Chapter 342: Chapter 74: Enclosure Movement
He had never heard his father use such scathing words to describe something. "Father, I don’t understand... What does this have to do with the Wizards, and with what happened last night?"
But Murphy had no intention of explaining further.
He turned his gaze back to the window, as if the early spring view of the courtyard was more worthy of his attention.
"There is a connection, but it would do you no good to know it now. You only need to know that what happened last night was no accident." Murphy’s voice returned to its usual indifference. "Bringing the Church Court into the situation was not just to deal with the superficial issue of Carl’s death. It was also to draw a line in the sand under Oriane’s watch and to deter some of the scoundrels hiding in the shadows. The Wizards behind the Albion Islands won’t dare to act rashly in areas that might draw the Church Court’s attention, at least not in the short term."
He waved his hand, signaling the end of the conversation. "Go. Proceed as planned. The letters must be sent quickly, and your tone must be respectful yet firm. With the Imperial side, handle it according to the strategy I laid out before. As for the castle’s internal affairs, your mother and Alina will assist you. And Eleanor... I will handle her. You need not ask further."
Countless questions still churned in Kaiden’s mind.
’What on earth is the Enclosure Movement?’
’What is the true connection between the Albion Islands and the Wizards?’
His father seemed to know far more than he let on, but Kaiden also understood that he was unwilling to discuss it further at this moment.
"Yes, Father." Kaiden suppressed all his questions, bowed respectfully, and said, "I will see to it at once."
He took two steps back, turned, and left the study, gently closing the door behind him.
...
The night was deep, and the flames in the fireplace cast flickering shadows across the study.
The ripples of the day’s turmoil seemed to have subsided, and the castle had returned to its nocturnal tranquility.
Aurora, carrying a cup of warm herbal tea, gently pushed open the study door.
Murphy was sitting in his wheelchair facing the fireplace, his eyes closed in rest.
Hearing the sound, he slowly opened his eyes.
Aurora placed the tea on the small table by his hand, then pulled up a chair and sat down beside him.
She didn’t speak immediately, simply sitting with him in silence, her gentle gaze lingering on his slightly weary profile.
After a long while, Murphy picked up his cup, took a sip of the warm tea, and suddenly said in a low voice, "Aurora."
"Yes?" Aurora responded softly, leaning in slightly.
"I think I..." Murphy’s gaze was fixed on the dancing flames, his voice tinged with self-mockery. "...have unleashed a monster."
Aurora was taken aback for a moment. Then, she reached out her warm hand and gently placed it over his, which rested on his lap. "Murphy, what is it? What monster?"
Murphy didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, "Aurora, what do you think? How do the nobles of this world, and the Church Court, treat the common people?"
Aurora hadn’t expected him to suddenly ask such a question.
She thought for a moment. "Murphy, you know how it is... Most nobles see the common people as a part of their domain and wealth, a source of labor and taxes. The more merciful ones might guarantee their basic survival and leave them some leeway when collecting taxes. The harsher ones, however, treat them as worthless and take from them as they please. As for the Church Court..."
She paused. "The Bishops and Priests act according to the Holy Scripture of Truth. They show mercy to the poor, offer relief, and also restrain nobles from excessive oppression, because the Holy Scripture instructs them to ’walk the Path’. But the Church Court itself is a vast organization with its own interests and rules, and the Clergy in the lower ranks are a mixed bag... All in all, with the Church Court present, things like the unconscionable human sacrifices or large-scale massacres of the darkest ages have indeed become much rarer."
Murphy watched the flames in silence, as if pondering her words. Then, he said slowly, "Yes. The dark ages ended and the Church Court was able to triumph because of that line in the Holy Scripture: ’Seize the dragon... bind him for a thousand years... and when the thousand years are over’. In a sense, the Church Court truly did it. They caught the dragon that brought chaos and disorder, bound it with order and dogma for a thousand years, and in turn, brought the world a thousand years of relative stability."
Watching the light dance on her husband’s face, Aurora asked softly, "Murphy, are you worried about the Wizards? But aren’t they already so suppressed by the Church Court that they can barely breathe? Even that time with the Tower of Secret Silver, when they opened a spatial passage and unleashed the Deep Red Tide, weren’t they beaten back and the passage resealed?"
Murphy slowly shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the fire. "Aurora, let me ask you something. What if the power possessed by the Clergy—the Bishops and Priests—didn’t come from following the Holy Scripture of Truth, from performing good deeds, accumulating virtue, and protecting the faithful—these acts of ’walking the Path’? What if it came from something else? For instance, what if it was like the Wizards, from the pure possession of knowledge, control of resources, or some other, more direct way of seizing power?"
Aurora was stumped by this hypothesis. As she followed this line of thought, her face gradually turned pale. "If... If their power doesn’t come from walking the righteous path, then they would have no need to abide by the constraints of the Holy Scripture. They could do anything to gain power... plunder knowledge, exploit the faithful, even... even experiment on living people like Wizards? Because that would bring them power, and power itself would become the goal."
Her voice grew softer as she spoke, until she was almost murmuring to herself with a sense of incredulous denial, "But... how could the Church Court become like that? How could Oriane allow it?"
"Why couldn’t it?" Murphy finally tore his gaze from the flames and turned to Aurora. "Aurora, think carefully. If it couldn’t, then why did the Northern Shepherd Chief District split away hundreds of years ago?"
