Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

That's true!

These senior students have probably been fooled by Ansu's positive propaganda. What does "the way of the king" even mean?

However, this is a taboo topic in Ansu, and Avalon might be monitoring Tia and Roman's conversation all the time. Especially at 16 Crown Street, Queen Elizabeth might be able to see Tia and Eleanor taking a bath together through the Avalon system.

I wonder what Her Majesty the Queen will think when she sees this.

Tia didn't say much, and Roman simply told her that considering Tia's achievements over the past period, the Grand Police Department would nominate her for a major award ceremony.

Medals and the like are secondary; the main thing is that Tia can apply to the Anti-Corruption Bureau for access to the secret knowledge of the Royal Cathedral Library once, and she can also customize an extraordinary item.

The award ceremony is in the middle of the year. Since it is an internal award ceremony, it doesn't really matter whether she comes or not; the gifts can be delivered directly to her doorstep.

That's good; Tia accepts all comers.

After leaving the diplomatic office, Tia returned to Silver Castle city and stayed there for a few days. She attended classes and came home from school just like Anne, looking quite like a student.

Professor Bernard of the History Department canceled his overseas scientific expedition and, while deciphering the ancient script provided by Tia, also taught a specialized course on ancient script research at Saint Laurent.

By shamelessly taking advantage of the situation, Tia successfully audited Professor Bernard's class without paying tuition.

Over the weekend, she borrowed a large number of research monographs on ancient history, especially on the history of supernatural powers, from the seminary library—books that would be difficult for ordinary students to borrow.

But Tia directly used Bishop Marshall's name to gain access not only to the library but also to areas that were only open to senior students and teaching assistants.

Sigh, this is a society built on personal connections.

On a weekend afternoon, after having lunch, Tia and Annie spent a while reading in the study.

The deep sea is a collection of history; studying history is no different from studying the deep sea. For those with extraordinary abilities, the ascension ceremony is a nightmare within the deep sea, a projection of slices of history. If one can understand the history that unfolds within the nightmare, then one naturally has an advantage over other ceremony participants.

That's why Tia suddenly started cramming on history.

But halfway through, bang bang bang!

- bang bang!

—Bang bang bang!

A knocking sound came from downstairs.

Anne went downstairs and opened the door, only to see two priests dressed in solemn white robes. These two priests wore gilded Holy Cross badges with intertwined floral patterns on their chests—the emblem of devout priests in the Apostolic Palace of the Royal Cathedral, signifying that they represented Pope Peter on earth.

Anne last saw a priest from the Apostolic Palace at the Basilica of Our Lady in Newport, when the Basilica was holding a memorial service for Bishop Canthers, who had died saving people from the Great Plague, and the Apostolic Palace sent a priest to attend.

But the Great Plague and Kanthus are both major events and major figures!

This surprise startled Annie. "Hello, may I ask who you are...?"

"Blessed by the Lord."

"May the Father of all things be with you."

The two priests placed their hands on their chests in a sacramental gesture and said earnestly, “Good afternoon, Miss Anne Mercury. We are priests from the Royal Cathedral, and we have come at the behest of His Holiness Pope Peter to invite Miss Tia Sulph to the Apostolic Palace.”

Anne was at a loss, having never seen anything like this before, and asked blankly, "Excuse me, is there something you need...?"

"His Holiness the Pope was aware of Miss Sulph's eagerness to be promoted to Sequence 7, so he specially invited her to the Papal Palace to complete the promotion, so as to support her."

"We will carry a pass to ensure Miss Sulph passes through the checkpoint. But until then, to maintain decorum and solemnity, we suggest Miss Sulph wear a dove-grey formal suit."

The two pastors looked sincere and respectful, but their words carried an undeniable force.

As a result, Anne did not have a good impression of the two pastors. In her soft but dissatisfied voice, she said, "Gentlemen, your attitude is not like that of someone who is inviting people, but rather like that of someone who is detaining prisoners."

The two pastors looked slightly embarrassed, but remained standing outside the door, motionless.

Before she finished speaking, Tia had already come down the stairs with a copy of "General Theology" tucked under her arm.

The young woman, holding onto the stairs, smiled and said from afar, "Don't make things too difficult for the two pastors; after all, it's just official business."

“I knew from the moment Pope Peter advised Sir Roman not to promote me that His Holiness the Pope would have to invite me to the Apostolic Palace sooner or later.”

"Gentlemen, let's go. The Papal Palace isn't far from Crown Street. It just so happens that I also want to know what His Holiness the Pope is planning to do."

