I Became A Black Merchant In Another World-Chapter 308: Reformation (11)

The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Rudolf III, was unable to maintain his composure due to the current situation.

All of this was because of one single priest.

"Goddamn Stefano, that bastard! He deserves to be torn apart and have his innards ripped out!"

Stefano Luther, with his life on the line, had pointed out the contradictions and corruption of the Deus Church.

Even the Emperor found the argument compelling enough to accept, nodding his head unconsciously at the logical and strong moral grounds of the rebuke.

The current church, led by the three priest-electors, along with several other clerical electors, were now challenging the imperial power. They were even selling indulgences, fake relics with indulgences attached, using purgatory as leverage.

‘Priests should be in a church corner, performing Mass, not doing such things.’

Like all power-hungry rulers, he despised priests who dared to challenge his authority.

"This bastard is shaking the very foundation of the Empire! What do the electors think?"

The remaining electors in the room nodded at the Emperor’s words.

Even though what Stefano Luther said was true, by attacking the Deus Church’s integrity, the Empire was now on the brink of collapsing.

What if a civil war broke out?

‘Our positions are at risk.’

"I completely agree."

Then the Archbishop of Mainz, the second most powerful voice in the room after the Emperor, stood up and spoke.

"Heresy ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) is like mold. When mold grows on food, it must be cut off. The heretics, like the Elector of Saxony and others who support him, must be burned with holy fire to purify them!"

If Fabio had been here, he would have been laughing at how ignorant these fools were about the history of the Deus Church, thinking that they were helping Stefano.

However, the Archbishop, who had a strong belief in eradicating the pests that threatened his power, continued his speech.

"To prevent the spread of heresy, we must use every means at our disposal. Let us send declarations condemning the heresy to every Deus church across the Empire and persuade the lambs not to fall into the wrong path."

"With the power of the printing press, which Lord Rothschild has provided, we could spread these declarations throughout the Empire."

"Excellent, Your Majesty. We will also instruct the priests to widely publicize the evil deeds of these heretics."

Until this incident, no one in the Holy Roman Empire had paid much attention to Father Stefano.

They didn’t even know what his crimes or virtues were.

But when politicians want to eliminate someone, the truth no longer matters.

The Archbishop of Mainz was planning to spread all kinds of falsehoods, incitements, and fabrications.

Stefano had cowardly pointed out the corruption within the Deus Church as facts, and the Archbishop believed that they were now acting in self-defense.

"When that bastard Stefano was about to be burned at the stake, rain fell. Theologically, this can easily be explained. The Bible says that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and pretends to be Deus’s messenger."

"I see."

"So, Satan used his power to make it rain, pretending it was Deus’s miracle. For this miracle to happen, there must be a precondition: Stefano must have sold his soul to Satan."

"To turn half of the Empire into a den of heretics, that much is necessary."

It was the kind of nonsense that Deus, who supposedly died and resurrected after three days, was pulling.

But the Emperor and the electors present believed this seriously.

"The teachings of this heretic must be widely denounced, and those who continue to follow them should be executed and purified."

The Emperor, of course, agreed with this.

Because the justification for the Emperor’s rule in the Holy Roman Empire was as "Defender of the Deus Church."

These heretics were daring to challenge Deus.

In other words, this was, directly or indirectly, an act of rebellion against the Emperor.

‘Once you are underestimated, you die.’

"Purging heresy is good, but there is one problem."

"What problem is that?"

"Indulgences. They should be temporarily halted. The loyal electors, including myself, know that the proceeds from indulgences are all used for the work of Deus. However, the common people do not know this."

Of course, the "work of Deus" referred here is, in reality, the construction of cathedrals or securing inheritance for high-ranking clergy, disguised as "children of deceased relatives."

But directly mentioning such shameful acts would be equivalent to throwing a handkerchief in the faces of the Archbishop of Mainz and the other ecclesiastical electors.

So, I changed the subject, but the Archbishop understood the implication very well.

