CA - Chapter 187
Chapter 187
The arrival of the Holy Son dissipated the tense atmosphere in the air. He gestured for the Holy Knights standing on either side to carry away Cambecus’s remains. His gaze swept over Gabriel and Reese, and with a slight lift of his chin, he said flatly, “His Holiness the Pope is unwell. The matter concerning the Black Witches will be discussed another day.”
Without giving anyone time to respond, he turned and left. Gabriel lifted his foot and followed behind him, while Reese kept her head down, fiddling with her sleeve.
The Holy Son paused, turning his head to glance at Reese. “Reese?” he questioned.
Reese lifted her eyes to shoot him a look before slowly walking to stand behind him.
Only after the three of them had left the hall did the others disperse. Tang Qiu was still pondering whether the Holy Son was related to the God Race descendants when she was intercepted by three or four bishops just outside the hall.
Tang Qiu stopped, calmly sizing them up. A faint smile touched her lips as she said softly, “Are you all stopping me because of Archbishop Cambecus?”
Tang Qiu had familiarized herself with Cambecus’s key confidants before entering the Central Church, yet she only recognized one of the men before her.
Those trusted by Cambecus were no fools. With Cambecus dead, their backer had fallen. A smart person would be desperate to shed the “confidant” label, so who would dare to approach her on their own initiative?
The men who stopped Tang Qiu were indeed there about Cambecus. They felt something was amiss, and this blonde bishop was the most suspicious of all. “Bishop Grace, I suspect Archbishop Cambecus’s death is suspicious. I hope you will hand over your guards. We need to investigate thoroughly.”
Tang Qiu raised an eyebrow and said good-naturedly, “Alright.”
The others’ expressions brightened, but before they could speak, they heard Tang Qiu add, “The guards are with Archbishop Reese. You can go directly to her manor to investigate.”
Their faces darkened. If they dared to barge into Reese’s manor, they wouldn’t have bothered intercepting Tang Qiu here.
The man in the lead frowned and was about to say something when his shoulder was suddenly tapped. He turned to look, exclaiming with some surprise, “Bishop Abel.”
Abel nodded. He looked somewhat drowsy, his eyes only showing a spark of life when they landed on Tang Qiu. “What are you all doing here?”
He let out a yawn and beckoned to Tang Qiu. “Bishop Grace, I have something to tell you.”
Tang Qiu had no desire to get further entangled with these people. She gave Abel a smile and followed him away.
Once the two had left the vicinity of the hall and saw no one else around, they began to talk. The drowsiness on Abel’s face completely vanished. His eyes widened slightly as he asked in amazement, “How did you kill Cambecus?”
His tone was filled with curiosity and admiration.
Tang Qiu let out a soft laugh and said nonchalantly, “Go outside and see for yourself how formidable the Black Witches are.”
She and Abel had leverage over each other, but that didn’t mean she trusted him. There was no way she would tell him the truth so easily.
Abel, of course, knew what Tang Qiu was thinking. He clicked his tongue, somewhat displeased. “I just saved you from those people.”
Tang Qiu smiled at him and said sincerely, “Thank you.”
Abel was speechless.
Getting information out of this woman was far too difficult. Abel sighed, set aside his playful demeanor, and got down to business. He leaned closer, his expression turning slightly serious, and lowered his voice. “Cambecus is dead. Do you have any thoughts?”
Tang Qiu turned her head to meet his gaze, her sky-blue eyes narrowing slightly. “For example?” she asked softly.
“He was the Pope’s confidant.” Abel gave a suggestive wink and held up a number with his hand. “One-third of the bishops were his people.”
The individuals themselves weren’t important; it was their positions that determined the weight of power a Cardinal held.
The selection of Cardinals, and even the Pope, required the participation of bishops.
With the Pope’s backing, Cambecus had unscrupulously consolidated power for decades. It was only after Reese’s appearance that he was forced to restrain himself and relinquish some of his authority.
Tang Qiu had already set her sights on Cambecus’s power when she was plotting against him, so she understood Abel’s hint perfectly. “Who do you represent? Archbishop Gabriel?”
Abel admitted it freely. “I know your relationship with Archbishop Reese is unusual, so how about considering a partnership?”
A partnership… Tang Qiu studied him for a moment, her gaze probing, then lowered her eyes without giving a direct answer.
Cambecus was dead. The Pope, whether struck by the blow or simply lacking the energy, seemed uninterested in cleaning up the mess. But this was merely an illusion.
Cambecus’s “legacy” was a bomb. Anyone who greedily tried to swallow it whole would only arouse the Pope’s suspicion and trigger the explosion.
Gabriel didn’t dare to act rashly. But if Reese, who was his equal in strength, joined him, it would be risky but worth a try.
There are no permanent enemies, and this was a win-win situation. Gabriel was confident that Reese would be tempted.
It was already dusk when Reese and Gabriel left the Holy Son’s manor. Their carriages were parked on opposite sides of the road. Before boarding his, Gabriel bid Reese a gentle farewell, but Reese merely gave a cold nod.
Seeing Reese emerge, Mario walked over and said in a low voice, “Archbishop Reese.”
