CA – Chapter 61
Chapter 61
The werewolves brought Tang Qiu’s group of three to the city closest to their territory.
Erin already had a destination in mind. She knew the blonde priest was going to rendezvous with people from the Holy See, so after the werewolves reluctantly bid Tang Qiu farewell and left, she took the opportunity to suggest they part ways.
“I’ll be staying in the Gosse Empire for a while.” Erin handed over a piece of parchment she had prepared, speaking to Tang Qiu in a serious tone. “Here’s the address. If you need anything, you can find me there.”
Tang Qiu took the parchment and glanced down at it, a faint smile in her voice. “Are you sure you can reach the Gosse Empire safely?”
She put the parchment away and said softly, “If you get caught again, I won’t be able to come and save you.”
Erin gave a dry laugh and waved her hand. “That won’t happen, it won’t.”
After Glanna had found her once, she had raised her guard. She would certainly be more cautious than before. Erin was naturally skilled at hiding herself; otherwise, Glanna wouldn’t have only just managed to catch her this one time.
Tang Qiu stared at Erin for a moment. Erin was wrapped in a heavy cloak, trying to resist the cold wind. Noticing Tang Qiu’s gaze, she looked back, puzzled. Her fair complexion made the dark circles under her eyes particularly noticeable.
Although Erin had acted calm since being rescued from the black witch’s manor, and her interactions with Tang Qiu were the same as always, Tang Qiu knew she wasn’t as composed as she appeared on the surface.
Glanna’s appearance had torn open the scars in her heart. Tang Qiu suspected her main reason for going to the Gosse Empire was to find a place to lick her wounds.
“Be careful on the road.” After offering Erin this simple reminder and a small Space Gem, Tang Qiu left with Lucille.
Erin, who had wanted to have a more “reluctant” farewell with the blonde priest, stared blankly at her dashing departing figure, feeling a bit sour. She stroked the gray furball perched on her shoulder and muttered, “So heartless, leaving just like that.”
She glanced at the tall vampire who was always shadowing the blonde priest and pouted unhappily.
The Space Gem in her hand made its presence known. Erin looked down at it, curious about what was inside.
She glanced at the blonde priest’s receding figure, then held the Space Gem in her palm to inspect its contents.
Dozens of bottles of Holy Water of Light were neatly stacked inside, filling the not-so-small space. Erin was stunned for a moment. She pressed her lips together, but couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling up. Her gray eyes brightened as she clutched the Space Gem, her voice filled with unconcealable amusement. “And she told me to settle the bill myself…”
She says one thing and does another.
Erin’s mood brightened again. She put the Space Gem away, plucked the gray furball from her shoulder, and tucked it into her sleeve. Gently squeezing its little paw, she said with a smile, “Let’s go home.”
At the entrance to a city in the Gru Empire, a Holy See contingent was resting in the open. Jennifer stepped down from her carriage with a cold expression. A cleric started to approach her, but upon seeing her face, he stopped dead in his tracks, looking everywhere but at her, not daring to meet her gaze.
The Gru Empire was right before them, yet Jennifer had suddenly ordered them to stop and rest. The carriages had been stationary for three hours, and everyone was puzzled. However, because of the icy aura surrounding Jennifer, no one dared to ask why.
Some began to miss the gentle blonde priest. The clerics in the group fixed their gazes on the carriage in the very center. The blonde priest had been inside practicing light magic for a long time and hadn’t come out.
“Jennifer.” Another attendant cleric in the group, Avra, found Jennifer and asked, “When are we entering the Gru Empire?”
“Is Priest Grace still practicing light magic?”
Jennifer glanced at her and said expressionlessly, “I’ll go ask her.” With that, she walked directly toward the central carriage.
Although both Avra and Jennifer were Tang Qiu’s attendant clerics, Avra knew very well who the blonde priest was closer to. So, she tactfully refrained from following Jennifer to the carriage and waited patiently where she was.
