Crawford left the cold palace, that symbol of supreme power, in a daze.
The letter of appointment in his hand felt like a red-hot branding iron, scorching his palm numb, yet so heavy he could barely lift his arm.
Prince Chris's personal seal was clearly stamped on the document, cold and authoritative. It proclaimed that he, a fat priest from an outlying village, had immediately become the new High Priest of the Earth Mother Goddess Church, while also proclaiming High Priest Byron's complete downfall and exile.
When this earth-shattering news reached the Earth Mother Goddess Church's headquarters on the outskirts of Votradnoi, it instantly unleashed a storm even fiercer than the one in the palace reception room.
"What... Crawford is the High Priest? That fat country bumpkin who only knows how to treat peasants?"
"High Priest Byron has been accused of colluding with the enemy, and they're sending him to that hellhole Suvano to atone?
This is slander! He's been framed!"
"Prince Chris, how could he do this!? This is a desecration of divine authority, an insult to Mother Goddess Gaia!"
"Submit? Are we just going to submit like this? Let an incompetent puppet lord it over us and send Lord Byron to his death?"
Anger, shock, fear, resentment... every kind of emotion surged and collided in the solemn but aging hall of the church headquarters.
The senior priests, usually so sanctimonious and composed, had lost every shred of dignity. Like hornets whose nest had been disturbed, they buzzed and argued without end.
"Enough! Calm down, all of you!"
An old priest with white hair and a white beard pounded his staff against the floor, his voice laden with exhaustion and fear.
"Byron... Byron was indeed reckless. He meddled in military affairs and had dubious ties with enemy spies. The