In the Silver Fortress, Amber brought some information that Gwen needed.
"These things are not difficult to find. Although they are confidential to the outside world, it is not a secret in the hands of the former palace advisors." Amber could not hide the smugness on her face as she spoke. "There are detailed records of the daily life of the royal family. These are about Veronica …"
Gawain took the neatly arranged rubbing documents, his gaze moving slowly between the lines of text.
"Veronica? Moen had a strong magical and spiritual talent since childhood, but she was almost declared dead by the doctors and priests when she was born, "Amber said casually as she looked at the documents in Gwen's hand." She had no heartbeat when she was born, as if she was stillborn. An hour later, she suddenly showed signs of life.
"Later, the Church of Holy Light explained this as' divine grace '. It was the power of the God of Holy Light that allowed this baby with a strong affinity to holy light to live. It sounded like a complete lie, but the doctors could not explain this phenomenon, so they could only record it as' divine grace '. This was also Veronica? One of the factors that led to Moen's conversion to the God of Holy Light …
"Before the age of six, Veronica often fell into a coma without warning. Even though she had gone through many examinations, and all the doctors and priests had declared that the little princess was very healthy, she still fainted often. Therefore, before she was six years old, she almost never left her room, and she needed a maid to watch over her 24/7.
"The process of her conversion to the God of Holy Light did not seem to be suspicious. When she was ten years old, Veronica went to the Church of Holy Light. That was the first time in her life that she came into contact with the power of holy light. In the process, she showed a very high spiritual talent and affinity to holy light, and attracted the attention of Holy Light Edward III. She gradually became interested in holy light. After that, she gradually showed interest in the Holy Light. After a few years of learning and understanding, as well as many overt and covert contacts and negotiations between the royal family and the church, the princess finally 'converted' to the Holy Light. At that time, she was already 16 years old.
"The entire process appears to be a very normal transaction between all parties, and Veronica's role in it has never exceeded her role."
Gwen turned a page of the document in his hand and said casually, "As an ancient soul that has lived for a thousand years, she has enough patience and wisdom to leave no suspicious points in her actions. Of course, her 'conversion' process is not suspicious at all."
"That makes sense. I think so too." Amber nodded with her arms crossed. "Do you think the coma records before the age of six are related to her 'Soul Parasitism'?"
"The brain of a girl under the age of six shouldn't be able to bear the weight of a high-level soul. These records indirectly prove that Veronica's description of herself is true, at least part of the evidence." Gwen put down the documents in his hand. "Is there anything else?"
"That's all there is." Amber spread out her hands. "So, do you think this' Defiant 'is a big risk? Should he continue to investigate the maids and doctors who had taken care of her, as well as the court scholars who had taught her? Many of these people are still in the White Silver Fortress. "
"There's no need for that. An excessive investigation would be too offensive, and I don't think we'll be able to find anything." Gawain waved his hand. "The situation is as I expected. Some evidence can support Veronica's words, but there won't be any additional evidence to reveal her secret. But this won't affect our cooperation with her."
"She does seem to be fulfilling her promise to stabilize the order of the believers in the city. And this morning, she has assisted the White Knight's Legion to enter the Cathedral of Holy Light. Putting her identity aside, she can play a big role."
The White Knight's Legion had entered the Cathedral of Holy Light.
According to the plan, this meant that the leadership of the North Church had been handed over. The White Knight's Legion, who represented the South Church, would become the controller of the cathedral, and the Grand Patriarch of the South Church, Wright, would enter the Great Bright Hall with the help of Veronica and the support of the Oracle. He would become the joint leader of the North and South Churches.
The North Church would undergo reforms in this process. First of all, the leadership structure of the church would be changed. The title of "Pope" would be abolished and replaced by the position of "Grand Patriarch" of the South Church. At the same time, the clergy, treasurer, and other positions would be established to replace the former structure of the bishops.
