The Cardinal found himself utterly unable to mount a proper counterattack against Hyang’s relentless assault.

Damn it all! If it was going to be like this, His Holiness should have come himself!

Pope Alexander VI, or rather, Rodrigo Borgia, had earned his doctorate in canon law from the University of Bologna. And he wasn’t just any legal scholar; he had been lauded as “the most brilliant and discerning of jurists.”

Had he come in person, the outcome of this debate would surely have been different. Even if victory wasn’t guaranteed, the Cardinal was certain he wouldn’t be on the back foot like this.

But once seated on the papal throne, Alexander VI could hardly leave Rome.

Moreover, the Cardinal present here had no great legal mind. He wasn’t even a Borgia by blood; he had earned his position and his seat in this chamber through loyalty alone.

As a result, he could only repeat the most fundamental defenses.

“The office and duties of the Pope are inherited from Saint Peter, and Saint Peter was chosen by the Lord…”

“If you’ve actually read your scriptures,” Hyang interjected, cutting him off to continue his attack, “the founder of your faith told Peter to be the rock of the Church. If the Pope is truly Peter’s successor, he should be a foundation stone. Why does he instead try to be a crown worn on the head? Likewise, your Teacher told Peter to fish for men. Did he ever tell him to judge them?”

“Th-That is…”

Stammering, the Cardinal desperately searched for a rebuttal and seized upon the most common argument.

“The Lord said to Saint Peter, ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’[1] Judging men, as Your Majesty puts it, is this very act of binding and loosing, an authority passed down from Saint Peter to every Pope.”

As the Cardinal asserted the long-established doctrine of papal supremacy, Hyang’s smile only deepened.

“Is that so? Then let me ask you: does this binding and loosing apply to a man’s soul, or to his body?”

“Uh… well… wouldn’t it be both?”

“Let me rephrase,” Hyang said, his voice sharp. “Your Teacher said, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ To bind and loose a man’s very flesh seems to me a coveting of what belongs to Caesar. Are you lot trying to defy the teachings of your own founder?”

“How dare you!” the Cardinal roared, but Hyang concluded with a placid expression.

“This gathering is a council of Caesar’s deputies, here to discuss the secular problems of the world, not matters of the soul. If you insist on sitting at this table and speaking, then I have no choice but to consider the Pope just another secular monarch. If you acknowledge that, I will grant you the right to speak.”

“You insolent infidel!”

The Cardinal’s shout was spasmodic. Looking at the man, his face flushed crimson with humiliation and rage, Hyang continued.

“Then let this ‘insolent infidel’ ask another question. Your Teacher commanded you to spread the truth to the ends of the earth. Did he ever command you to kill and destroy infidels? Are you following the teachings of your Christ, or are you following the orders given to the Jews who fled Egypt for Jerusalem? Do you believe in Christianity, or Judaism?”

“You truly have the tongue of a devil!”

Finally, the Cardinal could bear it no longer and shot up from his seat. Before storming out of the chamber, he turned to the assembled envoys, their aides, and Lorenzo de’ Medici, leaving them with a stark warning.

“Anyone who joins hands or negotiates with that infidel, that servant of the devil, will be deemed a heretic and excommunicated!”

Hyang simply propped his chin on one hand and retorted, “That sounds like the Pope’s authority, not yours. Are you his superior?”

“Hngh!”

The Cardinal, trembling with fury, made a choked sound and fled the conference room.

Once the Cardinal and his followers were gone, Hyang turned to the remaining envoys.

“Shall we call it a day?”

Louis was the first to jump in. “I think that’s for the best. I’m sure the others will agree.”

“Agreed.”

“Then shall we reconvene in five days?”

“Five days…”

That should be enough time for a response to arrive from Rome, Louis thought. Though I can guess what kind of answer it’ll be. In the meantime, I need to speak with the other envoys.

After a moment’s thought, Louis nodded.

“That seems reasonable.”

“We agree.”

“Very well. I shall see you all in five days.”

The envoys and their aides, having agreed, began to gather their belongings and stand. Before leaving the chamber, they bowed respectfully to Hyang. Returning their gesture, Hyang left them with a cryptic remark.

“You’re all probably thrilled, thinking you’ve just been handed a perfect excuse, aren’t you? But do you really think I didn’t know what I was doing? Think about it carefully.”

“…”

The envoys froze for a moment at his words before quickly exiting the room. As they departed the embassy, their faces were harder and more rigid than ever before.

Though the meeting was over, Hyang remained seated to speak with Lorenzo.

“My apologies to the Gonfaloniere[2].”

Hyang began with an apology. The Cardinal’s threat was no empty warning, and for Lorenzo, cutting ties with the Empire was no longer an option. His excommunication was now all but certain.

Lorenzo simply smiled in response.

