20 years had passed when I woke up! ~ The villain's daughter’s thereafter and after that ~ - Chapter 26

Translator: Darling | Editor: Nebosuke

 

This is the end bit of the past story.

 

Author’s notes:

5/15/2017 10:00 Revised

Deleted the Pope’s inherited name. It was confusing.

Leon X (inherited name) was changed into Marcos (birth name).

5/15/2017 23:45 Revised

Leon X was still here and there. I replaced it again.

……………

Many people in the upper management of the Monad Church disliked Fioria.

The 217th Pope Marcos hated her most.

“You are a failed saint. I’ll kick you out sooner rather than later.”

“How many years have you been saying that? One year? Two years? No, three years. You can’t expel even one little girl, so give up and stop pretending to be influential.”

“Grrrrrr…!”

Marcos moaned like a pig.

He was just 25 at the time and was known as “the youngest and fattest Pope in history”.

Since he indulged himself with luxurious food and drank a lot every night, he was obese. 

There was a hilarious anecdote that he tripped, rolled down the stairs like a giant ball, knocked off a dozen of clergies on his way, smashed through the wall of the cathedral, and popped outside. Shred your fat belly a bit.

“What a filthy mouth! I am the Pope!”

“Yeah, you are. I respect your position as the Pope. So, I will organize everything to save your face at the ceremony.”

You are really no worth. 

Fioria inferred so and looked at him disrespectfully. 

Marcos jittered his nose as if he was scared of her. 

This man became the Pope not because he was a decent person nor was he intelligent.

His family, the Matthias, was running a trading company, and he snatched the seat of the Pope via the wealth of his family.

Out of curiosity, Marcos also appeared as a sub-character in the maiden game “Deep Sleep Amnesia”.

He was a half-brother of Lawrence Matthias who was one of the targets.

On the Lawrence route, Marcos fell in love with Annerose and the tree turned into a love triangle. 

There was no such ending to marry Marcos, and that was probably due to an aesthetic issue.

Beauty and the beast would be awesome. Beauty and the pig wouldn’t.  

Moreover, Marcos used abusive language toward Heinkel.

“You useless brat. Get out of my sight. My eyes will be cursed.”

Contrary to his words, he leered Heinkel’s juvenile body.

Pale pink cheeks, white neck, slender limbs… 

Marcos was smirking obscenely.

“… Hmmm.”

Heinkel used to run away because of Marcos’ repulsive behavior.

However, he met Fioria and had wiser thoughts.

…. Let’s finish mocking the grownups.

Read their mind accurately, take control, and play with it.

Let’s aim for the top of the church using my talents which have been recognized by Fioria.

“If your eyes get cursed, you shouldn’t look at me, right?”

Heinkel smiled.

But his smile wasn’t that of a sweet angel.

It was a terrifyingly beautiful, yet frosty cold, sub-zero degree smile.

“Uhh…”

Heinkel kept his bewitching facial expression and walked a few steps towards Marcos.

Marcos leaned backward and stepped back.

“Pope Marcos, you really want me to bother you, don’t you?”

Eventually, Marcos was cornered against the wall.

They looked weird.

Because a young boy intimidated and drove an obese man up to the wall. 

“… You are embarrassing being scared of a child like me.”

Heinkel giggled. 

Marcos was so nervous and he was about to die because he couldn’t breathe well. 

Incidentally, a group of sisters hiding behind the aisle were watching and making a fuss about them, saying, “A beautiful boy and a middle-aged man!”

Marcos looked like a middle-aged man, but he was actually twenty-five years old. He was in his mid-20s, not in his mid-life.

“Boring.”

It was sudden.

Sighing as if he lost interest, Heinkel turned around and strolled away.

Then, when Marcos let out a deep breath and was relieved…

“Let’s play again. Pope Marcos!”

Heinkel quickly turned around and gave Marcos his sub-zero degree smile again.

Marcos was stunned by Heinkel who saw right through him. Marcos collapsed right then and there. 

He couldn’t stand up until some priests helped him up. 

* *

“Hey Heinkel, you seem to be doing well.”

