When everyone was nodding in agreement with the cardinal's words, Claire's face became blue, but it didn't lose its primness.
I wonder if she's not going to say anything.
An excuse, or something.
Well, I'd get in a bad mood if she gave some poor excuse, so it's fine.
As for me, as long as Zenith is returned, it's fine.
I'll never approach the Latreia house again. I won't let Zenith, Norn, or Aisha approach it ever again.
That's the end of that.
"Is that okay with you, Rudeus-sama? This incident was caused against our intents. We had no intention of harming Rudeus-sama, or making enemies of Orsted-sama, and would like to maintain an amicable relationship."
I looked at the pope.
His smiling face hasn't changed.
I looked at the cardinal.
When our gazes met, he let out a squeak and started pouring sweat.
"O-, of course we don't desire conflict with Orsted-sama either. No matter how Orsted-sama knows of Laplace's coming return, we have no intentions on sparing our cooperation in defeating him. We would like to put off the matter of the sale of Demon Race figures until a later conference, though..."
After that exchange, I somehow grasped the flow of the situation.
In this case, the mastermind was the pope.
Most likely, the ones who leaked the matter of the miko's kidnapping was the pope's underlings.
Using the Latreia house's name, he manipulated the cardinal's faction into suspecting me of attempting to murder the miko.
Or possibly there are spies from the pope's faction in the Latreia house, and used the fact that I was in fact heard by their servants, it doesn't matter either way.
He couldn't be sure whether the cardinal would move or not.
However, from the cardinal's viewpoint, I must have been a troublesome existance.
I'm friends with the pope's grandson Cliff, and am the subordinate of the Dragon God.
It must have looked that I had an issue with the Latreia house, and the pope used that as a pretext to send me as an assassin and draw close to the miko.
It's no wonder he thought that he had to get rid of me.
That he didn't mobilize the entire Order of the Temple was either because he was underestimating me, or that he predicted things would turn out this way.
The pope knew I wasn't going to kill the miko.
Either that, or he didn't mind even if I did.
Naturally, even if I couldn't win against the Order of the Temple and was killed, there would be no demerit for him.
I may be Cliff's friend, but I'm not part of the pope's faction.
The pope didn't have to dirty his hands, or agree with the kidnapping.
He had confidence that even if he were questioned by the miko and his plan were discovered, in the worst case he could use Cliff as a scapegoat.
Furthermore, if Orsted came, he could proclaim that I fell for the trap of the Demon Race Expulsion faction.
He must have been thinking that if it came to that, he could establish a cooperative relationship with Orsted on his own.
And then, this situation.
The conclusion that he can punish the Latreia house.
I'm sure that both the pope and the cardinal thought that it didn't matter who was sacrificed.
The decision to make an example out of Claire was surely because of the fury I held towards her.
If I can get revenge on Claire then I'm satisfied.
The pope is overjoyed that he can damage the Latreia housecardinal's faction.
Only the cardinal's faction is upset.
At the very least, there's no sign of the cardinal intending to help them.
"My wife did that of her own accord, I had no knowledge of it."
Carlyle said that with an unruffled expression.