Wizard Earl

Chapter 38 The Guacertino Incident (Part 1) (Please add to your favorites and vote!!!!)

"I am a priest of the Church of Storms, oh beautiful goddess!" Margaret slightly raised her head, glanced at Connor, and said softly:

"The Church of Storms?" Connor was immediately startled upon hearing Margaret reveal his identity, but he quickly replied, "Praise be to the goddess, may she be with me!"

The Storm Church and the Earth God Cult are the two major orthodox religions of the Kaman Empire. Any other religious organization is considered a cult in Kaman. Within the Kaman Empire, the ruling class—represented by the royal family, the Kaman nobility, capitalists, and others—and the Church are in a state of mutual dependence and support, intertwined and interdependent.

The Church must abide by the Imperial Religious Law and must not interfere in the internal affairs of the Empire. Furthermore, the Imperial Constitution stipulates that the Church not only enjoys privileges such as tax exemption and having its own armed forces, but also that the succession of power within the Church is entirely determined internally, and the Imperial administration must not interfere.

Of the two churches, the Church of Storms is far more powerful in all aspects compared to the relatively moderate Earth God Church. And in the western coast of the Empire, within the traditional sphere of influence of the Church of Storms, even the local imperial administration is subject to their influence.

Connor remembered George telling him that just two months ago, Guacertino, a famous textile merchant in Loen, had his hundreds of workers in three factories strike because he made a lewd joke at a banquet to Bishop Constantine of the Storm Church in Loen! At first, Guacertino was a tough guy and refused to back down, but the strike lasted for a whole week, causing Guacertino's textile factories to lose nearly 10,000 gold pounds.

Guacertino could no longer hold on and tried to ask someone to mediate with Constantine, but Constantine completely ignored him. In desperation, Guacertino had no choice but to strip naked and kneel in front of the Church of the Storm in Loen for a whole night before he could barely get a meeting with Constantine. In the end, Guacertino kissed Constantine's boots in front of all his workers and publicly donated 10,000 gold pounds to the Church of the Storm, which finally calmed the strike at his factory.

Although the incident ended with the church's resounding victory and a slap in the face to the capitalists, it severely exacerbated the conflict between the ruling class, represented by local capitalists and nobles, and the church in Rune. George secretly told Connor that the lower house of Rune was secretly petitioning the headquarters of the Storm Church in Bernau, the imperial capital, requesting that Constantine be replaced as bishop and that a new bishop be appointed for the Storm Church in Rune!

"Mr. Connor, are you also a believer in the goddess?" Connor asked casually, just to fit the occasion, but Margaret seemed to take it seriously, looking at Connor with considerable surprise.

"I..." Just as Connor stammered, struggling to find the right words to explain everything, the music from the band in the banquet hall slowly faded. A handsome young man darted to Connor's side, looked at Connor, then at Margaret, and said with a smile, "Connor, so you know Miss Margaret?"

"Young Master George, I just met Mr. Connor!" Margaret explained to George with a smile, then turned to Connor and said, "It's a pleasure to dance with a gentleman like Mr. Connor!" After saying that, Margaret gave Connor a deep look and gracefully left.

"Connor, you know what? You're amazing! I was planning to introduce you to the surprise of Margaret, but I never expected you to surprise me like this!" Sitting on a sofa in a dimly lit corner of the banquet hall, George punched Connor on the shoulder and winked, saying:

Connor, unmoved by George's teasing, forced a smile and pondered for a moment. Then, he picked up an orange from the table in front of him and, while peeling it, casually asked, "George, since this Margaret appeared at your father's birthday party, you should know who she is, right?"

Upon hearing Connor's question, George pointed a finger at him, a knowing smile spreading across his face. "I knew you were the biggest womanizer, Connor. Your sweetheart Rebecca just disappeared, and you're already thinking of moving on to someone else?"

Connor paused slightly as he peeled the orange, then felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. George's mind always wandered to things like men and women. But then he thought it was good that George thought that way, saving him the trouble of making up stories to deceive him. So Connor didn't explain further, popping the whole peeled orange into his mouth and muttering, "Tell me quickly, what's the background of that angel...?"

George cautiously glanced around, making sure no one was paying attention to him and Connor, then lowered his voice and whispered, "Remember what I told you: 'Remember what I told you about Guacertino?'"

Connor nodded; how could he possibly forget something like that?

"Half a month ago, seventeen nobles led by Marquis Harry in the Upper House and nineteen members of the Lower House led by the wealthy businessman Mr. Del, a total of thirty-six people, secretly submitted a joint proposal to the Storm Church headquarters, suggesting that the Storm Church dismiss Constantine. If the Storm Church adopts their proposal, they will donate 100,000 gold pounds to the Storm Church in the name of the two houses of the City of Rune. If the Storm Church refuses, then all the properties under the ownership of the thirty-six members will indefinitely cease donations to the Storm Church!" George tried his best to keep his voice calm, but Connor could still sense the excitement in his voice.

In this era, the most important reason why the Church can rival the ruling class of the Empire is the trust that the vast majority of the lower classes have in them. Compared to the king who rules them, the people are more willing to believe in the gods they worship. However, it is very regrettable that more than 90% of the clergy, who are considered sacred figures in the hearts of the people and who walk among the earth following the will of the Storm Goddess, are actually philanderers who appear compassionate on the surface but are actually thieves and prostitutes in private.

The donations from nobles and capitalists to the Church of Storms were essentially protection money, ensuring their factories and estates wouldn't experience strikes! And as the clergy's lifestyle became increasingly extravagant over the years, the "donations" they demanded from capitalists and nobles grew larger and more frequent with each passing year!

(End of this chapter)