Jennifer waved away the Holy Knights guarding the carriage, pushed the door open with a cold face, and looked up to see the long-absent blonde priest sitting inside, smiling at her. Her sky-blue eyes were clear and pure, like flawless sapphires.
Jennifer froze for a second, then her expression darkened.
Tang Qiu sat there quietly with a smile on her lips. The tenderness in her eyes was enough to drown a person, and her affectionate gaze would make anyone hesitate to speak a harsh word. However, the furious Jennifer was not one of them.
She stepped into the carriage, closed the door, and glared at Tang Qiu, saying through gritted teeth, “So you know how to come back?”
The “honey trap” had failed. Tang Qiu lowered her head, her attitude one of sincere apology. “I’m sorry.”
Jennifer slammed her hand on the table. Her lowered voice still couldn’t conceal her anger. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
“Do you want to end up in the Inquisition?”
Seeing Tang Qiu return safely, Jennifer felt a sense of relief, but her pent-up resentment erupted at that moment. Shedding her usual cold demeanor, she barraged the blonde priest with a series of questions, giving her no chance to get a word in.
Tang Qiu listened quietly. When Jennifer finally finished, she let out a soft sigh and said, “I had no choice. If I didn’t go save her, she would have died.”
She glanced up at Jennifer and, seeing the anger in her eyes fade slightly, gave an imperceptible smile. “But, she’s been rescued.”
Jennifer glared at her and said coldly, “Don’t let it happen again.”
Tang Qiu’s lips curved into a smile as she nodded. “Alright.”
Jennifer watched her for a moment before looking away, not putting much faith in Tang Qiu’s ready agreement.
Her hand on the table was suddenly touched by something cool. Jennifer looked down to see the blonde priest placing a light staff next to her hand. She frowned. “What are you doing?”
Tang Qiu smiled. “It’s a gift for you.”
A light staff was a precious item for clerics and priests. Jennifer assumed it was the blonde priest’s own staff. She furrowed her brow and refused, “I don’t want it.”
Tang Qiu blinked, smiling. “This is a thank-you gift.”
She took out her own light staff to show Jennifer.
Jennifer looked at her expressionlessly, a hint of inquiry in her eyes. Although this type of light staff was common, it was very difficult to obtain one from outside the Holy See.
Yet Tang Qiu had now produced two of them.
Jennifer eyed Tang Qiu suspiciously for a moment, then picked up the light staff, still doubtful. “Where on earth did you get this?”
“I’m just lucky,” Tang Qiu said with a charming smile. “I found it on the road.”
Jennifer, who was examining the staff, paused and looked up at her in silence.
Why do I feel like she’s trying to fool me again?
With Tang Qiu’s return, the weight in Jennifer’s heart was finally lifted. The contingent continued its journey into the Gru Empire.
Tang Qiu and Monica had arranged to meet at the Holy See’s church in the Gru Empire and then travel to the Central Church together. As for Reese, both Monica and Tang Qiu had thought she wouldn’t possibly arrive in the Gru Empire so quickly, so they hadn’t considered her at all.
The carriages traveled for nearly another full day before reaching the church in the Gru Empire. To Tang Qiu’s surprise, Reese had already arrived ahead of schedule, while there was still no news of Monica.
Reese’s presence at the Gru church made things convenient for Tang Qiu’s group. As soon as they entered and stated their identities, the people at the Gru church mistook them for Reese’s subordinates and enthusiastically arranged accommodations for them.
The Gru church had a very harmonious relationship with the royal family and was financially better off than the one in the Bill Empire. The residence arranged for her, a mere priest, was as comfortable as what a bishop would typically receive.
In the few days she spent waiting for Monica, Tang Qiu hardly went out. Standing before a reddish-brown bookshelf, she casually pulled out a book and flipped through it, saying with a smile, “I’m suddenly starting to understand the joys of being a Cardinal.”
