The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 1156 Ch.1155 Are mortals no different?

Monica is indeed very proud.

Her ignorance and shallowness were so typical that they could almost be included in a book of norms like "One Hundred Things a Lady Should Not Do"—but Natalia didn't care.

This is merely a nominal 'disciple'.

"Are the nuns in the convent...strict?"

Monica fanned her long eyelashes.

A face evenly coated with lead powder is as delicate and smooth as glaze on porcelain, and every inch of its captivating softness exudes the vibrant energy that youth should naturally possess.

—Even though she arrived in London in haste, chasing the tail end of fashion with the same hurried pace.

Then he drew himself to look like a 'dead person'.

A fragile, translucent dead body.

Natalia struggled to understand why London's 'trends' had suddenly taken a sharp turn, nor did she know when they had veered off course and raced toward the Ring of Eternity.

“Almonds, elderberry, roses, lavender, sugar…” Natalia muttered casually, “and maybe lemons? Three pounds a tube of cream, Miss Monica. If you prepare a few more tubes, what can even the most stern nanny say to you?”

Monica said with a hint of pride, "It's no big deal, mentor. I'll prepare one for you too."

“Prepare some whale wax for me,” Natalia shook her head, “and the long beak of the ‘elf bird’…your father should be able to get quite a bit.”

“A fairy bird? Whale wax oil?” Monica had never heard of either of these things.

Of course, she also didn't care about her mentor's eccentric experiments—since becoming Natalia's apprentice, she had never even looked at her research from beginning to end.

She's too busy.

They're busy trying to get into more elegant and sophisticated circles.

Or cloth bags with sewn-on ropes.

“Whale wax oil, I told you what it is, Monica.” Natalia said as she inverted the still-warm mold onto the stone platform, then took off her necklace and pressed the tooth-like crystal in the center into it.

She muttered incantations to the gradually melting crystal.

Monica was practically rolling her eyes to the heavens.

Talking nonsense.

Her father told her to respect Natalia, but her mother also instructed her to "try" not to get involved in Natalia's research, even if it meant not reading or touching a single word she wrote.

What's so difficult about being a mere decoration for a few years?

“…I guess it’s a brand of candles?” Monica frowned. “Are there any candles in town more expensive than ‘Don Ross’? How much is a box? I don’t think I need to bother my father…”

“Since you possess such wisdom, why not speculate more about your own future?” Natalia smiled knowingly, staring intently at the 'solid' that had solidified into a cross shape: “As expected…”

really?

What? Sure enough?
What exactly is whale oil?
Honestly, Monica really hated Natalia's attitude—she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was that flippant, condescending attitude, like she wasn't looking at a decent person, but rather an animal with a brain no bigger than a fingernail…

More than once.

She suffered such treatment.

Self-righteous 'wisdom'.

The girl quietly clenched her slender fingers, raising her head even higher: "...Oh, what 'great discovery' have you made this time? Like the monster you found before?"

“That’s a ‘freak,’ smart girl,” Natalia glanced at the other woman. “Do you have any faith?”

To Monica, the question was utterly absurd.

Does the Holy Maidens have no faith?
"Father of all things, teacher. I have said it countless times—from my first cry, my mother cleansed my soul every night with the Book of Eden…"

There's nothing wrong with what you said.

These were the basic requirements for participating in the selection. But Natalia had seen too many believers and could easily tell that the girl was lying.

What do you think 'gods' are?

She asked.

"The gods... are our fathers in the heavens, and on earth—"

"Do you usually use the Book of Eden to answer all questions?"

Monica paused, not only annoyed but also believing that, given her current status, her mentor should change his attitude towards her: "...Of course, gods are...are...are..."

What else could a god be?
"It is immense power! An invisible and unknowable force possessing immense power..."

That's great. Her affected, poorly learned tone made Natalia's laughter rise even higher:
"You and your father both look timid and cowardly."

She rubbed the cross together, placed it in the drawer under the girl's angry gaze, turned around, leaned against the table, and muttered to herself.

She wasn't a disciple on the surface; she was a woman with no future.

Rather, it was the fog in my heart that had been partially cleared away.

"Gods are 'mortals with immense power'..."

"Master Natalia! What are you saying?!" Monica was terrified, shouting at the top of her lungs, "Blame! This is blasphemy!!"

How can gods be like mortals?
Even ordinary people are different from ordinary people.

Their lofty and unwavering faith, if channeled throughout their lives into the lives of so-called 'mortals'—this is undoubtedly a path leaning towards 'blasphemy': even cultists would not denigrate their own gods in this way.

Monica said.

“Cultists don’t denigrate their own gods because they are ignorant enough. Secondly, they certainly ‘use’ the divine authority—faith—like the Holy Cross, the Great Vortex, and many other orthodox cults.” Natalia narrowed her eyes.

Inefficient.

In Natalia's speculation, faith should not be about one person killing another, a son killing his mother, a husband killing his wife, and paying a few shillings to absolve oneself of the sin of secretly swarming out of one's grandmother's stockings.

It is not a reason for one country to wage war against another.

A very useful reason.

Or perhaps it was mixed with some genuine fanatics.

But in Natalia's view, these methods were still 'inefficient'—on the day she truly realized that 'faith' was indeed 'tangible,' she speculated that there should be a more 'mystical' way of using it…

And the gods, through her daily and nightly research, gradually became less 'sublime'.

They are neither vulgar and shameless (compared to those in the church, they are even noble), nor are they truly noble and great: how would you describe a mortal, such as a 'friend' you don't know very well and only see occasionally?

A person.

At most, with some bland embellishments, he might be described as "an ordinary person who is perhaps not bad at all."

That's it.

In Natalia's view, so are the gods.

If her subsequent, longer-term, and more daring speculations prove correct, then the gods might even depend on humans for their 'existence'...

Isn't this a great discovery?

"The fairy bird and whale wax oil, Monica. Within half a month. The Gate of Truth will not remain open to one person forever..."

The greedy woman rubbed her hands together.

She couldn't wait.

(End of this chapter)