I woke up in the morning and did a simple grooming routine.
That meant taking a bath, which produced a large amount of valuable Holy Water.
I changed into a clean Saintess's robe.
According to Ligeia, when the Saintess fell into the sea, the Dragon King had fished her out himself.
The result was that the Saint's Carriage was fine, but the person who was supposed to be inside was gone.
The Dragon King had been furious. If the black dragon beside him hadn't stopped him, the Saint's Carriage would likely have been blasted into dust.
The Saint's Carriage was truly pitiful, not only losing its horses but nearly bearing the brunt of the Dragon King's wrath.
In any case, I was truly safe now.
With the dragon knight army by my side, plus a level sixty powerhouse like Lancelot.
Then there were the two level fifty mages, Ligeia and Camilla.
With such a lineup, it would be difficult for anyone to threaten my safety unless the Pope himself arrived.
I organized my belongings and stepped out the door.
It was time to go home!
Back to Brilliant City.
I boarded a skysoar dragon and soared into the sky as the dragon's wings flapped.
Two thousand dragons flew into the distance like a long, winding serpent.
"Your Highness, is that Izzy... truly capable of such a heavy responsibility?"
The dragon I was riding was not the lead dragon, Mr. Momo, but another ordinary skysoar dragon.
Since I did not know how to ride a dragon myself, I had to let someone else take the reins.
Naturally, Ligeia was the most suitable for this position.
Ordinary knights lacked the strength to handle special situations and were not yet proficient in riding dragons.
If something went wrong, it would be no small matter.
Therefore, Ligeia, who knew the dragon language, became the best choice.
"Mhm. Although he can be a bit unreliable at times, he is quite dependable when it comes to getting things done."
Sitting on a skysoar dragon felt completely different from sitting on the head of a black dragon.
From here, just by tilting my gaze slightly, I could see the magnificent mountains and rivers below.
When I stood on the black dragon's head, I couldn't see anything.
I pondered for a moment, enjoying the scenery along the way.
"Besides, Byron was quick to react this time, leaving me with no opening to strike. Ultimately, even if he knew the truth of the matter, he has made up for his mistakes with his service. I cannot pursue him further."
Moonrise City, located on the coast of the Eastern Sea, served as a bridge between Brilliant City and Seaview City.
If possible, I really wanted to seize Moonrise City in one fell swoop and bring it under my control.
Unfortunately, the Stuart family did not give me that opportunity.
But even so, having confiscated so many noble assets, nearly half of Moonrise City was now under my name.
There was no public land ownership in this era, so all land could be bought and sold freely.
As the local power, the Stuart family naturally possessed the most resources.
What the other nobles possessed together only barely allowed them to share the city with the Stuart family.
The nobles involved in this rebellion included nearly half of the high-ranking nobility in Moonrise City.
The land they owned allowed me to instantly take possession of about one-third of the surrounding area of the city.
This meant that at least one-third of the city had fallen under my jurisdiction.
However, at this stage, I was stretched too thin.
"I have no other choice. I simply have no other usable people on hand."
I shook my head helplessly. If possible, I would have liked to select someone carefully.
But the current conditions did not allow for it.
Other than Izzy, there was seemingly no one else who could step into this position.
"Your Highness, if all those industries are handed over to him..."
"There are no 'ifs'. All the land deeds are in my hands. I have only delegated full authority to him and given him the right of use, but I have not given him ownership. These things still belong to me, and he cannot sell them."
Ligeia nodded slightly. Her Highness was indeed Her Highness, always so thorough in her thinking.
Everything was detailed, without a single loophole.
"Since Your Highness was already prepared, I will stop worrying blindly."
Izzy really wasn't suited for the position of a mayor.
He was better suited as a diplomat or a personal envoy.
Positions that involved more communication and fewer administrative duties.
I calculated in my heart that when I got back, I had to finalize the enrollment of children from humble origins.
Education must not be neglected, no matter how poor we are, and children must not suffer, no matter how hard it gets.
I had to create a complete education system.
Using Brilliant City and the northeast region as pilot sites, I would expand it step by step.
