The Battle for the Sovereignty

The Battle for the Sovereignty

The Battle for the Sovereignty

Immanuel — The Returned Branch Royal

In the Sovereign temple, a small white bird sailed into my office. It wheeled above the desk, then turned into a magic letter that fell right in front of me. It must have been from Lord Raublut; I could see his signature green ink on the page. He probably wanted us to tell the royal palace it was time to get ready for Spring Prayer.

Before I could inspect the letter further, Curtiss picked it up and started to read. He was my attendant now that I’d taken over as the High Bishop. As a blue priest, he only aided me with work-related duties—unlike the grays who oversaw my daily life—but he was my attendant all the same.

“Brother Immanuel, there is no name attached to this letter, so I cannot tell who sent it. Its contents are also a mystery to me...”

I took the letter from Curtiss. He had only been doing his job—attendants were obliged to read any correspondence first before passing it along to the High Bishop—but I was displeased with him nonetheless. This letter had come from Lord Raublut, of all people. Though the sender’s name was omitted and the contents were coded, I did not want anyone to see it. Especially not Curtiss, who had served Relichion, the former High Bishop, before serving me.

The risk is too great. It was Lord Raublut who dispatched the previous High Bishop.

Relichion had always been a fool. Back when I’d stated my desire for Lady Rozemyne to become the Sovereign High Bishop, he had told me I was speaking nonsense—that he was the High Bishop. He was so arrogant and self-centered, and it amazed me even now that he had thought he would stay in his position when Lady Rozemyne entered the temple. As a wielder of the true divine instruments, she was better suited to the role than anyone. Under her guidance, we would be able to perform true, divine rituals once again.

But alas, Relichion had opposed our savior. It made no sense. He lacked dedication to the gods despite his standing.

Lord Raublut had ultimately deemed the former High Bishop an obstacle to be eliminated; Relichion’s general disinterest in reviving the ancient rituals had made him uncooperative when it came to enabling the return of a Zent candidate. In his desperation to remain the High Bishop, he had denied anyone capable of obtaining the Grutrissheit, so Lord Raublut had used poison to silence him for good.

“Brother Immanuel, who sent you that letter?” Curtiss asked, bringing me back to reality. “Do you know?”

“No, I do not recognize this hand,” I replied.

Curtiss took the letter back from me, aware that I was asking him to destroy it. But rather than getting straight to work, he stood in place and continued to look at me.

Hmph. How troublesome...

Relichion’s death had made Curtiss suspicious—he had taken to reading every message I received—and this confusing anonymous letter had only made that worse. I wanted nothing more than to relieve him of duty and do away with him, but I’d only recently taken over as the High Bishop and wouldn’t be able to perform my duties without him. I would need to wait at least a year, much to my distaste.

“Curtiss, send a letter to the royal palace: I wish to visit the Royal Academy to start preparing for Spring Prayer. Extol the importance of the ritual and stress that we must go there without delay.”

He stared at the letter, then at me, then cautiously stood down. I gave further instructions to the other attendants, slowly clearing the room.

Once everyone was gone, I stood up and quickly approached a nearby door, which I opened with the key I wore around my neck. Beyond it was a storage room meant for objects that only the High Bishop could use, so I was the only one able to enter it. This room was why Lord Raublut had sought the aid of the Sovereign High Bishop. Relichion had refused and died, so I had taken the role in his place.

I looked around, then headed to where the medals of those who had gone to Lanzenave were kept. Two white medals sat inside flat boxes.

“The newest of these two would be... this one.”

I picked up one of the medals, stuck it inside a storage box, and then returned to the office. I would now be able to retrieve it right away when the royal palace permitted our entry to the Royal Academy. Curtiss would not find the mere existence of a box suspicious; I stashed it inside my desk and pondered the person registered to the medal within.

I suppose the new Zent candidate has returned, as per Lord Raublut’s plan.

