I am the heroine's godfather!

Bishop Tikmia narrowed her eyes: "It seems things are not as simple as Her Highness the Princess said."

The princess glared at Elena, and the red-haired girl flinched for a moment. Then, seemingly thinking that since she had already said it, she was going to get away with it anyway, so why be so cowardly? So she glared back without showing any weakness.

"Humph!"

The princess snorted coldly, no longer looking at Elena, but at Tikimia: "So what? This is the internal affair of the Kingdom of Avia, and the Holy See has no reason to interfere."

That's true. The Papacy in this world is not like the medieval Papacy in Loran's previous life. Although the divine authority is strong enough, the Papacy does not have the idea of ​​excessively interfering in the affairs of other countries.

It's not hard to understand, after all, there is such a great enemy as the Church of Evil God, and the Vatican does not want to make too many enemies for itself, so it does not interfere in the internal affairs of various countries.

Loran sometimes wondered why the previous popes hadn't considered unifying the countries and consolidating all forces. But Messiah didn't know either, so Loran could only conclude that there wasn't a strong concept of unification here.

However, putting aside these trivial matters for now, Tikmia really couldn't refute the princess's words.

However, it is clear that she did not intend to get involved in this matter herself.

Seeing that Tikimia remained silent, the princess revealed a triumphant expression: "In that case, we'll be leaving now."

After saying that, she turned to leave, but soon, a calm voice rang out.

"You can't go."

The princess was stunned. She turned around and saw the black-haired man, who had been completely ignored by her and looked like a passerby, speak calmly. The green-haired woman beside him also sighed and lifted the spell that had been used to conceal her appearance ever since the princess arrived.

"The elven princess, Estia?"

The eldest princess frowned, and her words immediately caused a stir.

Elena looked at Estia in disbelief: "An elf princess?"

"Long time no see, Princess of Avia."

"How will you be here?"

The eldest princess's face instantly turned ugly. This elf princess was not someone to be trifled with. Although both of them were princesses, to the other, being a princess was the last thing she needed.

The saintess's teammate, an elf who fights the demon king, a seventh-order saint.

Either identity is far superior to that of a so-called princess.

The fourth prince was terrified. What was this about the elf princess?

"Sister Wang, you must save me!"

His face showed fear, and he grabbed the princess's sleeve. The princess had no time to comfort him at this moment; the other party was a seventh-level expert! Even if he killed his own brother, no one could stop him!

"Princess Estia, what are you going to do?"

The princess had no choice but to speak up: "If you take action, it may have a negative impact on the relationship between the Elf race and the Kingdom of Avia."

Although it wasn't always that good. Although the two countries are neighbors, it was only a few decades ago that those merchants from Avia harmed the elves.

Although several decades is enough for a human generation, it is probably no different from a few months for elves.

The vast majority of elves do not have a good impression of Avia.

Estia snorted coldly; she was no exception, harboring little goodwill towards this neighboring country. However, she simply shook her head: "I have no intention of interfering in this matter."

Elena's eyes, which had just lit up with hope, dimmed again in an instant.

how come......

But before the fourth prince could even smile, Estia continued, "Or rather, it's not me who intends to interfere in this matter."

She looked at Loran.

The eldest princess also looked at Loran.

Everyone looked at him.

"Who is this?"

Although she had no recollection of this person, he was someone the Elf Princess respected, and even the eldest princess of Avia had to show him some respect.

Loran chuckled softly, and the cane in his hand suddenly burst into a burst of white light. When the white light dissipated, a uniquely shaped seven-ringed scepter appeared.

Tikmia dismounted and bowed.

"This, this is...!!!"

"The saintess acts on behalf of the emperor."

Tikmia's voice was solemn: "Seeing this scepter is like seeing the Holy Maiden herself."

The eldest princess instantly panicked and fell off her horse. The fourth prince was devastated. What happened? How could he encounter the saintess's representative in such a small, run-down city?!

