Chapter 291: Obedience

The monastery.

Priest Agamemnon stood before a massive map, holding in his hand several markers inscribed with noble family crests.

Phil sat on the table, his eyes fixed intently on the map.

Melia, sitting off to the side in boredom, said, “Aren’t you going to assign a noble to the Diocese of Rod? Jeven has far too much to handle there on his own.”

On the map, nobles had been placed in all the other territories, but the Diocese of Rod remained blank.

“There are some places that need to be kept clean,” said Priest Agamemnon. “The Diocese of Rod is sealed off by the Northwind Mountains to the north, bordered by the York Territory to the south, and blocked by the Aberrants to the east. It is just right to serve as a clean ground. And any noble placed there, squeezed in between, would never be able to develop properly. It would be better to hand it to Jeven.”

Melia said, “Jeven will know what you’re thinking, and he’ll definitely curse you.”

Priest Agamemnon laughed and said, “Letters cursing me from Marl and Jeremiah have already arrived.”

Melia glanced oddly at the map, then said, “I can understand Jeremiah cursing you. After all, you relocated the entire Doyle Territory to the western border, adjoining the lands of the Principality of Valorian. Although that land is still fertile, it means Doyle has been driven from its ancestral ground. That’s as good as throwing him out of his own home. As the Bishop responsible for the Diocese of Doyle, Jeremiah will likely be squeezed out by Marquis Gregor, so it’s natural he cursed you.”

“But Adrian’s territory you only expanded without relocating him. Would that alone make Marl curse you?”

Though noble enfeoffments went through the Senate, everyone in the Church and among the nobles knew the Senate was just a mouthpiece. The real orders for enfeoffments came from Priest Agamemnon.

Priest Agamemnon said, “Marquises and Earls are mostly defenders of the borders. These high nobles wield too much power. So even if Marquis Gregor Doyle hadn’t been given his title, he still had to be moved away from the kingdom’s center. All the more so now that he has been granted the title. Richard Adrian, on the other hand, only had his lands expanded—adjacent to Aberrant-occupied land—so he didn’t need relocation.”

Melia said firmly, “That’s just an excuse.”

Priest Agamemnon looked at her with approving eyes and said, “Yes, it’s only an excuse.”

“Although Marquis Gregor’s Doyle Knight Order has already raised their banner, they do not have concrete oaths like Richard’s Oath Knights. Moreover, unlike Richard, Gregor lacks independent Faith. Because of this, the Doyle Knight Order’s bottom line is more flexible. So Marquis Gregor and his knights are better suited for external interaction, even drawing in and influencing the Principality of Valorian.”

“Besides, Marquis Gregor doesn’t want to stay too close to Marquis Richard. Richard’s brilliance is too dazzling, and it would overshadow his own status within the Doyle Knight Order. So Marquis Gregor himself is actually very satisfied with this arrangement.”

“He has been able to distance himself from Marquis Richard and has gained nearly twice the land of his original county.”

Melia asked, “Since Marquis Gregor is satisfied, then why did Jeremiah curse you?”

Priest Agamemnon replied, “Because he has to manage the relocation of commoners. Though the Church promotes the freedom of the people, and this authority has gradually been accepted by them, outside the York Territory, noble influence remains too great. So great that these people naturally regard themselves as noble property. And Doyle was the most heavily populated territory, with more than a hundred thousand commoners. These people must migrate to new lands. Meanwhile, nobles already in those places will also be moving their own peasants.”

“This is an enormous undertaking. Even with his position as bishop allowing him to command the nobles, the relocation and resettlement of so many commoners is enough to give him endless headaches.”

Melia suddenly understood and said, “No wonder you arranged the second push of the war for that time. Just after the fighting ended, the spring wheat had just been harvested. At this moment, by carrying out the enfeoffments, when the commoners reached their new lands, they could begin planting the winter wheat immediately.”

Looking at Priest Agamemnon, she added, “No wonder he cursed you. Right now, he has no helpers at all, and all this burden falls on him. He might well be worked to death.”

Priest Agamemnon smiled and said, “How could that be? I’ve already transferred three priests over to assist him. They will help.”

Melia snorted, “If it weren’t for the fact that they’ve only just been granted priestly robes, still burning with zeal and not yet having felt the grind of real work, they too would be cursing you.”

Priest Agamemnon said, “They are the Servants of the Lord. They should spread His teachings.”

Melia asked, “Does spreading teachings also include negotiating with nobles and directing the migration of peasants?”

Priest Agamemnon only smiled in response, saying nothing. He held the crest of a Viscount’s family and placed it onto the land that once belonged to the Principality of Corlay—marking the territory he had chosen for this Viscount.

Melia then asked, “Why did Marl curse you? Nothing major has changed in his territory, has it?”

Without raising his head, Priest Agamemnon answered, “Because of Richard’s oath.”

