Count Equus of the Sacred Empire

A loyal lord to the emperor and the church, who is one of the few lords that actually cares for his people, was currently feeling intense anxiety about the present situation.

“Hmm…”

“Do not worry, Your Majesty will surely provide us with help. Didn’t he explain the situation in detail?”

“That may be true, but…”

“It will be fine. Isn’t His Majesty working harder than anyone for the salvation of the people? He surely won’t ignore the current situation.”

“Y-yes, that could be…”

The words of the confident minister.

However, Count Equus was unable to shake off the overwhelming sense of unease.

‘The emperor does care for the people… but that’s just based on religious beliefs. I wonder if he even thinks about people starving to death…’

The situation in Count Equus’s territory was, to put it bluntly, extremely dire.

The harvest had decreased by over half, which had similarly reduced the tax revenues.

In such a situation, preparations for the upcoming war were out of the question; the people were on the brink of starving, and he had to somehow draw support from the emperor.

At the very least, he needed aid to ensure the people can still afford something to eat.

Although he knew the emperor’s temperament, it would be unreasonable to have high hopes. Nevertheless, Count Equus desperately needed that help and couldn’t help but rely on it.

Amid his anxious days, one day…

“A decree from His Majesty has arrived! Count, come and accept His Majesty’s summons!”

Finally, the emperor’s letter arrived before him.

Along with natural expectations, he began to feel a strange sense of doubt.

‘Is this… a promise of support? But this looks like something entirely different…’

No matter how he looked at it, there didn’t seem to be any supplies for aid, just a messenger holding a piece of paper.

Of course, if the content inside was about aid, that would be fortunate, but Count Equus couldn’t shake the thought that it didn’t seem like that at all.

Then, the messenger, sensing the count’s unease, began to speak in a flat tone.

“Count Equus, listen. Recently, throughout the empire, many voices are requesting my assistance.

Due to the excessive famine, the people are starving, and countless requests for food support have been coming in.”

It was only natural, as not just Count Equus, but other lords were facing the same plight.

Therefore, Count Equus listened closely to what the emperor planned to do.

“Of course, as the emperor of the empire, I must help the people, but… unfortunately, the current situation of the empire and the royal family is not favorable. The filthy heretic forces have significantly destabilized the nation’s finances, and to prepare for this, soldiers must be trained, which is a considerable burden. In this situation, it is impossible to help the numerous lords throughout the empire; therefore, I announce that I have decided to devise other measures to solve this issue.”

‘Other measures?…’

In summary, it was a declaration of not being able to provide food assistance and addressing the issue through another means.

Count Equus felt profound disappointment, sensing that whatever this new measure was, it would worsen the situation.

And unfortunately, his instincts were confirmed through the messenger’s words.

“As you all know, the root of all the issues facing the Sacred Empire lies with those who believe in heresy, and we must thoroughly eliminate them from our empire. They have been robbing the property of the good believers of the church, and as long as they exist, this situation will continue. Although many have risen under the filthy name of the Heretic Alliance, remnants of these heretics remain like poisonous mushrooms throughout the empire. Therefore, I hereby command that all property rights of those who believe in heretical doctrines be stripped away from them.”

“W-what? W-what do you mean by that?”

The messenger’s words, perfectly matching his ominous feeling, opened up a conversation he never expected.

Count Equus instinctively rebuked, overwhelmed by profound confusion.

“To take away the property of those who believe in heresy? Isn’t that too harsh a punishment?”

“Ah, Count Equus! The emperor’s decree is not yet finished! And I am merely a messenger relaying His Majesty’s commands; if you have complaints, address them directly to the emperor later.”

“Ugh…”

Feeling a headache from the messenger’s words, Count Equus could only keep his mouth shut.

The messenger then continued reading the rapidly concluding content of the decree.

“There is no longer a need for the seeds of evil who believe in heresy in this land. They will undoubtedly stab us in the back the moment a war against heresy breaks out, and we must exterminate them. Take back the property they have unjustly seized and restore the just rights of the faithful believers. Let this all be done in the name of the Lord and the Great Saint.”

Thus, the emperor’s decree ended with a flourish of hatred towards heretics.

Listening to it, Count Equus began to feel utterly devastated.

‘This decree… surely it hasn’t reached just me. This content must have been spread throughout the empire.’

He understood all too well what that meant.

Although there was an ongoing war against the heretics, even in the emperor’s direct territory, Vienna, there were still some who believed in heretical doctrines.

About 30% of the total population, to be precise.

Even though their number wasn’t sufficient to openly voice their beliefs in the church’s domain, they had quietly adhered to their faith in heretical doctrines despite their diminished voice, and even the local lords tended to overlook this as long as there wasn’t any uproar.

For the lords, all these people were still their subjects, and although they were a minority, their presence in the territory couldn’t be dismissed. It was a common consensus that as long as they didn’t cause trouble, it was better not to provoke them.

However…

The decree that had now come from the emperor would completely shatter that quiet coexistence within the empire.

In an already dire situation where a severe famine was causing unrest, the emperor stirred up further conflict by claiming this was all the heretic’s fault, granting the legitimacy to legally raid them.

In simple terms, it was like providing a scapegoat for the people’s anger over the current situation.

As a result…

The starving and furious people began to riot throughout the empire under the pretext of eradicating heresy, just as the emperor had intended.

Countless individuals were being stripped of their property and massacred merely for believing in heretical doctrines.

Even among them, there were numerous innocent faithful believers of the church who were erroneously accused of heresy and suffered heinously; however, such incidents were often brushed off as the ‘necessary collateral damage’ in the drive to eradicate evil.

Thus, amidst the brewing chaos, those leading the riots began to raise their voices in unison, filled with a sense of righteousness.

“Let us drive out evil in the name of God! Death to the wicked demons!”