CA – Chapter 15
Chapter 15
The once magnificent and opulent banquet hall had been redecorated to be simple and elegant. Gold ornaments were replaced with porcelain, and the beautiful young ladies who usually vied for attention were now understated and graceful. The figures embracing on the dance floor had less passion and more restraint.
A vibrant figure, completely at odds with the understated and elegant atmosphere, hurried into the hall from the entrance. She glanced around in a panic, and upon seeing the knights guarding the balcony entrance, she lifted her skirt and strode briskly in that direction.
Along the way, she refused numerous nobles who came to ask why the blonde priest had not arrived.
Anna hurried past the knights and saw Lucille leaning against the balcony, toying with a glass. She stopped and said cautiously, “Grace is gone.”
Lucille glanced up at her and said in a low voice, “I know.”
Anna looked at her in surprise. “You know?” Her subordinates had only just lost the trail. How could Lucille already know?
Lucille casually set the glass aside, turned to look out the window at the dark night, and said calmly, “She’s heading in the direction of the Bill Empire.”
Anna frowned, made a gesture with her hand, and asked tentatively, “Should we capture her and bring her back?”
Her family had followed Lucille since her grandfather’s generation. She had been in contact with Lucille since childhood and knew her true identity as a vampire, and also knew that she could live without drinking blood.
However, Anna didn’t want to see Lucille live in such pain. If the blonde priest could rescue Lucille from her lonely darkness, then she was willing to use any means necessary to keep her in Edry.
Lucille shook her head slightly, rejecting Anna’s proposal. Capturing a priest might be easy, but a werewolf couldn’t be caught so easily.
As the two were talking, a small boy of three or four suddenly ran past the knights’ cordon, hiding behind a nearby pillar. He blinked his watery eyes, staring at them curiously.
Anna looked down and raised an eyebrow. “Little Prince Berg.”
Berg was Charles II’s tenth child, the youngest prince.
Berg stepped out, bowed obediently to them, and said politely, “Good day, Lady Anna. Good day, Marshal Lucille.”
Little Prince Berg was fair-skinned and adorable, looking nothing like Charles II. His soft, short red hair made him look even more spirited and lovable.
Anna reached out and stroked his hair, smiling. “Little Prince Berg is so cute.”
Lucille lowered her eyes to stare at Berg’s hair and said flatly, “Charles II was just like him when he was a child.”
Superimposing the image of this cute little boy with the fat, foolish Charles II, the smile on Anna’s lips faltered for a moment. She sheepishly withdrew her hand. “Alright, perhaps members of the royal family are only likable when they’re young.”
Lucille glanced at her without a word, walked over, and took a lock of hair from Little Prince Berg’s head, then signaled for a knight to carry him away.
Seeing Lucille’s action, Anna said with some surprise, “Are you planning to give the king’s right of succession to him?”
Charles had four princesses and six princes. Berg was the youngest, so his claim to the throne should be last in line.
However, this was Edry, where everything was decided by Lucille.
Lucille put the lock of hair away. “Didn’t you think he was cute?”
Anna blinked. “So, should I reassign the men protecting Charles II to protect Little Prince Berg?”
Lucille grunted in affirmation.
“And Charles II?”
“It depends on his luck.” Lucille turned back to gaze into the night. If he was lucky, he could remain on the throne for a while longer.
“And what about you?” Anna looked at Lucille’s back and teased with a smile, “The succession has been decided in advance. Are you going to leave Edry to find Grace?”
She didn’t get an answer from Lucille, but she didn’t mind. Instead, her tone was gratified. “If grandfather were still alive, he would be so happy to know you’re willing to leave Edry and see the world.”
Lucille looked down at her own hands. Did she want to find Grace?
Probably.
Because a voice in her heart kept tempting her: follow Grace, see what the fate of this werewolf priest will be.
Would she die in despair, or would she continue to navigate between the Holy See and the werewolf clan, still wearing that gentle and kind smile?