Chapter 187 First Visit to the Imperial Palace

Tia didn't immediately follow the two priests.

Although I was invited, there's no reason to go empty-handed.

Tia then asked the two priests, "Gentlemen, what does the Pope like?"

The two pastors were taken aback when they heard the question.

—What a question.

You were summoned here, why are you acting like you're a guest?

But since Tia was being so cooperative, the two of them couldn't very well refuse her.

But neither of the two priests knew the answer to this question. After racking their brains for a while, one of the priests suddenly remembered and said, "Ah! Speaking of which, His Holiness the Pope does have something he likes."

Another pastor said with a complicated expression, "He is quite fond of collecting artifacts and antiques. And he often attends artifact auctions."

"An antique..."

If antiques were on Earth, Tia could probably get a couple of genuine ones for Pope Peter. But this is Anzu, where even noble tombs don't keep anything.

But it's a good match for her major; she doesn't have genuine products, but she has counterfeit ones!

Tia went back to her study and rummaged through the items, pulling out the "antiques" she had made while practicing aging and forging. There were two ancient books from last week and a newly made porcelain jar.

After packing up this pile of antiques and books, Tia had two priests lead her to the Papal Palace.

Not far from the Palais de la Paix, passing Saint Laurent from Rue de la Crown, lies Place de la Paix and the Basilica of Saint-Simon.

The Papal Palace, where the Pope resides, is located in the corner to the right of the entrance to the Basilica of Saint-Simon. It may not look very large, but it is actually the third largest building in the entire cathedral area of ​​the Royal Capital, after the Basilica of Saint-Simon and the Great Library.

The reason for this is simply that the architectural design of the entire church forms a large-scale ceremony, which forces the "Papal Palace" to be less conspicuous in order to ensure the quiet and security of the Pope's residence.

Tia went directly through the St. Simon Cathedral to the Apostolic Palace. At the palace gate, two knights in black robes raised their hands to stop her, saying, "This is a restricted area. Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to enter."

Tia glanced at the sleeves of the two guard knights' robes and knew that they were modern-style knights.

She was experienced in hiding things in her clothes, and she could tell at a glance: there was at least a submachine gun hidden in the sleeve.

Two priests delivered the decree, and the guard knight gave Tia a deep look before lowering his hand and saying, "Miss, may we inspect your baggage? Cameras and photography are prohibited in the Papal Palace."

"No problem. I didn't bring any of those kinds of things."

Tia took out the packed porcelain jar and books. The guard knight flipped through two of the books and felt something was wrong.

Both books were written in ancient script. Although they did not possess any supernatural powers, just to be on the safe side, the two knights solemnly said, "These books cannot be brought into the Papal Palace. Please leave them here, and we will return them when you leave."

Tia nodded and did not refuse.

Her true intentions were not what they seemed; what she really wanted to conceal was not these forged books, but the sword of victory hidden beneath her trench coat.

Immediately, the two knights added, "But we'd like to know what's hidden on the right side of your trench coat, outside your shirt. Could you take it out and let us see? We're worried it might be a dangerous weapon."

This was a worthy opponent, so Tia had no choice but to take out the Victory Sword from under her trench coat.

When they saw this sword, which was full of trendy style, animal patterns, fluffy elements, and bright colors, and looked like it came from the children's toy section of a department store, the two guarding knights were momentarily stunned before the blade was even drawn. They retreated to their original positions with complicated expressions.

It was a close call, but no real danger.

The two priests led Tia into the Papal Palace and couldn't help but remind her, "Miss Sulph, although you may be carrying a sword for self-defense, please leave your weapon outside the Papal Palace next time to avoid any potential trouble."

Tia nodded, her voice barely audible, her gaze fixed on the corridor of the Papal Palace.

The corridor is lined with various paintings and upright tempered glass cases displaying ancient artifacts, church relics, and sculptures, the value of which is beyond Tia's estimation.

Tia also saw well-maintained green plants with signs indicating they were cultivated by Saint Grace in a certain year. There were also fish tanks and glass tanks for reptiles, all labeled with Saint Vincent's name.

Saint Grace was a saint from the Grail Age, at least 3500 years ago. Saint Vincent was slightly earlier, but also a figure active in the mortal world a thousand years ago.

Tia even saw things like Saint Simon's skull and Saint Rosalinde's broken sword; the number of relics was countless.

