Chapter 18

The departure ceremony was simple. They had spent nearly a month preparing, so all that remained was to gather their belongings and set out.

Everyone in the village came out to see them off, clinging to Maxime and sobbing.

The villagers blessed the saint and saintess on their journey. They believed that the heroes of Domrémy would surely be able to save France from its despair.

There were sixteen people in the group altogether, one more than originally planned. Leo, the winner of the tournament, had joined them, along with Maxime’s younger sister, Agathe.

Maxime examined Agathe’s injury.

“How did you hurt your hand?”

“I messed up while handling the Thunder Falcon when it was loaded.”

Apparently, she had accidentally touched the upper part of the loaded crossbow and cut open her skin.

To keep her from making the same mistake again, Maxime replaced some of the Thunder Falcon’s components and modified its design. He added a guard to prevent her hand from slipping upward from the front grip and reaching the upper part of the bow.

“This Thunder Falcon is made specifically to fit your hands. I’m going to teach you how to maintain and take care of it, so pay attention.”

“Okay!”

Maxime gave Agathe a crash course.

Agathe was an independent marksman who belonged to no Nest. At the same time, she held the position of Jeanne d’Arc’s attendant.

Maxime had told her she could simply join them as a crossbowman, but Agathe herself wanted to stay by Jeanne’s side, leaving her with two roles at once.

Jeanne d’Arc was happy to have another woman she could relate to traveling with her, but at the same time, she seemed worried about whether it was really all right to bring her younger sister onto the battlefield.

I guess growing up watching Jeanne rubbed off on her. Agathe’s braver than most men.

The journey to Vaucouleurs was a repeated cycle of marching and brief rests. They had built carts, but with so much baggage to carry, they stopped at villages along the way to rest.

They had prepared thoroughly. Their supplies included makeshift tents for camping, various everyday necessities, weapons of war, a small portable forge, and preserved food, though their preservation methods had their limits and the food would not keep for very long.

“But how long are you planning to keep following us?”

Maxime said, looking down at the ground.

“We’re going somewhere dangerous, you know?”

“Woof!”

“…Unbelievable.”

Walter barked as if to say Maxime could count on him. Where that confidence came from, Maxime had no idea.

He wanted to send him back right then and there, but whenever anyone tried to catch him, Walter somehow sensed it and darted away.

No human could overcome that kind of evasive maneuvering with physical ability alone. Maybe it was because he’d been eating well, but he’d gotten even faster than before.

“We don’t even know how long this journey is going to be…”

“Won’t he be fine? Walter goes hunting on his own, after all. He’s an amazing little guy who understands chivalry despite being an animal.”

In truth, human opinions didn’t matter. Whether they approved or objected, there was no stopping Walter from following them.

They decided to treat Walter trailing along behind them as a kind of natural phenomenon.

Walter was, at heart, a stray mutt from the streets, so he didn’t establish a territory of his own. He simply wandered wherever he pleased. It just so happened that the place he wanted to be was around Maxime.

“We’re here.”

About five and a half hours had passed since their departure. The weather was cool with winter approaching.

“This is Vaucouleurs?”

“Yeah.”

Vaucouleurs stretched out lengthwise along the terrain. They had finally arrived, but it would take another hour to reach the castle farther ahead.

Maxime approached one of the soldiers standing guard.

“I’ve come to meet Lord Robert de Baudricourt, captain of Vaucouleurs.”

Robert was a cousin of Rodericus de Baudricourt, a nobleman from Neufchâteau. Because of that connection, Maxime had personally asked Rodericus to prepare a letter for him to deliver to Robert.

Maxime was confident. He had a letter of recommendation from an influential archbishop, along with the testimony of a blood relative. He couldn’t have prepared any better than this.

“E-Emergency!”

The soldier blew an alarm horn to alert the fortifications.

“Brother, are you sure this is okay?”

“Who knows… Pierre, lower your weapon.”

“Why? Aren’t we supposed to fight?”

