They are all characters I control.

On the third day after Bishop Simon clearly understood his position and situation, he reached an agreement with Leah and Earl Orlando.

The purge initiated by Bishop Augustine has moved beyond the investigation phase, and the first round of arrests has begun.

Lia stood at the window on the second floor of the church, looking down at the square below.

A long procession of carriages lined up, with church knights on horseback, lances in hand, their silver armor gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

Several prison vans followed behind them, wooden carriages with iron roofs, their wheels making a dull thud as they rolled over the stone pavement.

Knight Commander Karl rode at the head of the procession on a tall black horse, his silver cloak fluttering in the wind. He was expressionless, his gaze fixed straight ahead.

The Marquis Rost followed behind him, dressed in a dark blue suit with his family crest gleaming on his chest, but his expression was not good.

Among those being led onto the prison wagon were several people the Marquis of Rost knew: merchants from the southern part of the capital, nobles from the eastern part, and two priests in church robes.

Their faces were deathly pale. Some were crying out for justice, some were weeping, and some had collapsed in the prison van, motionless.

As Lia watched this scene, a complex mix of emotions welled up inside her.

Claire: There's nothing to be sad about. These people are against the Empire and the Church, but they're not exactly good people either.

[Lia: ...The God of Guidance is right, but these people probably won't have a good ending, will they?]

Claire: Indeed, the people arrested by the Church of Goddess were all thoroughly investigated, unlike when Bishop Simon arrested the Rost family out of a desire to curry favor and vent his anger.

Claire: Now that they've been arrested, they're likely either going to spend the rest of their lives in prison, or they'll be executed.

[Lia: Isn't it possible for someone to be wrongly accused? Or for someone to have made a serious mistake?]

[Claire: Cleansing is not the goal, it's a means.]

This sentence stunned Lia for a few seconds, and then she fell silent.

Augustine needed to establish his authority and tell everyone who the master of the imperial parish was.

So these people probably can't go back.

"Let's go," Earl Orlando's voice came from behind. "Bishop Simon is waiting for us downstairs."

Seeing Liya deep in thought, the Count was quite pleased.

Whether Lia is willing or not, she will be forced into the entanglement of nobles, not to mention that she has a 'Guiding God' attached to her.

Now, Lia is getting more and more involved in trouble, which can be considered a good sign of her growth.

"I understand." Lia nodded, no longer as resistant to contact with Bishop Simon as before.

With the guidance of a guiding god, and having already met face-to-face with the bishop and the emperor several times, Lia, who had turned to go downstairs, immediately saw the carriage parked at the door.

Bishop Simon sat in the car, dressed in a plain white robe, without his episcopal cap or scepter.

His expression was calm, but his fingers, holding the teacup, trembled slightly. Rosemary sat opposite him, clutching a thick document, her grey-blue eyes gleaming coldly in the morning light.

Lia got into the car and sat next to Rosemary.

Earl Orlando sat next to Bishop Simon.

The carriage began to move, heading towards the streets of the capital.

“First stop, the South District.” Rosemary opened the file. “Bishop Simon, are all your men here?”

Since the person had to be released, Lia couldn't go directly to Bishop Augustine, so she went to Rosemary instead.

In reality, even though Rosemary's attitude towards her 'Guiding God' was somewhat wavering, she was still essentially willing to make a deal with herself.

After explaining the situation to Rosemary, she readily agreed to spare Bishop Simon's family.

Bishop Simon nodded, his face somewhat melancholy, and said, “The deacon is in the church, the scribe is at his residence, and my nephew is at his own house.”

Rosemary didn't speak, but nodded. She closed the file and looked out the window.

The carriage traveled through several streets and stopped in front of a shop in the southern district.

A crowd had already gathered in front of the shop, including neighbors, passersby, and several knights in armor.

A middle-aged man in a butler's robe was dragged out of the shop by two knights. His face was flushed red, and he was shouting "Innocent!"

"Bishop Simon! Bishop Simon, save me!" The deacon saw the carriage and also saw Bishop Simon sitting by the window.

Instantly, this member of the Goddess Church was like a howling wild dog.

He raised his voice and shouted toward Bishop Simon's carriage.

"I've followed you for over a decade, I'm innocent! Bishop! Your Excellency Bishop, please save me!"

Bishop Simon turned his face away and did not look at him.

The deacon's shouts faded into the distance as he was shoved into the prison cart by the knights.

The carriage continued its journey.

The second stop was the clerk's residence.

The clerk was quieter than the deacon. When he was dragged out, he didn't say anything, just kept his head down, like a chicken being taken out of its cage.

His wife stood at the door, holding their child, tears streaming down her face, but she did not cry out in protest.

Bishop Simon looked at the woman and child, his lips trembled slightly, but he still didn't say anything.

The third stop was the residence of Bishop Simon's nephew.

Another carriage was already parked in front of the mansion. Surprisingly, Prince Alvin was standing next to the carriage, dressed in dark hunting clothes, his hair was a little messy, and his face looked terrible.

He saw the carriage carrying several people and walked over quickly.

“Miss Rosemary.” His voice was low, indicating that he had already considered other options and had run out of ideas. “I…I have something I need to ask of you.”

Rosemary looked at him. "What is it?"

At this moment, Prince Alvin also saw Leah, Earl Orlando, and Bishop Simon, and he was somewhat surprised to see such a group of people together.

Of course, he felt mostly ashamed. He had always presented himself as so confident and noble in front of Liya, but now he could only humbly beg others.

Of course, the most troublesome thing was that Prince Alvin was asked by his father whether he was properly serving as Lia's guard. After Prince Alvin replied that he had been trying to rescue Elena recently, he was scolded by His Majesty Darion.

Besides, it was Elena who insisted on going to find Lia in the first place, demanding an explanation from Lia.

