They are all characters I control.

How long will the detention last?

"It depends. Maybe it will be a few months later, or maybe a month later, because he is a member of the Goddess Church, but his actions that violate the church naturally need to be strictly investigated."

Bishop Simon's lips trembled slightly. "A few months..."

He worried that his nephew would be tortured to death, after all, he had lost his status and power.

Those who were offended by him before must now be eager for revenge.

The bishop didn't go to jail, but now that his nephew is in jail, he will naturally bear a lot of hatred, right?

“This is the lightest punishment.” Rosemary closed the file and glanced at the hesitant Bishop Simon. “If it weren’t for Miss Leah’s intervention and your willingness to cooperate, he would have been imprisoned for at least five years, or even sent to the Inquisition.”

What kind of place is the Inquisition?

That place is under the direct jurisdiction of Ophelia, the saint who acts as the preceptor; going there will leave you either dead or severely wounded.

Bishop Simon turned to Leah, a flicker of gratitude in his eyes. "Miss Leah, thank you so much..."

Leah didn't look at Bishop Simon; she shook her head at Rosemary.

“Miss Rosemary, her nephew is unwell. A month is too long. Could it be shortened to half a month?”

To win over Bishop Simon, a performance is still necessary.

Of course, the person who was speaking to Leah at that moment was Claire.

There was a stop.

Chapter 95 They actually bargained with the church.

Bishop Simon originally thought that reducing his nephew's imprisonment from several years to a few months was already quite good.

If you were sent to the Inquisition, things would only get worse.

Since they weren't sent to the Inquisition, and were only detained for a few more months, that was definitely a good thing.

"Half a month?" But Lia just said half a month.

Rosemary frowned slightly. Although she and Leah were members of the same family and were willing to cooperate temporarily to fight against the royal family.

However, there are limits to this.

The few months he gave himself was already quite generous. You have to understand that Bishop Simon's nephew is at least a mid-level member of the Church of Goddess. Any scandal involving such a mid-level member must be thoroughly investigated.

Detaining someone for half a month would naturally not uncover much. Even if they don't arrest Bishop Simon's nephew, would they not arrest anyone else connected to him? That's impossible.

Therefore, Rosemary refused without hesitation. "Miss Lia, these are church rules, and I cannot change them at will."

Even if you use connections, it depends on who you're dealing with.

Clearly, Bishop Simon's nephew was not qualified to allow Rosemary to make such a fuss, violating the rules of the Church of Goddess to force the early release of Bishop Simon's nephew.

Bishop Simon was naturally happy, but also very nervous.

“But you can adjust it within the prescribed range.” Leah’s voice came from the side, she was a little nervous but still insisted on her position.

"The detention period is not fixed and can be handled at the discretion of the authorities. Miss Rosemary, don't you agree?"

Rosemary looked at Leah, and judging from Leah's tone, there was no doubt that what she was saying was not what she actually thought.

To be able to say these things, and to have such confidence when talking to oneself.

She could only think of one such person: the evil god emperor Claire. Perhaps Claire was currently instructing Leah step by step, which made Rosemary fall silent for a moment.

If it were just Lia's personal request, it wouldn't be a problem, but if it's the attitude of the evil god emperor Claire, then we have to think about it carefully.

If I refuse him now, will this guy encourage Bishop Simon to cause trouble?

Even if Rosemary isn't afraid of what power the Simon Church has to disrupt the 'Great Purge of Bishop Augustine', she can disregard the Simon Church, but she must be wary of the evil god emperor Claire.

After some deliberation, Rosemary finally relented. "Twenty days."

“Eighteen days,” Lia said quickly.

Rosemary's lips twitched slightly. That evil god emperor Claire was really going too far.

At this point, they must be keeping a close eye on the conversation.

And they're being so rude! I've already given them a break, and they're still pushing their luck. "Miss Liya, are you buying groceries at the market?"

“I’m negotiating,” Leah said calmly, but her eyes avoided Rosemary’s gaze. “Eighteen days, no more.”

For Lia, she was pleading for someone she didn't even know.

However, since the guiding god has instructed me to do this, and to help Bishop Simon in this way, then I will do as he says.

Rather than guessing the intentions of the guiding god, it's better to cooperate, which will save time.

Rosemary stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled. "Nineteen days, no less."

This was her final line. After saying that, Rosemary leaned back in her seat and looked at Leah, then at Bishop Simon, who was currently beaming with joy.

Earl Orlando sat calmly opposite, sipping his tea and observing the conversation with composure.

Lia was somewhat surprised. She hadn't believed that Rosemary would bargain with her, but not only did she bargain, she even succeeded.

Claire: Okay, deal.

[Lia: But is this really a good idea? What if Bishop Simon's nephew is a bad person...?]

[Claire: If Bishop Simon's nephew truly betrayed the Church of Goddess, do you think Rosemary and the Augustine Church should bear the responsibility for harboring heretics because of Bishop Simon's nephew?]

[Lia: Oh, I see...]

[Claire: Of course. The further bargaining just now was to test this. If she really committed a crime, Rosemary wouldn't back down. Since she did back down, it means there won't be any trouble even if she releases her early.]

[Lia: So Rosemary was just doing it as a side job? But she didn't get any payment.]

Claire: Isn't there payment?

[Lia: Huh? Where's the payment?]

Claire: The payment is my tacit approval, something that satisfies me.

[Liya:...]

His own guiding god, or rather, the evil god emperor Claire? He was somewhat overconfident.

