CA – Chapter 71
Chapter 71
After being locked up for a day, Jennifer and Afra finally got their chance to get out. Liz had a knight take them to the cell where Lola was being held.
The light formation in the cell was specially prepared for vampires below the fourth generation. After a day of torment, Lola was in very bad shape; even the color of her eyes had faded a little. Her hands were shackled, rendering her immobile, and she was mentally exhausted. But when she heard footsteps approaching, she still forced herself to lift her head, her scarred face filled with sarcasm and contempt.
June frowned, her hand holding the staff itching to act, but in the end, she didn't raise it. She looked at Jennifer and Afra and asked sternly, "Do you know this vampire?"
Afra shook her head blankly. Jennifer stared at Lola for a moment before saying faintly, "I do. I was captured by her once."
A glint flashed in June's eyes. "Describe what happened in detail."
Jennifer frowned and, with a deadpan expression, recounted the incident of exorcising the vampire in Kafu Town. However, she subconsciously omitted the part where the blond priest had found and saved her.
She had a gut feeling that the people from the Inquisition were targeting the blond priest.
June wasn't satisfied after hearing the story. "Then how did you escape?"
Jennifer answered calmly, "She didn't drain me dry. I ran away after I regained consciousness."
June tapped her palm with her staff, pondering. "You are Grace's attendant clerics. While by her side, have you noticed any strange behavior from her?"
"For example, her whereabouts being unpredictable?"
Although Afra, like Jennifer, was one of Tang Qiu's attendant clerics, she wasn't actually trusted and didn't interact much with Tang Qiu. So, as soon as June finished speaking, she immediately shook her head, but her answer made Jennifer frown.
Afra distanced herself from the blond priest. "I don't know her daily whereabouts. She trusts Jennifer more."
Jennifer shot her a cold glance, and Afra guiltily lowered her head.
June took a step forward, closing in on Jennifer to pressure her. "Don't try to lie, or the Light Goddess will punish you."
Jennifer lowered her eyes and shook her head coolly. "Priest Grace is very normal. She diligently handles church affairs every day. She is absolutely loyal to the Holy See."
"She hasn't exhibited any strange behavior?"
Strange behavior? Did disappearing for over ten days while escorting the Light Believers count? Did suddenly vanishing and reappearing under the guard of the Holy Knights count?
The blond priest had never hidden these strange behaviors from her, so Jennifer had simply turned a blind eye.
The blond priest trusted her, so she didn't want to betray that trust.
Jennifer looked up and met June's gaze, her tone calm as she said, "No."
"She is the most devout believer of the Light Goddess."
June stared at Jennifer for a moment before slowly lowering her eyes. She was silent for a while, then raised her hand and gestured to a nearby knight.
The knight led Jennifer and Afra away.
Jennifer had thought the knight was going to lock them up again, but to her surprise, he led them out, left them once they were clear of the detention area, and then departed.
Afra let out a sigh of relief and wiped the cold sweat from her brow. When she looked up and saw Jennifer staring at her coldly, she hastily lowered her head, turned, and walked away.
Jennifer glared at her retreating back, then turned indifferently, also intending to head back. Unexpectedly, after just a few steps, she ran right into Linda.
Linda was looking at her with a complicated expression. As Jennifer walked past her, she suddenly asked, "Why are you covering for her?"
She had been in the room next to the cell and had heard the entire conversation between Jennifer and June.
She couldn't be sure if Jennifer had lied about the later parts, but regarding the incident in Kafu Town, she clearly remembered that the blond priest had rescued Jennifer.
Originally... Jennifer should have been left for dead.
"She stole your priest position," Linda raised her voice. "If it weren't for her, the other priest candidate would have been you."
Jennifer gave her a cold look. "The one connected to that vampire is you, isn't it?" She remembered seeing Linda running over in a panic that night, with faint bloodstains on her pure white collar.
Linda denied it. "It wasn't me, it was Grace."
Jennifer snorted coldly and tried to walk past her, but Linda was determined to get an answer and blocked her path. "Why are you protecting her?"
