Chapter 20

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Apostle from Acereto (2)
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Ariadne answered the Inquisitor, her voice calm yet loud enough for everyone in the grand hall to hear.

“My father, His Eminence the Cardinal, was by no means cooperating with the excommunicant Alejandro.”

She took a step forward and looked the Inquisitor directly in the eye.

“His Eminence the Cardinal was gravely concerned about the heresy of the Apostle of Acereto. That is why he prepared for a public refutation!”

‘Prepared, you say?’

The Inquisitor scoffed.

“He prepared? Then he should have stepped forward as the debater himself or put forth another priest with the proper qualifications. What is the meaning of this, putting a little girl forward, Cardinal de Mare? Is this some kind of child’s play?”

It was the same question about her qualifications he had been asking from the start. He even angled his torso toward Cardinal de Mare, his back half-turned to Ariadne as he spoke. Ariadne decided to counter with an attack of her own.

“His Eminence did so out of respect for the Holy See!”

Ariadne’s voice rose.

“The Apostle of Acereto was a guest of His Holiness Pope Ludovico, sent to San Carlo by the Holy See itself! If His Eminence the Cardinal were to personally engage in a religious debate with such a guest, what would become of His Holiness Pope Ludovico’s honor!”

Not losing an ounce of momentum, she took another step forward and pointed a finger at the Inquisitor.

“Furthermore!”

Her finger flew right to the nose of the Inquisitor, who was not even looking at her.

“The content of the Apostle of Acereto’s sermon today was not discussed beforehand in any capacity. While the sermons of an ordained priest are all held to be sacred, to censor a sermon in advance is an utterly unjustifiable act, even if the one doing the censoring were His Holiness Pope Ludovico himself! The people of San Carlo simply trusted that the Apostle of Acereto—no, the priest Alejandro—would deliver a more conventional sermon, out of consideration for His Holiness Pope Ludovico who invited him, and for the people of San Carlo and His Eminence Cardinal de Mare, who are his hosts.”

Ariadne glanced at the Apostle of Acereto, who was being forced to his knees by the Inquisitor’s priests.

“He should have either discussed it with us first or exercised some self-restraint! It is the Apostle of Acereto who has shown no respect for the people of San Carlo and Cardinal de Mare!”

With her clever words, she deftly shifted the blame for the heretical sermon that had echoed through the San Ercole Grand Cathedral from Cardinal de Mare to the Apostle of Acereto. In truth, anyone could have predicted that the Apostle would deliver such a sermon if put on the dais. He was a man who would use any means necessary to spread his word. Strictly speaking, the responsibility lay primarily with Pope Ludovico, who had deliberately invited the Apostle to San Carlo and engineered a situation where he would deliver the High Mass sermon. If another person were to be held accountable, it would be Cardinal de Mare for his passive negligence, as he knew what would happen but did nothing. The Inquisitor seemed slightly burdened by Ariadne’s tactic of repeatedly dragging Pope Ludovico into the matter. But she had no intention of stopping there.

“Moreover, His Eminence the Cardinal was already conducting theological examinations out of concern for the Apostle’s heresy. The theological grounds for a public refutation were all prepared. He simply could not arrange an official debate, as it would have been disrespectful to the Council of Trevero and His Holiness Pope Ludovico! Isn’t that right, Father?”

Cardinal de Mare’s head was spinning. He normally detested his children, with the exception of Isabella, calling him ‘Father’ in public, but this was no time to chide Ariadne for such a trifle. He wouldn’t have been able to complain even if she had called him ‘doggie’ instead of ‘Father.’ He snatched the lifeline that had been lowered from the heavens.

“Yes, yes, of course! Inquisitor, I have regarded the heresy of the Acereto school with the utmost gravity for a very long time. What on earth did His Holiness Pope Ludovico see in the Apostle of Acereto to send him to San Carlo to preach in the San Ercole Grand Cathedral!”

“His Holiness’s clear sight must have been momentarily clouded by the priest Alejandro’s wickedness. Heresy, after all, always appears in the guise of divinity.”

Ariadne swiftly caught Cardinal de Mare’s line. The father and daughter’s back-and-forth was perfectly in sync.

“I was refraining from publicly sanctioning him out of respect for His Holiness’s reputation, but when the sermon from the dais grew increasingly blasphemous, I could no longer stand it and had to intervene!”

The Inquisitor, having arrived late, was not fully aware that Ariadne had been engaged in a theological debate with the Apostle of Acereto during the High Mass.

“Is that… what happened?”

The Inquisitor, who had been addressing only Cardinal de Mare the entire time, finally turned to look at Ariadne as he spoke. His tone was more deferential than before.

- “That’s right! The young lady stopped the Apostle of Acereto’s sermon in the middle of it.”

- “She saved San Carlo’s honor!”

- “How shameful it would have been if we had just listened meekly to the heretic’s sermon until the Inquisitor arrived!”

- “She was brave. Truly remarkable.”

- “Her theological knowledge seemed quite profound as well.”

- “Like father, like daughter, I say.”

The murmuring of the crowd in the hall lent more strength to Ariadne’s position. Cardinal de Mare did not let this heaven-sent opportunity slip away. He cunningly pushed the Inquisitor from the center of the stage.

“Inquisitor! I—no, the Diocese of San Carlo has fulfilled its duty to remain faithful! Do not argue this matter further unless you bring a decree from His Holiness the Pope!”

