I Became the Teacher of the Imperial Family’s Bastard

037. Historia (1)

All intelligent beings on this land believe in God.

However, it is not believed for its political function as a religion, but because gods actually exist and bestow their blessings.

This was not much different for humans.

Since the time humans existed as slaves to other races, even before that, there were gods who bestowed blessings upon humanity.

Namely, Fate and Hope.

They were twin goddesses who lay in the pantheon of the divine realm, overseeing the flow of the mortal world.

Just hearing their names, one can tell they are extraordinary gods.

In fact, their hierarchy is quite high even among the gods.

At this point, one might wonder, despite the existence of such gods, why were humans slaves to other races?

The answer is, I don’t know.

No, no one in the world knows.

Isn’t that right? How could a mortal creation, bound by fate, understand the will of the supreme gods?

Such grand stories are for scholars to discuss in the first place.

So let’s talk about the realistic part.

After humans achieved liberation and established a nation, the first thing they did was select bureaucrats to establish an administrative system and priests to serve the gods.

Among them, the priests built temples in human lands, and as these temples gradually developed, they became what is now the Papal Court.

This is where it gets important.

The Papal Court serves two gods.

Naturally, there are two factions within it.

The Order of Fate, and the Order of Hope.

Fate and Hope preach different faiths in the same space.

By now, you should have a rough idea.

“There is a hierarchy struggle.”

The Crown Prince smiled faintly as he spoke.

As he said, within the Papal Court, there was a power struggle between the Order of Fate and the Order of Hope.

Thus, representatives were needed to proclaim their superiority, and thus were born the ‘Saint of Fate’ and the ‘Saintess of Hope’.

They were the ones with the most outstanding potential within their factions at the time.

That is the background.

Now, let’s delve a little deeper.

“Hope has never once defeated Fate.”

It was always Fate that moved the Papal Court.

Hope remained in opposition within the Papal Court only for nominal reasons.

There is one reason.

“Well, Hope does not bestow grace.”

Since the liberation of humanity, the god of Hope had never once bestowed blessings or revelations.

Only the followers of Fate were graced within the Papal Court.

Thus, Hope barely maintained its existence through those born with her divine power.

Even the citizens of the Empire, when thinking of the Papal Court, would call upon the god of Fate, revealing the disparity.

Of course, at this point, it seems that Fate and Hope are all the same.

‘Can’t even stop a single demon, and the leader is staggering.’

In a different light, it is not an incomprehensible matter.

In the first place, gods and demons are only different in direction, but they do not possess an equal hierarchy.

A saint is merely a blessed creature, not a god itself.

In other words, it has been revealed that while it is possible to reverse summon a demon summoned by the church’s blessing through the example of a commoner girl, it is impossible to recognize any concept used by the demon.

Anyway, let’s get back to the main topic and talk about the policy we should take in this situation.

The crown prince tried to use their power structure.

“For the Hope Church, it’s an opportunity. If the saint were to cause some unfortunate accident like Beatrice, or if signs of it were discovered, the fate of the time would weaken. The hope that is barely maintained would get a chance to stand at the center of the Papal Court. It would be an opportunity they have been eagerly waiting for, wouldn’t it?”

“Indeed.”

“The factions are different. In other words, even if the entire Fate Church is caught in some scheme, the Hope Church can doubt it.”

“That is also correct.”

“Their political relationship will help us. If we make the Hope Church suspicious, we might be able to find the saint’s abnormal signs without lifting a finger. So, you move the saint. Your reference investigation will probably go to her.”

From a political fight perspective, that is correct.

It is certainly a plausible plan.

The more oppressed people are, the stronger their desire for power.

However, the crown prince missed one variable.

“Can you do it?”

I answered.

“It is difficult.”

“Yes! If it’s you, you can do it… huh?”

“It is difficult to move the saint.”

“Why?!”

The crown prince’s smile creaked.

“Hey, Yuren. Why do you speak of difficulties without even trying? That’s not like you! Hmm?”

Did he think I was scared?

No, seeing him so desperate, he probably just thought I was being lazy.

Both were wrong.

I conveyed what I knew to the crown prince.

