They are all characters I control.

[Lia: But...but the Count is the one who attacked me. If I go with him, won't that expose his identity?]

Claire: Don't treat the Earl like a fool; you won't be in any trouble.

Just as Claire sent out her comment, Lia heard Earl Orlando finally speak up beside her.

“Then I will come along. I will not allow you to do anything disrespectful to Miss Lia.”

This may seem like Earl Orlando has taken a step back, but it's the best way out for now.

"Okay." After thinking for a few seconds, Karl uttered two words.

Looking at Earl Orlando before him, he added, "But Earl, you can only follow behind; you cannot disturb my and Miss Lia's investigation."

Earl Orlando retorted without backing down, "That depends on whether you will be disrespectful to Miss Leah."

Seeing this, Liya couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The guiding god was right; I really don't need to worry.

“Let’s go then. Hopefully, Captain Karl won’t dawdle too much, lest we both miss dinner.” Earl Orlando extended his hand to Leah, indicating that they could leave now.

"Okay, okay." Lia followed Earl Orlando with peace of mind.

Looking at the two people in front of him, Captain Karl glanced at the three books on the table.

The three books are titled "The Most Suitable Knowledge for Preparing for Pregnancy," "Breathing Techniques for a Long-Term Battle," and "I Still Maintain the Tension I Had at Eighteen."

Looking at these books, Captain Karl's eyes showed a hint of doubt and contemplation.

He flipped through a few pages, and the content that matched the book's title immediately appeared before him. He quickly flipped through the rest of the book, and found the same thing.

So Captain Carl started checking the book covers and covers again, and he inexplicably felt that something was wrong with these books.

"Hey, what are you doing there? Weren't you just urging us to cooperate with the investigation? Why are you reading this kind of book now? Has the Knight Commander of the Goddess Church finally seen the light? Interested in women's bodies?"

Earl Orlando's voice was so loud that the other students in the library all turned to look at him, staring at Captain Karl and the "The Best Knowledge for Preparing for Pregnancy" in his hand.

Even the usually ruthless Captain Karl couldn't help but twitch at this moment.

"I was just checking if there were any problems with this book, so let's hurry up and go." He put down the book he was holding.

Watching Captain Karl's somewhat flustered back, Earl Orlando and Lia exchanged a smile.

The maid Anna picked up the magic books and put them back on the bookshelf.

Chapter 77 The Church is not afraid of power; it is power itself.

Lia and her maid Anna followed Captain Karl and Earl Orlando out of the library.

As they passed through the Royal Academy, they encountered a minor incident.

Just as they were about to walk out of the academy gate, they bumped into a group of people. This group consisted of Elena and Prince Alvin, as well as several of their usual noble followers.

Elena was tilting her head slightly, talking to Prince Alvin beside her with a bright smile on her face.

Prince Alvin, dressed in a dark hunting outfit that allowed for easy movement, looked tall and dashing. He listened attentively, a gentle smile on his face as he looked at Elena.

The two groups collided almost head-on at the entrance to the forecourt.

Elena was the first to see Lia, who was surrounded by people. Her smile froze instantly, and her pretty expression turned somewhat ugly.

Moreover, what made Elena even more nervous were the two people next to Lia.

On the left is Karl, the renowned, cold-faced captain of the Church Knights; on the right is Earl Orlando, the dream lover of countless women in the capital and a favorite of His Majesty.

These two youngest, most famous, and universally recognized as promising men of the new empire were actually placed beside Lia like flowers and green leaves.

This image stung Elena like a needle.

Why? Why is it that this quiet, unassuming, and almost invisible older sister in the Royal Academy always manages to get involved with these high-ranking or charismatic figures?

Last time, Earl Orlando openly pursued her, sending her flowers and gifts. Now, even Captain Karl, known for his impartiality in the Church of Goddess, is personally "escorting" her.

Judging from this situation, it doesn't seem like a simple chance encounter or asking for directions!

At this moment, it wasn't just Elena who was stimulated by the lineup in front of her, but also Prince Alvin.

It's one thing for Earl Orlando to openly pursue Leah, but why is Captain Karl involved too? Although he doesn't care about or like Leah as his fiancée, they are still officially engaged.

If his fiancée were to be embroiled in any scandal, it would not only be Prince Alvin himself who would be disgraced, but the entire royal family and His Majesty would also be implicated.

Thinking of this, Prince Alvin actually spoke up and questioned Elena before she could.

"Where are you all headed? It's not time to rest yet, is it? As nobles, you need to be more mindful of your status and image, and not bring shame to your family."

The second half of the speech was addressed to Leah, and Prince Alvin stared at her with a dark expression.

Facing her unfamiliar fiancé, Lia blinked but remained silent, thinking that he probably wasn't talking about her.

He was going to participate in the investigation with Captain Karl. What family smear campaign? That certainly wasn't referring to him.

Captain Karl looked at Prince Alvin before him. He was not good at socializing among nobles, so he simply bowed and stood aside.

Earl Orlando chuckled, clearly understanding Prince Alvin's meaning, but he deliberately kept quiet and even moved closer to Leah to provoke Prince Alvin.

Prince Alvin's face immediately darkened.

"Sister, how could you do this? Prince Alvin is your fiancé! How could you be so close to so many men!"

Elena began to unleash her attacks, and she and her followers stared in astonishment at Lia, who was surrounded in the middle.

For a moment, the atmosphere seemed to resemble that of Elena and Prince Alvin catching Leah cheating on him.

Earl Orlando didn't care, but Captain Carl had already frowned.

