CA – Chapter 130
Chapter 130
“They’re Tzimisce Vampires,” Lola said with a grave expression, watching the blonde bishop examine the fight marks on the wall.
After escaping, Lola had headed straight for Lucille’s manor, running into Tang Qiu, Erin, and the others just as they were about to go out. But by the time they reached the alley, Evan’s group and Lucille were already gone.
The battle between fourth-generation vampires hadn’t caused much damage to the alley. Aside from a few faint marks from the fight, there was no sign that such a battle had ever taken place.
Erin discreetly observed Tang Qiu’s expression. Seeing her calm face, not at all panicked or lost over Lucille’s disappearance, she felt a little relieved.
She had known Tang Qiu for so long and had always relied on her precisely because Tang Qiu could remain calm at all times, facing any danger with composure, as if nothing could ever break her.
Seeing that Tang Qiu wasn’t flustered, Erin also began to calm down. She ran into the alley, bent down to pick up a few fallen pieces of rubble, and sniffed them. Detecting the residual aura of darkness, she stored them in her Space Gem.
Erin’s actions caught Tang Qiu’s attention. She turned to stare at Erin for a moment before asking in a low voice, “What are you doing?”
Erin was still sorting through the rubble. These fragments had fallen from the rooftops. Although Evan’s subordinates had been careful not to damage the surrounding buildings, any fight was bound to cause some destruction.
“These stones have the dark aura left by the vampires. I’m going to see if I can use witchcraft to divine their location.” Erin paused, then, to avoid a “the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment” situation, she added awkwardly, “Of course, witchcraft isn’t guaranteed to succeed.”
She could only try, but it was a method worth attempting.
Tang Qiu nodded. She pulled her hands back inside her cloak and said flatly to Erin and Lola, “Let’s go.”
Lola was taken aback. She frowned and said, “Aren’t we going to rescue her?”
They were Tzimisce Vampires; their base of operations was surely Rose Manor.
Tang Qiu couldn’t have failed to think of what Lola had realized, but she still shook her head. “No rush.”
Setting aside whether Lucille had actually been taken back to Rose Manor, even if she were there, they couldn’t just rush in impulsively to save her.
A third-generation vampire with seven or eight fourth-generation vampires under his command… If the three of them barged in, whether they’d even see Lucille was one thing; the final outcome would be certain death.
Although Tang Qiu was extremely worried about Lucille’s safety, she wasn’t about to make such a foolish decision.
To Evan and his group, Lucille was a very “precious” hybrid. Otherwise, a third-generation elder wouldn’t have come to capture her personally. Therefore, Lucille probably wasn’t in any immediate life-threatening danger.
The only question was what the vampires’ purpose was in capturing her… Tang Qiu’s brow furrowed tightly. She suddenly regretted not having dealt with Delia back at the temple.
Lola appeared calm, but inwardly she was in turmoil. She steadied herself and silently followed Tang Qiu and Erin away.
Tang Qiu had to return to the Church, so she parted ways with Lola and Erin. The sky was already growing dark. She tightened her cloak to ward off the biting night wind.
On the way back, she was preoccupied with thoughts of Lucille, her attention scattered. It wasn’t until she was near the Church that she faintly sensed someone was following her.
Tang Qiu didn’t turn around immediately. Instead, she drew her staff out from under her cloak. She tilted her head slightly and glanced behind her. The street was bustling with people, all Light Believers coming to the Church to pray.
Karen was leading the Holy Knights on patrol. Upon seeing Tang Qiu, she walked over and called out in confusion, “Bishop Grace?”
Tang Qiu snapped back to reality and gave Karen a slight nod, then frowned and glanced behind her again.
Noticing that something was off with Tang Qiu’s expression, Karen became alert. She directed the other Holy Knights to investigate, then partially shielded Tang Qiu with her body and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”
As soon as Karen and the Holy Knights appeared, Tang Qiu noticed the gaze on her had vanished. She shook her head slightly at Karen. “It’s nothing. Call them back.”
It seemed she would have to be more careful for a while.
Tang Qiu returned to her manor to find Jennifer waiting for her at the door. She pulled down her hood, and her long golden hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall. Seeing the blonde bishop return, Jennifer approached her. “Bishop Grace.”
She handed a piece of parchment to Tang Qiu. “This is the list of candidates for the escort team I’ve drawn up. The journey to the Central Church is long, so I think it would be safer to take at least half the priests.”
Although the blonde bishop would be traveling with Archbishop Reese, Jennifer was still worried. Especially since it was unknown how long they would be staying at the Central Church, it would be more convenient for the bishop to have more people with her.
It was just a pity she couldn’t go with them. Jennifer felt a little regretful. With the blonde bishop away from the Church, she had to stay behind to maintain its normal operations.
Tang Qiu took the parchment, glanced down at it, and mused for a moment before saying, “Let’s go with this for now.”
Jennifer nodded. “Then I’ll go prepare the carriages.”
She turned to leave but was stopped by Tang Qiu. Tang Qiu slowly folded the parchment. A lock of golden hair slipped down the side of her face, slightly obscuring her expression. Her soft voice could be heard saying, “We’re not leaving for three days. There’s no rush.”
