They are all characters I control.

"Yes." The first nun who was judging the case raised her head slightly.

Ophelia raised her hand and gently touched the dust on the windowsill with her fingertips.

Moonlight fell on her fingertips, revealing fine traces of dust.

She paused for a moment before asking, "How far has the Church of Life progressed in its operations in the north?"

The nun's reply was swift, clearly prepared beforehand: "According to Megan and other informants, the Church of Life has deployed at least six hidden locations in the north, concentrated on the edge of Fernando's garrison area and at the border of the Will defense zone."

"Mother Martha has retreated to her northern stronghold. Mel's relationship with Scarlet Witch Dorothy has not completely broken down and remains reconcilable. Based on this, the Church of Life's plan to infiltrate and occupy the north is ready to be launched."

"The only thing missing right now is a sufficiently legitimate 'reason for war'."

Ophelia finally turned around, her deep purple eyes gleaming coldly in the moonlight. "Then we'll give them a reason."

The nun remained silent during the trial.

They knew that Ophelia never hesitated to make decisions.

“If Fernando wants to go back to headquarters, let him go. He can’t take all the church knights in the west with him, but he can at least take some of the capable ones. After he leaves, there will inevitably be a gap in the western defense line.”

"The Church of Life will definitely take advantage of the situation and advance the battle line by rapidly occupying villages, towns, and strongholds. Once their influence covers one-third of the northern territory, the Archbishop will become uneasy."

"By then, it won't be me investigating them, it will be them begging me to investigate them."

Ophelia's voice trailed off on the word "Cha," rising slightly as if savoring something spicy. The Sister of Judgment bowed slightly: "And what about Claire—"

“Don’t worry about it.” Ophelia’s answer was more decisive than expected. “Let him go. Right now, all the developments in the story are on our side.”

The nun paused for a moment before speaking: "What if something happens to Claire during the process?"

Ophelia finally showed her first genuine smile of the night, a faint curve at the corners of her mouth, yet carrying a confident composure. "It doesn't matter, she's just a female knight of the church."

"If Claire's double is dead, then find a second one."

"Isn't there another young lady in the Empire who has suddenly shown exceptional talent?"

“Keep watching. If the Church of Life wants to swallow the North, let them. When the time is right, we'll chop off their hands.”

Ophelia turned and walked deeper into the corridor.

Her long, silver hair swayed gently in the night breeze.

A terrifying sense of oppression could be felt emanating from this saintly woman who acted as a representative of discipline.

Chapter 143 Two Naïve Girls Chatting

The door closed behind Ophelia, and Claire lay on the bed.

Ophelia is indeed a troublesome fellow. As the Acting Saint of the Discipline, she not only has the headache-inducing Inquisition.

They were also well-informed about the development and changes in the outside world, and their unpredictable intelligence network was quite troublesome.

However, Ophelia's interference wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Compared to Isabelle, who remains indifferent to worldly affairs and, while also wanting to improve the situation of the Church of Goddess, is currently only serving as the acting saintly prayer leader guarding the 'Holy City', Ophelia is clearly more suitable for adjusting the current ecosystem of the Church of Goddess. She is the one who truly restrains the archbishops.

What troubled Claire was that Ophelia not only stabbed the archbishops, but also herself.

Leaving aside the situation in the Northern Kingdom, we've already discussed all the important matters with Knight Commander Fernando, and all that's left is to implement them.

Eleanor also witnessed the conversation in public, unlike before when she was completely unaware of what Claire was saying, when she had activated her 'mind bond'.

So let Eleanor handle this herself. We'll have to be careful when we get to the 'Holy Lance Knights' headquarters.

With that in mind, Claire chose to switch to Leah's perspective.

As the scene unfolds, Claire sees a study.

It wasn't the Earl of Orlando's study with its maps and files, but another, smaller, warmer room with a fireplace burning wood and the firelight dancing on the pages.

Lia sat in an armchair with a half-open book on her lap, but she wasn't reading it.

Her gaze fell on the fireplace, where a communication stone sat on the low table beside her, its surface still faintly glowing.

