Chapter 177: Lady of the Manor
The carriage rolled toward the estate outside the city, and as it entered the thick mist, Charli eagerly jumped out.
She had spent three days at the temple with her teacher, Cardinal Croft, and had finally been allowed to return.
Yesterday, Amos had sent Makin to deliver a letter, telling her that her brother was fine. So, early this morning, Charli hurried over, a relaxed smile on her face.
Passing through the garden, Charli noticed a slender figure bending over the rose trellis in the dense fog.
Immediately, she called out for her brother and headed toward the figure.
The person was half-hidden by the profusion of roses, but the white shirt and simple trousers were her brother’s usual style.
So, when Charli called out and ran over, only to see a head of light-colored, long hair, she stopped in surprise.
Especially when the person turned and revealed a familiar face, Charli’s eyes widened in shock.
“Peruth… Your Excellency!” Charli then noticed the large bunch of freshly picked roses in his hand. “Why are you here?!”
Even the temple priests didn’t know where His Excellency the Cardinal had gone. They always said the cardinal was mysterious and wouldn’t tell anyone when he had something to do.
Yet here he was, picking flowers in her family’s garden at dawn—and wearing her brother’s clothes.
Charli glanced down and realized that even the shoes he wore looked like her brother’s.
“Oh, Charli, you’re back.” Peruth responded calmly, holding the bouquet of white roses as he walked toward the estate. “Are you here to see your brother?”
“He didn’t get any sleep again last night; he’s still resting, so it’s best not to disturb him just yet.”
Charli followed him back into the estate, feeling a strange sense that His Excellency the Cardinal carried himself like the lady of the manor, which made her feel rather unsettled.
“Didn’t sleep all night?” Charli’s expression was a bit strange and cautious.
“Yeah, no idea what he was busy with,” Peruth replied in a casual tone. “You should encourage Eloren to take better care of himself; he doesn’t really listen when I say anything.”
Charli: “…”
“I can’t stop my brother from doing what he wants, and he won’t listen to me.”
After saying this, Charli noticed that the cardinal’s smile seemed even more genuine.
As they walked, they came across Makin exercising outside. He had grown into a tall knight, and his blond hair was damp with sweat and dew.
Seeing Charli, he greeted her cheerfully, then looked at Peruth with a puzzled expression.
Amos, also looking exhausted with dark circles, came out and immediately froze when he saw Peruth standing next to Charli, his green eyes wide with surprise.
Makin had never seen Cardinal Peruth before, but he had. He knew this cardinal was on good terms with his teacher.
But why had he suddenly appeared here?
Peruth ignored the glances exchanged between the three younger ones and walked straight into the house.
“Why is the cardinal here?” Amos asked in a hushed voice.
If the other two hadn’t seen him too, he would have thought he was hallucinating from exhaustion after staying up all night as the teacher’s assistant.
Makin was equally puzzled. “Didn’t Charli bring him here? I saw them coming over together just now.”
Charli was confused as well. “No, wasn’t he staying at the estate?”
Judging by his appearance, he had clearly just gotten up and taken a stroll in the garden. She had thought Amos and Makin had already met him before, but from their reactions, did that mean the cardinal hadn’t stayed at the estate last night?
Amos lowered his voice even further. “He’s a cardinal of the Holy Temple of Light. He shouldn’t know about Teacher… it wouldn’t be good if he found out.”
Charli suddenly remembered: “We should tidy up the basement.”
Makin, still out of the loop, asked, “What?”
*
In the quiet bedroom, Yu Mo suddenly opened his eyes.
Peruth stood by the bed, replacing the wilting flowers with fresh white roses. Noticing that Yu Mo had sat up, he asked, “Did I wake you?”
“No.” Yu Mo got up, wrapped himself in his coat, and went out.
When he reached the basement, Yu Mo saw Amos and Charli busily tidying up his magic lab.
It was the activation of a magic circle left in his lab that had woken him from his sleep.
“What are you doing?” Yu Mo asked, standing at the doorway.
The two stopped what they were doing, and Amos replied, “Teacher, the cardinal from the Holy Temple has arrived, so, just in case, we’re putting away these dark magic materials.”
Yu Mo: “…”
He rubbed his throbbing forehead. “Don’t worry about this place. Amos, go rest. Charli, come with me.”
He led Charli to the study, and she obediently followed. But as soon as the study door closed, she couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked in a mysterious tone, “Brother, does His Excellency Peruth already know about your heretical identity?”
“Yes,” Yu Mo replied curtly.
Charli covered her mouth in surprise. She had suspected it, but hearing it confirmed still shocked her.
“But Peruth is a cardinal of the Holy Temple! How could he not care about your identity at all?”
“Charli, don’t worry about that. I actually called you here to ask about something else.” Yu Mo pointed to the desk. “You met the Pope?”
Charli nodded obediently. “Yes, Teacher Croft took me. He said my affinity for light magic is strong, and my abilities lean toward healing, so I might be able to help treat His Holiness the Pope more effectively.”
As the main character, Charli initially seemed unremarkable, but once she began learning magic, her unique healing abilities emerged.
In the original story, she relied on this ability countless times to pull the male protagonist back from the brink of death. Later, she awakened “Protection” magic, which allowed her to combat the outbreak of a massive plague and defend the capital city for the male protagonist.
In that storyline, the male and female protagonists went through countless hardships to finally get the opportunity to learn magic.
Now, however, Charli was receiving direct training from a near-saint-level magician, so her awakening progressed much faster.
“Brother, you probably don’t know this, but His Holiness the Pope was gravely injured and is still in a coma!” Charli said in a low voice.
