Anthony

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

Time rewinds a few days ago...

In the central cathedral of Niceport, Bishop Elvis led a prayer that had just concluded.

After the Bishop's routine speech, the priests dispersed.

Bishop Elvis, who had just appeared calm and collected, now wore a solemn expression.

He went to the refectory to have dinner.

Given his status, Bishop Elvis could have ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal exclusively for himself.

However, except during illness or other special times, Elvis insisted on eating in the common refectory with the ordinary priests, which was one of the reasons he was highly respected.

He sat in his usual spot, and the church servants placed a plate of food in front of him.

Elvis picked up a boiled egg and began tapping it continuously on the table, lost in thought.

Beside him, a priest was quite puzzled. The Bishop's egg was almost completely cracked, yet he seemed oblivious, as if pondering some deep question.

"Bishop Elvis? Bishop Elvis?"

The priest gently nudged Elvis's arm, bringing him back to awareness.

"Oh..."

Elvis finally noticed the nearly cracked egg in his hand.

"Lord, forgive me."

The Bishop repented for wasting food, carefully peeling the broken eggshell bit by bit, and ate the boiled egg in small bites.

The nearby priest admired him greatly. The Bishop's adherence to his own standards was truly strict.

Another priest hurried over and whispered to Elvis's ear, "Lord Anthony has returned."

"I see. Bring a breakfast to his room and ask him to wait for me there."

"Yes, Bishop."

Elvis quickened his eating pace and soon finished everything in front of him.

After thanking the Lord of Light for another sumptuous dinner, he got up and headed towards Anthony's room.

Anthony had just finished his own dinner and received him in the room.

Elvis said with a guilty look, "Lord Anthony, I accidentally let a witch escape. I have failed my duties as Bishop."

Anthony was very puzzled. "What exactly happened? Please tell me slowly."

Elvis looked hesitant, seemingly unsure how to begin.

After a long while, he slowly said, "Last night, during the process of transferring the witch, something went wrong."

"Last night? Did they encounter wolves?"

Anthony referred to the unusual howling of wolves at night. It was likely that there were many wolf packs outside the city, and it was quite probable that the convoy escorting Baroness Fanny encountered them.

"Yes, throughout the night, we received no word from the escort team. As soon as it was light, I sent a team to investigate the church."

"But on the way, they discovered extensive signs of wolf activity and... the remains of our people we sent out yesterday, all of them..."

"May their souls rest in peace. The witch..."

"She escaped! No remains of her were found at the scene! At first glance, it appears that the escort team was attacked by wolves, and the witch took advantage of the chaos to escape. But I feel that things are not that simple!"

Elvis shook his head. "It must have been that witch! She must have used dark magic to summon nearby wolf packs to attack our escort team."

The more the Bishop spoke, the more he gritted his teeth. He was now convinced that last night's unusual wolf activity was caused by the witch Fanny.

"Otherwise, this wicked witch would have no reason to survive alone."

Anthony said with some regret, "So, does this mean we cannot proceed with the trade negotiations with the Eaton Duchy?"

Elvis sighed dejectedly, "Yes! It's infuriating. Are we to just watch an anti-Church alliance form before our eyes?"

Anthony comforted him, "Don't blame yourself too much, Your Grace. Even if the Eaton Duchy complies with us, their influence is limited."

"I know that. My frustration mainly stems from letting that witch escape."

Just as the two were conversing, a voice came from outside the door, "Is Bishop Elvis here? I have urgent news to report."

"Lord Anthony, I'll be right back."

Elvis stepped outside and returned after a while.

However, his face now bore a look of shock and anger.

"Lord Anthony, I've just received a report. The Eaton Embassy has announced that they have found Baroness Fanny— that damned witch has indeed fled back there! Their public statement claims they intercepted a gang of kidnappers who were attempting to abduct Baroness Fanny outside the Eaton guard city!"

Anthony pondered, "It seems last night's incident wasn't simple."

Elvis paced anxiously, "There must be a connection. The gang of kidnappers Eaton claims could very well be referring to our escort team— it's highly likely Eaton's guards were also on that road last night."

"Ah! I should have suspected earlier. The Eatonians must have known their baroness was a witch, somehow learned of our plans, and together with the wolves summoned by the witch, they attacked our escort team!"

Elvis began to piece it together.

Anthony asked, "Your Grace, what should we do now?"

Elvis raised his voice, "What else can we do? We must expose the truth about that witch, let the whole world know. Let the people know that the Eaton royal family is harboring an evil, filthy witch."

Anthony shook his head, "Your Grace, I advise you to calm down a bit. While Baroness Fanny was in our hands, we could have publicly revealed evidence that she is a witch at any time. But now that she's not in our hands, unilaterally proclaiming her a witch— it will cause big trouble. Especially at this tense moment in relations between the Church and the Duchies of Angle Bay."

Elvis snorted, "Those hypocritical rulers! So what if it does? The people are on our side."

"Oh, the stance of the common folk is the most unreliable. They praise the glory of God today and shout 'long live the king' tomorrow!"

Elvis fell silent, staring at the flame on the candle, seemingly contemplating his next steps.

"Your Grace, instead of immediately breaking with the Eaton Duchy, why not focus on another matter first? I believe this matter is even more important."

"What could be more important than eliminating the evil witch?"

Anthony wore a solemn expression and uttered a word, "Eliminating the mole!"

"The mole?"

"Yes, as you just said, the Eaton Duchy likely learned of our plans through some means."

Elvis abruptly stood up.

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I might have forgotten!"

His eyes gleamed with icy determination.

"There must be traitors in the cathedral, those who have betrayed the teachings of God and turned to darkness!"

(End of the Chapter)