One of the Church's nine Cardinals, just one step from the papal throne—and he claimed he had little influence?

  Yeah, right.

  "So Your Highness means if you had absolute authority, you'd change Church doctrine and spare the beastmen and demons?" Luo Wei looked at Alfried.

  Alfried nodded. "That's the idea."

  "Strange." Luo Wei looked puzzled. "A while back my friends got threatened for no reason. Two cat fur cloaks showed up as tournament prizes. I thought Your Highness did that—wasn't it you?"

  "That was me, but I had my reasons." Alfried looked troubled. "They were too careless. I just wanted to warn them—beastmen who don't hide their identities end up skinned alive."

  "I did it for their own good. But beastmen and demons hate the Church. Even if I offer protection, they won't believe me. They'll just think it's a trap."

  "Isn't it?" Luo Wei shot back.

  "Of course not, child. You've all misunderstood me." Alfried's eyes were full of sincerity. "If I wanted to hurt them, why keep testing them? I did it to clear their suspicion."

  "You might ask why I tested them with holy water."

  "But child, think carefully. I had curtains hung throughout the treatment area beforehand. I deliberately put Siria in a corner, separating you from the other academies. Wasn't that protection?"

  "If your friends reacted differently to the holy water, the other academies wouldn't have noticed. I would've immediately protected them and spoken honestly with them."

  "Same with the threatening letter. Pushing them into the spotlight wasn't my goal. Having them excel in the tournament to earn a chance to talk with me was."

  Alfried sighed. "Siria is full of His Holiness's spies. This was the only way I could approach you without raising suspicion."

  The old fox's rhetoric was masterful. With this explanation, he could turn black into white. Someone else might actually fall for it.

  Testing them with holy water to clear their suspicion?

  He clearly wanted to control Dean Morrison by holding evidence that Siria harbored non-humans, making the academy his puppet.

  When that scheme failed, he put on a good guy act. Every word was supposedly for their benefit. He'd probably convinced himself by now.

  "Your Highness's thoughtfulness is truly moving."

  Inner mockery didn't affect her performance. Luo Wei said with concern, "As Your Highness said, you have little influence in the Church, and Siria is full of the Pope's spies. Why risk yourself for a few non-humans?"

  "The mortal world has always had a place for them. The Church's purge violates universal love. I can't watch the Church go astray and sink deeper."

  Alfried looked at Luo Wei. "Child, why don't we join forces? Change this corrupt Church and save your friends?"

  "This is a Western matter. An outsider interfering wouldn't be appropriate." Luo Wei politely declined. "But I'll definitely tell my friends about Your Highness's good intentions, so they don't misunderstand."

  "Outsider interfering isn't appropriate?" Alfried's smile turned cold. "Then why are you interfering in the Gelu City war?"

  Luo Wei frowned. "What do you mean, Your Highness?"

  "You sent street children everywhere spreading news that the Wesley family changed their faith to the Sun God, trying to stop Sebanli Duchy's attack on Gelu City. Isn't that interfering in Western affairs?"

  Luo Wei was silent for a moment, then admitted, "The lord of Gelu City is my classmate's father. She begged me crying to save her family. I couldn't just ignore it."

  Alfried's voice dropped. "Kindness isn't wrong, but the Gelu City war isn't as simple as you think. You can't save the Wesley family."

  "Child, do you know why Sebanli Duchy is attacking Gelu City?"

  Luo Wei answered, "Yes, to fight over serfs."

  "No." Alfried shook his head. "It's because the Wesley family blasphemed the Goddess of Justice and brought divine punishment. The Sun and Moon Gods sent an angel to guide Sebanli Duchy into this war."

  "What!" Luo Wei looked shocked. "They're followers of the Goddess of Justice. Why would they blaspheme the deity they worship and bring divine punishment?"

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  Alfried sighed. "You'd have to ask your classmate. Why didn't she tell you the truth? Why did she drag you into this death trap?"

  "I don't believe it." Luo Wei's voice was firm. "I don't believe my classmate would harm me. It's not that I can't accept reality—she really doesn't have the guts."

  "Maybe she doesn't know the truth either. Her father kept her in the dark." Alfried said, "The Wesley family has long been disrespectful toward the Goddess of Justice. Otherwise, when the angels descended three months ago, they wouldn't have failed to receive the goddess's oracle."

  "Because the goddess rejected them, the Wesley family hasn't received her blessing for nearly a century. So they resented her."

  "With the Goddess of Life's fall as precedent, how could the Sun and Moon Gods allow such disrespectful people to exist?"

  "Now, one of the twelve descended angels—the Lunar Archangel—is in Sebanli's military camp, personally commanding this war."

  "If the angel hadn't descended as an ordinary human, Gelu City would've been split in half by an angel's sword already. They wouldn't be struggling like this."

  Luo Wei's expression grew serious. She knew about the twelve angels descending—after all, the "thief god" they came to catch was her.

  To throw them off, she'd come up with a nasty trick. Using fallen leaves to frame the Goddess of the Undead for destroying the godhead, hoping to lure them to the Wastes.

