At the junction of the abandoned and western districts of the city, stood a magnificent residence.

A rushing carriage arrived from afar and entered the residence, finally stopping in front of the villa.

The side door of the carriage opened, and a figure hidden in a cloak stepped out.

He declined the service of the servant and strode into the hall. As soon as he entered the hall, he began to roar, his aged voice full of anger.

"Jordan! You little rascal! Come out here!"

The angry roar echoed through the hall, frightening the maids inside.

Moments later, accompanied by hurried footsteps, a slender and handsome figure descended the stairs.

If Charlotte were here, she would have recognized him as none other than Jordan de Gaston, the young nobleman who had embarrassed himself in front of her at the Duke's banquet.

Seeing the cloaked figure, Jordan's expression changed slightly, becoming nervous.

Waving his hand, he instructed the maids to withdraw, then put on a respectful and pleasing face.

"Sir... Sir High Priest, why have you come?"

The visitor snorted and removed his cloak. He was none other than the High Priest of the Borde Duchy, Leonard de Caen!

The High Priest looked coldly at the young nobleman, his aged voice suppressing his anger.

"Why have I come? You should know."

"Tell me, did you, you little rascal, disclose the Thorn Rose matter to that fellow?"

Upon hearing the High Priest's words, Jordan's eyes evaded, his face filled with fear.

"Sir... Sir High Priest, you... please let me explain..."

"I... I had no choice..."

"Nonsense! I have sheltered you so many times, is this how you repay me? Aren't you afraid I'll expose those things you were involved in to your father?"

The High Priest exclaimed angrily.

Jordan turned pale and almost collapsed to the ground.

Just then, with a distant sigh, a gentle and calm voice came from the stairs.

"Lord Leonard, please calm down."

"Getting too angry is not good for your health, especially for someone of your age."

With steady footsteps, a man dressed in mage robes slowly descended.

Seeing the man, the High Priest's gaze narrowed slightly.

He squinted his eyes, his expression turning cold.

"It's you? You're here too?"

"Hmph! Perfect! About yesterday's blood magic incident, don't you owe me an explanation?"

The man smiled faintly.

He gestured for Jordan to step aside, then said calmly.

"Explanation? I wonder what kind of explanation Lord Leonard wanted. Do you want to ask about those missing girls, or about the Thorn Rose I left at the scene?"

The High Priest's expression immediately darkened.

"I must remind you, you've crossed the line. Don't forget our agreement!"

"Agreement? Hm? Wasn't it Lord Leonard who broke the agreement first?"

The man said indifferently.

"What do you mean?"

The High Priest's expression turned grim.

"What do I mean? It's exactly what I said. Without my consent, you made a deal with the Castell family's young lady behind my back. Where does that leave me?"

The man said leisurely. His voice also turned cold.

"Don't forget, we agreed from the beginning. The Castell family's young lady can belong to you, but the Castell domain must belong to me!"

The High Priest narrowed his eyes and said.

"That was just a temporary agreement. An empty promise. I didn't sign any contract with her."

"After I successfully ascend to the position of Archbishop in six months, you can do whatever you want with her, and I can even cooperate from the side!"

"Oh? Is that so? I'm afraid that by then, you'll happily take her away from this place of turmoil and forget about me, won't you? Besides, the Holy Court is not solely under your authority."

The man chuckled lightly.

The High Priest fell silent. He narrowed his eyes slightly.

"What exactly do you mean?"

"Nothing special, I just wanted to remind you not to forget our agreement."

"I know you're eager to make achievements and increase your own bargaining chips, which is normal, but please don't interfere with my plans."

The man said coldly.

Upon hearing the man's words, a flash of anger appeared in the High Priest's eyes, but it quickly turned into fear.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said.

"What do you want?"

"I want the Church to stop protecting Charlotte de Castell and to stop the theocracy from making demands over the Castell domain."

"That's impossible!"

The High Priest objected decisively.

"Then don't blame me for hindering you."

The man said leisurely.

"You! Asking for death!"

The High Priest immediately became furious. He grabbed the man, and the terrifying pressure of the Third-Tier Blazing Sun was unleashed.

The man's face turned slightly pale, but he managed to smile albeit with difficulty.

"You better calm down."

"If you kill me, the matter of you hiding the resurrection of the evil god, and those things you did before... will spread throughout the streets of Borde tomorrow."

The High Priest's expression changed slightly.

His hands trembled, his eyes turned red, and his gaze at the man was full of anger, but he eventually relented and let go.

"That's better, Lord High Priest."

The man said leisurely.

The High Priest closed his eyes slowly, grinding his teeth.

"I regret it now, I shouldn't have listened to your nonsense! I was deceived by you!"

"Hey, there are always regrets in life, but drowning in regret is not acceptable. We must move forward."

The man said with a smile. After speaking, he hinted meaningfully.

"Don't be too angry. Perhaps... helping me get hold of the Castell domain as soon as possible would also be beneficial to you."