The fact that she was given these accommodations was directly related to the Gru church staff mistaking her for one of Reese’s subordinates.
A lowly priest really doesn’t command much respect, Tang Qiu mused, sighing with emotion as her fingertips traced the uneven pages of the book.
Lucille sat in a chair, looking up at Tang Qiu with deep eyes, a dark light flashing in their depths from time to time. She toyed with a glass cup, her fingertips tapping against it, creating crisp sounds that mirrored the tangled mess of her thoughts.
A parching thirst rose in her throat. Lucille hadn’t heard a word Tang Qiu said. Her gaze lingered on Tang Qiu’s soft, rosy lips and the neck tightly encased by her collar.
She was starting to thirst for blood again.
Tang Qiu had noticed Lucille’s abnormality long ago. She casually flipped through the book in her hand, the scorching gaze that felt like it could set a person on fire causing her to curve her lips imperceptibly. She closed the book, placed it back on the shelf, and then reached up for the top shelf. Her sleeve slid down, exposing her slender, delicate wrist.
“Grace…” Lucille’s hand, which had been toying with the glass, suddenly stopped. She narrowed her eyes slightly, a dangerous emotion flashing in their depths.
Tang Qiu turned her head. Lucille had already risen from her chair and come up behind her. Her raised arm was pressed down. Lucille lowered her head, her lips brushing against the inside of Tang Qiu’s arm. The warm, soft sensation made her eyes darken. She opened her mouth, her sharp fangs already sinking deep into Tang Qiu’s skin.
However, the feeding was interrupted by an urgent knock on the door. Jennifer’s voice came from outside. “Grace.”
Lucille’s sucking motion paused. She opened her eyes and met Tang Qiu’s gaze, the look of enthrallment not yet faded from her face.
Tang Qiu turned her head toward the door and frowned. She moved her arm slightly and said softly, “Let go of me for now.”
Lucille licked the blood from Tang Qiu’s arm until it was clean, then slowly released her. She pressed Tang Qiu against the bookshelf, buried her head in the crook of her neck, and took a deep breath. Just a small taste was not nearly enough to quell the restlessness in her heart.
Tang Qiu tried to move, but Lucille showed no intention of letting her go. A flash of helplessness crossed her face, and she could only call out to Jennifer outside the door, “Jennifer? Is something wrong this late at night?”
Her hand reached back and grasped Lucille’s hand, which was resting on her waist, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
Jennifer’s voice was laced with urgency. “It seems something has happened to Priest Monica.”
Tang Qiu froze, frowning. “Happened?”
The pressure on her body suddenly eased, and Tang Qiu was free. She rubbed her wrist. When she turned around, Lucille was no longer in the room.
She straightened her clothes, then walked over, opened the door, and gestured for Jennifer to come in and talk.
In the manor specially prepared for the Cardinal by the Gru church, Reese was casually pruning the wild roses in the garden, her long golden hair shimmering faintly in the sunlight.
The sound of footsteps approached. Mario walked in from outside and said to Reese in a low voice, “The priest from the Shas Principality has sent the Light Believers to the Central Church.”
Reese continued to meticulously trim the branches and leaves, saying nothing.
“The Light Believers are the ones Priest Monica took with her.” Mario heard the snipping sound stop, and he lowered his head even further. “…The priest from the Shas church said that Priest Monica was captured by vampires in the Shas Principality. The church’s rescue attempt failed, and they suffered heavy casualties.”
Snip. A beautiful rose was cut and fell pitifully to the ground.
Reese’s red lips curved slightly into a chilling smile. She murmured to herself, “The Shas church…”
Mario glanced up at her, then added in a low voice, “…News from the Central Church. The Holy Son has returned and is looking for you.”
Reese raised her eyes and looked at him silently, her gaze so intense that it made Mario break out in a cold sweat. Only then did she nod and say calmly, “I know.”
Her calm tone made Mario lower his head, his breathing becoming cautious.
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