My Lovely Priesthood - (Original Fantasy Otome, Priest!SI)
When one is reborn in a medieval society, neither as the first or secondborn, but as the thirdborn and younger son to a duke, the chances of facing potential issues on the ground of 'what to do with my life' being claimed by my family's best interest were close to zero.
As the third child of Duke Larrat, by the name of Edgar Larrat, I was pretty much a spare-spare heir. I wasn't expected to do much beyond the minimum to uphold my reputation as a noble of the family, but I still was expected to do something very important which I was keen to uphold: do not follow the same paths as my siblings.
Louis was the eldest, the one that was nurtured, educated, and poised to become heir. As our father loved but disciplined us into 'proper men', he was instructed to join the Royal Academy in the pursuit of learning not the basics of education, but politics. He was a modestly good at it, not a champion of these matters, but definitely someone that was going to lift just enough the legacy of the family.
Bernhard was the one in the middle. He was a bit more brazen and straightforward. Never a bully, but still someone that got it lucky that his nature made his entry in military academy as he made a name for himself as a new knight commander in the making. He had a good hand with sword-fighting, was very clever in combat-related situations, and he was the 'muscle' of the three siblings. If someone fucked with us, he was the one that directly hurled the first punch. So, in a sense, military academy was both a punishment and a boon to Bernhard, and he never once complained about the harshness of that environment.
I had a good relationship with my older brothers. Hardly made them lose their shit with my 'baby antics', and even got Louis to help me smuggle books out of our father's private library to check more of this world. And what I can say is... there is not much going on in the Kingdom of Poutens beyond the usual issues of pervasive corruption, religion being a mainstay in everyone's mind as it was driven by magical evidence and monsters being purged by the priests of the Holy Saintess Church, and the overall intrigue one would expect from a feudal society.
Alas, this left me in a very tight spot. I couldn't and didn't want to waltz into politics since Louis was doing that, and I wasn't a martial person as Bernhard and he was making it his thing. The options were quite humble in nature, but still put me in the crosshair for potential issues in the long run. After a troubled life as my previous lease in existence, I planned for my life to follow one lacking any major problems. A dangerless life did not exist, so I took the one with the 'least resistance' to face and the highest rewards in term of 'making a name for myself without making life hard for my family'.
This is why I became a priest of the Holy Saintess Church and I studied through the lengthy program that existed. Compared to academic or martial education, clerical education started at the age of seven. So, my decision of this had to be made very early and gamble a bit due to the limited window of opportunity. Father was supportive, mother was a bit less so as she expected me to be a merchant like her father, and thus I ended up studying church school. Was it fun? Not exactly, but it was simpler. Compared to how education was structured in a modern society, feudal church school did not have much of a focus on secular subjects. It was all about reading the holy books, comparing the various versions of said books, memorize the important stuff and... chill.
The vote system employed was 'you passed' or 'try again, I am sure you will pass'. There was also 'you have not passed, you disappointment', but you needed to be a real failure in basic remembrance to get that. The church needed new blood as most kids didn't want to be priests. There was, yes, a degree of intrigue in being an upcoming exorcists, but that was limited to those with enough magic to do so. And, as it turns out, not many had that luxury. In fact, the presence of exorcists was extremely rare and... expensive. Being born in a family with magic, I had been tested and I had the means to harness the power of... water.
Which was good for multiple level as I could, in theory, train up to actually 'drown someone with their own saliva'. Yes, what a macabre and morbid thought. But I was also to learn secret religious spells in the process.
Right by the age of 10, I was given my first 'step-up' position to my new situation: I was made an assistant to an old exorcist that was on his way to retirement. Father Garland was quite old, approaching his hundreds, and very odd with his emotions. At times he was quite soft and kind, others he was extremely stern and very strict. The latter matters came up when we were on missions, even though we never once had to face a monster in combat. All we did for the next five years was aiding possessed civilians, removing curses, or actually sealing away cursed objects that couldn't inherently be cleansed.
For five years, I learned a lot under Garland, the old man providing me with some pearls of wisdom regarding the items to always keep around, the spells' barely known functions in specific and yet rare instances, and even had me pick up running early in the morning because-
"There will be a time where spells will not work and running will be your best options."
