Chapter 71

Having a conversation in a room where wild animals are lying down or sprawling is hardly a friendly experience.

Although they remained silent and motionless, their enormous size, thick, heavy limbs, sharp teeth, and claws were undeniable...

How could it not make one's heart, liver, gallbladder, and lungs tremble?

Malediz was at least able to remain calm thanks to his age and experience, but Paul didn't dare to glance around; he could only straighten his body and sit up straight obediently.

In response to Cyrus's question, Malediz himself and said, "Does the Lord of Desinia not already know why we are here?"

Cyrus leaned back.

He wore tall boots, one leg casually crossed over the other, and a neatly pressed black vest and white shirt.

A black silk bow tie was loosely tied at the slightly open collar, and the lace cuffs of the shirt wrapped around her wrists. Her fair hands pulled out two books from the small table beside her; they were a collection of Tales of the Gods.

Cyrus said slowly and deliberately, "Because of these two storybooks?"

Malediz with a serious face, the wrinkles between his brows so deep they could trap a fly. "My lord, you truly understand."

"In that case, shouldn't you hand over this person who has threatened the authority of the Holy See and offended Holy See dignity to me for disposal?"

Ferdinand and Walker exchanged sharp glances.

Judas's face also darkened slightly.

Instead of answering the question immediately, Cyrus asked leisurely, "Does Mr. Howard believe that these two storybooks alone can threaten the Holy See's religious rule and the spread of its dogma?"

"Of course not."

Malediz frowned. "My lord, don't try to twist my words."

"What I mean is, the existence of these two Tales of the Gods has already caused the people in your territory to develop faith and worship in the fictional deities depicted in them, which is extremely disrespectful to the Creator God!"

Cyrus's response was to lay the first page of the book of Tales of the Gods open in front of Malediz, her fingertip tracing the small print below the title. "Please read it."

Malediz looked over in confusion, and subconsciously read aloud, "This story is purely fictional. If taken as fact, it is purely... purely accidental..."

Malritz, who completely ignored the small print, replied, "..."

He glared at Paul, gesturing with his eyes—"Have you seen this line of small print before?"

Paul shook his head.

He didn't pay any attention and immediately started flipping through the book.

"That's no excuse," Malediz, regaining his composure.

Cyrus: "That doesn't have to be a reason."

"But a fictional storybook—of course, my initial idea was to create a children's book—who could have imagined it would become so popular."

"Since it's a fictional story, Mr. Howard has absolutely no need to worry that the belief in the Creator God will be affected, and consequently, that the authority of the Holy See will be impacted. People..."

"Wait a minute! You... you said these two books of Tales of the Gods are...?"

Paul interrupted Cyrus in disbelief, pointing with his mouth agape at the two books on the table. "You wrote these?!"

Cyrus casually shifted her posture and nodded. "That's right."

Malediz: "..."

Paul: "..."

Malediz fist on the table and stood up uncontrollably. "Are you kidding me?!"

"How could you, as the lord of Desinia, write such a book?!"

"Aww!"

Egg Yolk, topped with a big red bow, raised its head full of little braids; Snowball opened its eyes from its slumber; and Coalball straightened its upper body adorned with a little apron.

The three large, ferocious beasts all turned their gazes toward them.

Qing Tuan let out a loud eagle cry and flapped its huge wings on the windowsill. The wind from its wingspan instantly messed up Malediz's neatly combed hair, with a strand hanging down and diagonally above his eyebrows.

The veins on Malediz's forehead twitched involuntarily.

He stiffly raised his hand, ran it through his hair, and then sat back down on the sofa, ultimately deciding not to say anything more.

As a cardinal, this was the first time he had felt so frustrated, yet he had no choice but to endure it.

Malediz a deep breath and asked directly, "Lord of Desinia, why did you do this? What is your purpose?!"

Does Desinia intend to rebel against the Holy See and establish a new faith?!

Cyrus said innocently, "It's to sell clothes."

"W-what?!"

Malediz, suspecting he was getting hard of hearing, exclaimed, "You wrote these two books just to sell clothes?!"

Cyrus: "Yes."

"Oh, no, that's not all..."

Malediz solemn.

"... and also encourage people's enthusiasm for learning to read and write, and improve their cultural literacy."

Malediz: "..."

As one of the Pope's right-hand men, he assisted the Pope in managing the Holy See. He possessed extraordinary methods and wisdom, and was also able to see through people's thoughts.

That's precisely why.

After carefully observing the Desinia lord, Malediz discovered that he was not being perfunctory at all, but was indeed telling the truth.

Malediz's feelings became even more complicated.

