Confession

“Watch out!”

Someone shouted, startling Lu Li. But before he could react, a sharp, searing pain burst from his shoulder.

“An assassin! Protect His Holiness!”

The chanting came to an abrupt halt, and chaos instantly broke out across the plaza.

The knights moved swiftly, springing into action almost the moment the shout rang out.

Anthelia was the first to charge forward, but no matter how fast she was, she could not outrun a flying arrow. She could only watch helplessly as the sharp tip pierced Lu Li's shoulder.

Her beloved Holy Son, the Holy Son she so revered, was wounded right before her eyes during this grand ceremony, and she had been utterly powerless to stop it.

“Your Holiness!” Anthelia threw herself in front of Lu Li, shielding him securely with her own body.

“Anthelia...” Lu Li seemed to finally come to his senses. Glancing down at the wound on his shoulder, his voice trembled. “It hurts so much.”

It truly hurt—far beyond what he had expected. Prior to this, he had never imagined that injury to this body would inflict such excruciating pain, as if a massive hammer had slammed down and shattered his bones to pieces.

Lu Li's face grew deathly pale. Surrounded by the knights, he was ushered back toward the temple.

“A physician! Someone fetch a physician, quickly!” Anthelia was nearly in tears from distress.

If only she had stayed by His Holiness's side, if only the guards had been tighter... would His Holiness have been spared from injury?

Guilt and remorse consumed her heart; she wished with all her soul that she could have taken the arrow in Lu Li's stead, even if it cost her life!

On the other side, Julia had her forces surround the plaza. Her pale, serene face had darkened ominously, a furious fire raging within her heart.

When she had seen the arrow pierce the youth's body, her heart felt as if it were squeezed by a giant hand, nearly ceasing to beat. She could not accept losing him, nor could the Holy Court endure losing another Pope.

“Go! Bring the culprit back to me!” The Cardinal's raspy voice dripped with chilling intent.

The knights shuddered involuntarily, silently pitying the fool who had dared to injure the new Pope.

The knights quickly dispersed. While a detachment kept the plaza sealed off, the rest began sweeping through the crowd, searching for suspicious individuals who might be carrying weapons.

Inside the temple, Lu Li learned from the old physician that the arrow removed from his shoulder was not poisoned. The reason he felt so dizzyingly lightheaded from the pain was due to his highly extraordinary constitution.

“After being baptized in the Sacred Spring, Your Holiness's body underwent astonishing transformations. History has never seen a Pope as magnificent as you.”

Applying salve to his wound, the old physician spoke with awe, “Your body, your soul... it is as if you were born to suffer trials. Being so pure and holy, you cannot bear the impurities of the mortal realm. Any physical harm invites those worldly impurities, magnifying your pain a thousandfold.”

Lu Li was in so much pain his tears were nearly spilling over. Gritting his teeth, he looked at the devout old physician and couldn't help asking, “Hss—is... isn't there any way... to, to ease... this pain?”

“Why ease the pain?”

The old physician looked bewildered, her aged voice sounding solemn and sacred. “We, like sheep, have all gone astray, each turned to his own way; yet the Lord has laid upon him the iniquity of us all.”

Lu Li felt utterly helpless. If the Lord was supposed to bear the suffering, then let Him bear it—why did he have to be dragged into this too?

Of course, he couldn't actually voice those thoughts out loud. Seeing that the old physician was completely inflexible, he turned a piteous look toward Anthelia.

Though Anthelia couldn't bear to see him in such agony, she reminded herself that this was a glorious miracle unseen in the Holy State for nearly a millennium—a holy path His Holiness was destined to walk. Thus, she turned her head away, deliberately pretending not to notice his gaze.

“Your Holiness, the Holy State will achieve even greater glory because of you.” A benevolent smile appeared on the old physician's devout face. “May the Lord bless you.”

Centuries ago, the radiance of the Holy State illuminated the entire continent. Back then, the Holy City was the holy ground in the eyes of all kings and lords, and lines of pilgrims stretched to the far corners of the land. Silver and spices flowed into the Holy Court's treasury like water, and a single command from the Pope could force monarchs across half the continent to bow their heads.

That had once been the era of the Holy State.

Although the Holy State remained the leader of the Western nations today, the rapid rise of families such as Rowe and Borgia had brought relentless wars in their wake.

The rulers of various kingdoms saw themselves as conquerors, adhering strictly to the law of the jungle. As the armies of kings clashed in endless conquest, the influence of the Holy State steadily withered with every war.

Lu Li didn't believe he had the capability to restore the Holy State to its former glory. If so many Popes before him had failed to accomplish it, what made this old woman think he could?

He couldn't even be bothered to retort.

“Very well, Your Holiness needs to rest properly over the coming days. Avoid strenuous movement at all costs, and take care not to let the wound get wet...”

The old physician finished bandaging Lu Li's wound and rambled on with a long list of instructions.

Lu Li didn't bother listening. In his view, if not for the excruciating pain, such a minor injury wouldn't even be a big deal. Beside him, the female attendant carefully jotted down every single precaution in a notebook.

By the time Lu Li saw Julia again, it was already evening. The female attendant informed him that Julia had captured the assassin and requested an audience with the Holy See. Thus, he had to set down the history of the continent he was reading, return to the temple, and sit on the cold throne to await her arrival.

Footsteps gradually drew closer from afar, and Julia's figure came into view. She had shed the pure white liturgical robe from earlier, swapping it for her crimson mantle. In her hand, she dragged a tightly bound woman with disheveled hair, stepping toward the throne one pace at a time.

“Julia.” Lu Li glanced at the bound woman before bringing his gaze back to the young Cardinal, speaking calmly, “The attendant said you captured the assassin.”

Julia released her grip, letting the woman tumble down to grovel on the red carpet before Lu Li.

“Your Holiness, it is this person. She is an assassin sent by the Kingdom of Northland to harm you.” Julia's voice was cold as she pointed at the woman on the floor, completely indifferent to whether she lived or died.

Lu Li studied the woman on the ground once more, then shifted his scrutinizing gaze to Julia. Julia did not avert her eyes, meeting his look with absolute calm.

After a long moment, Lu Li let out a soft sigh. Looking away from Julia, he turned his attention back to the woman on the floor.

“And you? Do you have anything to say?”

Bowing low, the woman lifted her head. When her eyes caught sight of the bandages on the young Pope's shoulder, a flash of guilt flickered across her gaze before she promptly lowered her head again.

Though she repented a hundred, a thousand times in her heart, when she finally opened her mouth, only three words came out: “I am guilty.”

“In that case, I forgive your sins.”

Hearing this, the young Pope upon the throne, the merciful and compassionate Anointed One, the shepherd who held all living beings in his heart, thus spoke.