Magic can boost my speed, but it can only do so if there was a chance to improve on good stamina, cardio, and normal speed. Magic was also very limited since spells that boosted people were draining, so it was best to just get good and never skip on leg day. By the end of these five years, I had a bit of a reputation as a young and rising star within the church. I had done my own work in philology by deciphering a few old books and mending the newer versions to be more 'expanded' on some terminology and then simplified in language, and then I took steps to work on a printing press.
I didn't expect to make money out of it, but the chance to get my reputation to a higher level within the church meant landing myself on a very comfortable desk job, one that offered a nice home, some private tax-free lands to personally cultivate with my magic, and even get some discounts because I was part of the church. As a man looking for a life of utter comfort and chill, this was the ideal plan. After all, there was no major war looming around the countries, no demon lords to fear about, and no air of coup to dread seeing my family name used to give me grief.
This world was like an oyster, for me to claim and enjoy. Except... well, I may have taken a few wrong steps somehow. Maybe I pissed the saintess off by being so material with my plans, which would definitely explain what happened as I approached 16. As a prominent member of the 'young guard', I had the chance to speak with the 'Pope' of the church, the High Priest. He was an old guy, very tired and very chill. Not much of a trouble crossing his mind as the church was, despite its corruption, doing good between purging evil and doing charity works around the Poutens.
Having a connection with the High Priest was important to rise to upper ranks, and those was made even more feasible through personal favors - in this case, being his representative to the upcoming royal gala held at the royal academy. Despite one thinking the gala was yearly, the truth is that the gala was held in a specific instance: a member of the royal family had to attend the academy and be at the last year of their presence there. The latest gala had been five years ago when former Crown Prince Roland had attended the academy.
The prince had been greeted by many as a 'good heir', but the young man perished by a sudden fever. Some suggested foul play was involved, which was likely considering that Roland's brother, the one that inherited next, was Prince Harold. I had nothing personal on the new crown prince, but I had details offered by Louis as they were in the same year. It was also important to say that, by my father's orders, Louis did try to enter the prince's inner circle but he failed on the basis that 'the prince is arrogant and decided Louis was too bratty for his tastes'. Very unusual considering Louis was not spoiled or arrogant.
Hell, our family was known to be kind to our subjects. Peasants were treated with respect, financial support with lesser taxes, and even greater life services compared to those living in other demesnes. Father may have been an old-blood noble, but mother was a 'new money' addition to nobility. She had lived for a time in poverty and knew better than ignore the plight of our 'lesser fellows'. All in all, what I got out of it was that Louis stopped trying to approach the royal princes and just built his own faction, one that was fairly isolationist in terms of 'moves' within the academy, but very robust in its hierarchy and order.
In father's eyes, this was the best plan Louis could have backed down to. It was stable enough, it was suitable to further foster his own experience as a leader in politics, and landed our family with a few friendly contacts with other nobles, some already our allies but others were new elements for a potential 'friendship treaty' or two. That being said, my presence at the gala was something I notified just my family about. Louis was delighted, Bernhard was earnest, and Father was cool about it. All in all, I got no letter of upset from my family, and I was expecting this to be a rather simple gathering and feast.
The king would be there, the Grand Commander of the Army would be attending, I would be there as the High Priest's representative, lots of nobles, several scions, and a supposedly drama-less setting. After all, making a fuss in those instances can be detrimental for all parties involved in those matters. Which took me to what I came to see as the moment my life got a whole lot more complicated for no fucking reason.
I had just finished greeting my brothers, bowing to the King, taking my seat beside him and the rest of big shots (all the while not shitting myself at the warning eyes my father gave me if I fucked up somehow), when I took notice that there was a sense of tension around the students. I had felt it on Louis too, something that Bernhard had picked upon too, but he didn't seem keen to explain why they were all so stiff and uneasy. But by far the most worrisome detail was something that made me realize this wasn't the average fantasy world.
"Who is that girl beside my son?" The queen, a rather 'quiet and background' figure in politics, asked with a degree of confusion. After all, Prince Harold was already engaged to someone, and the girl beside him, clearly not a noble, was not the fianceé in question. In fact, the lady missing from the scene was currently looking at the sight too and looking immensely frustrated by it. A matter that the king seemed to take much interest on the moment it was brought up, his gaze aimed at the headmaster as the old man looked a bit unsure on how to answer that.
"That is... young Paula Maltis. She is a recent acquisition of the academy with an incredible holy affinity."
That puzzled me for a very simple reason. "If she is seen as impressive with her affinity, why wasn't the church notified for testing?"
