Refusal

Linda had already fallen for him, and the tears at the corners of her eyes made her even more alluring.

She had completely surrendered.

As long as the Governor nodded, she was willing to do anything.

Ron looked at Linda and swallowed, finding it hard to hold himself back as well.

In broad daylight, she was practically inviting trouble!

Linda stared at him with concern written all over her face. "Is something wrong, my lord? I'll accompany you back to your room."

Ron frowned. Was she asking the obvious?

If he really went into a room with her, things would be hard to control.

He glanced at her again.

Hiss... it really would be hard to control...

Seeing that Ron had not agreed, Linda hesitated for a moment.

Then she gritted her teeth and said with a blush, "If you don't want to go to the room, then... then here is fine too."

Huh?

Ron glanced at the row of maids standing not far away. They were peeking over cautiously, their faces slightly red.

In public like this, wasn't that inappropriate?

Ron wanted to act on impulse, but he could not.

What if acting on impulse got him sent back to the Palace of Slaanesh?

He had to restrain his desires, at least until Little Sun's abilities had recovered enough for him to protect himself!

Seeing Ron hesitate, Linda was about to make a move.

Whew, this could not be allowed!

Ron hurriedly stopped her and reassured her. "Next time, definitely!"

"My lord, you promised me?"

Kneeling on the ground, Linda raised her head with an expectant look.

What kind of magical angle was this?

Ron truly could not restrain himself. After some actions, he rose with satisfaction and left.

"I have matters to attend to. We can go deeper later!"

He really did have business to handle.

After leaving Spire Mansion, Ron arrived at the Ecclesiarchy Cathedral under Carter's protection.

He had something important to discuss with Bishop Dony.

A few days earlier, when Bishop Dony learned that Ron had used gold and gemstones to decorate the God-Emperor Statue, he had been greatly pleased and his attitude toward Ron had improved considerably.

This time, he had even come to the cathedral entrance in advance to welcome Ron.

"Bishop, you are being far too courteous, aren't you?"

Ron got out of the vehicle and exchanged pleasantries. "I merely made a negligible contribution for His Majesty the God-Emperor."

"The great God-Emperor will never forget anyone's devotion!"

Bishop Dony smiled broadly. "Governor, allow me to lead you in prayer."

He turned and walked inside.

Ron followed him. He had not come here intending to pray.

But since he was already here, he might as well pray.

He followed Bishop Dony to the Shrine and prayed under his guidance.

Cherubs fluttered around him, singing hymns of praise.

Some Cherubs carried Holy Water and sprinkled it over him as though it cost nothing.

The entire cathedral was serving Ron alone.

It seemed they truly had no business.

But that made sense. This cathedral had originally served the nobles and officials of the Upper Hive.

Yet during that heretical rebellion, the Upper Hive's nobles and officials had nearly all been slaughtered.

Those lucky enough to survive had then been purged once more by Bayev.

There probably were not many left now with the inclination to come pray.

There were quite a few devout believers among the people of the territory now.

But they were either in the mines or in the factories. Having time to sleep was already a luxury.

How could they have time to visit the cathedral?

Even if they were willing to spend their precious rest time coming here to pray for the God-Emperor's protection—

After prolonged Hunger, they simply lacked the strength to walk such a long distance to the cathedral.

Even if they did have that strength, Sacred Plaza was already under martial law.

They would be stopped by the Arbites and driven away.

If they stubbornly tried to force their way through, a beating would be the least of it. The unlucky ones might even be executed on the spot.

But that was only temporary.

Everything would change in the future.

Every citizen of Ers had the right—and had to have the right—to pray for the God-Emperor's protection.

After the prayer ended, Ron approached Bishop Dony and handed him a Data-slate containing documents related to the ceremony.

From the time Earth Planet had shouldered crushing taxes until the current Warp rift, gatherings for Ascension Day of the Emperor had been suspended for many years.

Now, he intended to restart Ascension Day of the Emperor and hold a grand ceremony on the holiday!

Ron promised that he would help the church restore its former glory in the future, hoping Bishop Dony would cooperate with him during the ceremony.

Based on their interactions over the past few days, he felt that the old Chaplain was unlikely to refuse.

Bishop Dony carefully reviewed the text and images on the Data-slate.

Put simply, it was the Imperium's version of a PPT, detailing the ceremony's proceedings, the attire of those involved, and their speeches.

Naturally, the most important section concerned Bishop Dony. He needed to cooperate with Ron's plans.

On Ascension Day of the Emperor, the God-Emperor Statue would appear in its entirety and reveal a great miracle.

Alongside the grand ceremony, Bishop Dony would announce to everyone, based on the divine revelation he had received, that Ron was The Savior.

Afterward, Ron Grant, the benevolent Governor of the Imperium, would appear before his people in the most perfect manner.

He would make a promise to save the people from their suffering!

That was the entire plan.

The plan would use most of the material reserves in the Palatine District. It was a huge gamble!

As he read, Bishop Dony's expression grew increasingly grave.

Ron's heart rose to his throat. "If there are any problems, please raise them. We can make changes and cooperate."

"All I see is deception!"

Bishop Dony gripped the Data-slate tightly, controlling his emotions. "You are deceiving the faithful, attempting to use the God-Emperor's majesty to seek political gain...

What blasphemy!"

"This is only temporary. I will—"

"I will not agree!" Bishop Dony interrupted Ron's explanation. "Leave, Governor. The church will never tolerate such blasphemous conduct!"

He shoved the Data-slate back into Ron's hands, then turned and left with his staff.

Influenced by their master, the Cherubs also moved away from Ron, flying far into the distance.

"Could you at least hear my explanation?" Ron sighed. "What is wrong with a well-intentioned lie? I am doing this for the people of the territory too."

"Lies invite heresy. The God-Emperor accepts no deception!"

Bishop Dony's stern voice carried over, leaving no room for negotiation.

Ron watched his retreating figure and let out a deep sigh.

It seemed there was no way to win the church's support.

But the plan had already begun. He had already ordered the news to be spread: the benevolent Lord Ron Grant had received the God-Emperor's blessing and would save the people from their suffering.

Combined with the miracle bestowed by the God-Emperor—the God-Emperor Statue restored overnight—

The morale-boosting effect would multiply several times over.

But now, not only could he not obtain the church's support, he might even face its opposition.

This was becoming troublesome...

If the church suddenly came out against him on the day of the ceremony, the situation would become impossible to contain.

Ron looked at Bishop Dony's receding back, feeling rather helpless.

He could not even use force against the old man.

When the Upper Hive's army had resisted the heretical believers, Bishop Dony had led the Chaplains at the very front of the charge.

Wielding a massive Power Axe, he had cut his way through enemy fire all the way into the enemy's rear.

In the end, he had cleaved off the head of the heretical high priest who had blasphemed against the God-Emperor with a single blow.

That had severely damaged the heretics' morale, giving the Palatine District a chance to turn defeat into victory.

Ron truly did not want to harm this old man, this loyal, fanatical, and even somewhat radical believer of the God-Emperor.

His expression darkened as he turned and walked out of the cathedral.

The Palatine District had already spent so much manpower and resources. The Ascension Day of the Emperor ceremony had to continue.

The arrow was already on the bow. It had to be fired!

Ron climbed into the Hover Car and set off back for Spire Mansion.

Since face-to-face persuasion had failed, he could only activate Plan B.

"Since I cannot persuade you, then I'll let the God-Emperor do it!"