He said, "Regardless of your purpose, the deities depicted in your two books have already left a deep impression on people's hearts..."

"The Lord of Desinia must be aware of the situation within his own territory."

"Illusory gods must never become a new faith in people's hearts. Tales of the Gods must be banned. No more books can be written, and their sale in the Thorn Merchant Guild is strictly prohibited."

Upon hearing this, Cyrus lowered her leg and leaned forward slightly. "Then let me make it clear to you, you have no right to interfere in my affairs, you cannot and should not tell me how to do things."

Malediz's face stiffened.

"Besides, what you're worried about is impossible. No matter how wonderful the gods in the story are, they are just a kind of spiritual sustenance and longing after reading, and they have a time effect."

[This book-reading app was recommended to me by a book-loving friend of ten years! It's incredibly useful; I use it to read aloud and listen to books while driving or before bed to pass the time. You can download it here.]

"Once the hype dies down, how can people really believe in a group of absolutely fictitious, or even artificially created, gods?"

The culture on the Western Continent was too barren, like infertile soil and a water-scarce desert.

These two Tales of the Gods are completely novel and rare in their ability to stimulate readers' interest and enjoyment. They are like barren soil finally sprouting new shoots, and a water-scarce desert finally receiving sweet spring water...

When this subconscious yearning manifests, the resulting surge of fervor is naturally astonishing.

But as time goes by, people get used to it and take it for granted, until something new takes over the place these two books hold in people's hearts.

But naturally, everything has two sides.

Tales of the Gods may be replaced by new things, but they may also become classics and be remembered by people in the future. At that time, the illusory gods may very well become the faith that some people will never forget.

However, how could Cyrus say such a thing to Malediz and Paul?

He steered the conversation directly to a "positive" conclusion, which calmed the two men down and made them look better.

Before Malediz could say anything more, Cyrus stopped wasting words and directly took out the Papal Edict and slammed it in front of him.

"Mr. Howard, you and the Archbishop can stay in the castle first, and then go into the city to take a look."

Malediz did not react.

In fact, the old-fashioned man was stunned the moment he saw the Papal Edict.

Now he not only doubts his hearing loss, but also wonders if his vision has deteriorated to the point of hallucination.

Paul blurted out, "Papal Edict?! How do you have this?!"

Cyrus: "Besides the one His Holiness the Pope gave me personally, why do you think I would possess Papal Edict?"

Paul looked incredulous.

Malediz couldn't help but think of Cardinal Dempus, with whom he had never gotten along—this man had actually said "Have a safe journey" to him before he left...

He initially thought the old man had eaten something wrong, or perhaps his brain had been slammed in a door, which was why he said such offensive things.

Then, recalling that Dempus had personally visited His Holiness the Pope's residence before coming to see him...

turn out to be...

Malediz looked grim.

He completely misunderstood Dempus.

Dempus said this because he noticed Segalot's unusual expression and the unfinished words he was about to say.

--No matter how you look at it, Malediz's trip to the Desinia Territory was unlikely to end well, which is why he said those "kind words".

But regardless of whether Malediz misunderstood or not.

Now that the Papal Edict was indeed right in front of him, he could only suppress his anger and nod in agreement to Cyrus's invitation.

Cyrus smiled with satisfaction, "Judas, arrange rooms for the guests."

Judas bowed slightly. "Yes, my lord."

He then extended his hands to Malediz and Paul, saying, "Please come with me."

The two followed behind.

After they left, Cyrus relaxed and slumped onto the sofa, stretching. Then, she turned her head with some confusion. "Strange, why hasn't Black Sugar come to find me all this time?"

Normally, Black Sugar likes to snuggle in his arms and sleep.

Ferdinand pointed to where the Coalball was lying. "It's asleep."

The small, black ball of fur huddled next to the large tiger, which was the same color as the fur, and could not be found without a careful search.

Cyrus walked over quietly.

The cute little floral dress that Black Sugar was wearing had long been kicked off, and the dress and hat were nowhere to be found. The little black dumpling was sleeping soundly next to Coalball, its belly heaving.

Cyrus smiled, gently tracing the little black panther's head with her fingertips, then stood up and gestured for Ferdinand, Walker, and him to leave the room.

He stopped in the corridor by the door, gazing at the scenery outside the window, and said, "Cardinal... this Mr. Howard holds a high position in the Holy See. I wonder if it's easy to find information about him?"

Walker said, "The Saint Airo Empire is not close to the Desinia Territory, so investigating information about a cardinal... is not easy."

Cyrus murmured, "Boris should know something."

"The Anas Empire... traveling by water won't work. If we want news to travel faster... it's time to send Qing Tuan on a tour of the empire."