***

Vaucouleurs Castle held considerable military value because of its location. It also provided easy access to Commercy, a fortified small town. Thanks to this, Robert had even formed a military alliance with the Lord of Commercy.

“You’re saying a suspicious armed group showed up in Vaucouleurs?”

“Yes. The leader introduced himself as Maxime Blanche. He says he has a letter of recommendation and another letter proving his identity, but he refuses to hand them over unless he meets with you personally.”

“…Isn’t Maxime the lord of Domrémy?”

“We can’t be certain it’s really him. He doesn’t seem nearly as fearsome as the rumors make him out to be, either.”

Robert de Baudricourt had defended Vaucouleurs Castle against the Anglo-Burgundian forces for ten years, beginning when he was only twenty years old. Naturally, he had heard the rumors about Domrémy and Maxime as well.

“Everything’s quiet whenever I’m at Vaucouleurs, but somehow trouble always breaks out when I’m in Sorcy…”

Sorcy was part of Robert’s domain. It lay roughly thirteen kilometers from Vaucouleurs.

“I’ll go see them tomorrow. Make the arrangements.”

“Understood.”

***

Whenever human society faces a crisis, so-called prophets inevitably begin to appear.

Prophecy was a byproduct of political and social collapse.

This phenomenon arose not so much because false prophets saw an opportunity, but because prophecies that had always existed became far more likely to be heard in times of crisis.

When people grew anxious, they naturally became more receptive to hopeful myths.

“The stars align and the heavens tremble. The Maiden of Destiny approaches, she who shall bring all strife to an end! Victory lies along her path. Even the sun beats in accordance with fate!”

The Italian astrologer Giovanni da Montalcino had prophesied victory through the intervention of a maiden.

It was a vague prophecy that haphazardly recycled existing myths, but the Dauphin and those around him, sensitive as they were to political prophecy, took the astrologer’s words seriously and debated their meaning.

“The astrologer was clearly predicting a future in which we emerge victorious.”

“The Maiden of Destiny… I wonder what awaits France.”

“Speaking of destiny, I’m reminded of a beautiful widow I met recently.”

“…Don’t tell me you’ve been fooling around with another married woman who has children.”

“Now, now. I merely comforted a grieving woman who had lost her husband. It was destined love.”

Meanwhile, the clergy discussed revelations every bit as fervently as the nobles.

The archbishop’s shocking letter announcing the appearance of a saint had spread throughout the Vatican. The letter had originally been intended for the eyes of senior clergy alone, but the more sensational a rumor was, the harder it became to stop it from leaking out.

As a result, disputes began breaking out within the Vatican between supporters of different political factions.

“Nothing has been decided yet. Crack down on anyone spreading rumors recklessly. Use severe punishment if necessary!”

“Can’t you see what’s happening in France? A saint and a saintess appearing at the same time, now of all times? What ridiculous nonsense!”

“If the archbishop was convinced, then there must be something he knows that we don’t.”

“Now, now. At a time like this, we should avoid acting rashly and remain calm. None of us here have examined the holy relic the archbishop claims to possess, have we? We should begin by determining whether the relic is genuine.”

“With the Vatican in this much turmoil, when in the world is Archbishop Jacques Gélu coming?!”

Jacques Gélu had originally been a rather portly man. The journey of more than a thousand kilometers had caused him to lose a great deal of weight, and by the time he was utterly exhausted, he had halted his travels to rest at his home base, Embrun Cathedral.

Rather than return to the Vatican, he remained at the cathedral and corresponded with the Vatican by letter.

“Your Grace, His Holiness keeps requesting that you send the object to him.”

“…He’s pressing me again? I told him I’ll bring it myself as soon as I’ve recovered…”

He could not bring himself to entrust such a precious holy relic, one that showed the world after death, to someone else’s hands. If it were stolen, he felt he would spend the rest of his life regretting having shirked his responsibility.

Protecting the precious relic felt, in his mind, like the final duty of his life.