“The Pope surprisingly backed off easily if I pushed. Nowadays, he runs away if I’m around.”

“Have you overcome what you are not good at?”

“Yeah… honestly, his glance at me was frightening. But not anymore. Thanks, Fioria.”

“Don’t mention it. Well, I guess he was terrified by your bold confidence. He is such a poor guy.”

Fioria stroked Heinkel’s head.

“…Hey, don’t treat me like a kid,” Heinkel sharply remarked with his dissatisfaction.

Yet, he didn’t ward off Fioria’s hand.

He sat on her lap and swayed his legs comfortably.

“Change the subject. Vincent, Prince of Tristan. What kind of guy is he?”

“Heinkel is 6 years old… And he is 2 years younger. He is still 4 years old. He reads a lot of complicated books.”

“I also memorized all the scriptures when I was four years old.”

“You’re smart.”

“Ha-ha!”

Heinkel proudly smiled. 

He wasn’t acting as a “child-like child”.

It was the real him. 

“By the way,” Heinkel suddenly dropped the tone of his voice.

After a few seconds of silence, he asked her as if he was going to get to the point. 

“What kind of relationship do you have with Vincent? Is it easy for a daughter of the Duke to meet a member of the royal family?”

“Usually it’s impossible… but I’m engaged.”

“What………?”

An acute and short sound of friction.

Heinkel ground his teeth sharply.

He did it unconsciously. 

He had a burning sensation somewhere in his chest.

It was painful.

Irritating too.

Fioria was the first person who found me in the whole world.

While everyone only paid attention to my talent, she saw me as an individual person named “Heinkel Winfield”.

She is special to me. 

Yet, she is going away from me. 

I don’t like it.

If that boy is here right in front of me, I beat him up.

………… Heinkel pretended to be level-headed and continued to talk. 

“Are you engaged with Vincent? He’s 4 years old, right? There is a big age gap between you and him. It doesn’t make sense.”

“No. My marriage partner is going to be Oswald, the First Prince.”

“……What?”

Heinkel was confused by the name that he heard for the first time. 

“So, I’m going to be Vie’s sister-in-law.”

“When will you marry Oswald?”

“When he is 20 years old, and he is one year younger than me… So, in 7 years’ time.”

“…… Alright.”

Heinkel nodded.

The determination and ambition more than ever before dwelled in his eyes.

I’ll control Monadism within 7 years.

I will make Marcos and everyone in the upper management be my puppets and change the system of female saints.

Enact laws to prohibit their marriage and to keep them alive in the holy city permanently. 

Then, I can monopolize Fioria.

His immature thoughts were pure, and that was why he didn’t know the limit. 

A boy named Heinkel Winfield had a decisive transformation on this day.

He turned from a mischievous beautiful boy to a little demon king who took advantage of everything he could use. 

Shortly thereafter, as the autumn ceremony was closed, Fioria returned to the Duke of Florence.

The following year, many ceremonies were postponed due to Marcos’ illness.

Fioria and Heinkel would meet each other again in two years’ time.

Fioria was 16 years old. It was autumn again.

Her certain action would tarnish Heinkel’s plot.

* *

The trigger was an incident.

Monadism began to sell the indulgences.

(* The indulgence is a certificate that is a way to reduce punishment for sins in the afterlife.)

Pope Marcos and his entourages held a feast every night, just like aristocrats in the court.

As a result, the church’s financial affairs were placed on the brink of bankruptcy.

However, Marcos apparently had a talent for making money, perhaps because he was born in a merchant family.

“If you buy this, you can avoid punishment after death!”

“One indulgence forgives a minor sin! Ten indulgences forgive a serious sin!”

“Effective for the sins of your ancestors! You can make sure your parents go to heaven if they’ve passed away!”

He sold the indulgences with such sales talk and made a considerable profit.

“You guys are typical morons who scam and suck money out of the people. Monadism is rotten and repulsive.”

It was during the ceremony.     

Fioria, who visited the holy city of Millenia, severely criticized the church for selling the indulgences.

She didn’t do it from behind. 

