HALF of the land area of Victoria City was being occupied by the Temple of Gaia . The biggest structure inside was the Holy Temple - a tall, white building with spires and stained gla.s.ses . It was known as the biggest church in the world . Beside it stood the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope . Then on the other side were the Temple Museum and the Temple Library . The museum contained a lot of famous artwork and the library had the biggest collection of historical books .

In front of the church was a wide and s.p.a.cious plaza where people gathered whenever the Pope did a public ma.s.s . It's also the place where most of the activities for the Festival of Creation occured . At the back of the church was a garden with fountains, statues, and specially cultivated flowers .

At present, all the priests stationed at Victoria City were busy preparing for the Festival of Creation . Inside the Apostolic Palace, the young Pope was having a conversation with a middle-aged looking man . The man has a few white strands on his black hair and an innate arrogance that couldn't be hidden in his gaze . The man's name was Marcus Stillwell, one of the five Archbishops of the Temple of Gaia .

He was there to a.s.sist the Pope for the coming Festival of Creation . Every year, at least one of the five Archbishops came to Victoria City during this time of the year to give their support . This time, it was Archbishop Stillwell's turn .

"Your Holiness, I heard that you captured the elf . Could I perhaps have the authority regarding the welfare of it? Being that I'm responsible for the Midnight Auction, I would really love to have that elf as a finale," Archbishop Stillwell said .

"Marcus, we already discussed this . Didn't we?" Lucern looked up from the paper he's reading and smiled at the archbishop . "Or did I not make myself clear?"

Marcus suddenly felt chills ran down his spine . Then he couldn't help but secretly gnashed his teeth . He hated this fear . He shouldn't be feeling like this . Cowering over this b.a.s.t.a.r.d . He had a n.o.ble upbringing, a powerful family, a high level Gift . He's not just some nameless orphan that the Temple picked up . And yet why? Why was this person the one sitting at the very top?

When the former Pope died, he expected to be the one annointed as the next Pope . He was the youngest out of all the Archbishops . He was the one with the most potential . But things didn't happen as he expected . For some reason, the other four Archbishops chose a young priest to be the next Pope . A 16 year old boy with no experience whatsoever . The only thing he got going for him was his light Gift . He tried to protest but it all just fell on deaf ears . And just like that, an orphan boy named Lucern Faust successfuly became the next Pope .

Advertis.e.m.e.nt It was simply unacceptable . He tried a lot of ways to take Lucern down but it all just ended in failure . Slowly, he learned the hard way that despite being young, there was nothing remotely simple about the new Pope . That behind his kind and gentle facade was a terrible monster . Even if Marcus didn't want to, the fear he had of him already became soul deep before he even realized it .

But Marcus still couldn't accept it . Bowing down to someone so beneath him, how could he do it?

"But Your Holiness, many of our guests are already expecting a top quality item for the finale--"

"Marcus, don't make me repeat myself," Lucern said, cutting off whatever else Marcus had to say . "You know that my patience is very limited . And you keep on testing that patience over and over again . This is going to be your last warning . Don't have any idea you shouldn't have . Or you might just end up the same way as Charles . Am I understood?"

Marcus couldn't help but feel that unprecedented fear again . Of course he knew about Charles Dupont . The bishop who was sent to Shandra . After that scandal, he disappeared . No one asked about his whereabouts . But they tacitly knew that he was probably already dead . And the one who disposed of him was none other than their saint like Pope .

Marcus lowered his head . "I understand, Your Holiness . "

"Good . Then you may go . "

He stood up and bowed, then walked out of the Apostolic Palace .

Once the Archbishop was gone, there was a swirl of Mana beside the Pope and a man with long gray hair and a domino mask on his face suddenly appeared .

"You know you should just get rid of that idiot . He'll definitely be a problem in the long run," Harlequin said pertaining to the archbishop .

"He still has his uses . And besides, it's hard to pick a new priest that could replace him," Lucern simply answered before turning to Harlequin . "Are the twins already here?"

"Yes . And their currently pestering Limos . "

"That's better than having them causing havoc in the city . Tell Limos to temporarily supervise them . "

"Yes," Harlequin answered . "I have news to report, Your Holiness," he added .

"What is it?"

"It seemed like the second prince of Albion already knew about the first princess' connection to us . Once the King find that out, it wouldn't be long before she ends up being kicked out of the Albion royal family . How should we handle it?"

"Let it be . She's just a single p.a.w.n in a big chess board after all," Lucern said, seemingly unaffected by what he heard .

"But what if she says something unnecessary?"

"Then kill her . "

"That would be easy . Since we already have an Apostle hiding in their midst . " Harlequin longed wanted to kill that annoying princess, so he was all in on that plan . "But I do wonder how the second prince found out about her connection to us . "

The second prince just didn't have the resources to know something like that .

Lucern reached for the pen on his desk and played with it . "Just think about the timing . This happened right after your trip to Xing . "

Harlequin widened his eyes unbelievingly . "No way . . . Argent Blackbourne? But how?"

The timing was really a bit coincidental . Just after he appeared in front of the young duke, the second prince of Albion suddenly received news about the first princess' connection to the Temple . But was that really enough for Argent to put two and two together?

"Don't underestimate Argent Blackbourne's means," Lucern said, a small smile on his lips . "Didn't you contact the princess a number of times before this?"

"Just because of that?" Harlequin said, still full of doubt . "But how the heck would he know about that?"

"Probably by using the sPhones . "

Harlequin was unsure on how exactly those sPhone got anything to do with the young duke knowing his communication with the first princess . But if the Pope said it was, then it most probably was . Though if one thought about it, Argent was the one who invented those things, so he probably had a way to use it to spy on people . Was that the reason why the Pope never allowed them to use the sPhone? Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www . webnovel . com for visiting .

If it was, then His Holiness was still the most fearsome . Because he managed to think of that possibility that early .

"Speaking of, is Your Holiness certain that the duke will come here in Victoria City?" Harlequin asked, choosing to change the topic .

"Oh, he will definitely come . He's probably already here now, wearing a different face . "

"Should we look for him then?"

"No . Let him play to his heart's content . "

Because whatever Argent chose to do, it wouldn't affect his overall plan . Lucern looked outside the window of his study . An ambiguous smile flashed on his lips . His blue eyes were suddenly filled with excitement .

[I'm waiting, Argent . Just how will you entertain me this time?]