Cat Princess and Human Knight

At the end of the fields lies the village. The village houses are low thatched huts, and the tallest building is the pointed church in the center of the village, which was painstakingly crafted by the village carpenters and stonemasons.

Whenever a craftsman works for the church, the villagers provide cat food, which the craftsman eats with a clear conscience and never receives any payment from the church.

Although the tall building with stone walls and wooden doors cannot compare to the grandeur of the cathedral in the city, it still shows the care and effort put into it by the village cats.

The four sides of the spire are even covered with stained glass, which shows that a lot of effort was put into it.

As the dwarf cat led the orange cat into the church, Yi Yin could only wait outside.

The church, which was already quite tall for a cat, was still too short for Yi Yin. If he squeezed in, he might accidentally break something, which would not only waste the efforts of the village cats but also hurt himself. So he simply waited outside.

---

The church door is adorned with the pastoral emblem of Mother Earth, a kind and approachable cat's head with a fish held in its mouth, surrounded by three ears of wheat.

The spring sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows onto the statues in the main hall, where the Earth Mother statue, resembling a calico cat, still smiled as she held a fish.

On the altar sat a golden-clawed gospel, and in front of it stood an old golden shaded cat dressed in a white priest's robe.

His fur was a warm golden gradient, he had amber eyes, a silver bell around his neck, and a prayer ribbon tied to the tip of his tail. He looked at Sophia with a compassionate expression as she walked into the church.

"Grandpa Milo..."

"My poor Sophia, Mother Earth, it is so good that you have returned safely."

Thank you, brave and kind Knight Bell, I truly don't know how to express my gratitude.

Upon seeing the old pastor with the golden chin, Sophia could no longer maintain her strong facade. She took off her cloak, knelt on the ground, and wept bitterly.

"Rain. Shadowmoon... He killed my father, my mother, he killed my whole family!"

The palace was bleeding all night; the corpses of royalty clogged the moat. I want revenge! I want revenge!

Milo stepped forward to help the weeping dwarf cat to its feet, his expression filled with sorrow, but he didn't utter a single word.

Looking at Grandpa Milo, who had always doted on her, Sofia's heart sank deeper and deeper until it turned ice-cold.

"You...you're unwilling to help me?"

After helping Sophia up, the elderly Jin turned to look at the statue of Mother Earth and spoke slowly.

"The sun rises and sets; there is no eternal kingship, no crown that never falls."

The empire established by King Macquarie the Great has long since vanished into the dustbin of history, and it is a miracle that the Macquarie royal family has survived to this day.

Sophia, you understand the doctrine very well. Mother Earth teaches us to love one another, the church never participates in political struggles, and Mother Goddess loves all cats equally.

I'm sorry, I can't help you with your revenge. I also advise you to let go of your hatred.

Sofia stood up, her gaze gradually dimming as she watched Milo's lonely figure recede into the distance.

Although she had long guessed that this might be the outcome, it was still hard for Sophia to accept when she actually heard Lao Jin say these words.

"Mother... She died a terrible death... To let me escape, she blocked the tunnel exit, getting stabbed again and again with a dagger, but even in death, she didn't let go of the door."

She used her own body to buy me time to escape. She is my beloved mother and your beloved goddaughter!

Old Jin gradually closed his eyes in pain, placed his paws on the Golden Claw Gospel on the altar, and repeated in a low voice.

"I'm so sorry, Sophia, I'm really sorry..."

Sofia trembled all over, forcefully wiping away the tears that overflowed from her eyes, and said coldly.

"It is I who should apologize, Milo. Cardinal Lightspeaker, it was my recklessness that led me to make an excessive request to the Church. I am very sorry."

After bowing, Sofia turned and rushed out of the church. Bell quickly dodged and almost bumped into her.

After she left, Milo turned around and bowed to Bell.

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Grand Knight Bell. Thank you so much for your hard work along the way. It's wonderful that you were able to bring Sophia back safely."

Bell waved his hand and said.

"It's nothing, it's nothing. You know that the former Lady Huru often generously donated to the daily needs of the Golden Flame Knights."

"Protecting her innocent daughter and bringing her back to her home, without violating our doctrines, is my duty as a member of the Knights."

Bell paused, unsure whether he should tell the retired bishop about the strange things that had happened on the road.

Seeing Bell's hesitation, Milo misunderstood and spoke up.

"Although Sophia's mother has passed away, I believe that Sophia will inherit her mother's territory and will, and continue to support the Golden Flame Knights."

Most of the members of the Golden Flame Knights are orange cats, and these fat cats have an amazing appetite.

In addition, their belief in not wanting to cause trouble for nature and trying to solve problems with their own fat led to the Knights Order being constantly in debt, their finances being completely ruined by these fat cats.

The guardian knights don't kill cats; they are a good group of cats. This has led many wealthy nobles to provide financial assistance to the Golden Flame Knights.

Good cats may not be able to kill for you, but if you are being killed by a cat, they will really do their best to save you, as long as it doesn't violate their doctrine.

Bell's passing through the imperial city was a coincidence, but the insurance policy that Viscount Huru had purchased for generations of aid to the Golden Flame Knights was indeed an important reason why he was so dedicated to protecting Sophia's return territory.

As Old Jin said, Mother Earth does not like her church and knights getting involved in political disputes, and sometimes she can only sigh helplessly when she sees rivers of blood flowing.

However, the long-term sponsorship relationship was enough to give the Golden Flame Knights sufficient reason to step in and protect the innocent women and children from evacuation.

Milo's intention was to reassure Sofia so that this life-saving insurance policy could be maintained in critical moments.

But that's not what Bell wanted to talk about. What he really wanted to say was that he almost caused Sophia's death on the way, and that he almost got wiped out by Ilya and Onyxia when they encountered humans.

But Milo clearly misunderstood; he changed the subject, leading Bell astray as well.

"Sophia's tail ring... is gone."

"Forehead?"

Bell was startled. He hadn't noticed at all. He looked down at the cloak that Sophia had discarded, which was why Bell hadn't noticed it the whole time.

"That's not right. She was still there when we left the capital. The nine tail rings of a Nine-Lives Noble are so obvious. When we ran away from the checkpoint, I even bought a cloak to cover her up."

Milo shook his head and said solemnly.

"It's really gone."

Bell frowned.

"How could this happen?"

Milo shook his head and walked out of the church.

"Let's put that aside for now. Let me meet this human friend first."

Milo walked outside, and Bell followed him out, both looking at the tall Yi Yin.

Yi Yin watched Sophia's retreating figure and asked in a low voice.

"What's going on? Why did Sophia suddenly run out?"