The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 189 Frostwind City

After the ceremony welcoming the saintess into the city ended, Count Donovan was completely dizzy.

—In front of all the nobles and commoners who came out of the city to welcome him, Her Highness highly praised his noble act of supporting the border, and kept calling him by words he had only seen in the holy scriptures, even saying that his act was a "saintly righteous deed." He began to feel dizzy at that moment.

He felt like a white cloud that could only be seen in the southern sky, light and fluffy—of course, this feeling might be even stronger if he looked down and saw the ground instead of his protruding belly.

"saint……"

When he came to his senses, his heart was still pounding.

Does Her Highness mean that he has a chance to be nominated as a saint of the past century?

Those saints who are still celebrated today were all people who made great achievements and significant contributions during the Dark Ages. After the Church of Jela was established as the state religion of the empire, every hundred years the church would nominate one hundred devout believers and then select one of them as a saint of that time.

Donovan didn't dare to dream of becoming the only saint of the hundred years. He knew he was far from qualified, but as long as he was nominated and became one of the hundred, he felt he would have no regrets in his life.

He even began to consider whether he should send his mistress away and bring his first wife back to erase any stain on his record that might affect his nomination.

Twenty years ago, when his father said he would inherit the family and the title, Donovan wasn't as anxious about it as he is now.

Meanwhile, Eric, who had already arrived at the cathedral, was wondering why, despite his enthusiastic praise, he hadn't seen a second nobleman come to him asking for donations of money or grain.

Even a small amount of money is still money. Even if it's just a cartload of grain, that's enough to warrant a personal audience with him, right?

Did we set the bar too high, and the other nobles don't know how to follow suit?

“Your Highness Eric, the last time we met was at a secret meeting in the Papal Palace. We haven’t seen each other for several years… Last year I also returned to Lessier to report to His Holiness the Pope, but unfortunately Your Highness was not in the Holy City at the time and had no chance to meet you.”

“It has been a long time, Archbishop Hugo.” Eric forced a smile, then glanced back, but still no one followed.

"Your Highness?"

"It's nothing... It's my first time here, I'm just a little curious."

"This cathedral is only relatively old; in other respects, it can't compare to His Highness's Palace of St. Mary in any way."

Eric smiled but didn't pick up on the topic.

"Your Highness just praised Count Donovan for performing a 'saintly act.' Are you perhaps considering nominating him as one of the candidates for sainthood of the century?" Archbishop Hugo asked casually.

Eric paused for a moment, then quickly shook his head. "One thing at a time. I just think Earl Donovan's noble behavior deserves such praise."

Archbishop Hugo suddenly realized and nodded in agreement.

"Your Highness, this is where you will rest. If you hadn't insisted on keeping a low profile, I would have prepared a grand welcoming ceremony for you here."

“No need for such trouble, Archbishop Hugo. I already felt your hospitality outside the city.”

Archbishop Hugo chuckled. "Your Highness must have gained quite a bit from this trip north."

“I have gained a lot of insights,” Eric remarked. “The old saint said that reading ten thousand volumes of scriptures is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, and traveling ten thousand miles is not as good as meeting ten thousand people. This is indeed very true.”

“The old saintess is right… Your Highness has had a long and arduous journey. Why not stay here a little longer and fully digest these insights?” the archbishop said.

"I can't stay any longer. There are still many things waiting for me to take care of at the Holy Maiden's Palace."

The two chatted for a while before ending their conversation, but it wasn't all just meaningless pleasantries. Just as Eric wanted to probe Archbishop Hugo's attitude toward the Papacy's growing conservatism, the latter also wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the Papacy's direction through Eric.

After Archbishop Hugo left, Eric flopped onto the bed and remained silent for a long time—his mouth hadn't stopped since he entered the city.

A moment later, Sophie came to his room.

Is Your Highness asleep?

"almost."

"Governor Forrest invites you to a dinner at the Governor's residence."

Eric opened his eyes. "Didn't we say that when we entered the city? Why have you sent people again?"

“No.” Sophie chuckled and sat down next to him. “I was just worried that Your Highness might oversleep and forget.”

Eric glanced at her, then reached out and pinched her waist.

"Ah! It itches..."

Sophie twisted a few times.

“You really wanted to wander around, right? Go ahead, just remember to come back before dinner,” Eric said.

"Can't Your Highness come with me?"

"Do you still want me to hold your hand while we go out?"

“…No, not at all.” Sophie sighed, knowing he couldn’t possibly wander around with her—even if they did go out, he would be with other knights and nuns.

“Let Elise come with you,” Eric added. “She probably hasn’t been around here before either.”

"—Then you're wrong, Your Highness."

Elise also came to his room. "More than ten years ago, when the High Priest first found me, he stopped here for a few days on his way back to Lutia. At that time, I did take a short stroll around Frostwind City."

"It's been over ten years, it's no different than never having been here. Do you still live here?"

"Yes, but the high priest insisted on a regular room and refused the nuns who were to serve him."

Eric lay still, letting out a short laugh that even he himself didn't know had multiple layers of meaning.

Elise sat down on his other side. "Your Highness must be tired after talking so much?"

