"A heretic? A heretic of all things!"
At first, Christoph had thought the worst he might face was excommunication. Excommunication, while devastating, wasn't immediately fatal. Sure, it gave his rivals a golden opportunity to attack him under the guise of purging an outcast from the Goddess's grace, but at least he would live.
Being declared a heretic, however, was an entirely different matter.
"Is the church truly going to come after me to kill me? Personally?" Christoph's mind spiraled into panic. A heretic was seen as no different from a demon worshipper or a cultist—a target that had to be eliminated without fail. Worse yet, his own knights and loyal followers would likely turn on him the moment the declaration spread.
'What do I do? Take hostages? Or maybe kill everyone involved?' His thoughts raced in desperation. But neither option was feasible. Taking hostages would be an outright admission of guilt, and erasing witnesses was impossible now—too many people already knew.