The High Priest's interest was piqued.

"What do you mean?"

The man paused for a moment, then said leisurely.

"I heard that the great Duke of Borde's old injury has recurred, and he may not have many days left."

"If you were hoping he could lend you a hand, I'm afraid your hopes will be extinguished."

"His body has been overtaxed by years of war and can no longer tolerate divine treatment."

Upon hearing the man's words, the High Priest's expression changed slightly.

"Is that so?"

"Heh, otherwise, why do you think he's so eager to appoint his illegitimate son Leno as his heir?"

The man chuckled lightly.

The High Priest fell silent. His expression kept changing.

Looking at the High Priest lost in thought, the man chuckled.

"It seems you've thought about it."

"Borde is about to descend into chaos. At this time... whoever can get hold of the Castell domain first might be able to assist you."

"Hehe, the Castell family is wealthy enough to support a small country. It's not that we lack means, but we lack enough funds."

The man said coldly.

The High Priest looked at him coldly.

"Your purpose is not just the Castell, is it?"

The man chuckled twice but didn't answer.

The High Priest looked at him silently for a few seconds, then said coldly.

"The Church's words that have been spoken will not be retracted. The Church will still protect the Castell on the surface."

"Of course, for your actions, I will turn a blind eye."

The High Priest continued.

"That's enough. Rest assured, I'm a man of my word. I won't kill her. Instead, I'll train her well and send her to you. Of course... for outsiders, she is already dead."

The man said with a smirk.

The High Priest snorted coldly, his expression easing slightly. He paused and said.

"No need for training, I want her as she is."

"Besides... don't be overconfident. Even without the Church's protection, Castell still has hidden power. Last night, two of the Church's Demon Hunter Knights sent to protect her were mistaken for stalkers and taken down. Not even a trace of the attackers was found."

"You don't need to worry about that. I have my own plans."

The man said with a smile.

"And about the resurrection of the evil god..."

"You don't need to worry about that either. As everyone knows, the diligent High Priest has never hidden news of the evil god's resurrection. It's all rumors."

"Hmph! Remember what you said!"

the Grand High Priest said fiercely, glaring at him and then leaving without a farewell.

"You don't need to remind me!"

The man called out loudly.

Only after the High Priest's carriage left did he laugh lightly and turn back upstairs.

Entering the study, he sat down at the desk, and a dark shadow slowly emerged behind him, eventually taking human form, becoming a stooped figure draped in a black hood.

Seeing the stooped figure beside him, the man smiled faintly.

"You're back? How did your investigation go?"

"Hehehe, it's the Rose Society. The ones secretly protecting her should be the Rose Society. My blood servant died inside Rose Society's territory, and this morning, a suspected Rose Society subhuman maid appeared in the Castell Manor."

The stooped figure said hoarsely.

"Rose Society? They're a bunch of stubborn ghosts! They've been messing around for so many years, and I never even bother them for once, and yet they come sticking to me like annoying flies."

The man frowned.

"So... how do you want to deal with these annoying flies?"

The stooped figure asked with interest.

The man snorted lightly and pulled out a stack of parchment from under the desk.

"I was planning to deal with them later, but it seems... I'll have to do it early. The president of Rose Society is quite a troublemaker. I must eliminate him early."

"Being able to get support from Rose Society, it seems the Castell's background is quite enormous..."

The stooped figure said noncommittally, engrossed in reading the parchment.

"Hey, protecting wanted heretics? Smuggling contraband? Involvement in bloodborne cases? Ties to the Adam Cult? And... cooperating with the evil god? Tsk tsk, where did you find all these good things? Some of them must be forged, right?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just give these to the Inquisition, and those guys will be damned."

The man said coldly.

"Rose Society... from top to bottom, I want them... all dead!"

The man said coldly.

"Hey, the problem is, who are you going to send? The Inquisition always takes sources of information seriously. Don't tell me you plan to report anonymously, that won't work. The Inquisition is surrounded by watchful gaze! Even birds can trace the source back to you!"

The stooped figure said.

"I have my scapegoat candidate."

The man said indifferently.

After speaking, he lightly pressed the bell on the table. After a moment, the door of the study was gently knocked.

"Come in."

The man said majestically.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, and a gentle and beautiful priestess walked in.

She bowed respectfully to the man.

"My lord."

"Get up, the High Priest has left, you don't need to hide anymore."

The man nodded slightly.

Speaking, he supported his chin with both hands, looked at the beautiful priestess, and smiled faintly.

"How many years have you been with me?"

The priestess respectfully replied.

"It's been seven years."

"Seven years..."

The man sighed lightly.

"In seven years, you have become a first-tier priest. The Church trusts you, the Demon Hunter trusts you, and even the usually strict Inquisition... has many judgment knights who have received your treatment and owe you favors."

He said with a slight smile.

"Lottie, now I have two things for you to do."