The magical energy of the communication stone was fluctuating, and a light screen was being released in front of the table.

It's Isabelle.

Claire navigated to the interface, gazing at the communication video feed at that moment.

She wasn't wearing her formal saintly robes tonight, but only a simple white casual dress. Her silver hair hung loosely over her shoulders, and she held a cup of tea in her hand, her posture relaxed.

The communication had clearly been going on for a while, and the atmosphere didn't feel like official business; it was more like casual conversation from a distance.

Isabelle lowered her head, took a sip of tea, put down the cup, and looked at Lia on the other side of the light screen. "I've received the wine you sent last time. The taste is indeed different from that in the Holy City."

Lia smiled a little shyly. "I'm glad I could be of help."

“But I’ve always wanted to ask,” Isabelle said, her finger twirling lightly on the rim of the glass.

"How did you come up with those drinks? People who aren't from the Holy City usually don't know that Imperial Beer is served in wooden cups."

Lia paused for a moment. Her first thought was to say, "It was the God of Guidance who told me," but she swallowed the words back. She felt that using the title "God of Guidance" would sound strange to the other person.

“It was… I overheard someone mention it,” Leah said. “They said Imperial beer tastes better when served in wooden cups. So I tried it.”

Isabelle did not press the matter.

Her gaze lingered on Lia's face for a moment, as if she were judging something.

Then she rephrased her question: "So, were your ideas about the new tax something you just overheard from someone?"

Leah's fingers unconsciously clenched at the edge of the book. "Not entirely."

"Would it be convenient for you to tell me?"

Lia was silent for a moment. The firelight from the fireplace flickered on her face, as if giving her some room to hesitate.

Then she said, "Someone taught me. He didn't tell me what to do, but he gave me a direction and let me figure it out myself."

Isabelle looked down at the tea in her cup, as if she was digesting something.

Was he being rude?

Leah blinked. "How did you know?"

“Just a guess.” Isabelle’s tone was not strong, but the last syllable rose slightly. “The ‘direction’ you described sounds like something someone who doesn’t really know how to consider other people’s feelings would do.”

Isabelle was the same way; when she spoke with Claire, Claire also reminded and instructed her in a very annoying way.

If it were Lia, Isabelle would naturally guess that the person guiding Lia must have the same personality.

Lia thought for a moment and nodded. "He's not very good at considering other people's feelings. But every time I look back after he's finished speaking, I realize that what he said was right."

Isabelle's eyelashes drooped slightly, as if touched by a thought. "Really? It seems we've both encountered people with similar personalities. So, who is your mentor? What is his position?"

“I don’t know.” Lia shook her head. “He just told me to do my job well, and he never said anything else.”

Isabelle looked up, her gaze falling on the firelight in the fireplace, as if looking further into the distance through the leaping flames.

After a while, she asked casually, "Did the person who was guiding you ever mention what they like or what their hobbies are?"

Upon reflection, Isabelle realized that she didn't know Claire that well either.

Aside from being picky about food and disliking certain types of food, this guy doesn't seem to have any other hobbies.

It seems as if Isabelle is asking Leah a question, but she is actually asking herself one as well.

However, it was not easy for Isabelle to bring it up, so she turned her attention to Lia and asked her about the person Lia mentioned, which was also quite interesting.

“He likes to call me stupid,” Lia blurted out, then paused for a moment, as if she hadn’t expected to say that.

Isabelle's lips twitched slightly. "Anything else?"

Lia thought for a moment. "He's very picky about tea. I've made tea for him a few times, but he hasn't drunk it, saying that I'm not brewing it the right way."

Isabelle tapped the rim of the glass lightly with her finger. "What's wrong?"

He said the water temperature for brewing tea shouldn't be too high, and you shouldn't stir it immediately after pouring in the water. You should wait for the tea leaves to unfurl on their own before adding a second infusion.

Lia said, her tone tinged with helplessness, "I tried several times but couldn't meet his standards."

Did he drink it in the end?

“No. He said the tea I brewed was ‘carried with resentment’.”

