Chapter 13

There are a lot of eyes on us from the moment we entered the village.

It had been a long time since I’d last visited Maxey. Since it lay on the opposite side of Domrémy from Neufchâteau, the last time I’d come anywhere near it was back when I used to play with the children here.

I was accompanied by three soldiers. At first, I’d planned to bring Pierre, but Coat had protested so vehemently that I ended up putting together a different party instead.

When Pierre answered my summons only to be told to go back home, he looked utterly crestfallen.

– What a shame. It would’ve been a perfect chance to spread the glory of Domrémy.

Seeing him spout such nonsense, I decided listening to my younger brother had been the right call.

Maxey was a small village. Like most of the flat countryside of Lorraine, the land stretched wide open in every direction, making it easy for me to notice the many watchful gazes fixed on us.

“Excuse me, sir. Could you point us in the right direction? I’m here to see the village head. Which house is his?”

“Uh… um… o-over there…”

“Thank you.”

“Eek…”

He must have been an incredibly timid man. I’d only asked for directions, yet he couldn’t even meet my eyes.

The man hurried away as fast as he could.

He even dropped his belongings. Someone that timid is going to have a hard time surviving in an age like this.

I gestured to one of the soldiers accompanying me.

“Return those to him.”

“Yes, sir.”

The soldier went after him.

The moment the man spotted the soldier approaching, he took off running without a second thought.

“Aaaah!”

An unplanned chase broke out.

It was so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh.

So that’s how he’s survived all this time. He may be timid, but he can certainly run.

The village head’s house stood on the southern edge of the village. With a pasture beside it, it was obviously the right place.

No matter the era, wealth and influence naturally went hand in hand with authority.

I knocked on the door.

“Is anyone home? My name is Maxime Blanche. Since I never received a reply, I thought I’d come see you in person. Are you perhaps too unwell to come out?”

No answer came from inside.

The window’s open. It’s quiet now, but… I can still sense someone in there.

Maybe he can’t answer for some reason.

“Leo, it looks like the village head isn’t well enough to move around. Wipe your boots and let’s head inside.”

I was genuinely worried about the village head’s condition. If necessary, I was even willing to hire someone to look after him.

Without another word, I pushed open the front gate.

“Aaagh!”

The village head, who had been standing behind the door, tumbled backward. He’d been pressing his ear against it, and when I opened the door, he lost his balance and fell.

“…What exactly are you doing there?”

“Don’t misunderstand! I was just… uh… well…”

“Please, calm down. Let’s sit down and talk first.”

I helped the fallen village head back to his feet and guided him into a chair.

Is bizarre behavior the latest trend or something?

First there was the man who ran away when I tried to return his belongings. Now there was the village head pretending not to be home despite clearly being inside.

The atmosphere in this village was certainly strange, but I’d come here to foster good relations, so there was no point in calling attention to it.

“I sent a messenger, but never received a reply. I was worried you might not be feeling well, so I brought some meat.”

“My apologies… I’m getting old, you see…”

“Your hands are shaking as well. You really don’t seem to be in good health. I invited you all the way to Domrémy because I wanted to treat you as my guest, but it seems I ended up asking too much of you.”

“Please… just spare my life.”

The village head suddenly dropped to his knees and began pleading.

I had no idea how we’d arrived at this point.

“I’m too young to die! I still have to live long enough to see my fourth son’s grandchildren!”

“I think you’ve misunderstood something…”

“I’m sorry about what happened! I failed to discipline the young men properly. I’ll punish them myself, starting today. I’m not asking for much! Just… please spare my life!”

He wasn’t listening to a word I said.

At that point, I decided it would be easier to tell him what he wanted to hear.

“…Haah. Fine. I’ll spare your life.”

“Thank you! Thank you! You’ll be blessed!”

His joy was completely genuine.

I was exhausted.

Any enthusiasm I’d had about building friendly relations with the neighboring village had long since evaporated.

There was only so much misunderstanding that could be cleared up through conversation. When people treated me like some bloodthirsty monster, I found myself choosing my words with far more care than usual.

“Just tell me what you want. Whatever it is, I’ll agree to it.”

“I don’t particularly want anything. Our side was at fault in the fight as well. We’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”

“Uh… ah…”

“Then I suppose there’s nothing more to discuss. We’ll be on our way.”

The moment I said I was leaving, the village head’s complexion brightened dramatically.

“I’ll never forget your generosity! I’d heard Domrémy was a terrifying village that openly refused to pay its taxes, but you’re surprisingly reasonable for such a young man!”

I stopped in my tracks.

That wasn’t something I could simply ignore.

“…What do you mean, we don’t pay our taxes? Our village has always paid our lord exactly what we owe.”

“My ears still work, you know. There’s no need to hide it… N-No, forgive me. You’re absolutely right!”

Something about this conversation wasn’t adding up.

I needed to get to the bottom of it.

“Even if what you’re saying were true, wouldn’t you have complained if we’d been paying too little?”

“…Who would dare? Your village drove off Burgundian raiders.”

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

“What tax rate do you pay here?”

“Anything that makes money… we hand over half.”

“Half? Not a tithe?”

“That tax rate disappeared a long time ago…”

“Don’t tell me… they raised the taxes because of the civil war?”

“…You really didn’t know?”

The knight who came to collect taxes had never raised any objections.

Naturally, I’d assumed the tax rate was still ten percent.

Fifty percent…?

***

Still reeling from the shocking revelation that we’d only been paying one-fifth of the proper taxes, I returned to Domrémy.

Only to be greeted by yet another piece of astonishing news.

“There’s an archbishop in the village? Here? In a tiny rural village like this?”

“Mhmm. He said he came to meet you, Brother.”

An archbishop was nothing less than a superstar.