It's over, completely over...

"No, wait! Even if they are the Saintess's agents, they cannot! They cannot interfere in Avia's internal affairs!"

The fourth prince, as if grasping at a straw, shouted desperately, "You can't arrest me!"

But the eldest princess was speechless. The Holy Maiden's proxy! If she remembered correctly, the Holy Maiden's proxy was only that one, His Highness Lorian...

It's as if the Holy Maiden herself were here... Although it's said that the Holy See won't interfere in internal affairs, everyone knows that this constraint is meaningless to the Holy Maiden.

A ninth-order demigod, an existence beyond comprehension among gods and men.

How can rules restrain such a powerful person?

Besides, even if we complain to the Holy Maiden about this, what good will it do? Would the Holy Maiden punish her proxy for the sake of a spoiled royal scion, a child abuser?

Even if the king knew about this, he wouldn't protect his younger brother.

He's beyond saving.

But Loran still smiled and said, "Oh, yes, of course, I respect your rules and will not interfere."

"That!!!"

"But, Fourth Prince, don't forget one thing."

Loran narrowed his eyes, revealing a wicked smile: "The Holy See has the highest discretion in matters involving evil gods."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Still want to quibble?"

Loran's hand trembled, and several letters appeared: "These are secret letters between you and that traitor of the Church. In the letters, you two sacrificed children to an evil god!"

"I...I didn't! No! You're framing me!"

The fourth prince seemed to want to say something, but found that he could only make "woo-woo" sounds.

Loran waved his hand, and several knights stepped forward to restrain the fourth prince.

"To collude with evil gods is punishable by death according to the law."

Loran softly pronounced the fourth prince's fate.

--------------

"So, that guy really colluded with the evil god?"

"of course not."

Loran rolled her eyes: "This guy is being used without even realizing it."

"what?"

Chapter 166 The End of the Incident

“被人利用？你的意思每^日.发！书，群【6`5,0/5^0”2*3>3.8】是......那个四王子根本就不知道神父与邪神教会的事情？”

"correct."

Loran nodded: "That priest did indeed collude with the evil god's church, but the fourth prince really didn't know about it... Do you remember the woman we met that day who was looking for her child on the street?"

"Hmm, wasn't her child killed by the fourth prince?"

"not at all."

Lorraine shook her head: "Her child was sacrificed by the priest."

Estia frowned, and Loran continued to explain, "Simply put, the priest's collusion with the evil god's church and the fourth prince's trafficking of children are two separate incidents. It's just that the priest used the White Jasmine Merchant Guild to cover himself up. The children he sacrificed were all newsboys from the White Jasmine Merchant Guild, so even if someone had suspicions, they would only suspect the White Jasmine Merchant Guild, and coincidentally, the White Jasmine Merchant Guild isn't exactly clean either."

"So, once the White Jasmine Merchant Guild's actions are exposed, the priest's crimes will be covered up?"

Estia pondered for a moment, and Loran nodded: "In the ancient books I've read, this is called 'balancing the accounts.' In fact, if I'm not mistaken, once the ritual is completely over and the priest has gotten what he wanted, he will personally report the White Jasmine Merchant Guild. In this way, the children he sacrificed will be attributed to the White Jasmine Merchant Guild."

"He was just unlucky to run into you."

"Not really."

Loran shook his head: "Tikmia has actually been eyeing him for a while, but she's been too busy to deal with it lately—Tikmia is, after all, a disciple of the former bishop of Avia, and has a high degree of control over this place."

"That's why she came so quickly?"

"Yes, he came as soon as he received my letter."

"I see. No wonder she was so timely."

Estia sighed and said, "Then why did you say that the Fourth Prince was involved in this matter?"

"You think you can just run away after offending the abbot?"

Loran snorted coldly: "He's abducting children. I caught him, and he thinks he'll get away with it? Dream on! As for why I said he was colluding with the Church of the Evil God, it was just to give Avia a way out. After all, although no one dared to say anything about Messiah's agent interfering in this matter, resentment would still accumulate behind the scenes. It's not a big deal, but it's best to prevent it from happening in the first place."

