Chapter 28: Baptism

"A rural peasant from a small village, twenty-two years ago, Sean did indeed pass through that village. However, Mercedes VII also passed through! It's hard to say..."

Marquis Pansun chuckled coldly, "Our actions were taken twenty years ago. If he's of Mercedes' bloodline, he must be eliminated!"

The Prime Minister remained expressionless, calmly stating, "Let's wait and see. At this crucial moment, let's not alert the prey. Once the major event is done, this Lord Xie will inevitably be killed."

Marquis Pansun nodded and added, "I find it strange. Why did Mercedes VII choose this country bumpkin to preside over the Duke of Avila's promotion ceremony?"

The Prime Minister's gaze shifted to his wine cup, sneering, "A country bumpkin presiding over an eighth-tier ritual promotion ceremony. Mercedes VII's imagination knows no bounds! The Duchess of Avila's devotion will surely elevate her to the ninth tier! Haha, it seems he's impatient to bestow honors upon Lord Xie!"

At the Tudor Palace, on a balcony of the side hall.

Mercedes VII and the Left Minister stood at the railing, gazing at the Eternal Tower.

"Has Lord Xie's background been arranged?" Mercedes VII asked calmly.

The Left Minister, Harry Entell, replied with calm eyes, "Everything's been arranged. The villagers in the Kandris Desert were destroyed by a sandstorm. Our Lord Xie grew up in a small village where Your Majesty and Sean had passed through many years ago."

Mercedes VII was momentarily surprised, "I'm implicated too?" Then he smiled, "The Left Minister is truly cunning!"

"It's strategic thinking, Your Majesty."

"This might attract unwanted attention!"

"No, this is to protect him. Before the major event, the Right Minister and Marquis Pansun won't touch him! Otherwise, if Lord Xie attracts too much attention, he might suddenly meet a mysterious end."

Speaking of attention, Mercedes VII smiled wryly, "In just two months, he's amassed so much wealth. If he's not a divine envoy, I'd make him my finance minister!"

The Prime Minister remained as calm as ever, "This time, letting him preside over the ceremony is to see if he can truly bring about a miracle! The Duchess of Avila's devotion is beyond doubt. She's certain to be promoted to the ninth tier. When the divine light descends, if Lord Xie is indeed a divine envoy, it's highly likely that a miracle will occur. Even if not, the divine light, under the guidance of a divine envoy, will be stronger than usual. Then we'll know for sure."

"Aren't you worried about speculation?"

"Hehe..." The Prime Minister smiled faintly. "The benevolence of our Duchess Avila is known throughout the kingdom, her devoutness touches the heavens. The miracle that will occur is a gift from the Goddess of Life to her purest and most virtuous believers. It has nothing to do with that country bumpkin, right, Your Majesty?"

"Hahaha! Crafty old fox!"

"It's strategic thinking, Your Majesty."

At the top of the Eternal Tower, Lord Xie and a group of people had already ascended. With Lord Xie's blessing, the twelve young priests selected descended from the Eternal Tower, leaving only Lord Xie and the Duchess of Avila.

The top of the tower, over a hundred meters above ground, should have been swept by strong winds and chilling cold, but it was unusually calm and warm.

Looking at the azure sky with drifting white clouds that seemed within arm's reach, the vastness belonged to the clouds, while Lord Xie's heart seemed equally vast, though currently occupied by the Duchess of Avila.

Beneath the sky, it seemed like there were only these two people. In Lord Xie's eyes, the Duchess appeared as such a beauty: her light purple slightly curled hair shimmered especially brightly in the noon sun; the gentle lines of her face painted a captivating scenery, with the features enhancing her beauty; beneath the veil, her graceful figure exuded an enticing aura, the most primitive wildness! All of this, contrasted strongly under the Duchess's pure aura, made her beauty exceptionally prominent at this moment!

"Especially those two faintly wrinkled eyebrows, they seem to be coquettish to me! Truly enchanting!" Lord Xie, with a silly look on his face, appeared infatuated, even uttering his innermost thoughts aloud.

The Duchess of Avila frowned deeply, her expression displeased. "Lord Xie, what did you just say?"

"Huh? Nothing!" Lord Xie's expression changed abruptly, and he said earnestly, "Let's begin! I can already feel the divine light of the Goddess of Life stirring!"

"Humph!" The sudden confession from Lord Xie earlier made the Duchess of Avila think he was just a flirt, which didn't endear him much to her. Only upon learning that Lord Xie was a priest today did she slightly change her opinion. Now, seeing Lord Xie's current appearance, her heart was filled with nothing but disgust. Coldly, she said, "The ritual requires an incredibly pure heart and devout faith! Lord Xie, I hope you don't ruin this promotion ceremony!"

Feeling the Duchess of Avila's disgust, Lord Xie was unperturbed.

The Master of Dreams once said: If you like a woman and she doesn't immediately reciprocate your feelings, you must make her notice you, whether she finds you annoying, irritating, or even disgusting! By making her notice you, you'll leave an impression on her, don't retreat, don't doubt, this is a beautiful beginning.

I don't want you to be promoted. Hehe, I've always believed that love at first sight doesn't last long; love that grows over time is the true path! Trust me, it's your luck that I fell for you at first sight! When love grows over time, it'll be our luck! Under this premise, I can't let you succeed in your promotion! Haha, perfect, my heart isn't pure enough anyway, let alone belief in the Goddess of Life!