She spoke up right in front of Pope Marcos and in public without any hesitation. 

“It’s much better to put the robe on a pig in a barn rather than place a pig like you on the Pope’s chair.”

In the middle of a ceremony celebrating Pope Marcos’ 5th anniversary.

VIPs from other countries and archbishops were around in the cathedral hall.

Everyone was trembling in fear because her nickname “Blizzard Empress” was already known throughout the continent.

A rumor said she beat down a corrupt priest and crucified him on a cross at the church.

A rumor said she stripped a priest off in front of everyone who tried to molest children in the orphanage.

A rumor said she boiled a priest in the giant pot, who sold placebo water as a sick-cure potion.

She was a blizzard-like saint who was going to punish the evil without any mercy. 

Although these episodes were somewhat exaggerated, they were by and large true. 

Many people had considerably become poorer due to the church’s indulgence business. Fioria couldn’t ignore it. 

It was a matter of time before the << Wand of Divine Punishment >> was dropped upon Marcos.

Archbishops had already abandoned Marcos and were talking about the next election for the Pope.

You are pathetic, Marcos. You’re gonna get killed shortly. Well, the next Pope should do better. 

Poor Marcos….

“Oink oink oink…”

Marcos frightenedly had a stiff smile and mimicked a pig. 

He meant it as a joke as an icebreaker and to ease the heightened tension in the hall. 

Naturally, nobody laughed. 

“…I see. You want to die.”

Fioria held an apple in her right hand.

It wasn’t just fruit.

Apples had a special meaning as a “wisdom fruit” in Monadism.

The newly-elected Pope was given an apple by the holy lady and bit into it. This act symbolized him officially becoming the Pope.

At the annual ceremony, Fioria was supposed to give Marcos an apple. But…. 

Squashed!

The apple was crushed by no one else but the holy lady, “Saint” Fioria, herself.

“I’ll return you to heaven without leaving any dust. Have you gotten plenty of indulgences? I hope God will forgive you.”

Was she serious about striking the << Wand of Divine Punishment >> onto him?

Or was it just a bluff?

No one knew. 

Because– 

“Hold on a second, Lady Saint.”

A boy stepped out in front of Fioria.

“Putting the Pope aside, this magnificent building is innocent. If you drop the << Wand of Divine Punishment >>, the cathedral will be destroyed.”

The ceremony was held at the Monac Cathedral in the center of the holy city of Millenia.

The high arched ceiling was decorated with beautiful religious paintings, and its artistic and historical value was immeasurable.

The angels dancing in the sky were drawn with a delicate touch, and their astonishing appearances fascinated everyone who looked up.

The boy, Heinkel Winfield, had grown into an attractive boy who was as enchanting as an angel.

If there was a beautiful angel of death like him, everyone would give up their life regardless of their gender.

A white ceremonial robe wrapped his petite, yet well-balanced body.

A blue cloak was on his back. This represented the top honor student of the Theological Academy.

Heinkel demonstrated his genius past two years.

He skipped grades, graduated from theological high school, not to mention elementary school, and had already published several theses at the academy.

“…The building is innocent. What you said is correct, Heinkel.”

Fioria nodded as if she welcomed their reunion.

“But the indulgences put pressure on the lives of the people. As a saint, I can’t accept what Marcos does.”

“So, what do you do?”

“I will use my privileges as a saint.”

The entire cathedral was silenced by Fioria’s words.

Both VIPs and archbishops looked at each other in anxiety. 

Female saints in Monadism were special beings who were beloved by God.

Their mission was to heal people, drive away the darkness, and bring light to the earth.

Certain privileges were given to fulfill these duties… One of them was the impeachment right of the Pope.

“In exchange for my excommunication, I demand the resignation of Pope Marcos.

……If you reject it, know that the divine judgment and punishment smash you all.”

Pope Marcos resigned shortly after. 

His office term was only for 5 years.

Looking back on the history of Monadism, his service was the shortest of all. 

On the other hand, Fioria was excommunicated…. No!!!! she wasn’t! 

Apparently, there were various political negotiations behind closed doors.