As I planned every future step in my mind, the beautiful landscape below continued to flash past my eyes.
And so, I leisurely made my way back to Brilliant City amidst the howling winds.
...
Brilliant City, the noble district in the south.
Inside a manor.
An old man gently knocked on the study door.
"Master, news has come from the front. The Saintess has returned with the dragon knight army and is expected to arrive in Brilliant City around two o'clock this afternoon."
There was silence in the room for a moment before the voice of a middle-aged man spoke.
"I understand. Inform the people involved in the plan to stop everything."
"Yes."
Without another word, the old man simply acknowledged the order and turned to leave.
Only moments after the old butler left, a loud crash suddenly echoed from the room.
Crash!
It sounded like a piece of porcelain being smashed heavily against the floor.
At the same time, the man's angry, low growl could be heard.
"I didn't think her timing for returning would be so perfect. The capture in Moonrise City failed, and I couldn't even manage to slow her down. Now, the epidemic can no longer be used as an excuse to attack that little girl."
After another long silence, a long sigh came from the man in the room.
"All that effort... wasted!"
"However! This will at least bring her some trouble. I must consider the next step."
As the words fell, the room returned to a deathly silence.
Meanwhile, just outside Brilliant City.
A middle-aged fat woman walked out of the city gate, heading straight for the Refugee City.
However, halfway there, the middle-aged woman suddenly tore off the mask on her face.
Revealing her true features.
It was Daisy.
"Lady Daisy, the Sovereign's command is for you to proceed to Seaview City immediately and ensure you secure a place in its reconstruction."
As soon as Daisy revealed her true face, several people stepped out from the shadows.
One of them was holding reins and handed them to Daisy.
"I understand."
Daisy nodded. From the moment she received news of the Saintess, she had realized one thing.
It would likely be difficult for her to continue operating in Brilliant City.
"Lady Daisy, there is also this."
As he spoke, the man took out a bottle of potion.
Looking at the black liquid, a look of terror instantly appeared on Daisy's face.
"This is!?"
"Yes, my lady."
Daisy accepted the black potion with a complicated expression.
This was something she never wanted to see, no matter what.
But now, she had to face it.
"Lady, please drink."
"Right here?!"
Daisy's expression changed drastically.
"Yes. The Sovereign ordered us to ensure you consume the potion before sending you away. Otherwise... there may be trouble."
Daisy grit her teeth, her gaze cold.
"Lady Daisy, you stabbed Nina but did not kill her. From that moment on, you should have understood that you must drink this. The Alchemists' Association's members are all over the continent. You would likely be caught by countless alchemists the moment you stepped into the next city. You know... their methods."
Hearing this, Daisy couldn't help but take a deep breath.
She opened the bottle and tilted her head back to drain it in one gulp.
Instantly, a bitter and slightly spicy sensation slid down her throat and into her stomach.
In the next second, Daisy's face became distorted, and a groan of agony that didn't sound human escaped her lips.
Under everyone's gaze, Daisy's body made cracking sounds as if her bones were shattering.
Her originally plain face began to twist. The bones of her entire face were completely crushed and reorganized.
The feeling of bones being smashed and then slowly healing within her body made Daisy feel as though she were better off dead!
Her originally black hair fell out in an instant, leaving her head completely bald.
At the same time, her hands and feet began to extend. Her original height of 1.6 meters grew to over 1.7 meters in an instant.
The intense pain made it so that she couldn't even groan anymore.
She could only lie on the muddy ground, twitching continuously.
After a while, a strange woman covered in mud climbed up from the ground.
Everything had changed except for those black eyes.
A slender waist, a voluptuous figure, and no longer a plain appearance, but a glamorous face.
In less than half an hour, her entire person had completely transformed.
However, her head was currently devoid of a single strand of hair, making her look quite striking.
"Lady Daisy... oh no, from today on, I should call you Davina."
The man, who had watched the entire scene with indifference, took out a new identification document from his robe.
"This is the information of the original owner of this body while she was alive. This is her identity, and everything is perfectly in order. However, I must remind you that this is the last bone-reshaping potion you can endure. If you are exposed again, I think it would be better for you to go meet God."
