King of the Sea

Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Berengar was delighted by the news and rushed out from his desk and kissed the heavenly beauty passionately after hearing the information she provided. It was too early in the day for the couple to fool around, but he could not help himself from doing so after he heard the good news. Eventually, he managed to contain his growing l**t and instead sat next to his lover. He wanted to know more about the details of her operations.

Linde carefully explained how she had contacted trustworthy people and informed them that she wanted to form a spy network, though she did not explain who it was that she was working for when regarding her contact in Trient. Over time, the cells were fully established and were operating independently as per usual. As of right now, Berengar's ability to disseminate p********a had greatly expanded beyond his own borders. Pretty soon, the commoners of other regions would see him as an ideal candidate for leadership. By the time he began to make his move for his political aspirations, few among the common population would believe the Church's lies.

After spending some quality time with Linde, Berengar dismissed her before returning to the village. Where he oversaw another day of instruction of basic education for the commoners in his realm. He began to wish for the day he did not have to instruct these people himself. Hopefully, he could find some competent teachers soon.

: Papal Response

: Papal Response

: Papal Response

The Supreme Pontiff was an elderly man in his early sixties who was of Italian descent. Currently, the man sat upon the Throne as he listened to grave news regarding the arrest and execution of a duo of the Church's Inquisitors within the Barony of Kufstein. In his hand was a letter written by Berengar; During the time it took for Father Antonio to return to the Vatican to make his report, Berengar had used his printing press to distribute flyers in the German language accusing the Church of attempting to usurp his family's lands. By now, these p********a pamphlets had spread throughout all of Tyrol and parts of Bavaria and the other Austrian counties.

Pope Simeon II rubbed his temples intensely, trying desperately to decrease his growing headache. He had no idea how the young regent had managed to write so many of these pesky things and distributed them so quickly. The Pope exhaled heavily before voicing his thoughts aloud.

"This boy is certainly bold. I will give him that... You said he had a message for me?"

Father Antonio was kneeling before the pope. Beside him were several Cardinals who acted as the Holy Father's advisors. Father Antonio quickly responded to the Pope and began to inform him of Berengar's message word for word. After the frightening display of authority Berengar had used to intimidate the priest, father Antonio had engrained the young Regent's words into the very depths of his mind.

"Lord Berengar told me that When you return to the Vatican inform the Holy Father, that he may have the power to Excommunicate me and to brand me a Heretic, but ultimately when I finally perish from this world it is under the Judgement of God, not the Pope that will determine whether or not I enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

The Pope's expression stiffened as he heard these words; Berengar was clearly challenging his authority as the personal representative of God on Earth. The young Lord's words were essentially daring the Holy Father to act in such a manner and prove how worthless such a punishment was.

A nearby Cardinal had a furious expression on his face as he could no longer hold back the anger burning in his heart.

"Blasphemy! You all heard what Father Antonio said; the boy does not recognize the Authority of the Church! He must be brought to heel, and quickly before such blasphemous ideas spread to the rest of the German nobility! God wills it!"

Half of the Cardinals in the room immediately responded in the same manner

"God wills it!"

However, another Cardinal quickly countered the impassioned outcry of the man who called for Berengar's demise.

"How do you suppose we do that? He has already stated he does not care if he is excommunicated and branded a heretic! All of the Holy orders are currently fighting wars at the moment. The Teutonic Order is fighting in the East against the Rus; the Hospitallers are in North Africa waging Holy War against the Saracens to reclaim Alexandria for Christendom! The Spanish orders are all waging Reconquista! Even if we could spare the men, how would that look to the other German noblemen? Many of them would certainly rally behind Berengar. If we march into Kufstein now, we will only be justifying his behavior, which is exactly what the boy wants!"

Quickly the Cardinals began to bicker among themselves like a bunch of children as every one of them spat out a different idea on how to handle the scenario. It had been a long time since any Lord in Europe, especially one with a lowly position like Berengar, had slapped the church in the face in such a manner. It was an outright rejection of their power and authority over Christendom and a total humiliation to the Inquisition. Under normal circumstances, the Church would call for a Crusade to wipe out the heresy within Kufstein. However, since all of the surviving Holy Orders were currently expanding Christian influence elsewhere, they could not afford to send an army into the Alps at the moment.

Eventually, the Holy Father had enough of the infighting among his Cardinals and declared his solution to the issue.