After this, the doctrines and precepts of the North Church would gradually be replaced by the doctrines and precepts of the South Church. At the same time, many of the "Holy Orders" that the North Church had carried out in the past, including the ransom, forced conversion, heretics, and so on, would also be abolished.
For the North Church, this change was almost earth-shattering, but all of this would inevitably be carried out because all of this was an "Oracle," which was passed down by the God of Holy Light to the last Pope. Ivan the Third, recorded by the Living Saint Veronica, discussed by the Archons of the Cecil Empire, and approved by the leaders of the empire.
Gwen lowered his head and looked at the other documents on the table. Amber quietly hid her figure, but her breath still stayed in the study. Outside the window, outside the Silver Fortress, a melodious and solemn bell was ringing.
The sound of the bell enveloped the Cathedral of Holy Light, and the holy light rippled between the steeples, vaults, and pillars of the cathedral. Priests, clerics, baptized Knights, and devout core believers stood quietly between the pillars and outside the Great Bright Hall, listening to the melodious bell, nervously and with a trace of expectation, waiting for the end of the "Conference of the Holy See".
The White Knights from the South guarded the entrances and gates of the cathedral. These tall and mighty clergymen were silent and solemn, the surface of their armor and warhammers flowing with light, full of pressure like the legendary warriors of the Kingdom of Heaven. Their faces were hidden under full helmets, and only indifferent gazes seemed to be coming from the gaps of the crystal eyepieces of those helmets, scanning the crowd gathered in the cathedral. Other than that, these steel-like warriors did not have the slightest superfluous movement or conversation.
Those low-level clerics and believers who were not qualified to enter the Great Bright Hall, or even the main building of the cathedral, were full of awe at the moment. In the eyes of these people, the holy light lingering around the White Knights and their silent and dignified temperament were obviously a sign of divine grace. These must be the most devout and the most powerful believers, otherwise how could they have such a body like cast of light?
In the Great Bright Hall, Wright was standing in the middle of the hall. In front of him gathered the only remaining high-ranking clerics in the Cathedral of Holy Light, and the Living Saint of the North Church, Veronica, was standing beside him. The Saintess held the platinum scepter that represented the "Bridge of God" in one hand and opened the other. She said in a gentle but indisputable tone, "… Devout and respectable saint? His Holiness Ivan used his noble sacrifice to exchange for the mercy of the Holy Light for us, and the new oracle has revealed the right path to us …
"… The oracle has appointed our new leader. He was born from the light and followed the path of the Holy Light to come to us. What he walks is the true path of the Holy Light …
"… That terrible and blasphemous disaster was a test and warning for us. Because we misunderstood the essence of the will of the Holy Light, we had to accept such a test and use it to reshape our faith …
"Saint? His Holiness Ivan took the blame for us and left this world. But because of his great sacrifice, the Holy Light summoned him in advance, and before he left this world, he conveyed these truths to us through his mouth … "
Veronica's voice echoed in the Great Bright Hall, and the high-ranking clerics listened quietly. Until the voice fell, these people did not question, but praised in unison, "Praise the Holy Light, praise the Lord, praise our new guide and protection, praise Wright? Praise His Holiness Evickan … "
In the midst of the praises, Leiter raised his war hammer high.
An unprecedentedly holy and powerful light fell from the sky, penetrating the sea of holy light clouds at the top of the Great Bright Hall and shrouding Wright.
The high-ranking clerics in the hall were touched and praised again, and this time, there seemed to be more sincerity in the chorus of praise …
"Disperse." In the light, Wright put down his war hammer. "Go and convey this good news to the believers. There will be no turmoil, no one will be abandoned or be judged unfairly. The Holy Light still protects everyone."
The church attendants opened all seven doors in the hall, and the high-ranking clerics in the Great Bright Hall left. Soon, the sacred hall quieted down.