However, if this guiding god is indeed the evil god emperor, the former supreme ruler of the empire, the one who provoked the goddess church to attack and caused such great losses to the church.

So what this guiding god said at this moment wasn't overconfidence, but rather understandable.

After all, the Nolan family, to which Rosemary belonged, was almost destroyed by this evil god emperor. However, although Lia was also a member of the Nolan family, she had no impression of the family.

I have never had any contact with this family since I was a child, nor have I ever received any help from them. My mother has never mentioned the name Nolan family.

Therefore, at this moment, Lia didn't care too much whether her guiding god was the murderer who had once dealt a huge blow to the Nolan family.

“Deal.” Lia responded to the reduced sentence time that Rosemary had just agreed to.

The decision was made that Bishop Simon's nephew had violated the rules of the Church of Goddess, and therefore would be punished, tried, and imprisoned.

Count Orlando sipped his tea nonchalantly, while Leah quietly watched the departing church knights and Bishop Simon's nephew outside the window.

Bishop Simon was overjoyed. He had thought that being confined for a few months would be a good enough result, but he never expected that he wouldn't even have to be confined for a month.

At this moment, the only one who was somewhat conflicted and unable to feel happy was Prince Alvin.

Although everyone completely ignored the fact that the prince was standing there, Prince Alvin had witnessed the entire process.

Who would have thought that no amount of pleading could get Elena out of prison?

Kalia was able to shorten her sentence by simply pleading, and even negotiate further?

The purge of heretics by the Goddess Church, which terrified everyone, seemed like mere conversation to the girls in the carriage behind them.

What shocked him even more was that Lia had already achieved such a status.

And what about himself? At this moment, Prince Alvin recalled with shame his father's reprimand.

Chapter 96 This is the difference in status

Bishop Simon's nephew has been imprisoned.

Rosemary closed the document and took a piece of parchment from her bosom.

She wrote a few lines and handed them to Bishop Simon. "Take this to the Knights, and they will release him. This isn't your doing, it's Miss Leah's influence."

Naturally, even without Rosemary's reminder, Bishop Simon knew this.

Rosemary clearly didn't care about his thanks.

Bishop Simon took the parchment, his fingers trembling. He looked at Leah, his lips quivering. "Miss Leah, I... I don't know how to thank you."

He hadn't held out much hope, but he never expected that Leah, whose 'new tax' proposal he had once stolen, would be so supportive of him.

Previously, when Bishop Augustine was holding a meeting, and Lia showed no reaction at all, Bishop Simon thought that this young lady from a noble family was completely unreliable.

It now appears that this was a completely wrong idea; Leah is not only reliable but also more reliable than one might imagine.

At this time, Bishop Simon's loyalty to Lydia was almost beyond measure.

"You're welcome." Lia shook her head. "You're my... cough, um, we're friends."

Just as Lia was about to show respect to the elderly and care for the young, she was interrupted by Claire's comment reminding her.

But regardless, Bishop Simon profited.

How could a bishop who had been completely stripped of his power, whose family members had been sent to prison, and who had no future at all, still be called a friend by Lia?

How could this not move Bishop Simon? His eyes welled up with tears.

The most unforgettable moments in a person's life are not when they are riding high and can do whatever they want, but when someone helps them in their most desperate times, instead of abandoning them.

He lowered his head, carefully folded the parchment, and tucked it into his pocket.

When he looked up again, Bishop Simon's face became incredibly resolute; at this moment, he was absolutely loyal to Lydia.

Rosemary then turned to look at Leah. "Is there anything else?"

The reason I accompanied Liya here this time is to resolve the issue of Bishop Simon's speech.

Most of Bishop Simon's cronies have now been successfully imprisoned, without any desperate struggle or resistance.

This allowed Bishop Augustine's purge plan to proceed smoothly.

Even though the sentence was reduced considerably, the fact that Bishop Simon's nephew was sent to prison, and that he was imprisoned at the call of Bishop Augustine, clearly had a great deterrent effect.

Regardless of identity or kinship, anyone or anything associated with infidels will be punished.

Such a demonstration is enough to deter the vast majority of people.

This successfully laid a foundation for Bishop Augustine, whose foundation was still shallow and who had only recently arrived in the empire, making future purges much smoother.

Leah shook her head. "No, thank you, Miss Rosemary."

"And what about Bishop Simon?"

Rosemary looked toward Bishop Simon beside her.

“I am satisfied. I will cooperate by handing over all the wealth that my nephew acquired by violating the teachings of the Church,” Bishop Simon also stated.

The subtext is, I can't let you help me for nothing.

Even if an agreement has been reached, Bishop Simon has only solved his nephew's problem, not his own.

Bishop Augustine's desire to arrest his nephew was also a tactic to arrest him, the bishop. The fact that two bishops suddenly appeared in the Imperial diocese was clearly an overreaction.

Therefore, it is only natural to deal with the bishop, and we should also consider the problem of Bishop Simon himself.

In order to avoid being targeted by Bishop Augustine, he must adopt the correct attitude and show his submission to Bishop Augustine in order to avoid the impending purge.

At this time, taking advantage of his nephew's arrest, his willingness to step forward and offer some 'price' was also a way of showing his stance and weakness to Bishop Augustine.

In return, he was spared the Great Purge as a bishop.

"You're welcome." Rosemary smiled with satisfaction.

She held Bishop Simon in utter contempt.

Even if he was incredibly stupid, he still understood some of the so-called unspoken rules.

Since they are willing to offer their own contributions as a reward, the Nolan family and Bishop Augustine will not be polite.