Raise Joan of Arc to be an empress, then discard her.

"Yes, yes, yes..." Little Martin opened the door, and what they saw next was a shocking scene.

Elliott first let out an "Oh..." and then Theo couldn't help but let out an "Oh" as well. Theo admitted that he had just spoken too loudly, and he had never seen such a scene before.

They didn't notice that Aaron suddenly became quiet.

In the center of the room with the windows and doors tightly closed, a fat middle-aged man was suspended in mid-air like a cicada pupa. His body was completely submerged by ropes, with only his face showing an expression of seeing heaven visible.

Theo and Elliott were mainly stunned by the obese middle-aged man hanging in the air, as the way he was suspended resembled some kind of avant-garde rope art form, but Aaron's eyes were fixed on the red rope binding his body.

Chapter 215 The Queen's Order

These thin red ropes tightly bound the wealthy man's entire body, with the other end tied to the window frame or directly attached to the wall.

Or to put it another way, the entire room seemed to have turned into a spider's nest, with a huge red spider web inside, and the only prey trapped at the center of the web.

And this red rope was something Aaron was very familiar with in his previous life.

Theo and Elliott circled the wealthy man's body.

"Does your father have any unusual hobbies...?" Elliott asked.

Theo was even more direct: "Did he kill himself by engaging in BDSM?"

“My father isn’t exactly a respectable person, but he would never do something like this. Someone must have broken in and tied him up like this,” Martin protested.

“I know this sounds hard to accept, but we’re just looking for clues that might lead us to the culprit,” Elliott reassured him.

“My father would indeed call the maids into his room sometimes…”

"So this is his masterpiece of messing things up?" Theo looked at the old man, Mr. Martin, who resembled a rope puppet. "Looks like we'll have to call the maid over for questioning."

While they were arguing, Aaron came to the body of Old Master Martin and examined it closely.

Although it's called rope art, the way the corpse was bound didn't seem like human work. There were no knots on the rope, it was as if Mr. Martin had wrapped himself up in silk.

Aaron placed his hand on Old Martin's body.

Theo and Elliott noticed his movements and reminded him, "Are you sure you want to do this? The ropes binding him are complicated."

Aaron remained silent, focusing intently on controlling his spiritual power. The red rope on Old Master Martin's body slowly peeled away like unraveling a cocoon.

Although they had long anticipated Aaron's astonishing control, they still found it delightful to watch him manipulate spiritual power each time, and the process of unraveling the mystery was like a performance of spiritual power manipulation.

When the red rope was half peeled off, a coin appeared in Aaron's hand.

“No need to call the maid over,” Elliott said gravely. “We’d better thoroughly search the area.”

“If they did it, your father didn’t die unjustly,” Theo said.

"What do you mean? Has the murderer who killed my father been found?" Martin asked.

"The Crimson God Church, a very troublesome assassin organization. They claim that all seven gods are false gods, and they are the messengers responsible for piercing the false mask of the Crimson God."

"How could they say such treasonous things? Don't the Seven Gods intend to destroy them?" Little Martin asked.

"That's what makes them so terrifying. They've always been the Church of the Seven Gods' number one wanted criminal, yet they've remained active since the last era, and many people say that they're behind many major historical events."

Theo patted Martin on the shoulder: "Feel honored. They usually assassinate popes and the like. It's an honor that your father died at their hands."

"And frankly, if you're one of their targets, we're not confident we can protect you. Their profession is assassination, and they do it for money. It's said they could assassinate even Queen Lucerne if given what they want."

“I… what should I do now, Lord Theo? I’m still young… my father only has me as his son, and the family depends on me alone…” Little Martin said with a mournful face.

“You can come to church more often these days…it would be best if you stayed with us for a few days…your father’s funeral was also held at St. Anne’s Church…” Theo led Martin aside and began promoting the services of the Trial Church.

Martin's attention had completely shifted from "catching his father's killer" to protecting his own safety. Aaron was too lazy to listen to Theo's continued bluffing, but Theo was right about one thing: if their target included Martin, then Martin would already be a corpse.

Theo was also right about another point: they were behind many major historical events, including the Skyfire coup that Aaron knew about.

"To stage such an extravagant assassination scene, and even leave coins at the scene, that's definitely their style. They want to announce their assassinations to the world," Elliott said to Aaron.

