I find it very sacred to pick someone up and make them a saint.

The promotion ceremony is drawing ever closer.

The closer one gets to the center of Walgane, the heavier the air becomes.

The huge Radiant Square in front of the Holy See has been empty for decades. People have always had the need to pray, but the need to celebrate has long since disappeared.

The scholars led by August, who were in charge of the ceremony preparations, were professionals. In just half a month, they had erected a three-story-high platform on the empty land.

However, Mien, the person in charge of everything, and Lucia, the protagonist, were nowhere to be seen.

On the contrary, Princess Rachel and Bishop Phil have long occupied the place, requisitioning the nearby Papacy and estate.

The Imperial Army and the Holy Knights, who had come from afar, were stationed here.

They are all the elite of their troops. If it weren't for the limited space, they would love to mobilize all their forces and set up a battle formation to compete.

The two, accompanied by their guards, inspected the surroundings, making their presence felt.

The surrounding area had been cleared away by law enforcement officers long ago, and no ordinary people could approach. They could only look from afar, and under the fierce gazes of the officers, they dared not even look.

The day before the ceremony, early in the morning, a commotion arose, followed by the sound of the giant gate opening.

Strangely, this time both sounds rang out simultaneously.

Two groups of people emerged simultaneously from the Holy See and the manor.

Rachel and Phil led a hundred or so people out and headed toward the edge of the city-state of Walgon.

Both sides noticed each other. With only one road and no regard for courtesy, they inevitably walked side by side.

Rachel, riding her gilded white horse, tugged on the reins, swayed slightly, and laughed:

"Good morning, Bishop Phil. The ordination ceremony isn't here yet. What are you doing so early?"

Phil was simply wearing a papal cloak and riding a plain white horse, but behind him followed a fully armed order of paladins, their silver swords rhythmically clashing against their horse armor.

Phil, head held high, initially didn't want to pay attention, but upon hearing Rachel's question, he couldn't help but laugh:

"Has Princess Rachel forgotten that the Cassil Empire also had a great emperor named Lelte?"

Emperor Leon was too busy to attend the saintess's ascension ceremony in person and had to send someone else to represent him.

And he has an eldest son named Phoenix, a prince of the Empire and Princess Rachel's brother. Have you forgotten?

In response to Phil's provocation, Rachel simply nudged the horse's belly with her foot and laughed easily.

Is using Phoenix to scare yourself? What's the difference between that and encouraging yourself?

That good-for-nothing posed no threat to him whatsoever; he wouldn't be where he is today if it weren't for his own efforts.

"I would like to ask, what did Your Highness go out to do today?"

"Could it be that you're coming with me to welcome the prince of the Holy Empire? Then I must have misjudged Your Highness."

Rachel smiled:

"No need for that. I know my brother Phoenix very well. He's timid and can't handle such a big scene. You're enough."

Phil frowned. "What is Your Highness going to do?"

Rachel smiled knowingly, but didn't answer. The more she was asked, the less she answered.

After driving through the congested roads and onto the wide main road of the community, all pedestrians and vendors quickly stepped aside.

The two groups naturally separated.

Seeing Rachel's proud and pretentious demeanor, Phil gritted his teeth and snorted coldly.

Rachel led her elite army toward the western edge of the city, where the scholars of the Academy were stationed, and where the prospective saintess Lucia was also located.

"What for? To pick up Chief Mien and Saintess Lucia, of course."

Rachel inwardly mocked Phil.

For the past few days, they have been subtly vying for and confronting each other.

The question is, why are both sides so desperately involved in the saintess ascension ceremony, which they shouldn't even be concerned about?

It's definitely not about fighting for Lucia; Lucia has already been confirmed to belong to the Academy of Scholars, Mien.

Why was that? To compete for the "representative rights of the saintess".

So what are they fighting for when they're "endorsing" someone?

Are they vying for the hearts and minds of the people of Valgon or the Empire?

Don't make your princess laugh.

She glanced at the people on both sides of the road, some bowing their heads or even kneeling, and some even had their doors and windows closed.

