Lucian, who had a reasonable understanding of Saer de, held the newspaper and pondered the man's intentions: "Is he trying to use theological studies as a vehicle for gradually transforming the Holy See's clergy in the Holm diocese and the Night Watch, cultivating his own faction? Personnel exchanges are probably aimed at the same goal — and he can plant informants in other dioceses at the same time…"
Recalling that Vera Amoldon was already presiding over the Holm diocese's Tribunal, Lucian found himself rather impressed by Saer de. Just the incident of a radical Night Watch agent privately executing an enlightenment-faction noble had been leveraged to this degree.
"Perhaps those Night Watch agents were backed by Saer de all along… but what is he truly after with all this? To split the Church once he's succeeded? But whether it's his splinter church or the Southern Church, either way they'd inevitably fall from their position as the world's preeminent power, no longer able to enjoy the prestige they hold now — their territory would be carved up by the Council, the Northern Church, the Elven Court, and others. Saer de can't be that foolish, can he?"
"Then again, if the Lord of Hell is behind him and the goal is simply to weaken the Church, that would be understandable. But a man like Saer de would never fall from a Holy Spirit into a devil's servant unless the benefit was enough to utterly shatter his reason."
"Could it be that Saer de intends to use the five major dioceses as a springboard, positioning himself to ascend to the papacy after Pope Benedict II receives the Lord's calling?"
"Pope Benedict II has been crowned for nearly thirty years now. Following the established pattern, he has at most another couple of decades before ascending to Heavenly Mountain like every pope before him. Saer de, whose lifespan is still considerable, can afford to wait…"
The phenomenon of popes dying young after assuming the position had long been noticed by the Magic Council, yet no satisfactory explanation had ever been found. The preliminary suspicion was that being too close to the "God of Truth" and frequently borrowing "His" power caused both body and soul to be unable to withstand the strain, rapidly assimilating them.
Lucian shook his head, casually flipping through the rest of the newspaper, and thought to himself: "I hope Natasha's probing of Saer de yields some results. If he truly wants to split the Church, the members of the Arcane Magic Council's Supreme Council would give their enthusiastic approval — they wouldn't even mind if the Lord of Hell was behind him. What I fear most is that he's harboring grand ambitions, stirring up war between the Church and the Council, using the conflict to purge opposing factions within the five major dioceses, building up an unassailable reputation, and then ascending to the papal throne with the secrets he obtained from the Netherworld."
"If that happens, he might very well break through the curse of popes' short lifespans — and that would be a nightmare for every faction."
Lost in thought, Lucian made his way toward the top floor of the Holm Royal Magic Tower, intending to pass through the "Elemental Paradise" to return to Allinger.
During the lull of their "second battle," Natasha had reminded Lucian that the Church's internal attention toward him had not diminished with the discovery of the new demiplane — quite the opposite. This was precisely the stage at which Lucian was most likely to let his guard down. A quasi-Great Arcanist, a potential future Legendary pinnacle, had to be strangled in the cradle. Accordingly, she had urged Lucian to avoid meeting her too frequently, to exercise restraint with his own emotions, and to choose planar jumps when traveling to and from Allinger.
Strolling along the corridor, Lucian encountered numerous Elemental Will members, so he kept a smile plastered on his face as he greeted them. But their expressions all looked rather odd, which made Lucian frown and pinch his own face — he'd just showered before coming out, so there shouldn't be any lingering scent of intimacy. Was there something wrong?
"K, why are you making that face too?" When Lucian ran into the tall, honest-looking K, he found him wearing the same peculiar expression and finally couldn't help asking.
K's teacher Larry had been dispatched on a mandatory mission, so K had been independently studying "New Alchemy" during this period, accumulating many questions he wanted to discuss with Lucian. Now, struggling to suppress his laughter, he scratched his head: "Lucian, you look like you've just come from your wedding — there's a silly grin plastered on your face, you radiate this strange sense of contentment and bliss, and you practically float when you walk. Anyone who's been through it can tell."
The implication was left unspoken, but self-evident.
Lucian touched his forehead in some embarrassment — was his satisfaction really that obvious?
He quickly reined in his smile and tried hard to look less cheerful.
After chatting with K for a while, Lucian stepped into the "Elemental Paradise." After the shift in space and time, before he'd even adjusted to the dizziness, a pair of silver-gray eyes appeared before him.
"Lady Heather…" Lucian had just spent the night tumbling in the sheets with her granddaughter, savoring each other several times over, so encountering Heather in person gave him the distinct feeling of meeting his "mother-in-law."
Heather's beautiful face was devoid of expression as she said with great gravity: "She is a girl who takes relationships very seriously. I hope you won't be a philanderer like Oliver."
Great Arcanist Lord Oliver had always served as the textbook negative example among the sensible ladies.
"How my love life has been these past few years, Lady Heather, you should have some awareness. Single-minded devotion is the gentlest and most powerful force in this world — whether in Arcane and magical research or in matters of the heart, I hold to this principle." Facing his "mother-in-law," Lucian was naturally earnest and solemn.
Heather was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. A barely perceptible flicker of relief crossed her face, perhaps because Natasha and Lucian genuinely loved each other: "I have watched your every action. Had you been otherwise, I would have intervened without hesitation. If you ever betray this in the future, we become enemies."
Her words were terse and spare, almost devoid of embellishment, and she had a subtle tendency to say more than she meant.
Lucian quietly wiped away a bead of cold sweat. Thank goodness he'd always been relatively proper — aside from the occasional fantasy, even when alone he maintained his principles. Otherwise, he'd never have passed muster before this "sharp-eyed" "mother-in-law." "In poverty or in wealth, in lowliness or in honor, in sickness and in health, in youth and in old age — I will love her, respect her, comfort her, and stay by her side."
Under the "mother-in-law" pressure, Lucian found it difficult to organize his own words, so he simply adapted the Christian marriage vows from Earth.
Heather did not press further. She merely gave a slight nod: "If you say it, you must do it — that is what makes a worthy man. I have some questions about New Alchemy to discuss with you."
Phew — he'd passed at last. Lucian let out a long internal sigh of relief. Discussing Arcane matters was far more relaxing than this kind of conversation, especially with an imposing "mother-in-law."
A full half-day passed before Lucian and Heather concluded their discussion. He returned to Allinger, intending to visit the Administrative Committee to request from Tangpu a file on the clergy of the Holm diocese — one that detailed, with considerable granularity, which members might be radicals, which might be traditionalists, and which might be accommodationists willing to coexist peacefully with the Arcane Magic Council. The last group could be recommended to Natasha for contact and probing.
This was the opening step Lucian had formulated in his "Sage state," with the operational blueprint modeled on the English Reformation.
He was currently rather admiring of the decree Henry VIII had promulgated: "Whoever by speech, writing, or deed shall defame the king as a heretic, a schismatic, a tyrant, or other evil name… or who denies the legality of the king's marriage, shall be guilty of treason…"