The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 185 Boiling Snow
Eric finally chose a room next to Princess Natalia's room. He went down to take a look. The room was spacious, but the ceiling was limited, only slightly taller than him, which gave him a strong sense of oppression.

The bed was simply a huge stone wall brick covered with some dry grass and rags. Because it was so cold, it didn't smell bad. Eric tried lying down for a moment, but he always felt that the city wall above him might collapse at any moment and crush him to death.

All the rooms were like that, airtight and without any natural light. He could understand even more why Natalia would rather freeze in the watchtower than stay here.

Therefore, their subsequent private conversation took place in her office at the watchtower.

“I still want to talk to His Highness Eric about the Church’s attitude.”

The guards added some charcoal to the fireplace and went downstairs. Natalia took a long-handled iron kettle, filled it with snow, and placed it in the fireplace.

Eric began by recounting recent cardinal meetings, using actual events to support his judgment.

"...My confident judgment is that the Holy See will not step forward immediately after the demon invasion: it will neither call on the various races of the continent to resist the demons on a spiritual level, nor will it send its own armed forces to intervene. It will even be in a state of actively abandoning most of the church forces in the North, even though there are not many monasteries and churches here to begin with."

Natalia was silent for a moment. "Is this the attitude of His Holiness the Pope alone, or the attitude of the entire Holy See?"

“It’s the same thing until the evil seeds sown by the Pope actually bear fruit,” Eric said.

Natalia frowned. "Why did His Holiness the Pope give up so decisively?"

Eric took a breath. "What follows is my less certain, less reliable guess."

She asked him to continue.

"The Pope and the Holy See misjudged the true strength of the demons. They planned to step forward as saviors after the demons had ravaged the land, preferably after the empire's actual rule had collapsed, and then drive out the demons in one fell swoop and reshape the continent's structure... They thought they could do it."

Natalia paused for a moment, then said, "But would that conservative Pope make such a radical choice?"

“As the world changes, the standards of radicalism and conservatism are not static either,” Eric shook his head.

Natalia took a deep breath. "I still find it hard to believe."

"So, this is just my unreliable guess."

She forced a smile. "But once the demons actually arrive, whether Your Highness's guess is reliable or not will be of little significance."

“Yes, the demons will bring the Holy See to its senses and make it more conservative,” Eric said.

Natalia stared blankly at the fireplace for a while before noticing that Elise had appeared beside it and was taking the kettle that had been placed there earlier back to look at it.

"The water is boiling really slowly."

"It's too cold here," Natalia responded unconsciously.

Elise put the kettle back and continued to stand by the fireplace to warm her hands.

Eric then looked at the princess, who was still lost in thought, and said, "The Church's choice has little impact on the present, especially here. Your Highness, all you need to do is defend this section of the wall."

Natalia looked at him and slowly nodded. "I've done everything I could, whether it was what I could think of or the advice His Highness gave me over the past year. It's just that there are very few people willing to listen to me."

"Those people will later realize how unforgivable their mistakes were."

Eric offered a casual reassurance, "Your Highness should focus your main efforts on those nobles and governors who are willing to trust you, and encourage them to increase their investment."

Natalia nodded and continued, "Thanks to the supplies and militia that Earl Edgar sent, many things here would not have been possible. The Earl wrote to me a few days ago to say that another batch of militia is on its way with supplies. I wrote to the Emperor, asking him to reward Earl Edgar for his generous and righteous support, and preferably restore your family's original title... although now, apart from a title, the royal family has no other reward for your family."

Eric was taken aback, then found himself both amused and exasperated.

“These are all superficial... What I mean is that at this critical juncture, titles are not of much significance. Your Highness need not worry about them. My uncle and I appreciate your kindness.”

“A higher title will certainly enhance Earl Edgar’s prestige to some extent, won’t it?” Natalia looked at him. “When the demons truly invade, Duke Edgar’s influence should be much greater than Earl Edgar’s.”

Eric thought about it and realized it made sense; the princess was indeed much more perceptive in this regard than he was.

Of course, the main reason was that he had witnessed the rapid fall of Lutia and the de facto demise of the Delan Empire, so he subconsciously looked down on titles bestowed by emperors only when they were on their deathbed.

"Actually—"

Before Natalia could finish speaking, she added, "If the situation really develops to that point, I would even suggest that Earl Edgar raise an army and quickly seize the province of Otville."

"..."

Eric opened his mouth.

“Governor Otville completely ignored my letter, let alone offered any support. I don’t think such a person would choose to send troops to resist after the demons march south. It would be better to let His Highness’s uncle control Otville. With Earl Edgar’s reputation, I believe there won’t be any problems,” Natalia said earnestly. “Both His Highness Eric and Earl Edgar are people I completely trust.”

Eric looked at her for a moment. "Your Highness is not testing the Kimino family's loyalty to the Empire, is she?"

"Of course not, it's the provincial governors who are disloyal."

