The Holy Son

Fear of the dark is humanity's oldest instinct.

As the midnight bell chimed its last note, Lu Li jolted awake from his slumber. A torrent of unfamiliar memories flooded his mind, sending a sharp, stabbing pain through his head.

Lucrezio Borgia... Who is that?

Why is my mind filled with this person's memories?

The pain lasted for just over a minute before Lu Li slowly sat up in bed, panting slightly, still shaken by the awful experience.

But before he could figure out what was happening, another series of tolling bells echoed through the deep night. A strike, another strike, and another.

The midnight bell had only just ceased, and now it rang out once more, carrying a faint, suppressed grief.

Lu Li's heart stirred, feeling a strange sense of familiarity. Suddenly, Lucrezio's memories began to churn, and an irrepressible sorrow welled up in his chest.

Though Lu Li did not want to be controlled by these foreign memories, tears still spilled from the corners of his eyes.

When Anthelia pushed the door open, this was the scene she beheld: a youth with golden hair cascading over his shoulders leaning against the headboard under the moonlight, his eyes staring blankly at the pitch-black night sky outside, a single tear slowly tracing down his fair, delicate cheek.

Her heart leaped. This pitiable boy, this beloved Holy Son—an inexplicable mix of joy and frustration swirled in her chest, but she ultimately swallowed all those unspeakable feelings down.

She was the Commander of the Holy Knights. The Holy Knights were not only the sword of the Holy State but also responsible for safeguarding the Holy Son's safety, and tonight happened to be her shift.

“Your Highness,” Anthelia spoke softly.

The youth slowly turned his head. Though he tried his best to suppress his sorrow, Anthelia could still see the hidden grief deep within his eyes.

She desperately wanted to... rush over and embrace His Highness tightly, smoothing away all the sadness and grief in his heart.

With supreme restraint, Anthelia averted her gaze and slowly revealed the reason behind the tolling bells: “His Holiness the Pope has returned to the embrace of the Lord.”

She thought she should feel sad for the benevolent Pope, but in truth, she felt nothing. Even cold, harsh words like the passing of the Pope slipped from her tongue with effortless ease.

“Holy Son... Me?” Lu Li's lips trembled, his pupils dilating. “The Pope... is dead?”

Holy shit! In an instant, Lu Li was wide awake. He had transmigrated!

No wonder a set of memories belonging to someone named 'Lucrezio Borgia' had suddenly appeared in his mind. It seemed this was the body's original owner.

But as he quickly browsed through Lucrezio's memories, he not only discovered that this was a matriarchal world, but more importantly, this damn Pope had died at the worst possible time.

Lu Li was not the naive brat Lucrezio had been. With a bit of thought, he knew exactly what kind of situation he, as the Holy Son of the Holy State, was about to face.

Now was a time of power vacuum in the Holy State. With the Pope returning to heaven, setting aside the neighboring countries watching like hungry tigers, who knew how many factions within the Holy State itself would want to carve up the power that once belonged to the Pope?

Thinking his grief had driven him to incoherent mumbling, Anthelia could not help but feel a pang of pity. She softly comforted him, “His Holiness passed away very peacefully. You... you still have us.” As she spoke these words, her heart beat slightly faster. She cautiously observed the youth's face, only feeling a bit of relief—and a touch of disappointment—when she saw no change in his expression.

“Let us go.”

Lu Li put on his clothes. After standing up, he noticed Anthelia was still standing frozen on the spot. He looked over and realized why when he saw her flushed face.

Are the women here really this innocent? They blush just from watching a man change his clothes.

“I... I understand, Your Highness. I will lead the way...”

Under his gaze, Anthelia felt as though her entire body was on fire. She answered in a slight panic and quickly stepped ahead to lead the way.

Although she had not uttered a single word about the purpose of her late-night arrival, Lu Li had already guessed most of it. Now that the Pope had passed away, he, as the Holy Son, had to grasp the situation immediately, lest he become a mere lamb to the slaughter.

The two walked through the candlelit corridor and eventually stopped before the grand doors of the temple.

“Your Highness, Lady Julia is waiting for you.” Anthelia did not step forward any further, remaining where she stood.

At this very moment, even she did not possess the authority to step into the core of the Holy State's power.

“Julia,” Lu Li repeated the name in his mind.

Julia Rowe, the youngest Cardinal in the history of the Holy State. In his memory, she was exceptionally beautiful, but Lucrezio seemed to have never seen her smile. Every time they met, her lovely face was always cold as ice.

After all, as the Holy Son, everyone would greet him with a warm smile, except for her. Thus, the young Lucrezio had always been terrified of meeting her.

Lucrezio's memories of her were sparse, but catching even a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg was enough for Lu Li to judge that she was definitely not someone to be trifled with.

To occupy such a high position at such a young age—there was no way she was a simple character.

Lu Li took a deep breath and stepped into the temple.

Once inside, it was a far cry from the solemn, tense atmosphere he had anticipated. The temple was not desolate at all. Several key figures from Lucrezio's memory were present, and standing at the center of the crowd, dressed in wine-red robes embroidered with gold, was Julia Rowe.

Her expression was calm as she softly gave instructions to the crowd. With every word she spoke, the bishops would nod with smiles.

This seemingly harmonious scene only made Lu Li's heart beat even more frantically.

“His Highness, the Holy Son, has arrived.”

Someone murmured, and in that instant, everyone's gaze swept over to Lu Li in unison.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself beforehand, he still felt an immense mountain of pressure at this moment.

“I wish... to look upon His Holiness one last time.” These were the first words Lu Li spoke upon entering.

The crowd showed no surprise, as if they had long expected him to say this. However, none of them spoke; instead, their eyes drifted toward the woman in the center.

Julia quietly gazed at the sorrowful youth. After a long moment, she stepped out from the crowd and slowly approached Lu Li.

She was so tall...

She towered over him by more than a full head. Were the women in this world all this tall?

Lu Li reflexively tilted his head up slightly to look at her, locking eyes with her calm gaze.

A trace of surprise flashed in Julia's eyes. After all, Lucrezio had never dared to look her in the eye.

Realizing this instantly, Lu Li cursed his mistake inwardly and quickly lowered his head.

Immediately after, a hand was extended before him.

Lu Li stared at the pale, soft palm. Still caught up in his irritation over his blunder, it took him a moment to realize what the owner of the hand—Julia—intended.

He placed his palm in hers, and in the next second, she turned her hand and clasped his hand firmly.

“Come with me, little Lucrezio.”

As Julia spoke, she led him by the hand toward the crystal coffin in the center of the temple.

Yet, before they could even finish their short walk, Julia's next words broke him out in a cold sweat.

“Your Highness, after tonight, you shall be the new Pope.”