Steel Empire
Pope's Response

The Supreme Pontiff is an elderly man in his early sixties who is of Italian descent. Right now, the man was sitting on the Throne while listening to the serious news of the arrest and execution of the Church Inquisitor duo inside the Barony of Kufstein. In his hand was a letter written by Berengar; during the time it took Father Antonio to return to the Vatican to make his report, he said, Berengar had used his printing press to distribute leaflets in German accusing the Church of trying to seize his family's land. Now, this propaganda pamphlet has spread throughout Tyrol and parts of Bavaria and other Austrian counties.

Pope Simeon II rubbed his temple firmly, trying desperately to reduce his growing headache. He had no idea how the young regent had managed to write so many of these unlucky things and distribute them so quickly. The Pope sighed heavily before voicing his thoughts out loud.

"This boy must be brave. I'll give him that... You said he had a message for me?"

Father Antonio was kneeling before the pope. Beside him were several Cardinals who acted as advisers to the Holy Father. Father Antonio quickly responded to the Pope and began telling him about Berengar's message word for word. After the terrifying display of authority that Berengar used to intimidate the priest, Antonio's father had instilled the young Regent's words into his mind.

"Lord Berengar told me that When you return to the Vatican, tell the Holy Father, that he may have the power to excommunicate me and brand me a heretic, he said, but in the end when I finally perish from this world, it is under the Judgment of God, not the Pope who will determine whether I enter the Kingdom of Heaven or not."

The Pope's expression stiffened when he heard these words; berengar clearly challenged his authority as the personal representative of God on Earth. The Young Master's words basically challenged the Holy Father to act in such a way and proved how worthless such a punishment was.

The nearby cardinal had an angry expression on his face as he could no longer hold back the burning anger in his heart.

"Evilification! You all heard what Father Antonio said; the boy did not recognize the Church Authority! He had to be subdued, and soon before those blasphemous ideas spread throughout the German nobility! God willed!"

Half of the Cardinals in the room immediately responded in the same way

However, another Cardinal quickly returned a fiery shout from the man calling for Berengar's death.

"What do you think we're doing that? He has stated that he does not care if he is ostracized and branded a heretic! All the Holy Orders are currently at war. The Teutonic Order fought in the East against the Rus; the Hospitallers were in North Africa waging the Holy War against the Saracens to reclaim Alexandria for Christianity! The Spanish orders all inflame the Reconquista! Even if we can save the men, how does it look to the other German nobles? Many of them would definitely do so gathered behind Berengar. If we march to Kufstein now, we'll just justify his behavior, that's what the boy wants!"

The Cardinals quickly began to quarrel among themselves like a group of children as each of them came up with a different idea on how to deal with the scenario. It had been a long time since any god in Europe, especially one with such a lowly position as Berengar, slapped the church's face in such a manner. It was a direct rejection of their power and authority over the Christian Order and a total humiliation of the Inquisition. Under normal circumstances, the Church would call for a Crusade to remove heresy within Kufstein. However, as all the surviving Holy Orders were currently expanding Christian influence elsewhere, they were unable to send troops into the Alps at this time.

Finally, the Holy Father felt enough of the infighting among his Cardinals and expressed a solution to the problem.

"Enough! We will excommunicate Berengar, label him heretical, and deny his accusations against us. Then we will paint a picture that he is a vile, evil, sinful person who performs debauchery every day. As for attacking Kufstein, we will leave that option on the table if he behaves badly again in the future. Do you really believe people will abide by the rules of a man who has been labeled the Church as a disciple of Satan?"

The room became silent with this statement, those thirsty for the Berengar Blood, and the Kufstein people calmly calmed down and accepted the Pope's words as law. If the boy wanted to become a Tyrant, they would show him that he could not rule easily without the support of the commoners. Unfortunately for them, they made a big mistake, as the local Church in Kufstein was engulfed in corruption, and like most Churches, embezzled most of the money they received from tithing.

Under Berengar's reforms, he had brought a great degree of prosperity to the commoners within his realm. Combine this with the fact that people in his region became literate and read the Bible independently; there was a growing sense of distrust with the Catholic Church within the Barony of Kufstein. Soon these views spread throughout Tyrol and, furthermore, Austria. After all, Berengar's spy network grew by the day. His views on the Church and her role in society were quite popular among many nobles who were dissatisfied with the Church's interference with their secular rule over their dynastic lands.

Therefore, by excommunicating Berengar, declaring him heretical, and attempting to sabotage his reputation, the Vatican has unwittingly taken the first steps towards the Reformation of the Church in the German-speaking region and the abolition of the Papal Authority. When Berengar heard the Church's response to his actions, he reportedly had a malicious grin on his face as if everything was going according to plan.