“I heard that they don’t just leave one clue after a successful assassination; there might be other traces. We can split up and look for them,” Aaron said.

Elliott thought about it and figured they had probably already left, and since they were all here, they shouldn't be in any danger, so he agreed.

Aaron left the room and wandered around the various rooms on the second floor, casually checking the antiques on the table or picking up a book from the bookshelf to browse through. When he felt that the time was about right, he went up to the third floor alone, opened the empty room, stood in front of the window where the sheer curtains fluttered, and took out the coin that symbolized the Church of the Red God.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar coin in his hand, Aaron felt a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a complex feeling of mixed emotions, often including nostalgia or reflection).

He once had such a coin, and his coin represented a promise that the Church of the Red God still owed him.

The promises of the Church of the Red God are priceless; with just that coin, Aaron could easily become a millionaire or fulfill other wishes.

Although that coin had disappeared with him in his previous life, the promise remained.

Aaron bit his finger, smeared the blood on the coin, and silently recited the Red God Church's proverb.

"The Red God promises, the Red God gives."

In an instant, the veil fluttered, and when Aaron raised his head again, a dark figure appeared before him.

The man had a full head of white hair, and you couldn't see any signs of age on his face. He had a pair of striking eyes, one red and one blue. When he appeared, it was as if the man from his memory had traveled back in time to come before him again.

"You're still alive," the man said.

“You haven’t changed at all,” Aaron said.

Suddenly, the ceiling of the room shattered, and a huge black shadow appeared in front of Aaron, blocking him with its body. Immediately afterward, huge white wings spread out in the room, and the young man with wings on his back looked at Brand with great vigilance.

"Step back, Aaron! This guy is dangerous!" Theo's tone was more serious than ever before, a far cry from his previous nonchalant attitude.

“I didn’t expect you to actually show up.” Elliott stared intently at Brand, who had already transformed into an angel when he appeared, which showed how terrified he was of Brand.

It wasn't a sense of importance, but rather fear. Brand gave them a feeling of danger, a feeling that even surpassed that of Claire. They even felt that even if Claire were here, she probably wouldn't be able to take him down completely.

Why would such a terrifying creature appear in Birmingham? Such a creature would be a terrifying presence even in Lodoran or Asgard.

Brand didn't even look at Theo and Elliott; his gaze remained fixed on Aaron, and he said softly:

"The promises of the Red God, the gifts of the Red God, our promises remain valid."

Wisps of black smoke rose from the windowsill, and the blazing sunlight shone through Brand's body onto the floor, forming a pale black halo. Theo's gaze sharpened, and he took a step forward, arriving in front of the shadowy figure in one stride. He reached out and grabbed sharply.

Theo released his grip, but all he could hold was wisps of black smoke. They had used their spiritual power to block Brand's escape route and surrounded him from all sides, yet Brand had vanished so easily before their eyes, treating them as if they were nothing.

Late at night, in the shadow of a nearly broken streetlamp in the fourth block, Bella and Amelia are meeting with someone.

Since the Eclair incident, the Kingdom of Dok has been purging its spies. During this time, Bella and Amelia had basically lost contact with their superiors until today, when they received new information to meet the mysterious person at a designated location.

Even with the Kingdom of Dok heavily blockading them, the rendezvous must be of great importance, and Bella and Amelia are very nervous.

They also heard that the person they were in contact with was a big shot, and that when the Queen left, she did not take everything with her, but left some people behind to lurk in the Kingdom of Dok.

Bella and Amelia nervously looked around, not missing a single corner, when someone tapped Bella on the shoulder.

Bella was startled and quickly gave the code: "The moon on the treetops!"

"A robin in the treetops," the man answered softly, his face slowly emerging from the shadows.

She was a rare beauty. Her dazzling short blonde hair cascaded down her back, and she wore men's clothing in a black base, looking both heroic and capable. The only flaw was that her expressionless face looked too cold and serious, making people afraid to approach her.

But seeing her was enough to surprise the two of them, because when they usually saw this capable beauty, she was always wearing a military uniform, guarding the Empress as a member of the Black Guard. At that time, she was not only an ice queen, but also as silent as an abyss, exuding a black aura that prevented anyone from getting close.

