Chapter 24

Chinon Castle.

The Privy Council, where matters of military affairs, diplomacy, and administration were discussed, was in the middle of an endless argument.

“Isn’t it truly inspiring? They crossed hundreds of miles of enemy-occupied territory just to come to our aid. René of the House of Valois, who met them personally, has vouched for them, so it seems certain that they truly received divine inspiration. We also have a letter of recommendation from Robert de Baudricourt, the captain of the garrison where they stayed, modest though his position may be…”

“This is a fraud. France’s international standing is already low enough as it is. If we put our faith in children like them, we’ll become a laughingstock.

The only way to save France is not to focus on the war, but to reconcile with Burgundy!”

“Reconcile? Reconcile? You want us to bow our heads to those arrogant bastards? Or have you forgotten what came of the many attempts we’ve already made at reconciliation?”

“We shouldn’t be too quick to accept their prophecy, but simply ignoring it doesn’t sit right with me either. Why don’t we bring in experts to verify their claims?”

“They could be witches. A temptation sent by the Devil to deceive and humiliate us.”

“I’ve been sitting here listening long enough. What do you mean, a temptation from the Devil? I don’t know about prophecies or revelations, but no matter how many times you think it over, they’re absolutely right that we need to fight this war properly.”

The debate failed to reach any agreement. The court was divided into several factions, each pushing its own position. Far from making any progress, the debate only grew more heated as time passed.

“Enough. Further debate is pointless. I have summoned them to court, so meet them yourselves and judge them then.”

“…What?”

“Dauphin, it is reckless to summon people whose identities we haven’t even confirmed!”

“He’s right. We should form a commission and investigate them first. It won’t be too late to decide whether to summon them once the investigation is complete.”

“I will not withdraw my decision. At this rate, we’ll do nothing but repeat the same pointless arguments.”

“But…”

With his retainers continuing to oppose him, a trace of hesitation crept into the Dauphin’s mind.

“…It’s true they could be spies sent by the enemy, or assassins sent to kill me.

Attendant, put on my clothes and sit in my place. I’ll wear something plain and observe what happens.”

If they were assassins, he was telling the attendant to die in his place. He refused to back down from his own decision while shifting the risk onto someone else.

The attendant closed his eyes and barely managed to answer.

“…As you command.”

***

“Pass… confirmed. Wait here for a moment while I get someone to escort you.”

Chinon Castle stood atop a hill in a strategically important location. Connected to the Loire River, it had long royal roads and trade routes running through the area. The castle was a typical multilayered medieval fortress, with its outer defenses separated from the inner royal quarters.

“That’s quite a large group. Everyone, remove your outer garments and hand over all your belongings.”

Our group was searched. Every weapon we had been carrying was confiscated.

There was only one exception. After it had been inspected, I was allowed to bring along the handcart I had brought with me. The contents were considered too unusual to leave behind.

“Boss, don’t you think you could attack this place for the rest of your life with nothing but arrows and infantry and still never break through?”

“Quiet.”

“Brother… We should’ve brought the Thunder Falcon…”

“Nothing’s going to happen, so everyone calm down.”

We passed through the defensive lines atop the high hill. The maze-like outer walls were designed to confuse attackers.

I took my little sister’s hand as she showed signs of being trigger-happy. She hadn’t been using a crossbow for very long, but apparently being praised so highly for her skill had made her more emotionally dependent on it than I realized.

As we waited without knowing what to expect, a middle-aged man emerged from inside.

“Welcome. You may simply call me the Count of Vendôme. Which of you claim to have received the revelation?”

The Count of Vendôme was one of the leading nobles of the royal court. Jeanne and I stepped forward.

“We did, Count of Vendôme.”

“What’s in the cart you’re pulling?”

“A gift I have brought for the French royal family. If you wish, you may remove the covering and inspect it.”

The count pulled back the cloth without hesitation. The moment he saw what was underneath, he was left speechless.

