They are all characters I control.

Lia's breathing became rapid.

“It can be shown to your family’s guiding god anytime,” Earl Orlando straightened up, looking at her with a smile. “As long as he is willing.”

"Auntie!" Liya's face turned as red as a boiled shrimp.

Earl Orlando chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "Alright, I'm not teasing you anymore. Go back and get some rest; you have a lot to do tomorrow."

Lia bit her lip, stood up, and walked towards the door.

He took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.

"Auntie."

"Ah."

"You...you wouldn't really..."

Earl Orlando laughed. "What? Afraid I'll steal your guiding god?"

"No! I... I also hope that my aunt can be happy."

This time, she was addressed as "aunt" instead of "earl."

The door closed.

Count Orlando stood in his study, looking at the closed door, a slow smile playing on his lips.

"What an interesting child."

Chapter 106 The Holy Maiden Who Acted as a Disciplinarian Knows Everything

Claire withdrew from Leah's body, her consciousness returning to the body in Ophelia's room that appeared to be a young boy.

He opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling.

The necklace was still on her neck, the dark red gemstones gleaming faintly in the darkness.

He rolled over, trying to change his position, and then met Ophelia's eyes.

Those deep purple eyes were staring at him, with a hint of amusement and scrutiny.

That crazy woman is back. I don't know when she came back, or how long she's been watching him.

Her long, silver hair was still damp, clearly from a recent bath. She wore a dark silk robe with the neckline open, revealing a glimpse of her fair collarbone.

She leaned against the headboard, propping her head up with one hand, looking down at him like a lazy cat.

"Awake?" Ophelia's voice was soft, with a hint of a smile.

Claire sat up and rubbed her eyes. "When did you get back?"

“Just now,” Ophelia reached out and pinched his cheek. “The work is done. There wasn’t much else today, just teaching some heretics a lesson and having a little argument with those archbishops.”

"The Archbishop? Is it because of Augustine?"

Raising an eyebrow, Ophelia, as the acting saintess, naturally did not support the emergence of a new archbishop.

The Inquisition remains quite limited in its current status; unless invited, it is unlikely to be invited to appear elsewhere.

Therefore, Ophelia was naturally unwilling to become an archbishop, which aligned with Isabelle's desire to weaken the archbishop's authority.

“Hmm.” Ophelia withdrew her hand. “Recently, that bishop has been carrying out some kind of purge. Quite a few people from the church in the Imperial diocese have been arrested. This matter has caused quite a stir.”

Claire didn't say anything; of course he knew about it.

They even knew that this purge was something the Nolan family also wanted, and that Bishop Augustine was someone jointly nominated by the Nolan family and the archbishop.

If possible, Claire wouldn't mind removing Bishop Augustine from power, but she can't do it right now.

“There’s one more thing.” Ophelia shifted her position, lying on her side with one hand supporting her head. “Something’s happened with the Holy Lance Knights.”

Claire was somewhat surprised. "What knightly order? Isn't that a matter for your church?"

"Knight Commander Will is still asleep, and the Knights Order is beginning to split."

Ignoring Claire's words, Ophelia continued, "Some people want to track down Eleanor, some want to protect her, and some want to take the opportunity to rise to power."

"The pagans aren't quiet either; the 'Church of Life' has been very active lately."

"It seems that the Northern Kingdom is about to be in big trouble. If the Holy Lance Knights are so unstable, it will only encourage more heretics to rise up."

"The biggest problem is still Knight Commander Will. As the strongest and most prestigious knight commander in the Northern Kingdom, his fall has naturally led to the current situation where he cannot control the many heretics."

Claire was silent for a moment. "What can I do after you tell me all this?"

Ophelia's eyes lit up. "As expected of the Evil God Emperor, you're truly clever!"

"You never talk nonsense for no reason."

This could be considered a compliment, being praised by Claire, the evil god emperor.

Ophelia laughed, a truly happy laugh. She sat up, pulled Claire to her side, and fiddled with the jewel on his collar in one hand. "I want you to go to the North."

Claire's pupils contracted slightly. "To the North?"

At this moment, this woman actually wants to let him go?

Although he did indeed want freedom and to avoid getting entangled with these people from the goddess's church.

But escaping the 'Holy City' is virtually impossible. Yet now Ophelia is going alone? Is she letting her go?

“Yes. The Holy Lance Knights need help. Knight Commander Will is unconscious, the Knights are leaderless, and heretics are active in the North.” Ophelia’s voice was soft, but it didn’t sound like she was joking.

"Go and keep an eye on that side for me."

“Are you playing me?” Claire looked at her. “In what capacity are you sending me? As your prisoner? Or as your informant?”

“Neither.” Ophelia tilted her head, a slight smile playing on her lips. “It’s my agent.”

Claire stared at her for a long time. "You're testing me."

“None of this is your concern.” Ophelia still wore a teasing smile. “But it’s also an opportunity. Haven’t you always wanted to interfere in outside affairs? Now you have your chance.”

"If you want to do anything in the Northern Kingdom, our 'Inquisition' will fully cooperate with you."

"Of course, even though you are in the Northern Kingdom, you are still by my side."

"What I mean is, I'm willing to cooperate with you in anything you do, as long as it benefits me and the Inquisition."

Claire fell silent, feeling a chill run down his spine.

This woman, the Acting Saintess of Discipline, has probably already discovered his control over Eleanor.

To be honest, it's not impossible.

Because Megan, who had been by Eleanor's side ever since the prison break, was a nun from the Inquisition.