What's the point of fighting for public opinion? What can they possibly do?

The empire has stood for three hundred years, and it has never relied on them.

This is why she mocked Bishop Phil, asking what the point was of showing off in front of the people by welcoming the prince.

So what if they think you're more capable and more orthodox than me?

If a coup were to break out in front of the capital one day, and she killed her own brother, would the people turn against her because of it?

What we're fighting for is the public image, another kind of so-called "popular support".

Ironically, this performance to win over "public opinion" is not for the benefit of ordinary people.

It was intended for other high-ranking officials and various factions within the empire.

To prove to them that they are the ones who have more popular support, the ones who are more capable and worthy of following.

This is the core political objective.

From beginning to end, the common people were merely a part of their political performance.

Therefore, she was going to meet the true protagonists of this saintly ceremony—Mien and Lucia—and do what she was really meant to do.

They are far superior to Phil and Phoenix, who are vain, foolish, and lack a sense of priorities.

Moreover, under the current circumstances, Mien and Lucia have become forces that cannot be ignored in their competition.

Mien and the Academy behind him were originally neutral NPCs that needed to be won over.

Now, with the blessing of the saintess, it has gained a certain political influence.

Although Mien still has no intention of participating, he will definitely try to stay on his side.

As she rode her warhorse through the streets, her joyful mood allowed her to slow its pace.

Beneath her proud head, her ample bosom undulated, and Rachel thought of someone else.

"Neuer..." His expression darkened slightly, but it was fleeting.

This is the territory of the Elyu family, and General Sestan is like a rotten apple in the army.

Thanks to his undeniable contributions, a group of elderly and middle-aged generals still loyally surround him.

He constantly sabotaged and caused trouble for the young generals surrounding him.

Even though he used all sorts of flattering and compliments, they didn't give him any face at all, and even used the old emperor to pressure him in public, making it impossible for him to fully win over the entire imperial army.

Coincidentally, this was the territory of his daughter, Count Neuer Elhu.

Although Neuer visited the army several months ago, he has not returned yet.

But I wonder if Sestan might deliberately cause me some trouble...

However, her pride quickly dispelled her worries.

Neuer's golden ponytail appeared before him, the young and innocent knight commander.

That blond-haired girl, just like her father, still stubbornly clings to some kind of "justice" and "integrity".

Is there anything I can't handle?

…………

Meanwhile, west of the city of Valgon, within the residence of the Academy.

Mien and Lucia emerged, followed by about twenty scholars.

At the entrance of the base, Mien arranged the follow-up work for them: on the day of the promotion ceremony, keep a close watch on and investigate everything among the five magic arrays and gang members.

After everyone nodded, Phyllis led them away.

Then Mien led Luya in the opposite direction to the east of the city.

As they walked, they explained the arrangements for Lucia's future.

After Phyllis gathered the gang's specific plans, the Academy quickly finalized its plans for tomorrow.

In short: using the core magic array, which is the abandoned factory, as the trigger, find a way to have someone openly intrude when the ritual is about to end, forcing them to take action.

Meanwhile, the scholars scattered throughout the area immediately used the magic rings that Hein had already mass-produced to control the situation.

And immediately release Bohr, who has been imprisoned at the Academy of Scholars’ residence for several months.

He was already loyal enough to tell Miles that he had been betrayed by Theodore.

And it must be said: Theodore was prepared to scheme against Miles as well, to betray him at the most crucial moment of the sacrificial ceremony.

This would split the two gangs, preventing them from carrying out their planned massive destruction immediately.

After the incident broke out, Lucia did very simply: she went to the scene and tried her best to help the civilians and soldiers with her "healing" and "purification" techniques.

Then just wait quietly for someone to come to you for help.

Lucia diligently memorized every detail.

After walking for a long time, Lucia asked with some confusion:

"Teacher, what are we going to do on the west side of the city?"

Mien smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you this before?"

Before the promotion ceremony, you will need to meet with the city lord here, Miss Neuer Elyu.