Envoy

Julia knew very well that she had no right to receive such grace.

This youth had to remain forever pure, forever sacred; not a single stain could be allowed to touch him.

Compared to his sun-like purity, she was like an abyss burying countless bones.

No matter how blazing the sunlight was, approaching the abyss would only result in being ruthlessly swallowed whole.

Feeling the cool warmth of the youth's ankle in her palm, Julia calmly and slowly set his foot back down.

“I am unworthy of Your Holiness's grace. Though it is a pity I cannot accept it, there is one thing I hope Your Holiness keeps in mind.”

She spoke in an unhurried tone, “Power is born a wild beast. Only by letting it run free and grow unchecked will it become even stronger.”

She realized that Lu Li seemed never to view himself as any different from others, leading to a warped perception of power.

He perhaps thought that using power meant acting willful or indulgent on occasion like this, but that wasn't exercising power at all.

An emperor who was once burned at the gallows had said that when a person reaches the pinnacle of power, they can no longer be viewed as a human being.

As for someone like Lu Li, Julia had always believed he was born extraordinary—a natural sacred being, a natural sovereign. Such an existence belonged at the pinnacle of the world, to be worshiped and revered.

Yet at this moment, Julia had to admit in her heart that she deeply adored the current Holy See. She liked seeing his flustered, angry expression, and enjoyed quietly gazing at his blushing face.

Thus, it was hard to say whether her defying His Holiness Sylvester's last testament to push Lu Li onto the throne was driven by her own selfish desires.

Before His Holiness Sylvester passed away, he had never left a will decreeing that Lucrezio Borgia should be crowned. The College of Cardinals had all but tacitly accepted that the next Pope would be the decisive young Cardinal. Yet in the end, the young Holy Son became the new Pope.

“Oh.”

“I see.”

“I understand.”

Lu Li's response was flat, as if he didn't care about so-called power or status at all. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief because Julia hadn't actually taken off his shoe to bend down and kiss his toes.

If Julia had actually done that, he would never have been able to look at this illustrious Cardinal through normal eyes again.

After a brief silence, as if everything that should and shouldn't have happened had already run its course, Julia stayed no longer and walked straight out of the Tribunal.

Lu Li watched her walk away, only then suddenly realizing something was wrong.

“Hey! Take me out with you!”

He pushed himself up, only to stumble back into the chair, staring blankly at the empty hall in dazed silence.

It hurt... It hurt so much. It was more than ten times worse than last time. Now, he couldn't even manage something as simple as standing up on his own.

Fortunately, Lu Li wasn't truly helpless. His beautiful, kind, and obedient knight commander guard remembered that he was still left all alone inside the Tribunal.

Seeing Julia leave, Anthelia rushed back into the hall, came to Lu Li's side, and helped him up.

“Your Holiness, are you all right?” Anthelia asked.

“I can hold on,” Lu Li answered, taking a deep breath.

Anthelia had some idea of what he had done, but she sensibly refrained from asking more, feeling only aching sympathy for the youth.

In the days that followed, Lu Li attended classes at the academy as usual, though Amore had not yet returned.

Word was that Mekal had made optimizations to the Holy Relic armaments, and Amore was now busy all day helping her test the new suit.

Lu Li himself was actually quite curious about the modified Holy Relic armaments, but unfortunately, that fellow Julia had issued strict orders forbidding him from taking even half a step into the testing grounds.

Keeping everything so secretive all day left him itching with curiosity, yet he had no way to catch a glimpse of the Holy Relic armaments in person.

Later, the tests concluded successfully, and Amore returned to the academy.

Time seemed to slow down. Every day was filled with blooming flowers and singing birds; the sunshine was gentle, and the breeze soft.

The front line of the Templar Knights advanced day after day. Everyone believed that before long, the Holy State would conquer the royal capital of Northland.

However, on the very day autumn arrived, the rumbling thunder of horse hooves echoed along the streets leading to the Holy Court.

For the first time since the young Pope acceded to the throne, the Holy City welcomed an envoy from a foreign nation.

Four white horses drew a luxurious carriage, accompanied by knights holding aloft flags bearing a golden lion.

The eyes of the onlookers followed the carriage as it moved slowly, until it drove into the Holy Court that served as the center of their faith.

“It's the flag of the Havaron Empire!” someone recognized the banner.

“An envoy from Havaron?”

“The Emperor of Havaron really couldn't sit still anymore!”

The crowd buzzed with chatter. Some had already sensed the undercurrents surging beneath the peaceful surface over recent days, and couldn't help but speculate about the purpose of the Havaron envoy's visit to the Holy City.

Since he was receiving an envoy from a neighboring state—and a powerful empire at that—Lu Li naturally had to attend in full formal attire.

Wearing the Triple Tiara symbolic of power, faith, and heritage, and draped in a holy robe as white as snow, he sat upon his grand throne with a dignified and tranquil expression.

Hilda, the envoy, looked up at the youth, her eyes unabashedly filled with marvel.

Before coming, she had heard of the young Pope's fame. She was told that even back when he was still the Holy Son, he had been the number one beauty in the Holy State; even the most fragrant rose in the world could not match his allure.

Hilda was not without having seen his portrait. Though the youth in the painting was equally beautiful and tender, how could a lifeless image compare to the real person?

The majesty and holiness emanating from his every gesture could never be adequately conveyed by a simple painting.

To conquer such a beautiful man—just imagining the scene was enough to make one's blood boil with excitement.

No wonder Her Majesty had commanded her to serve as envoy to the Holy State to seek the hand of this flower of the Holy State.

She knelt on one knee and presented the letter handwritten by the Emperor of Havaron, its seal stamped with blood-red wax.

She said, “Your Holiness, this is my purpose for coming here. Everything is written within this letter.”

Seemingly having sat for a bit too long, Lu Li shifted into a more relaxed position. Resting one hand on the throne's armrest to prop up his cheek, he signaled with a glance for a lady-in-waiting to bring him the letter.

As the paper unfolded and the words met Lu Li's eyes, he knit his brows slightly.

If he remembered correctly, wasn't the Emperor of Havaron's surname “Borgia”?

Ah—

Leonora Borgia.

She was the mother of his current body. He had almost forgotten he even had a mother.