Demon King of the Royal Class

Chapter 287

In the outskirts of the provincial city of Saint-Ouen in the Duchy of Saint-Ouen, Adriana was gradually readjusting to life in the monastery.

A calm and peaceful life, like the turning of a wheel. The noise that characterized daily life at the Temple seemed like a distant memory. Adriana’s days were now quiet.

“Sister, the Mother Superior is calling for you.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

Adriana left the prayer room and walked slowly down the silent corridor.

There was no reason to hurry in this place.

Everything was calm and serene.

It couldn’t be called a joyful place, but Adriana was slowly readjusting to it and finding satisfaction in it.

Occasionally, faces from her past would come to mind, but she had left all that behind.

She had to forget all of it.

Standing in front of the Mother Superior’s office, Adriana smoothed out her clothes.

Knock, knock.

“It’s Adriana. I was told you called for me...”

—Come in.

Mother Superior Melia had cared for her since she had been very young, and was practically like her own mother. Although someone else had held the position of Mother Superior when Adriana was very young, Melia took over after the previous Mother Superior had passed away.

Melia had been saddened by Adriana’s return from the Temple. She had sent Adriana there, hoping she would share her talents with more people.

Ultimately, though, Adriana chose to return, and while the Mother Superior was saddened by her decision, she did not reproach her for it.

Mother Superior Melia, the head of the Art-Ouen Monastery, sat in her study, a place devoid of decorations and filled with books, looking at Adriana with a gentle smile.

“Sit down.”

“Yes.”

Adriana sat on a wooden chair across the wooden desk at which Melia was sitting. The room was marked by its simplicity, devoid of any opulence.

If there was anything of value here, it would be the books. The Art-Ouen Monastery was not an easy place for thieves to break into, but if they did, they might be moved to leave their own belongings behind instead.

Mother Superior Melia, overseer of this austere house of faith, looked at Adriana with a soft smile.

“How is life in the monastery, Adriana?”

“It’s good, Mother Superior.”

“Has it been difficult to adjust?”

“No, everyone has been treating me well, just like before...”

Everyone had been paying a lot of attention to Adriana since her return from the Temple, and she had no issues getting along with people. The Mother Superior also regularly called her in for conversations to ensure she was adjusting well.

“Do you regret leaving the Temple? If you’ve changed your mind, I can still talk to them.”

“It’s alright, Mother Superior.”

Though she never did so forcefully, Melia occasionally asked if Adriana wanted to return to the Temple, and Adriana’s answer was always the same.

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She did not want to experience any more confusion. She believed that spending her remaining days in this peaceful and tranquil place was the best thing for her.

“I see... So you’re still firm on this, Adriana.”

“Yes.”

Adriana had no desire to return to the Temple.

Perhaps it was a lie to say she had no desire at all, but for the moment, she was content. Melia stood up, placing her hands on the table.

“Shall we take a walk together? It’s been a while.”

“Yes, Mother Superior.”

Adriana always felt good speaking with the Mother Superior, so she stood up without hesitation.

Melia did not lead her for a walk inside the monastery, but led her outside.

There was little else besides the Art-Oun Monastery on the outskirts of Elsion, a provincial hub city in the Duchy of Saint-Ouen. The monastery was surrounded by open fields, covered in dry grass being blown about by the winter winds.

Melia placed her hand on Adriana’s shoulder and a gentle white light enveloped Adriana, providing warmth.

“The wind is cold,” she said.

“Ah, thank you, Mother Superior.”

The pair of them walked through the winter-chilled fields, wrapped not in coats but in the warmth derived from Divine Power.

“Adriana.”

“Yes, Mother Superior?”

“It’s been almost a year since the Demon King was defeated.”

“... Yes, it has.”

Humanity’s long-awaited goal had been achieved, and these were the days that followed the end of a great saga.

The Demon Realm, which had posed a threat to humanity for so long, had collapsed, and the Demon King had been defeated by their hero. Humanity had achieved the victory it had longed for.

Adriana didn’t quite understand why the Mother Superior was bringing this up now. However, Melia always started with such stories before giving advice that was helpful to Adriana, so she kept quiet as she walked beside her.

“The Demon King has fallen, and the demons who served the Demon God have all disappeared. Humanity’s wish has been fulfilled, and so have the wishes of us believers, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Yes.”

The demons who served the Demon Gods... If the enemies of humanity were the demons, then the enemies of those who believed in the Five Great Gods were the forces of the Demon God.

Now that the demons who believed in the Demon Gods had been defeated, the humans who followed the Demon Gods would also perish. This was also a victory for the followers of the Five Great Gods, and Adriana had no objections to this.

“However, I believe this victory is also a crisis.”

Adriana tilted her head in confusion. “A crisis...?”

Melia gazed deeply across the winter fields.

“The empire has begun to fear the power of the Church of the Five Great Gods.”

“Ah...”

“To achieve the will of the gods, the Order of the Holy Knights gathered to perform their sacred duty, but the empire sees the seeds of rebellion in them. How unfaithful and disgraceful.”

Adriana had never heard Melia speak like this before.

“The empire needed the power of the Church of the Five Great Gods to win the war against the Demon Realm, but now that the hunt is over, they seek to oppress us, treating us like mere hunting dogs.”

“Did you say... Oppress...?”

“Yes. The empire is increasingly encroaching on our sacred authority. They have already done so once.”

Melia turned to look at Adriana. Her gaze was not the gentle and kind gaze of a mother that Adriana was used to. It was filled with anger and resentment.

“Replacing the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights with someone of their choosing reveals the empire’s ambitions, doesn’t it, Adriana?”

Adriana felt as if she couldn’t breathe.

“Th-That was because the former Commander... committed a crime...” she said, her voice trembling.

