After Heti and Bai Dewen left, only Gwen and Duchess Victoria were left in the study. Amber was there at the beginning, but she disappeared the second after Gwen announced that they were done with business. By this time, she should have fled to the nearest bar nearby. If she had not stepped on a mousetrap on the way, she would have been hugging a beer and pausing.
Victoria returned to Gwen's desk with a curious look in her eyes. "What else can I do for you?" she asked.
"Have you forgotten what I told you before?" Gwen smiled, got up, opened a small cabinet next to the desk, and took out a sturdy and delicate wooden box. He handed the wooden box to Victoria and opened the lid at the same time. "It's back to its rightful owner."
Victoria immediately guessed the contents of the box. She took a deep breath and solemnly opened the lid. A thick book with a mottled cover and slightly yellowed paper lay quietly in the velvet lining.
The ink on the book had long dried, but the moment she opened the lid, Victoria still faintly smelled the scent of ink. Perhaps it was her imagination, or perhaps it was the residual smell of the potion used by the book repairman when he repaired the ancient book. Her frozen and expressionless face seemed to fluctuate a little, and her crystal-like eyes revealed a complicated expression of emotion and joy mixed together.
"This is … our family's long-lost travel book …" She muttered softly, as if she was talking to herself.
"This is the restored Modiel's Travels," Gwen nodded. "It was originally put together by a lousy compiler and put together with several other incomplete books. But now it has been restored. Only the precious notes left by Modiel Werde are in it."
At this point, he paused and added, "But this travel book still has some missing parts. After all, it is a book from 600 years ago, and it may have changed hands more than once. Some chapters have been lost. I suspect that at least a quarter of the book is missing, and this part of the content is unlikely to be found. I hope you can understand this."
"This is very rare, Your Majesty," Victoria immediately said with a rare trace of excitement in her eyes. "This book has been lost for a long time. I didn't even think that it would be found in my generation. This is of great significance to our family. Your Majesty, the Werde family will always remember your kindness!"
"Then I'll accept your gratitude," Gawain said with a smile. Then, he changed the topic. "But while I'm returning this book to you, I have something to tell you. It's also about this travel book."
"About this travel book?" Victoria was a little curious, and after noticing the seriousness in Hao Ren's eyes, she immediately became serious. "Of course, please go ahead."
"There is a part of the content in this book that is not suitable to be made public," Gwen said, pointing at the travel book in Victoria's hand. "You can see a bookmark in it. Open the corresponding position, and the 27 pages after that are not allowed to be made public. It records a special adventure of Modiel Werde, an adventure … near the country of the Giant Dragon. "
"The country of the Giant Dragon?!" Victoria, who was usually calm, could not help but exclaim in surprise. "You mean Tarlonde?!"
"Yes, Tarlonde, that's where I'm going this time." Gwen nodded. "Of course, my trip to Tarlonde this time has nothing to do with Modiel Werde's adventure 600 years ago."
Victoria nodded, and then could not help but ask, "Why can't this part of the adventure record be made public?"
"Modiel came into contact with some secrets of the northern sea during his adventure. Those secrets are taboo, not only to the Dragons, but also to humans. I have discussed this with the representative sent by the Dragons," Gwen explained patiently. "You should be able to judge the specific content after reading it yourself. All in all, I have reached an agreement with the Dragons, promising that the corresponding chapters in the travel book will not be made public. Of course, you are the descendant of Modiel Werde, so you have the right to know and the right to inherit the knowledge left by Modiel. "
"Inherit, but don't spread it to the public, right?" Victoria was smart. She had realized from Gwen's solemn attitude that what her ancestor left behind was probably not as simple as a strange adventure record. Something that the Dragons and the legendary hero in front of her regarded as a "dangerous taboo" was definitely something that deserved everyone's attention. So she did not feel that it was inappropriate for Gwen and the Dragons to reach an agreement about Modiel's Travels in advance. Instead, she nodded very seriously. "Please rest assured, I will keep your warning in mind."
"Very well." Gwen nodded slightly. "This trip to Tarlonde, although it is only because of the invitation of the Dragon God, if there is a chance, I will try to investigate the things that Modiel came into contact with. If there is any result, I will let you know when I come back."
"Thank you very much," Victoria lowered her head and said sincerely. "But you still have to pay attention to your safety. If it is really something that is harmful to humans, we would rather not touch its secrets."
Gwen nodded, indicating that he would make his own judgment. He did not explain to Victoria in detail about the Voyager, the Great Northern Tower, the Ancient Reverse Tide, and other concepts because he himself was not very sure about these things, and rashly throwing out unverified information would only cause more confusion for Victoria. As for himself … he was going to Tarlonde to solve these problems.
…
In the newly expanded cathedral in Cecil City, the headquarters of the new Church of the Holy Light, the simple main hall had not yet been opened.
Several thick pillars supported the round prayer hall. The high dome of the prayer hall was inlaid with holy light emblems made of magic crystal lamps. Between the rows of neat and clean benches, a faint but warm holy light was slowly flowing. A small figure, which seemed to be cast by light, was flying between the benches and the pillars. It seemed to be in high spirits.
Veronica, holding a platinum scepter, was standing in front of the pulpit at the front of the hall. Her eyes were slightly closed, and her head was bowed, as if she was praying silently.
The tall Wright was standing on the pulpit in front of her. The great patriarch was wearing a simple white robe, his eyes were gentle and calm, and a faint light slowly wandered around him. Behind him, where the old church used to place the holy images of the gods, there was only a lens-like crystal projection wall. The sunlight outside the church was refracted through a series of complex crystals, and finally filled the crystal projection wall, emitting a faint light that illuminated the entire pulpit.
