After Lita finished skimming through the book she had found about curses and misfortune, she finally left the Forbidden Library together with the others.
The contents of that book still needed to be verified, and exactly how to verify them was also a problem.
But the trip to the Forbidden Library had brought up a new issue, or rather, a new trouble.
Some manuscripts from over a decade ago had been found in the Royal Capital’s Forbidden Library. Without a doubt, these manuscripts all came from the same person. The annotations and lines of thought were very consistent with a certain individual’s habits.
The scope of these manuscripts was extremely broad, covering everything from souls to blood to flesh, all of which fell under forbidden knowledge.
Even disregarding the knowledge itself, Lita did not believe that someone who had obtained such knowledge could have reached so many conclusions without conducting experiments.
At the very least, Lita knew of one experimental subject: the Demon Ghost that the Corpse Ghost girl was desperately suppressing. When Lita wanted to ask her for clarification, that Demon Ghost committed suicide.
These matters were already shocking, but based on the location of that house, it was clear that the owner of the manuscripts had conducted various experimental studies right in the Royal Capital. Her manuscripts might still be scattered throughout every corner of the Royal Capital.
So, leaving aside who this person was, where they were now, and the purpose of their research, their very existence was a bomb that might not have been defused yet, ready to blow everything sky-high at any moment.
Even setting that aside, a single manuscript could give an ignorant girl the power to suppress a Demon Ghost, and could also attract a mage as intelligent as Doris to be drawn to it. Even just a leftover ripple from this person could become a thunderclap that shook the entire Royal Capital.
Rather than a thunderclap, it was more like seeds.
Seeds sown over a decade ago, now germinated and rooted. Even if one were to dig up the soil now, they could not pull out the intricate root system from the Royal Capital’s land with bare hands.
—
Evening, in the reception room of the Holy Church.
“Your Holiness the Saintess, thank you for your generosity. On behalf of the Royal Family, I pledge to never forget this kindness. I hope our future cooperation will also be pleasant.”
First Princess Amelia slowly rose from her seat, exchanged bows with the Saintess Bai on the opposite side who stood up almost simultaneously, then walked around one side of the long table and left the room under the escort of the Twin Moons.
At the door, a man was watching everything, a hint of restrained displeasure in his eyes.
Only when Amelia’s figure completely disappeared at the end of the corridor did the man step into the room.
“Lord Zefilan, you didn’t need to attend this meeting, yet you rushed here so urgently, taking such an interest in everything within the Church. I truly feel ashamed.”
The man swept his gaze across the scene in the room: the Saintess Bai, a fat cardinal of equal rank to himself, two nuns. On the opposite side was a solitary chair and a cup of the Church’s flower and fruit tea that was barely touched.
“Lord Grino, since when have the Holy Church and the Royal Family become so close? Why am I completely unaware of this?”
“This was all decided by Lord Rang and me in consultation. We believed it unwise to antagonize the Royal Family. You have always disliked the Royal Family, so we did not inform you. If you had been present, I’m afraid your straightforward nature would have caused our negotiations to break down.”
Grino, the fat cardinal, narrowed his eyes into slits, but in Zefilan’s view, that expression looked like it was made of piled-up lard.
No, not lard – something much more expensive than lard, otherwise it wouldn’t be enough to fill a cardinal’s stomach.
“In my absence, you dared to deploy… that person?” Zefilan paused his speech, finally using a pronoun instead of the name that had originally surfaced in his mind.
Grino chuckled.
“Oh, you mean Tasding? Hehehe, she really is a good child, outstanding even among the sisters of the Sanctuary.”
“We shouldn’t mention that name, let alone let her appear in the public eye.”
“Come on, my Lord—this is no secret. For hundreds and thousands of years, everyone has known that such a force exists within the Church. Her Royal Highness the Princess is certainly no exception. Oh, are you worried that child Tasding might actually become a Holy Knight? No, no, we are clearly separated.”
“Even so, she shouldn’t be mentioned!”
“Alright, it’s my fault. I let my tongue slip and upset Lord Zefilan again. My sincere apologies.”
Zefilan snorted coldly. Whether he used sarcasm or direct reprimand, the fat man in front of him always remained indifferent—in this regard, he really was like a piece of lard.