“The saintess is a clergy.”

“Right. She’s a saintess because she’s a clergy!”

“I’m not talking about her profession.”

“…Hmm?”

Would it have been better if it were such a simple story?

A sigh escaped me.

I poked my chest with my index finger.

“Here lies the clergy. So, we can’t drag this into a political fight.”

Even as I spoke, those words from my memory resurfaced.

―You have to believe in the will to be good. That’s my duty.

Just recalling that unnervingly bright smile weighed heavily on my mind.

* * *

When was it?

The fall of the Papal Court was news I heard one day while I was in a cell, having lost track of time.

I couldn’t determine the exact time because I had long given up on counting the days.

One day, my sister, who came to visit, said this:

―The Papal Court has fallen. They say the Saint of Fate has violated a taboo.

It wasn’t about summoning demons.

The system had already suffered a plague once due to Beatrice’s incident, and the surveillance was intense because of it.

In particular, the Papal Court was criticized for failing to handle the incident, and internally, the vigilance and crackdown on demons were very strict.

So, the taboo the Saint violated was something else.

―They say he was researching forbidden books. I don’t know when he started, but they say the research the Saint was conducting contaminated the inside of the Papal Court. All those with divinity either died or became crippled. Those who were not in the depths barely survived…

What the Saint did was horrific.

―…He became something that could no longer be called human.

What he was researching was none other than the ‘species mutation experiment’ that the nocturnal races studied when humans were slaves in the distant past.

It was an experiment so horrific that nothing could compare to it among the bizarre black magics.

Can you understand if I tell you that the race that devised and founded that black magic was exterminated in simultaneous attacks due to the outrage of the entire continent?

It was that severe.

Species mutation was a taboo that denied the identity of a creature as a creation.

No one ever knew why the Saint conducted such research.

Even the person who knew the reason was caught in the accident.

―When discovered, the Saint had fallen into a grotesquely twisted mass of flesh. It was Sir Drenor, the head of the knights, who ended his life. Sir Drenor described the Saint’s form as ‘a monstrosity that should not exist in this world.’

He became a grotesque mass of flesh, caught in the storm of the experiment he had brought upon himself.

Thus, he was slain by Sir Drenor.

The motive behind his research and experiments with the forbidden book was lost forever in the eternal labyrinth.

What followed was as such.

―The Papal Office was criticized for failing to properly manage the distribution of the forbidden book. It is a chaotic time, is it not? Consequently, the judgment seemed to be decided haphazardly.

The forbidden books discovered or acquired by the Empire are sent either to the Forbidden Book Vault of the Imperial City or the Sealed Vault of the Papal Office, depending on their type.

Among them, books related to racial mutation experiments were kept in the Sealed Vault.

This was because they were considered taboo from a religious perspective, as they harmed the relationship between species and gods.

The Papal Office’s misconduct in managing this was the crime.

Moreover, with the death of the person involved in the incident, the responsibility became ambiguous.

Meanwhile, the accident caused public sentiment to become turbulent.

Whatever the case, the Imperial Family had to deal with the aftermath.

Here is one unfortunate fact.

The emperor of that time was the second prince.

The worst in the history of the Empire.

···No, he was considered the worst tyrant since the concept of a nation existed, the second prince.

That man did not handle the incident himself.

He chose an easier and more cowardly method.

―The Saintess was brought to trial.

The Saintess, who was in a position to closely monitor and check the Saint, was designated as the criminal and responsible party.

The second prince accused her of her crimes with methods that were close to absurd.

Despite the fact that she was also not unscathed from the aftermath of the experiment, with most of her body… twisted.

―I haven’t seen it myself… but they say it couldn’t be called human. The Saintess, in such a body, stood trial and bore all the sins of the Holy See, and was imprisoned.

My sister rarely showed regret that day.

―I don’t know if such treatment is right for someone who stayed until the end to prevent the spread of contamination at the moment of the accident. It’s confusing.

Though she expressed it mildly, my sister felt extreme anger at the decision of the Second Prince.

I didn’t say anything.

Being locked up and swinging a sword, I couldn’t care less about what happened to others outside.