Saint Simon was the founder of the Church, a figure from 4500 years ago. Saint Rosalind was the first and last saint of the royal era, whom Tia also encountered during her ascension ceremony; she was a figure from 3000 years ago.

When Tia visited the Papal Palace, she felt as if she had stumbled upon a black market stall in the North Port District of Nuremberg.

That's outrageous!

So many items, and almost none of them are real!

The skull and the glass tank could be said to be well preserved, but the broken sword looked brand new, as if it had just been soaked in a repair agent yesterday, and the green plants looked like they had just been pulled from the door of No. 16 Crown Street. Anyone with eyes could see that something was wrong!

Your Holiness the Pope, how come all of these are fakes!

Noticing Tia's suspicious gaze, the priest beside her awkwardly explained, "Miss Sulph, His Holiness the Pope does indeed enjoy collecting antiques. However, he prefers to collect fake antiques."

Another pastor added: "His Majesty Peter often used his prestige to endorse fake antiques, fabricating a background story and then claiming them as genuine before giving them to the rich."

Good grief, turns out I've run into a competitor...

She's a forger too. Only her forgery techniques are more sophisticated than Tia's. People can't help but believe the artifacts she makes.

She really gave this to the right person this time...

Tia asked suspiciously, "Are you saying the Pope gave these things to rich people?"

The pastor led the way for her, saying as they walked, "Yes, His Holiness the Pope never sells any objects. He simply establishes a charitable fund specifically for child relief and poverty alleviation. As long as a certain amount of goods are donated to this fund, His Holiness the Pope will give some 'little gifts' of commemorative value."

The pastor's words were somewhat reserved.

In fact, Peter not only raised funds for charity by selling fake artifacts, but also purchased a large number of properties in Silver Castle during his more than 20 years as pope. These properties were usually offered to the low-income people of Silver Castle, and the rent was only charged for maintenance.

Now that these properties have appreciated significantly, the Church has sold them all to help stabilize market prices and to donate the proceeds to charity.

Such examples are countless.

"The Pope's bedroom is just ahead."

The two priests led Tia to the palace gates and stopped.

A weathered, aged yet robust voice came from inside, carrying a gentle warmth.

"Is that Sulph? Please come in, please come in. The slippers are on the left, you'll see them as soon as you enter."

Chapter 188 Ulrich Bonhoeffer

Before Tia could reach out, the door naturally pushed open to both sides.

The moment the door was pushed open, the dazzling white light made Tia instinctively raise her hand to shield her eyes.

Ansu doesn't have the habit of changing her shoes when she enters the house, let alone slippers.

Upon hearing this, Tia immediately became wary. This custom might exist in some countries around the world, but the Pope was unlikely to be a fellow countryman.

In this world, only the people of the ancient empire and part of the Holy Solomon Empire, which inherited the legacy of the ancient empire, and the Iris Flower also have this custom—because a large part of the people of the empire and the Iris Flower today are, by blood, the conquered people of that time. Taking off one's shoes and walking barefoot after entering signifies "submission" and "respect."

Ansu, as an overseas region less influenced by imperial culture, does not have this tradition.

That one sentence alone set off alarm bells in Tia's mind. In that instant, she was already preparing multiple rituals, including "Golden Fire," "Hand of Transformation," and "Red Grail," while tightly gripping the Victory Sword between her thumb, index finger, and middle finger.

But unexpectedly, the door opened by itself at that moment!

A dazzling white light filled her eyes. In that instant, countless moths were climbing and fluttering up on the door frame, flying past her feet, the hem of her skirt, her fingertips, her ears, and the spot where her gaze was.

The moths took flight, scattering white dust that immediately caught fire.

The white light was quickly followed by flames, and nothing could be seen in the entire palace except for a sea of ​​fire.

Tia looked back and was surprised to find that the two priests had vanished without a trace.

The once straight corridor is now winding and twisting, as if it had been kneaded and toyed with by a pair of large hands, turning into a tangled mess.

To be precise, they didn't disappear in the corridor.

Instead, she disappeared down the corridor.

in other words--

Tia pinched the spark that was swirling in mid-air, and the faint flame spread from her fingertips to her whole body, the light burning and illuminating.

The girl seemed to have transformed into light, and dazedly asked, "Have I fallen into a nightmare?"

"But I didn't even feel like I was sinking into the deep sea. How did I do that?"

Tia wandered through the twisted corridors, but couldn't find her way. To be more precise, she had no direction at all—it was like walking on a carpet with holes in it, and no matter how she walked, she couldn't possibly jump into a hole.