Miss Witch's Forbidden Book Secret

Therefore, when Tia mentioned Saint Al, Peter indeed believed Tia to a great extent.

The problem is that the Aristophanes completely disappeared hundreds of years ago when the Holy Roman Empire's inquisition movement expanded. It wasn't just the Aristophanes that disappeared; to be precise, the empire at that time even fell into a period of religious vacuum, where ultimately, whatever you believed was considered heresy.

Believing in the imprisonment of the soul is heresy, believing in the freedom of the soul is heresy, believing in the existence of a Father of all things is heresy, and believing in atheism is heresy. Even the orthodox church of the theocracy gets accused of heresy when it comes, and many small sects have been wiped out.

These small sects were so obscure that they are only mentioned briefly in religious history, with their doctrines recorded in a few words, and nothing else known about them—such as their specific activities, extraordinary skills, or systems of transmission.

Did this girl dig up someone's grave or bring the bones in the coffin back to life?

The old pope immediately recalled information about the Aristocracy and asked with great surprise, "You mean the Aristocracy? They still have a lineage?"

Tia also became serious, leaning forward slightly as she explained:

"It's not just about having a lineage. I've even found a master who is proficient in the Yalepa arts. And he's not in the Empire, he's in Iris. Plus, an entire monastery of Yalepa monks follows him. You should know what that means, right?"

"Hasn't the Iris Flower authorities always suspected that we would continue to rebuild the church and infiltrate the Iris Flower? The Theocracy doesn't want to get involved in the conflict between the Iris Flower and the Empire. Tianfang is a heretic, and the Iris Flower is atheistic. As for the dwarf clans in the mountains, needless to say, they don't believe in the church."

"The faction that is not native to Ansu has joined us at this time, which greatly increases our sincerity."

Tia's words make sense.

But she forgot one thing.

Peter wondered, "But the royal family wants to infiltrate the iris industry without deliberately mixing in any foreign elements."

Tia: "......."

The Ansu royal family is indeed inhumane in its inhumane practices.

However, based on their brotherly bond and shared faith, Peter was quite supportive of helping a sect that had not appeared in public for nearly a thousand years to be restored.

Not to mention that Tia also mentioned that the Yalepa had an entire monastery of monks.

Thinking of this, Peter suddenly asked, "How many monks did you say there were in an entire monastery?"

Tia said, "I don't know, but their power has already caught the attention of Emperor Pinnock and the Inquisition."

"so much?!"

Peter was taken aback. He had thought that the monastery Tia mentioned referred to only seventy or eighty people, but it turned out to be so large that it could be topped by the emperor!

There must be at least a hundred people, right?

We have no choice but to take action!

Tia added, "Moreover, this master of the Yale sect, Baihu, possesses the entire existing lineage of the Yale sect."

Upon hearing this, Peter was completely swayed.

This isn't just a monastery; it's an entire religious lineage! And the fact that it's been targeted by the Emperor and the Inquisition means that this lineage is probably at least Sequence 4, and even Sequence 3 isn't out of the question.

How much of a help this must have been to the church reconstruction efforts of the Iris Flower Church.

Furthermore, the Iris were indeed quite dissatisfied with Ansu's use of the church to infiltrate the faith, and a group of priests wanted to withdraw. Having the Yale sect fill the gap might not be a bad thing for the Iris.

Moreover, although the doctrines of the Yale sect were not suitable for the Empire and Ansu, they were perfectly suited for the iris!

Peter asked seriously, "Tia, are you sure everything you're saying is true?"

Tia scratched her head and said, "I'm just telling the truth..."

"That's great! How's your contact with Master Baihu going?"

"That goes without saying, Your Majesty! I already persuaded Master Baihu to join the Iris Church reconstruction plan. But even if the Yale faction joins, they need a title, otherwise the Iris people will find fault again."

"How to say?"

Tia said, "Actually, it's very easy to do. We just need to have the universal patriarch write a decree and then publish it through the Iris Party. Although the Iris Party is officially atheistic, the public's church beliefs are still quite widespread."

That's absolutely true. The plight of the lower classes meant that the church's faith would not perish, and because there was no church in the country, the lower and middle classes generally had a deep-seated fondness for the church.

The parents of Captain Sotai, who took Marn and Holly away from Iris Flower on the transport ship, had settled in the Theocracy.

If it's a decree from the Patriarch, then it's probably quite effective.

Peter said after some consideration, "Leave this to me. Tia, go and find a way to settle Master White Oak. The Ale Sect is a great help to us. Oh, and I have some questions to ask you later, so don't leave yet."

Chapter 209 Holy Grail Ritual

Tia followed Peter out of the audience hall and into the corridor.

