Night Talk

In a reception room sealed off from outsiders, the two sat facing each other across a sandalwood table. Lucia slightly tilted a gilded bone-china teapot, and golden-red tea, trailing wisps of steam, poured into the bottom of a white cup, rippling into a shimmering whirlpool of light.

He handed the cup, filled to seventy percent, to Miquella. Miquella reached out to take it, sipped lightly, and thanked him in a soft voice.

Amid the rising white mist, Miquella lowered his eyes and gazed at the wavering surface of the tea. His calm expression made it impossible to guess what he was thinking. So Lucia did not ask either. He simply drank his tea and waited in silence.

"This afternoon, after I helped Malenia suppress her rot, I heard that Priest Lance had already returned to the Ancient Dragon Temple. As it happened, the informants I placed outside also sent back some news on that matter..." Miquella let out a soft breath. "I think some of it may be what you want to know."

Lucia's expression shifted slightly. For the past half day, he had indeed been worried that Sister Lance had run into trouble, but he had not yet gained a firm foothold in the royal capital, and in the short term he had no way of investigating the matter at all. He had not expected Miquella to bring him such a surprise the moment he arrived.

"Please, go on," he said at once.

Miquella did not beat around the bush at all. He set down the teacup in his hand and said bluntly, "During the few days you were in seclusion, quite a few things happened outside. Many nobles across the dynasty have begun boycotting the Ancient Dragon Temple."

"They directed the lower nobility and subordinate Erdtree Churches scattered throughout the country to stir up conflicts with the branch temples of the Ancient Dragon Temple over matters such as regional preaching rights and the allegiance of believers—you know, many common folk do not have a clear affiliation in matters of faith. In ordinary times, they might go to an Erdtree Church to ask a cleric to cure an illness, and they might also send their children to the Ancient Dragon Temple to receive training from the knights. Likewise, when their lifespans near their end, some people choose to return to the tree under the guidance of the guards according to Erdtree doctrine, while others follow the teachings of the ancient dragon faith and choose to return to the earth after dying naturally... These are all perfectly normal things."

Lucia nodded and said, "I remember that after the two nations formed an alliance ten years ago, it was agreed that both faiths could spread freely within each other's borders. Although there was no clear plan regarding preaching rights at the grassroots level, by convention, such matters were always decided by the believers themselves."

"But some people have seized precisely on that point. On the one hand, they are forcing the people to choose one or the other. On the other, they are doing everything they can to find chances to sabotage the Ancient Dragon Temple's original missionary activities. For example, they threaten to stop providing prayer miracles to forbid believers from attending the Ancient Dragon Temple's sermons, or they use powerful warriors kept by the nobles to provoke grassroots branch temples that are slightly weaker in martial force, injuring Ancient Dragon Knights belonging to those branches under the name of honor duels..."

Miquella's expression was ugly as he said, "According to the intelligence I received today, dozens of similar incidents have occurred in Altus alone over the past few days. If we include other, more distant regions, and then take into account the delay in the transmission of information, they may very well have already stirred up a nationwide wave of antagonism between the two faiths."

When Lucia heard this, he gave a cold laugh and said, "From Leyndell to Dectus, even a fast horse carrying a message would need a day and a night. It has been less than a week since I was appointed Empyrean, yet the news could spread throughout the entire dynasty, and they could even organize unrest of this scale at the grassroots level. Are some people so lazy that they cannot even be bothered to put on an act of peaceful coexistence anymore?"

Miquella naturally understood the hidden meaning in his words. For information to spread at such speed, the spatial teleportation gates leading from Leyndell to every part of the dynasty must have been used. Yet teleportation gates were not only extremely difficult to construct, but also enormously expensive to maintain. Therefore, aside from the golden royal family, this method of communication was held only by a handful of the top nobles in the court. In the current situation, those people were only one step away from openly sticking the words "chief culprits" onto their faces.

"In truth, over the years, many nobles in Leyndell have always had a rather delicate attitude toward the Ancient Dragon Temple..." Miquella chose his words carefully. "Of course, what they dislike is not only the Ancient Dragon Temple, but every existence that goes against the Golden Order."

"For example, Caria, Sky City, Misbegotten, Demi-humans, Trolls—or perhaps those Omen as well?" Lucia suddenly said. "No, that is not right. Thinking about it, Caria at least has three demigods who possess His Majesty Radagon's bloodline. In their eyes, the dragon race is probably just a group of Omen with wings, stronger and more troublesome than most, isn't it?"

"Omen..." Miquella was first startled, then a trace of bitterness gradually appeared on his face. "I did not expect you to know so much."

Lucia leaned back against his chair, lifted his teacup, and took a small sip without speaking.

After a moment of silence, Miquella sighed and said, "In recent years, Fundamentalism of the Golden Order has gradually shown signs of replacing the original Erdtree doctrine. Many new-party nobles who rose during the Carian War are not satisfied with Mother's current approach. They believe that all powers that do not belong to the Erdtree should be dealt with through more... forceful measures."

"Fortunately, the two wars from more than a decade ago are not yet so distant. Those memories filled with blood and fire can at least still allow them to maintain basic reason. It was not until your arrival that this dangerous balance was suddenly shaken—because someone could no longer sit still. That was why Priest Lance had no choice but to leave the Ancient Dragon Temple and go to Dectus that day. Do you understand?"

Lucia looked at him quietly. In those clear eyes across from him, a struggling expression appeared. By this point, the matter had already been laid bare enough. Within the Golden Dynasty, terms such as new party and old party had never been acknowledged. Although the conflict between the new and old doctrines was growing increasingly obvious, no one would openly commit such treason as to trace the origins of the two doctrines in public.

The god and the king as one, peace throughout the realm—that was the proper image of the Golden Dynasty that ruled the continent.

"I understand," Lucia said softly. "In the end, they are unwilling to accept that there is a demigod under the Golden Order who has no golden bloodline at all, especially when this demigod has just become an Empyrean. These people do not dare defy the divine oracle sent down by the Greater Will, so they can only turn their spears toward the Ancient Dragon Temple, hoping to weaken the power I may be able to control in the future through such methods."

Seeing his calm state, Miquella let out a slight breath of relief and said, "You do not need to worry about Priest Lance. The ones entering the field now are only insignificant pawns. Most of the truly troublesome people are wary of the reputation she forged in the Ancient Dragon War. At most, they only dare provide some resources and channels from behind the scenes. I estimate that within a few days, the Ancient Dragon Temple will suppress this chaos."

At this point, he smiled apologetically and said, "I was originally worried that after you learned this news in a few days, you might become overcome with anger for a moment and do something irrational, giving others a chance to take advantage of you instead. Now it seems I was being presumptuous."

"How could that be?" Warmth rose in Lucia's heart, and he smiled. "I am unfamiliar with everything and everyone here, and Sister Lance refuses to tell me about these things. If you had not come to clear up my confusion, I really might have worried for quite a while..."

After the serious business was finished, the two chatted and laughed all the way back to the courtyard. They happened to see Malenia holding a peacock tail feather used to decorate the palace and teasing Sherry with it. The little fox sprang up and down in the direction the feather waved, enjoying herself immensely.

Lucia took a deep breath and let the evening wind in the courtyard, carrying a faint floral fragrance, soak into his lungs with a slightly cool sensation. After temporarily setting down the heavy burden in his heart, the scene of laughter and joy before his eyes could not help making him feel at ease in both body and mind.

If the rot on Malenia's body no longer worsened, just as everything in the world no longer slid toward that collapsed abyss, and all things could remain in their first and most beautiful season, he would rather this moment become eternal.