"Because she saved my life." Jennifer pushed her aside, her tone flat. "So I am willing to follow her."
Pushed to the side, Linda looked up and stared blankly at her retreating back, an inexplicable unease slowly spreading through her heart.
Imprisoned by the Inquisition, the blond priest... should have no chance of escape.
Linda tried hard to convince herself, suppressing the unease in her heart as she lowered her head and walked away.
Ever since Tang Qiu had been locked up alone, Liz and June hadn't sought her out again. Tang Qiu was happy for the peace and quiet. She simply took out a bottle of Holy Water of Light, opened it on the table, and began studying books on light magic.
She had been too busy recently, and her study time had been cut down considerably.
Tang Qiu was immersed in her studies until a knock on the door sounded. She glanced out the window and was surprised to find that it was already getting dark.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and a not-so-familiar face appeared in Tang Qiu's line of sight. A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes as she gave the visitor a polite nod.
The man closed the door and introduced himself to Tang Qiu. "I am Willie, Archbishop Cambecus's attendant priest."
Tang Qiu raised an eyebrow. She closed the book in her hand, stood up, and said with a smile, "I'm sorry we have to meet under these circumstances."
Willie shook his head at Tang Qiu. Without beating around the bush, he stated his purpose directly. "Archbishop Cambecus is in need of an attendant priest. Are you interested in coming to the Central Church?"
He glanced around the room and said meaningfully, "The Central Church, not the Inquisition."
A flash of surprise crossed Tang Qiu's eyes. She looked Willie over, not answering immediately but lowering her gaze in thought.
Willie waited for her answer with complete confidence.
Monica had ordered all the guards at the detention cells to be replaced with the Holy See's Holy Knights. Although Liz and June were displeased, this wasn't their territory, so they had no choice but to concede.
The result of having non-Inquisition personnel as guards was that Tang Qiu's cold little room welcomed another guest late at night.
When Reese pushed the door open and entered, she immediately saw someone sitting at the table, reading a book with an air of leisure, showing no signs of distress. The dim yellow light enveloped her, adding a touch of warmth to the cold and cheerless place.
She narrowed her eyes and spoke, breaking the warm and pleasant atmosphere. "You seem to be in a rather good mood."
Mario stepped forward and pulled out a chair. Reese sat down opposite Tang Qiu, a table between them.
Tang Qiu looked up from her book, her clear voice sounding even softer in the night. "How do you know I'm not just pretending?"
Reese's lips curved. "Because it doesn't look like it." She stared at Tang Qiu for a moment, then suddenly said, "What did Cambecus promise you? To get you out?"
Tang Qiu nodded honestly. "That's right." Not only did Cambecus promise to get her out, but he also offered to make her his attendant priest.
An attendant priest to a Red-robed Archbishop—how many people longed for such an honor.
Reese tapped her fingers on the table, her chin slightly raised as she asked with a raised eyebrow, "And your answer?"
"I need to think about it."
"Oh?"
Seeing Reese's feigned look of surprise, Tang Qiu lowered her head and chuckled. She closed the book, pushed it aside, and said in a serious tone, "Archbishop Cambecus intends to give me a way out."
Reese's tone was lazy. "It could also be a dead end."
"Then it seems I'd better refuse." Tang Qiu shrugged, showing not a hint of shock or doubt at Reese's words, accepting them naturally.
Reese became interested. "You trust me that much?"
Tang Qiu glanced at her, no longer in the mood to keep up the pretense. She said bluntly, "I don't trust Archbishop Cambecus."
A Red-robed Archbishop coming to a branch of the Holy See to select an attendant priest, and choosing a minor priest he had only met once, who was currently being targeted by the Inquisition and was mired in trouble—it was suspicious no matter how you looked at it.
Was he that appreciative of talent? The man was a Red-robed Archbishop with deep roots in the Holy See, second only to the Pope, the Holy Son, and the Holy Daughter.
Tang Qiu hadn't reached the point where this bit of trouble would make her stop thinking.
Reese looked at the blond priest opposite her with satisfaction and nodded. "I like smart people."