My question seemed to annoy the headmaster, who couldn't hold himself from shooting me a brief glare as if I had said something I shouldn't have.
"Indeed, how come such child was not tested for possibly having a connection with the saintess?" The king asked with an even more annoyed look, and the headmaster knew he couldn't just ignore it.
"H-her mother didn't believe it to be the case. So... so she chose to have her tested for a scholarship and be done with it."
"But the church doesn't demand a fee from those testing for holy affinity. It's for free," I pushed back, finding this topic far more important than just ruin the situation over said potential saintess successor material being in the process of ruining years of well-planned marriage-making. "Surely there has to be a better explanation."
"...I am afraid that's all I know."
He knew more, the damn bastard. But why did he do this to the church? The royal academy and the church did not have any bad blood, so what was up with the old fart?
As the conversation persisted, my worst fears materialized when the prince finally approached his fianceé, Lyanne Saturne (daughter to Grand Duke Saturne), and just... slapped her after a brief chat. The entire party went quiet at that scene, horror manifesting on many faces, outrage in others, confusion by most. I was a mix of the former and the latter. The King stood up and he snarled at his son.
"Harold!"
The loud shout had the prince frozen, the boy turned and he then adopted a rather fighty expression. Dear Saintess, he was about to make things worse. At this point, he should have apologized. Even his 'mistress' looked mortified by the sheer amount of negative attention this abrupt violence had led to, and Lyanne looked... shaken by the situation, eyes burning with tears at the humiliating and painful reaction.
"Father, I have had enough! I seek not a marriage of convenience, I want to marry for love!"
This proclamation was bold, it would make sense if this was just the average Otome setting it was trying to be but... dear Gods, was this a bad moment to do this. Even worse was that a few other guys emerged, some were nobles, others were sons of knights- my god, it's a harem situation. In this world, poligamy was actually forbidden by law and religion. And they all joined in chorus to proclaim their love for Paula and their disdain for Lyanne. I looked at Louis, who was grimacing, and then I looked at Bernhard, who looked confused as fuck.
"This is not going to stand! You can't all marry the same woman!"
"We love her and we will, father! And you can't stop us!" Prince Harold rebuked strongly, ignoring the angry look of his father and the horrified eyes of his mother at what he was doing, and looking at me. "I demand the church concede the annulment of the engagement and to immediately confirm the engagement between us and our own princess!"
...
I- I think I am smelling toast. I think I see why the High Priest had skipped on this one, the old man's self-preservation sense had been tingling over what could have led to a potential stroke or two. The prince- he was just digging a massive hole for himself and everyone implicated. Was he trying to bruteforce for confirmation, to use the sheer insanity of this demand to actually leverage support? What is the angle? Was there even an angle of logic here to work with? WHY WAS HE BEING A FUCKING CUNT?!
Sighing, I felt livid at the possibility the smug idiot was trying to ruin the entire kingdom with his posse. Holy fuck, was this getting on my nerves. Here it was, my simple life as a priest and exorcist, ruined by a snot-nosed brat that was literally rupturing multiple cardinal laws between state and church in the span of a few minutes.
My fists were tight and close, punches to throw that were held back as I pushed myself up from the chair and glared at the upstart.
"Will the crown stand by those abhorrent statements?!" I growled angrily, channeling what a proper religious fury should be like. My outburst stunned many, but the king and queen recovered and shook their heads.
"We will not," The king assured, a grim look on his face as he knew what was to come. The so-called religious 'Ultima Ratio', the biggest political attack the Holy Saintess Church could employ against the most heinous sinners.
"Then, without any further ado, I shall proclaim a Holy Judgment upon those sinners that so brazenly dare to demand submission of the church upon this barbary and defiance," I spoke strongly, and I heard some nobles gasping. Holy Judgments were decrees that worked around horrible cases involving the breaking of religious laws. It was used as the maximum deterrent against the most egregious situations, and the prince had just violated all records regarding this. "Prince Harold, you and your group shall be excommunicated, permanently denied the right to marry among yourselves and others. You shan't be given the last confession rite, your coffins shall not be blessed upon your passing, and you shall no more be recognized in your titles if you possess any towards the kingdom itself."
It took a solid minute for the prince to realize how bad this had turned to be. One thing would be if my words were only that, but there was an indirect punishment to it: he had been excommunicated, which excluded him from the succession line and forfeited his status as crown prince.
"H-How dare you stand between me and my love?!"