As he was leaving, Peter pressed the doorbell on the wall and asked the patrolling priest to bring him a whole thermos of honey water.

Peter was quite old and had inherited the habits from his early ascetic life, so he didn't pay much attention to his diet and suffered from hypoglycemia. Therefore, he always carried some food and drink with him when he went out.

The old pope looked at Tia and said, "Little Sulph, would you like something?"

That's great! Tia hadn't eaten breakfast either, and she said with a cheeky grin, "A glass of hot milk, please add a sugar cube, two slices of nut bread without spread, and is there any fruit for dessert?"

"You...you bastard..."

Peter was both amused and exasperated by the fact that the black-haired girl was using the Papal Palace as a dining room.

The patrolling priest brought honey water, hot milk, and bread to the two men. As he walked, Peter asked, "The borders of the Empire have been peaceful for a while now. What's the situation in Iris Country now? I mean politically, the situation of their authorities."

Tia nibbled on her bread for a while, thought for a moment, and replied, "As of now, there's hardly any activity."

"Firstly, the Iris Flower government is essentially a makeshift organization put together by the Alchemy Society, and the Society's control over the country is probably limited to Mistmoon City. Secondly, the Society itself is quite immature, and as an academic organization, they clearly lack experience."

"Oh, what's your opinion on the second one?"

"It's those classic problems. Scholars treat political issues as academic problems, always trying to find a perfect final solution. The result is either that things are impossible to do because of overthinking, or that officials know in advance that they can't complete the task and just do a perfunctory job. For example, many legal provisions are still not finalized, which allows rioters to break into Fontaine Palace at will and interfere with administrative work."

"Furthermore, their conflict with the Hand of Transformation has become completely extreme. I have discovered that the Hand of Transformation is preparing a ritual to resurrect something. The Alchemy Society is probably not far behind—but in fact, their conflict is not that great. The current situation is due to the poorly done united front work during the civil war, and the fact that the Hand of Transformation and the Empire were portrayed as enemies after the war to incite public opinion."

The term "united front work" is quite interesting, and it was the first time Peter had ever heard it.

However, Tia's assessment of these aspects is indeed accurate.

He nodded and said, "Because it happened too fast. No one could have imagined that the royalists would collapse so easily. In my opinion, this civil war was more of a passionate act than a premeditated one. They were like audacious thieves who broke into the Apostolic Palace, smashing the glass cases and taking out the artifacts inside."

"You can continue to observe for now. Communication between the two places is quite troublesome. With you as my eyes, it will be easier for me to understand their situation."

Tia glanced at the tempered glass cabinet that Peter was pointing to, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.

Nobody would want to steal this from you...

This looks like a "relic" mass-produced on a factory assembly line last week; any experienced thief could spot the problem...

Noticing the change in Tia's gaze, Peter asked curiously, "Is there something wrong with the artifacts here?"

Tia quickly shook her head, "No problem, no problem!"

“I told you, little Sulf, that one should be honest. I know you are a professional in this field, and if you find anything wrong, you should tell me directly. This is not only a virtue of honesty, but also a strict adherence to your professional ethics.”

Peter complained a few times. As for the issue of the artifacts, how could he not know?!

None of the artifacts in the more than one hundred cabinets in the Apostolic Palace are genuine! It's just a pity that Peter knows he's not very good at this and doesn't know how fake they are. He hopes that a professional in the field of antiquities can give him some advice so that it can be improved.

Tia had been wanting to complain for a while, but she asked cautiously, "Should I really tell you?"

“Speak up, little Sulph! There’s nothing to be ashamed of. You’re welcome to give us your opinions and suggestions. Just like you mentioned the iris issue!”

"Excellent! I've wanted to say this for a long time, Your Majesty. Which idiot taught these bronze craftsmen to make patina like this? Using ammonia to create verdigris is so unprofessional, they're simply ignorant... And this crown, the sulfur oxidation is overdone, it's obviously fake. From which shady workshop did they pull this out... The gilding is so new, it's even chemically plated. Don't they know that the popular technique in Solomon's early days was mercury gilding? It's obviously fake..."

Tia complained, "I could make something better with my feet."

Peter took a deep breath and felt a wave of dizziness. He had only known that the goods were somewhat fake, but he hadn't expected them to be this fake.

No wonder the envoy from the Holy Kingdom looked so confused when he arrived.

Fortunately, he intended to give these artifacts to nobles within the country. Even if those nobles recognized them, it didn't matter; with his endorsement, even if they were fake, they would be considered genuine.

Thinking of this, Peter suddenly asked curiously, "Little Sulph, how come you are so familiar with these techniques of aging and imitation? I thought you were only knowledgeable about cultural relics."

Tia: "......"