As a result, even though he was right next to Elena, he couldn't stop her because he didn't know Rosemary, and Elena ended up being sent back inside.

Now, upon seeing Lia, Prince Alvin felt somewhat ashamed.

“Elena…she’s been locked up again. Miss Rosemary, could you…”

“No,” Rosemary interrupted him.

Prince Alvin's face froze. "But..."

“Prince Alvin, your duty is to protect Miss Lia, not to plead for Elena,” Rosemary said calmly.

Upon hearing these words, Prince Alvin could only look at Lia, his lips trembling slightly.

"Miss Liya..."

Chapter 94 Human relationships also exist within the church.

Prince Alvin's voice was low, tinged with a hint of unspeakable shame.

His gaze darted back and forth between Leah and Rosemary. He wanted to plead with Leah, but the words wouldn't come out.

He knew he shouldn't have come.

Elena's imprisonment was her own doing; he failed to stop her and didn't tell her Rosemary's identity in time.

But he still came, because he had promised the Marquise Marla.

Of course, it's because he still loves Elena, even though Elena hasn't done anything right during this time and often causes trouble for herself, but Prince Alvin is a devoted person.

It's not that just because they've become somewhat aware of Elena's willfulness and recklessness, they'll completely dislike and abandon her.

So Elena still needs to be saved. Prince Alvin took a deep breath and looked at Lia.

"Miss Liya..." he called again.

However, Prince Alvin still couldn't reveal the full story, pleading with his fiancée to release her sister, which was still incredibly awkward.

Especially since he had previously been mocked by 'Lia', who was in a bad mood and whose personality had changed drastically, for having an affair with her sister-in-law, which was considered improper.

Looking at the hesitant Prince Alvin, Rosemary, Earl Orlando, and Bishop Simon were all getting impatient.

Although she didn't want to talk to him, Lia also felt that continuing like this was a bit troublesome.

[Lia: My Lord God of Guidance, he's a bit annoying, what should I do?]

Claire: Let him be your bodyguard for now. I have other things to do; I don't have time to waste on him.

[Lia: Should we say we're letting Elena go?]

Claire: What's the rush? It's not that we don't want to help him, but we need to help him systematically, slowly, and with a plan. Otherwise, do you want your stepsister to be released so early and then continue to cause you trouble?

[Lia: Th-then I don't want to.]

Claire: Isn't that it? Just make him your bodyguard, we can deal with everything else later. There's no need to worry about this right now.

Hearing the guidance god say this, Lia took a deep breath and no longer hesitated.

She looked at Prince Alvin. "Prince Alvin, you are now my attendant, please do not interfere with what we are about to do."

Prince Alvin's expression darkened further. "But..."

He wanted to try again, but Rosemary was clearly a woman of her word.

If she can arrest someone right in front of a prince, she won't care about the prince's face. Compared to Rosemary, Lia is still Elena's older sister.

Apologizing more and pleading more might be helpful.

“Elena did act impulsively; she did something quite rude. I promise I will remind her properly next time so she won’t do anything like that again…”

“No buts.” Leah’s voice was calm, her brows slightly furrowed as she interrupted Prince Alvin. “You stand aside for now. Once things are settled here, don’t disturb Miss Rosemary, Earl Orlando, and Bishop Simon.”

Prince Alvin opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but when he met Lia's calm eyes, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

Compared to her time at the Royal Academy, this young lady, whose reputation wasn't great to begin with, has now reached a level that even he, as a prince, cannot attain.

Even Lia was able to meet face to face with her father, the emperor of the new empire.

In contrast, he, who was once so admired and noble at the Royal Academy, now stood before the other party, pleading for their mercy.

Such a stark contrast in their identities left Prince Alvin somewhat dejected.

But he didn't stop. Just as Lia had said, he took a step back and stood beside the carriage, head bowed, like a child who had done something wrong.

Rosemary glanced at him, a slight smile playing on her lips, but said nothing.

This is the first step in what that evil emperor called 'using Prince Alvin to strike at the royal family,' the first step being to make the prince completely abandon his so-called royal honor and his own pride.

Only in this way can the other party understand one's identity and situation.

First, you must develop a sense of awe and respect for your 'master' before the other party will be willing to obey you.

That evil emperor is clearly doing just that, making Prince Alvin lose his dignity in front of Lia. Rosemary doesn't object to this, which is why she just pushed Prince Alvin towards Lia.

It seems that Prince Alvin has already suffered quite a setback.

As for Earl Orlando, he watched the show with peace of mind, knowing that the guiding god would teach Leah the specifics step by step.

This was originally the idea of ​​the guiding god, and Earl Orlando was happy to watch his niece, Lia, be gradually trained by the legendary evil god emperor Claire.

Bishop Simon, however, had no interest in looking at Prince Alvin, and responded coldly to the prince's greeting.

After all, Prince Alvin was His Majesty Darion's son and heir to the throne. He had just completely fallen out with Bishop Simon, and moreover, Bishop Simon was currently more concerned about his nephew's fate.

Just then, the bishop saw a middle-aged man in a dark robe being dragged out of the door by two knights.

The man was pale and his lips were trembling, but he didn't cry out for justice. He just lowered his head, like a chicken being taken out of its cage.

Bishop Simon gripped the teacup tightly.

That was his nephew, his sister's son, their only bloodline.

This nephew had done his fair share of bullying and bullying in secret, but at least he wasn't shouting and begging for mercy at this moment, which made Bishop Simon somewhat relieved.

But now we should quickly plead for our nephew.

“Miss Rosemary,” Bishop Simon’s voice was hoarse, “what…what will happen to him?”

Rosemary opened the file and glanced at it. "Suspected of having dealings with heretics. But there is insufficient evidence; they can only be detained, not convicted."