Chapter 15: The Heavenly Father Slays the Heavenly Brother

What should one do when lacking money? The only option is to start a side business and strive to earn more. For the sake of making money, Leo, who rarely took off his robe, put on a short shirt, gripped a small knife, and chopped at slender shrubs. He then brought this wood to the shed for the nuns to process.

The nuns sorted the thin wood and stacked it beneath the shed. As for the larger pieces, they were handed over to the farmers. The farmers swung their axes, splitting the wood into several parts, piling it up to dry. Once they had enough, they would take it to Chanodenza to sell.

“Boss, tell me, why don’t you just ask the townsfolk for money?” Enrique carried a large log over and threw it on the ground. With his dusty face, he looked nothing like a knight; rather, he resembled a countryman.

“If you borrow money, you have to repay it,” Leo replied, tossing firewood to Helena and wiping sweat from his brow.

A cleric who actually repays borrowed money? Enrique muttered inwardly. When he was in Corsica, why had he never encountered such a decent cleric?

Admittedly, Leo sometimes seemed less than proper. For instance, whenever he looked at Helena, Enrique always felt Leo’s gaze drifted toward her chest.

Yet Leo possessed a moral bottom line. While everyone worked, Leo never ordered others around. In times like these, he refused to exploit the people.

If every cleric were like Leo, surely no one would question the Roman Curia.

“Damn, that’s impressive.”

After working all morning, Leo decided to rest for a while. He looked at the shed, now nearly filled, and couldn’t help but marvel at how industrious these folk from Corsica were.

In just two days, they had amassed a huge pile of timber.

With so much wood, surely some could be sold for money, Leo thought.

Once he had saved enough, he could go to Parma for grain. As for livestock, that could wait.

“Carlo! Come here!”

Leo turned and called for Carlo.

Carlo, also working, immediately dropped what he was doing and hurried to Leo’s side.

“Sir, what is it?” Carlo said, swinging his aching arms. “Are we building a new shed?”

“Of course not. What would we do with so much wood?” Leo gestured to the shed. “Find someone to load this timber onto carts and bring it to Chanodenza. We’ll depart this afternoon and stay overnight in town.”

So soon?

Looking at the timber, Carlo felt uneasy. Wood that hadn’t dried was hard to sell for a decent price.

But Leo gave him no chance to protest.

“Helena, you’ll come with us as well,” Leo suddenly called out to Helena.

Helena, still hard at work, looked up and nodded blankly.

...

“Your Grace, Chanodenza lies just ahead,” Alberto pointed to the small town, introducing it to Matilda.

“This little town has been here a long time, but the previous duke never cared much for it. Your visit will surely delight its people.”

Listening to Alberto’s praise, Matilda felt a touch of pride.

Yes, she was an excellent ruler. Even such a remote town could benefit from her inspection.

Of course, Alberto knew the truth. The duchess wasn’t here for an inspection; she was clearly here to see Leo. With that, Alberto became curious—how was Corrado doing at Leo’s place?

So, Matilda’s entourage arrived at Chanodenza.

Just as they entered, Matilda noticed a merchant caravan in the town, apparently selling firewood.

What was going on?

“Does Chanodenza have a legal market?” Matilda asked her courtiers.

“There’s no record of it,” a secretary replied.

In the Middle Ages, markets required the ruler’s permission. Without approval, such markets were illegal.

Everyone knew illegal markets were everywhere, but if caught red-handed, there was no excuse not to act.

That was why medieval lords toured their domains. Finding an illegal market and confiscating goods meant extra income—why not seize the opportunity?

“Go see what’s happening,” Matilda commanded.

Her knights clustered around her, entering Chanodenza with banners from various families carried by their retainers. Their imposing display intimidated the townsfolk, who stepped aside to let the knights pass into the town center.

Leo, at the heart of the town, tensed upon seeing the knights.

Where had these knights come from?

“Corrado, Corrado!”

Leo hurriedly tapped Corrado’s shoulder, pointing at the knights.

Alerted by Leo, Corrado looked in their direction, then quickly relaxed.

“Sir, it’s the duchess’s retinue.”

“Oh, the duchess.”

When it came to recognizing heraldry, Leo was no match for these medieval natives.

The mass of banners in that entourage made Leo’s eyes spin. To him, the differences between the crests were negligible.

The knights’ first act upon entering was to drive out the townsfolk.

“Who permitted you to trade illegally here?”

The knights shouted, waving their banners, and chased away the townspeople.

Then they moved to the town’s center.

Seeing the ox cart and piles of firewood, they knew at once these people were selling timber.

Those with Leo were stunned, rooted to the spot.

Carlo, a longtime merchant, knew exactly what the knights intended. Trading outside official market hours and getting caught by the lord had only one outcome—everything confiscated.

His face went pale as he stood speechless.

Only Leo, upon seeing the knights approach, didn’t even bother to lower his sleeves but strode over from the woodpile.

For convenience, Leo hadn’t worn his clerical robe.

Seeing an ordinary man in woolen clothes step forward, the knights exchanged puzzled glances.

What was this supposed to mean?

“What are you doing?” Leo demanded, pointing at the knights without hesitation. “Are you blind? We’re selling goods here—can’t you see?”

Hearing Leo curse right off the bat, the knights’ faces flushed with anger.

They had enforced the law for years—never had they encountered such a defiant commoner!

“What nonsense are you spouting?” the leading knight snapped, his beard bristling in outrage as if Leo’s words had affronted his honor. He drew his longsword and pointed it at Leo’s nose.

“Seize that man!”

At his command, two young knights leapt from their horses.

As they advanced toward Leo, the laborers behind him were at a loss.

The nobility arresting a cleric—what could be done?

This was a disaster, the heavens fighting among themselves, the world turned upside down.

Just as the two knights closed in on Leo, a black-and-white figure stepped forward, spreading her arms to shield Leo.

“You cannot touch him!”

At that moment, Leo could only see Helena’s back.

She stood there, her petite form alone facing the two knights.