Punishment and Reward

As the pinnacle of mortal faith, the Saintess possessed a residence in every major city.

However, rather than a palace, it was more like a cathedral.

Within every cathedral, a specific room was always prepared for the Saintess.

It was something she might not use, but she absolutely had to have.

Nearby, the young nuns were still cleaning. One of them swept the floor while secretly stealing glances at the figure seated upon the Saint's Throne.

The power of the people was infinite, and the Saintess’s deafening words had already spread among the citizens of Moonrise City.

The young nun didn't know what others thought, but she felt nothing but profound admiration.

She would not abandon a single person.

That single sentence made the young nun’s heart swell with emotion.

She looked up at Her Highness with clear, reverent eyes.

However, Luo Li did not notice the nuns' gazes at this moment.

Even if she had, she wouldn't have thought much of it.

Being the Saintess meant being the center of attention, a reality she was gradually growing accustomed to.

Currently, she was listening to the report brought by Byron.

"Your Highness, twenty-one branch families of the nobility participated in this rebellion, including the Borgia family, the Dressas family, the Cromwell family, and the Alvin family..."

As the names were listed one by one, Luo Li’s brow furrowed deeper.

Twenty-one branch families from the noble circles had joined the revolt, which was almost equivalent to a direct declaration of war.

"The total number of people from these families who have been detained and had their assets seized is two thousand two hundred and twenty-one. This includes seventy-three from the Borgia family, twenty-six from the Dressas family..."

"The confiscated assets include..."

"There were twenty-two thousand soldiers involved in the rebellion, including General Bill. Among them, fifteen thousand were private soldiers and seven thousand were regular army."

"All soldiers have been taken into custody to await trial."

Hearing this, Luo Li no longer wanted to listen.

It wasn't a matter of whether she wanted to hear it or not; the sheer number of people involved in this incident was staggering.

The thought of dealing with so many nobles meant that every industry in Moonrise City would be affected.

The nobility had been entrenched in the Kingdom of the Moon for a thousand years, their roots reaching into every sector.

Almost every industry was dependent on the support and participation of the nobles.

Executing these people would inevitably cause massive short-term chaos in Moonrise City.

It might even lead to a complete severance of trade.

After all, those businesses were under the nobles' banners. If the nobles were killed, the merchants would naturally leave.

"Is there anything else?"

The girl asked, her brow tightly knit.

Byron wore a fawning smile.

"Your Highness, there is also this..."

As he spoke, he pulled a letter from his robe.

The gaze of Lancelot, the robust man standing behind the girl, instantly sharpened, only returning to normal once the letter was produced.

Since Hilda wasn't by her side, the duty of protection fell to the Commander of the Dragon Knight Corps.

"Please take a look, Your Highness."

Lord Byron lowered his head and stepped forward, presenting the envelope with both hands.

"What is this?"

Luo Li took it and asked before even opening it.

"In response to Your Highness, these are letters of apology from the heads of the various families."

"Apologies..." The girl repeated, a cold sneer curling her lips.

"Hah!"

Hearing that cold laugh, a chill ran down Byron’s spine, and he hastily lowered his head further.

He didn't dare utter a single word of the pleas he had promised the other lords he would make.

He was terrified that the Saintess’s wrath would turn toward him.

At that thought, Byron couldn't help but steal a glance at the knight behind her.

This knight had kept a low profile before, and other nobles could find almost no trace of his past.

But one thing was certain.

This man’s strength was at least level fifty or higher!

Furthermore, this powerhouse was the Saintess's confidant.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have trusted him to be the Commander of the Dragon Knight Corps.

Luo Li glanced at the contents of the envelope and then set it aside.

The letters were basically the same; the heads or elders of each family had written formal apologies.

The contents of these apologies were virtually identical.

They clarified two main points.

First: They claimed to be unaware of the crimes committed by their branch families, asserting it was the independent action of the branch managers and had nothing to do with the main house.

Second: The branch families in Moonrise City had already been stripped of their noble titles, expelled from their houses, and had their properties reclaimed.

This was a classic case of pushing their luck.

However, since they had phrased it this way, if she continued to pursue them...

