Chapter 187: Where Are You, Your Holiness?
After leaving Chrissy’s mansion, the group was greeted by a scene of devastation, with numerous collapsed houses.
Fortunately, the battle between Afra and the Pope had ended quickly, keeping the property damage to an acceptable level.
Once the area was deemed safe, the Royal City knights began clearing the debris and assisting the affected civilians. The cost of the damage would be temporarily covered by the national treasury.
However, all expenses would eventually be billed to the Temple of the Celestial God, with interest, at a more opportune time.
Only a few people knew about the incident. Kailun immediately released a statement claiming he had been targeted by a ninth-rank assassin and was currently investigating the motive behind the attack. He also publicly inquired if any organization would claim responsibility.
“Take Her Holiness back. The manor’s dungeon hasn’t had a new guest in a while. Oh, right, I need to prepare the worst cell for the Pope. We have to let her experience the life of a captive.”
Kailun and his group reached the carriage. Helena was carrying the Pope.
“Understood. I will take good care of Her Holiness and ensure she has no chance of escaping.”
From an angle hidden from the others, Helena secretly pinched the Pope’s butt.
Her interests aligned with Kailun’s, so restricting the Pope was a necessity.
The extent of Helena’s former respect for the Pope was now matched by her rebellious spirit.
“I trust your judgment. But tonight, stay with Chrissy at the mansion and keep up the act. Come find me tomorrow. We’re going back to rest now. We’ll probably be quite busy in the next few days.”
Kailun took the Pope from Helena, greeted Chrissy, and jumped into the carriage.
Afra followed closely behind, still acting as the coachman.
Watching Kailun’s carriage leave, Chrissy shook her head regretfully. “What a pity. I thought I could share a bed with the Pope and fight side by side with her tonight.”
“Indeed, it’s a shame. But there will be other opportunities to whip Her Holiness. I believe Lord Kailun won’t lie to me.”
Helena rubbed her dagger with a satisfied expression. An assassin without a dagger wasn’t a good traitor.
She was tired of being the Pope’s “dirty glove.”
Although the life of blood and blades could stimulate her senses, it wasn’t as exciting as whipping the Pope.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to see the once high and mighty Pope reduced to the same state as Chrissy?
“Let’s go back and rest. We’ll wake up early tomorrow and go find him.”
Chrissy stretched, yawning as she walked towards the mansion. Within a hundred meters, only the building she resided in remained intact.
……
“Any new instructions from Her Holiness?”
“No, probably proceed according to the original plan.”
“We have to trust Her Holiness. There are already ten ninth-rank mages gathered at this mine. What power does the Abyss have to challenge us?”
“That’s true.”
At night, the group from the White Jade Alliance sat around a table, talking.
It was worth noting that Paul was sitting at the head of the table, flanked by the two old men. Koya and Charles sat opposite him.
If it weren’t for the bigger picture, Koya would have chosen to sit beside Paul.
Charles was the most frustrated. His leadership was subtly being usurped by Paul.
The two old men favored Paul, and so did Koya. Due to his own actions, his colleagues at the mine also looked down on him.
This put Charles in an awkward position. What was even worse was that he couldn’t contact the Pope.
“By the way, can we join the Temple of the Celestial God as long as we cooperate this time?” One of the old men asked, playing with Paul’s hand.
They had agreed to help not only because of Paul’s strange charm but also for their own benefit.
The White Jade Alliance might have many strong individuals, but they were a disorganized mess, incapable of achieving great things. It was more reassuring to rely on a behemoth like the Temple of the Celestial God.
They had to hedge their bets.
“Yes, Her Holiness said that as long as we protect the second mine, she will allow you to join the Temple of the Celestial God.”
It was Paul who answered. After speaking, he even raised an eyebrow at Charles triumphantly.
Four against one, the advantage was his.
Although the process was a bit disgusting, as long as he could achieve his goal, it was a success.
Charles gritted his teeth, wanting to kick Paul.
He should have risked injury and forcefully killed Paul. He could tell now that Paul was a disaster waiting to happen.
But as soon as he had this thought, Koya glared at him warningly.
He couldn’t defeat Koya, let alone the two old men sitting beside Paul.
Charles suppressed his anger and sighed deeply, standing up. “I’m going out for some fresh air.”
Everyone stared at him with mocking smiles.
Charles clenched his fists inside his sleeves. Just as he was about to leave the room, his communication device received a new message.