‘He wants us to give up indulgences.’

When the Church’s authority was absolute, this might have been unthinkable, but now their authority had already drastically declined.

"... Let’s proceed with that. We cannot ask too much devotion from the weak-willed common folk."

The Emperor had realized that by banning indulgences, the relationship between the Church and himself had fundamentally shifted.

"Good, then I will write an imperial decree, and Archbishop Mainz, you write a proclamation to persuade the people."

And not long after, the Emperor’s "Prohibition of Protestantism" decree was distributed throughout the Empire.

In one of the major free cities of the Holy Roman Empire, Prague.

The imperial envoy had gathered the city councilors and was reading the decree aloud.

"The heretic Stefano has spread the absurd rumor of a miracle, but you loyal subjects of the Empire must not be deceived by his words. He is a heretic who has already sold his soul to Satan, a magician. The rain that fell was merely Satan’s work to save his servant."

The mayor and city councilors, who held the city’s autonomy, did not pay any attention to these words.

If they had not heard Stefano’s teachings, they might have been swayed, but the refutations and teachings he wrote had already spread far and wide, thanks to Lord Rothschild.

Anyone who had read even a bit of his work, especially merchants and the nobility of the free cities, had long since changed their minds.

Salvation can only be obtained through faith in Deus, so there’s no need to buy indulgences.

Though the Deus Church considers commerce a lowly profession, the work of merchants, who bring and sell goods for everyone to use, is also noble.

Deus asks for donations based on each person’s circumstances, not arbitrarily extorting them.

They were freed from unnecessary fear and praised for their work in the free cities. Would they now bow their heads to a Church that continues to condemn their rightful business?

‘If we’re going back, we’d rather die.’

Nonetheless, the imperial envoy continued reading the decree.

"Repent and turn away! Do not listen to the heretic teachings! Those who listen to these teachings will fall into hell and suffer eternally, but those who reject heresy and repent will be saved. Therefore, I urge you, repent and turn away, or I will wield Deus’s hammer and break all your heads."

At this moment, Father Stefano’s teachings were officially banned in Prague by the Emperor’s decree.

After reading the entire decree, the imperial envoy asked:

"Is there anyone who still wishes to listen to the heretic Stefano? Step forward. I will invoke the name of His Majesty..."

At this, one of the city councilors stepped forward and asked.

"What exactly is wrong with Father Stefano’s teachings? The clergy are supposed to serve Deus and live humbly, and the citizens of our free city are only being told not to deceive others in trade. And when I read the Bible, I found no mention of purgatory. Where did all this nonsense come from to extort our hard-earned money?"

"You heretic!"

"Try to rebut me. If you can rebut me properly, I will gladly march to the pyre."

Other councilors, even the mayor, agreed.

"Father Stefano’s words are correct! If our hard-earned money is spent for the poor, we would accept it, but it’s all being squandered for the cathedral."

"Mayor, you’re just putting it into the prostitute’s pockets!"

"Ah, I see my mistake."

The free city was a merchant-centered city.

The nobles even intermarried with merchants, making it a city open to commerce.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

So, in such a place, it was impossible to reject the rightful trade of merchants and oppose a religion based on no solid grounds.

‘It’s just not acceptable.’

With public opinion behind them, the councilor pressed further.

"Is it right for us to be threatened with purgatory, something Deus never mentioned?"

Everyone present shouted in unison.

"Not at all!"

"Then who is the heretic?"

"Those who extort the money we rightfully earned, chasing their own desires—they are the heretics!"

The imperial envoy could feel it himself.

‘Oh, this is a big problem.’

As he tried to retreat, the city councilors surrounded him.

Then, they threw the envoys out of the window of the city hall.

"We would rather die than live following the corrupted ones!"

Though their words sounded noble, what they truly meant was that they no longer wanted to be extorted by purchasing indulgences...

Similar incidents were happening across the Empire.

The Emperor was now cornered, and a civil war had practically begun.