Chapter 698: Crack In Church of Light

Fortunately, the core theme of the entire speech draft was to settle accounts for the mistakes committed by Hebrew, the Pope of Light, rather than to lavish personal praise upon Lyra. As such, this part did not take up much space overall, only because it was placed at the beginning did it seem as though quite a bit of ink had been spent on it.

Seeing the girl’s hand holding the parchment tighten slightly, the upward curve of Astrid’s lips gradually became impossible to suppress. She leaned a little toward Lyra and spoke softly.

"Do you want me to read it out loud... for Lyra to hear once?"

This could count as a legitimate excuse to bully the little maid. Unlike the formal written language used in letters, a speech draft would ultimately have to be spoken word for word anyway. Testing the waters in advance certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Read it to her... the contents in here?

Imagining Astrid lowering her crimson eyes, irresistibly captivating as she stared at her, while her lips opened and closed to say all sorts of strange things, Lyra bit her lower lip and made a catlike expression. The fingers of her right hand, which had been holding the parchment, slid down and lightly pinched the woman’s thigh, smoothly wrapped in sleek black stockings.

In the next second, Astrid, who was nearly leaning against Lyra, let out a muffled hum. A delicate, tender tone spilled from between her lips and teeth, as though some fatal weak point had been seized.

On purpose, she definitely did that on purpose!

With the fragrance rushing toward her and Astrid’s sultry voice sounding as if steeped in water, Lyra only felt her whole body go numb and tingling. Forcing herself to stay conscious, she asked in a small voice,

"Did I... pinch you too hard?"

She really hadn’t used much strength.

Hearing that, Astrid looked into Lyra’s bright blue eyes. Her lashes fluttered; her moist tongue lightly licked her cherry lips, her voice exceptionally low and soft.

"Of course... not."

"It’s just a reflex, when Lyra suddenly attacks me."

No matter how Lyra listened to that, it sounded ambiguous.

Astrid... wasn’t she talking about something strange again...

"I don’t do this that often..." Lyra murmured, only to hear Astrid reply,

"Is that so? But Lyra always moves her fingers without warning."

"..."

She had to be talking about that pinch just now, right?

Before Lyra could act again out of embarrassed indignation, Astrid kissed the side of the girl’s face and guided her hand to remain on her leg. Only, the motion changed from pinching to rubbing.

"So, is Lyra satisfied with this speech draft?" Astrid asked.

After all, she was only the adviser behind the scenes. The one who truly had to stand before the public to do this was Lyra. The pink-haired girl’s affinity with the light element was high enough, and she could more easily win the trust of the Church’s knights.

At the mention of business, Lyra temporarily set aside her embarrassment. She glanced at the parchment again and nodded slightly.

"It feels workable."

Aside from listing the various crimes of the Pope of Light, Astrid also made it clear, both openly and subtly, that the faith of the Church of Light itself might already have deviated.

In the old canon, the omniscient and omnipotent Lord was the primordial existence that created everything, also called the first ray of light at the dawn of chaos.

The Church of Light was chosen for this reason, and because among the many elements, particles of the light element were comparatively comprehensive: it had the gentle, permeating aspect of water; the nimble, elusive nature of wind; it could blaze with the heat of flame and carry the sharpness of an ice blade; it simultaneously encompassed healing, purification, destruction, and countless other factors.

There was no doubt it was the most suitable symbol to represent the Creator, hence why the first Pope chose it to be enshrined.

In other words, "Light" could not fully refer to that deity. If one broke it down precisely, it was merely one of the myriad authorities the deity possessed, only more intuitive than abstract concepts like time and space.

Thus, something became suspicious: the current Church of Light constantly emphasized the connection between light and the Lord, and attempted to swap the concept of "light as a blessing spread upon the earth by the Lord" into "light as the trace of the Lord’s existence."

Without question, such doctrine would separate the Creator from all else, forming a faith that pointed solely toward light and the sun, matching exactly the way Lady Gemini described the authorities controlled by Moserria, another god-kin.

There was no reason for Brennild to expend such effort on something that brought her no benefit. Behind her tampering with doctrine, there must be a far more long-reaching plan.