Natalia's expression turned cold. "Ever since the late emperor delegated power to those governors to suppress rebellions across the continent decades ago, they have betrayed the royal family. They've reduced their annual gold contributions by ninety percent, and they only pay lip service to the emperor's orders, never truly carrying them out. They should have been replaced long ago!"

For a considerable period decades ago, the Delan Empire suffered from droughts, floods, and earthquakes. Natural disasters were incessant, and man-made calamities only exacerbated the situation, leaving the common people with no choice but to rebel. The Delan royal family, in a state of confusion, was unable to suppress the rebellion and instead delegated a significant portion of their power, including taxation, military, and political authority, to the governors of the various provinces, allowing them to fend for themselves and ultimately save the empire.

This measure was somewhat effective, suppressing the rebellion, but the devolved powers could never be taken back, and the already weakened royal family was completely unable to recover.

Eric paused for a moment before speaking, "It's hard for me to say whether I support or oppose Your Highness's decision. What you said certainly makes sense, but I'm worried that it might encourage other nobles to follow suit, thus triggering internal strife before the demons truly destroy the empire."

Natalia calmly replied, “That’s why I wanted to restore your family’s title from hundreds of years ago so that you could take over Otville as the founding duke. That would be more reasonable. Other nobles who want to follow suit should first consider their own status and strength… Although I think that by then, they will be more worried about what to do if the demons invade their territory.”

Eric looked at her for a moment. "I didn't expect Your Highness to have thought so far ahead."

“After all, I have nothing else to do here. I’ve tried every possible method, both overt and covert,” Natalia said. “I can only tell you these things when we meet.”

The sound of wind and snow temporarily filled the small room on the watchtower.

"There are some things I can only say to Your Highness now."

Eric paused for a moment, then continued, "What Your Highness is considering and doing now is what His Majesty should be doing."

Natalia didn't immediately understand what he meant and sighed.

“Alas… my brother… His Majesty has never truly held power; he doesn’t even know how to think like an emperor…”

“But Princess Natalia knows.”

“I just…” She paused abruptly, her gaze fixed on Eric.

He leaned forward, his voice lowering, "Although the emperor's power has waned, his position remains. If someone else were in this position, such as Princess Natalia, many of the problems you are facing now would not be problems at all."

"..."

Natalia crossed her arms.

Her gaze shifted from him several times, only to suddenly refocus on his face, especially his eyes.

She also glanced at Elise, who was pretending to be deaf and dumb by the fireplace.

She finally spoke again.

“Eric, whatever your purpose, saying such things deserves to be executed. But I can't kill you, so you're just causing me trouble. Don't let me hear such things again.”

“I am not testing Your Highness’s loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor.” Eric met her stern gaze. “Your Highness is thinking of a solution, and so am I, though sometimes I have gone a little too far.”

“This is no longer just ‘somewhat outrageous,’ Your Highness.” Natalia’s tone was as sharp and cold as the wind and snow outside.

Eric lowered his head. "Then I apologize to Her Highness the Princess."

The two looked at each other for a while, then looked away.

After a while, a noise suddenly came from the fireplace.

Elise looked at the tapping kettle lid. "Your Highnesses, the water is boiling."

Natalia got up, took two glasses from the bookshelf, thought for a moment, then took another one, and then took a tin can from the side, opened it, and added a palm-sized dark purple leaf to each glass.

Seeing Elise effortlessly lift the kettle, which was already more than half full of melted water, with one hand, Natalia's face flashed with surprise. She didn't say anything, but simply asked her to pour water, and then served tea to her and Eric. "Thank you, Your Highness."

“This is a type of leaf unique to Northria. People here use it to make tea. The taste isn’t great, but it’s very invigorating,” Natalia said, her voice tinged with weariness.

“The leaves of the purple thorn vine,” Elise said. “I saw adults drinking it when I was a child, but I rarely saw leaves this big. It seems the bigger the leaves, the rarer they are.”

Natalia seemed to smile slightly. "This is probably one of the few privileges I can get here because of my status."

Eric picked up the teacup and looked at it. The color of the tea was nothing special. He blew on it, took a sip, and an indescribable rough taste shot straight to his head. It was indeed very refreshing.

"Can I take some with me when I leave?"

Natalia smiled.

While drinking tea, she and Eric seemed to have forgotten their previous conversation.

Eric asked her if she had to overcome many dietary difficulties living here, while Natalia asked him what he had experienced when he traveled to the South.

"...It was quite fulfilling, but there's not much to say about it. It was just fighting from one place to another, and I unearthed quite a few ancient artifacts along the way... This sword of mine was made according to the design blueprints from the Second Kingdom period."

"Has Miss Elise also been following His Highness all this time?"

"Of course, I need her to protect me."

Elise glanced at him through her teacup, a slight smile playing on her lips, but she still didn't want to join their distracted conversation.

"Has Your Highness achieved the goals you set when you left Lutia? I mean, in terms of personal strength," Natalia asked again.

“That’s about enough,” Eric said. “Although it seems we don’t need them anymore. Except here with His Highness, the guards always come with me when I go anywhere else. Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve seen the guards that Governor Gradia gave to His Highness.”