Indeed, the medal apparently belonged to a new Zent candidate—a member of a royal branch family who left Yurgenschmidt upon coming of age to become the king of Lanzenave but would return to obtain the Grutrissheit and rule as a true Zent. This meant there were now three candidates, the other two being Lady Detlinde of Ahrensbach, who had caused the Zent-selecting circle to flash, and Lady Rozemyne of Ehrenfest, who performed rituals with the true divine instruments.

Lord Raublut normally attended when King Trauerqual was given reports or participating in discussions, so he knew how to obtain the Grutrissheit and the requirements one had to meet. The information he had given me reached so far beyond what I could research on my own that I could not verify it, but it was said that only a royal born with all elements could receive the Grutrissheit. Lady Rozemyne had come exceptionally close only to be denied at the last moment for not being a royal. King Trauerqual planned to remedy that by adopting her during the next Archduke Conference.

How ridiculous.

Lady Rozemyne was the perfect candidate to become the Sovereign High Bishop and revive the old rituals. I could not bear the thought of the royal family stealing her away from me, which was why I’d agreed to cooperate with Lord Raublut.

If this branch royal obtains the Grutrissheit, nothing will stand in the way of Lady Rozemyne entering the Sovereign temple.

I recalled the gleam of the true divine instruments she had wielded and sighed, overcome with bliss. In her hands, Flutrane’s staff sparkled with green light—something I’d never seen from our temple’s replica. And then there was her spectacle with the cape of Darkness and the crown of Light. My chest grew hot, and my body trembled with excitement.

I wanted Lady Rozemyne. The temple deserved her. There was no one better suited to serving the gods as the Sovereign High Bishop.

My deal with Lord Raublut was simple: I would help his branch royal obtain the Grutrissheit in return for Lady Rozemyne. A saint able to perform true rituals would become the Sovereign High Bishop, I would assist her as the High Priest, and together we would revive what the rest of the country had forgotten.

I was dying for that day to come.

We received permission to enter the Royal Academy three days after Lord Raublut sent his letter. Under normal circumstances, a scholar would arrange our visit immediately, but an unusual matter had delayed us. The royal family seemed to be in some kind of danger, and we had needed to wait until everything was deemed safe.

To reach the altar at the back of the auditorium, we of the Sovereign temple had to pass through the royal palace. We were following behind a scholar with a feystone that would open the doors in our path. It was our duty to perform divine rituals, but at times like this, we could not help feeling disrespected.

“Oh?”

We arrived at the usual meeting room in the palace to find two princes, each with his guard knights, and quite a substantial crowd of Sovereign knights. I was unsure why they had all gathered, but seeing Lord Raublut with them told me it must have been part of his plan.

“Let us depart,” Prince Anastasius said.

We went with him to the auditorium, Sovereign knights all around us. There were more knights stationed outside the teleportation doors that connected to the dormitories.

“Tensions seem fairly high today. Did something happen?” I asked.

“That is not for you to know,” Lord Raublut shot back, his curt response likely meant to hide our cooperation from the others. Despite his tone, he seemed to be in fairly high spirits; his plan must have been going well.

“I will open the door,” Prince Hildebrand announced once we were inside the auditorium, then took out a feystone and opened the door leading to the Farthest Hall. We passed through the iridescent barrier, and the statues of the gods came into view. “Here we are. Begin.”

From here, we were normally left to our own devices, but there were Sovereign knights standing by the walls and watching our every move. Even Prince Anastasius kept his narrowed gray eyes on us. The blue priests were uncomfortable with being the center of attention and worked slowly as a result.

“Curtiss—pay no mind to the Sovereign knights,” I said. “We might not know why they are here, but they are merely doing their job. We need only do ours as well.”

“That is true, but—”

“Spring Prayer cannot be performed without our preparations. We must start by cleansing the altar.”

I gave everyone clear instructions, and the blue priests began their work in silence. They cleansed the altar, laid out offerings, and checked the mana gathered in the statues’ divine instruments. They forgot about the Sovereign knights watching them and worked in perfect harmony.