Reese nodded, gesturing for Mario to join her in the carriage.
A great deal of church business had piled up during the Holy Son’s seclusion. After a full day of reviewing it, Reese’s head was starting to ache. She raised a hand to her forehead and leaned against the carriage wall, closing her eyes to rest.
Mario sat quietly across from her, giving Reese time to rest. After a while, he said softly, “Her Highness the Saintess just sent someone to invite you to her manor.”
Reese frowned and said coldly, “I’m not going.”
The carriage fell silent for a moment. Reese’s eyes opened slightly. She glanced at Mario and asked, “Was the journey escorting Grace smooth? How exactly did Cambecus die?”
To prevent his letters from being intercepted and their contents leaked, Mario had not written to Reese in advance. Like everyone else, Reese only knew that Cambecus had died at the hands of Black Witches.
“The journey was smooth. Bishop Grace has many… friends,” Mario said after some thought. “Archbishop Cambecus died in a siege by Vampires and Werewolves.”
Reese paused, not particularly surprised. “Werewolves and Vampires, you say.” She knew Tang Qiu had some Werewolf and Vampire friends.
Mario recalled the oddities he had noticed about the blonde bishop. He was silent for a moment before saying in a low voice, “…I think Bishop Grace is a bit strange.”
“Oh?” Reese frowned. “What do you mean?”
Mario told Reese what he had witnessed in the Elven territory—the blonde bishop forming an arrow from the Power of Darkness and flinging it to strike a dark elf. He then described the chaotic battle that night in chronological order, his tone grave. “At the time, Bishop Grace disappeared under the protection of the guards without anyone noticing. The Blood Domain obscured my vision, so I couldn’t find her.”
After the Werewolves appeared and the situation was brought under control, Mario had consciously searched for the blonde bishop, only to find she was no longer nearby. Cambecus had vanished along with her.
Later, when the blonde bishop returned, she interacted with both the Vampires and the Werewolves, though she seemed closer to the latter.
For a race like the Werewolves, who were so hostile to the Church, to get along so amicably with a bishop was strange no matter how one looked at it.
As Reese listened to Mario’s account, her brow slowly furrowed. She rested her forehead on one hand, her green eyes lowered in thought. The silence in the carriage persisted all the way until they reached the manor.
Upon returning to the manor, a priest came to report that Tang Qiu and Monica were having tea in the garden. Reese’s steps faltered, and she turned to head straight for the garden.
Just as she entered, she heard the sound of Monica and Tang Qiu’s cheerful conversation. Peeking through the lush flower branches, Reese could only see Monica’s profile. Seeing her relaxed expression and the faint smile on her lips, she subconsciously stopped in her tracks.
Reese stared quietly at Monica. Standing in the shadows, her green eyes looked dark and somber, but her red lips curved up involuntarily.
Ever since bringing Monica to the Central Church, Reese hadn’t seen her smile so genuinely in a long time.
Reese stood in the shadows for a while, noticing that Tang Qiu kept glancing in her direction. Realizing she had been spotted, she stepped out.
Tang Qiu looked up as Reese approached and teased with a smile, “If you didn’t come back soon, the tea would have gotten cold.”
Monica heard the footsteps but didn’t turn around. With her back to Reese, the smile on her face slowly faded. She lowered her gaze, unconsciously clutching the cup in her hand.
Reese sat down next to Monica and glanced at the teapot on the table, asking lazily, “Who made the tea?”
Tang Qiu looked at Monica across from her and said with a smile, “Bishop Monica.”
“Oh?” Reese raised an eyebrow. She reached out and snatched the cup from Monica’s hand, lowered her head to sniff it, and said with a smirk, “Not brewed long enough.”
Monica was taken aback, her expression turning cold. She frowned and said, “Why did you snatch my cup?”
Only a sip of tea remained in the cup, its walls still exuding a faint warmth. Reese said nothing, merely swirling the liquid inside nonchalantly.
Monica glared at her for a moment, then suddenly noticed the faint exhaustion in her brow and how her forehead was unconsciously furrowed. Her anger slowly dissipated. She hesitated for a moment, then picked up the teapot with a cold expression and filled the cup in Reese’s hand.
Reese froze for a second and looked up at Monica. Monica averted her gaze, stood up, and said expressionlessly, “You two talk. I’m leaving.” With that, she turned and strode away.
Tang Qiu glanced at Monica’s retreating back and shook her head with a light laugh. “Have you and Monica not resolved your issues yet?”
Reese snapped back to her senses, her lazy demeanor returning. She propped her chin on her hand and said flatly, “There are no issues between us to resolve.”
The rift between them was more complicated than a simple issue.
This was a private matter between Reese and Monica. Seeing that Reese was unwilling to discuss it further, Tang Qiu tactfully changed the subject. “Abel found me during the day and talked to me about something.”
Reese looked into Tang Qiu’s eyes and asked distractedly, “What was it?”
“He came on behalf of Gabriel.” Tang Qiu rubbed the cup in her hand and said calmly, “Gabriel wants to team up with you to swallow up the network Cambecus left behind.”
Reese scoffed, her tone cold. “That old fox.”
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