Archbishop Georgios once again hefted his warhammer into a ready stance.
“GYAAAAAAAHH!! He’s serious! This guy’s seriously trying to kill me! And damn, I’ve never felt so out of place! I’m the Pope, and yet—is this really the heart of the Holy See!?”

How do I say it, well… Something deeply wrong was happening right before my eyes. In this closed room, a literal, physical coup—or rather, a regicide—was about to unfold.

“Um… this has gone a bit too far, don’t you think? Violence is not the answer,”
I stepped in to intervene. I couldn’t just stand by and let a murder happen in broad daylight.

“Exactly! Solving things through violence is just the worst,” Coppelia chimed in beside me, hopping on the bandwagon—but honestly, her saying that was kind of its own comedy routine.

“Hmm. For my part, I do believe violence has its place as a necessary deterrent…”

Unable to keep up with the madness, the templar knights—who’d been left behind in the earlier frenzy—finally caught up. They looked at me with eyes full of awe… or maybe even reverence?

“She forgave a molester like that…”
“An angel?”
“She’s an angel.”
“I’ve seen an angel…”

“Guys, seriously—do your jobs already.” For once, Coppelia said something entirely reasonable. Snapped out of their daze, the guards quickly swarmed over and restrained Pope Theodoros, who had been trying to quietly slip away.

“Guooohhh! Remember this! Even if I fall, a second and third Pope will rise—!”

Dragged out of the room, his desperate cries echoed endlessly down the corridor.
Utter chaos. Truly.

♢♦♢♦♢

“…In the end, the council just dissolved into a mess. And in that kind of situation, how could we possibly have reversed the ruling anyway?”

As I buried my head in my hands, still reeling from everything that had just happened, High Priestess Teressa silently nodded in front of me, while Cardinal Callisto burst out with a loud, wheezing laugh: “Gyahahahahaha!”

“Well, to be fair, His Holiness the Pope is actually quite capable. He’s descended from the old Eunice royal family, though that line is officially extinct now. And while he keeps it hidden, his divine power is nearly on par with Archbishop Georgios’. On top of that, he’s one of the rare men who can use healing magic—up to the intermediate level. When he was younger, he was a stunningly handsome man—far beyond even Brother Lawrence, if you can imagine—and every girl in the Holy City was smitten with him…”

A soft sigh escaped Lady Teressa’s lips.

Ah—maybe Lady Teressa herself once admired him? The thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t dare ask. Her silence, though, spoke volumes.

To think someone once so admired ended up like that… It must be a source of deep personal regret. I get it.

“But that bloodline of his is a bit of a headache,” Cardinal Callisto added in an offhand tone, as though making casual conversation. “See, the old Eunice royal house sided with the dark gods during the Holy-Demonic War—Finis Jihad—and got wiped out for it. That’s one thing within countries still connected to the old Eunice legacy, but outside those places, folks are bound to treat him with suspicion. That’s why, in the new northern alliance forming soon—tentatively called Livitium—he’ll never be able to take a leading role. At best, he’ll have to settle for being a kind of behind-the-scenes patron. Painful, but that’s the reality.”

—And with that much hinted at, even I can start to piece a few things together.

“Could it be… that His Holiness the Pope’s shameless behavior and frivolous attitude are actually a disguise to keep others from becoming suspicious!?”

“No, that’s just how he is.”
“Yeah, definitely just him.”

I had thought maybe he was doing an Ōishi Kuranosuke impression or something, but they shot it down so fast I felt completely deflated.

“That said, it seems they intend to pull His Holiness off the public stage and put forward a new symbolic figure—the Shrine maiden Princess. I can more or less guess what His Holiness and the Archbishop are planning.”

Lady Teressa gave me a knowing look, and as if responding to it, Cardinal Callisto poured himself another glass of firewine and said:

“Well, someone like me, way down the ranks, doesn’t see the whole picture. But right up until the last minute, they were arguing whether to raise up little Clara here or young Lady Eliza. When Eliza—who had the mainstream faction’s backing—ended up no longer being usable, they all unanimously agreed to push Clara instead.”

He raised his glass as if offering a toast—congratulations, or something.

“What is that supposed to mean!? ‘No longer usable’!? That’s far too heartless, after everything Eliza has done!!”

“Lady Clara, we should just let go of what’s past and think about the future,” said Coppelia, apparently trying to calm me down, but it only fanned the flames.

“Don’t say things like that! She’s not dead!!”

“She might as well be,” said Cardinal Callisto, gulping down his firewine and continuing with a sneer.

“A young shrine maiden gets kidnapped, and over a day passes. Even if she survives, her career as a shrine maiden is as good as over.”
“What—!? Hold on! The kidnapper is a woman, too! Doesn’t that sort of concern—”
“People who want to speculate will speculate. Sadly, rumors often outweigh the truth.”

With a sigh, Lady Teressa concluded the matter. I was about to blurt out another emotional retort—but I suddenly realized we hadn’t even found a single lead on Eliza’s whereabouts. That thought hit me hard, and I lowered my gaze, biting my lip.

“………”

Silence hung in the air for a moment until a soft knock came at the door. A young priest-in-training hesitantly stepped in.

“Excuse me… Um, a messenger from St. Ravier Church has arrived. They’re asking to meet with Lady Clara. A man identifying himself as ‘Dan’ showed up. He left a message saying he’s found ‘an important lead.’”

“!!”

A miracle! A perfectly timed breakthrough! I turned on my heel immediately.

“We’ll discuss the Shrine Maiden Princess and all that later! And I will save Eliza, no matter what. When I do, I ask that you give her a fair chance as well—I beg you from the bottom of my heart!”
“W-wait, Lady Clara!!”

Without waiting for a reply, I dashed out of the room… then ran two or three steps before realizing I had no idea where the exit was, and had to turn back and ask for directions.

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Ragweed Princess, Translations

Ragweed Princess Chapter 139 (Part 2)

August 26, 2025 Liomad Leave a comment

Ragweed Princess

Princess Syltianna, known as the Ragweed Princess, is cast out and left to die, only to be saved by a witch. Regaining memories of her past life as a high school boy, she trains as a witch, aiming for a quiet life—only to accidentally overachieve and bring trouble upon herself!

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