Prince Anastasius surveyed us for some time, then nodded and said, “Right. Raublut, I shall do as Father instructed and inspect the rest of the Royal Academy. Look after Hildebrand in my absence.”

“As you will, Your Highness. I must ask that you bring these knights with you and your guards; the search should go quicker if you divide it between yourselves. The first and second squads will stick with you while the third and fourth protect Prince Hildebrand. The fifth and sixth squads will guard the hallway.”

The knights moved as Lord Raublut instructed. Prince Hildebrand watched as more than half of them departed with Prince Anastasius, then turned to the Sovereign knight commander.

“Raublut, where is Anastasius going?”

“To patrol the Royal Academy’s grounds. He was tasked not only with keeping an eye on the Sovereign temple but also with checking the Academy to see whether the Zent can safely return to his usual schedule. King Trauerqual is prepared to lower the royal palace’s guard if a prince confirms nothing is out of the ordinary.”

“We would welcome an end to the lockdown,” said one of Prince Hildebrand’s attendants. “Our lines of communication have been limited since the palace was completely sealed.”

The prince seemed too distracted to respond; he nodded and said, “I see” while staring enviously at the door.

“Prince Hildebrand, you have your own duties to perform in the meantime,” Lord Raublut said.

“I do?” he asked, his eyes full of hope. Though he was a prince, he was also still a child; he must have been bored standing around.

“The Zent has at last given you his permission. You may use this time to obtain your schtappe.”

“Truly?!”

“Lord Raublut, is that true...?”

Prince Hildebrand celebrated, but his attendants had their guard up. Their skepticism was short-lived, however, as Lord Raublut had prepared an excuse.

“We do not know when Prince Hildebrand might be put in danger. A schtappe will allow him to call for aid or protect himself. At the very least, it will make it easier for him to reach a teleportation door. Arthur—you know what Lady Eglantine went through, I expect.”

“I don’t, Raublut,” the prince interjected. “What happened with Eglantine?”

A solemn look clouded the knight commander’s face as he shared the story—an account of the civil war, when an invasion had shaken the villa of the third prince at the time. The prince in question had succumbed to poison while eating dinner, as had those in his family who had dined with him. Their retainers had devoted themselves to nursing their dying charges and searching for the culprit.

As an unbaptized child, Lady Eglantine had instead taken her meal in the playroom. For that reason, she and she alone had survived. The first prince’s forces had then attacked, despite the fact he had already been defeated, so Lady Eglantine had raced through the villa, eventually opening the teleportation door to the Royal Academy to allow Klassenberg’s knights through.

“I never knew she had to go through something so awful...” Prince Hildebrand said.

“If she had obtained her schtappe sooner, she would have been in a better position to defend herself. She might even have reached the teleportation door without losing her nurse. The Zent is treating this state of emergency with the utmost seriousness and wants nothing more than for Prince Hildebrand to be prepared. My subordinates were there when he gave the order.”

Lord Raublut then turned to his knights. “He states the truth,” one said, while the others nodded in agreement.

“We were told to stay with you and ensure that no harm befalls you,” another added.

“I never thought Father would allow this...” Prince Hildebrand said, a smile forming on his face. “He always told me no.”

I could tell from the look on Lord Raublut’s face that this was another part of his scheme, but the others were none the wiser. Everyone trusted the Sovereign knight commander and saw no reason to question him further.

“The Zent has his own ideas,” Lord Raublut said. “I told you this day would come—when the time was right, of course.”

“Yeah! Let’s go, Arthur!”

The Sovereign knights still in the auditorium split into two groups: those who would go with Prince Hildebrand and those who would continue to watch over us. The prince eagerly absorbed a quick tutorial on how to obtain his schtappe, then practically skipped to the side of the altar with his retainers and the Sovereign knights. I could not see how from where I was standing, but they opened a hole in the wall and then proceeded inside.