The Enemy of an Enemy

Theus looked at Connor, deliberating before he spoke:

"Yes, so what I am worried about is not that your request for help will go unanswered, but that they..."

"Will bury us along with the secret, right?"

Connor did not answer; he simply lowered his head and stood to the side, waiting for Theus to make a decision.

Theus rubbed his brow, sitting in his chair to think it over carefully.

This was indeed troublesome, but on the whole, it was still manageable.

First of all, the Candlelight Society generally did not make things too awkward with local lords on the surface. He was now a Count of the borderlands; if he were killed by pirates, the Empress would only send someone else to replace him, but if he were killed by the Church for no apparent reason...

The Imperial family was currently looking for any excuse to strike at the Church, and given the Church's stance of total retrenchment, they certainly wouldn't hand the Imperial family a knife.

Theus felt that as long as he didn't court death, the Church shouldn't do anything to him; he could even afford to be a bit arrogant in his conduct.

He was, after all, the Empress's man now!

Besides that... Theus thought of Chloe.

Perhaps it was because she was still young and hadn't been with the Church for long, but he always felt this girl was far removed from the style of the Candlelight Society.

Theus had chatted with her for a long time in the Confessional.

She was full of passion and curiosity for the world, as if there were a fire burning in her heart, and everyone who came near her was infected by it.

Theus had probed her attitude toward non-human races; although Chloe's tone had been a bit hesitant, that curiosity and sense of anticipation could not be hidden.

At the time, Theus had thought that perhaps he could gain the support of this nun.

He hadn't expected to be making contact again so soon.

"I will first go to approach Sister Chloe; she isn't as resistant to non-human races," Theus said, deep in thought. "The attitude of the Candlelight Society isn't actually that important. This is Sister Chloe's church; I only need to convince her."

And if the persuasion failed... Theus glanced at his feet. Castel was an isolated island; the only way to leave was by boat, and no matter what news was sent back to the Candlelight Society's diocesan headquarters, it would take a long time.

He could completely suppress any unexpected situations. The previous priest had died in an accident, so it wouldn't be all that unexpected if another nun met with an accident.

He could make everything happen quite reasonably.

But after thinking about it, Theus abandoned this rash idea. It wasn't that he lacked the resolve to carry it out, but that he had thought of another person he had seen in the church.

Brother Kaeschi.

Theus knew he wasn't a living person, but some kind of mechanical construct. His existence definitely had something to do with extraordinary power, and Theus's knowledge of the extraordinary was almost a blank slate.

Did he have combat capability? Could his own soldiers handle him? All of this was an unknown.

Theus remembered the Candlelight Society priest who had killed him—that speed which had completely exceeded his reaction time. Could he really stand against that?

A layer of gloom clouded the depths of Theus's eyes.

Although the Candlelight Society was always low-key, they were definitely not weak. If he wanted to seek help from the Candlelight Society, he had to be cautious and probe carefully. This would waste a lot of time, and time was the one thing he lacked most right now...

"Ahem, Master Theus, actually, the Candlelight Society is not necessarily the only choice," Connor suddenly said in a low voice.

"Hm?"

"Steward Alexei did not come here alone; his younger sister followed him as well."

"Sister? I remember he seemed to..."

"Yes, he is an orphan adopted by the Imperial family in the Northern Territory and has no blood relatives."

"So this 'sister'?"

"It is the will of the Imperial family," Connor whispered. "Before you took office, Duke Cohen sent people to investigate these matters, so he should have also given his tacit approval."

Theus looked at Connor, somewhat puzzled. He was originally Duke Cohen's man; judging by his tone, this wasn't something Duke Cohen had told him?

Duke Cohen had chosen to pretend he didn't know, not even telling his own people, yet he hadn't stopped them from investigating...

Theus smelled trouble.

The identity of this person must be of great significance.

The Imperial family was pushing it, which meant this matter was beneficial to them; the Duke was playing dumb, which meant he wouldn't suffer a loss in this matter...

Alexei... Imperial family... Duke... orphan... sister...

Perhaps the answer to the riddle was right in the riddle itself.

Theus's eyes lit up.

"I remember, in the Empire's Northern Territory, there is a White Crow Duchy, right?" Theus chuckled and looked at Connor.

"Yes, young master." A flash of surprise crossed Connor's eyes; he hadn't expected Theus to have already guessed the answer before he could even say it.

"Alexei's 'sister' is a refugee from the White Crow Duchy, adopted by an Imperial orphanage when she was small."

"And in reality?"

"She is a [Burier], a Burier from the Silent Temple."

The Silent Temple? Theus knew this name; it was one of the four great churches, and their territory was in the White Crow Duchy to the north.

The state religion of the Empire is the Candlelight Society. Although the Imperial family and the Candlelight Society have been drifting apart, they have not yet had a falling out, so the Silent Temple is still nowhere to be seen within the borders of the Empire.

What are they doing here?

Theus sifted through his memories, then a look of sudden realization dawned on him.

It is said that the White Crow Duchy has suffered some kind of bizarre catastrophe, and most of the people are now fleeing to the south, the Silent Temple included.

And now it seems they are quite interested in the Empire, having already reached their hands into the territory of a border count like Theus.

The Imperial family and the Candlelight Society are at odds, so choosing to bring in the Silent Temple to act as a counterbalance makes sense. Almost no one here knows about the Silent Temple, so they won't pose much of a threat to Theus, and if Theus were to approach them, they would be more willing to provide assistance.

And even if their attitude toward non-human races is overly radical, there is no need to worry; they have no foundation here and will not make a scene...

They are simply the perfect candidates to ask for help.

"Where are Alexei and the others staying?"

"Not far from here. You intend to go tomorrow morning, right? We can claim that you are going to visit your chief clerk."

"Tomorrow morning... yes." Theus glanced out the window. It was already late at night; going out at this hour would draw the attention of many.

"Then I will make arrangements for you in advance to ensure everything goes smoothly." Connor winked at Theus.

He intended to send people ahead to make brief contact, so that Theus could have a formal meeting tomorrow.

Theus took a deep breath. Although time was tight, there was no use in just being anxious, and besides, he was not without things to do right now.

"Connor, I need to allocate some supplies to the Banshees. As it happens, I will show you this secret passage. You can also get to know the Banshees; I have a premonition that they will be more closely connected to the territory in the future..."

He had to save the Banshees; they were the last hope for the Steam Engine.

Connor's eyes flickered, and he nodded, following Theus down through the hidden door.