Apparently, he’d spent more than six hours surrounded by the villagers, talking to them about the faith without pause. It seemed the archbishop simply couldn’t bring himself to turn away people who so desperately wanted to hear his sermons.

At that point, the villagers were practically abusing the archbishop.

“So, what’ll you do? Want to meet him right away?”

“He needs his rest too. I’ll let him recover for a day and meet him tomorrow instead.

More importantly, how many people came with him? Is his entourage capable of fighting?”

“There were three of them in total, including a young priest. I didn’t see any weapons.”

“…That makes no sense given his position. Domrémy is one thing, but getting here from the Vatican means risking your life. Only two attendants? Are they trying to get the archbishop killed?”

“Well, he came from the south. Maybe it was safe enough?”

***

The following day.

I made sure both my clothes and appearance were immaculate.

Before heading out, I called Pierre over and gave him instructions in case anything unexpected happened.

“While I’m meeting with the archbishop, keep an eye on the two priests who came with him. Don’t let them leave.”

“Leave it to me.”

I had no idea why the archbishop had come looking for me.

I prepared for the worst, even stationing soldiers nearby in case things took a turn for the worse.

It’s not like this would be the first time I’d seen clergymen pull something underhanded.

By default, I didn’t trust members of the clergy. In an age where religion and political power were intertwined, corruption had taken root so deeply that it had become part of the system itself.

There was a reason every newly elected pope talked about reforming the Church.

At last, I met the archbishop face to face.

“I am Jacques Gelu, Archbishop of Embrun. May God’s blessings be upon you.”

“My name is Maxime Blanche. It is an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”

The archbishop had a warm, kindly face.

“You’re quite tall. Just as one would expect of a man guided by the Lord.”

“Thank you. And if I may say so, Your Grace, you have the kindest face of any clergyman I’ve ever met.”

This was an era in which people judged character by appearance.

“What brings you all the way here?”

“Straight to business? I was hoping we could speak about matters of faith first…”

“My apologies. I’ve been rather busy. We can discuss sacred matters another time. For today, I’d prefer to hear the purpose of your visit.”

“…The Vatican has begun gathering support for the restoration of the Papal States. We’re recruiting artists on a grand scale. If you aspire to create art, this is an excellent opportunity to make your name known.

It is a meaningful and honorable undertaking. With a bit of fortune, you may even become an artist under the Church’s regular patronage. Come with me to the Vatican. It would be a terrible waste for your talent to remain buried here.”

The archbishop’s offer was far more reasonable than I’d expected.

I’d secretly prepared myself for the worst like being dragged away on charges of blasphemy, so I let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“I see. In that case, I’ll have to decline the invitation to travel to the Vatican.”

The archbishop looked visibly taken aback, as though the possibility of refusal had never crossed his mind.

“That doesn’t mean I’m refusing the commission. I’ll create a masterpiece worthy of the Vatican’s prestige.”

“…So you’re saying you’ll create it here. Unfortunately, I don’t have the funds to pay you an advance. And to be honest, I don’t even know how I’d transport the finished sculpture all the way back to the Vatican.”

“The piece won’t be large. And for an undertaking as honorable as this, I have no intention of accepting worldly compensation. There is, however, one favor I’d like to ask in return.”

“I didn’t come here to negotiate.”

“It’s nothing difficult. I simply need you to write a letter. I’m not asking you to lie. Just write honestly about what you’ve seen and affix your seal.”

The archbishop took a moment to weigh the proposal.

A single letter… in exchange for a masterpiece from the finest sculptor I’ve ever encountered…

His decision came quickly.

“That shouldn’t be difficult.”

The negotiation concluded successfully.

***

The value of the archbishop’s letter depended entirely on how it was written.

This was an opportunity that would never come again.

Jeanne could be recognized as a saint far earlier than she was in the original history.

A plan that had lain dormant in the back of my mind finally began to take shape.

As soon as I parted ways with the archbishop, I sent for Jeanne.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

She answered my summons immediately.

What caught my attention was that she was still wearing her mail coif despite being off duty.

“There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you for a long time.”

“Please, ask me anything.”

“Can you hear the voice of God? Do you see angels? Have you received a revelation telling you to save France?”

“…So you already know.”

She wasn’t surprised for long.

“Yes. God intends to use me as His instrument.”

I could personally vouch that Jeanne wasn’t the sort of person who lied.

I’d watched her for years.

So she really has been hearing revelations all this time.

If those visions truly came from God, then as a mere human, there would be no escaping the destiny laid before her.

I didn’t believe in God.

Part of me wondered whether the revelations Jeanne spoke of were simply hallucinations.

Or perhaps, deep in her heart, she herself longed to become France’s savior.

In the end, the truth didn’t matter.

The fact that she believed she was receiving divine revelations was enough to tell me what awaited her future.

Either she’d be condemned as a witch and die…

Or she’d be canonized as a saint and still die.

If I tell her I’ll help fulfill her revelations, she’ll only end up carrying an even heavier burden.

There would be no shortage of Frenchmen clinging to Jeanne and begging her to save the country.

I had no desire to become one of them.

I took a slow breath and put on the mask of a hypocrite.

What I was about to say would change the course of Jeanne’s life.

“I’m going to leave Domrémy and save France from the suffering of this war. It may not happen immediately, but one day I’ll have to leave.”

Not you.

I would save France.

I deliberately kept the responsibility from falling onto her young shoulders.

“Will you help me?”

Not I need your help.

You would be helping me.

If I had to, I would gladly invoke the name of God.

For the masses who blindly longed for a saint, I would present them with a false one.

“Ah…”

Jeanne let out a quiet gasp.

The scent of damp earth and fresh grass clung to her clothes.

“Yes… I’d be honored to stand by your side.”