"Dean Benjamin... this time, you have made things big."
At the tavern by Pearl Lake, Duke Colin met Benjamin again, but this time, his expression was a bit complicated, and he looked at Benjamin like he was looking at a monster.
Benjamin replied with a smile: "Of course. If the trouble is not so big, wouldn't our work be in vain?"
At this moment, two days have passed since the posters were posted all over the kingdom, but the impact is still brewing. For some reason, the church's processing speed this time was a bit slow, and the blocking of speech was not as smooth as before. Instead, it attracted more and more attention from the public, and no one knew about it.
Even graffiti similar to poster cartoons began to appear on the streets of some cities. The author is unknown, but almost all of them are criticizing the church. Obviously, some civil servants were inspired by Benjamin's actions and began to express their dissatisfaction. Moreover, there are also those who directly rehabilitate the mages, most likely from the hands of the extremely rare local mages in the Horli Kingdom.
This gave Benjamin hope.
Not everyone is kept in the dark. Even if the church brainwashes people every day, this country still retains a clear sense of self.
Therefore, he met Duke Colin again today, not only to satisfy the nobles' desire to meet the king, but also to have further plans.
"... Anyway, I helped you transport that batch of things through the gate. It's time for you to fulfill your original promise, right?" Duke Colin was a little anxious, "Where is His Majesty? I need to see him."
"His Majesty is in this village. After we finish talking, you can naturally go see him." Benjamin waved his hand and said, "Now, I have another thing I want to discuss with you."
Duke Colin frowned: "What's the matter?"
He obviously had a bad premonition.
"Is it still possible for the mutiny you mentioned before to be carried out?" Benjamin's voice lowered slowly, "Now everyone is talking about His Majesty being placed under house arrest by the church, so His Majesty's return to power...isn't that what everyone expects? "
Duke Colin's expression changed drastically.
"W-what are you talking about? Hahaha... what kind of mutiny?" When it comes to pretending to be stupid, he is really good at pretending to be dumbfounded. "Dean Benjamin, there are some things you can't say nonsense. The Royal Army has always been under the church. Wolfdog, how, how could it be possible to betray the church?"
"...Your Majesty, Duke, do you insist on playing this trick with me?"
"No, no, no, Dean, I don't think I quite understand what you mean."
When Benjamin heard this, he shook his head helplessly. Duke Colin was obviously prepared to play dumb with him until the end. However, the current situation was definitely an excellent opportunity to counterattack the church.
Therefore, he continued to persuade: "Although the royal army is a puppet of the church, that is because the royal family always stood with the church in the past. After the defeat of Icol and the king's house arrest this time, the reputation of the church has long been lost. It’s not as good as before, and the Royal Army may not be as obedient as before.”
"...Are you really planning to take action against the church now?"
"From the moment I was tied to the stake, I was always fighting against them."
Duke Colin sighed.
"I can't say what the outcome of this kind of thing will be, and you can't expect us to be your lobbyists." He said slowly, "Currently, there are 50,000 Royal Army troops stationed in Havenright. Let them stand It's impossible on your side. However, if you can make them all remain neutral and not take action, we can restore His Majesty to the throne - of course, without the church knowing anything."
"How could they not know?"
Duke Colin shrugged: "That... is not within my ability. I can only rely on you, the dean."
Benjamin rubbed his chin and fell silent.
Putting the king back on his throne and helping him regain power is no simple matter. If possible, of course mutiny would be the most perfect way to seize control of the Royal Army, and the Church would be unable to do anything to them. But if the nobles were unwilling to help, Benjamin himself would not be able to seize military power.
The nobles seemed to prefer a soft coup rather than a complete break with the church. But St. Peter's Basilica and the Royal Palace are closely adjacent to each other. How could they escape the eyes of the church if they wanted to stage a coup
Playing some extreme measures? Attract attention on your own
And even if they succeed, things will just go back to how they were before. The church is still the overlord of this country. The king sits on the throne and at most he and the nobles engage in some harmless little tricks. Everyone seems to be in harmony on the surface and picks up the leftovers from under the fingers of the church.
—The noble seems content with this situation, but that's not what Benjamin wants.
"What I want is simple, let the church go to hell, but the Duke's plan seems unable to achieve this." Therefore, after thinking about it, he said coldly.
"This... this kind of thing cannot be rushed, it must be done step by step." Duke Colin was frightened by his words at first, and then hurriedly advised, "Let His Majesty regain power first, and take advantage of this momentum to suppress the status of the church. Then the mage can be brought back to the bright side. And when the mage can walk openly in the kingdom, there is no need for us to do anything, and the church itself will slowly decline."
Benjamin expressed doubt: "Can you abolish the kingdom's ban on magic?"
"Of course we can't." Duke Colin spread his hands, "but your Majesty can."
"The church cannot tolerate this kind of thing, including its fanatical believers. To abolish the ban on magic is to kill them." Benjamin shook his head and said, "You don't want to break up with the church, but just bring this thing up. , it’s no different from breaking up.”
"That's why we have to take our time..."
Duke Colin wanted to say something else, but Benjamin was no longer interested in listening anymore. He waved his hand and interrupted the other party's words.
At this point, everyone’s position is already clear. The nobles were reformists and wanted to take a moderate reform route. They did not want bloodshed or sacrifice. They slowly suppressed the church through political means to achieve their ultimate goal. But for the mages, this approach is too slow.
Moreover, the church would not let the nobles and the royal family unite to suppress them. With long nights and many dreams, accidents would inevitably happen, and the church might kill them at any time.
Benjamin had a better idea.
In fact, the seeds have already sprouted in the Kingdom of Hori. Those mages or ordinary people who are dissatisfied with the church and are aroused by the posters, their presence in this country has already laid the foundation for the destruction of the church.
What these people are doing now may just be painting graffiti on the streets and saying a few bad words about the church in private communications, but if they are guided with their hearts, they can become a very terrifying force.
"Since we have different ideas, Your Majesty Duke, let's stop talking here today." So, Benjamin stood up from the chair, turned around and prepared to leave.
"Wait..." Duke Colin stopped him quickly, "Where is your Majesty? I helped you, can you at least let me meet with your Majesty?"
When Benjamin heard this, he stopped, thought for a moment, and nodded.
"Come with me." He said, "But... His Majesty's mind has changed compared to the beginning. If you still hope that he will cooperate with your 'take your time' plan, be prepared to be disappointed. "
After saying that, he opened the door and left the room. Seeing this, Duke Colin also took a deep breath and followed him out.