"I understand."
Daisy—no, it was Davina now.
She nodded with a cold expression. Even now, the bones in her body were still aching.
But she endured the pain and took the documents.
Then she mounted her horse and rode off into the distance without looking back.
...
Two o'clock in the afternoon.
Lola, Augus, Audis, and a series of other subordinates had already arrived at the main gate of the Temple.
Everyone was dressed in formal attire, and there were several strangers beside them.
One of them wore a deep red bishop's robe identical to Lola's.
However, Lola's robe was red with silver trim, while this bishop's was red with gold trim.
From this detail alone, one could see there was a certain gap between their statuses.
"When will the Saintess return?"
A Cardinal and an Archbishop might only be separated by one word in their titles, but the difference in their status was significant.
Lola's indifferent voice responded under everyone's gaze.
"Archbishop Ferdinand, based on the time, Her Highness departed at nine this morning. She is currently traveling with the wind, so she is expected to arrive in about five hours, which would be around two o'clock now."
Two months ago, during the Battle of the Four-Ring Mountains, the Saintess of the Moon had teamed up with the dragon race to capture Butcher Zuka.
She had then immediately notified the Holy See.
Capturing an entity at the level of a demon general was a first in a thousand years.
Even the Holy See did not dare to be the least bit negligent.
They had immediately sent an Archbishop of sufficient standing to verify the matter.
And so, Ferdinand had come.
He was the Archbishop responsible for the relationship between the Holy See and the Kingdom of the Moon.
And according to Lola's knowledge, this Archbishop's identity had another special aspect.
That was... he was the younger brother of the current Pope.
Diocletian's brother.
Ferdinand Clapham.
Although Lola had only seen him a few times via video, a careful look revealed that Ferdinand did indeed share seventy percent of his features with the Pope.
If placed together, there would be no doubt they were brothers.
However, the temperament of this Ferdinand was worlds apart from the Pope's.
Standing before the Pope, even Lola couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated.
Those eyes that seemed to see through everything made Lola secretly tremble.
But in the eyes of the Ferdinand before her, there was a trace of sinister coldness.
It was completely inconsistent with the temperament an Archbishop should have.
Lola thought that if he weren't the Pope's brother, with that temperament, he probably wouldn't have become an Archbishop in his entire life.
Regardless, the Holy Church was based on benevolence. An Archbishop with such sinister eyes would never have been chosen without enough capability to compensate for it.
It made sense when she thought about it. The attitude the Holy Church had to show the public must be benevolent, humble, friendly, and polite.
They couldn't exactly put someone with a negative face in front of the people, could they?
Thinking of this, Lola became a bit more polite.
"Archbishop Ferdinand, if you feel fatigued, you may go and rest first. Once Her Highness returns, I will immediately send someone to invite you."
"There is no need. I will wait here. What is an Archbishop supposed to be fussy about?"
As soon as Lola finished speaking, a refreshing voice reached everyone's ears from behind them.
Everyone's gaze instinctively sought out the source of the voice.
Under their watch, a young girl dressed in simple armor walked out from the Temple.
A long ponytail swayed behind her, and a giant blunt sword was strapped to her back.
A hint of displeasure was on her face as she glanced at Ferdinand and added another remark.
"When our Holy Church selects an Archbishop, putting everything else aside, we don't tolerate any weakness in terms of strength. Does an Archbishop not even have this much physical stamina? Or is it... that as an Archbishop, you don't even have the patience to wait for the Saintess?"
Hearing this, Ferdinand's expression became even gloomier.
He wanted to argue, but among the crowd, a massive humanoid creature over two and a half meters tall suddenly raised a finger toward the sky.
"Look! She's back."
Instinctively, everyone's eyes turned toward the sky.
In the midst of the dark clouds, a long dragon composed of two thousand dragons was soaring and diving through the gale.
As the distance closed, everyone's gaze focused on the skysoar dragon at the very front.
Looking at that figure with silver hair and red eyes, a hint of moisture appeared behind Lola's glasses at some point.
Your Highness, you are finally back.
Rate on N.U.