“Not at all. Where there is condemnation, there can also be absolution.”

He spoke as if it were a trivial matter, and he meant it.

Excommunication of a European monarch was less a religious verdict and more a political maneuver. Consequently, if the Pope changed or the excommunicated ruler’s power grew formidable enough, a pardon would inevitably follow. Even without such circumstances, a sizable bribe and a small bow of the head were usually enough to secure absolution.

Lorenzo had more than enough funds, and his family had its own cardinal in Rome, one powerful enough to participate in the Conclave. It was this confidence that allowed him to appear so relaxed.

“Will you be posting a record of today’s events on the wall as well?”

“Of course.”

At Hyang’s reply, Lorenzo’s expression turned a little more serious.

“Wouldn’t it be better to skip today?”

“Why? I have posted one after every meeting. If I don’t, the citizens will grow curious, and that curiosity will soon turn to suspicion.”

“But the Cardinal left with a warning of excommunication. I myself pay it no mind, but it’s a different matter for the common people.”

Hyang nodded at Lorenzo’s explanation.

“You have a point. In that case, why not make use of a good collaborator?”

“A collaborator?”

“Savonarola.”

“Ah!”

***

Not long after the envoys departed, the people of Florence began to gather around the embassy, waiting for the officials to post the daily bulletin.

A moment later, when the imperial officials tacked up the poster, the crowd surged forward to read it.

“Hmm… Hm?”

“Oh?”

Those reading the bulletin wore troubled expressions. The Cardinal’s threat of excommunication was the cause.

“Excommunication… What do we do?”

“But I don’t think the Emperor of the ‘Land of Flowers’⁴ said anything wrong…”

“That may be true, but this is excommunication we’re talking about!”

As the news spread, a murmur of anxiety rippled through the Florentine citizens. While the Church’s authority had weakened since the time before the Black Death, its power among the common people was still absolute. In a society where daily life and social interactions revolved almost entirely around the church, being cast out was a threat to one’s very survival.

Yet, turning against the Medici family and the Empire was also a problem. They were well aware that it was the alliance with the Medici and the Empire that kept other city-states and foreign powers from laying a hand on Florence.

“Well, war is coming either way, which means we need the ‘Land of Flowers’ even more.”

“What in the world are we to do…?”

While many Florentines fretted in confusion, one man stared at the sky and cheered.

“This is truly the grace of the Lord!”

It was Savonarola.

***

Girolamo Savonarola, a nobleman from Ferrara who had joined the Dominican Order, was renowned for his profound scholarship and ascetic lifestyle. Sent to the monastery of San Marco in Florence in 1482, he quickly gained great fame and support among the city’s residents.

From there, Savonarola toured Florence and its neighboring cities, preaching republicanism and political liberalism.

Though a political liberal, he was a moral ascetic. So influential were his sermons that they led to the infamous incident where the people of Florence burned their erotic art and novels in the city square.

As a republican and political liberal, his main targets were the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’ Medici, and the Pope himself.

“Lorenzo de’ Medici is a vile tyrant! He oppresses the freedom of the Florentine people!”

“The Pope and the Church must awaken! Look at the state of the Vatican and the Church today! The merchants whom the Lord drove from the temple are now sitting inside it, wearing priests’ robes!”

While he was a radical republican, Savonarola held a surprisingly favorable view of the Empire.

“A republic is the ultimate form of government, but if that cannot be, then the Emperor of the ‘Land of Flowers’ and his political system are the next best thing!”

He always spoke highly of the Empire, an admiration that began when he heard of the deeds of Sejong⁶ and Hyang.

“If a monarch must exist, this is how they should conduct themselves!”

His favor, which grew from reading books that were little more than travelogues, was solidified into staunch pro-imperial support when he obtained a Latin translation of the ‘Super-Law.’

“Yes! Equality before the law! This is an absolute necessity!”

Now a firm supporter of the Empire, Savonarola read the flyer detailing the debate with the Cardinal and cried out to his followers.

“When the Lord was born, the Magi came from the East! And now, a wise man has come from the East! This is the grace of the Lord!”

Climbing his pulpit, Savonarola raised his voice and preached to his supporters.

“My friends, what part of the eastern sage’s words was wrong? Nothing! What is Caesar’s belongs to Caesar, and what is God’s belongs to God!”

“For the successor of Peter to act like Caesar is a clear transgression!”

“Do not bow to the Vatican’s threats of excommunication! Trust in your own conscience!”

“That they use excommunication to threaten monarchs is the very symbol of the Vatican’s corruption! Do you know how much wealth must be offered to be absolved of excommunication? And where does that wealth come from? From what has been stolen from you in taxes!”

“The Vatican must return to being the Vatican! The coming conflict is a holy war to achieve that very end!”