Setting aside whether evidence could even be gathered, the real issue was that if it triggered a full-scale noble revolt, the Holy Church would have to intervene.

Moreover, the nobles of other nations would not allow Luo Li to conduct such a massive purge.

The systems in other countries were very different from the Kingdom of the Moon.

They had royal families, and strictly speaking, the royal family and the Saintess belonged to two different systems.

The royals leaned toward the nobility, while the Saintess leaned toward the Temple.

Therefore, other nobles and even the kings of other nations would likely pressure her under such circumstances.

In other words, the law of association was essentially impossible to implement.

"Lord Byron."

"I am here."

Luo Li looked down at Byron with interest.

This fellow was clever; he hadn't let his head get hot and joined those nobles at the critical moment.

Otherwise, the entire Stuart family would have been purged.

Because Moonrise City was the seat of the Stuart family's main house.

In other words, this was his home base. If something happened to the Saintess on his territory, he would never be able to clear his name.

"Tell me... how much of what is written in these letters can I believe? They still want the assets of those branch families. Should I give them back... or not?"

The girl’s gaze seemed relaxed and casual, but the scrutiny within her eyes made the sweat soak through Byron’s back.

This... this question was clearly forcing him to take a stand!

Though it seemed like a simple inquiry, she was actually asking him:

'Are you a man of the nobility, or are you my man?'

As for whether this incident involved all the nobles or just the branch families, he knew the truth better than anyone as a local.

How could mere branch families have the courage to cross the Holy Church's red line?

Assassinating the Saintess was practically equivalent to declaring war on the Holy Church.

With just the branch families, they wouldn't dare even if given ten times the courage.

The events in Moonrise City were entirely the result of deliberations between the various family heads.

And now, the plan had failed.

Clearly, regardless of the process, as long as the Saintess was safely protected, it signaled the failure of the nobles' 'rebellion'.

The laughable part was that after their failure, these nobles still wanted to minimize their losses as much as possible.

They actually had the gall to come and claim the assets of these branch families.

Byron’s first thought was 'To hell with you all, have some shame!'.

But immediately after, he realized this was a probe by the nobles toward the Saintess.

They were testing whether she would be aggressively hostile or adopt a policy of appeasement.

After understanding all this, he re-evaluated her words.

To return them, or not?

At this moment, Byron’s brain, which had been muddled for a long time due to a life of debauchery, suddenly sharpened!

"Your Highness, I believe it would be better to do this."

Luo Li didn't speak, simply watching Byron quietly.

At this moment, regardless of what Byron said, she already had a plan in mind.

Asking the question was merely a way to test the waters.

Seeing that the girl remained silent, Byron organized his thoughts and continued:

"Your Highness can punish these nobles. After all, these branch families are direct kin of the main houses. As for those assets, they aren't actually that important and aren't worth much. It would be better to return them, and instead impose heavy punishments by confiscating a large amount of gold."

The girl lowered her eyes in thought for a moment, then glanced at Byron.

"I understand. You may leave."

"Yes, Your Highness. Oh, and one more thing... regarding the Borgia family, there is something else I wish to report."

"Speak."

"Among the Borgia family’s assets, there are some non-transparent businesses suspected of transporting military supplies overseas. Your Highness, should we... investigate this part thoroughly?"

"Investigate it. Follow this lead to the very end. No mercy shall be shown."

Transporting military supplies overseas was clearly working for the demons.

The soldiers on the front lines were shedding their blood and dying in countless numbers to resist the demons.

Yet these nobles in the rear were actually providing the demons with supplies!

This was a red line!!

"I will leave this matter to you, Lord Byron. I hope you provide me with a satisfactory answer."

Stealing a glance at the Saintess’s expression, Byron couldn't help but tremble and quickly lowered his head.

"I obey the sacred decree. I will not fail Your Highness's trust."

Leaving the matter entirely to Byron might lead to complications.

Therefore, she still had other contingencies.

As for her words just now, they were merely for outward appearances, causing those on guard to shift their focus to the Byron family while ignoring investigations from other directions.

"You may leave."

"Yes, I shall take my leave."

As he spoke, Lord Byron retreated.