Lady Gemini had also mentioned that in the layout for gods to resurrect and return to the world, gathering faith was very likely the first step.

Whether it was to support military action against Hebrew, or simply to stop Brennild from continuing to stir up trouble, Astrid needed to revise doctrine after the war in order to reshape the Church of Light.

"What does Astrid plan to write next?" Lyra asked.

"Continue pointing out the extremism of fabricated doctrine and its deviation from past faith. That argument still can’t be separated from that Pope of Light. As for Brennild’s existence, there’s too much involved. Making it public too early may not be a good thing."

"True... ancient incantations, god-kin, ancient humans, none of it will be easy to explain..."

The matters inside were too complex. It would be fine if only a very small number of people knew. For now, let Hebrew bear the greater share of the sins.

After exchanging a few words with Lyra, Astrid asked whether she wanted to go to bed. Her work was done; she could rest early.

Lyra pressed her lips together, not replying right away. Instead, she asked Astrid,

"Then how much longer will Astrid take?"

If it was short, she would lie on the bed first and warm the covers for Astrid, doing the basic duty of most noble ladies’ personal maids. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

If it was long, she would pour a cup of steaming hot tea and sit here to keep Astrid company through the night.

Hearing her question, Astrid glanced at the parchment beside her, estimated the length, and quickly gave an answer.

"Conservatively... a little over an hour?"

The main writing was complete; she didn’t need to do the polishing herself. Tomorrow she could hand it to Elise, an impeccable head maid who would handle it properly.

"More than an hour..."

A bit long, but not truly long either.

Lyra murmured to herself, then replied after a moment,

"If Astrid doesn’t mind... I’ll keep you company a little longer."

It was still early. She could sit here and meditate a while more, too.

Seeing her little knight grow more and more like a clingy pest, Astrid lightly stroked her black satin gloves. A round little wooden board, like a cutting board, appeared in her hand. She held it at the edge with her fingertips, propping it against her jet-black dress.

"Of course I don’t mind you watching," Astrid said.

Back in the imperial palace’s old fortress, whenever Livia Valeria wrote, a blonde, blue-eyed, white-stockinged girl would be by his side every day. Astrid was perfectly capable of focusing on work under someone else’s gaze.

"But the crystal stone for propaganda has already been cut. If Lyra just sits there watching, it might be a bit too boring."

Though Lyra probably wouldn’t think so.

As soon as she finished speaking, Astrid lifted her two black-stockinged, tender legs from under the desk. Her body fully turned sideways, and she gently placed her legs atop Lyra’s knees, those knees covered in white thigh-high stockings, then spoke again.

"Like this, since Lyra’s hands are free, help me~"

The solid wooden chair back pressed against Astrid’s back through her pure black long dress, serving as perfect support after her change of posture. Her smooth, night-glow-like silk legs rubbed across Lyra’s thighs, making a delightful hiss again and again.

Lyra’s hands tensed slightly as she looked at the woman’s slender legs stretched openly before her. The long black stockings traced the graceful lines of her calves, ending in small, glossy feet that resembled dark jade lotuses. When Astrid gently crossed her ankles, her stockinged feet swinging lightly before Lyra like butterflies made of ink, Lyra’s hands moved almost instinctively from her sides to catch them.

Her palm closed around Astrid’s delicate ankle. The warmth and softness beneath her fingertips seemed to travel through her hand and gradually settle in her heart. A subtle fragrance drifted through the air, calm and lingering like incense. Yet beneath that soothing scent was a faint, hidden warmth, quietly stirring something deeper within her.

Her clear blue eyes reflected the small wooden board in Astrid’s hands, and the parchment resting atop it, meant for continuing the draft. Lyra asked softly,

"A-Astrid like this... can you still write properly?"

Pressing the board against her body, wouldn’t that be inconvenient?

Astrid nodded, speaking gently.

"For me, writing while lying in bed isn’t difficult."

In her previous life, because of a frail body, she had often revised documents in a hospital bed. Now it was merely swapping a laptop and stylus for parchment and a quill, hardly much different.

After speaking, the silver-haired regent lifted her head and glanced at Lyra, adding,

"As long as Lyra focuses on massaging and doesn’t make me too ticklish."

