Chapter 279 : Chapter 279
Chapter 279. Going Along with the Current
Sylvia sighed softly and leaned back in her chair, her fingertips casually fiddling with a quill on the desk.
“Aurora, there’s no need to put on that compassionate, sorrow-for-the-world posture in front of me, is there?” Sylvia’s tone carried a trace of reproach and helplessness.
“This time, the Pope held a knife to Logaris’s neck, yet you did not even give me the slightest hint beforehand. That does not seem like your usual style.”
On the other side of the light screen, Aurora sighed helplessly.
“Sylvia, I truly was not standing by and doing nothing this time.” Aurora spread both hands and explained, “To ensure the effect of the surprise attack, the Pope isolated the entire upper echelon of the Holy Church. As the Saintess, I could not even touch the edge of the decision-making circle.”
Sylvia raised an eyebrow without committing herself. Her expression eased slightly, and she did not dwell too much on this issue. She knew very well that, with the Pope’s dictatorial methods, if he truly wanted to hide something, it would indeed be very difficult for Aurora to obtain intelligence in advance.
“I knew you must have had your difficulties.” Sylvia leaned forward slightly. “Then surely you did not contact me today merely to complain, did you?”
The corner of Aurora’s mouth lifted into an extremely subtle smile. That expression, a mixture of gentleness and calculation, would only appear when she was facing Sylvia.
“Of course not. I have brought you an extremely valuable lead.”
Aurora leaned closer to the light screen and lowered her voice.
“After last night’s banquet ended, I went to His Holiness the Pope to understand the situation and listened to him vent for half an hour along the way. You must be curious, are you not? Where did the Holy Church obtain all that compromising material about Logaris’s past?”
Sylvia’s gaze sharpened slightly.
“A suddenly activated royal intelligence dedicated line,” Aurora said.
Sylvia’s fingers abruptly paused on the desk. A royal dedicated line. Only the highest levels of the cabinet and the king himself had the authority to use it.
“And that is not all.” Aurora continued to drop another bombshell, her tone becoming deep and unreadable. “Although the Pope was blinded by anger last night and made a fool of himself in public, his mind cleared very quickly. After reviewing everything, he noticed that something was wrong.”
Aurora paused, and a sharp light flashed through her eyes.
“The Pope suspects that the person who secretly delivered all the evidence to his desk and used the Holy Church as a weapon is Prime Minister Moran—the same man who kept playing the peacemaker in the great hall last night.”
The communication stone’s light screen cast cold blue light across the stone walls of the underground secret chamber. Sylvia leaned back in her high-backed chair, her eyes faintly cold.
Sylvia’s index finger tapped the desk rhythmically. She looked at Aurora in white on the other side of the light screen. “Aurora, you are a smart person. Since the Pope has already grown suspicious, go add fuel to the fire.”
Aurora tilted her head slightly, her hands folded inside her sleeves. “What would Your Highness like me to do?”
“Go have tea with that old man and speak heart-to-heart with him.” Sylvia stood, both hands pressing against the edge of the desk. “Pin every bit of the face the Holy Church lost at the royal banquet onto Moran.”
Aurora’s expression remained calm. “Go along with the current and confirm that he was used. I am very good at that.”
For this Saintess of the Holy Church, agreeing so readily naturally could not be entirely due to that tacit friendship she shared with Sylvia.
Aurora knew better than anyone that Pope Gregory VII was already advanced in years. His iron-fisted methods had long caused the rift between the Holy Church’s Conservative Faction and Progressive Faction to deepen day by day. Now, she could use the Conservative Faction’s blade to weaken Moran’s power while also making Sylvia owe her a real favor.
That immeasurable value as a political alliance and bargaining chip would be enough to become her greatest foundation for remaining invincible during future internal reckoning within the Holy Church.
The communication cut off. The light screen turned into specks of fluorescence and dissipated into the cold air.
…
The Royal Capital, the Holy Land’s Astrelia Residence.
Outside the window, rain poured down in torrents. Raindrops struck the stained glass with dull sounds. Water streamed down in winding trails, distorting the faces of the saints depicted on the glass.
Inside the study, no magic crystal lamps had been lit. Only a single lonely white candle burned.
Aurora held a tray and walked slowly along the corridor covered with a thick wool carpet. On the tray was a freshly brewed cup of calming spiritual tea, steam curling upward from it.
She stopped before the oak door, bent her fingers, and knocked twice on the door panel.
“Enter,” came a hoarse voice from inside.
Aurora pushed the door open and entered. Gregory VII sat behind the desk in the broad chair that represented authority. He was not wearing the papal crown. His gray-white hair was scattered in disarray. One hand rubbed his brow, and his broad frame looked somewhat stooped.
“Your Holiness, it is late. Please have some tea.” Aurora’s tone was even and gentle as she stepped forward and placed the teacup in an empty spot on the desk.
The Pope glanced at the cup of tea but did not move.
“Aurora.” His voice was muffled and mixed with exhaustion. “How are the people below discussing the matter at the royal banquet?”
Aurora concealed all emotion and lowered her eyelashes. “There is much private discussion. They say the Holy Church lost all dignity and was forced to lower its head and apologize in public by a newly ennobled count.”
The Pope’s right hand suddenly tightened around the armrest. The leather made a faint creaking sound under the pressure.
Aurora continued, her tone soft. “Your Holiness, you are the pillar of the Holy Church, and in your hand, you hold the sword of punishment of the Lord of Light. Last night, you swung that sword, but it struck the hardest iron plate. The person who handed you that sword deserves condemnation.”
The Pope raised his eyes to look at her.
Aurora met his gaze with a composed expression and spoke at an even pace. “The situation in the Royal Capital is intricate and complex. That lord in the cabinet silently delivered information about Logaris to you. He knew full well that the Holy Church has zero tolerance for heresy, so he borrowed your hand and used the Holy Church’s sacred fire to burn the foundation of the Northern Territory.”
“If it succeeded, he would have removed a political enemy without shedding a drop of blood. If it failed, the Holy Church would bear the anger of every faction and noble in his place. That was an excellent calculation.”
The Pope let out a long sigh. He reached out, picked up the teacup, and took a shallow sip. As the tea passed down his throat, the gloom surging in his eyes was not suppressed. Instead, it condensed into an extremely cold chill.
“What you said is correct, but not entirely correct.” The Pope set down the cup, producing an extremely dull sound.
His originally stooped body slowly straightened. The terrifying pressure of a seventh-tier divine spellcaster silently spread through the cramped study. Beneath his calm tone lay a sacred fury powerful enough to burn down a city.
“The temptation to take down Logaris in one stroke was indeed great, but this old man has held the reins of the Holy Church for decades. I fought my way from the age of turmoil to this day. What storms have I not seen? If this had been an ordinary situation, no matter how great the temptation, this old man would never have acted rashly at a royal banquet in front of the entire world while leaving himself no way out and without sufficient preparation!”
Aurora was slightly startled.
At this moment, the Pope’s cloudy eyes were as fierce and terrifying as a lion’s. “After returning to the residence last night, this old man suddenly realized that my conduct over the past few days had been somewhat abnormal. Therefore, I sat in meditation within the holy light for an entire night, carefully combing through my Spiritual Sea—”
His shriveled lips pulled into a terrifying cold smile. The leather armrest crumbled into powder in his hand and fell in soft streams.
“At last, in the deepest part of my Spiritual Sea, I discovered a trace of obscure fluctuation that even I had almost overlooked. Someone… placed a mental suggestion on me!”