They are all characters I control.

Bishop Simon himself, his voice trembling slightly with excitement, replied, "Your Excellency Archbishop Grove, thank you for your inquiry."

"On this joyous day of the Advent, I, Bishop Simon of the Royal Capital Diocese, with the utmost devotion, offer to the Goddess the 'Tax Law for Faith Offerings' drafted by my diocese!"

"The core of this tax law is that it can better serve every believer and allow them to feel the Goddess's grace more deeply."

"This new tax will not only greatly alleviate the long-standing problem of insufficient funding in various dioceses, but also allow the glory of the goddess to be manifested through more magnificent churches, wider preaching, and more timely relief."

"The new tax can also completely sweep away the shadow left by the evil god emperor a hundred years ago, allowing the new empire to move towards true faith prosperity and national strength!"

It must be said that Bishop Simon was very eloquent; his words were passionate and inspiring.

In the light screen, Archbishop Grove's figure seemed to nod in satisfaction: "Hmm, it is truly remarkable that Bishop Simon could devise such a forward-thinking plan."

The southern archbishop naturally agreed with Bishop Simon without a doubt, while the other three archbishops, though silent, did not object either.

Bishop Simon was overjoyed, as if he could already see the archbishop's crown beckoning to him.

As long as we have the support of the four archbishops, everything will be fine; the opinions of the acting saintesses are irrelevant.

Ever since the archbishops orchestrated the campaign against the evil god emperor Claire a century ago, the relationship between the acting saintesses and the archbishops has become somewhat tense.

However, the three acting saints could not prevent the four archbishops from voting.

Bishop Simon cleared his throat, preparing to begin detailing his meticulously prepared tax law, which was actually full of schemes to make money.

"Thank you for your affirmation, Archbishop! Specifically, this tax law, firstly..."

However, he was interrupted as soon as he started speaking.

A calm yet undeniably penetrating female voice interrupted him.

The voice came from the light screen; it was Isabelle, the intercessor of prayer.

“Archbishop Grove, it just so happens that I also need to announce the various new systems that will be implemented in the ‘Holy City’. Why don’t you listen to what I have to say first?”

In an instant, the entire council hall, along with the banquet hall, fell into an even deeper silence.

All eyes were focused on Isabelle, who was enveloped in holy light.

"Oh? There's a new system for prayer intercession? How about we discuss it another day? We're currently in contact with Bishop Simon, and we can't keep him waiting."

Archbishop Grove of the South was clearly rejecting the statement of the Acting Lady of Prayer.

Just as Bishop Simon was about to speak, she was about to talk about her new system? Isn't that clearly putting pressure on him?

If the two people's systems are significantly different, then one of them will definitely lose face. Of course, more importantly, the attitude of the prayer agent saint shows that she is suppressing Bishop Simon.

To be precise, it's actually the acting saintesses who are suppressing the archbishop's faction.

"I'm so sorry, Acting Saintess. I've made all these preparations with the sole purpose of the Goddess's Church. Could you please give me a chance..."

Bishop Simon also lowered his stance at the right time and expressed his demands in a tactful manner.

“It’s alright, I’ll speak when I’m done.” Isabelle’s attitude was quite firm at this moment.

Before Archbishop Grove and Bishop Simon could speak again, she immediately used the clear and holy voice of the prayer intercessor.

A series of somewhat familiar new regulations were transmitted throughout the royal banquet via a magical light screen.

“I have decided to open the ‘Healing Offering’ system starting today. Believers can pay a very small fixed fee every year, register, and then enjoy basic healing magic services at designated clinics in the Holy City.”

"Each healing spell only requires a small amount of gold coins. This system is designed to ensure that the healing power of holy magic is no longer excluded from poor believers due to high costs."

"Secondly, regulate all churches and monasteries in the Holy City, and in the future, allocate cemeteries for church knights, priests, and commoners."

"Commoners can also obtain burial plots, while the burial plots for church knights and priests are more complete, highlighting the benevolence and love of the Goddess Church. Every ten years, a purification spell is cast on the burial plots to allow the dead to go to the side of the Goddess."

"Thirdly, the Holy City will fund a short-term 'Healing Nun/Church Knight' training program to select those from commoner backgrounds who are compassionate..."

Isabelle's voice remained steady, but each suggestion was like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirring up huge waves in the royal banquet hall.

At this moment, Bishop Simon was also pale-faced. Why did the system that the acting saint was talking about to be implemented in the 'Holy City' sound so familiar?

If you carefully examine each clause, isn't it all a revision of your own new tax system?

Their new taxes are more focused on profit, in order to enable the archbishops to better expand their power and cultivate larger knightly orders.