"I know you've always wanted to get closer to Prince Alvin, but you can't use this method to attract his attention!"

Elena's deliberately exaggerated voice immediately attracted the attention of others around her.

The followers standing beside them lined up in a row, displaying an arrogant attitude as they blocked their way.

"My fiancé?" At this moment, Lia finally realized that the person Prince Alvin was referring to when he said "don't bring shame to the family" was her.

"But my fiancé has always been with you, Elena. Why should I attract the prince's attention?"

The truth is the real deal; Lia doesn't care about the engagement at all.

The reason she has always treasured the moonstone necklace that symbolized her engagement is simply because it was left to her by her mother.

To be honest, Lia didn't care about her engagement to Prince Alvin at all. When Elena said that she was trying to attract Prince Alvin's attention, Lia naturally said the same thing.

"You... Sister, how could you say that? I've been trying to explain things to the prince for you the whole time. I only stayed with Prince Alvin because I genuinely wanted to help you!"

Elena had said this more than once or twice; she had long since mastered the coordination between facial expressions and lines.

However, standing opposite her were not fools like Prince Alvin, but Earl Orlando and Captain Carl.

To Earl Orlando and Captain Carl, her performance was utterly atrocious.

"I don't need you to explain anything to me, Elena. My engagement with Prince Alvin is just a formality, so there's no need to worry about it."

Lia spoke her mind with an innocent expression; that was truly what she thought.

“Miss Lia, you…”

However, these words made Prince Alvin even more unable to hold back.

It seemed that only he cared about the engagement; Lia didn't care at all about the royal engagement.

Even so, what could he say to Lia? He couldn't very well say, "Lia, you have to care about me and our engagement," could he?

"Alright, if you two have nothing else to do, please step aside." Captain Karl couldn't stand it any longer and gave them the order to leave.

Compared to his duties as a knight commander of the Goddess Church, Elena and Prince Alvin were simply wasting his time.

"No! Liya, you can't leave! You have to explain yourself today, or don't even think about leaving..."

Before Elena could finish her rambling, Captain Karl's gaze turned cold.

His hand rested on his knight's sword as he coldly stared at Elena and hissed, "As a knight commander of the Goddess Church, I suspect you of interfering with our investigation. I will now send you to the Knights for interrogation."

Then, a group of church knights walked in from outside the school gate and surrounded them.

Elena, who had been so arrogant just moments before, was suddenly terrified. She quickly grabbed Prince Alvin beside her as if he were a lifeline.

"Captain Karl, this is a misunderstanding..." Prince Alvin understood upon seeing this.

At this moment, Lia, Captain Karl, and Earl Orlando are not socializing, but on a mission.

Moreover, it was a task assigned by the Goddess Church.

Although the new empire was headed by Alvin's father, His Majesty Darion, even His Majesty Darion dared not disregard the opinions of Bishop Simon.

“Since the prince wants to come along, he can accompany us from behind.” Captain Karl showed no mercy, gesturing for the knights to take Elena and the others away.

Seeing that Prince Alvin couldn't save them, Elena and her followers immediately chickened out.

"Wait a minute, I didn't say anything!"

"Sister! Sister Liya, please save me!"

"It's none of my business! I'm just here to watch the show!"

"I'm not stopping you, I have no intention of stopping you!"

"I was wrong, I won't do it again! I'll never do it again!"

"..."

Seeing Elena and her followers being led away by the church knights while crying and wailing, and Prince Alvin anxiously following behind, Lia inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

But then she realized, had this gotten out of hand?

[Lia: My guiding god, what do you say...?]

[Claire: What did I say? If I came, I'd send them to the gallows. What do you want me to say?]

[Lia: Well, never mind then...]

Chapter 78 The Church Knights are very popular

The carriage traveled heavily but steadily through the streets of the capital, its wheels making a monotonous creaking sound as they rolled over the stone pavement.

Lia was sitting in a carriage bearing the emblem of the Goddess Church, watching the bustling main road recede into the distance as they entered the commoners' district.

The buildings in the working-class area are no longer tall and magnificent, and the streets are narrower, but they are full of life.

However, since the last attack, Lia had not been to this shortcut area for some time.

Now, surrounded by Karl, Earl Orlando, and a group of church knights, Leah's mood was completely different; she felt no fear whatsoever.

After all, they already knew that the attacker was Earl Orlando.

The carriage continued for a few more minutes before stopping.

"We've arrived. I'll get out first. Miss Liya, please wait a moment." After calmly instructing Liya, Karl opened the car door and got out by himself.

Watching Captain Karl close the car door again, Leah nervously twisted her fingers.

Why did Captain Carl want to get off at this point? Why did he leave himself in the car?

Count Orlando, sitting opposite Lia, noticed her niece's nervousness. She chuckled and pointed out the window to Lia: "Don't worry, Lia, look out the window."

"Huh? Oh, okay." After a few seconds of confusion, Lia followed Count Orlando's words and turned to look out the window.

First, she saw rows of church knights, and around the knights were a group of commoners.

The church knights, whom the nobles feared, were now being greeted warmly by the common people.

"It's Captain Karl!"

"Lord Karl has arrived?"

"Mr. Carl, here are your flowers."

"These are apples that arrived this morning, Lord Karl, please have a taste."

"Here are some cheese pieces; Mr. Carl can take them home and eat them."

"..."

Whether children or adults, everyone greeted Karl warmly upon his arrival.

Upon seeing this scene, Lia's eyes widened in astonishment.