  Three months had passed. She'd almost forgotten about it. She never expected the angels to show up in the Gelu City war.

  She thought the angels would return to the clouds after failing to catch anyone. Instead, they'd been lingering in the mortal world and somehow ended up at Gelu City—right where she'd gotten involved.

  If the Lunar Archangel noticed her, would he discover her secrets?

  Worse—she'd sent Troy there!

  If the Lunar Archangel just sat in camp commanding, fine. But if he suddenly decided to charge the front lines, he'd definitely clash with Troy. Then Troy's identity as an evil god's follower would be exposed!

  Luo Wei's heart pounded. She knew Alfried was throwing out this information to hook her.

  He was telling her that her efforts were useless. She couldn't save the Wesley family—unless she sought his cooperation.

  He thought her shock and tension were about failing to stop the war. He didn't know what really worried her was the angel stationed at Gelu City.

  Good thing the excuse of saving people covered her guilty conscience. Luo Wei suppressed her turbulent emotions and asked with a worried expression, "Is there really no other way?"

  Alfried looked pitying. "Divine will cannot be defied."

  "What if we find a way to make the gods retract their will?"

  Alfried shook his head. "Mortals are as lowly as ants. How could we possibly make the gods retract their will?"

  "How do we know without trying?" Luo Wei said earnestly. "Your Highness, even if the Wesley family disrespected the Goddess of Justice, that was a few individuals. What about the tens of thousands of innocent people in Gelu City?"

  "The gods are merciful. Maybe they'd give them a chance to correct themselves. I believe after this battle, the Wesley family will never disrespect the gods again."

  "If Your Highness could broker peace between the armies, both the Wesley family and Gelu City's people would be grateful for your great benevolence."

  "Count Wesley reveres the Sun God's glory. He'd surely lead his family and subjects in offering sincere devotion to the Sun God and to you."

  Alfried lowered his eyes without responding.

  Luo Wei read his expression and raised the stakes. "I'm not from the West, but seeing people here suffer, I can't bear it. If possible, I'd like to do what little I can to help them."

  "And my friends—I hope before I leave the West, I can see them living stable lives instead of hiding in fear every day."

  Alfried finally raised his dark blue eyes, but asked, "Leave the West? When?"

  Luo Wei was caught off guard. She paused before answering, "I don't know when exactly, but at least I need to become an Archmage before I'm qualified to return."

  "Ten years." Alfried looked at her. "With your talent, ten years at most, and you'll break through to Junior Archmage."

  Luo Wei hesitated. "Ten years... might not be enough. I heard it took Dean Morrison twenty years to break through from mage to Archmage."

  "Your talent exceeds his." Alfried's tone was meaningful. "Most importantly, you have divine blood. Descendants of fallen gods are destined for greatness."

  Luo Wei frowned, trying to guess what he meant.

  Was he hinting at something, or had he discovered something about her?

  Alfried suddenly changed topics. "Do you Misty Plains people really not worship the Sun and Moon Gods?"

  Before Luo Wei could figure out his previous statement, he'd moved on. Her temple throbbed as she pulled out her usual explanation.

  "It's not that we don't worship the sun and moon. We just dedicate our most loyal faith to the Creator Mother Goddess."

  Alfried's lips curved. "If the Holy Knight Commander heard that, he'd be disappointed. He really hopes you'll become a follower of the Sun God."

  Luo Wei asked, "And what about Your Highness? Do you hope so too?"

  "I respect your faith." Alfried said gently. "But I also hope you won't leave our Holy Knight Commander heartbroken. I heard he gave you a ruby necklace?"

  Luo Wei finally understood the old fox's thinking. Her eyes narrowed. "Yes, he had Dean Morrison deliver it to me."

  A smile appeared on Alfried's face. "I'll leave for the Holy City tomorrow morning to report to His Holiness. Child, would you like to send a return gift to Yalvich?"

  Luo Wei played along. "I have a sapphire from the Suo River region. Would it be appropriate to give the Holy Knight Commander as a waist chain?"

  Alfried was very satisfied. "Of course. Sapphires are stones of destiny, symbolizing loyalty and devotion. Yalvich will love your gift."

  Luo Wei nodded. "Then after I return, I'll have someone send it to the Holy Knight Commander's brother, Lord Sylvester."

  Mission accomplished. Alfried was magnanimous. "That works."

  Having the Holy Knight Commander's brother deliver the gift would work better than him doing it. A Church prince couldn't get too close to the Pope's personal guard.

  Talking with smart people was refreshing. Alfried smiled broadly and promised, "Don't worry, child. Once this sapphire is delivered, the Sun God's radiance will shine upon Gelu City."

  Luo Wei also showed a genuine smile. "As long as Sebanli withdraws, the Wesley family and I will remember Your Highness's kindness."

  They smiled at each other. The atmosphere was harmonious.

  The incense burned out. After nearly an hour, the banquet hall doors slowly opened.

  Alfried personally escorted Luo Wei from the rear hall. The two knights followed in solemn silence, one on each side.

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