He thought it was a magic letter from the Pope and quickly took it out, but it was just some unimportant information.
“Heh, I didn’t expect Kailun of the Xiya Kingdom to be targeted by a ninth-rank female assassin. They even damaged a corner of the Royal City. Good, that’s great. It would be even better if they had killed Kailun. But I wonder where this assassin came from. The Abyss? Or the White Jade Alliance?”
He read out the contents of the message, his voice filled with regret.
It didn’t matter if the assassin was dead or alive. The key was that Kailun was still alive.
He guided the others to speculate. After all, no matter how you looked at it, the assassin couldn’t be from the Temple of the Celestial God.
As a trusted subordinate of the Pope, he felt that he should have received prior notice of such an event.
Moreover, the current Temple of the Celestial God didn’t have many people capable of assassinating Kailun. Wouldn’t it be suicidal to randomly send a ninth-rank mage?
Charles didn’t believe that Kailun would send all his vice presidents to support the Abyss. It wasn’t realistic.
“There’s nothing to regret. Kailun should be killed by my own hands.”
Paul snorted and looked at the two old men beside him and Koya with a smug expression. “Kailun won’t live much longer. With our help, the Temple of the Celestial God will become even stronger. Then we will gather a powerful force, crush the Xiya Kingdom, and take back everything we have lost.”
“Good! Ambitious! I support you! To be honest, I’ve never liked that Kailun. He killed two of our comrades from the alliance.”
The old man sitting on Paul’s left patted his shoulder.
The old man on his right reached for Paul’s thigh. “Indeed, indeed. The good days of the Xiya Kingdom are numbered. Kailun will eventually fall under the iron hooves of the Temple of the Celestial God. The great Pope will never let him go. His existence is just a flash in the pan, unlike Paul, whose ‘chrysanthemums’ are blooming.”
Paul: “…”
He had to endure it. For Harry’s sake, he had to endure the humiliation.
“Unreasonable.”
Charles glanced back at them and walked out of the room. He went to the top of the mountain where the mine was located and looked towards the Abyss.
Since the day before yesterday, a black curtain had appeared in the sky above the Abyss, blocking out everything.
Strangely, the black curtain was spreading towards the mine, like an approaching storm.
However, they hadn’t received any attack orders from the Pope, so they couldn’t act rashly.
As reinforcements, their task was to defend their position and ensure that the second mine didn’t fall into the hands of the Abyss.
They would only consider attacking if there was an opportunity to pursue the enemy.
Charles felt that this strategy was too conservative. Even with Kailun’s support, the Abyss might not be able to withstand their attack. If they borrowed some people from the Empress, wouldn’t it be a massacre?
“Where are you, Your Holiness?”
Charles looked at his communication device, still waiting for a message from the Pope.
He leaned against a large tree, looking in the direction of Alaye, hoping that the Pope would sense his plea and respond.
However, Charles didn’t know that the Pope was currently heading in the opposite direction of Alaye.
……
As the sun rose and set, Kailun not only recovered his energy but also studied a parchment scroll.
Because of Afra’s excellent performance last night, he had rewarded her, almost causing her to bite off his shoulder.
At 7:00 AM, Kailun covered Afra with a blanket and went to the dungeon. Passing by the study, he picked up a wooden box and placed the Pope’s communication device inside.
He had, of course, modified it, similar to what he had done to Chrissy’s device.
“Creak!”
Pushing open the heavy door, Kailun saw the Pope inside the cell.
She glared at him with resentment, as if she wanted to skin him alive.
“I’m so touched. Your Holiness’s affectionate gaze truly flatters me. I can’t wait to announce our wedding to the world. If we’re lucky, maybe that mysterious Empress will even attend our ceremony.”
Kailun walked outside the cell and placed the wooden box on the ground.
“You won’t do that. Slandering me is the same as slapping the Temple of the Celestial God in the face. You will face the most severe retribution.”
The Pope sat on the dirty floor, her gaze unwavering.
Kailun chuckled at her words. “Your Holiness is quite the joker. It’s not the first or second time I’ve slapped the Temple of the Celestial God in the face. So where’s your retribution? Is it the delicious Saint Chrissy who offered herself to me? Or is it the noble Pope herself? Don’t tell me you’re deliberately sending yourselves to me as a group?”
