[Vol. 8] Chapter 91: The Moving Strings
Edwina is called the “Knight of the God”, and the strong support she got inside the church in such a short time is closely tied to the incredible power she has shown. After all, having strength usually wins respect.
If it wasn’t for her role as the Pope, leading the church, no one else would be more suitable to be called the “Chosen Hero” than Edwina Cecilia.
“Well, well... I guess worrying about your safety was a bit unnecessary. But that assassin and her allies are probably still hiding somewhere in the Angel City. Since they attacked both you and Lilya, I’m not going to just ignore what happened.”
“Huh? Miss Violet, are you planning to take action against the Austre Empire yourself? I thought you hated getting involved in political power struggles like this?”
The Holy Knight looked surprised, but Violet tapped the table lightly with one finger, smiled, and shook her head thoughtfully.
“Don’t jump to conclusions... I never said those assassins were sent by the Austre Empire, did I?”
“Not the Austre Empire?”
Edwina was a bit surprised and confused.
“If not the Austre Empire, then who else could do this? In the last month, all the assassination targets were leaders from the Human United Kingdom and the Holy Empire. The Empire and its partners seem totally unaffected. It can’t be some third party trying to frame others and cause trouble, right?”
Violet shook her head calmly.
“I didn’t say the Austre Empire had nothing to do with it. Their military power is strong, and some of their magic technology developments surprise even me. But that doesn’t mean they can easily create or control top-level legendary or transcendent-level fighters. And there’s no way they can control dragons.”
“The assassin who attacked you seems to be from some ancient species with little record, maybe even an otherworldly creature. The Austre Empire doesn’t have the ability to control such a being.”
“So these assassins definitely don’t belong directly to the Austre Empire. Maybe their backers have some connection, but they’re not under Austre Empire control.”
“If...”
Knock, knock, knock!
Just as Violet was about to say more, a quick, urgent knocking sounded outside the quiet room on the top floor of the church, where no one was supposed to disturb them!
The conversation stopped suddenly. Edwina was surprised, then quickly stood up with a frown and looked toward the door.
“What’s going on? Didn’t I say we’re receiving important guests? No one is allowed to disturb us unless it’s an emergency!”
“It’s me, Your Holiness. I’m sorry to bother you, but I believe you need to know this right away. I’m willing to take responsibility later, but things are changing fast and you need to make a decision now. It’s really important.”
“...?”
After Edwina’s sharp shout, a young man’s clear and steady voice came from behind the door. He seemed to recognize her. Edwina frowned and instinctively looked at the black-haired girl sitting opposite her, showing a questioning look.
The girl just shrugged lazily and leaned back.
“It’s fine. Just do what you think is best.”
“Alright… sorry to keep you waiting, please hold on for a moment.”
Edwina nodded a little helplessly, then quickly turned and went to the main door, which was sealed by a strong magical barrier. She opened the door and quietly talked with a subordinate who had come specially to find her.
Violet didn’t try to listen carefully, but she recognized the male voice from before. If she remembered right, he was Clatius Summerfield, a holy knight from the divine bloodline family Summerfield, and the official younger brother of a Brightlight Saintess.
This guy had met Violet a few times before. During the Fourth Demon War, he was Edwina’s deputy and led troops to cross the sky and surprise the enemy, winning great honors. He was said to be the top young talent, second only to Edwina herself, and now held an important position in the Holy Empire.
At that moment, the bored dragon girl sitting beside Violet suddenly sniffed the air and quietly poked the black-haired girl’s waist with the tip of her dragon tail.
“Master, master, that guy outside the door... he seems to have the same kind of smell as the thing we saw on Ayla during the day.”
“Hm?”
The priestess, still feeling lazy, suddenly became alert. She sat up quickly and instinctively turned her head toward where the person outside the door was, though from their position, they couldn’t see him directly.
The “thing during the day” the dragon girl meant was the strange evil-like creature attached to Ayla, secretly watching her every move. As a top pet specialized in investigation and fighting, and after receiving divine power, the dragon girl’s senses had greatly improved. Even without seeing, she could easily detect the smallest traces of that presence. There was no mistake.
The girl looked surprised but then smiled and murmured to herself.
“Interesting... Even the church leaders are being watched? These guys really have big plans. Or maybe Clatius’s case is just one example?”
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence. So, master, what should we do now? Should we pull that thing off him and burn it?”
“... No, not yet.”
After thinking for a moment, Violet quickly shook her head and refused the dragon god’s “fiery” idea.
“Let’s first find out what urgent matter Clatius has for our Pope. From what I know of him, he’s a bit strong-willed but not unreasonable. He's quite a wise and smart person, which is the main reason he's one of Yuna's most trusted confidants. If he risked punishment just to inform Edwina, it must be serious. Maybe... this will even bring us some unexpected benefits.”
“Okay, I’ll follow your lead.”
Just as the two girls quietly talked, Edwina finished her talk and quickly returned to them. Her face looked a bit bad. Without Violet asking, she lowered her voice and explained.
“There really is some trouble... There’s been a riot inside the Angel City.”
“Oh~ What exactly happened?”
Hearing this, the priestess raised her eyebrows a little but didn’t seem too surprised. After all, with how crowded the Angel City was now, it was like a huge warehouse packed full of explosives. Even a small spark inside would cause a chain of bad events. Miss Shadow had already warned her about this.
Before, the Holy Knights and the church had tightly watched and kept order, blocking all “sparks” and stopping problems from growing. But if a big force really decided to cause chaos, no defense could stop them.