“I already racked my brains to say those few words.” Eric glanced at her sideways. “The itinerary that Alena prepared for me didn’t include any content praising the nouveau riche who made charitable donations. It was all my own idea.”

"Your Highness is truly amazing!"

My ears are itchy.

Elise pinched his arm lightly, then stood up. "Let's go, let His Highness get some rest."

Sophie was somewhat disappointed, but she still left with her.

Eric lay down alone for a while, then got up, found paper and pen, and wrote several letters.

The first letter was to Natalia, informing her that a large quantity of grain was to be delivered to the Black Ice Wall and asking her to check it.
The second letter was to Alena, instructing her to keep a close eye on the Vatican's movements and to increase the frequency of her contact with him as needed.
The third letter was written to his uncle, in which he told him about the situation on his side and asked him to adjust the assassination plan.

Eric went outside and called the nun. After thinking for a moment, he left a letter for Natalia and mailed the remaining two letters.

Many nobles are attending tonight's banquet, and perhaps even more kind-hearted people will be willing to donate money and food. We'll tell Natalia then so she can make connections with the people here.

As darkness approached, Elise and Sophie returned to the cathedral and went with Eric to the governor's mansion to attend a banquet specially held to welcome the saint.

This is, after all, the largest city in Northria, and the person hosting the banquet is the governor of a province, so the banquet is quite large. Compared to the somewhat noisy welcoming ceremony outside the city during the day, the banquet in the evening is much more elegant, and the minimum person who can participate in the banquet is a minor nobleman.

The nobles, large and small, of the city awaited his arrival, watching him walk into the plaza-like courtyard of the governor's mansion, take his place in the most prominent spot, and raise his cup in a triumphant shout:

"Your Highness—"

Eric raised his crystal glass, gestured to the left and right, and then drank it all in one gulp.

The atmosphere of the banquet shifted into a more warm and peaceful mood.

"Is Your Highness finding your stay at the cathedral satisfactory?"

Governor Forrest of Northria was a middle-aged man in his forties. Perhaps because he had spent many years in this icy land, his expression remained frozen. “There are many empty guest rooms in the Governor’s Mansion. Your Highness can stay here at any time.”

“Not bad, Governor Forrest.” Eric clinked glasses with him.

He remembered hearing his uncle say back in his hometown that the governorship of Forrest was inherited from his father—the governorship of all provinces should have been personally selected and appointed by the emperor, but the old governor wrote a letter to Lutia before his death, recommending his son as the new governor of Northria, and the emperor could only accept it reluctantly.

The situation was basically the same in other provinces. Eric chatted with Forrest about various things, and other nobles would occasionally come over to greet and chat with them, though of course, the focus of their greetings was still Her Highness the Saint.

After a while, Count Donovan came over with a wine glass and greeted the two men respectfully. Unlike other nobles who tried to chat with them, he drank a glass of wine and then went elsewhere.

Forrest looked at Eric. "I intend to appoint Earl Donovan as Northria's treasurer. What does Your Highness think?"

"Judging from Earl Donovan's generous donation to support the border, he is a devout and responsible man. But that's all I can see, and I don't know much about local politics. Whether it's appropriate or not, I leave it to the Governor to decide," Eric replied calmly.

Forrest nodded and asked no further questions.

Eric estimated that there was probably no problem with this matter. The governor had been interested for a long time, but he hesitated because Donovan had a bad reputation and had been reported by people. Now that the saintess was standing up for him, at least in the short term, no other nobles would bring up the issue of Donovan abandoning his old wife.

"What is the governor's opinion on the demons' southward advance?"

"If the demons can really break through the Black Ice Wall, I will defend Northria to the death."

"Perhaps it would have been easier to focus on defending the Black Ice Wall from the start?"

"The problem is that the demons are nowhere to be seen yet, Your Highness. When the demons do appear, my people will immediately appear at the border."

After chatting for a while, Eric casually pointed to the other side of the courtyard, "I'm afraid only in the Governor's mansion can you see those flowers that bloom in May and June in the South. I'd like to go take a look. Would the Governor like to come along?"

He extended an invitation, but Forrest could tell that it meant he shouldn't follow.

They had covered most of the topics they could talk about, and the saintess was very interested in the topics that couldn't be discussed. He wished he could stop there, but as the only person at the banquet whose status matched hers, he had no choice but to stay and accompany her.

Now that Her Highness the Holy Maiden has taken the initiative to end the conversation, he is naturally happy to do so.

"Please make yourself at home, Your Highness."

Eric smiled and nodded, then walked across the courtyard to the other side, pretending to admire the flowers.

This was indeed the first time he had seen such vibrant flowers since venturing deep into the North, and he wondered how they had survived in such a cold climate.

"If Your Highness likes them, please pick a few to take home. No one will dare to say anything."

"This isn't a good look." Eric glanced at Elise, who was walking over. "I haven't seen you guys for a while. Where have you been?"

"Since no one will come up to talk to us, we should go get something to eat first."

Not only the saintess, but also the accompanying nun knights were invited to the banquet. However, for them, the real purpose of the banquet was to enjoy a good meal.

