Chapter 278: Hit the jackpot again!

Two earls thus swayed past, as if they had already accepted the Church’s “gift.”

The lesser nobles behind them could only exchange helpless looks and dared not say more.

At least while they were still inside the great cathedral, they would not speak up.

Could they question the existence that could lift their “curse”?

But now that the matter of the “gift” had passed, the issue of the “atonement” the Pope had left behind still needed to be resolved.

They had come here not only to pay a visit to the Church that, in a way, counted as their liege, but also to slay the fishmen and seize territory.

Yet now it had become killing fishmen as atonement.

Seemingly understanding the doubts in their hearts, Senator Puniel rose from the front and loudly said, “Monk Agamemnon, those fishmen invaded the kingdom’s lands. As nobles of the kingdom, we must naturally purge them, but having fought bravely, we should receive due rewards — for example, higher ranks and more lands.”

Puniel’s words had, of course, been arranged by Monk Agamemnon.

Actually the same arrangement had been made for Bevan and Councilor Jeffrey, but others had taken over the placements meant for those two.

Corleon had told him what “gifts” would be given and the sins the Church would lay on these nobles; Corleon had not interfered with the cleanup of the fishmen or the redistribution of lands, leaving those matters to Agamemnon to handle.

Agamemnon had hesitated a long time before finally deciding not to let the sins the Church declared meddle in politics — to continue, as had been the case in the York territory before, where the Church would focus on grassroots faith while political affairs were left to politics.

Therefore, Puniel’s words made no mention of the sins and atonement Corleon had talked about.

Agamemnon said, “Once the fishmen are cleared out, that will be the time to grant each of you the appropriate rewards. At that time, there will be the golden dragon seal of Lundex as proof.”

Agamemnon produced a ring kept in a box. The ring bore no gemstones; instead it was fashioned with the gilt half-relief of a dragon.

This was the Lundex family’s emblem — a temporary piece Agamemnon had recently had Oscar make for him.

Originally Agamemnon had intended to get one from Cicero, but Cicero had been staying with Marl, saying he was building a formidable castle and would not return.

So Agamemnon had to have another made.

Pegira possessed only a banner; he had nothing that proved identity or family seal.

Of course, Pegira did not need such things.

But now the Church did, these nobles did, and Agamemnon did.

No one questioned the ring, just as no one corrected Puniel’s words about the kingdom and the fishmen invading the kingdom’s lands.

They needed a pretext, something to unite them under, so by now Greenwood had always been Lundex kingdom territory — and this ring would be its symbol.

They rose together and bowed deeply to the ring.

Including the three councilors in the front row and the two earls.

As for the sins and atonement that Puniel had not mentioned, no one brought them up now.

…

That night none of the nobles slept. After leaving the great cathedral they gathered in small clusters in hidden places and whispered about the brief and uncertain “coronation ceremony.”

By the next day, when York City grew noisy, the three baron councilors held an impromptu banquet that almost every noble attended.

Almost, because the two earls did not go.

They had gone to the monastery.

Agamemnon was somewhat surprised that the two earls had sought him out instead of attending the councilors’ banquet.

That had been his signal — to let these nobles know some things Agamemnon would not tell them directly.

Yet these two earls had not attended; they had come to him.

One of them was the strongest among the present Greenwood nobles who bore the dragon-eagle; the other now held the largest number of vassals, more than those in the York territory.

Earl Gregor’s Doyle territory had, fortunately, escaped the recent wars; at most it had taken a few fishman servants leaking over from Earl Richard’s fiefs. The greatest loss had been the knights, soldiers, and holy relics Earl Gregor’s father had taken out with him.

But Agamemnon reflected that both earls had subordinate nobles — once those subordinates learned what had been said at the banquet, they would surely tell their lords.

Earl Richard said, “Now that the fishmen have been driven out and I have reissued enfeoffments within my lands, the reality is that more than half the villages in my fief still lack clerics. Therefore I think the Church should promptly dispatch more clerics to my lands.”

Earl Gregor’s eyes brightened.

Last night Richard had pulled him along with oaths and such, successfully making Gregor feel that he had gained a big benefit by following Richard.

So today he had not gone to the banquet with his own subordinate nobles; instead he had continued to follow Richard, and Richard’s words now made Gregor understand he could get something good.

Gregor said, “Yes, that is right. In my territory there is currently only Jeremiah the cleric, yet I have so many villages and towns. I believe the Church should also dispatch more clerics to my lands as soon as possible.”

