Deathly silence.
Dolores’s unabashed confession, practically a soliloquy, had rendered everyone present completely speechless.
In the distance, Elder Augustus knelt on the snow, along with the soldiers of the Church Nation. Hearing her words, they all trembled in fear. Cold sweat instantly soaked the backs of their clothes.
‘Crazy!’
‘Deacon Dolores has absolutely lost her mind!’
‘This is a god, high above!’
‘Saying something like that right in front of a deity…’
‘This is an extreme act of blasphemy!’
Augustus’s heart pounded wildly.
Yet at the same time, an uncontrollable curiosity surged in everyone’s hearts. How would the Goddess react to such a direct advance? Would she become angry? Or would she deliver divine punishment?
At that moment, standing beside Primrose, Cecilia was absolutely furious. How dare someone openly confess their feelings to the Goddess right in front of her? And say it so brazenly, so shamelessly! Even if it meant the Goddess was so popular it proved her charm was unmatched—as a believer, she should be happy.
But… she was simply furious! Extremely furious! It was like someone was openly challenging her.
In Cecilia’s eyes, this Deacon from the Church Nation, who had come out of nowhere, was nothing but a vixen trying to lay her hands on the Goddess’s radiance.
Without a second thought, Cecilia stepped forward. She raised her golden-white staff and held it diagonally across her chest, like a hen protecting her food, firmly blocking the space between Primrose and Dolores. Her eyes were filled with hostility and superiority, her tone icy cold.
“Sorry, Miss Deacon of the Church. The Goddess still has extremely important matters to attend to. She does not accept the presence of any tagalongs. Please return to your Church Nation’s formation immediately.”
Cecilia thought her words were quite severe. A normal person would have slunk away in shame upon hearing such a remark.
But Dolores showed no anger or annoyance. She kept that blissful smile on her face. Her golden eyes, passing over the staff, quietly fixed on Cecilia.
“You… also like the Goddess, don’t you?”
Dolores’s voice was soft but carried an incredible piercing force.
Struck right in the heart, Cecilia’s cheeks instantly flushed bright red, and her momentum weakened slightly.
“It’s okay. I understand how you feel.” Dolores gave a gentle smile, her tone incredibly sincere. “I won’t disturb you. I just need to watch the Goddess from afar, follow behind. That’s enough. I promise I won’t say a word.”
Cecilia’s heart skipped a beat. ‘What a treacherous woman! She’s playing the retreat-as-advance tactic brilliantly!’ By lowering her stance to the minimum, only begging to follow from a distance, if Cecilia continued to forcefully block her, it would make her, the former Saintess, seem narrow-minded—unable to tolerate other devout believers. It might even leave the Goddess with a bad impression of being domineering and unreasonable.
Cecilia clenched her teeth, her mind racing for a countermeasure. She absolutely couldn’t let this vixen win! Taking a deep breath, she decided to use her ultimate weapon: absolute status disparity to crush this ignorant deacon.
Straightening her back, she spoke with righteous indignation. “Miss, please first understand your own identity! I am the Saintess of this generation for the Kingdom of Aezera, serving the great Goddess Primrose. Accompanying the Goddess by her side is my duty.” She paused, scanning Dolores from head to toe.
“Meanwhile, you are merely an ordinary Church Deacon of the Holy Radiance Church State. Even if you also believe in the Goddess Primrose, given your status and position, you have no right to follow the Goddess. You are crossing the line.”
Cecilia believed this speech was flawless—logical and backed by system and hierarchy. It completely shut the other party down.
However, Dolores’s next casual remark sent Cecilia straight into the abyss.
Dolores shook her head gently, her smile slightly fading, replaced by an extremely calm expression. “No. You misunderstand. Actually, I am the daughter of the Archbishop. The position of Deacon is just a common front identity I hold to avoid trouble. In reality, with my strength and the authority I hold within the Church Nation, I can take a seat among the Seven Elders at any time.”
These light, casual words hit like a bomb.
Behind them, Elder Augustus, who had been kneeling in the snow eavesdropping, and all the soldiers of the Church Nation were thrown into an uproar.
“What?! Deacon Dolores… is the Archbishop’s daughter?!”
“My god! How is that possible?!”
“The Archbishop actually hid her so deep!”
Though the soldiers dared not raise their heads, suppressed exclamations burst out one after another. They had always thought Dolores was just a talented young deacon. Who could have imagined she had such a terrifying background?
Cecilia froze completely. She held her staff, not knowing whether to lower it or keep it raised. Her mind frantically compared their status differences.
The Holy Radiance Church State was a thoroughly theocratic nation. The Pope was the supreme ruler, equivalent to the King of the Kingdom of Aezera.
The Archbishop, designated as the Pope’s successor, was in name like a prince of the kingdom, but in reality, the Archbishop held most of the real power in the Church Nation—far above an ordinary prince, in a unique position between king and prince. As for the Seven Elders, they were the core power ministers of the entire Church—each a true power figure.
And now, Dolores claimed to be the Archbishop’s biological daughter. What did that mean? It was almost equivalent to… being the daughter of the kingdom’s future throne heir. Moreover—and even more terrifying—Dolores had personally stated that she herself possessed the absolute strength to take a seat among the Seven Elders.
The more Cecilia calculated, the colder her heart grew. She suddenly realized that her title of Saintess held no advantage before Dolores. In fact… she was subtly being overshadowed.
After all, no matter how noble the Saintess title was, Cecilia could never become the future king of the Kingdom of Aezera. But Dolores was different. Once the Archbishop inherited the Pope’s position, she… would become the true first heir to the Church Nation—the future heir to the Pope.