CA - Chapter 127
Chapter 127
Reese wasn’t the only one who received news of the Pope’s emergence from seclusion; Audrey and Vogt did as well. They had failed in their bid for the Godhead, a matter they had yet to report to the Central Church. Now that the Pope was out, they had to return to the Holy See as quickly as possible to personally plead for his forgiveness.
Vogt and Audrey had their carriages prepared overnight. By dawn, everything was packed and ready for their departure to the Holy See.
After two days of reflection, Audrey’s anger had subsided. Continuing to “make a scene” would do her no good. However, she used the opportunity to search the Gosse Church, but she failed to find the information she was looking for.
Priest Lisa had been a confidante of Cambecus. Although Cambecus had later abandoned her, Audrey always believed that Lisa had come to the Gosse Church to target the blond bishop.
After all, the blond bishop was one of Reese’s people, and Reese and Cambecus were perpetual rivals.
Audrey’s search of the Gosse Church was originally intended to capture any “moles” Lisa might have left behind. Even though Lisa was dead, Audrey was extremely unwilling to let this lead go.
However, she had underestimated the blond bishop.
Only after the search did she discover that the Gosse Church had been purged so thoroughly that she hadn’t managed to catch a single mole.
This made Audrey even more displeased.
While the Holy Knights inspected the carriages outside, Audrey sat in the garden, silently sipping rose tea that was at the perfect temperature.
Reese, arranging the roses scattered across the table, said nonchalantly, “Leaving with Vogt now… you might as well wait a few more days and travel with us.”
Audrey glanced at her and frowned. “Can’t you just leave with us?”
They had all received the news of the Pope’s emergence, yet Reese insisted on staying for a few more days. She was determined to wait for the Central Church’s official summons for the bishops to attend the Light Baptism Assembly before traveling with the blond bishop.
Audrey admired Reese as a person, as she too felt the upper echelons of the Church had become far too corrupt. However, she was occasionally dissatisfied with Reese’s lax and careless attitude toward the Church.
“His Holiness the Pope has come out of seclusion to build momentum for His Highness the Holy Son.” Reese shrugged, speaking indifferently. “You know I’m on the Holy Son’s side. Why would I go back so early and let Cambecus and Gabriel focus their fire on me?”
Whether Cambecus and Gabriel genuinely supported the Holy Son or were just putting on a show for the Pope, they would surely weaken the Holy Son’s influence in secret to tighten their own grip on power.
A new Pope who took office with their support wouldn’t pose much of a threat to them.
All they needed to do was conceal their own ambitions from the Pope.
Audrey had no right to succeed the Pope, so she didn’t care who ascended to the position. But she deeply disliked the power struggles within the Central Church. She frowned and said in a low voice, “I hope that after the new Pope takes office, there will be fewer factional disputes in the Central Church.”
“And no more disgraceful incidents like losing to the Black Witches,” Audrey added with a sneer.
Reese’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Let’s hope your wish comes true,” she said lightly.
Audrey snorted and said no more, instead raising her cup to take a sip of tea.
The sound of footsteps reached their ears. Audrey and Reese turned simultaneously to see Tang Qiu and Vogt walking toward them, chatting and laughing. The atmosphere was unusually harmonious.
Reese raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping over Tang Qiu and Vogt before she looked away, unconcerned.
Tang Qiu sat down opposite Reese and smiled at Audrey, whose expression had soured upon seeing her. “Good day, Head Inquisitor Audrey,” she said softly.
Audrey snorted and slammed her cup down on the table.
Tang Qiu paid no mind to her cold attitude. The smile on her face didn’t waver in the slightest as she continued in a gentle tone, “The carriages have all been inspected. I’ve also prepared an additional team of knights to escort the Head Inquisitor and the Archbishop back.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Audrey refused coldly. She stood to leave, but her peripheral vision caught sight of a masked Holy Knight standing behind the blond bishop. The knight’s curly golden hair and build were very similar to Karen’s, who had been escorted back to the Inquisition by Liz but was ambushed and killed on the way, her body never recovered.
Audrey stopped in her tracks. She frowned and demanded, “Who is this person?”
Tang Qiu glanced back in confusion. “One of my Holy Knights,” she replied.
“Why is she wearing a mask?”
“She was injured in the temple, and her face was disfigured.” Tang Qiu sighed and gestured for the Holy Knight to remove her mask.
The Holy Knight took off her mask. Half of her face was burned, and the other half bore no resemblance to Karen.
After seeing the face beneath the mask, Audrey’s expression grew even darker. She shot the blond bishop a cold glare, then turned and strode away.
Vogt watched her retreating back, then specifically bid farewell to Reese and Tang Qiu before following.
After Audrey and Vogt left, Reese saw Tang Qiu dismiss the Holy Knight and said with a hint of helplessness, “Why do you have to provoke Audrey for no reason?”
It was obvious that Tang Qiu had deliberately arranged for that Holy Knight to be there.
“It’s better to have her make an appearance now than for Audrey to find out later.” Karen would be by her side, and over time, someone with ill intentions would surely notice.