Gosse Empire.
In the pitch-black night, the moon was hidden by thick, dark clouds. The city streets were so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. But in front of the church, which had been reduced to ruins, it was brightly lit. Priests in pure white robes stood in a row, holding torches made of Light Balls, illuminating the darkness for the Cardinal before them.
The Gosse Empire had delayed and delayed, but in the end, they didn’t dare to confront the Holy See directly and finally agreed to let the Cardinal enter Gosse to investigate the church fire.
The charred bodies of priests and clerics were carried out by knights and laid one by one in an open space. A foul stench filled the air, causing the beautiful young Cardinal in a scarlet cape to retreat a few steps in disgust. Her upturned eyes held a trace of impatience as she beckoned a cleric behind her to go and inspect them.
The cleric frowned, walked over, lifted a white cloth to look, and then turned his head away, unable to bear the sight.
“The murderer is too audacious! Is this an open challenge to the Holy See?” a cleric said angrily from behind the Cardinal.
The Cardinal glanced at him. Her voice, praised as being like a nightingale’s, carried a faint trace of sarcasm. “If not a challenge, is it a surrender?”
The cleric was left speechless. Wary of her status, he lowered his head and didn’t dare to talk back.
“Archbishop Reese.” The cleric who had gone to inspect the bodies came over, his expression grave. “There are many slash wounds on the bodies. The technique looks like the work of werewolves.”
“Werewolves.” Cardinal Reese’s red lips curved slightly. Just as the cleric thought she was about to seriously discuss the clues, he heard her say nonchalantly, “Are you pointing to them as the culprits because the werewolves are far away in Gru?”
The cleric was stunned and subconsciously shook his head. “No…”
Reese brushed a snowflake from her cape, her eyes slightly lowered, showing no interest in finding the murderer. She said casually, “Werewolves, vampires, or witches. Just say whichever one you think looks like the culprit.”
“I just want to go back to sleep now.”
“Archbishop Reese…”
Reese looked up at her, her green eyes looking somewhat dim in the darkness. She softly uttered two words, “Be quiet.”
The cleric shut his mouth and stepped aside.
“The Holy Son is very concerned about this matter. You’d better think carefully about what to report.” Reese covered her mouth and yawned, turning as if to leave.
A priest who had been searching the ruins ran out, holding a book that had been burned but restored with light magic. He said in a low voice, “All the holy water, staves, and other items in the church are gone. The number of bodies matches the names recorded in the book.”
Reese took the book and flipped through it casually. “Didn’t you say one body was missing?”
The priest frowned. “There should be one missing. It seems a name in the book was destroyed beforehand.”
The books used by the Holy See to record personnel were inscribed with light elements. Even if burned, they could be restored as long as the light elements remained. But clearly, someone knew this and had erased the name from the book in advance.
“So, there’s a traitor?” Reese raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. “Very good.”
She looked up into the void, thought for a moment, and said, “Take some men and investigate in Edry.”
The priest nodded, then asked tentatively, “And you, Your Excellency the Archbishop…”
“I’m going to the Bill Empire.” Reese touched her lips and let out a low laugh. “To see my little sister.”
Unaware that the Bill Empire was about to welcome a Cardinal, Tang Qiu was on her way there.
Under the cover of the Sengo Mercenary Squad, Tang Qiu and Erin successfully left Edry. The two of them were alone in the carriage. Ever since seeing Tang Qiu, the joyful expression on Erin’s face hadn’t faded. She had been worrying about not being able to find a suitable priest, and then Tang Qiu had delivered herself to her doorstep.
Erin sat upright, occasionally glancing over at the blonde priest. Her hands, resting on her lap, fidgeted restlessly. She gave a dry laugh and initiated a conversation. “You actually came out wearing your priest robes. I thought you’d be stopped.”
Erin hadn’t gone to the capital out of boredom. She had heard that Charles II had found several priests and guessed that Tang Qiu was among them. However, due to the knights, she never had a chance to contact her.