"So that's why you said the Fourth Prince is connected to the cult of evil gods? But why are you so sure the royal family of Avia will believe that?"

"It's not that I'm sure, but that they have to believe it."

Loran sneered, "We're all smart people. If you won't take the opportunity to save face, do you really want to take this to Messiah? If that happens, the whole continent will know that a prince of a nation is involved in child trafficking. For a country like Avia, whose foundation is commerce, this would be a huge blow."

So, while public opinion isn't as useful as one might imagine, it's not as insignificant either.

"I really don't understand you humans."

Estia shook her head: "This kind of thing is really troublesome."

"It's normal that you don't understand. Elves are different from humans; they don't have so many complicated things to do."

Loran smiled, and Estia sighed, saying, "You're not planning to take Elena back? She's quite talented, isn't she? Those demonic eyes, while not the rarest in the world, are still quite unique."

"I don't have time to raise another child."

Loran sighed. Charlotte, Olivia, and Felicia alone were enough to give him a headache. One was the heroine of destiny, another was connected to the silver dragon from a thousand years ago, and the third was a "remnant of the previous dynasty" from the neighboring Arcana—none of them were easy to deal with. Elena also seemed to have a lot of trouble on her plate; he wasn't exactly free.

Anyway, Tikimia is considered one of the best of the new generation in the Vatican, and with Elena following her, her future looks bright.

After the arrest of the fourth prince, the White Jasmine Trading Company incident was naturally resolved. The abducted children returned to their respective homes, and Officer Sander, for his meritorious service, was appointed by the royal family as the next head of the patrol department.

This was naturally a face-saving project for the royal family. They knew that the incident involving the fourth prince could no longer be covered up, so they had to pretend that they knew nothing about it and act as if they were putting their own family members aside for the greater good. In this way, they could salvage some of their reputation, both domestically and internationally.

However, no matter what ulterior motives the higher-ups might have, at least the things they did were satisfactory, so Loran had no intention of talking to the Avia royal family.

Yes, it's really just a talk, we'll reason with them and appeal to their emotions, we absolutely won't resort to violence.

We are civilized people.

After the incident was resolved, Elena initially had no intention of contacting Tikemia. She was rather carefree; if others knew Loran and Estia's identities, they'd surely try to become acquainted with them, right? One was an elven princess, the other a saint's representative—whoever had a good relationship with either of them could live a life of comfort for the rest of their lives, right? But she still obediently planned to return to her detective work, even thinking that with the payment Loran had given her for those few days, she could go a month without taking any work.

Elena ultimately declined the prices the Wells couple had set for her and instead received a full refund.

"After all, we agreed not to charge money, and as a great detective, I must keep my word!"

That's what Elena said at the time.

However, Loran felt that the child should be given more choices, so he contacted Tickmia and let Elena choose whether to enter the Vatican and become a cardinal's disciple or continue working as a detective.

Elena immediately gave her a look as if she were looking at an idiot.

"Uncle Lorian, you don't really think I'm an idiot, do you? Or do you really think I have a particular fondness for being a detective?"

Lorraine then gave the guy a few hard knocks on the head.

Chapter 167 Loran Arrives at His Unfaithful Elf Forest

After leaving the border town of Avia, Loran and Estia headed west, traversing the entire Kingdom of Avia.

Avia is a southern country with a relatively humid climate and frequent rain. The rain washes away some of the summer heat, and the morning breeze carries the scent of damp earth, which is very refreshing.

Loran wrote several letters and had them sent back to Morganflore's residence in Enshia, reporting on his itinerary and inquiring about his family's situation.

However, since Loran was constantly moving, Serena couldn't reply to him.

After crossing the capital and continuing westward for about a month, they arrived at the border between Avia and the Elf Forest.