Because the book cipher was not convenient enough, Beatrice Dulan rambled on for two pages of letter paper, yet ultimately conveyed only a single sentence—"Someone within the Church wants to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth."
The "Kingdom of God on Earth" was not a new term in this world.
It was recorded in The Canon that in very ancient times, there was originally only one country on the earth. This country was ruled by Seven Sages. These sages possessed noble bloodlines and virtuous characters; they loved the common people and devoutly believed in Ig. They preferred to live simple lives, wearing only linen clothes and eating only vegetarian food, just to build magnificent statues for Ig.
Ig was moved by the sages' piety, so He bestowed upon this country inexhaustible food and wealth. The trees always bore delicious fruits, the rivers always flowed with honey water, and the birds always sang the most melodious songs... This country was called the "Kingdom of God on Earth."
From this, the term "Kingdom of God on Earth" came to be used by people to describe a fantastical, beautiful nation where material goods were extremely abundant, and everyone could live happily and without worry.
When was this term most commonly used?
During rebellions, of course!
Over a thousand years ago, during the final period of the Wimbledon Empire, when the people were destitute and the country was falling apart, many rebel armies raised the slogan of "Establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth." This included the ancestors of the current Oran Imperial Family, the Hollowin family.
"Is there someone in the Church who wants to be Emperor too?"
Charlotte spawned such a thought, but quickly felt the probability was not high.
The Church in this world had indeed never given up its interference in secular power, but due to the existence of the True God, the Pope's authority was actually higher than that of the Emperor. The fact that a former Emperor of the Lesalei Empire was forced to take off his imperial crown and become a king was clear proof of this. Therefore, the highest levels of the Church that Charlotte knew of generally regarded the position of Pope as the goal of their lifelong struggle, rather than becoming some emperor.
Just as Charlotte was struggling to ponder what this intelligence sent back by Beatrice actually meant, Cecilia, who had been waiting by the side, could not help but ask again, "Deacon Vanessa of the Rose Priory is resting in the reception room. Do you need to see her?"
Most of the management layers of the Priories were divided into four ranks: First was the Shepherd, second was the Priest, and third was the Acolyte. The Shepherd was the highest management position in the Priory, generally held by the most prestigious person, which was the Mentor. However, some Mentors of Priories did not like to participate in administrative management and would let others serve as Shepherd.
As for the Rose Priory, the situation was special. Its members were mostly noble young ladies and madams, and the Priests and Acolytes were mostly these ladies and madams as well. You could neither expect these pampered individuals to truly practice asceticism, nor could you expect them to do hard and tiring work. Thus, the Rose Priory had an additional position—Deacon. The so-called Deacon was naturally the person who got things done.
Hearing Cecilia's words, Charlotte snapped back to reality and nodded. "Of course, I must see her."
The Rose Priory was currently one of Charlotte's most important windows for understanding internal affairs, so it was necessary to maintain good relations with everyone within the Priory.
Cecilia left to receive the order and soon brought a lady into the study. She wore a nun's habit, appeared to be about thirty years old, and had a clear and beautiful appearance.
"It is an honor to meet you, Miss Mellerfield." Sister Vanessa performed a Church courtesy to Charlotte.
Charlotte stood up to return the courtesy to Sister Vanessa, then smiled apologetically. "I stayed up late working last night and was a bit tired, so I got up late today. I am truly sorry to have kept you waiting."
"Your Excellency is diligent in government affairs; this is a virtue," Sister Vanessa said with a smile. "I remember coming to the Lanwan Viscountcy three years ago. At that time, the Viscountcy was still quite desolate. It was so different from the prosperity I see today that I almost thought I had come to the wrong place. This change must be attributed to Your Excellency's diligence and effective governance."
"You overpraise me." Charlotte smiled and invited Sister Vanessa to sit down, then asked Linda to serve tea and snacks.
After the two sat down facing each other, Charlotte asked, "Did you come to the Lanwan Viscountcy to go to the Soqya Peninsula? The Soqya Peninsula has not been very peaceful recently."
The Lanwan Viscountcy had not yet attracted much attention from the Church and friars; the fact that Pastor Fado was still raising chickens recently was clear proof. Therefore, Charlotte guessed that Sister Vanessa was likely just passing through, rather than coming to the Lanwan Viscountcy specifically.