Later, seeing that Tang Qiu was being monitored by the knights, Erin had helplessly given up. Who knew fate had such a surprise in store?
Tang Qiu, who was staring out the dark window with a blank expression while trying to compose herself, pretended not to hear Erin’s words.
Erin didn’t mind being ignored and continued on her own, “But there have been so many women in priest robes in the city lately, the guards at the gate have probably gotten used to it.”
“I didn’t expect you to be so faithful to the Holy See’s creed.” As a priest of the Holy See, changing out of one’s robes was considered disrespectful to the Light Goddess.
Erin talked on until her throat was a little dry. She licked her lips, stole a glance at Tang Qiu, and said with a fawning smile, “How about we make a deal?”
Tang Qiu’s interest was piqued. She turned her head to look at her, finally deigning to speak. “A deal?”
Seeing her interest, Erin’s eyes lit up. She said with a grin, “I know you already know my identity, but I can assure you, I’m a good witch.”
A good witch? Tang Qiu looked Erin up and down and raised an eyebrow. “Good in what way?”
Erin said with a straight face, “I’ve been working hard to save the continent.”
“…What generation witch are you?” Tang Qiu asked abruptly.
Erin paused for a moment, then answered subconsciously, “Third generation.”
Tang Qiu nodded and turned back to look out the window.
Erin felt she was being slighted… She was silent for a moment, then played her trump card. “Have you hit a bottleneck in your light magic studies?”
Seeing Tang Qiu look at her in surprise, she gave a playful smile. “I can help you solve it.”
“You?”
“I know a lot about priests and the Holy See.”
A witch who knew a lot about the Holy See… Tang Qiu looked at her thoughtfully, weighing how much of her words could be trusted.
Erin remained still, letting her scrutinize her, and even added another bargaining chip. “If you don’t believe me, we can solve your bottleneck first when we get to the Bill Empire.”
Tang Qiu lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment. She felt it was worth a try. There were benefits whether it succeeded or not. If it succeeded, everyone would be happy. If it failed… at least she could find out why Erin was so persistent in sticking with her. She slowly nodded. “Alright.”
If she couldn’t learn intermediate light magic, her strength would never reach the next level. In this other world, strength was the most important thing.
Having temporarily secured Tang Qiu, Erin breathed a small sigh of relief. She gathered her cloak and asked Tang Qiu for a Light Ball to warm her hands.
Black Witches practiced dark magic and had always shunned the light. Only an anomaly like Erin would cuddle a Light Ball all day to keep warm.
Tang Qiu chanted the spell and raised her hand to pass the Light Ball to Erin.
As Erin took it, her gaze fell on Tang Qiu’s wrist. She froze for a second, then grabbed it, pulling back her sleeve. Seeing the clearly visible bite mark, her expression changed slightly.
“What happened here?”
Tang Qiu frowned and pulled her hand back, her fingers rubbing the somewhat itchy bite mark on her wrist. She lowered her eyes and said in a low voice, “…I was accidentally bitten by a cat.”
Erin: “…”
“It was a vampire, wasn’t it?” Erin looked at Tang Qiu’s wrist with a complicated expression, hesitating over whether she should find a different priest as a companion.
Tang Qiu saw Erin’s hesitation and asked nonchalantly, “What’s wrong with vampires?”
“…Vampires are very dangerous. They leave marks on their prey to make them easier to track.” Erin moved a little farther away from Tang Qiu. “And they love the blood of priests. Priests are often captured and turned into blood slaves.”
Erin didn’t want to provoke a vampire. Even if she was lucky enough to kill one, she would end up offending the family behind it.
Tang Qiu’s rubbing motion paused, and she frowned. “…She should be different from the vampires you’re talking about.”
Lucille wouldn’t travel thousands of miles to the Bill Empire just to capture her, would she? After all, if she wanted to make her a blood slave, she’d had plenty of opportunities in Edry.
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