From Jeremiah, Gregor had seen how useful Church clerics could be. Given barely half a year under Jeremiah’s governance, his treasury had almost doubled and he had gained another knight. Although he had fewer soldiers, those that remained had become, by all visible measures, elite fighters whose combat capability had increased.

What a lord should pursue besides land — was it not exactly these things?

Gregor did not care at all about the administrators and gentry Jeremiah had executed along the way.

His only slight grievance was that Jeremiah had set some rules for him, but compared with the visible increase in wealth and fighters, those rules were no problem.

So when Richard asked for clerics, Gregor eagerly joined in.

After he spoke, Richard had given him a startled look that then hardened into hostility.

Gregor, remembering Jeremiah’s instructions, first froze, then glared back in the same hostile way.

Richard’s expression then turned into something like admiration.

Agamemnon paid no heed to the exchange in their eyes; he only felt a headache.

Clerics were already scarce — at most five qualified clerics could be produced in a month, and often there were only one or two.

Never mind the two earls’ territories: after the clergy of the York territory read the story of Bishop Landon in the Land of Anathema, many had expressed their wish to go south to preach in those faith-starved lands. For this reason Bishop Claudy had openly and covertly asked Agamemnon for people several times, saying that as the Church’s headquarters, the York territory could not even manage to have one cleric per village.

But these were two nobles who were actively requesting clerics for their own fiefs, and both were earls — so Agamemnon could only placate them.

He looked at Richard and said, “Your territory already has the most clerics among the Church’s parishes. But if you need them, this year I will assign at least five clerics to you, and clerics from your lands may recommend monks to come to the Church headquarters for study.”

Richard muttered discontentedly, “Only five, huh.”

Although his face showed dissatisfaction, he felt some joy in his heart.

Before he had come, Marl had told him, “If I go to Agamemnon to ask for people, he will refuse outright; but you are an earl, so if you go to him for men he will not refuse. He will, for political reasons, give you some. But cleric training is stringent; only about thirty can be trained a year, so you take whatever you can.”

And now Agamemnon could promise five — that was enough to satisfy him.

Seeing Richard mutter, Agamemnon breathed a small sigh of relief. He looked at Gregor and, hesitating, said, “Your lands have not yet been organized into a parish; there was, in fact, no plan to send new clerics. But you are so devout, I will report to the Pope and propose dividing your Doyle territory into a new parish. Jeremiah will soon return to the Church headquarters to assume episcopal duties, and this year we will dispatch three clerics to your lands.”

Three clerics — that equaled three Jeremiahs, and Jeremiah would be promoted to bishop. Given the situation in Richard’s neighboring territory, Bishop Jeremiah could remain at his castle to handle civil affairs.

Gregor felt he had gained again.

Yet he also imitated Richard’s tone and muttered discontentedly, “Only three, huh.”

Agamemnon was drenched in sweat.

Then Richard, following Marl’s wishes, requested the Church establish a monastery in his territory on the grounds that his fief was large and needed learned people to serve as officials.

Gregor quickly followed suit.

Agamemnon could only say painfully that he would negotiate with the Church’s monastery as soon as possible so that within the year their territories could begin cultivating apprentices who could become officials.

Thus one earl, who had completed what his bishop had asked, left the monastery frowning but inwardly pleased.

The other, who acted according to his cleric’s guidance and thereby gained things he did not fully understand but which Richard valued greatly, also left frowning but secretly happy.

Only Agamemnon was left with a headache.

…

After several days of banquets hosted by the three councilors, the nobles large and small had finally decided.

If they raised their swords and killed the fishmen, they would attain merit, could gain higher ranks, and obtain larger territories.

And although the throne was nominally vacant, with the Church of the Sanctuary holding the reins of royal power tightly, they grew increasingly excited and boarded their carriages to return to their fiefs.

As for those sins or atonements, the councilors had only shown them Church scriptures in passing; with little emphasis, these nobles whose left eyes were full of lands and right eyes full of titles simply ignored them.

As for that “gift,” after several viscounts had confirmed they could still use their holy relics and that the relics’ influence on them had lessened, they chose to set the matter aside for the time being.

Even if they were unhappy, what could they do? The existence that could strip away their “noble bloodline” was not something they could possibly rebel against.

Moreover, judging by the power structure in the York territory, even without the “noble bloodline” they could still attain corresponding positions.

So now the most important things were to kill fishmen, seize lands, and climb the ranks.

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