This is mostly for me to just sort through everything.
Shuli's death was a plot devised by the Church. That priest man with the droopy eyes believes himself to be a holy man that is not corrupted like the other priests. He also has some strange fascination with Shuli, as seen in that one scene where he hopes to see her in another life. The reason why Shuli's death is necessary for the Church is because the Neuschwanstein family are strong supporters of the Imperial family. Shuli is the reason why the family withstood the threats from the church after her husband died. With her death, that would leave the family vulnerable for the Church to take advantage of since Jeremy is still developing. (Jeremy is rapidly maturing and developing into a competent head, though, which is why they must take action immediately.) With Shuli's death, they are basically killing two birds with one stone. The first is the Neuschwanstein family's vulnerability and the public outrage that would give the Church a chance to grab more power.
I believe that the latter would damage the reputation of the Imperial family because of something to do with the type of attackers that were used on Shuli's death. The church would grab more nobles for support, and it would inevitably lead to more power for the church.
This is mostly for me to just sort through everything.
Shuli's death was a plot devised by the Church. That priest man with the droopy eyes believes himself to be a holy man that is not corrupted like the other priests. He also has some strange fascination with Shuli, as seen in that one scene where he hopes to see her in another life. The reason why Shuli's death is necessary for the Church is because the Neuschwanstein family are strong supporters of the Imperial family. Shuli is the reason why the family withstood the threats from the church after her husband died. With her death, that would leave the family vulnerable for the Church to take advantage of since Jeremy is still developing. (Jeremy is rapidly maturing and developing into a competent head, though, which is why they must take action immediately.) With Shuli's death, they are basically killing two birds with one stone. The first is the Neuschwanstein family's vulnerability and the public outrage that would give the Church a chance to grab more power.
I believe that the latter would damage the reputation of the Imperial family because of something to do with the type of attackers that were used on Shuli's death. The church would grab more nobles for support, and it would inevitably lead to more power for the church.