Chapter 19

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: The Apostle from Acereto (1)
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Ariadne, with her black hair neatly tied up and dressed modestly in a dark-colored gown, drew the eyes of everyone in the grand cathedral with a dignified voice that belied her youthful appearance and simple attire.

“The Gospel of Manuel, Chapter 19, Verse 17, states that Yesak the Son said, ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.’ Furthermore, the Gospel of Sandro, Chapter 7, Verse 21, clearly testifies, ‘For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.’ Who are you to claim you know the truth better than Saint Manuel and Saint Sandro, two of the six apostles who served Yesak the Son in his time!”

The atmosphere inside the grand cathedral instantly erupted into a chaotic clamor from the murmuring crowd. Yet, despite Ariadne’s challenge, the Apostle of Acereto replied with a gentle smile, showing no emotional disturbance.

“I am but a humble countryman from a remote island village, seeking the word of God. However, God was not always the Father; there was a time when He was alone and not a Father. The eternally existing God created His Son, who had not existed, from nothing. Logically, inevitably, the Son is a creation.”

He continued calmly.

“The great God said in the Kookyoung Exodus, Chapter 3, Verse 14, ‘I am the Lord who creates,’ and at the same time, ‘I am the one true God.’ Yesak the Son is the Son of God and a great prophet, but he cannot surpass God. Divinity is singular, so how can his Son ascend to the same position? Is it not the one and only, the almighty God whom we serve?”

His words were gentle but exceedingly dangerous. Ariadne’s assault on the Apostle of Acereto was fierce. Her logic was unshakeable, and the passages from the Holy Scriptures she cited as evidence were precise, as if memorized in advance, striking at the heart of the matter.

“The Gospel of Paolo, Chapter 3, Verse 16, refers to Yesak the Son as ‘manifested in the flesh of God the Father,’ revealing that Yesak the Son is the very persona of God and also His son! Are you above Saint Paolo, one of the six apostles? Apostle of Acereto, are you denying the Creed?”

“To deny the Creed is unthinkable.”

“Is he denying that Yesak is the Holy Son?”

“It sounds similar to the claims made by the Moors across the sea.”

“Heresy… is it?”

“Should we just let this happen?”

The commotion in the pews intensified. Fortunately, the commoners were gathered in the outer plaza and had not been allowed inside the grand cathedral. Had commoners and nobles been mixed within, someone would have surely thrown filth at the altar by now, and fights would have broken out among the faithful in the pews. On the top right balcony, Leo III’s secretary rushed up, threw open the curtains, and addressed the king.

“Gasp, gasp, Your Majesty. The situation downstairs is alarming. Should I send men to drag them out?”

Leo III was a slow-spoken, large-framed man approaching sixty. Beneath thick, heavy white eyebrows, his brilliant blue eyes glinted.

“Which of the two do you mean to drag out?”

“What? Why, the girl who intruded, of course.”

Leo III smiled faintly.

“If anyone is to be dragged out, it should be the Apostle of Acereto. Why would I remove this unexpected delight? Whoever’s daughter she is, she is remarkably admirable.”

Prince Alfonso, who had been gazing down from the balcony with a transfixed expression, answered.

“It’s Ariadne.”

“What?”

Queen Marguerite, who was also present, answered in her son’s stead. She rarely spoke to her husband, addressing the king only when she needed to speak for their son.

“She is the second daughter of Cardinal de Mare.”

Prince Alfonso proudly added.

“She’s my friend.”

The king looked at his pure-hearted son with a gentle smile.

“You have an interesting friend.”

Seeing the king’s amusement, the secretary stomped his feet in frustration.

“Your Majesty, the atmosphere downstairs is growing volatile. We must do something. What should we do?”

***

Leo III’s secretary was not the only one stamping his feet.

“What in the world is she doing out there!”

Cardinal de Mare was about to lose his mind. The issue with the Apostle of Acereto and his followers was not a simple one. Pope Ludovico was preparing to convene the Council of Trevero to bring the Apostle to heel, but the Apostle’s followers were a formidable force. Pope Ludovico’s barring of Cardinal de Mare from the Council of Trevero should have been a deeply humiliating act for a cardinal, but de Mare had secretly welcomed it. He couldn’t gauge which faction would prevail at the council and was reluctant to take a side. The Pope’s measure had given him a legitimate reason to remain neutral. And now, the neutrality he had so carefully maintained was being shattered by his fifteen-year-old illegitimate daughter—a mere girl who had studied theology for only two months—publicly debating the Apostle of Acereto! Just as the Cardinal, chewing his fingernails, had resolved to call the priests to drag Ariadne away and apologize to the Apostle for the disturbance…

*Thud!*

The main doors of the nave swung open with a resounding crash. The men who threw open the massive wooden doors wore small, triangular white caps. Seeing the peculiar white caps and the black cross emblem on the stoles worn over their priestly robes, someone shouted.