Jeanne d’Arc offered a brief prayer as she looked at it.

“I will make sure this is delivered personally.”

“No. I must deliver it myself.”

“…I respect that.”

The count led us into the castle, treating us more kindly than before. At the very least, he seemed to have decided that we were not guests to be treated lightly.

***

Late that afternoon, we were taken to the audience hall overlooking the Vienne River. Countless torches illuminated the chamber.

“Your Majesty Charles de France, I have brought those who claim to have received the revelation.”

The hall was packed with hundreds of courtiers. But no matter how many there were, torches were still torches. In the flickering light, many faces repeatedly appeared and vanished into the shadows.

“Are those the ones? They’re dressed rather strangely.”

“The ones who traveled 150 lieues to get here after receiving a revelation…”

“…He’s tall. His face looks young, though.”

Jeanne d’Arc wore her hair tied back and was dressed like a warrior. After all, she needed clothes that allowed her to move freely if she was going to fight on the battlefield.

I left the cart off in a corner. I had modified it so the wheels wouldn’t make any noise as they rolled. Thanks to that, few people noticed it.

Nobles were taller on average than commoners. Even so, they still had to look up at us to some degree. They may have eaten well, but their diets weren’t exactly balanced.

The hall grew noisy the moment we entered. I could hear the whispers going around about us.

Witches, frauds, prophecy, truth.

All sorts of things were being said. Some of them seemed deliberately intended to intimidate us.

It reminded me of neighborhood punks calling over their friends and blowing cigarette smoke at you from both sides. Using the strength of a group was both a human strength and a human weakness.

At the center of the audience hall, the man dressed in royal attire cautiously called out.

“…L-Look at me.”

Is that the Dauphin Charles? He looks more timid than I expected.

Heh…

One of the nobles couldn’t hold back a snicker.

“What are you doing? Why have you not bowed before our king?”

Just as I was about to pay my respects, Jeanne d’Arc stopped me.

“No. That man is not my king.”

“What…?”

Neither of us had ever seen the Dauphin’s face. It was an unexpected turn of events, but I trusted her judgment completely.

No matter what kind of crisis erupted, Jeanne was frighteningly quick at assessing the situation. Her judgment had already proven itself on countless battlefields.

Silence.

The commotion stopped. Everyone fell quiet and focused on Jeanne d’Arc. She kept her head still, moving only her eyes as she scanned the room.

Step… step…

Jeanne moved without the slightest hesitation. I silently followed her.

“There you are.”

Amid the vast crowd, she spotted a sharp-featured young man. Something about him seemed to strike her as different from everyone else.

I followed her lead and dropped to one knee almost simultaneously. I removed my hat and placed a hand over my chest.

“Noble Dauphin, in the name of the Lord, I proclaim that you are the true heir to the throne of France.”

The mood shifted. I could clearly feel the excitement surging through the crowd.

“I am called Jeanne la Pucelle, and the King of Heaven has commanded that through my efforts, Your Highness shall be honored at Reims and crowned the true king.”

“Ah… Ahhh…”

The Dauphin was overwhelmed by this fateful encounter.

Unlike me, who knew what she was capable of, those who knew nothing about her let out cries of astonishment. It never occurred to them that she might simply have read what everyone was thinking.

The Dauphin, his expression practically melting with emotion, stammered out a question.

“You there, the one who came with her. Who are you? Are you some kind of saint as well?”

The Dauphin was curious about the man who had accompanied the saintess. There was a prophecy about a saintess who would save France, but no clear prophecy about a male saint.

“A saint… I know nothing about that. All I know is that the Lord of Heaven spoke to me with a powerful voice and commanded me to aid the saintess. I willingly obeyed that command and came here.”

I pulled out a letter I had hidden to keep it from being discovered during the search.

“This is a letter of introduction from Archbishop Jacques Gélu, whom I met personally.”

“…The archbishop?”