Tia didn't want to dwell on the matter and changed the subject, saying, "Your Majesty, let's not talk about that now. I ran into Marnkuren at the Iris Garden."

"Ah, that great inventor?"

Peter paused for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Didn't they say he had made contact with his mole in the Empire? Logically, he should be in the Empire."

“I thought so too. But he gave me an invitation to a banquet.”

"Then you'd better be careful."

Peter reminded him, but didn't comment. He asked, "Logically speaking, you brought this up not just to inform an old man like me. You must have something else in mind."

"Hey! You really understand me."

Tia followed Peter with her hands behind her back and said, "I need a ritual of protection from the Holy Grail."

"Go ahead."

"Guardian Angel".

"Hmm?" Peter paused, looking into Tia's eyes, where the girl's gaze drifted slightly upwards.

This movement was so subtle that even a seasoned detective might not be able to detect it.

But the old man saw it all clearly and shook his head, saying, "Little Sulph, I've told you before, you're too dishonest. You're a complete liar. Your purpose in obtaining this ritual certainly wasn't for the banquet."

"Besides, I can't help you with this ritual. It's a ritual that can only be performed by someone who completely trusts you. Its main purpose is to temporarily transform one's own soul into your guardian spirit. This process will also cause some damage to the soul. I'm too old, and I can't completely trust you, kid. I can't do it."

"But I can give you the ceremony later. You can find a suitable person yourself."

Peter shook his head and said, "But before that, you little brat really should take a course in moral general knowledge."

Chapter 210 Anne's Secret

Tia returned from the Papal Palace early, so she went to Saint Laurent to audit two required courses on Arabian history and folklore.

She had originally intended to listen carefully, but the old professor was speaking haltingly and slowly, which, combined with the generally drowsy atmosphere of the students around him, made Tia unable to resist and she slipped away halfway through the class.

After changing directions, I took a horse-drawn carriage to Silver Castle.

As soon as they reached the corner of the first-floor corridor of Silver Castle, Roman and Albert came down the stairs, talking as they walked.

"How have you been eating lately, Eleanor? Have you found the food from Iris's side a bit hard to adjust to?"

“I say, Albert, my prince! Princess Eleanor isn’t that delicate. Stop nagging about that. I’m asking you, what about the funds that were supposed to be allocated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?! It’s been two months and they still haven’t arrived!”

"We'll talk about the money later," Albert chuckled, glossing over the matter, and said, "I'm still worried about Eleanor!"

"Can't you fucking worry about me? If you keep worrying like this, I think we should send Sulph over there too! And the Mercury daughter, and that little nun, pack them all up and send them over as well. I guarantee Eleanor will be in good physical and mental health!"

"Hey Roman, you can even arrange this?"

Albert's eyes lit up immediately.

Although Sulph was somewhat ill-intentioned, she was still Eleanor's friend!

Moreover, Sulph's abilities are also outstanding...

Roman cursed, "Albert, you should just give the throne to Eleanor already. Can't you be a little more rational, you idiot? Is your brain filled with nothing but horse manure from White Sand Manor? If you send Sulph there, what will happen to Port Nuremberg?"

Albert raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't think she's doing anything productive in New Orleans. Doesn't that girl just laze around and freeload every day?"

“...Father of all things!” Roman thought for a moment, but was unable to refute it. He said speechlessly, “At least Sulph has some reputation over there. If you send someone else, how are you going to deal with those members of parliament and that bastard Field who just wants to retire?”

"Well, that makes sense. I was just saying it offhand, since there really aren't any good candidates."

Albert had barely finished speaking when he saw Tia coming from the front, and his expression immediately turned serious.

Tia walked over and asked curiously, "I heard you arguing as soon as I came in? Your Highness, Sir, what are you arguing about?"

Albert spread his hands and said, "Besides, you are simply the most suitable Director of the Anti-Suppression Bureau in New York. You are smart, quick-witted, have strong execution capabilities, are popular, and are also very beautiful. Well, you are only slightly inferior to Eleanor."

Tia was satisfied and said, "Say more, say more. Your Highness, you have such a discerning eye. When you're nearing the end and writing your memoirs, you must include these few sentences."

Albert: "......"

Having thick skin is an art in itself. In fact, Tia had overheard Albert talking about her from afar, but she didn't pay much attention. After all, she still had to consider Eleanor's feelings and had some respect for Albert.

Just a little, not much.

Albert, seeing that the person he had been discussing had arrived, felt too embarrassed to linger and took his leave.

Tia regained her composure and looked at Roman, asking, "Sir, I have something to ask you."

"Huh? You were looking for me?"

Roman was puzzled and said, "Then ask away. But I don't have much time; I have to go to the police headquarters later."