The new Church of the Holy Light no longer needed an exact god as an idol, and the sunlight that was introduced into the church through the lens represented the new church's philosophy. Sunlight was one of the fairest things in the world. Regardless of whether it was nobles or civilians, men or women, old or young, anyone who lived on this land could receive the sunlight. No one had the right to deprive them of this right, just as no one could deprive everyone of the holy light in their heart.
"It's rare to see you praying here." Wright lowered his head and looked at the "Saintess Princess" in front of him. "And you specially called me here."
In the eyes of outsiders, Veronica was a genuine "holy and pious person." From the old church to the new church, the Saintess Princess had shown a pious and embracing image of the holy light. She was always praying, always surrounded by the light, as if faith had become a part of her life. However, those who knew the inside story knew that all this was just a "persona" that this ancient rebel had created for herself.
She was actually one of the least religious people in the world. She had never followed the God of Holy Light, and in fact, she didn't really embrace the Holy Light either. The Holy Light that always lingered around her was merely a technological trick from the Age of Gondor, and the piety she displayed was so that she could avoid being devoured by the Soul Seal and the God of Holy Light — strictly speaking, that was also a technological trick.
Therefore, Veronica would not pray when there was no one else around and it was not necessary. Only a few people, such as Wright and Gwen, knew this.
"I will soon follow His Majesty to Tarlonde." Veronica ended her prayer and looked up at the Grand Patriarch in front of her. "It's far from here."
"You don't look like someone who would seek guidance and comfort for such things," Wright said slowly. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Veronica looked at Wright quietly for a few seconds, then nodded gently and handed over the platinum scepter that never left her body. "I need you to keep it for me until I return with His Majesty."
"This scepter?" Wright was a little surprised. He could not help but raise his eyebrows. "I thought you would take it with you to Tarlonde. You never leave it."
"Tarlonde is too far away," Veronica said. "My control over the platinum scepter will weaken when I am far away from the Lolun Continent. Although the God of Holy Light will not take the initiative to pay attention to this place, we have to be prepared. After a period of time, we have begun to reform the doctrine and the various parishes, and the separation of faith has begun to show initial results. The 'bridge' between God and people is no longer as dangerous as before. But this scepter is still uncontrollable to ordinary people. Only you … can be completely unaffected by the Mind Seal and safely hold it for a long time. "
My control over the platinum scepter will weaken when I am far away from the Lolun Continent?
Wright keenly noticed the key point in her words, but he glanced at Veronica and did not ask in the end. This ancient rebel hid many secrets, but unless she was willing to reveal them, no one could make her speak. After all, even the relationship between His Majesty and this rebel was just a cooperative relationship. It was even more inappropriate for others to get to the bottom of this "Princess".
The Grand Patriarch shook his head and reached out to take the scepter.
It was just a slightly warm, heavy scepter. Except for the abundant power of the Holy Light, Wright did not feel anything else from it.
"Is there anything I need to pay attention to?" he asked.
Veronica nodded. "You don't have to hold it all the time, but you have to make sure that it is always within 100 meters of you. And when you release the scepter, no one else can touch it. Otherwise, the 'bridge' will immediately point to a new contact, and thus attract the attention of the God of Holy Light to the human world. Besides, there is a very important point … "
Wright's expression was serious, and he listened carefully.
"When leading the young priests into the mountains to train, try not to use it as a weapon. It's better to prepare a normal war hammer," Veronica said lightly. "After all, it's an antique."
Wright said, "… To be honest, this thing is not good as a weapon. It's a bit light."
Obviously, both of them were discussing this matter very seriously.
Then Wright looked up and glanced at the sunlight shining into the church through the crystal. He said to Veronica, "It's getting late. The church only has a half-day rest today. I have to prepare for the afternoon sermon. Do you still want to pray here for a while? It's about half an hour before the church opens. "
Veronica lowered her head slightly. "Go ahead, Grand Patriarch. I still have something to think about here."
Wright nodded and turned to the exit of the prayer hall. At the same time, he waved to the pews opposite the pulpit. "Let's go, Emily!"
A human-shaped radiance poked its head out from the pews and responded happily. It then got into the slightly undulating holy light behind Wright and left the prayer hall with the Grand Patriarch.
In the huge hall, only Veronica was left standing quietly in front of the pulpit.
This "Princess of Holy Light" slightly closed her eyes and lowered her head. She looked like a devout believer as she faced the wooden pulpit. No one knew what she was thinking about. After more than ten minutes of silence, she slowly raised her head.
The holy light that had always been floating in her eyes seemed to be a little dimmer than usual.
The next moment, her murmur sounded in the prayer hall, as if she was talking to herself.
"Performing Class II security split process.
"Memory and personality database performing remote synchronization …
"Preparing to go offline …
"We wish you good luck and look forward to the observation data we brought from Tarlonde.
"Personality data has been backed up. Ophelia – Patrol Unit entering offline operation."
…
Three days after the "Tomb of the Gods" of the Goddess of Magic, everything had been arranged.
In the courtyard square on the west side of Cecil Palace, Melita Pânia appeared in front of Gwen as promised.
Because this was not an official diplomatic event, and there were no arrangements for external publicity, very few people came to see them off. Except for the three Great Governors and the necessary guards on the scene, only a few senior officials from the Government Office came to the square.
"I thought there would be a lot of people coming." Melita looked at Gwen in front of her with a smile on her face. "This doesn't look like a ceremony to see the emperor off."
"The ceremony is for outsiders to see. This time there is no need to make a big fuss for outsiders," Gwen said casually and glanced at Melita who came alone. "Now I'm curious about how we are going to get to Tarlonde. Will you take us there?"
"I'm a senior agent who is responsible for contacting you. Of course, I'm in charge." Melita smiled. "As for how to get there … of course, we'll fly there."
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