The third floor of the cathedral, Bishop Gordon East’s private study.
The air was thick with the scent of expensive incense. Ansu and Celia stood before a massive mahogany bookshelf, their eyes fixed on the secret compartment the bishop had mentioned.
With a slight shift of his will, Ansu used Mage's Hand to press several specific protrusions in the decorative pattern in a precise sequence.
"Click..."
Following a faint sound from the internal mechanism, the bookshelf slowly slid aside to reveal a hidden space about half a meter wide, resembling a safe embedded in the wall.
Inside the hidden compartment were stacks of letters sealed with dark red wax and several old, heavy ledgers.
"In a moment of crisis, your first instinct was to destroy these..." Ansu casually picked up the ledger on top, his gaze drifting to the side.
Bishop Gordon was being pinned firmly to the floor by Elder Matthew. His fat body trembled incessantly with fear, and cold sweat poured from his forehead.
Ansu flipped open the ledger while Celia flicked her finger, causing an envelope to drift into her palm.
After reading for just a moment, the two of them exchanged a silent look, both seeing the surprise in each other’s eyes.
Good heavens, Bishop Gordon had an incredible amount of dirt on him...
Ansu glanced at Bishop Gordon again, silently thinking of that dark joke about the priest and the little boy.
Because Bishop Gordon was actually keeping young boys...
Under the guise of "cultivating loyal reserve forces for the church," he secretly screened handsome commoner or orphaned boys and placed them in the orphanage attached to the cathedral for so-called "devotion training."
In reality, it was to satisfy his personal lust.
Celia couldn't help but click her tongue. "How disgusting..."
"Oh? There are also private sales of indulgences, and a staggering amount of corruption..."
Ansu continued flipping through the pages, unable to stop marvelling at the contents.
The so-called private sale of indulgences meant that Bishop Gordon claimed donations to the church could buy salvation—specifically, that donating to his Norvigel Cathedral would grant even more salvation.
The donation amount was directly linked to the degree of atonement, with clear price tags, even hinting that "great contributors" would go straight to heaven after death...
As for the corruption, it was even more blatant. The ledgers clearly showed that Bishop Gordon had siphoned nearly seventy percent of the massive funds intended for repairing the cathedral and providing relief for the poor into his own pockets through various means, specifically into the Northern Chamber of Commerce run by his nephew.
"You're actually quite a good person..." Ansu looked up at Bishop Gordon with a mocking smile. "You actually left thirty percent!"
Ansu became increasingly curious about what else he could dig up. Just then, Celia suddenly let out a soft "oh?" with a hint of amusement in her voice.
She looked at Bishop Gordon, her eyes full of mockery. "You and Archbishop Leonard... are actually still in contact?"
The last bit of color drained from Bishop Gordon’s face.
Ansu leaned over to take a look and understood immediately.
Bishop Gordon was the ultimate fence-sitter.
On one hand, he pledged loyalty to the new pope, actively catering to the other’s radical de-magicization ideology. On the other hand, he secretly maintained contact with Archbishop Leonard’s faction. The letters even contained "veiled criticisms" of the new pope and expressed optimism about Leonard’s future.
"It seems the Lord Bishop knows how to invest!" Celia sneered.
Ansu looked at the deathly pale Bishop Gordon, whose secret thoughts had been exposed, and laughed inwardly. Bishop Gordon clearly believed that the current pope was old and didn't have many years left, while Leonard was in his prime with both ambition and ability, standing a good chance of ascending to that position in the future... so he couldn't bear to cut ties completely.
This was actually the most serious offense. After all, loyalty that isn't absolute is absolute disloyalty.
An extreme conservative like Eugene IX would never tolerate someone like Bishop Gordon.
"P-Please... give me a chance!"
Bishop Gordon finally looked up, sweat soaking the collar of his luxurious bishop’s robes. His face now held nothing but the most humble plea.
"Don't kill me! I... I'm still useful!"
"I’ve operated in the North for so many years. Wealth, connections, rare treasures... as long as you two need them, I can—!"
Ansu interrupted with a smile. "Your only use right now is to spill more of your secrets. If we are satisfied with what we hear, we might consider whether to spare your life."
He paused, watching the sudden light of hope ignite in Gordon’s eyes, his smile deepening.
"Start talking."
Bishop Gordon nodded frantically. "Yes, yes! I'll talk... I'll tell you everything!"
Thus, he incoherently spat out a series of secrets.
When he finished the last one, he collapsed on the floor, panting heavily.
"Is... is that enough?" Bishop Gordon asked with a fawning smile.
Ansu and Celia exchanged a look.
Celia said nothing, only letting the corners of her mouth curl up slightly.
In the next second, the response Bishop Gordon received was several Shadow Bolts radiating a dark aura.
The arrows precisely pierced his chest, and blood quickly spread. The look of anticipation mixed with tension had not yet faded from Bishop Gordon’s wide eyes.
Celia gently raised her hand, and Black Flame burned the bishop’s corpse to nothingness.
"Let’s go, Ansu. On to the next one."
Ansu nodded.
The next destination was naturally Count Alston at the City Lord's Mansion.
This was his method for changing the Magic Prohibition Decree.
In the simulation, he was playing the cracked version.
He could freely use force to obtain the deepest, darkest secrets of these two powerful figures and use them as leverage and blackmail in reality.
Fortunately, Bishop Gordon’s scandals were explosive enough. Now he only hoped that Count Alston’s secrets... were equally heavyweight.
...
Not long after Ansu and the cult members left.
A slender figure stumbled through the smoke drifting over the streets.
Freya, gasping for breath, finally reached the doors of Norvigel Cathedral after running all the way.
She pushed open the heavy doors.
Her pale gold eyes widened in the next second.
Corpses, there were corpses everywhere...
She took two stunned steps forward, crimson blood silently staining the hem of her pure white dress.
Inside the once solemn and sacred hall, countless bodies of clergy members now lay scattered about. Pools of blood spread across the smooth marble floor, and the air was thick with a nauseating scent of blood.
They were all dead, every single one of them...
"Is that... Miss Freya?"
A cult executor who was processing the scene put down the oil drum in his hand and looked at the pink-haired girl who had suddenly appeared with confusion.
"May I ask what you are doing here?"
Freya did not answer immediately.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to suppress the nausea rising in her throat and the trembling of her body.
After a long while, she opened her eyes again.
"Where are your Elder Hermit and the Acting Cult Leader?" Freya asked coldly.
The executors stopped their work and looked at the pale former Holy Maiden who had suddenly barged in. They exchanged hesitant glances.
They truly did not dare to casually block or drive away this former Holy Maiden who had a special relationship with the Elder Hermit.
"The Elder and the Acting Cult Leader have gone to the City Lord's Mansion," one executor finally replied.
Before the words had even finished, Freya had already turned around. She lifted her blood-stained white skirt and ran back out without looking back.
She had to catch up to him.
She had to find Lord Ansu and demand an explanation in person!
The chaotic streets, the drifting dust, the faint cries and commotions in the distance...
Only one thought repeatedly echoed in her mind.
Freya’s expression grew darker and more shadowed, and more bloodshot veins appeared in her eyes.
I must find Lord Ansu! I must find Lord Ansu!
He needs me. He needs me right now...
I can't let Lord Ansu continue to be bewitched by that witch!
She would end all of these mistakes once and for all!
Rate on N.U.