Wright sighed softly. "… In the end, they still have a 'Lord' to praise …"
"After all, we have to do it step by step. The North Church has lived on this land for 700 years, and its devout faith is deeply rooted. We can't let them leave the Lord at the beginning," Veronica said in a soft voice. "What's more … we all know that the 'Lord' really exists."
Wright glanced at the "disobedient" and nodded slightly.
Whether it was Gwen who supported the South Church, Wright who promoted the new doctrine, or the disobedient who fought against God, they had never denied the real existence of "God."
The existence of God was an objective fact of the world. The disobedient were not atheists from the beginning, and this was the most awe-inspiring thing about them.
They acknowledged the existence of God, and they tried to fight against God on this premise.
"Using the new concept of the 'Will of the Holy Light' to gradually replace the original title of the God of Holy Light, and in the process promote the true path of the Holy Light. This is indeed a safer plan, but we also have to be careful of the concept of the 'Will of the Holy Light' becoming a new shackle …" Wright said in a low voice. "You have considered this point, haven't you?"
"If the old belief system and doctrine don't change, the shackles won't change. Just changing the title of God can't fundamentally liberate people. We all understand this simple truth." Veronica smiled faintly. "But we have to make a fundamental change, don't we?"
At this point, the disobedient paused and continued calmly, "So you can understand it this way. If everyone realizes that the extraordinary power of the Holy Light belongs to everyone, if everyone realizes that everyone can freely think about the doctrine, and everyone only treats God as a spiritual sustenance, and not as the supreme commandment shackles and the master of their own fate, then even if everyone still believes in the God of Holy Light, the shackles will have been broken, won't they?"
Wright quietly pondered the meaning of Veronica's words. Half a minute later, he raised his head and said, "Is this some kind of research conclusion of yours as a 'disobedient'?"
"For the time being," Veronica said with a smile. "But it can't be considered the final conclusion … Maybe we really have to wait until the day when mortals can directly confront God, until the day when we find the divine kingdom and God, before we can understand what God is and how they operate. On that day, we will have found the final conclusion."
Wright pondered for a moment but did not continue to ask. Instead, he brought up the practical problem at hand. "The reform of the North Church will start from Saint Sunil. The first step is that I will build a clergy structure here according to the way of the South Church, and the key positions will be taken by the clergymen from the South Church. What suggestions do you have in this regard?"
"The old Bishops have disappeared, so you won't encounter any obstacles on this level, but when you start to touch the interests of the middle and lower clergymen, you will inevitably encounter resistance. However, the lower the clergymen, the more you can use secular methods to solve them. Compared to being biased toward 'divinity', they have more weaknesses in human nature. Money, violence, division, psychological attacks — all these methods will be effective against them.
"Secondly, you have to ensure that there is enough force to maintain the whole process. The White Knight is very strong, and their force is very suitable. Please don't be merciful. The situation in the North is different from the South. There are many extremely stubborn conservative clergymen here, and they will not allow you to be merciful.
"Lastly, for most of the believers, the power of the word 'oracle' is endless. Use this word to make them believe and follow. In the North, this method is the most effective. However, be careful not to abuse this word. 'Using the name of God to do things' is a huge temptation. If you indulge in it, you will be no different from the original North Church, and you will unknowingly fall into the shackles of God. "
Leiter nodded slightly.
Veronica's suggestion was similar to what Gwen had told him in private, but it was more detailed and more in line with the special situation of the North. This might prove that this' Disobedient 'in front of him was worth cooperating with.
"Oracle …" Wright muttered softly and sighed. "Then, we need to further strengthen the Saint? The glorious image of Ivan the Third … "
"In order to let our reform go more smoothly and make the 'oracle' more legitimate and persuasive, a noble sacrifice is necessary," Veronica said quietly and turned her head to look at the empty Sanctum in the center of the hall.
"Glory to the dead. Since His Holiness the Pope has been gloriously summoned by the Lord, then we can boldly attribute all the righteousness to him …"
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