Elder

"My King, I present the Pope's former Elder advisor."

The noble's ringleader was already sweating and nothing happened yet. I expected they would lock me away for a few days before I'm cited in front of the King, but since I laid the groundwork, well, more like Stern did before leaving on his mission, my agents stirred enough trouble that my audience had to be held the very next day.

"The Elder? Why is she here, and in chains?" The King asked just as surprised. Why exactly? It was part of a bigger plan, which went as I wanted. Yes, the nobles captured me, because I allowed it to happen. And they chained me up, but the fools used regular steel, not something my mana couldn't break.

And my mana shot through the roof ever since I performed that fake miracle in the slums. Whether it was official or not, I must have reached the level of a saint and felt unstoppable.

So why was I dragged in front of the King in chains?

"She is accused of high treason, calling both the Church and the King corrupt, and exciting the citizens to rebel against Your Highness." The noble claimed, and the King furrowed his eyebrows. His voice was shaky at best as if he felt my imposing aura growing with every moment.

"She called the Church corrupt? I made her the head of the Church, what are you talking about, Duke?" The sickly ruler asked, barely hanging on to his throne. He seemed weak, and tired even before the noble announced his ridiculous charges, but now his eyes gleamed with curiosity. "What do you say about this, Elder of the Church?"

"It is true, Your Highness, the Church struggles with deeply rooted corruption, but isn't that why you generously named me its leader to deal with it?" I bowed deeply, exercising humility of the highest order. "I have pinpointed the cause, but the Pope is a tough opponent, even after he fled."

"The Pope? Nobody saw him in ages, and you order the Royal Companies around like it was your private army." A different noble accused me this time, but he spoke out of line, upsetting the King. Good, everything they did and said only helped me at that point.

"Silence!" The King's retainer yelled, Stern's men. The royal bastard had connections everywhere, and he used them well. His ancestry made him an excellent tool for me, even while he was away, and now I got to test how his plans would work in practice. While I was still skeptical, the signs in the throne room promised a favorable outcome. If all else failed, I felt stronger than ever, wiping out all life here seemed trivial.

"Your Majesty, if I may." I waited patiently, staring at the ground before he gave me the right to speak. I knew this game well, apparently much better than the nobles. As Stern suggested, they only realized I was a fearsome opponent when I suddenly gained popularity, but I put in the effort behind every step to keep them powerless.

"Speak, Elder, explain this situation." The King raised his hand, and his bodyguards dragged me closer to his throne. "I hear an undead force attacked our city recently and broke through Sanctuary's gates. Then turmoil in the slums, and now the nobles demand your execution. Just what happened that I'm not aware of?"

"Right, Your Highness, it is all as you said." I started, suppressing a grin. "The Pope escaped our attack last time, and this was his response. The guard could not stop the zombie hordes, but when I heard of their invasion, I rushed to the location to defeat them. I couldn't celebrate my victory, once I faced the suffering of the people around, and learned of the horror of the place these nobles call slums."

"What are you talking about? The undead broke through the gates because the new leader of the Royal Company is out of town, and uses His Majesty's men as his private army." The ringleader accused again, but the retainer's strict glance muted him in the next moment.

"Your Highness, let me answer these accusations in the name of your most loyal servant, Stern, who is fighting against a lizardmen menace as we speak." I bowed my head, struggling to remain calm. It wasn't easy when they so desperately handed me the best weapons. "The captain received multiple requests to suppress the revolt in the slums because the starving people the nobles abandoned became restless. But your Royal Company was not to instill fear into your people, but to protect them."

"Their job is to keep order..." One hasty noble claimed, but with a single wave from the retainer, the bodyguards released me and menacingly approached the man. I started to play this intrigue game recently, and understood it way better than them when to talk, and when to remain silent. The King waved the guards off for now, but his patience was visibly running out. The nobles had a bitter pill to swallow.

"As I said, Captain Stern is working tirelessly to ensure the safety of your nation, Your Grace, and to follow your orders tracking down the Pope, and grabbing at straws in case he can still find your missing daughter," I spoke quietly, nobody interrupting me this time. "Isn't it the noble's right and obligation to care for the people, provide them order, safety, and most importantly, food? Indeed, I accused them of corruption, when they did nothing, but even expected your Royal Company to sully their swords in their stead, and suppress the people's cry for help."

