Firefly Journey

Inside the magnificent Delos Palace, between corridors and palaces, numerous royal guards patrolled back and forth to prevent any criminals from sneaking in.

Of course, it's also possible that they were guarding prisoners.

In a castle built of white marble, a figure stands on the balcony of the highest floor.

Lin Yuanran knocked on the wall. The graceful figure inside hesitated for a moment, but eventually opened the door.

Claudia, dressed in a white gown, looked somewhat surprised, but more so uneasy.

"How did you come."

"I'll help you."

"Come in first."

Lin Yuanran nodded and went into her room.

The girl's room was predominantly white, except for the colorful bookshelves. On the desk were two potted plants, a cactus and a jasmine if I'm not mistaken.

Frustrated poets often use objects to symbolize people. Cacti are supposed to grow in arid deserts, while irises prefer lush forests.

It seems that Claudia is quite conflicted.

“I heard… your uncle seized power through illegitimate means, and you were imprisoned, is that right?” Lin Yuanran said.

Claudia frowned. "Yes, but nobody believes it."

The Kingdom of Delos is a small country, and its diplomacy is usually handled by Enor. Claudia is a minor figure with little influence, and even though she is the eldest daughter of the old king, she finds it difficult to gain the support of the surrounding powers.

The Holy See had always served as a bulwark for the Kingdom of Delos, but that was based on the empire's constant westward expansion. Now that Henry I was dead, the new emperor was busy dealing with the mess and had no energy left to conquer other countries.

The Kingdom of Delos has ushered in a long-awaited peace.

Under these circumstances, the Papacy would not interfere in other people's internal affairs. In the struggle for power, the eldest princess, who had been a hostage in the duchy for many years, was not in a favorable position, and Prince Aynor held absolute power.

But that only applies to the past.

Now, Lin Yuanran is the future Pope, and coincidentally, Claudia is his friend. Even more coincidentally, Aynor is backed by an evil god, so the Vatican can no longer ignore this.

Lin Yuanran smiled and said, "Tell me, do the citizens of the Kingdom of Delos believe in the Regent or in the Sun God?"

Claudia was somewhat confused, not understanding why Lin Yuanran said that, but she still thought about it seriously.

"It's hard to say. Some will revere the gods, while others will naturally choose to believe in Enor."

Lin Yuanran said, "What if their princess has the entire Holy See as her backing?"

Claudia was, after all, the old king's eldest daughter, and she did have supporters in the country. However, Einol was really cunning. He claimed to the outside world that he was only acting as king and not usurping the throne. Naturally, the generals who supported Claudia could not go against him, otherwise it would be considered treason.

But it would be different if the Vatican exposed it.

The vast continent of Pangu has countless churches of all sizes, and alchemy technology has not yet fully taken off. This indicates that divine authority still holds a significant place in this world, and apart from a few avant-garde individuals, most beings are born with faith in gods.

Julius is the greatest ancestral god of the continent, and the message issued by the Church of Light, where His followers reside, is the most authoritative testimony of the Pan-Ancient Continent.

As is well known, the highest-ranking believer in the Vatican is the Pope, and Lin Yuanran happens to be one of them.

Therefore, Lin Yuanran's words represent the will of the Holy See.

The power that ordinary people yearn for is something Lin Yuanran possesses with ease, which is very unfair. However, compared to the dangers that Lin Yuanran faces, the position of Pope is insignificant.

"You mean... the Holy See will help me?" Claudia's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again.

She frequently attended balls in Yicheng, not for entertainment, of course, but the nobles of Yicheng had no interest in the resources of a small country, especially a young girl who was incapable of governing.

Even though Claudia had some connections, most people didn't choose to stand by her side when it mattered most.

From the perspective of the Papacy, as long as they act according to their own will, it doesn't matter who is the ruler of the Kingdom of Delos, so why bother with internal strife?

“I came here to confirm the facts, and now that they’re confirmed, that’s enough.”

Lin Yuanran calmly said, "Use all your power to let Ainol know that you want to retaliate. Leave the rest to me."

Claudia's expression was complicated: "Can you tell me... why?"

Lin Yuanran said, "In a while, I will be crowned Pope. This is no secret, so you should trust me completely."

Claudia's beautiful eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she wasn't overly shocked; Lin Yuanran never joked.

She asked a completely unrelated question: "Where have you been all these years...?"

As a friend, she had also written to Lin Yuanran, with the mailing address in Yicheng, but Lin Yuanran never replied.

Lin Yuanran really couldn't explain this question, so he scratched his head and said, "I've never been back to Yicheng; I've been adventuring all over the world."

"With the wind chimes?"

Lin Yuanran nodded. "Not bad."

The wind chimes disappeared at the exact same time as him, so let's just agree on a story, have the two of us stand together, and be each other's witnesses.

This isn't exactly false evidence, since the two have indeed been together all along, just not on the Pan-Ancient Continent.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

"Okay, the rest is up to me. Aino won't be able to keep up this for long."

"Then, I'll leave first."

Lin Yuanran opened the luxurious wooden door to the balcony and went out. Claudia wanted to follow him to see him off, but she didn't move.

Lin Yuanran left without even sitting down.

……

Before returning to the church, Lin Yuanran stopped by a nearby street to buy some cream bread. The supplies in the carriage were almost gone, and it wouldn't be good to bother Woz, so he decided to take care of it himself first.

After learning about Fengling's room from Woz, Lin Yuanran went to knock on the door.

"it's me!"

"Of course I know it's you."

"Then open the door."

"We can talk through the door if we need to."

Lin Yuanran fell into deep thought. Something seemed wrong. "I'm not an outsider. Can't you let me in?"

"I bought some bread, do you want some?"

"No, the church has a restaurant, and the food is pretty good."

Lin Yuanran suddenly felt that he had overdone it and said in annoyance, "Then I'll leave it at the door. You can come out and get it later."

Lin Yuanran is really gone. It's a great pity that he's gone.

After spending time together, the two had grown closer, and Lin Yuanran felt that there were no more secrets between them. But that's just how Feng Ling is; she would suddenly act up for no reason.

At this moment, even though Lin Yuanran really wanted to kick the door open, go in, hug her, and ask her to tell him what was wrong, he couldn't do that.

He was afraid that Fengling would be unhappy, even the slightest bit unhappy was unacceptable; he couldn't let her be unhappy.

"I'll come see you again tomorrow."

"understood!"

Fengling stared at the door, listening to the footsteps fading into the distance, and muttered under her breath, "Idiot."

Why don't you just kick the door down?