Either the church was covering something up, or the nuns were lying.
If it was the latter, Isabella could not think of any reason for them to fabricate an order. After all, it was a fact that they had been abandoned. Judging from the dispirited faces of these people, the cloister would become a place of death in another half a month.
If it was the former, the church had recalled all the clergy to Hermes, but did not set up any defenses against the Cloud Ladder and the old Holy City. What on earth did they want to do?
Isabella temporarily suppressed the speculation in her mind and looked at the leader. "What's your name?"
"Your Holiness, my name is Autumn."
"Haven't you ever thought of escaping from here?"
"Wh... what?" The nun was stunned.
"Although the walls of this courtyard are high and the gate thick, it's not impossible to climb over. One and a half months is enough for you to build a wooden ladder, or pile firewood under the gate to burn the door or melt the iron chains. All of these are feasible methods. " Isabella asked curiously, "Since you've thought of sending a representative to report the situation, why didn't you choose to go out together? Even the food supply here has been cut off. Even without the army of the Kingdom of Dawn, staying here will only lead to death. "
After a long silence, Autumn murmured, "But... where can we go if we leave here?"
Her words made everyone present lower their heads.
"I've never left the cloister..."
"Me neither."
"Although we don't have enough to eat, at least we can eat something every day. It's not much better outside," one of the orphans said.
"If we ask for food from others, we'll become the same as before."
"The book says that we shouldn't take begging for granted."
"I don't want... to live like before."
"I see." Looking at the confused faces of the people, Isabella suddenly understood. They did not stay here because of the church's order, but because their living habits made it difficult for them to have other choices. This was a mixed message. It would be easy to deal with the nuns and kill those who were loyal to the Holy City. However, if these orphans became die-hard believers of the church, His Majesty would have a headache.
"I also want to ask you a question." She took a deep breath and asked in a deep voice, "Why do you call me Your Holiness?"
"Well..." Qiu looked timid. She hesitated for a while and said, "His Holiness Mayne has passed away, the three archbishops have passed away one after another, and Hermes has not issued a new appointment order. According to the principle of automatic replacement, you are the one closest to the Temple."
"Lord Isabella, please save us!"
"Don't leave us here. We are willing to accept any punishment!"
"Please take us to Hermes!"
The nuns begged again.
It seemed that the reason why they called her Your Majesty was not premeditated, but because they wanted to regain the attention of the Sacred City, Isabella thought. Although the principle of replacement did not apply to the higher-ups of the Church, those who had fallen into the water would not care about such details. As long as there was a chance of survival, they would grab it tightly, even if it was a straw.
Thinking of this, she quickly came up with an idea. "I'm here to tell you something important. Listen up!"
Everyone immediately held their breath.
"The Church is no longer the Church it used to be," Isabella said loudly. "Mayne is not the real Pope. He not only betrayed Sir O 'Brien but also stole the throne of the Pope! In fact, Sir O 'Brien wants someone else to succeed him! "
Her words were like a stone that caused a thousand ripples, and the crowd suddenly burst into an uproar.
"That person is his first Pure Witch, Zero." She did not know what His Majesty would think of these words, but since she had started, she decided to do her best. "Graycastle is not the enemy of the Church. To fight against a real strong enemy, Sir O 'Brien even hopes to form an alliance with Graycastle."
"Do you mean … demonic beasts?" Someone could not help but ask.
"More terrible than demonic beasts." Isabella shook her head. "These are all recorded in the Holy Scriptures of the Church, and only a few people can see them. Mayne was not willing to let the Pure Witches take away his power, so he secretly launched a rebellion and framed Zero, who wanted to be an ambassador to Graycastle. That was how the Battle of Coldwind Ridge broke out. Fortunately, Mayne's trick did not succeed. I survived the battle, but the masterminds of the rebellion all died within a month. There is no doubt that this is the punishment of God. "
"So there was no battle to the death, and there was no need to stay in the cloister until the last moment —" She paused. "You are safe now."
Both the nuns and the orphans showed a look of disbelief.
"Then … the punishment for the priests …"
"They are not qualified to be called priests for what they did. I forgive you."
The courtyard was silent for a moment, and then there was a huge burst of cheers. "That's great, Your Holiness is merciful!"
"Long live Her Holiness Isabella!"
"Long live the Pope!"
Isabella pressed her hand down to calm everyone down. "I've already said that I'm not the Pope, and the principle of replacement doesn't apply to the transfer of power. I'm just the representative of His Holiness, just like before."
"Then you also represent the Church of Hermes!" Qiu said excitedly.
"So I have a task for you," Isabella said firmly. "Of course, after you fill your stomachs."
The crowd, who had finally stood up, knelt down in unison. "Please tell us."
She knew that these people did not support her because they believed what she said. They were the ones who had been abandoned. The door of fate had already been closed to them. Now that they had the hope of returning to the Church, they were naturally willing to give everything — even if this "Church" was not real.
If the real Church of Hermes was still alive, they might think about whether their choice was right after they got out of trouble and calmed down. But now, this premise no longer existed. When the main force of the First Army arrived, everything she said would become a reality.
She would break the old concept, make up a half-true story, and instill a new "fact" in them. In this way, His Majesty could really control this land.
"It's very simple. I need you to restore the order of the old Holy City," Isabella said methodically. "Qiu, gather the people from the other two cloisters and pass my words to them. Then, before tonight, organize the distribution of rations for all the children. The First Army of Graycastle will meet you. They've already known about the betrayal of Mayne and the others, so they won't make things difficult for you. Next, you need to inform each family one by one. By the way, count who has left and who is still here. If you see any priests or followers of the traitor faction, inform me immediately. "
As Isabella issued her orders, the nuns quickly responded and then turned around to busy themselves. Although their situation was not substantially better than half an hour ago, at this moment, everyone's expression was completely different.
The gate was quickly dismantled. When a nun and the children lined up to leave the cloister, one of them suddenly bowed deeply to her.
"Thank you, Lady Isabella."
After that, every child did the same.
"You're so kind, Your Excellency."
"I won't forget you."
This kind of voice almost ran through the whole line.
"Thank you …" Isabella slightly closed her eyes. Ever since she became a Pure Witch, she had received a lot of hatred and curses, but this was the first time she heard gratitude.
She did this not to thank them, but as a means to achieve her goal. For the same goal, she could kill these people without any scruples. So … this kind of gratitude was unnecessary for her.
Although she thought so, she felt as if there was something else in her heart … a feeling that she had never felt before. It was slightly swollen and warm like light. She had thought that she would reject it, but surprisingly … this feeling was not that annoying.
Was this His Majesty's goal?
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