Luo Li immediately turned and summoned Izzy and the others.

Her ability to survive until now was largely thanks to the contributions of Izzy and Hubert.

Looking at the slightly stiff Hubert and the usual shameless, grinning Izzy walking up, Luo Li couldn't help but relax a little.

"Hubert, the mage, greets Her Highness the Saintess."

"Izzy greets Your Highness~"

"Izzy! Can't you behave properly?"

Aiya rolled her eyes at Izzy from the side and then hastily knelt on the ground.

"Aiya Russell greets Her Highness the Saintess."

Following her, a young girl was pushed forward in a wheelchair.

"A-April greets Your Highness."

Luo Li turned to look at April. Although her skin was pale and she appeared somewhat sickly, her eyes were still quite spirited.

It had to be said that these two siblings had truly good genes.

While Izzy himself lacked any sense of decorum, his looks were indeed passable.

And his sister, April, was likewise a beautiful young girl.

"All of you may rise. Izzy, I don't recall you being the type of person who would kneel to me."

Luo Li had a smile on her face as she teased Izzy.

Izzy’s mouth twitched. He wanted to retort, but seeing the expression on her face, he swallowed his words.

"Izzy, Her Highness is asking you a question!!"

Aiya urged.

Izzy looked helpless and shrugged.

"Look at Her Highness's expression. She's clearly trying to make a fool of me. How am I supposed to answer?"

Aiya looked like she was frustrated by his lack of effort and said urgently:

"She is Her Highness! Can't you just tell the truth?"

Izzy looked at Aiya in surprise.

"Tell the truth? If you say so!"

"Wait a minute, tell me what you're going to say first. Don't anger Her Highness."

Watching this couple... this pair flaunting their affection right in front of her, Luo Li felt a wave of nausea in her heart and quickly waved her hand.

"Enough, you two. Stop showing off your love in front of me."

Aiya’s face flushed red, and she hastily lowered her head.

Izzy didn't mind, simply grinning shamelessly.

April, being sensible, quickly tried to explain:

"Please do not be offended, Your Highness. My brother... there might be something wrong with his head."

Izzy’s face instantly darkened upon hearing that.

"Hey, hey, how can you talk about your own brother like that?"

"But it's the truth~"

"Alright, if you siblings want to bicker, do it later."

Seeing the siblings about to start an argument, Luo Li quickly stepped in as a peacemaker.

She turned her gaze toward Hubert.

"Hubert."

"Present."

Hubert was still a bit stiff, though he had relaxed slightly during the banter between Izzy and the others.

However, her next words instantly stunned him.

"Are you willing to serve me?"

Hubert was dazed by the question.

From the very beginning, he had never imagined he would serve Her Highness directly.

Of course, he had thought he might be granted a small noble title or something similar.

That would have secured his livelihood for the rest of his life.

But he never expected that this Highness before him would completely disregard his low strength.

She actually wanted him to serve her?

Seeing the surprise on his face, Luo Li asked with a smile:

"What, are you unwilling?"

"How could I be!? I... I would be honored! But Your Highness, I am only a level twenty mage. What could I possibly do... to serve you?"

Hubert was filled with confusion. What could someone with such low-level strength do for Her Highness?

But Luo Li didn't see it that way.

A mage who could perform mental hypnosis—such a person would have a massive impact on her nation if left to their own devices.

Although powerful experts usually surrounded nobles, those experts might not necessarily be able to detect Hubert's hypnosis skills.

As for why Luo Li wasn't afraid?

As the Saintess, she was naturally immune to mental control, and her Saintess's robe also provided resistance to such skills.

Forget Hubert; even a level sixty powerhouse going all out with hypnosis wouldn't be able to affect her.

"There are many things you can do, but those aren't important right now. Hubert, from now on, you are a Baron."

"R-Really?!"

Luo Li nodded with a smile.

"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you?"

She then turned her gaze toward Izzy.

"Izzy Capablanca, Aiya Russell."

"Present!"

"Present."

"Starting today, the honor of the Capablanca and Russell families is restored. From the confiscated assets, the goods of equivalent value seized back then will be returned. Additionally, Izzy... I have a reward specifically reserved for you."