Kailun carefully examined the Pope’s attractive figure. “Although you’re a bit older, you’re not exactly unmarriageable. Plus, you have your young daughter, Chrissy. You might even be quite popular. But I understand. After all, you can’t reveal your true identity. Otherwise, it would shake the foundation of the Temple of the Celestial God. It’s the first time we’ve had an Empress and a female Pope. So who will be eliminated by the established rules?”
Pope: “…”
[Pope’s Goodwill -1]
Kailun was right. This was the problem facing the Temple of the Celestial God. Although neither she nor the Empress had mentioned it, they were both aware of it and were always wary of each other.
If news of her capture reached the Temple, the Empress wouldn’t send anyone to rescue her. Instead, she would seize her power and completely unify the Temple.
For the Empress, this was a golden opportunity.
Most of the Holy Temple’s forces were deployed outside, and the Pope was captured by the enemy. It would be unreasonable for her not to take action.
“Alright, I’m willing to give you a chance to protect your power and invite your friends and family to our wedding.”
Kailun pointed at the box on the ground. “I’m returning your communication device. I’ll also lower the restrictions in the dungeon so you can receive magic letters. How about it? Don’t you think I’m very considerate?”
“You think I don’t know that you can manipulate communication devices?”
The Pope sneered. After the incident with Chrissy, she had become more vigilant.
After being released, she had investigated Chrissy’s replies and discovered some clues, concluding that Kailun could alter the magic letters sent and received through communication devices.
“Not bad. You’re a bit smarter than Chrissy. She believed it easily.”
Kailun nodded. It was an expected reaction.
The Pope, after all, was someone in a high position. She had seen much more than Chrissy.
That was why he couldn’t treat the Pope the same way he treated Chrissy.
First, he didn’t have enough time. He didn’t have enough time to increase the Pope’s goodwill to a positive value.
The higher one’s mental power, the less susceptible they were to his influence. With the Pope’s mental power, it would probably take twenty or thirty days of continuous effort.
It was too long, he didn’t have that much time. He only had three days.
However, these two days weren’t the time to negotiate with her. He had to break her spirit first, constantly lowering her bottom line.
Everyone had a bottom line, something they cherished. He just needed to find the right pressure points.
Coincidentally, he knew exactly what the Pope cared about.
“Master, I’m here~”
With light footsteps, Chrissy threw herself into Kailun’s arms. “I missed you all night. I couldn’t fall asleep until two or three in the morning. Aren’t you going to reward me?”
Chrissy’s sweet voice made the Pope feel like she had swallowed a fly. Chrissy had never acted so spoiled with her.
Helena, following behind, carried a large sack. “Lord Kailun, I found some whips and candles on the way. Do you need them?”
She said she had “found” them, but in reality, Helena had gone out early in the morning to buy them.
When there were more pedestrians on the street, she and Chrissy had deliberately walked into Kailun’s manor with swagger.
Kailun smiled at Helena. “Put them aside for now. I might need them later. I’ll call you when it’s time to ‘educate’ the Pope. For now, please guard the gate and don’t let anyone in.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Helena glanced at the Pope in the cell with regret and put down the sack.
She went to guard the gate and thoughtfully closed it behind her.
The door had good sound insulation. She didn’t have to worry about hearing anything she shouldn’t.
“I wonder if Your Holiness has ever experienced the purest form of love between a man and a woman?” After Helena closed the door, Kailun looked at the Pope meaningfully.
The Pope’s pupils constricted. “It’s useless even if you get my body. It’s just a shell. I don’t care.”
Kailun waved his hand dismissively. “Your Holiness, you misunderstand me. I’m a traditional man. I won’t touch you before the wedding. But it’s okay for your lovely daughter, Chrissy, to ‘serve’ in your place, right?”
“Madman! Stop it!”
The Pope quickly stood up and ran to the bars, glaring at Kailun. “I advise you not to even think about it, or I will kill you!”
“Then you’ll have to get out first.”
Kailun patted Chrissy’s butt with a cheerful smile. She understood and bent over.
Chrissy, her eyes filled with affection, looked at the Pope through the bars. Seeing the rage in her eyes, Chrissy, as if possessed, reached out and intertwined her fingers with the Pope’s. “Can we stay together forever?”
But the Pope glanced at Kailun behind Chrissy and let out a desperate cry, “No!”
“Thump~”
[Pope’s Goodwill -3, Total Goodwill -82]
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