Cassian left the bedchamber with Eric following closely behind him.
"We should have seen it coming. The church has always been on a power trip, even when it cos to addressing the royals. They are bold to be speaking up against your marriage now," Eric said, surprised the priests weren’t cowering after Cassian killed the king.
Cassian walked with his arms placed behind his back.
While Cassian was listening to Eric, he was distracted by a story Lilith had told him during their married days.
There weren’t many people Lilith feared, but there was one man amongst the priests who made her feel uncomfortable. A man whose actions didn’t align with what he preached.
"Are you listening to , or are you wishing you could go back to be with Lilith?" Eric asked, his voice finally getting Cassian’s attention. "I wouldn’t have co to you if the church wasn’t a threat. It’s beco a cult."
"Their followers are great in number, so it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of all of them, and the church has gained the favour of many nobles," said Cassian.
"Killing the high priest might turn the townspeople against you. What love they bear for you now would turn to hatred overnight. Lilith could be affected by you slaughtering the priests. There will be no going back from you becoming a tyrant," Eric said, but he was certain the latter didn’t matter to Cassian.
"But Lilith would be safe," ca Cassian’s response.
Eric stared at Cassian, growing more surprised by how easily he would throw away being the kingdom’s hero to beco the tyrant, all for Lilith’s sake.
’She doesn’t even love him,’ Eric thought.
Eric couldn’t fathom what it must feel like to have once experienced Lilith’s love, only to be right back at the start, waiting for her to love you.
Eric’s thoughts about Cassian’s troubles were cast aside as a group of priests ca into view.
The high priest stood at the front, leading his followers towards Cassian. The faint sll of incense clung to their robes, and the soft shuffle of sandalled feet filled the corridor.
"Your Grace," Virgil Belmont, the high priest, greeted Cassian. "A pity we et on such an occasion. You return from war without visiting the church to say your prayers to God for keeping you alive. You kill the king and decide to wed the princess without our approval."
"The kingdom now belongs to . I don’t need your approval to carry out any plans, and since when does the church hold such power?" Cassian questioned, his anger growing as he laid eyes on Virgil.
"The church helps to keep the castle in order. No matter how you viewed the late king, it wasn’t your call to make on whether he died. There was no sign from God that the king needed to be replaced," said Virgil.
"Oh, so all the accidents in the castle with Beauforts falling sick once before were your doing?" Cassian asked, though he had the answer. Virgil wasn’t a simple man.
Virgil clasped his hands, his head slightly bowed. A faint smile rested at the corners of his mouth, neither warm nor cold. "That was the will of God, not my doing. I exist to hear his will and pass it on to the kingdom. What you have done upsets him, and this marriage shall not be accepted. Return to your land, and take your army with you."
Cassian chuckled, finding all that Virgil said to be absurd. "If our God has spoken to anyone, it is not to you. You present your selfish desires as his word and have your followers push the narrative. There is no holiness to you."
"I pray that a non-believer like yourself will one day realise the true power within the church." Virgil’s eyes settled on Cassian with an unsettling expression. "A man who has killed innocent people will not believe in the power of God, but one day you will, because I shall pray for you."
"I politely decline. The devil praying over will only lead to my ruin," Cassian said, earning gasps from Virgil’s followers.
"The church objects to your marriage and to you becoming the next king. I hear the young prince still lives. It is God’s protection which allowed the queen and her son to be out of the castle before your attack. You must start to believe," Virgil said, reaching his hand out towards Cassian to pray.
"No, it was luck. When my blade reaches her neck, I hope you will say that it is God’s will," Cassian said.
"He is not a man who wishes death on anyone. If they are to die, our Lord and Saviour will punish them himself. I must have a word with Princess Lilith-"
"No," Cassian imdiately denied the request. "The princess was attacked and needs to rest."
"She needs to be prayed for. I may be against your union, but I will never not pray for a lost soul. The princess has lost her way long ago, and I have been offering my help to guide her to the right path," Virgil said, his tone calm. "The king always allowed it."
"I’m sure the king allowed it when you spouted nonsense about guiding Princess Lilith. You seem to be quite interested in more than guiding her," Cassian said, a dark secret threatening to spill.
Virgil didn’t react to what Cassian tried to allude to. He only needed to answer to God when he said his prayers and asked for rcy. He held Cassian’s gaze a mont longer than was comfortable, then looked away, as though the matter were already beneath him.
"I must see the princess," Virgil insisted. "I must see that you have not hard her, and pray for her well-being. There is no harm in it."
"The princess must rest, and this marriage shall take place. I urge you to return to the church before I send a few of God’s children to his pearly gates. Do not test ," Cassian threatened Virgil as he turned his back on him.
"Father-"
"Silence." Virgil raised his right hand, silencing the priest to his right without so much as glancing at him. "His Grace cannot be guided. It is within God’s wishes that his grace be killed to bring order to the kingdom. I shall marry Princess Lilith to bring the castle under control."
"We leave for now," Virgil ordered his followers.
The n standing behind bowed their heads in unison and parted so Virgil could walk in the midst of them, leading the group as he always did.
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