Tang Qiu leaned back in her chair and smiled slightly without speaking.
Mario, who had been standing quietly to the side, suddenly glanced at the blond priest, surprised to find that when facing Reese, her presence didn't falter in the slightest.
It was something many bishops and even some Red-robed Archbishops in the Holy See couldn't manage, yet a mere priest could.
The smile on Reese's lips deepened. She said softly, "Your subordinate is very loyal. She didn't betray you. The vampire in custody didn't betray you either. The Inquisition has no evidence of you colluding with vampires."
Tang Qiu nodded slightly, not feeling excited, but calmly asking, "What is the Inquisitor's decision?"
"To take you back to the Inquisition."
Reese felt she didn't need to spell out what would happen after returning to the Inquisition; Tang Qiu would know.
Seeing her lower her head in silence, Reese thought she was worried. A deep look flashed in her eyes, and just as she was about to extend an olive branch, she heard the person opposite her sigh and say worriedly, "If the Inquisitor team escorting me is suddenly attacked on the way back to the Inquisition, and I'm the only lucky survivor, would that be very suspicious?"
Reese: "..."
She retracted the words she had prepared, looked at Tang Qiu meaningfully, and nodded in agreement. "Very suspicious."
Tang Qiu sighed helplessly. "I also think that plan is a bit terrible." She paused, then looked up at Reese and said with a smile, "Then can Archbishop Reese help me?"
"Get me out."
Reese looked at her in silence for a moment, sensing that the other's plan might differ somewhat from her own. She said faintly, "What can you offer in return?"
She wanted the blond priest's loyalty. She needed a smart and capable subordinate.
Reese had been observing Tang Qiu for a long time and found her to be satisfactory in every aspect.
"I can help you." As Reese listened to Tang Qiu's words, her expression slowly brightened. Just as she was about to raise the corners of her mouth, she saw Tang Qiu gesture between their two positions and say, word by word, "But not as a subordinate, but as an equal."
The smile on Reese's lips flattened. She leaned back in her chair, her green eyes sizing up the blond priest, her voice betraying no emotion. "Why? Because you have a little dog that bites?"
Tang Qiu let out a low laugh and shook her head to correct her. "I have a knight." She didn't hesitate to reveal one of her trump cards to Reese.
Reese nodded nonchalantly and watched her quietly, her aura turning somewhat cold.
Tang Qiu leaned forward slightly, her presence confident and powerful. She said with a smile, "I think you don't need a smart subordinate, but an equally matched partner."
"Only then can you do more of what you want to do in the Central Church."
Reese looked at the certainty in the blond priest's eyes, lowered her gaze slightly, and found herself somewhat tempted. Her fingers tapped on the table, making a crisp sound.
The room suddenly fell silent. Tang Qiu waited patiently for Reese's response. Her proposal was bold, but it was well-considered.
She knew Reese would definitely be tempted.
On the surface, Reese seemed infinitely glorious and was the youngest Red-robed Archbishop in the Holy See, but a little thought revealed that, compared to the stable foundations of the other Red-robed Archbishops, Reese's position was exceptionally unstable.
After an unknown amount of time, Reese slowly nodded in agreement, saying nonchalantly, "We can give it a try."
"But if you betray me, I will certainly do everything in my power to drag you to hell."
Tang Qiu chuckled softly, her tone gentle. "I never betray my companions."
Reese glanced at her, then stood up to leave. Seeing her back, Tang Qiu thought of something and suddenly said, "Wait, there's one more thing."
"Help me rescue that vampire."
Reese turned back, looking at her with a peculiar expression, a half-smile on her face. "Don't tell me the 'knight' you mentioned is this useless little dog?"
"If so, I might have to reconsider." It had to be said that the trump card Tang Qiu had just revealed was one of the things that had tempted Reese.
She didn't care if a vampire or something else stood behind Tang Qiu; she only valued the other party's strength.
"It's not her." Tang Qiu thought for a moment and gave a reliable answer. "She's a friend of the knight."
Although Lucille had never mentioned it to her, Tang Qiu could still tell that she valued Lola quite a bit.
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