Lyra naturally knew which parts of Astrid were more sensitive. Astrid didn’t need to be overly specific; Lyra would avoid them.

Hearing that, Lyra swallowed slightly. Her two white-stockinged snow legs shifted from being stretched out to resting parallel, silently supporting her.

"I won’t," Lyra said.

Her lover needed to focus on work, she wouldn’t pick a moment like this to flirt.

Astrid curved her lips and hummed in reply. Then she calmed her mind and focused on writing the speech.

The pink-haired girl looked at the alluring pale skin so close at hand, deliberately avoiding the beautifully curved arch of the foot. With both hands she kneaded Astrid’s calves, using moderate strength to massage.

...............

On May 12, Year 1734 of the Human Common Calendar, news that Astrid Calliste, the Empire’s regent, had entered the Church Knights’ order to meet and negotiate with Commander-in-Chief Kales, and had withdrawn unscathed several hours later, reached the grand cathedral of Seville. It was learned by Hebrew, the Pope of Light, who was praying devoutly before the statue of the Lord.

This negotiation request from the Empire’s upper echelons, neither Kales nor Monica reported it to him through official channels. The implication hidden within, Hebrew could guess without much thought.

If it hadn’t happened in reality, he never would have imagined that the once most devout Saintess of Light and the Church knight blessed with holy radiance would harbor disloyal intentions and be so dissatisfied with the current state of things.

Considering that directly announcing the front-line Church leadership had already betrayed them might cause some knights who were wavering to immediately side with the other party, and might even force Monica or Kales, who were merely hesitating, into a mutual offense-and-defense alliance with Astrid, Hebrew did not choose an overly harsh tone when issuing orders.

He only wrote a light, airy letter, telling Monica to bring the sacred relic of light back to the Holy City, and issued a command to transfer front-line command authority from Kales to another knight commander.

The result was obvious.

Monica saw the danger hidden in Hebrew’s letter. Using the excuse that the Valeria Empire’s expeditionary army was eyeing the border and could march at any time, she requested a temporary delay in withdrawing from the front.

Kales, too, invoked the pretext that "a general in the field may refuse the sovereign’s orders," and that changing commanders on the fly would greatly shake morale. He refused Hebrew’s secret order to strip him of authority, and placed the believer who came to deliver the message under house arrest.

Coupled with the rumors Hebrew had previously obtained through back channels, in the days following the negotiation Astrid once again brought the usurper Lyra into the "Holy Radiant City," successfully curing a plague that even he could only suppress but not eradicate. Their intent to unite with the border knights and swallow the heart of the Church of Light was plain for all to see.

Duke Grant’s territory had already fully fallen. The duke himself was nowhere to be found. If those Church knights laid down their weapons, lifted the encirclement, or even willingly became vanguards for the enemy, the consequences would be unthinkable.

Hebrew decisively redeployed another batch of light knights from surrounding regions to garrison key transportation routes, ensuring that along the road from Coldwind City to Seville City, they could receive enemy news at any moment.

Then he issued an official proclamation, declaring that Kales and Monica had betrayed the Kingdom of Vales, betrayed the Church of Light, and betrayed the doctrine they once believed in.

Unfortunately, the effect of this proclamation was mediocre at best. Whether due to leaked intelligence from somewhere, or the deliberate spread by someone with ulterior motives, the news that Lyra could cure the current epidemic gradually became known to the masses of the kingdom. Various rumors began to circulate within Vales’s borders.

Some claimed Lyra was a radiant incarnation that had come to enact the Lord’s will. Others said the previous holy war had provoked the omniscient and omnipotent Lord’s wrath, and that the plague had been sent down as punishment.

No matter which, it exposed the aftereffects of the Church of Light’s rampant absorption of believers throughout the Kingdom of Vales, when people no longer devote themselves to a cause out of faith, but are instead swept along by public opinion or environment, forced into it against their will, then their "purity" inevitably declines.

As Monica had said, the Church of Light in the past had fewer people than now, yet it was an iron block that was difficult to break. On the contrary, now that it possessed believers across the nation, it had truly reached its most fragile moment.