“I left two to stand guard outside. The rest are scattered among the Great Wall garrison. I don’t need that many personal guards to protect me.”

Eric nodded. With the current level of vigilance, it would indeed be very difficult for the demons to sneak onto the city walls and assassinate her.

"What are Your Highness's plans after this?"

"Continue with my first visit, then return to Lessér..."

“Wait for the demons to march south,” Natalia continued.

“It’s not just about waiting.” Eric looked at her. “I still want to try a little harder, and it would be even better if I could change the Pope’s attitude.”

"Doesn't Your Highness want to be Pope?" Natalia asked abruptly.

Eric was taken aback, thinking she was still dissatisfied with his previous suggestion and was being sarcastic.

“I’m not interested, but there is an opportunity, but that would be forty or fifty years from now…provided that the Jela Church can hold out until then.”

“That’s true. The succession of a pope is different from the succession of an imperial emperor,” Natalia said meaningfully.

The two exchanged a glance.

Eric suddenly realized that she might have misunderstood him.

He said he wanted her to replace the current emperor, which was a form of support in terms of attitude, because he had already seen what she would look like leading the human resistance in the future.
Natalia, on the other hand, seemed to think that he already had a means to take action, and her words just now were clearly a test to see what his means were.

Eric could hardly say that his "method" was actually to wait for a flying rock to fall from the sky and kill the emperor's family.

He believed that Natalia would not accept a method that would harm her emperor brother.

He could only make things up, elaborating on her words before saying:

“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Your Highness has spent a year training on the border, and your abilities are more than sufficient. Your knowledge far surpasses that of His Majesty the Emperor who remains in Lutia. Perhaps you should write a letter to your brother and persuade him to transfer the throne to you, so that he can continue to enjoy himself in a safe place.”

"..."

Natalia looked at him incredulously, a hint of self-doubt flashing across her face, as if questioning herself about what she had been expecting.

"It seems that Your Highness also has a considerable misunderstanding about the succession of the imperial throne."

Before Eric could speak, she added, "Let's leave this topic at that."

Eric continued drinking his tea.

The situation has not changed, and he admits he was being a little too hasty.

"I wonder if there are any hot springs near the Great Wall? On the way here, I came across an underground hot spring. I feel that in this freezing cold, only a hot spring can help me relax."

His turn was abrupt, but Natalia followed up with, "I'm sorry, Your Highness, I've been here for a year and I haven't heard of any hot springs."

How does Your Highness usually bathe?

Natalia and Iris looked over at the same time, and Eric realized his mistake after asking the question.

"...What I mean is, it seems very inconvenient to prepare hot water here."

“Yes.” Natalia looked away and glanced at the iron kettle in the fireplace. “So even I can only take a bath about once a week.”

“I can only be thankful that I won’t be staying here for long,” Eric said.

Natalia smiled briefly.

"As for your living conditions, Your Highness, please lower your expectations as much as possible."

Despite what she said, Eric did take it to heart. When dinner was served, he was still lost in thought for a while as he looked at the two slices of black bread and the roasted potato the size of half a palm.

"Have supplies become that scarce?"

“Your Highness, what you can see now is only a section of the Black Ice Wall.” Natalia’s plate of bread was no more than his. “But the entire Northern Defense Line is hundreds of miles long. I’m stopping here, but I can’t just focus on this part. I have to take care of everything.”

Eric said no more and quickly finished his dinner.

Elise offered him her roasted potato, which he pushed back. Natalia's gaze swept over the two of them.

Torches were lit on the watchtower at night, appearing faint in the wind and snow.

Above the ice-free bay at the end of the Great Wall, several huge luminous orbs floated. These were cast by the chaplains accompanying the army. They had to be replenished every now and then, which was very troublesome, but it was the cheapest way.

Amidst the howling wind and snow, Eric stood atop the watchtower for a while, then replenished his faith enhancement buff (which had no side effects) and released an ultra-bright, long-lasting illumination orb into the air.

“Only now do I truly understand Your Highness’s identity as a saintess,” Natalia said beside him.

When fully charged, he radiated holy light, making it difficult for anyone to look away.

"It is truly a pity that Your Highness was unable to attend my ceremony of ascending to the throne as Holy Maiden."

“If I go, I’ll have too many reasons to leave. I can’t allow myself to leave.”

Eric looked at her resolute profile, then looked away before she turned her gaze away. "What time does Your Highness usually rest at night?"

“When I really want to sleep,” Natalia said, “Your Highness will know how much I hate the night once you stay here for one night.”

She gazed at the bay and snowfield below the giant wall, thinking, "I may yearn for that eternally radiant divine kingdom even more than Your Highness."

Eric was speechless.

"Your Highness Eric, please go and rest."

Good night, Your Highness Natalia.

As he descended the watchtower, he glanced back before entering the passageway.

Natalia was looking this way, and smiled slightly at him, "Good night."

(End of this chapter)