The next day, Holy Dome Cathedral.
Under the gazes of numerous clergy members, Vera watched her brother nervously and excitedly as he was "awarded" a medal by Bishop Paul.
"The Silver Knight Medal is hereby awarded to Ansu Morris, Friend of the Church."
The moment the exquisite silver medal was pinned to Ansu's chest, applause immediately broke out. Bishop Paul gave Ansu an encouraging smile, and Ansu returned it with a polite one.
Amid the crowd, Vera curiously asked the person beside her, "Sister Freya, what is the Silver Knight Medal?"
Seeing those blue eyes full of curiosity, Freya smiled and explained, "This honor is awarded to people from all walks of life who have made outstanding contributions to The Church and helped spread the faith."
"This isn't some ordinary honor, either. I heard it was personally approved by the old Pope, who is bedridden, and awarded on his behalf by Bishop Paul."
"So it's that impressive!" Vera looked once more at her radiant brother on the stage, sincerely proud of him.
Who would have thought that after three years of bleak hardship, her brother would rise to prominence so quickly? Gold would always shine, after all!
If Father could see this, he would surely be happy for him too!
Standing on the stage and receiving everyone's applause, Ansu was nowhere near as excited as Vera.
Mainly because this medal was pretty useless. It was just an honorary award, and every wealthy merchant who donated to The Church got one every year...
Still, the original Silver Knight Medal had quite a history. Apparently, it had been awarded to several lords who funded themselves to take part in The Church's religious crusades against heretics. There were no longer wars of that scale, so its value had dropped drastically.
Ansu thought to