“Lady Flora, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Bella said respectfully.

Bella felt a mix of surprise and a sense of absurdity: Flora was a member of the Black Guard, Her Majesty the Queen's personal bodyguard, and yet she had come to Birmingham to meet with them.

Although Flora's rank in the Empire's system is not high, no one has ever dared to underestimate her, because her job is to protect Her Majesty the Empress.

Flora was one of the people closest to the center of power in the Empire. With her strength and status, she could have achieved an even higher position than she did today, but she remained content to be the leader of the Black Guard. This is due to another well-known characteristic of hers: her almost fanatical worship of the Empress.

When foreigners mention her, they always mock her as the most loyal dog under Queen Lucerne. Bella and Amelia proved that this was no exaggeration, and even more exaggerated than they imagined.

It was Lady Flora who contacted them? That must be something very important.

"Does Her Majesty have any decrees?" Bella asked solemnly.

To their surprise, Flora shook her head: "It has nothing to do with the Queen's decree. I chose to stay on my own initiative because there is something I care about."

“From now on, we’ll be companions, so I’ll be frank with you.” Flora looked at them. “I’m starting to understand His Majesty’s thoughts less and less.”

Bella and Amelia were taken aback.

“I know what you’re thinking.” Flora said as if she had read their minds. “It’s perfectly normal for a great being like Her Majesty the Queen to do things that mortals cannot understand. In the end, it often turns out that the Queen is right. It’s just that we mortals can’t keep up with Her Majesty the Queen’s thinking.”

At this point, Flora frowned deeply. "But this time is different. Do you know what happened in Lodoren recently?"

"Are you referring to Her Majesty the Queen's use of the Book of Omniscience in Lodoron? I heard the two countries almost went to war at sea."

"It's true. Before we set off, we were actually prepared to go to war with the Kingdom of Dok at sea."

"But if I told you that even I don't know what the Empress is searching for when she uses the Book of Omniscience, would you believe me?"

Bella and Amelia were somewhat surprised. Flora was almost the Queen's most trusted person, yet the Queen had kept such an important matter from Flora.

They had always believed that the Queen's use of the Book of Omniscience in the Kingdom of Dok was either to obtain extremely important intelligence or to have some strategic considerations.

In fact, not only them, but basically the whole world thinks so; they all believe that Queen Lusette's risky move must have strategic significance.

Following this incident, it is said that the think tank of the Kingdom of Dok held more than ten meetings in two weeks, basically outlining the intelligence that Queen Lusette was willing to use the Book of Omniscience to obtain, and compiling a table.

Although Bella and the others didn't know the inside story, they basically thought in that direction. But it seemed that the real reason was more complicated than they thought, and only the Queen knew the reason.

Could it be that Her Majesty the Empress is actually planning something far grander than they imagine? Yet, she can't even tell her own ministers about such an important goal?

"The Queen is definitely playing a long game. There is no doubt that there is something within the Kingdom of Dok that the Queen is very concerned about. I stayed behind to find out what it is."

"Your work is directly commissioned by the Queen. Tell me what your daily work entails."

"Her Majesty the Queen wants us to keep an eye on a man named Aaron Brandon and help him when the time is right. She also instructed us that we must never let anyone else know that we are watching him. Flora is the third person in the world to know this."

"Aaron Brandon? Who is he?" Flora clearly hadn't heard of the name.

"Before we met him, he was just a civil servant in the Kingdom of Dok, engaged to the daughter of the Earl of Iron, and nothing special. But recently he suddenly gained supernatural powers, resigned from his civil servant job, and became a judge."

"Suddenly gained extraordinary power? And then became the Judge?" Flora pondered. "Could it be related to the Queen's strategy?"

Chapter 216 The Diviner and the Magician

From the very beginning of the conversation, Amelia had an expression that suggested she wanted to say something. At this moment, she finally mustered up her courage and said, "Lady Flora, I have something to say."

“Amelia, I’ve heard that your blessing is exceptional even in the Kingdom of Lucerne, and that your spiritual perception is extremely sharp. Please feel free to speak your mind.”

Before Amelia could speak, Bella suddenly hugged her from behind and pulled her aside: "Amelia, what do you want to say?!"