Just became an evil god and was summoned by the saint.

Chapter 653 Internal Factions of the Holy Court

The Kingdom of Phoenix has always been regarded by Ishtar as his greatest enemy.

This was information that Celia knew, which is why she hadn't come near the Kingdom of Phoenix until now.

Other empires might be wary of the power of Ishtar and the Holy Court after their transformation, but the Kingdom of Phoenix is ​​not afraid.

If you don't have the strength to protect yourself and just wander around the Kingdom of Phoenix, they might not care about the Holy Court at all and just kill you.

However, according to Melina, the Kingdom of Phoenix seems to interfere in the election of the Holy Maiden even if it does nothing.
Could it be that they also sent assassins to kill him?
Celia voiced her doubts.

Melina said, "That's not the case. Their methods of intervention are very complex. Sometimes they seem to do nothing, but in the end, something unexpected always happens. Sometimes, they also carry out assassinations. We have no idea how they will intervene, or whether they will end up doing nothing at all."

"Is that strange?"

"Hmm, they seem to have a unique system of vetting within them, attempting to interfere with and guide the Holy Maiden election of the Holy Court. Although they are not successful every time, they have succeeded before. In any case, from now on, Celia, you need to be careful."

“Since their goal is to interfere with the election of the Holy Maiden, and sometimes they even carry out assassinations… why don’t they nip it in the bud while we are still weak?” Celia asked.

"Because their purpose is not to kill the Holy Court's forces. If their purpose was assassination, the Holy Court's selection of a Holy Maiden would not be a semi-public process, nor would it allow you and me to act at will."

This is Benovia's explanation.

She seemed to have known about this all along.

So, I'm the only one who doesn't know anything, huh? Celia thought to herself.

Melina said, "Initially, the Holy Court was able to know some of the actions of the Kingdom of Phoenix, but after other empires were integrated and became independent, the Holy Court's control has long since disappeared. Over the years, although we are not completely without intelligence, the intelligence we can obtain is limited. We should just be careful."

"Ok."

Celia had no choice but to write it down.

Benovia smiled and said, "There's no need to worry too much. Phoenix's goal isn't to kill. Judging from their behavior over the years, it seems they just want to see if the previous saintesses are up to the task."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple."

The Kingdom of Phoenix is ​​far from the Ishtar Empire, separated by the Northern Alliance and the Orc Empire, and is said to have powerful enemies from the far west. Logically, it shouldn't have time to concern itself with something like the Holy Maiden Election of the Holy Court, especially since it wasn't an assassination but some kind of strange censorship.

It's so mysterious, I don't understand it.

Celia muttered to herself, and in the end could only shake her head.

“Besides the Phoenix issue, there’s another problem you might want to pay attention to, Celia: the issue of factions within the Holy Court.”

As she spoke, Melina turned and glanced at Benovia.

"Factions..."

Celia blinked. "What other factions exist within the Holy Court?"

“Of course there are.” Melina smiled slightly. “Moreover, the internal factions of the Holy Court are intricate and complex, which is why I don’t really want to stay at headquarters. When you’re at the Temple of Ember, you’re usually just out there or in the prayer area. You haven’t been to the Cardinals’ Chamber, the Court of Judgment, or other places. Plus, you were relatively weak before and didn’t have much of a reputation, so you don’t need to know about the factions.”

"Does that mean we can find out now?"

Melina nodded.

"Haven't you noticed that, besides me, Blake, Vasily, and at most the Holy Lord, the only people you usually interact with?"

Celia was taken aback, and after thinking about it carefully, she realized that it was indeed true.

The Holy See has twelve archbishops, but she is basically only familiar with Melina, Vasily, and Black.

Other than that, I rarely come into contact with them.

Even the current Saintess Anna is no exception.

"These people you know are all radicals."

Melina said calmly, “The Holy Court’s upper echelons are roughly divided into three factions: the radical faction led by the Holy Lord, the neutral faction led by Shuen, and the conservative faction led by August. The radical faction’s propositions, well… as you have seen, include myself, Vasily, and Black, who are all active in the extermination of heretics and on the front lines.”

"As for the neutral faction, they are more engrossed in research and are the backbone of the Holy Court. They don't usually get involved in affairs, but even the Holy Lord has to listen carefully to any opinions they have."

"You probably haven't had much contact with the conservatives yet, but if you spend more time with Doris, you'll find that their influence is behind her exploration of ancient ruins. Of course, the conservatives aren't just keen on exploring ancient ruins; they also enjoy fighting, but they are rather conservative and oppose all our strategies, even though our strategies are so conservative."

Melina briefly outlined the factions within the Holy Court's upper echelons, without going into detail, leaving it at that.

After that, she returned to the issue of Celia.

“You are currently very high-profile. Your actions among the elves are not just considered too radical by the conservatives, but by the radicals.”

"Uh..." Celia blinked, "Is...is there?"

The girl felt guilty.

"In short, they have already tacitly accepted that you belong to the Holy Lord's faction. They may try to prevent you from becoming the Holy Maiden after the formal election... because the previous Holy Maiden was also from our faction, and they are somewhat worried."

"Uh……"

Celia fell silent, unsure of what to say.

She's not good at this.

She had absolutely no idea what radicals or conservatives were.

After thinking for a long time, she suddenly noticed Benovia quietly picking up a book and starting to read, and couldn't help but ask, "Benovia, what faction are you in?"

“Me?” Benovia looked up, then looked down: “I’m Egg Yolk Pie.”

"Egg, egg yolk pie?"

“She doesn’t belong to any faction,” Melina said.

"Isn't that what the neutral faction is?"

"The neutral faction isn't neutral at all, Celia."

"..."

Well, Celia was completely confused, and it took her a while to realize what Benovia meant.

For some reason, Celia instinctively felt a certain aversion to the so-called factions.

But both Melina and Black had provided a lot of help to Celia, so in a way, she was already considered one of their people.

The girl frowned slightly, and after a moment she sighed inwardly.

Forget it, it doesn't matter. As long as the conflict doesn't escalate to open or covert struggles or assassinations, it's fine.

“Thank you, Bishop Melina, you’ve caused me trouble,” Celia said sincerely.

Melina couldn't help but burst out laughing.

“We know you don’t like these things, but if you want to run for sainthood, you have to face them. Both I and Blake are optimistic about your future. We will not stop you from doing whatever you want; we will only support you.”

As she spoke, Melina blinked.

"Besides, what you've done since winning the championship with the Northern Alliance is considered too radical by us radicals."

"..."

Celia stabbed the ground in embarrassment.

(End of this chapter)