Showing Audrey the “person” in advance would make things easier to handle in the future.
Reese stared at Tang Qiu for a moment, then lowered her voice. “You saved that little knight?”
Tang Qiu nodded in silent confirmation.
Reese narrowed her eyes, a hint of inquiry flashing through her green irises before quickly disappearing. Recalling how Vogt and Tang Qiu had been chatting so cheerfully, she asked curiously, “What were you and Vogt talking about just now?”
Tang Qiu paused, then shook her head. “Nothing much.”
Perhaps feeling that answer sounded a bit dismissive, Tang Qiu added, “He told me some things about werewolves.”
Vogt had shared some of his views on werewolves, suggesting that the relationship between werewolves and the Church could be eased… This baffled Tang Qiu, even making her suspect that Vogt might have accidentally seen her transform into a werewolf in the temple.
But Vogt’s attitude was like casual small talk, with no hint of probing, which left Tang Qiu confused.
Reese was also quite surprised by this. She thought for a moment and said, “Speaking of werewolves, we did encounter one in the temple. She helped us fight the mutated beast.”
Later, when the Gorefiend appeared, she had evacuated her people early, so she didn’t know where that werewolf had gone.
“Judging by her strength, she must be the Werewolf Clan Leader, Faye Field.”
Faye… Tang Qiu was taken aback, then nodded. She reached for a teacup on the table, using the motion of lowering her head to drink to hide the thoughtful look in her eyes.
It wasn’t just Reese who was curious about Vogt and Tang Qiu’s pleasant conversation; Audrey was as well. However, the atmosphere between her and Vogt wasn’t such that she could ask him directly as Reese could.
She sat in the carriage, leaning against the wall with her eyes lowered in thought.
Liz sat opposite her, not daring to disturb her. She gently opened the carriage window and gestured for them to depart.
The carriage began to move with a gentle sway. After an unknown amount of time, Audrey suddenly spoke. “Which church did Vogt serve as bishop for in the past?”
Liz thought for a moment and named a country.
“And as a priest?”
“During his time as a priest, I believe Archbishop Vogt was at the Central Church.”
Audrey leaned her head back slightly against the carriage wall. After a moment of silence, she said, “When we get back, have the files from Vogt’s tenure as bishop sent to my room.”
She had a gut feeling that the werewolf who appeared in the temple was definitely connected to Vogt. And the blond bishop… just so happened to have a connection to werewolves as well.
Audrey tapped her fingers on her leg. “Have our spies keep a close eye on Grace,” she ordered.
Liz looked troubled. “Bishop Grace’s courtyard is only accessible to her attendant priests, but they are very loyal and can’t be turned.”
The Inquisition’s spies weren’t omnipotent.
Audrey frowned. Unable to think of a better solution, she could only drop the matter for now.
After all, the Inquisition was far away in the Holy See. She couldn’t possibly dispatch a large number of personnel just to stake out a bishop in the Gosse Church.
After the Divine Ruins disappeared, the Gosse Empire slowly returned to peace, but Rose Manor remained a thorn in the side of Gosse’s ruler, Maggie.
Carriages once again began to come and go from the four entrances of Rose Manor, but they were no longer the carriages of the nobles. The nobility had started to cherish their lives; they would rather go to the Church for a few Light Baptisms and, while there, catch a glimpse of the blond bishop’s elegant demeanor.
Without the “support” of the nobility, Rose Manor seemed somewhat deserted. In the largest castle within the manor, Delia stood with her head bowed, distractedly listening to the conversation between Evan and the other fourth-generation vampires.
Eric had been crushed under a collapsed stone pillar and never emerged. When the other fourth-generation vampires learned of Evan’s peril, they all rushed to the manor to offer their condolences.
The youngest among them were over a hundred years old and had a closer relationship with Evan. At times like these, Delia was always the one left out.
Evan’s experience in the temple was something he found extremely unpleasant to recall. Out of displaced anger, he looked displeased even when he saw Delia, who had entered the temple with him.
Sitting in the main seat, listening to the chatter of his descendants, his gaze fell upon Delia standing in a daze in the corner. Evan’s face darkened as he called out, “Delia.”
Delia snapped back to reality. She looked up to meet Evan’s gaze and answered in a low voice, “I’m here.”
“Go to the usual place and bring back the vampire Faye captured.” Evan impatiently tossed a Space Gem to Delia.
Hearing she had to go see Faye, Delia frowned. She caught the tossed Space Gem and glanced down at it, noticing that the number of Elf Fruits inside wasn’t right. She paused, then said subconsciously, “Is this amount…”
Evan stared at her coldly. “What’s wrong with the amount?” he said, displeased.
Delia knew how much Evan had promised to pay Faye. The amount in this Space Gem was short by almost a third.
It was obvious Faye wouldn’t agree.
Delia opened her mouth, but meeting Evan’s cold gaze, she swallowed the words she was about to say. She lowered her head and bit her lip. “It’s nothing.”
A mocking laugh came from the side. Delia clenched the Space Gem in her hand, a gloomy look flashing in her red eyes.
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