Chapter 67

“Priest Ralph. If you are in charge of the investigations, then I have no worries. However, I would like you to investigate one more thing.” (Iris)

“What would that be?” (Ralph)

“The flow of funds.” (Iris)

“If by that you mean what the capital gained from the sale of the chapel in the Armelia fief was later used for, I had already planned to investigate it. ”

“There is that, but there is another aspect of that money I am worried about.” (Iris)

“What do you mean?” (Ralph)

“The funds obtained from that sale was great in amount, and, in addition to that, the Church receives donations from many nobles throughout the kingdom. Given the amount of money the Church should have, I was surprised to hear that the Church was begging my mother to attend their events in order to gain more donations. That degree of desperation implies a lack of funds or perhaps something more insidious, don’t you agree?” (Iris)

“That is…” (Ralph)

“If you are planning to fully investigate this case and properly regain the peoples’ trust, then please consider adopting a policy of complete transparency. As a member of the Armelia house, I am not opposed to donating to the Church. My mother will naturally assist with that now that my innocence has been proven. However, if the Church continues to conceal facts and crucial information even after the events of this case, then history is bound to repeat itself in another fief, country, or otherwise. How could continued secrecy be considered atonement for what has happened? (Iris)

“I understand your concerns, Madame Iris.” (Ralph)

Priest Ralph seemed surprised by my proposition. I wonder if he thought I would not bring such a thing up or if perhaps this was not discussed in the “meeting” he had with a certain individual. Either way, it is of no consequence to me, as I have no intention of holding back my opinion.

“I have learned many things while operating the Azura Conglomerate. To be specific, I saw something regarding the flow of funds among my conglomerate’s records. Mr. Wilmotz, how much is your annual income?” (Iris)

“To ask such a thing from a servant of God… How unbecoming of a noble…!” (Pope)

“I would rather not ask such a thing, either. However, since this question is relevant to the case, I am asking about it. The records we have at the Azura Conglomerate show the number of goods that you purchase from my company is equivalent to that of a highly-ranked noble. Is the Pope’s salary that high? Priest Ralph, should such a thing be possible?” (Iris)

“No. There should be no such thing.” (Ralph)

“Well… Then, Pope Wilmotz, where have you obtained the required funds from?” (Iris)

“!! W-what impudence! To suggest that I have stolen from the people…! I have done nothing of the sort!” (Pope)

I never explicitly said he was taking money from the people. However, it was becoming apparent to other nobles based on his words and reactions.

“I cannot prove that you have embezzled money from the current available evidence, which is why I am requesting that Priest Ralph include this in his investigation. Priest Ralph, could you please conduct a thorough investigation of this matter as well?” (Iris)

“I will do so with all my power.” (Ralph)

“Are there any other inquiries you would like to make, Iris Lana Armelia?” (Queen Dowager)

“No. That would be all, your Majesty.” (Iris)

I bowed to the queen and withdrew.

“Well then. We will now closely monitor all priests of the Church. The Cardinals and Pope Wilmotz will hereby be under house arrest until the investigation is concluded.” (Queen Dowager)

“…” (Pope)

The Pope looked like he wanted to say something, but, in the end, did not utter a word. I had accounted for the possibility of him presenting evidence that may overturn the ruling, and thus prepared another trump card. However, it seems I did not need to use it. I was filled with anxiety, as I did not expect this to end so smoothly. It feels as though this went too well…

Either way, I succeeded in making Pope Wilmotz and the Church the target of investigation; I met all of my objectives.

Thus, the inquiry met its conclusion.