Isabelle couldn't help but chuckle softly, the sound short, as if she hadn't quite stopped herself.

She quickly regained her usual composure, but the aloofness that had been present in her azure eyes seemed to have faded somewhat. "He certainly knows how to find fault with people."

“He actually…” Lia paused. “He was actually teaching me how to do things well. It’s just that his teaching method wasn’t like a teacher’s. He wouldn’t explain it over and over again, nor would he slow down to wait for you to understand. He would just put things in front of you and tell you to ‘see for yourself.’”

Isabelle did not speak.

She listened quietly, as if slowly gathering those details into a corner of her mind.

It sounds like the person Liya was referring to as her guide has a very similar personality to her own.

Chapter 144 Watching My Best Friend Chat

The light screen above the table swayed slightly. Isabelle put down her teacup and leaned forward slightly, as if the words she had just spoken had stirred something within her.

Her gaze pierced through the light curtain and landed on Lia, who looked somewhat warm in the firelight of the fireplace.

"So, the person you mentioned—will he take the initiative to contact you? Or is it always you who goes to him?"

Lia thought for a moment. "Most of the time, he comes to me. Sometimes when I'm hesitant about something, he'll suddenly appear. But sometimes, I can't contact him for a long time and can only wait in my heart. He seems to have his own rhythm, his own schedule, and he's not very accommodating to me."

Isabelle didn't reply immediately. Her fingers lightly circled the rim of her glass. "He has his own schedule...that sounds familiar."

"What's wrong? Lady Isabelle, do you have someone like that around you?" Lia asked.

“It’s not that he disappeared.” Isabelle chose her words carefully. “It’s that he can’t appear whenever he wants. There are some…restrictions on him.”

Lia didn't ask what the restriction was, she just nodded.

However, she also became interested in Isabelle. Since Isabelle, the prayer agent saint, was someone that even she cared about, she must not be an ordinary person.

After all, anyone would try to curry favor with the acting saintess of the Goddess Church, rather than ignoring her.

But judging from Isabelle's current demeanor, the other party seemed to have a rather cold attitude.

Overcome with curiosity, Lia then took the initiative and asked Isabelle, "Then, Lady Isabelle, does that person you mentioned ever tell you what he's doing?"

Isabelle shook her head gently. "No. Occasionally he'll say something I've never heard before, but he won't explain much. More often, he'll ask me questions. He won't give me a direct answer; he'll just let me figure out my own answer."

Leah's finger paused at the edge of the page. "That's what the person I was talking about taught me too."

Isabelle's eyes flickered slightly in the firelight.

What else will that person teach you?

Leah paused for a moment when asked the question. "What he taught me was that emotions can interfere with judgment, so it's best not to make a decision when you're too angry or too scared."

"What if you make a mistake?"

“He’ll say ‘Be careful next time,’” Leah’s voice softened. “It sounds bland, but he says it. Not every time, but occasionally.”

Isabelle lowered her gaze, but seemed to be in a pleasant mood.

She couldn't tell anyone or communicate with anyone about how she, as the prayer agent saint, interacted with the evil god emperor Claire.

However, what Lia said at this moment made her feel as if she had found a common topic, just like when she learned that Lia had created a 'new tax' that was the same as the new system of her 'Holy City'.

At this moment, however, the two were discussing the topic of mentorship.

Feeling a strong resemblance between herself and Leah, Isabelle softly continued the conversation: "The person I'm talking about also says 'be careful next time.'"

There was silence for two or three seconds in the light screen.

Lia couldn't help but laugh. "The first time I made tea for him, he said the tea I made 'carried resentment'."

Isabelle's lips curved slightly. "The person I was talking about is the same; he's never polite to anyone and always complains about how bad my food is."

What are these two guys talking about?

Claire lay on Ophelia's bed, watching the conversation between the two on the light screen, and sighed.

I thought they would talk about something serious when they got together, but it turns out they were just gossiping?

Furthermore, neither Leah nor Isabelle seemed to have any idea that they were talking about the same person, Claire herself.

However, neither of them knew their own identities, nor did they realize that they were the same person.