105 – The Three Quarters of the World – 7
“That cannot be said.”
The person who suddenly spoke was a cardinal named Bergamo. He was Seonghwang’s rival and a person with a steadfast personality who was evaluated as having the greatest potential to become the next Seonghwang.
If the current prosperous emperor, Alexander IV, is a symbol of corruption brought about by money and connections, Bergamo was a model priest with true faith.
“The territory of the Petrine Republic will be divided between Duke Lucrezia and Princess Leonia? This is ridiculous! “Even if they start out as a Petrine Republic, they will soon try to devour all the small countries in the south!”
“Um… “
“Hmm… “
The cardinals groaned as if they were worried. Even among the cardinals, opinions were divided on what to do with the proposal brought by Salome de Jerón, namely, that the territory of the Petrine Republic be divided between Duke Lucrezia and Princess Leonia and receive an offering of 225,000 ducats in return.
“Wouldn’t it be okay to just a little bit? The territory occupied by Princess Leonia is only about two-thirds of the Petrine Republic. If you divide this in half, it is only 1/3. Wouldn’t it be okay to give away this much territory? It’s at a level where we can kick them out. They say it would be okay to just take the money and kick them out later.”
Hearing what a cardinal said, Bergamo banged the table and stood up.
“Bullsh*t! The enemy’s target is not that kind of territory! From the enemy’s point of view, it’s actually just bait for territory but mana! “The enemy’s true intentions are different!”
“Huh?”
“There is territory, but it is nothing more than bait?”
The cardinals each began to shout. Is there a true intention? What on earth does this mean? Soon Bergamo spoke.
“The enemy is using donations as bait to target the division of Taspilia. No matter how strong the enemy is, if all the countries on the Taspilia peninsula join hands to defeat the enemy, the enemy will not be able to invade Taspilia. But what if we take donations and declare neutrality? A situation is coming where the three nations of Salerno, Petrius, and Salabrica are in conflict with Plos and Clodia! 5 To 1 turns into 3 to 2! Even if we go back and the Taspilians join forces to defeat the foreign enemy, would that be possible? You’re welcome! Trust is like glass, once broken it can never be put back together! Even if you glue it together, its durability will be weaker. So this is not simply a diplomatic issue of dividing land, but an issue of trust between countries. If we tolerate this kind of behavior, the independence of the Taspilians will be shattered!”
“That’s… “
“Sure… “
Other cardinals had not thought in this direction. Yes. The real problem was not the land, but trust. If you break the trust of Taspilians here, you will never be able to gain it again.
At this, the cardinals’ eyes turned to the Holy Emperor. Emperor Alexander IV believed that his political opponent’s argument was right, but he did not dare to open his mouth.
“What are His Holiness’ intentions?”
Alexander answered a cardinal’s question.
“Why is my intention so important? I am old and it is your time now. You guys decide for yourself. “I will follow your decision.”
Alexander said that, but the cardinals were unsure whether to listen to what he said at face value or not. This is because the character Alexander himself was so mysterious that he was always hiding his true feelings. That moment…
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“If we accept the offer, how many years will it take before the entire Taspilia Peninsula falls into Leonian hands?”
It was Salome de Hiron who said that. He was a former cardinal and the person who conducted the negotiations this time in the role of a diplomat. She was participating in the meeting as a diplomat representing the opinions of the Holy Kingdom.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It is literally so. “If we accept Princess Leonia’s offer, how long will it take for Leonia to devour the Principality of Plos, the Republic of Salerno, and the Republic of Petrine and reach the Castle Kingdom of Lydia?”
“Why does that question come up in this situation…” “
“10 Years. “At least that’s what my calculations show.”
Everyone’s eyes focused on Salome at those words.
“Since the Principality of Plos and the Principality of Claudia have similar national power, it will take at least 5 years to reach a conclusion, and even if the Principality of Plos is swallowed up, the remaining countries will join forces to resist, so it will take at least 10 years to conquer them all. “
“Miss Salome, what is that… “
“Ten years until the Taspilia Peninsula fell into enemy hands. And the average age of the highest-level cardinals is 57 years old. “I wonder how many of the people in this position will remain in their positions without retiring until 10 years from now.”