He had previously asked Ophelia to investigate William's affairs.

Claire looked at Ophelia. "What are you trying to say? You mean you won't interfere with me?"

“Yes, I won’t interfere with anything you do?” Ophelia’s smile deepened; she now understood what Claire was thinking.

"It doesn't matter what you do, whether it's slaughtering civilians or saving church knights."

“Our Inquisition will support you, but you must also act entirely under our control. Even if you do not cooperate, I will still be fully aware of your movements.”

Claire's pupils contracted slightly. "You want to use me as bait."

If Ophelia allows this evil god emperor to act as he pleases, it would be tantamount to using him as an excuse.

And Claire's existence could definitely disrupt the archbishops' secure power.

Even at the very least, they could use Claire's status as the evil god emperor to increase the power of the Inquisition and interfere in matters.

"Bait?" Ophelia tilted her head. "You could say that. But think about it, if you were the bait, who would benefit the most if the fish took the bait?"

Claire remained silent, though the fact that she had controlled Eleanor had been exposed.

However, if we could get the cooperation of the Inquisition, things would be much easier.

However, Eleanor herself will also become a hostage.

Claire looked at the alluring woman before her; she seemed less like a saintly figurehead and more like an ambitious queen. "What do you want?"

Ophelia turned around and leaned against the window frame. The moonlight shone on her face, making her eerily beautiful face half bright and half dark.

“I want the power of the Inquisition. Not the power it has now, but real, unrestrained power.”

"We can arrest whomever we want, interrogate whomever we want, without having to worry about the archbishops' opinions or listen to the nonsense of the acting saintesses."

"That's why I need you."

Chapter 107 Eleanor is hard to raise

The Holy City, Ophelia's room.

Claire lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, the dark red gem on her collar gleaming faintly in the darkness.

Ophelia was asleep, her breathing even, her long silver hair scattered on the pillow.

He couldn't sleep; Ophelia's words from earlier kept replaying in his mind, clearly indicating that she doubted his interference in the Northern Kingdom's statements.

With the power of this acting saintess, it is indeed possible to deduce that he controlled Eleanor.

This is probably because of Megan; the Inquisition nun has been hiding her identity all along.

Megan kept a close eye on Eleanor's every move throughout the journey.

Of course, Claire's completely different reactions after taking control of Eleanor's body were also recorded by her.

Although it seems absurd to connect Eleanor, who is far away in the Northern Kingdom, with the evil god emperor who is imprisoned in the 'Holy City', after all, Claire has always been in this 'Holy City'.

However, even so, it was impossible to fool the so-called Acting Saintess of the Commandments, who had naturally already seen a considerable number of heretics.

As someone who has always been upholding the Church of the Goddess, or rather, the Holy City, acting as the representative of the Holy Maiden, Ophelia has witnessed countless forms of magic.

She had no doubt that there might be some kind of magic in this world that could invade her body even when she was imprisoned.

Of course, Claire wasn't using magic, but a system.

But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Claire has been completely targeted by this Disciplined Saintess.

This is a bit troublesome. If that's the case, then Ophelia definitely wants to do something. Her earlier statement about hoping to cooperate with the Inquisition and expand its influence is also vague.

Claire couldn't figure out what Ophelia wanted to do, or rather, how to do it.

They had no idea what the intentions of this precept-observing saintess were.

However, it is too early to give up Eleanor as a pawn.

Regardless of what will happen to the Northern Kingdom, the mere existence of the 'Church of Life' made Claire feel threatened.

The other side was able to imprison William, the church knight who once fought against him, the evil god emperor, using a primordial weapon. And the one imprisoning him was Sister Martha, a nun with absolutely no combat ability. Even if some deception or other means were used, it was still extremely dangerous.

There must be some secret behind this. At present, we know that there are three high priests in the 'Church of Life': Mother Martha, Scarlet Witch Dorothy, and Mel.

However, the three priestesses were clearly divided into two factions. Scarlet Witch Dorothy was hostile to the other two, while Mel and Sister Martha also disliked Scarlet Witch.

If either side falls into the other's hands, it would be a terrible thing. Therefore, when Mel and the Knights Zero encountered the Scarlet Witch Dorothy's trap in the town,

She preferred to continue running away with Claire rather than go to the Scarlet Witch Dorothy.

Dorothy is the same; her alter ego is Grace, the madwoman who killed the bishop in the cell next door, in the same prison as Eleanor.

When Dorothy was controlling Grace's clone and faced Sister Martha's attack on Eleanor, she did not choose to surrender but instead went to Sister Martha and Mel's side.

Instead, he seemed to have no choice but to stand on Claire and Eleanor's side.

Facing Mother Martha and Mel alongside these people, it's clear that the Church of Life is also divided into two factions.

Dorothy the Scarlet Witch is opposed to Sister Martha and Mel.

Even so, the Church of Life continues to operate very stably.

They even sent the traitorous knight Karl back to the 'Holy Lance Knights' headquarters, and it's easy to imagine what will happen next.

Ophelia had previously stated that the 'Holy Lance Knights' were currently in a rather dangerous situation.

However, the Inquisition does not intend to interfere with the 'Holy Lance Knights' at present. The reason is simple: the Archbishop of the Northern Kingdom's diocese does not agree and will absolutely not allow the forces of these acting saintesses to enter.

At the same time, it's because even if the Inquisition were sent now, it would only solve a minor problem.

This was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, rather than mobilizing the Inquisition.