“But, Cardinal de Mare…”

“Do you have the authority? You’ll need His Holiness’s permission to even think of associating a faithful diocese with heresy. Now, hurry and take the sinner away. Let’s wrap this up quickly so everyone can return to their places.”

The Inquisitor could no longer press Cardinal de Mare for accountability and dragged the Apostle of Acereto away in ropes. It would take at least three weeks for him to report to Pope Ludovico by letter and receive further instructions. They were safe until then. In the chaotic Grand Cathedral, as Cardinal de Mare herded people out, Ariadne finally let out the breath she had been holding. Her palms were slick with sweat. A reddish flush colored her face from the tension and excitement. As the murmuring crowd exited the Grand Cathedral, they kept glancing back at Ariadne. The great cathedral, capable of holding up to fifty thousand people, was beginning to empty, yet everyone’s attention was fixed on Ariadne in her shabby black dress. In that moment, no one remembered the beautiful Isabella.

*** In the carriage on the way home, Ariadne mulled over the day’s events. Her family had fled back to the cardinal’s residence when the chaos erupted, and Cardinal de Mare was too busy dealing with the aftermath to accompany her. So Ariadne was riding home alone in the cardinal’s luxurious silver carriage. Cardinal de Mare was terrified of being held responsible, but the incident would likely conclude without any disciplinary action against him. This time, the cardinal’s own flesh and blood had stepped forward to stop the heretical priest’s sermon in front of everyone. There was insufficient grounds to condemn the cardinal for a lack of faith. In her past life, everyone in San Carlo had stood by mutely, unable to defy the Apostle of Acereto, listening to the sermon of a heretic who would soon be excommunicated. Even then, however, Pope Ludovico had ultimately been unable to impose any real penalty on Cardinal de Mare and had let the matter drop.

‘Instead, I ended up engaged to Cesare de Como.’

Ariadne let out a hollow laugh. A person’s entire life, thrown into a pit for such a trivial reason. At the time, Pope Ludovico had intended to demote Cardinal de Mare to a bishop for failing to properly manage his diocese and exposing San Carlo to the threat of heresy, and to entrust the Diocese of San Carlo to a newly appointed cardinal. That would have been the end for Cardinal de Mare, so he had begged and pleaded with King Leo III. The king had leisurely enjoyed the rare sight of the cardinal groveling at his feet. Favors are not given without a price. King Leo III had eventually pressured Pope Ludovico in exchange for a marriage alliance between his illegitimate son, Cesare, and Cardinal de Mare’s family. Cardinal de Mare’s skill in pushing Ariadne forward instead of Isabella, even in that situation, was either that of a swindler or a stroke of genius.

‘Thinking back on it now, Cesare must have been furious.’

Which of the sisters he took as his wife must have been a huge deal to Cesare himself, but to his father, Leo III, it was of little importance. He had merely wanted to give his illegitimate son a cardinal for a father-in-law to further solidify Count Cesare de Como’s standing in the Kingdom of Etruscan. An engagement born from a deal between fathers in her past life—she was determined to avoid it this time.

‘I’ve eliminated the very cause of the engagement, so I should be able to get through this safely.’

***

“Hahaha! That young lady is no ordinary girl!”

From a balcony box on the top right of the second floor, Leo III, the King of Etruscan, clapped his hands and roared with laughter.

“To think it would be resolved like this, it was like watching a well-staged play! I’d believe Pope Ludovico conspired with that girl beforehand. How did she time it so perfectly?”

His secretary smiled and played along.

“They do say that reality is more dramatic than fiction, Your Majesty.”

“Hahaha. I must bestow a reward upon the devout young lady. What would be fitting?”

Leo III pondered for a moment before quickly making a decision.

“I shall grant her 50 gold ducats and a box of jewelry. She practically saved the nation from foreign influence, so it would be fitting to award her one of the medals from the Etruscan Order of Chivalry, but it is a pity I cannot, for fear of offending the Pope!”

The king then turned to Queen Marguerite, seated beside him, and made a suggestion.

“Would the Queen not care to choose what goes into the jewelry box?”

It was a rare occasion for the king to address the queen directly. Queen Marguerite, her mood lifted as well, readily agreed.

“I shall do so.”

Pleased that things had turned out well, Leo III offered a few words of blessing to Prince Alfonso before he, Queen Marguerite, and the prince stood up separately to head for their own carriages. They always traveled apart. Once inside his carriage, Leo III revealed his inner thoughts to his secretary.

“Having the Queen personally select the contents of the jewelry box will be a gesture of reconciliation toward the Cardinal de Mare’s wife. I heard there was an incident between them recently.”

The king stroked his beard in satisfaction, pleased with his own clever idea.

“If I had told the Queen to console the cardinal’s wife, she would never have listened. That contrary woman.”

The secretary, reading the mood, cautiously interjected.

“Your… Your Majesty, the daughter of Cardinal de Mare who will be receiving the reward is his second daughter, born of a different concubine, not Lady Lucrezia. Would rewarding that young lady truly appease the cardinal’s wife?”

Embarrassed at being corrected, Leo III replied with a hint of irritation.

“The cardinal’s wife isn’t what’s truly important. It is enough that Cardinal de Mare understands my goodwill.”

“Your words are wise. You are truly perspicacious, Your Majesty.”

“Ah! That’s it!”

The king clapped his hands.

“There was a jewel that Cardinal de Mare coveted greatly some time ago. Do you remember the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’?”

“How could I not know of such a treasure! But surely… you don’t intend to give the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ to that young lady…?”