He flinched as I glared right at him. "How I dare? How about your idea that the church would consider your depraved whims to be acceptable? How about the fact youcheatedon your fianceé? How about the fact you struck her? How about you dared to set yourself above the church and demand justice that isn't due to you?!"
He faltered, and I moved to the next aspect of this Judgment. "Alas, proper restitution to the victim here shall be granted. Lady Lyanne Saturne, please stand up."
The girl did so, still crying, but caught by the moment as she obeyed without hesitation.
"Due to the circumstances here brought to the attention to not only the church but the kingdom too, it is rightful for you to demand restitution for the damage you suffered, physically, mentally, and by your reputation. It is thereby ordered that you are repaid for the broken agreement with your former fianceé, prince Harold, giving up three fourths of his riches to you, and this matter shall be enforced duly by the monarchy as in respect to the code of law."
The king nodded, offering an apologetic smile. "Lady Saturne, you shall be granted proper compensation through my son's personal funds."
"T-This is not fair! I am doing this-"
"I CARE NOT FOR WHAT YOU ARE DOING THIS MADNESS FOR, YOU MISCREANT!" I snapped furiously, my voice booming through the large hall as I felt my mana reacting aggressively due to my emotions. "Have you no shame? You dare to appeal to love when all you are doing is not even accepted by the one you love. Look at her!"
In most Otome, this shit show was usually led by the 'heroine'. Someone that, for a reason or another, was a manipulative bitch. But Paula legitimately looked opposed to what her 'targets' did. This was unplanned, unwanted, and very much leading her to the worst spot possible... which really left me at a crossroad. I could go all in and put her in the same bag as the rest, but I would also possibly condemn someone that didn't have enough social power to push back on this idiocy. I needed more information.
"Paula Maltis, step closer as I have questions about you in regard to your situation."
The girl looked surprised by this, with half of her harem tensing up thinking this to be a ploy but... they all stood down as the nearby guards were far too strong and far too no-nonsense to let them do anything stupid.
Soon Paula stepped closer, and bowed to us all.
"Paula, what is the reason you were not given the chance to test your affinity by the church?"
Before the girl could answer, the headmaster jumped in.
"Preacher, this is enough! What is the meaning of this line of questioning?"
"A doubt has swollen deep within my mind over some peculiar details of this matter. Your majesty, I may have in mind a conspiracy against the crown."
The king tensed up, appearing worried about the matter but nodding as he realized I was asking for permission, and I saw the headmaster very upset by this.
"Now, Paula. Answer the question."
The girl nodded tensely. "I-I was told that it would end poorly for me."
"How so?"
"I..." She hesitated. "He said that they would have turned me in a weapon if I had been selected as a descendant of the saintess."
"Who told you that?" I pressed the girl and she delivered two words.
"The headmaster."
So, the headmaster tried to make a run for it after this admission, but he failed to realize that during this simple questioning the Grand Commander had moved close enough to move in and subdue his ass the moment he tried to do anything funny. The scene added a new layer of shit to the situation as, yes, there had been a conspiracy at play. I knew that I couldn't push more as it wasn't the church's role to handle this business. It was the Grand Commander's.
"Upon this new evidence, it is decided that for the case of Paula Maltis, her punishment shall be temporary suspended for the time she is needed to answer questions of the Royal Guard. In case new evidence is brought up and thus given to the church, an amendment to the punishment shall be issued for Miss Paula Maltis and only Paula Maltis."
The gala ended there. The headmaster and several teachers were arrested, there was a chance the school would be closed for the time being but this was fine for my brother as he already achieved most of what he could get out of these years of school. My family looked relatively proud, with my brothers and mother quite happy for my conduct, while my father gave me a stiff look. He was happy too, but he was also aware that I had kicked the biggest hornets' nest in recent years. I doubted I was personally going to be implicated in any matters, but I may have gotten a few angry eyes on me because of my actions.
That being said, the High Priest was the most overjoyed by my deeds. He thought of me as a 'flexible but still dutiful representative', and promised me that I would be shielded by any harm aimed at me as I took a week off from work. I knew already I needed to keep an extra eye on my back just in case an assassin was hired for some revenge and... I thought that was it. A few years of bracing for an attempt, then disappear from the public eye, and then go back to my plan.
That was until I came to realize I may have not only kicked a nest, but triggered a domino effect that would end up with me acquiring a familiar-faced assistant- who is actually older than me.
AN
Next time... the 'assistent' is revealed!