Now would have been a good time for them to protest, but the guards were already on the edge and the nobles remained silent. The King rubbed his jaw, tugging on his long beard while he thought it through, but I wasn't finished. Through the windows we could hear the crowds that gathered in front of the royal castle, protesting against my captivity. The number of people surpassed even my plans and explained why they rushed this audition before they gathered some real evidence against me.

"Yes, the Royal Company was unprepared to defend the city, but who can blame them, when they are being restructured at the moment, and the Pope chose the worst possible time to attack?" I asked, then glancing at the fuming aristocrats, continued. "And may I ask, were the noble's troops were, when that attack happened? I saw none of them at the gates, but they did not hesitate to surround me in the slums when I performed a miracle to feed the people they neglected."

Some nobles tried to speak, but the guard's spears made my job easier.

"It is strange indeed." The retainer nodded. Stern fed him information about the country's state after I did my agricultural research. The bastard could find something useful even when my search for the right spell failed. "And why are the people starving when the counties surrounding us are still intact? I got reports that nobody cultivates their lands anymore, but fought tooth and nails to acquire them."

"Is that true?" The King asked, waving closer a servant. "Why did the nobles stop cultivating the nearby lands? And did they want my troops to silence the people they abandoned? This does smell like corruption."

"Your Highness, don't believe anything that wicked woman says!" A noble finally broke the silence but missed his one opportunity with empty phrases again. The guards threatened them from up close now.

"I don't know what their motivation might be, Your Grace, I only found out recently, that the Church's manor was abandoned too, thus I had no other choice than to beg the gods for a miracle, and right this wrong," I claimed as humbly as possible while struggling to suppress a victorious grin. The King was already on my side, I didn't even have to say more, but I did anyway. "It might seem they wanted to starve your people on purpose, given how they locked me up after defending the city and feeding them against their will. What is this, if not corruption?"

Things escalated quickly. The nobles couldn't swallow insults like this and loudly protested, which prompted the guards to take action and evacuate the throne room. I wasn't sure if it was coincidental or part of Stern's plans, but the crowds outside started chanting my name, calling for Saint Ghisella, and demanding my release.

They should have sent an assassin while I was wounded, or dug up some dirt against me before I performed the fake miracle, but they missed their chance. The nobles practically ousted themselves with their panicked little effort to curb my sudden popularity, backfiring on them spectacularly. After I dug into the hierarchy and the struggles of this nation, it was obvious the King was only waiting for a reason to reign in the aristocracy for a while now, so he was firmly by my side from the start.

"So you are a saint now, Elder?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the chant, once the nobles were escorted out of the room. "No wonder that useless bunch was so desperate to act against you. Guards, take off her restraints, it's unworthy for the first saint to emerge in a century to be treated like this. What are your plans now, regarding the Pope and the starvation? Can you repeat that miracle and feed the people again?"

"I will do my best, Your Highness." I bowed, rubbing my wrists. Those chains were a bit uncomfortable, especially since I could have broken them, but the biggest restraint was my own. It paid off. "The Pope gathered a large army of undead, but I doubt he could repeat such a feat soon. Now that I was faced with the famine, I will concentrate my utmost effort on alleviating its effect, and with your, and the people's support, I'm confident in my abilities."

"And... What was that about my dear Elizabeth?" The King asked after a long pause. "Is it true that you are still looking for her?"

"Your Grace, while all signs show she perished, I can't give up hope. If there is a chance I can find her, I will dedicate the necessary resources." I claimed, standing tall this time. "I don't want to give false hope for Your Majesty, and urge you to name a new heir, even temporarily, but as an avid admirer of Princess Elizabeth, I can't give up on the search just yet. Whether the people call me a saint or the Elder."

Tears started rolling down the old King's face. My performance must have been convincing. He didn't ask about the losses of his knights, or the way I used his army, and took my side against the nobles too. Stern calculated this all ahead of time, and I was glad I listened to him, despite my skepticism. Showing a little weakness and restraint, I became untouchable now, the King and all the people danced on my palm.