“It’s the Inquisitors!”

The Holy See’s own Inquisitors were storming through the main entrance of the San Ercole Cathedral. About fifty able-bodied priests in the official vestments of the Holy See marched in, forming ranks. Cardinal de Mare, greatly flustered by the sight of a host of clergy from another diocese entering his domain, the San Ercole Cathedral, rushed forward.

“What is the meaning of this!”

“Cardinal de Mare, we have come from Trevero under the command of His Holiness, Pope Ludovico, to punish a heretic!”

The lead Inquisitor scanned his surroundings with an arrogant gaze, then bellowed with all his might.

“Where is the sinner, the priest Alejandro!”

He was referring to the Apostle of Acereto. A crack finally appeared in the Apostle’s expression, who, even while debating Ariadne, had remained positioned at the very center of the main altar, the place for delivering sermons.

“Seize him!”

“Hah!”

At the chief Inquisitor’s command, the priests under him surged forward, forced the Apostle of Acereto from the main altar to his knees, and bound his hands behind his back. The Inquisitor ascended to the top of the altar while the Apostle was dragged below it, their positions reversed. The chief Inquisitor unfurled a rolled edict he held in his hand and began to read.

“Let the sinner hear! The Council of Trevero, convened in the year 1122 of the Continental Calendar, has reached the most considered theological conclusion after fair debate.”

Sensing his fate, the Apostle of Acereto began to struggle. The stout priests holding him down gritted their teeth and suppressed his resistance.

“The Acereto School, which denies the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is hereby declared a heresy that has corrupted the proper interpretation of the Holy Scriptures! Its leader, the sinner and priest Alejandro, for the crime of misleading and deceiving the public, is stripped of his priesthood and excommunicated on this spot!”

“Excommunication…!”

“Good heavens…!”

Excommunication was a social death sentence. From now on, no follower of God could associate or maintain social ties with the Apostle of Acereto—no, with the excommunicant Alejandro. Any merchant who sold him food or any innkeeper who offered him lodging would be a sinner in the eyes of God. He was now permitted no life other than that of a wanderer in the deep mountains and valleys.

“Furthermore!”

The Inquisitor’s voice was sharp.

“Any who followed the Acereto School and do not renounce their views shall be excommunicated along with their leader, and any who aid the excommunicant Alejandro, spiritually or materially, shall be judged for a crime tantamount to excommunication! So declares Pope Ludovico!”

Meaningfully rolling up the parchment, which bore Pope Ludovico’s signature in red ink at the bottom, the Inquisitor turned to Cardinal de Mare.

“Cardinal de Mare, you, too, must answer for allowing the excommunicant Alejandro to preach so boldly in your cathedral.”

Panic flooded Cardinal de Mare’s deep green eyes.

‘It was a trap!’

The Apostle of Acereto had come to San Carlo at Pope Ludovico’s behest in the first place. The Holy See had even graciously specified the date of the Apostle’s visit. The Cardinal, thinking it was merely a ploy to keep him from the Council of Trevero, had accepted without protest. But it was now clear that Pope Ludovico had calculated everything, from the Apostle’s excommunication to implicating the Cardinal as an accomplice.

“Inquisitor, there seems to have been some mistake. I did not summon the Apostle of Acereto…”

Though he knew it would be futile, Cardinal de Mare began to offer excuses in a servile tone, his eyes darting about. What would work? A bribe? A plea? This man was likely a direct subordinate dispatched on the Pope’s secret orders, which meant nothing would sway him. Could he be excommunicated as well? As the Cardinal’s mind went blank, a small warmth entered his left hand as she calmly gave it a firm squeeze. It was Ariadne. The black-haired girl gently but firmly stopped the Inquisitor.

“Inquisitor, if you would hear me for a moment.”

The Inquisitor scoffed.

“Well now, and whose child is this, to so brazenly interrupt a conversation among her elders, who hold the authority to interpret the word of God?”

Every eye in the grand nave was fixed upon them.