Because she was wearing a nun's habit, even though she was more beautiful than the other female guests present, no one dared to casually strike up a conversation with Elise.

"Why isn't that governor accompanying His Highness?"

"We couldn't continue the conversation. I said I came to admire the flowers, and he told me to do whatever I wanted."

Eric raised his hand and held up a bright yellow flower. "I've seen many of these flowers in the South. They weren't transplanted here specifically for this banquet. They'll probably die overnight."

"Perhaps," Elise glanced at it. "Would you like to come and get something to eat?"

"Wait a bit, I'm waiting for someone to strike up a conversation with me."

"coming."

"What's coming?"

Eric turned his head and saw a middle-aged nobleman walking towards him, stopping a few steps in front of him and bowing.

"Carlos of the Clive family greets you, Your Highness."

Eric nodded, vaguely recognizing the other person as someone slightly familiar. "Hello, Carlos."

“I met Your Highness last year in Lutia.”

Carlos took the initiative to clear up his doubts, "My mother is from the Turus family. Last year on the anniversary of the exorcism, I spent some time in Lutia and met you when Your Highness came to visit."

"No wonder..."

Eric remembered that before leaving Lutia last year, he had taken the time to visit the old saintess's family.

Carlos looked to be in his forties, probably from the same generation as the old saint's great-niece.

"Long time no see."

Carlos was delighted to see that the saintess still remembered him, and Eric took the opportunity to chat with him, inquiring about which nobles in Frostwind City were relatively wealthy.

Carlos was surprised by his bluntness, while Eric went even further, using Donovan as an example, to express his hope to see more nobles lend a helping hand to the warriors who were holding out in the harsh borderlands.

"Over the past year, Her Highness the Princess on the border has written countless letters to the nobles in the city... but few people are willing to spend money on something that doesn't come in return."

“This is because most people don’t realize that no loss is the best reward,” Eric said.

“But the demons are heading south to deal with all the humans on the continent. It’s not fair to only ask us to pay.” Perhaps because of the old saintess, Carlos was quite frank with him.

His words also reflected the mindset of the vast majority of people in the empire who had the ability to support the border but chose to wait and see.

Guarding the border should have been the responsibility of the royal family. Unless the emperor orders all the nobles of the empire to contribute money to the border, no one is willing to suffer a loss. At least you can hear the sound of gold coins being thrown into water, but when it comes to supporting the border, no one can be sure whether the demons are truly not here or have been blocked outside the border.

Given the current authority of the royal family, the emperor's pronouncements would at most have an effect only once. Natalia believed that unless there was an imminent and real crisis, the nobles would not spend much money, so she never suggested this method to her brother, the emperor, and even wrote to him emphasizing that it was not the right time to do so.

Eric sighed.

"If everyone thinks like this, then the extinction of humanity is inevitable."

"Your Highness..."

Carlos quickly reassured them, "You don't need to worry too much. I've been to the Black Ice Great Wall. It's a formidable fortress, and the demons can't fly. How could they possibly get through that impassable barrier? The Black Ice Great Wall was built with the intention of completely blocking the demons..."

Eric sighed again, looking away. "It's been so many years since you've seen demons. What if they now have the means to tear down the Black Ice Wall?"

Carlos glared. "If they really have that ability, then no one can stop the demons at the border. We might as well all wait to die... Your Highness, I was just saying that. If the demons attack, I will personally go to the battlefield to fight them."

Seeing Eric's gaze turn to him again, he immediately changed his tune.

Eric didn't bother to talk to him anymore, and instead chatted about the old saintess and the Toulouse family to get rid of him.

After Carlos walked away, Elise, who had been plucking flowers for a while, finally spoke up: "Your Highness should now know what most nobles are like."

“I’ve always known,” Eric said, finishing his drink in one gulp. “It’s just that Donovan’s choice made me take it for granted.”

Elise tossed the flower petals away. "Let me get you another glass of wine."

"No, thank you. I'll start swearing if I drink too much."

Elise glanced at him, walked over to him, and gently touched him with her arm in a way that was not conspicuous.

"Shall we go get something to eat?"

Eric took a breath. "What's there?"

"They have everything! This banquet hasn't changed my impression of the extravagant lifestyle of the nobility at all."

"Then eat more, we can't have come all this way for nothing."

They continued eating and drinking, and many more nobles approached Eric with great trepidation, but none of them brought up the lavish praise he had given him upon entering the city.

When he brought it up, the nobles either evaded the question or used the same excuses as Carlos to brush it off.

After the people at the St. Mary's Convent had finished eating and drinking, Eric, not wanting to linger any longer, went back to the cathedral to rest.

During his stay in Frostwind City, aside from continuing to harass Governor Forrest and urging him to take a more proactive approach to resisting the demons, Eric spent the rest of his time providing psychological counseling to the monks and nuns at the cathedral. This made Archbishop Hugo quite nervous, as he openly and secretly tried to probe further about the Church's attitude from Eric.

A few days later, the saintess and her entourage left Frostwind City to continue their planned journey.

(End of this chapter)