I just said this about the Saintess at that time.

―A pathetic human. If it were me, I would have run to the Imperial Palace and cut off the Emperor’s head right there.

…It was a rather twisted opinion of that time.

Anyway, that’s all I know about the incident at the Holy See.

And it was later that I personally got close to the Saintess.

As I said, she was imprisoned with her body twisted.

And she survived in that state until the end of the Empire War.

What does that mean?

―Saintess? This hideous thing?

―You damn prince, can’t you speak properly?

―Hmm? Why should I?

―I’m tolerating your ugly homeless face, aren’t I? Let’s show some respect.

―Hehe, it’s okay. As the commander said, I’m no longer a Saintess. There’s no Holy See to exalt me. Just call me Historia.

That woman also went to war as a prisoner soldier.

Saint Historia was the medic of my direct subordinate unit.

* * *

Lost in thought for a long time.

Emma brought a message.

“Young Master! The Holy See is coming!”

I slowly opened my eyes.

I saw my room, and beyond the window, I saw the garden of Pharos.

There was a white carriage crossing through it.

Around it, holy knights in white full plate armor were escorting the carriage.

I stood up and straightened my clothes.

“I’ll go down.”

“Ah, yes. The lady is…”

“She won’t be home. It’s not good to leave her in such a grim atmosphere.”

Fortunately, my sister had an external schedule, so I asked her to leave a little earlier.

It would be troublesome if she misunderstood my attitude towards that woman.

Meanwhile, Emma looked worried.

“Isn’t it, isn’t it going to be a problem? They say the Holy See’s inquisitors are very scary…”

“I’m Pharos. Damn it. They’d have to be crazy and risk their lives to mess with me.”

I sighed anew at the fact that it was the crown prince who attempted it.

Shaking off my thoughts, I left the room and went down the stairs.

I passed through the mansion’s hall and emerged at the entrance.

There, I saw a carriage approaching.

The carriage quickly drew near.

Then, the paladins and the carriage came to a halt.

A moment of silence.

One of the paladins, who had stopped with disciplined posture, opened the carriage door.

I couldn’t help but stare at the woman who descended from it.

Hair as white as the first snow of winter, skin just as pale, and golden eyes peeking through lowered lashes.

The atmosphere created by these features was serene and dazzling.

It felt so out of place.

‘Was this her face?’

The Historia I knew had distorted facial muscles, eyes bulging from her cheekbones.

Her arms had four joints, her waist was hunched like a hunchback.

Not to mention, she had three legs and wings with plucked feathers sprouting from her back.

Above all, her skin was dark purple.

Such a woman originally looked like this.

Suddenly, I remembered something Liam had said at a drinking party where the squad had gathered.

―Did you know our saintess was drop-dead gorgeous back in the day? I saw her once, from a distance…

―I still think I’m beautiful now!

―Eck.

―Eck? What’s with that reaction?

―Uh… Lieutenant?

―You b*stard, you shouldn’t have said anything.

―Lieutenant, what do you think of me!

―Get your face out of here. You’re ruining my appetite.

―Puhat! That’s too much!

They said Historia was the most beautiful woman in the empire.

The goddess of hope bestowed her appearance upon this land instead of her blessing.

‘What happened after that…’

Yes, the crown prince, who was listening, added one more word and made Historia angry.

Historia went to Hanna and confiscated all of the crown prince’s cheeseburgers, and the crown prince knelt and begged Historia.

That day was one of the few amusing days amidst the dreadful days of war.

Some parts of that time have become memories for me.

Therefore, a bitter smile emerges.

“I greet the head of the Pharos family.”

Isn’t it so well realized that memories are mine alone?

I suppose so.

I must acknowledge that.

I have become a stranger to this person.

We have become a relationship that knows nothing of each other.

Thus, I have become nothing more than a witness.

Time is not merciful enough to take away only the sad moments from me.

It was only after accepting it throughout the winter that I could finally greet her.

“I greet the Saint of Hope.”

Inside, I still felt uneasy.

It was inevitable.

– Lieutenant, everything will be fine when you wake up.

This was the one who saved me and then died miserably.

End

ⓒ papapa.

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