“Adriana, that is probably imperial propaganda.”

Truth could always be twisted, and rumors had the propensity to become distorted.

“The former Commander achieved the great feat of conquering the Demon Realm. The empire, fearing that the Order of the Holy Knights might rebel, saw him as someone who had to be kept in check.”

Adriana’s eyes widened.

The former Commander had been discovered attempting to torture his adopted daughter, and these crimes of his were grounds for his dismissal.

The Mother Superior believed that the empire had fabricated evidence and falsehoods in order to replace the Commander of the powerful Order of the Holy Knights and keep them in check. Although the first half of the accusation wasn’t true, the empire did indeed desire to keep the power of the Order in check.

It was easier for people to believe in rumors that were easy to digest rather than those that were credible.

This was a rumor that appealed to the faithful, a suggestion that the empire had begun persecuting the Church of the Five Great Gods.

But Adriana knew the truth.

It was the truth that she and Reinhart had discovered. In reality, another classmate of Reinhart’s from the first year had uncovered the truth, but the two of them had been closely involved in the whole situation.

The Mother Superior did not know that Adriana had been directly involved in the matter, so she believed that the replacement of the Commander was a scheme by the empire.

“Moreover, since the new Commander is openly pro-empire, there’s no need for further explanation, is there?”

The monastery was far away from the capital.

The dismissal and replacement of the Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights was perceived as religious persecution by many believers.

Leverier Lanche was a hero of the Great War. Although his actions warranted his removal from the position of Commander, his removal inevitably sparked a backlash among many religious followers.

In reality, the dismissal of the Commander had not been decided by imperial authority, and couldn’t have been.

The decision had been made by the Council of the Five Great Popes, but the faithful from the various orders believed it was due to the empire’s pressure.

“Adriana, while it is a virtue for the faithful to stay out of politics, when the persecution of religion begins to happen, it becomes a matter we must concern ourselves with.”

Mother Superior Melia, who had never spoken about politics in her life, was now talking about it because she believed the empire was persecuting the Church.

Melia looked deeply into Adriana’s eyes.

“With the elimination of the Demon Realm, the Order of the Holy Knights serves as a unified body through which the faithful of the Church of the Five Great Gods can be in communion. The unfaithful will misunderstand and misinterpret this, believing that the Order of the Holy Knights is a threat to the empire, and will try to dismantle it.”

The Order of the Holy Knights, a force united under the Church of the Five Great Gods...

It was an unprecedented organization.

The Order of the Holy Knights had been created to aid in the conquest of the Demon Realm, but it couldn’t be disbanded just because the Demon Realm had been vanquished.

The Order of the Holy Knights also served as a place where members of the various sects of the Church of the Five Great Gods could gather and commune.

If the empire tried to unilaterally dismantle the Order of the Holy Knights, it would lead to significant trouble.

However, even without any overt statements by the empire, members of the religious sects like Melia already believed that religious persecution had begun.

The war between demons and humans had begun in a similar way. Neither side intended to attack the other, but they had prepared massive armies anyway, believing that the other side would attack first.

Thus began the Great War.

When people start believing in non-existent violence, what would they do?

“We cannot remain idle, Adriana.”

“M-Mother Superior...”

“We must unite the power of the Church of the Five Great Gods and stand against the empire.”

Naturally, they prepared for violence.

Adriana was both terrified and puzzled by Melia’s words.

After all, the Art-Ouen Monastery was not a militant group.

How were they supposed to unite their power? What exactly was happening, and why was she telling Adriana this? Adriana couldn’t understand any of it.

“Adriana, the Nameless Monastery needs you.”

The Nameless Monastery...

Adriana had never heard of the Nameless Monastery before. Melia gently took Adriana’s hand, leading her further along.

“Adriana, I fear sending you alone, but the person you are about to meet has promised to protect you as much as possible. They have assured me that there would be no danger.”

“Wh-Who... who am I meeting exactly...?”

Adriana crossed the summit of the hill, buffeted by the billowing winter wind, and saw a carriage parked by the roadside, with a few people standing beside it.

Though most of the faces were unfamiliar, one of them was instantly recognizable.

At that moment, Adriana understood why the Mother Superior of the monastery in a district far from the capital of Saint-Ouen had said all those things to her.

Melia held Adriana’s hand gently. “He has suffered unjustly due to the empire’s schemes, and now seeks to restore his honor.”

Adriana realized why Melia felt reassured that she was placing her in this person’s charge.

Since she did not know the full details, there was no reason to be afraid of entrusting her to this man.

“Are you Adriana?”

“...”

Adriana’s face turned pale as she looked at the cold-faced, middle-aged man.

It was the former Commander of the Order of the Holy Knights, Leverier Lanche.

He was staring at Adriana silently.

Just by looking into his eyes, she could tell. Leverier Lanche knew that Adriana was involved in the incident that had led to his dismissal.

He had come knowing this.

But Mother Superior Melia was unaware of this.

“She is a kind and gentle child with a strong will. Commander, please take good care of Adriana.”

“Do not worry. I know she is a fine prospect,” Leverier Lanche responded.

She believed in Leverier Lanche’s innocence. That was why she was handing Adriana over to him so easily. She had no qualms entrusting her to him.

Melia, whom Adriana had trusted and followed like a mother, had, at some point, become part of an unknown, secret organization. Leverier Lanche placed a hand on Adriana’s trembling shoulder.

“There is no need to be so frightened, Adriana.”

Adriana couldn’t even open her mouth to speak; her whole body was trembling. Leverier Lanche’s cold gaze bore into her.

“Anyone would think you had committed a great crime.”

Why was he taking her?

What was Leverier Lanche planning?

Adriana had no answers.