Melia was puzzled. “Oath?”

“Yes, oath,” Priest Agamemnon said. “Marquis Richard’s lands were not relocated. He retained his ancestral ground, and it remains at the front line. He can continue to cleanse the Fishmen, leading his knights to battle. For that reason, he is very pleased with his enfeoffment.”

“But Marl knows that in order to uphold their oaths, Richard’s Oath Knights will inevitably clash with nearby nobles.”

Melia suddenly realized. “Bravery, protecting the weak, spreading justice—those oaths are for the shelter of commoners. As his order grows, as more and more knights are willing to abide by those oaths, they will inevitably clash with the nobles who mistreat their subjects?”

Priest Agamemnon said, “Yes. And with Oscar guiding the bard apprentices to constantly remind the knights of how certain nobles mistreat their people, repeating again and again that such cruelty to the weak is unjust, not in accordance with the Commandments… this will only fuel the conflict.”

Melia said, “So as time goes on, Richard will surely clash with the nobles. And since he is in the kingdom’s very center, he will provoke conflicts across all noble lands quickly?”

Priest Agamemnon lifted his head, admiration in his eyes. “Yes, that’s right. He will become the most exalted knight in the kingdom—in the mouths of the common people, at least.”

Melia clicked her tongue. “But he’ll be ostracized by all the nobles. No wonder Marl cursed you. You’re using Richard as a weapon.”

Priest Agamemnon asked, “You’ve met Richard. Do you think he would be displeased if he learned this?”

Melia thought of that fool she had met and said, “He would be overjoyed, and would probably wish to plow through the whole kingdom with his knights.”

Priest Agamemnon said, “See? My arrangements are all reasonable.”

Melia smacked her lips. “Tsk. The two nobles are happy enough, but Marl and Jeremiah are going to be worked to death.”

Priest Agamemnon nodded in satisfaction. “It seems your recent outing has taught you quite a lot.”

Melia snorted. “Of course. If I hadn’t learned, you’d just send me out to work again. That was over thirty thousand people, and so many nobles among them. Just thinking of the way they looked at me makes me want to gouge their eyes out.”

Priest Agamemnon said, “If you wish, you could go again. Jared would surely be honored to dig up those rotting corpses of nobles for the beautiful Miss Melia, for you to deal with as you please.”

Melia said, “Forget it. I don’t want to get dragged into work by Jeven again.”

Thinking of Jeven, then recalling Marl and Jeremiah, she could not help but add, “Aside from Claudy, hasn’t every bishop in the Church cursed you?”

Priest Agamemnon said, “No. Claudy cursed me too.”

Melia was stunned. “He had the nerve?”

Priest Agamemnon said, “I pulled seven priests out of York Territory to distribute to the lands of the Personal Guards.”

Melia counted on her fingers, then sighed. “Then he really had reason to curse you. York Territory has more than thirty villages, and now only eleven priests left. You deserve the cursing.”

Priest Agamemnon, unconcerned, said, “Two border marquises, five border earls—spread across the kingdom’s frontier. They’ve seen the Eastern Expedition’s command firsthand. And regardless of whether they still hold loyalty, their merits and legitimacy come from their identity as Personal Guards. Thus, they must uphold loyalty. Otherwise, their deeds have no meaning. So they demanded priests be sent to their territories.”

“Of course, whether or not they are truly loyal, they at least understand that only through obedience will they gain the best rewards.”

“And precisely because they are at the borders, it is all the more necessary to send priests there to preach. Not only to influence the lands within, but to slowly spread outward from the frontier.”

Melia asked, “So the marquises and earls have all been settled. Do the other nobles also need such detailed assignments? That Knight Hode who returned not long ago is still waiting for your audience.”

Priest Agamemnon said, “For people like him, things can be more casual—but not too casual. We must give them benefits, so their lands will be larger. We must give them deterrence, so they must obey orders and move away from their ancestral lands. Southern nobles will be moved north, eastern nobles west. Everything thoroughly scrambled.”

“They must learn obedience.”

“Unfortunately, the surviving nobles are all clever men. None have protested, each one showing extreme compliance with the Church’s arrangements. Otherwise, blood and death could have been used to sharpen the eyes of the rest. Without death and blood, change is not deep enough for some.”

“That’s why I am now making this second adjustment, placing the nobles in suitable places so they can serve their purposes.”

Melia said, “Fine. Perhaps in your eyes this was necessary. But what about Knight Hode? He was enfeoffed as a Punishing Knight by the Pope himself, and even carries a Holy Relic.”

Priest Agamemnon paused in silence for a while before shaking his head. “Greenwood still needs time. The Fishmen haven’t yet been cleared, the Eastern Expedition isn’t fully ended. We cannot divert any spare strength northward.”

Melia asked, “Then what if he goes to see the Pope?”

Priest Agamemnon said, “The Pope will not see him.”

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