“Fioria de Florence has no healing power…”

For that reason, she was only stripped of her saint title.

However, this incident gave her real fame as a “true saint”.

If she had been excommunicated, people would have been violently protesting against the upper tier of Monadism.

Or a new sect… The Fiorian sect might have been established, and the reformation of the church gained momentum.

In that sense, Monadism had just saved itself from self-destruction.

A few months later,

Heinkel visited Fioria.

“Fioria, you’re really crazy.”

“What do you mean?”

“You said to me, ‘Don’t you want to be the Pope?’ So, why have you tried to destroy Monadism?”

“There are two reasons.”

Fioria combed her long blonde hair up.

She was slightly smiling. 

“One is that you’ve grown more than I expected in the last two years. You’re now my worthy opponent.”

“Right….”

Heinkel replied emotionlessly…but his face still had a hint of a grin. 

“What about Vincent? Has he progressed as far as I have?”

” He will catch up to you soon. He just needs a bit of a trigger. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I see. I’m running ahead………hehe.”

“You look happy.”

“Not really. And what is the other reason?”

“The indulgences were just the tip of the iceberg. The Monad Church is already rotting. Any long-running large organizations will be corrupted, no matter what they take. I think it needs a complete reformation. Or, a rebirth maybe.”

“I agree with that point, but I think Fioria’s way of doing things is a little too extreme.”

“Possibly true. I’m trying to change the church from the outside, and you’re trying to change it from the inside… I think the tug of war has settled down with a good outcome in the end though.”

Fioria wasn’t excommunicated and just lost her title of saint.

Monadism continued, yet Marcos and his entourages had to step down. 

Actually, this was the result of the conflict between Fioria and Heinkel’s schemes from behind.

“In any case, Monadism itself stays intact…. this is my win.”

“There are more bishops and priests who question how Monadism is currently managed. A revolution will come… it’s my win.”

Neither of them admitted defeat.

They both believed they won without any doubt. 

At last, Heinkel smiled and said, “Hey, Fioria. Did you enjoy playing the mind-game with me?”

“Yes, it wasn’t bad.”

“Next time, I’ll definitely let you know of your defeat… I’m already preparing for that. Look forward to it.”

“Can you tell me what it is?”

“Actually, I’ve decided to go to the Black Forest. There are more monsters these days, and Monadism has to get back the support and trust of the people. I’m going to join the advance team.”

“I think you’re the kind of person who looks at the whole picture and orchestrates things at the back.”

“I don’t have enough achievements that push me to the top of the church.”

Then he muttered quietly. “And I’ll eventually fight the Tristan Kingdom too.”

“What did you say?”

“Never mind.”

Heinkel shrugged.

“I’ll see you again. I think we’ll meet next in three years’ time. …I will win next.”

“No, you won’t. I will.”

They smiled boldly at each other and separated. 

Shortly thereafter, the Monadism church declared a holy war.

Regiments of knights called the Holy Crusaders, in the name of the 13th Expedition, were dispatched to the Black Forest.

In spring next year, the same time that Fioria fell into a coma, a monster outbreak occurred.

This devastated the Holy Crusaders and forced them to withdraw.

Incidentally, Heinkel went missing in the battle.

People talked about a range of rumors that he became a decoy to let his teammates escape, that he was killed by Paladin the holy knight who was jealous of Heinkel’s talent, and/or that he was attacked by an assassin from the East.

 

20 years passed.

………. Receive the blade of my revenge. Make up for your sin with your life.

Blackmail letters in bloody red ink were delivered to those who were involved in Heinkel’s disappearance.

One of them, Marcos Matthias, consulted with his brother Lawrence. …… After retiring from the Pope, I had a grudge against Heinkel and hired an assassin of the East. He thought he might retaliate. 

Lawrence sighed, “You’re screwing up yourself,” and wrote a letter. 

When Lawrence was a 15-year-old, he attended an aristocratic school in the Kingdom of Tristan because he was a “pope’s younger brother”. He was Fioria’s classmate. He thought it’d be best to get her help. 

So, this is how it rides onto the present time.