"Enough! We will excommunicate Berengar, brand him a Heretic, and deny his accusations against us. Then we will paint the picture that he is a vile, wicked, and sinful man who engages in debauchery on a daily basis. As for invading Kufstein, we will leave that option on the table in case he misbehaves again in the future. Do you really believe the people will obey the rule of a man who the Church has labeled as a disciple of Satan?"

The room fell quiet with this declaration, those who were thirsty for the Blood of Berengar, and the people of Kufstein quietly calmed themselves and accepted the Pope's words as law. If the boy wanted to be a Tyrant, they would show him that he cannot rule so easily without the support of the common people. Unfortunately for them, they were making a huge mistake, as the local Church in Kufstein was plagued with corruption, and like most Churches, embezzled a large portion of the money they received from tithes.

Under Berengar's reforms, he had brought a great degree of prosperity to the common people within his domain. Combine this with the fact that the people in his territory were becoming literate and reading the Bible independently; there was a growing sense of distrust with the Catholic Church within the Barony of Kufstein. It would not be long before these views spread across Tyrol and, by extension, Austria. After all, Berengar's spy networks were growing by the day. His views of the Church and its role in society were quite popular among many nobility who were dissatisfied with the Church's interference with their secular rule over their dynastic lands.

As such, by excommunicating Berengar, declaring him a Heretic, and attempting to sabotage his reputation, the Vatican had unwittingly taken the first step to the Reformation of the Church within the German Speaking regions and the removal of Papal Authority. When Berengar heard the Church's response to his actions, he was reported to have a wicked grin on his face as if everything was going according to plan.

: A not so Civil Discussion

: A not so Civil Discussion

: A not so Civil Discussion

Currently, Linde stood face to face with Adela, the day would soon come for Adela to return , and she was currently in a heated debate with her rival. The little girl had for quite some time had suspicions about Linde and Berengar and their illicit relationship. However, she had been in denial up until this point. Currently, the two conflicted with the fact that Adela would be returning to her land, while Linde would remain in Kufstein, which acted as a thorn in Adela's side. Constantly reminding her of the possibility that Berengar would sleep with the teenage temptress if she left the two of them alone.

Lambert's accusations at the scene of his conviction also left a lasting impression on her. He seemed to be certain that Berengar was the father of Linde's child, and such Adela had grown quite vicious in the little scuffle between the two girls. Berengar, of course, was not present for the conflict. Otherwise, he would have acted as a mediator and gotten the two of them to calm down. However, since she could not do so, Adela began to raise her voice at Linde in her frustration.

"What right do you have to stay in Kufstein now that your fiance is gone!?!"

Linde sneered devilishly at Adela, she knew the little girl was jealous of her, and she was not afraid to shove it in Adela's adorable little face as she deflected the question.

"Oh, my Adela, are you perhaps jealous?"

The very idea that Adela would be jealous, while accurate, infuriated her, and she quickly latched onto the bait; she was not an experienced debater, as could be seen by the ease of falling prey to Linde's trap.

"Jealous? That's preposterous. Why would I be envious of you!"

Linde leaned in close to Adela, showing off her mighty bosom in an act of superiority as she taunted the girl further.

"Obviously, you are jealous of the fact that I get to stay here by Berengar's side while you have to go back to Graz. Don't worry; I will take good care of your fiance while you are away..."

The strawberry blonde-haired vixen purposely emphasized the last part in great detail as she whispered in Adela's little ear in an attempt to infuriate her further. Though Linde had accepted her role as the lover and that she would never be Berengar's bride, she still found teasing her master's little fiancee to be delectable. Of course, if Berengar were here to witness such a scene, he would punish Linde for her actions.

Adela's face grew red like a strawberry as she envisioned all kinds of naughty things between Linde and Berengar and immediately felt embarrassed. She began to stammer as she found it difficult to form a sentence in her disrupted state.

Y... You... You harlot! How dare you!?!"

Linde's face was no longer grinning with satisfaction but had turned furious as she gazed at Adela with the intent to slap the little b***h. Being referred to as such a term greatly offended Linde and her pride as Berengar's lover; after all, she had only ever been with one man. Nevertheless, she refrained from backhanding Berengar's fiancee as she knew he would be genuinely displeased with her actions if she did so. Thus she forced herself to calm down and refute Adela's harsh words.