Mena, let me become the person you must see every month! Hahaha...

Although Lord Xie felt secretly delighted, he maintained a serious expression on his face. Now was the time for a solemn baptism!

Then, Lord Xie froze!

He forgot to ask how the baptism was to be conducted!

Could it be that he had to bathe in that pool? Goddess of Life, please don't be so generous to me!

Lord Xie's gaze shifted to the Pool of Life at the top of the Eternal Tower.

The pool was heart-shaped, approximately twenty square in size, built with white marble, about half a meter deep, with water about twenty centimeters deep, only enough to soak the ankles.

The pool water was crystal clear, shimmering with reflections under the sunlight.

In the center of the pool, there was a sculpture, a sacred and compassionate female figure made of pure white marble. In one hand, the statue held a life flower, as if sniffing it; in the other hand, she held a water bottle engraved with a life flower, tilted slightly, with clear water flowing slowly into the Pool of Life.

This was the statue of the Goddess of Life!

Duchess Avila paid no attention to Lord Xie, walking slowly towards the Pool of Life. She knelt before the statue of the Goddess of Life, clasping her hands tightly in front of her chest, lifting her face slightly towards the face of the Goddess of Life, her eyes closed.

Lord Xie watched her, feeling extremely frustrated!

Damn it, he hadn't clarified the most important part!

How exactly was the baptism supposed to be performed? Surely he wasn't supposed to help her bathe?

And he couldn't ask! Asking would give the game away! Not understanding even the baptism, would he be kicked off the Eternal Tower by Mena directly? Master of Dreams above, this was over a hundred meters high! Even if I'm a vampire, I'd still be turned into a pancake, my internal energy unable to fully repair my body, I'd just fart out!

Just as Lord Xie was feeling conflicted, the slightly annoyed voice of Duchess Avila came from the other side, "Count Xie, do you really intend to baptize me? Are you even too proud to sprinkle a little bit of the water of life from the life bottle under the gaze of the Goddess?"

Ah!

Sprinkle water on the head!

Grandma's, why didn't you say so earlier!

"Coming, coming! I felt the Goddess of Life watching from above, got carried away with the prayers, almost forgot the main thing, coming right away!"

Lord Xie hurriedly ran into the Pool of Life, causing the water to churn as his footsteps splashed water, wetting Duchess Avila's clothing below her waist, which made her complexion even more sullen, but she still kept her eyes closed.

Lord Xie ran up to Duchess Avila, sniffing the air, and caught a whiff of an unfamiliar floral scent, faint yet refreshing. Watching the beauty while smelling the fragrance, Lord Xie didn't feel like doing the baptism anymore. It was quite enjoyable just to watch all afternoon like this!

Of course, seeing Duchess Avila's displeasure reaching its breaking point, Lord Xie quickly lifted his hands to catch the stream of water flowing from the life bottle. Seeing his hands wet with the water, Lord Xie suddenly realized something, and his heart raced as he turned his head to glance at Duchess Avila!

Sure enough!

Due to Duchess Avila kneeling and the splashing caused by Lord Xie just now, the lower part of her clothing was already soaked!

Thin gauze clothing soaked in water!

Master of Dreams above!

What kind of clothes were those? They were practically transparent layers clinging to the skin!

Duchess Avila's long, fair legs were fully exposed! A white expanse, tempting and enticing!

Damn it, how could that triangular black shape come to ruin this white beauty? But why did my eyes always seem to be drawn to that black area? Was it because of the striking contrast between black and white?

Yes! It's definitely not impure thoughts on my part!

Three little deer were rampaging in Lord Xie's mind, feeling his blood sinking continuously. Lord Xie was shocked, quickly focusing his mind to redirect the blood flow upwards!

This was absolutely not the time to be distracted, especially when wearing nothing but thin gauze! If Duchess Avila saw it, he'd never be able to live it down!

Shaking off the impure thoughts in his mind, Lord Xie concentrated all his willpower to redirect his blood flow upwards, then quickly caught the water and sprinkled it on Duchess Avila's head!

He wanted to end the baptism as soon as possible. Since Duchess Avila still had her eyes closed in prayer, and he didn't need to, he could step aside and watch slowly!

The moment the water was sprinkled on Duchess Avila's head, Lord Xie's heartbeat accelerated again!

Watching the sparkling water under the sunlight, Lord Xie suddenly realized a more serious problem!

According to Newton's theory of gravity, water flows downwards!

So, the water had soaked Duchess Avila's hair, wetting her face, dripping down her hair and cheeks, and flowing down her chin and shoulders, some gathering in the cleavage of her chest while the rest dispersed in all directions.

As a result, Duchess Avila's clothes in the chest area were also soaked!

Her graceful figure was now only covered by a transparent layer, adding to her ethereal beauty!

In fact, it was not ethereal at all, it was practically fully exposed!

Those peerless weapons immediately captured Lord Xie's gaze!

The pink color at the top of those weapons shook Lord Xie's entire body! The surging blood in his body roared like wild horses, uncontrollable by the willpower that had already been completely overwhelmed by those peerless weapons!

The places that needed to be engorged were already tense!

And the blood didn't stop boiling, as if it wanted to burst out of Lord Xie's body!

Then, the blood finally found a breakthrough!

It was the root of the disease that had been planted in Lord Xie when he became a vampire, seduced by the mysterious woman!

"Swoosh..."

He ejaculated, two streams of blood shooting downwards from his nostrils at a forty-five-degree angle!