“What did you talk about? Is that something you can’t tell me either?”
“No, of course not. You are a Cardinal, how could anything in the Church be hidden from you? That Her Royal Highness the Princess told us that we should not be enemies. Although there have been some minor frictions before, that was the personal action of a certain princess, not the intention of the Royal Family.”
“Hmph, anything else?”
“And also, yesterday, in that lively Twilight Hall, under the Golden Tree, a Dark Elf actually appeared there. What a terrible desecration. To uphold the dignity of the Golden Tree, that Her Royal Highness the Princess specifically asked for our help. As you already know, Tasding handled it very well.”
“A Dark Elf, who can also use Dark Magic—such heretics should be driven out.”
“Who says otherwise? That Her Royal Highness the Princess said the same. However, we cannot let blood stain our hands because of this, so we only taught the Dark Elf a lesson.”
“What benefit does this bring us?”
“Of course it does. That Her Royal Highness the Princess is a strong contender in the Royal Selection. If she ascends, it will be very beneficial to us. The Church will be spared the bullying of that Big-Bellied King. Isn’t that good? She also said that when the time comes, all those previous matters will be thoroughly reinvestigated. My Lord, isn’t that good as well?”
“Investigate? Those Royal Family members only cover for each other.”
“No, no, no, they won’t. That Her Royal Highness the Princess also said that once there are any leads, she will hand over the culprit to us for disposal.”
“She’s just a princess. She doesn’t have the authority to dispose of a Holy Knight.”
“Not now, but who knows about the future. An Empress has the authority to dispose of a disgraced Knight. When that time comes, Lord Zefilan will have to personally administer justice for us.”
Zefilan took a deep breath and threw out a sentence.
“You don’t need to tell me. I will do it myself.”
—
Lita stayed up all night and arrived at a very pitiful conclusion.
The book about curses was useful—really useful, otherwise it wouldn’t have been thrown into the Forbidden Library.
But the effect was pathetically small. At most, it would cause someone to accidentally stub their little toe, and the duration was extremely short. The materials required to prepare it were incredibly troublesome, to the point that it was completely not worth the effort.
How did she reach this conclusion?
Of course, because Lita used the curse on herself.
To test the curse’s effects, Lita deliberately stayed far away from Cecilia and then threw herself into a bar.
By the time the curse’s effect completely wore off, Lita had only stubbed her toe, got hit on the head by an apple, and choked on water once.
She had been naive. If this book really could help, it probably wouldn’t just be lying in the Forbidden Library.
If she knew that this book was actually compiled by the King to help with Cecilia’s curse, and after finding it useless, he casually threw it into the Forbidden Library, she would definitely be even more upset.
—
Another night passed, and it was back to the usual routine of the examination.
The day passed quickly, without any incidents. Apart from three or four examinees withdrawing, nothing unexpected happened at all.
What caught Lita’s attention was that Tasding, who had drawn her notice the previous day, did not appear, and neither did the Dark Elf, Keluoyi.
But fortunately, from today onward, no one was thinking about challenging the Crest Knights anymore. Most people had realized that doing so would only lower their scores and might even prevent them from becoming an ordinary Holy Knight.
Some said this was also part of the King’s examination, to see if anyone dared to challenge the knights’ authority. Others said that challenging a Crest Knight would earn extra points, but no one dared to gamble on that.
In reality, both claims were wrong. The King had just had a sudden whim. As for the so-called points, they didn’t actually exist. As long as the King liked someone and they were strong enough, they qualified to become a Crest Knight. Wins and losses didn’t matter much.
“In the past, the examinations were a bit stricter. The scoring system was similar to the one you experienced, but the scale wasn’t as grand. I dare say that Father’s casual attitude this time must have some reasoning behind it. At the very least, he’s using this method to train us nine princesses.”
That was what Cecilia said, and Lita just accepted it.
In reality, who became a Holy Knight didn’t matter much to Lita. She was just watching the excitement.
But after the examination ended, there was another new excitement in the Royal City.
The good news was that it had nothing to do with Lita, and it barely even involved the Royal Family.
But the bad news was that a deceased person was found among the examinees—one of those who hadn’t shown up today.