“… “
“… After all, we retire, whether the Taspilia peninsula falls into the hands of her enemies or not?”
“Oh my! I didn’t say anything up to that point. I’m just stating that this is true. The Saint-Arnaud Museum is currently under construction, but it seems that the construction budget is insufficient. We need money to invite artists to fill out the art collection, but it looks like we need 100,000 ducats more in the budget. In this situation, if 220,000 ducats fell from the sky, it would be a great help in the construction of the museum. And when the St. Arno Art Museum is completed, people from all over the world will flock to see the works of art, and donations to the Holy Kingdom will naturally increase, so the economic situation of the Holy Kingdom will improve, right? There will also be other people whose pockets will be enriched by receiving donations.”
It was the clergy, including the cardinal. If many people gather in the Holy Kingdom of Lydia, a lot of money can be made by selling indulgences, and the position of a priest who can sell indulgences can also be sold at a high price. The clergy’s pockets will become richer. Of course, there were those who called out the corruption of the church because of this, but that was the reality anyway.
Gulp. A cardinal swallowed. Greed began to arise in my heart. It was at least 10 years later that the Taspilia Peninsula was conquered. And if she complies with Princess Leonia’s request, she can make a lot of money in those 10 years. The important point was that the Taspilia peninsula was invaded after he had left office, and his money was coming in during his time in office.
Each cardinal began to notice each other. Will they satisfy their own greed, or will they protect the country for future generations? Meanwhile, the cardinals were walking a tightrope. And that moment.
“You crazy b*tch!”
It was Cardinal Bergamo who stood up and started verbally abusing. The other cardinals were horrified by Bergamo’s actions and began to rip him off.
“What on earth are you talking about, selling our descendants for our own selfish interests? They say blood can’t be deceived, and that’s right! Even if the dirty Ceylonian pagans converted to Lydianism, they were still just pagans! In the first place, what qualifications do you have to participate in this meeting when you are not even a cardinal? This is the meeting of the highest cardinals! “If you don’t quit right away, I will pull out my sword!”
Several cardinals grabbed Bergamo and stopped him, but Bergamo continued to try to attack Salome. Salome heard the unusual verbal abuse, but Salome just shrugged his shoulders. At that moment, Pope Alexander spoke.
“There was some verbal abuse that was hard to hear, but let’s skip that. Salome, let’s go out. Then let’s have the real cardinals vote among themselves. Please write down your opinions on this paper and submit it in the box. Those who think that Leonia’s proposal should be accepted can write ‘yes’, and those who think that Leonia’s request should be rejected can write ‘no’.”
“It’s crazy that we even have to vote for something like this! Everyone here will keep their conscience. “Isn’t that right, gentlemen?”
However, there was no cardinal who responded favorably to Bergamo.
“Gyeongdeul?”
Cardinal Bergamo looked around, but the other cardinals just avoided Bergamo’s gaze.
—–
Voting took place soon. And the result of the vote was 7 to 6. 7 In favor and 6 against. Bergamo was in chaos. Should we be relieved that there were six people who kept their conscience? Otherwise, should we lament that there are seven people who sold their conscience?
Anyway, the cardinals ended up selling out the country for their own benefit. Actually, it wasn’t that strange. More than 80% of the cardinals came from countries other than Taspilia. Kingdom of Ilia, Kingdom of Silonia, Kingdom of Swadia, Empire of Arcadia. Born in numerous countries, the moment you are appointed a cardinal, you are granted citizenship of the Holy Kingdom of Lydia. Those who gathered here were cardinals. Therefore, their patriotism was directed towards the country where they were born, not towards the Holy Kingdom of Lydia itself. If he made a profit by selling the castle of Lydia, it was not an act of treason.
Rather, there were few cardinals like Bergamo who purely praised God and were loyal only to the Holy Kingdom of Lydia. The office of cardinal was bought and sold for money, so it was a corrupt era and this vote was only a good representation of that era.
In the end, the Petrine Republic was sold. By the same Taspilians. And Charles, who heard the news…
“It was successful.”
I was filled with joy. That’s right too.
“The unity of the Taspilia Peninsula was broken by the betrayal of the Principality of Plos. From now on, I will be able to conquer it easily.”
It is not long before the Taspilia Peninsula will be in our hands.