Sure enough, Sister Vanessa shook her head and said, "I am not going to the Soqya Peninsula, but to the Lesalei Kingdom. Mother Banassa commissioned me to lead a team to pick up a noble person who wishes to serve the Lord God."
"Oh? May I ask which noble person it is?" Charlotte asked with interest.
"Of course, this is no secret," Sister Vanessa said readily. "It is the Princess of the Lesalei Kingdom, the youngest daughter of King Foss, Her Highness Martina Tenhag."
Charlotte raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Even a Princess of the Lesalei Kingdom wants to follow Mother Banassa in cultivation?"
"This is only natural," Sister Vanessa could not help but reveal a look of pride. "For a noble girl like Her Highness the Princess, if she wants to convert to God's seat, our Rose Priory and Mentor Banassa are definitely the best choice."
Charlotte nodded, then smiled and said, "Deacon Vanessa, since Mother Banassa could entrust such an important task to you, you must be deeply trusted by her."
"I was one of Mentor Banassa's earliest ten students. I have served by the Mentor's side for twenty years. Compared to others, the Mentor does indeed understand me a bit better," Sister Vanessa said with a slight hint of showing off.
"Then you are an Extraordinary, right?" Charlotte asked suddenly.
"Ah... yes." Sister Vanessa found it a bit strange that Charlotte suddenly asked this, but she answered nonetheless.
"How many wings?" Charlotte asked again.
"My Extraordinary aptitude is relatively poor. I only practice the Candy Faction, and I am currently only at One Wing." Speaking of this, Sister Vanessa covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. Although her aptitude was not good, she did not feel embarrassed about it. Anyway, noble young ladies and madams practiced Extraordinary factions mostly just for fun, to maintain their looks, and to have something to talk about at tea parties. she assumed that Miss Charlotte, born of a great noble family before her, held the same idea.
"One Wing, huh..." Charlotte nodded. The jeweled flower on her chest told her that Vanessa had no suspicion or vigilance and was in a relatively relaxed mood, so there was a high probability she was not lying.
When Charlotte looked up again, her pupils had already turned dark red. She stared straight into Sister Vanessa's eyes.
Sister Vanessa met that dark red gaze. At first, she was only puzzled as to why Charlotte was staring at her like that. Then, a wave of dizziness struck her. Vanessa felt her brain suddenly turning upside down, as if something was forcefully flooding in.
Before Vanessa could figure out what had happened, everything was already over.
"Master..."
Sister Vanessa knelt before Charlotte, her gaze still somewhat blank and bewildered.
Charlotte let out a long breath and wiped the fine sweat from her forehead, feeling the consumption was somewhat heavy.
Just now, Charlotte had used "Beguilement" to ambush the unsuspecting Sister Vanessa, forcibly changing the object of Vanessa's faith from Ig to herself. Doing so undoubtedly carried certain risks. Recently, the "Beguilement" ability had grown significantly. Charlotte had tested it on Sophia several times and confirmed that this ability could already forcibly twist the thinking of a One-Winged Warlock. But the problem was that the little slave girl Sophia was already very obedient to Charlotte; Charlotte could not guarantee how good the effect of this twisting would be on other One-Winged Warlocks.
But fortunately, Charlotte had the help of the Miracle Jeweled Flower. She could accurately grasp the moment when Sister Vanessa was off guard, minimizing the resistance brought by mental resilience. Looking at it now, she had indeed successfully controlled Sister Vanessa.
"Get up and sit back in the chair," Charlotte said, pointing to the armchair Vanessa had sat in earlier.
"Yes." Vanessa responded, then sat back in her seat tremblingly, only she kept her body tense the whole time, completely lacking her previous relaxed posture.
Seeing this, Charlotte frowned slightly, feeling that her work this time was a bit "rough." If there were outsiders present, they would definitely be able to tell at a glance that there was something wrong with Vanessa's state.
Mm, sure enough, I still need more practice...
Charlotte thought secretly in her heart, then opened her mouth to ask, "Do you know of the Kingdom of God on Earth?"
