The Saint Disappeared with Her Memories — Her Broken Engagement Decided the Kingdom’s Destiny - Chapter 37

The Association’s stance was extremely firm.

No matter how many times I repeated negotiations, they refused to yield. Even though I presented reasonable conditions, they stubbornly rejected cooperation. What could they possibly be thinking, refusing a request from the king himself?

Admittedly, there were forceful methods to bring the Association under my control. But those were last resorts. If possible, I wanted to handle this peacefully. After all, those people were highly regarded by the citizens. If I forced my way through and failed, it would damage my reputation as king. That was the one thing I wanted to avoid. What troublesome people.

The problem of how to bring the Association under my control – I sat on my throne day after day, thinking of nothing else.

That’s when this idea came to me.

“This way…”

A smile formed at the corner of my mouth. If I could make this plan succeed, I could smoothly bring the Association under my control.

I immediately decided to summon the Temple people.

“Call the Temple elders to the palace at once.”

The Temple’s reputation had been truly terrible lately. There was no doubt the Temple would disappear soon. This would probably be their final summons.

The elders who arrived looked completely exhausted. Their former dignity was nowhere to be seen, they looked like pitiful beggars. Yet they still looked at me with hopeful eyes.

These fools thought I would help them. Fine then. While inwardly sneering, I put on a gentle expression.

“I’ll help you. But only if you agree to this final request of mine.”

“What must we do?”

I dismissed the attendants in the room, deciding to share this plan only with a limited number of people. The previous request had failed. So this time, I would give instructions that were absolutely feasible.

“Riot and cause trouble within the royal capital.”

The elders’ faces turned pale. I continued without concern.

“You can involve citizens if necessary. Just create a spectacular incident.”

“B-but why would we…?”

I raised my hand to stop their impatient questions.

“I’m not finished. Be quiet and listen. I’ll continue.”

“…”

“I’ll send the kingdom’s soldiers to where you’re causing trouble. Then we’ll suppress the incident. A staged event.”

While watching the elders’ confused expressions, I explained the full scope of the plan.

“While the incident will be peacefully resolved, we won’t know what remaining Temple factions might do. So, we must take measures. That’s why we’ll mobilize soldiers. But we can’t neglect national defense either. The number of soldiers we can move is limited. Therefore, we’ll request assistance from the capable Association.”

Some showed understanding expressions, while others still didn’t comprehend. Some looked at me with suspicion. That’s why I wasn’t finished yet.

“With this situation, the Association won’t be able to refuse our request. If they refuse, we’ll publicize it extensively – ‘They refused to cooperate while citizens were suffering.’ They’ll face public criticism. That’s something they’ll want to avoid too.”

A perfect plan. The Association people won’t be able to oppose this. Once we establish cooperation, we should be able to continue the relationship from there. That’s fine. I’ll finally be able to bring those powerful people under my control.

“B-but if we do that, we the Temple’s reputation will…!”

One elder protested in a trembling voice.

“The Temple’s reputation will hit rock bottom, I suppose.”

I shrugged.

“Th-that’s…!?”

“Listen carefully to what I’m saying.”

I leaned back deeply in my chair, looking down at them.

“Even if the Temple falls, you’ll be fine separately. That organization had already reached its limit. Clinging to something like that will only bring you losses.”

The elders wore despairing expressions. But I showed no mercy.

“I’ll prepare your reward. So, enjoy your retirement with it. It shouldn’t be a bad deal.”

“……”

After I said that, they began to hesitate.

What is there to hesitate about? The Temple won’t last much longer anyway. Since it’s a sinking ship, clinging to it is pointless. Make the decision to abandon it quickly.

Suppressing my irritation, I waited for their decision. Making me, the king, wait like this by such fallen people – normally this wouldn’t be permitted.

Still, I needed their cooperation for this plan. I had no choice but to endure a little.

It was necessary for the plan’s success. If this plan succeeded safely, I could bring the Association under my control and dispose of the troublesome Temple problem at the same time.

Finally, they seemed to have reached a decision.

“…Understood. We’ll do it.”

The lead elder nodded weakly.

“Good, that’s fine.”

I nodded with satisfaction. I had obtained detailed agreement about the plan.

This would completely end the Temple’s history. And the Association would fall into my hands. Killing two birds with one stone – this was exactly that.

Feeling quite pleased, I looked forward to the day the plan would be executed. I couldn’t wait for everything to proceed exactly as I planned.