly.
He spoke again. 「If you follow now, you can still see him one last time.」
Silence. Silence. Then came the sound of iron boots walking across stone slabs.
A knight walked out, wearing armor identical to Gregor’s.
「Please forgive my weakness,」 the man said.
「Knight Valerus, you are not weak. Even in the evaluation of the Warrior Guild, you are worthy of being called a true knight—in the name of loyalty,」 Jeremiah said with his back still turned.
「A so‑called knight is only a title. It does not grant me courage. I dare not face my lord simply because I understand what I am about to do,」 Valerus said.
Jeremiah could only say, 「Your child will grow up in the Doyle Monastery. In the future—whether he chooses to become a monk, or leaves the monastery to become a warrior or a knight—when he reaches adulthood, I will tell him your story, and make sure he remembers your name.」
Valerus said, 「He was born in the New Testament Era. He should not remember a knight of the Old Testament Era.」
After speaking, he bowed slightly. 「My lord has already departed, so I will now go to complete what remains.」
Jeremiah did not respond. Valerus turned and left.
The Great Church stayed silent for a long time. At last, Jeremiah let out a weary sigh and whispered, 「O Lord, please forgive my sins.」
……
After Valerus stepped out of the Great Church, the knights waiting outside immediately fixed their gaze upon him—the man now wearing armor identical to Gregor’s.
He raised his hand slightly, as if the sunlight outside were blinding, and lowered the visor.
Then he walked toward Gregor’s warhorse.
The warhorse sensed the weight differently and snorted uneasily.
Valerus patted its neck, calming its restlessness.
Then, pulling the reins and turning the horse around, he looked at the knights who had followed him and declared loudly, 「The Senate, under the claim of exercising royal authority, has trampled upon the dignity of nobles. Such arrogance—this is treating the royal authority as their private property. Yet the throne remains empty. So, while the Senate is so arrogant, the empty throne must have a master.」
「In the name of Gregor Doyle, summon my army!」
The voice was identical to Gregor’s.
At once, the knights’ gazes burned with fervor, and they erupted in cheers.
The cheering spread, echoing through the residential districts of the Second Tier, and soon from the highest castle, the dragon banner of Lundex was lowered.
Valerus lifted his gaze to the castle atop the highest point. Through the slits of the visor, his eyes could not be seen.
But Valerus could feel a certain frenzy.
Perhaps it was greed—this original sin had blinded their minds. Even though Valerus matched Gregor’s build, wore the same armor, and mimicked Gregor’s voice nearly perfectly…
The words he spoke were words Gregor would absolutely never say.
If Gregor were truly going to declare war on the Senate, he would only shout: 『Go to the Senate! I’m Gregor Doyle! Marquis of Doyle and Commander of the Doyle Knight Order!』
But these people all ignored this discrepancy.
Having received the answer they wanted, the nobles across Doyle Territory began raising armies—spreading outward from the Doyle lands until the entire Doyle Diocese joined the summons.
Even nobles from outside the Doyle Diocese continually responded to Doyle City’s call.
Warhorses thundered. The ground trembled. One army after another raised their noble banners, marching northward, all converging upon Doyle City.
Inside the First Tier castle of Doyle, the nobles’ banquet had never stopped. Some, after drinking too much, simply collapsed on the floor and slept. Newly arrived nobles from afar joined the feast like fresh troops arriving on a battlefield.
Noble cheers, the shrieks of maids—only Valerus sat in the marquis’s seat, visor on, coldly watching their revelry.
Even though he was not perfectly imitating Gregor’s temperament, these nobles seemed unable to tell the difference. They only kept celebrating, occasionally lifting their wine cups with flushed faces to toast loudly.
One. Two. Three. Until the countless‑unknown number of nobles.
One noble, thoroughly drunk, showed a fleeting expression of contempt during his toast. Then he leaned slightly closer and whispered, 「I know you’re not the Marquis. But you can be the Marquis. When this is over, I can support you in taking the throne. I can even testify that you are Gregor Doyle. But you should understand—I require equal return. I don’t know who arranged for you to be here, but I believe you are a smart man. You should know what to do.」
After that, he emptied his wine cup in one gulp, laughed wildly, and walked off to toast someone else.
Only then did Valerus understand—these people had long seen through the fact that he was not the marquis. It was simply that this version of the marquis better suited their interests, and therefore he was Gregor Doyle.
Valerus felt that even if the real Marquis Gregor returned now, these nobles would no longer acknowledge him.
After that noble, more people could not help themselves, each whispering similar things to Valerus.
Through their words, Valerus roughly understood the roles of these factions:
Nobles outside Doyle Territory;
Nobles loyal to Marquis Gregor;
Officials of Doyle City;
Knights of the Doyle Knight Order;
And… those of Gregor’s bloodline within Doyle Castle.
These five groups each had their own interests, and each suspected Valerus was arranged by one of the other groups.
But even though everyone in the castle understood that Valerus was merely the Gregor Doyle they needed, not one person dared to speak it aloud.
Everyone kept laughing, raising their cups, occasionally saluting Valerus respectfully, as though he truly were Marquis Gregor.
Valerus almost laughed. He finally understood why, when he once asked Jeremiah whether they needed a mage to adjust his appearance, Jeremiah had only smiled and shaken his head.
Facing nobles who existed solely for their own benefit, there was no need to modify appearances—simply giving them a plausible excuse was enough. Greed, the original sin, would allow them to accept any absurdity.
Even if the real Marquis Gregor had walked out of the Great Church and failed to present the answer they wanted, they would simply have embraced a new Marquis Gregor.
『How pathetic. This is the original sin of greed.』 Valerus thought, only feeling sorrow.
He saw a young girl—Saria Doyle.
Gregor’s eldest daughter, who had just turned sixteen in August this year, also known as the Flower of Doyle.
Before Valerus left Doyle Castle and resigned from the Doyle Knight Order, Gregor had proudly told him that his beautiful Saria was his pride. Saria had always been carefully protected, still a pure maiden, and when she turned sixteen—the age at which the Church allowed priests to marry—she would be married to Bishop Jeremiah.
Even though Jeremiah always seemed uninterested in women, Gregor believed that his beautiful Saria would definitely win Jeremiah’s favor.
Valerus agreed. At that time, Jeremiah would become part of the Doyle Family, further strengthening his lord’s rule.
Even though Jeremiah oversaw all of Doyle Territory’s administration as a bishop of the Church, he was actually only twenty‑three or twenty‑four years old. Being with Saria was surely appropriate.
Certainly more appropriate than Gregor marrying the thirteen‑year‑old Camilla.
Yet unlike Gregor, who constantly galloped through the Woodlands, Valerus knew Saria had never once visited the Great Church of Doyle.
If before he could still excuse her behavior as maidenly shyness, now—seeing Saria sit familiarly upon the lap of a middle‑aged viscount—Valerus could hardly restrain himself from drawing his sword and slaughtering every person in this castle.