"I know," Vanessa nodded and said. "It is recorded in The Canon. The kingdom of the Seven Sages, a kingdom blessed by God."
"Do you know if anyone in the Church wants to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth?" Charlotte asked again.
"This..." The look of confusion in Vanessa's eyes grew heavier. "Many people in the Church want to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth..."
This answer was somewhat beyond Charlotte's expectations. "Hmm? Why do you say that?"
"Some clerics believe that the Kingdom of God on Earth is a symbol of piety and beauty. Humans pay with piety, and God bestows beauty. It is the most ideal state of interaction between God and humans," Vanessa said with a frown. "But this is definitely wrong. How can pious faith be used as a bargaining chip?"
Charlotte suddenly understood. This kind of thinking was indeed very consistent with the mindset of those corrupt clerics in the Church today. However, Vanessa's answer was not what Charlotte wanted. She pondered for a while, then asked again, "Have you heard Mother Banassa mention anyone recently who wants to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth?"
Vanessa frowned and recalled for a long time, then suddenly raised a finger and said, "Great Monk Charles Royce! Mother Banassa once said: 'Charles has gone crazy; all he thinks about all day is the Kingdom of God on Earth'."
"Charles Royce? Who is that? Is he very famous?" Charlotte asked in confusion.
"He is quite famous among the Church and friars. For the secular world, he might not be that famous," Vanessa explained for Charlotte. "Great Monk Royce was once the favorite student of the previous Pope. When the previous Pope passed away, he was a strong contender for the new Pope, but he gave up competing for the position. In fact, after Charles Royce gave up running for Pope, he was actually still qualified to serve as a Regional Archbishop of a region, but Charles Royce gave all of this up. He directly withdrew from the Church and became an ascetic monk."
"Oh? Then since Charles Royce went to practice asceticism, why does he want to establish the Kingdom of God on Earth?" Charlotte was a bit puzzled; this didn't sound like the corrupt cleric she had envisioned.
"I am not too clear about this either." Vanessa shook her head. "I heard that Great Monk Royce is a believer of Pope Saint Roman. He must have been influenced by Saint Roman."
Saint Roman was the Pope who invented the Holy Anointing Oil.
However, Charlotte became even more confused. "What does Saint Roman have to do with the Kingdom of God on Earth?"
"Saint Roman once toured the Kingdom of God on Earth of the Seven Sages in a dream."
Sister Vanessa blinked and said.
The legend of Saint Roman touring the Kingdom of God on Earth in a dream was widely circulated. Everyone in the Church thought this story was very good; Saint Roman had personally verified God's gift to the pious. Therefore, the Church's missionaries often liked to tell this story to believers during services. If Charlotte had gone to the Church to listen to a sermon seriously even once, she would not be completely ignorant of this story.
"Is there such a thing?" Charlotte muttered to herself, not feeling ashamed of her ignorance at all.
After asking these questions, Charlotte did not immediately let Sister Vanessa leave but kept her in the Lanwan Viscountcy for three days. During these three days, Charlotte cast "Beguilement" on Sister Vanessa once a day to consolidate the twisting effect.
At the same time, taking advantage of these three days of contact, Charlotte also learned some gossip from Sister Vanessa. For example, Mother Banassa was actually not the old maid the outside world thought she was; she had several lovers and a son, and now her son had even given birth to a grandson. Another example was that the daughter of the late Emperor Leopold Hollowin, Princess Cassandra, actually had a lover several years younger than her behind the back of her husband, the Duke of Panma, Madachi Torne. That lover was the son of her neighbor, the Marquis of Blackstone Castle, Arthur Leckman. Yet another example was that Princess Martina Tenhag, who was about to join the Rose Priory, was not so much leaving home to practice cultivation as she was a hostage regularly handed over to the Church by the Lesalei Kingdom...
It was hard to say if these pieces of gossip would be of any use to the current Charlotte; she could only listen to them as entertainment news. Even hearing that Arthur Leckman had almost become her fiancé, Charlotte felt no ripples in her heart.
It was not until Vanessa spat out another sentence that Charlotte was suddenly startled awake.
"After Charles Royce broke away from the Church, he founded a Priory and served as Mentor and Shepherd himself. That Priory is not very famous; it is called the Silver Star Priory."
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