He named the holy relic Maxime had given him the “World of Destiny”

He had lived through so much that he had believed nothing could possibly shock him anymore.

Yet the holy relic went far beyond anything he had imagined.

“No matter how many times I see it, it’s truly remarkable… If I maintain the proper mindset befitting a clergyman, it shows me Heaven, but the slightest wicked thought makes it show me Hell…”

There was something Maxime did not know.

The angels and demons he considered universal were actually sensationalized images that had survived the relentless competition of modern media.

Originally, angels were servants of God, while demons were merely beings who worked under God to tempt mankind and put them through trials.

Rather than subjects of religious inquiry, they were closer to characters who simply appeared in the Bible.

But after witnessing such vivid visions of Heaven and Hell, the archbishop began to reconsider his previous beliefs.

Angels and demons were beings worthy of study.

And this holy relic was both a blessing sent to the faithful and a warning sent to atheists.

The afterlife exists, and God has sent us a saint to restore the fallen Church to glory.

***

Before meeting Robert, I spoke briefly with Jeanne.

“Something occurred to me. About the revelation you received. Were you ever explicitly told that the king you’re supposed to find is the Dauphin?”

She had received a revelation telling her to save the grieving nation of France alongside its king.

“He wasn’t specifically named, but I was told to find the true King of France, so it must be the Dauphin.”

“So he wasn’t specifically named…”

For the time being, my plan was to help the Dauphin.

The man had a habit of discarding his subordinates once they were no longer useful, but regardless of his character, he had given a common-born girl a chance. Thanks to that opportunity, Jeanne had risen to become a commander of the nation’s armies, gaining widespread public support and followers of her own.

For a commoner to be given such an opportunity, legitimacy was crucial. I had no intention of disrupting the historical course that would lead Jeanne to the height of her glory.

That’s always bothered me. Knowing he was never specifically named puts my mind at ease.

All I had to do was distance myself from the Dauphin when the time came.

Agathe and Walter were playing together when the soldier we had been waiting for arrived.

“Lord Robert de Baudricourt summons you. He doesn’t have much time, so move quickly. Only the two I mentioned before are to enter.”

Robert was one of the few supporters of the Dauphin in the region. At the same time, he was a nobleman who could provide us with a connection to the Armagnac faction.

“Jeanne, let’s get ready.”

“Yes.”

We went to meet Robert after surrendering our weapons. Soldiers surrounded Jeanne and me on both sides.

“You’re here. I’m short on time, so we’ll skip the introductions. Why have you come?”

Like the soldier he was, Robert preferred things short and to the point.

“God has sent an important message for the Dauphin.

God, who watches over France, has said that if the Dauphin observes Lent, He will send aid and grant him the power to defeat his enemies. Once that happens, I will lead him to Reims and see him crowned.”

Upon hearing this, Robert remarked briefly.

“You’ve brought me a madwoman.”

Robert waved his hand, signaling that he’d heard enough.

“Wait. I’ve brought a letter from your blood relative, Roedericus de Baudricourt.”

“I know. Roedericus is a fool who became so blinded by a woman that he even threw away his honor. It couldn’t have been difficult for you to deceive him.

Go back where you came from. And give that madwoman a good beating until she learns to act like a proper person.”

In Europe, women were treated much like early household appliances. If they started malfunctioning, a few good smacks were supposed to set them straight.

***

“Have they gone back to Domrémy?”

“My apologies. They seem to have plenty of money, so they’ve simply settled into the village as they please. …Should we drive them out by force?”

Robert did not believe that someone receiving divine revelations would emerge from a rural backwater like this.

As was so often the case, she was probably either a fraud looking for an opportunity or a troublemaker trying to stir up the masses and cause unrest.

“Leave them alone for now. And inform Duke Charles of Lorraine that we’re holding a man named Maxime here. I don’t know whether he’s really the same man, but it’s a name the duke has mentioned for some time.”

“Understood.”