“Is that so?” Yu Mo patted her head gently. “Charli, there’s something I need you to do.”
The Pope had to die, and with Charli’s unique ability, if she visited again, she might actually end up reviving him, which would be very inconvenient for Yu Mo.
Yu Mo returned to his bedroom.
…
Peruth was still arranging a bouquet of white roses.
Finally, he managed to arrange the dozens of flowers to his liking. He stepped back, satisfied, and turned to Yu Mo. “Eloren, I should be going soon.”
Yu Mo had kept him here, forcing him to rest for two days and even made magic potions to help heal his wounds, fully aware that Peruth would soon confront the Pope again.
“With your current strength, can you kill the Pope within the Holy Temple’s defenses?” Yu Mo took off his coat.
“It’ll be difficult, but I can give it a try,” Peruth replied, knowing that if the Pope recovered, his own death was inevitable.
Over the past century, the Pope had expanded the power of the sun by using the Temple’s strength to suppress all worship of night gods, ruthlessly hunting down “heretics,” which weakened the power of the moon to its lowest level, causing an energy imbalance across the continent.
By continuously refining and absorbing the sun’s power, he also triggered the spread of the plague in many regions across the continent.
The spreading plague further solidified the position of the Holy Temple and the Pope.
After waiting for so many years, the Pope finally found the right moment to completely absorb the essence of the sun.
Peruth had also waited for several years for the opportunity to kill him, planning to strike when the Pope was at his weakest from absorbing power.
He had failed last time, but there was still a chance to remedy that now.
If he missed this opportunity, there would be no second chance.
So, even though he had only partially recovered, he needed to proceed with his plan.
However, the most troublesome aspect was not the unconscious Pope nor the protective magic circle surrounding the Pope’s residence within the Temple, but rather the Pope’s devoted follower, Cardinal Croft.
Croft stood vigil by the comatose Pope, making it difficult to get past him to kill the Pope.
Yu Mo seemed to know what Peruth was thinking. He stepped in front of him and said, “I have a way to temporarily draw Cardinal Croft away.”
He whispered a few words in Peruth’s ear. Peruth slightly bent down, listening with an impassive expression.
Suddenly feeling a chill on his neck, he realized that the sapphire star necklace was now around his neck.
He wasn’t surprised by the secret gossip about Cardinal Croft; his expression changed only when he saw the necklace hanging on him.
Yu Mo retracted his hand. “Go.”
*
Before long, Charli’s carriage left the estate, with Makin now driving it.
“Strange, why am I the one taking you back today?” Makin usually practiced swordsmanship at the estate and was responsible for guarding it alongside a few other knights.
“Charli, do you know what’s going on?”
Makin called out a couple of times before Charli in the carriage replied, “I told my brother. You haven’t been to the capital in a while, so we’re going to shop a bit.”
After chatting with Makin for a moment, Charli cupped her cheeks and rubbed them.
She recalled what her brother had said in the study—he had asked her to go to Cardinal Peruth’s study in the Temple and bring back a few books.
It sounded easy enough, but why had he specifically asked for Makin to accompany her?
Makin, following his usual habit, parked the carriage in the square outside the Temple.
“Makin, why don’t you come in with me? I have something to do. You can wait for me in the prayer hall over there; I’ll be back soon,” Charli said.
“Sure.” Makin walked in with her and stood in the spot she pointed out, watching as Charli disappeared down one of the long corridors.
This was Makin’s first time entering the Temple; previously, he had only sneaked glances from outside.
Remembering some things Charli had told him, Makin pressed his lips together and withdrew his gaze from exploring.
This position would have priests passing by, and at first, no one noticed Makin. But then a bishop hurried past and suddenly froze when he saw him.
“What’s going on? How did this person get into the Temple?” the bishop said, his expression serious. “He has fluctuations of dark magic on him!”
The passing priests also stopped, staring at Makin in shock. “What? Dark magic? A heretic?”
“How could a heretic enter the temple?”
“Regardless, we need to apprehend him!” the bishop said rudely.
Makin had no idea what was happening. Faced with the gathering priests, he cautiously said, “I’m not a heretic, and I don’t know any dark magic. You must be misunderstanding.”
The commotion quickly drew everyone’s attention, and from this position, it could easily be seen from the Pope’s high tower.
Cardinal Croft, as expected, noticed the disturbance below.
Known for his notorious temper, he frowned and asked, “What’s going on down there? Why is it so noisy?”
Gabriel, who had just entered, cautiously glanced at him and replied, “It seems that Bishop Heller discovered a heretic with fluctuations of dark magic in the temple, but the heretic claims he came with Charli.”
Upon hearing Charli’s name, Croft’s frown deepened, and he got up to look more closely from beside the bed.
Soon, he recognized the young man surrounded and pinned down by the crowd.
Gabriel, almost absentmindedly, remarked, “It seems to be a young man named Makin. Bishop Heller hates heretics the most; if he struggles, he might get killed on the spot.”
Cardinal Croft’s expression changed entirely.
He glanced at the protective magic circle surrounding the Pope, leaving behind a quick, “You stay here and guard,” before rushing out the door like the wind.
Just as Croft left, Peruth appeared at the top of the Pope’s tower.
The protective magic within the Temple had little effect on him.
Gabriel, who remained in the Pope’s room, opened the door for him, showing no surprise at his arrival. He lowered his head respectfully and said, “Your Excellency, the Cardinal.”
Peruth stepped into the room, walking toward the Pope, who lay in bed, looking as frail as a withered tree.
Although there was a slight delay, the esteemed Pope was still destined to meet his fate.
