The Necromancer's Church Management Manual

Unlike Lucia's toughness, Garr's hands were warm and gentle, reminding Juno of her own father's hands, which were just as warm.

This made her so engrossed that she grabbed his wrist, causing the wooden plate to fall to the ground and roll all the way to Zain's feet.

"Juno, what are you doing? Have you prepared her lunch?"

Zane's tough tone jolted Juno awake from her daze.

"Master, it's all done. I'll go clean up the kitchen now."

She trotted over to Zain, picked up the plate, and slunk away.

Seeing that there were outsiders present, Zain refrained from violence. He walked to the door, confirmed that only Gal was there, and then looked him up and down, frowning.

"You're the bishop of the Church of Light? Who allowed you in? Are the guards outside a bunch of good-for-nothings?"

He had heard a little about yesterday's sermon, but Zain had no interest in a group of people from the lower classes sticking together for warmth; he was more interested in how they got here.

"Mr. Zane, you seem rather impatient." Gal did not answer Zane's question; he still wore a smile, but his tone carried a hint of amusement.

"It seems the Duke of Cardissa's downfall has had a significant impact on you. You were so angry that you actually imprisoned your sister in a room."

"How do you know?" Zane's face darkened. Lucia had only been imprisoned by him an hour ago. How could someone he had just met know about something that had only just happened?

Could it be that Bishop Gard secretly planted a spy in his residence?

Seeing Zane's increasingly grim expression, Garr continued unhurriedly:

"You must be very curious as to why I know so much about your current situation."

I might as well be frank: Lord Icarus is an omniscient and omnipotent god; our every move is under His control.

"You can communicate with your own god?" Zane scoffed. "A mere wild god dares to claim omniscience and omnipotence?"

Garr didn't respond to Zane's questioning, but instead slowly said:

"Lord Icarus anticipated your reaction, but I hope you understand that I came to you, the 'sole' heir of the Cardesia family, to help your Cardesia family overcome this difficult time."

Garth emphasized the word "only," making Zain savor the words and feel a sense of being praised.

"It seems that Bishop Garr, given his high position, shares similar views with us nobles." Zane coughed lightly, feigning seriousness.

"This isn't the place to talk, please come in!"

Zane led Garr into the reception room and arranged for an elven girl to serve him.

The girl was dressed very scantily and was tall. When she served him, she would often get close to the edge of the clothing, which angered Gar.

"Lord Icarus is watching us closely; can't you at least have some self-respect?!"

The girl trembled and looked at Zane with confusion. She was only doing this to obey her master's orders.

Zane waved his hand, gesturing for the elven girl to leave the meeting hall.

He then rubbed his hands together: "Bishop Gal, you said you would help the Cardissa family overcome their difficulties. What exactly will that entail, and what is my role as the Earl?"

"Lord Icarus said that this plan needs Lucia Cardia's help."

Instead of immediately revealing the method, Gard continued to patiently guide him:

"So, Mr. Zane, please bring Miss Lucia, who is currently being held captive, here now."

"No problem, everything is as you wish." Zane also gave a fake smile, but the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and the smile was very forced.

He walked out of the conference hall, closed the door, and the corners of his mouth that had been curving upwards completely fell.

"These are all things Lord Icarus said, things Lord Icarus said. What fanatical believers!" Zane muttered to himself. "Fanatical to the point of being... disgusting."

It feels really unpleasant to be led by the nose.

However, Zane desperately needed the help Garr had mentioned, which forced him to grit his teeth and find a way to get his hands on the plan Garr was talking about.

So, after a little deliberation, Zane decided to go to the northernmost room and bring Lucia to Gar.

He didn't knock; he just pushed the door open.

The door slammed into Phoebe's back, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground.

Zane ignored Phoebe and met Lucia's gaze as she turned to check what was happening.

"Someone's looking for you. Come with me." He said calmly, "Phoebe, unlock the magic-suppressing shackles."

"Yes...yes, Master." Phoebe hurriedly got up, ran to Lucia, took out the key, and unlocked the magic-suppressing shackles.

"Zane, aren't you going to apologize to Phoebe? You just knocked her down." Lucia rubbed her wrists, even changing how she addressed her brother: "She's decided to follow you from now on."

"Ah...ah...Miss Lucia, please stop...Phoebe is alright." Phoebe was gesturing wildly, but didn't know how to stop Lucia from speaking.

"Heh, she's just a slave. I'm her master, I can do whatever I want with her. You want me to apologize to her? No way."

Zane shrugged dismissively, his words dripping with provocation: "What, my foolish sister, you want to fight me? You're just a battle dancer; you have no chance against a fellow Platinum-level berserker."

"Besides, my master is Lord Kazan."

"Hmph, rather than remain under house arrest here, I'd like to try again."

As Lucia spoke, a crimson spear had already materialized in her hand. With her words falling, she hurled the spear with all her might.

The spear wasn't aimed at Zane's vitals, but rather at his shoulder. Zane slightly shifted his body, narrowly dodging the attack.

The long spear shattered the glass behind him and flew out of the mansion.

Zain glanced back at the broken glass; a cold wind blew in through the cracked window, making the surroundings even more chilly.

"Master, be careful!" Phoebe shouted urgently, and Zane then looked back into the room.

At this moment, Lucia had already closed in, her fist coming up from below.

Unfortunately, just as the fist was about to strike his jaw, Zane grabbed Lucia's wrist.

Zain's expression grew even colder.

If it weren't for Phoebe's reminder, he might have actually taken that blow.

"Perfect timing, I've been wanting to beat you up for a while now. Why did you have to help Andrew of all people?"

He raised his hand and slapped Lucia across the cheek, making a crisp sound.

Lucia's hair was scattered by the force of that moment and fell in front of her eyes.

But what hurt even more than the slap was Zain's venomous, scorpion-like abuse:

"Lucia, Lucia, don't you understand? If it weren't for your secret help to Andrew, how could Duke Roderick have punished our Cardiac family, and how could Father have been placed under house arrest in the Duke's mansion?"

If you still don't understand, aren't you incredibly stupid? Or are you just unwilling to admit it—no, you're simply too afraid to admit it!

Lucia, you've just never been bullied by Andrew since you were a child. If you had, you would never sympathize with his current situation.

Put away your pathetic princess pride, Lucia! It's all your fault, Lucia!

"No...no...no, I just..." Scattered strands of hair obscured Lucia's face, but they couldn't hide her trembling eyes.

She tried to argue something, but Zain's angry outburst swallowed all her words.

"Lucia! It's all because of you! The Cardia family is ruined! Utterly ruined! Utterly ruined!"

Lucia felt her chest trembling, so much so that her breathing was trembling.

"Is it all because of me...?"

"Yes, it's all because of you!"

Her questions were answered after Zain's reply, but she became increasingly self-doubting.

"So, it was all...my fault..."

She lowered her head, the memory of handing over her identity to Andrew that day replaying countless times, dragging her step by step into an abyss of regret.

As Zain watched Lucia's heart gradually crumble, a disgusting and repulsive smile crept onto his lips.

Yes, that's right. It's all your fault, Lucia. You should just admit it.

Just as he was preparing to deliver a fatal verbal blow to Lucia.

A cold voice startled him.

"Zane, right now you're just like a clown who can only shirk all responsibility. You can't do anything but perform acrobatics here."