The Dauphin brightened at the mention of the archbishop. Jacques Gélu was the former Archbishop of Tours and an upright servant of the royal administration.

“Wait a moment! Didn’t the archbishop retire and move south? Though he has retired, I have continued corresponding with him. I never heard anything about him meeting someone who received a revelation!”

“Come to think of it, his replies have been rather delayed lately.”

“Everyone, be silent.”

The Dauphin spoke irritably.

“I know the archbishop’s handwriting well enough. I can verify the letter myself.”

The Dauphin tore open the letter, which had never been unsealed before. It fell to the floor, and a nearby servant picked it up and handed it to him.

“The handwriting… It is indeed the archbishop’s.”

The Dauphin read through the elegantly penned letter. Some of the more curious nobles glanced sideways at it from a distance.

After reading the entire letter, the Dauphin let out a faint breath.

“…Attendant, take this letter to my chambers and keep it there.”

“As you command.”

The Dauphin turned his head and looked down at me.

“Are you Maxime Blanche?”

“I am.”

“Are you loyal to me?”

“Everything is according to God’s will.”

“God’s will… Heh. Very well, I shall formally recognize you as my guests.”

The contents of the letter the Dauphin had read were as follows.

[…The matter of the saintess must be examined carefully. However, if she is accompanied by a guide named Maxime Blanche, then she is surely the saintess sent by God.]

A prophet recognized by a high-ranking clergyman of the Vatican had appeared. To the Dauphin, who had been desperately searching for a political prophecy, the news was as sweet as gold.

“Your Highness! You must not make such a hasty decision. This could all be some witch’s trickery!”

“Indeed. At the very least, we must verify that they have truly received a divine mission.”

“What more verification could you possibly need when we already have the archbishop’s word?”

“…Forgive my impertinence, but I caught a glimpse of the letter from a distance. Did the archbishop not say himself that the matter of the saintess must be examined carefully?”

“…Tsk, fine. You are my guests, but I will test your faith in accordance with Church doctrine. You have no objections, I presume?”

Jeanne and I nodded in agreement.

“If verification is necessary, we will gladly submit to it. However, there is still something I have yet to present to Your Highness.”

“You have something to give me?”

With the Dauphin’s permission, I rose to my feet. I pulled the cart I had left in the corner and brought it before the Dauphin. At the sight of the man-sized object wrapped in a covering, the knights nearby drew their swords.

Before things could escalate any further, I pulled away the covering. I took a torch from the wall and held it up to illuminate the work myself.

The courtiers were stunned by the sculpture.

“My God…”

“How can this be…”

Humans are creatures of emotion.

At its core, art is the realistic representation of the world. With the advent of photography, modern art struggled to seek out new forms of value that had never existed before, but in the end, the overwhelming majority of people still empathized with representations of human emotion.

All the more so when the tragedy transcended the ages.

“We have not forgotten Agincourt, where our young sons were slaughtered to the last.”

A young knight, barely more than a boy, lay cradled in the arms of a beautiful noblewoman.

His body bore wounds where arrows had pierced him, along with marks of crushing blows and stabs. They showed just how bravely and honorably he had fought.

Yet rather than taking pride in that honor, the young knight was on the verge of tears, pointing a finger ahead.

It was a tragic scene. The noblewoman desperately clasped the fallen soldier’s hand.

A short inscription was carved beneath the sculpture.

– Our Son, Who Died in Our Arms.

The suffering of those ravaged by war and the honor that had gone unrewarded were subtly expressed within it.

At the Battle of Agincourt, a force of merely six thousand Englishmen had overwhelmed a French army numbering nearly twenty thousand.

The outcome sent shockwaves through the French nobility and was one of the reasons they had been forced to accept the humiliating Treaty of Troyes.

“Great King, I will aid the saintess and save your sons.”

““…….””

The work stirred such powerful emotions that several noblewomen even fainted.