Jennifer was taken aback and was about to say something, but the blonde bishop had already pushed open the door and returned to her room. Jennifer frowned and left, full of confusion.
The room was a bit chilly. Tang Qiu unfastened her cloak and sat down at the table. She toyed absently with the parchment in her hands, unfolding and refolding it. Her gaze lingered on the dense list of names for a few seconds before she looked away.
Judging by the fact that Rose Manor had been destroyed and then rebuilt, Evan was incredibly obsessed with creating hybrid vampires. With Lucille in his hands, he certainly wouldn’t just lock her up casually like he would an ordinary vampire.
Evan wouldn’t dare take Lucille back to the Blood Domain, and Rose Manor was just one of his strongholds in the Gosse Empire. It would be one thing if Lucille were imprisoned in Rose Manor, but the fear was that she had been taken somewhere else.
Her thoughts began to jumble. Tang Qiu tossed the parchment aside, raised a hand to rub the bridge of her nose, and sighed softly.
When it came to Lucille, even she found it difficult to think calmly.
Moreover, in three days, she had to set off for the Central Church. After all, it was a direct order from the Pope… Tang Qiu leaned back in her chair, looking up at the bright moon outside the window, lost in thought. Silvery moonlight streamed in, accentuating her cool, detached features.
Even though Tang Qiu had said there was no rush to prepare the escort, Jennifer had already ordered people to get everything ready in advance, meticulously checking everything over and over again.
After all, they were going to the Central Church to attend the Light Baptism Assembly held by the Pope himself. There was no room for error.
After angering Monica last time, Reese had been “well-behaved” for a while. To prevent Monica from being uncooperative again when it was time to leave, Reese had stayed in her manor for the past two days, not going out to cause trouble.
After Audrey left, she had resumed her leisurely pastime of drinking tea alone. But this time, before she could even finish a cup, another guest arrived in her garden.
Reese watched Tang Qiu sit down opposite her, raised an eyebrow, and said teasingly, “Isn’t Bishop Grace out recruiting more believers?”
Although she rarely left the Gosse Church, she had heard from Mario just how high the blonde bishop’s reputation was in the Gosse Empire.
Light Believers could be found among commoners, nobles, and royalty alike.
It was no exaggeration to say that the Gosse Church’s sudden surge in prestige was entirely due to the blonde bishop.
Tang Qiu merely smiled at Reese’s teasing. After sitting down, she reached for an empty teacup, but instead of pouring tea as usual, she just held it in her hand and toyed with it.
After her jest, Reese moved on. She took an envelope from her Space Gem and pushed it across the table to Tang Qiu.
Tang Qiu looked at her quizzically. “What’s this?”
She opened the envelope and glanced inside, her expression one of surprise.
“It’s a sealed letter of appointment for a bishop,” Reese said with a smirk.
Tang Qiu took out the letter and examined it carefully. The spaces for the country and the bishop’s name were blank, but there was indeed a seal at the bottom.
Tang Qiu stared at the somewhat blurry seal and read out, syllable by syllable, “Phoenix… Teresa?”
Reese picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said flatly, “The Holy Daughter.”
Tang Qiu raised an eyebrow, put the letter back in the envelope, and said with a smile, “Who is this for?” With a sealed letter of appointment, one could simply find a country with a vacant bishopric, write in any name, and that person could take up the post immediately.
Being able to obtain something like this from the Holy Daughter made Tang Qiu even more curious about Reese’s connections in the Central Church.
Reese knew what Tang Qiu was curious about, but she had no intention of explaining. Setting down her cup, she leaned forward slightly, looked directly into Tang Qiu’s eyes, and said seriously, “I prepared it for Monica.”
“Oh?”
“A priest’s strength is too weak. I’m worried she won’t be able to protect herself in the Central Church.” After the Pope stepped down, the Church would surely be in turmoil for a while. When she brought Monica back to the Central Church, she didn’t know how many eyes would be fixed on her.
The Central Church was not the Bill Church, after all. The status of a mere priest was not only weak in power but also low in rank.
She couldn’t stay by Monica’s side at all times.
Tang Qiu understood Reese’s concerns. She lowered her gaze in thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s a good idea. But what about Eden?”
At the mention of Eden, Reese’s expression turned cold. “I won’t let her go there,” she said flatly.
Given Reese’s status, it wouldn’t be difficult to promote Monica directly without going through Eden. Tang Qiu said nothing and pushed the envelope back toward Reese, but Reese stopped it midway. Tang Qiu looked at her questioningly.
Reese pushed the envelope back to Tang Qiu, her tone tinged with helplessness. “If I tell her, she won’t agree.”
“You should talk to her about it on the way.”
Tang Qiu’s hand, holding the envelope, paused. The smile on her lips faded slightly.
After speaking, Reese had expected Tang Qiu to agree immediately, since her relationship with Monica was quite good. But after waiting a moment, she unexpectedly received no response.
Reese frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Tang Qiu lowered her eyes. The hand resting on the table curled slightly, her fingertips tapping the surface a few times. She said softly, “I came to find you because there’s something I need to tell you.”
“I can’t go to the Central Church.”
Reese froze. The smile on her face slowly vanished, and her eyes grew colder by the second.
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