Of course, it also takes into account the benevolence of the Goddess Church, and is based on the interests of the common people. However, this claim of thinking about the people is just a nice-sounding gimmick.

In contrast, the new system that the Prayer Acting Saint was about to implement in the 'Holy City' was a genuine act of charity with the people's well-being in mind.

While these systems did bring considerable benefits to the 'Holy City,' they were clearly not aimed at expanding its knightly orders and building more churches to amass wealth.

The superiority or inferiority can be determined with a simple comparison.

As Bishop Simon listened to Isabelle, the Advocate of Prayer, recount the rules one by one, his heart grew colder.

"Finally, I have decided to establish the Knights of Pure Hearts in the 'Holy City,' where anyone, regardless of their ability to use holy magic, can choose to join the order..."

This last sentence was the real bombshell that all the participants at the royal banquet heard.

The Holy City is going to form its own knightly order? And the acting saintesses are also building their own fighting force?

The person most shocked at this moment was not Bishop Simon, or His Majesty Darian, but Claire, who was sharing Lydia's body.

In the past few days, he hadn't heard Isabelle mention anything about starting a knightly order.

Chapter 90 The Acting Saintess is Not a Mascot

The speech by Saint Isabelle, the Advocate of Prayer, has concluded.

Inside the banquet hall, a deathly silence was followed by a commotion and uproar that nearly lifted the dome.

The nobles whispered amongst themselves, their faces filled with suspicion and uncertainty. His Majesty Darion's brows furrowed deeply as he scanned the magical barrier and the deathly pale-faced Bishop Simon.

Prince Alvin looked bewildered, clearly not yet fully comprehending the turbulent undercurrents behind it all.

At this moment, Bishop Simon was undoubtedly the one most affected.

The color drained completely from his face, leaving only a deathly ashen complexion. Isabelle's proposed "new charitable policies" horrified him; every single clause seemed tailored to his own new tax system.

However, compared to his new tax cloaked in a veneer of mercy, the new system of the 'Holy City' based on prayer is a true act of good salvation, and it is more in line with the long-standing mission of the Church of Goddess.

In the light screen, the portly figure of Archbishop Grove of the South also trembled violently, clearly understanding what the new system that Isabelle had just mentioned represented.

The figures of the other archbishops also showed slight fluctuations. They had all informed Bishop Simon in advance and were already aware of his new taxes.

They had initially praised Bishop Simon's new taxes, but now their attitudes had changed, and they even began to suspect that Bishop Simon had plagiarized the work of the Advocate of Prayer.

Otherwise, how could a new tax system with the same version but different details appear?

“Bishop Simon, don’t you also have a new tax to announce? You can do that now. I’m sorry to have taken up your time.” Isabelle’s seemingly polite and courteous words sounded particularly grating at this moment.

How could Bishop Simon dare to announce his new tax? That would be utterly humiliating.

At this point, he could only cast a pleading look at Archbishop Grove of the South. Although Grove was reluctant to intervene, he had previously been the one who had strongly recommended Bishop Simon.

If Bishop Simon is disgraced, then Grove, who just recommended him, is just as disgraced.

"Your new system of prayer administration is truly thoughtful and shows your concern for believers; it is admirable. Compared to you, Bishop Simon's new taxes are clearly inadequate. Perhaps this time..."

“Archbishop Grove, this is not a good thing to do.” A cold, mocking voice interrupted Grove’s speech, and everyone turned to look and found that it was another acting saintess.

Ophelia, the Virtuous Actress.

Compared to Isabelle, the Prayer Agent who oversees all matters, big and small, in the 'Holy City Spera', Ophelia, the Discipline Agent, controls the most terrifying and severe organization within the Goddess Church.

The Inquisition was filled with nuns dressed in black robes, resembling messengers of death.

Compared to the "holy city" that the Church of Goddess reveres and yearns for, the Inquisition is a place that inspires fear and trembling.

"Oh, it's Lady Ophelia. What can I do for you?" Grove's attitude had also improved considerably, and a somewhat obsequious smile appeared on his chubby face.

The more guilty a person is, the more they fear the Inquisition.

Who knows how much dirt the Inquisition holds? No wonder Archbishop Grove of the South has this attitude.

Of these archbishops, Grove was the most greedy, and it is said that he even built a church made of gold.

"This is the 'Holy Council,' you think you can just refuse to speak?" Ophelia showed absolutely no politeness; this acting saintess of discipline seemed to have the same disdainful attitude towards everyone.

Archbishop Grove of the South fell silent, while Bishop Simon wished he could disappear into the ground.

While the Discipline Substitute trait isn't as good as the Prayer Substitute trait, Ophelia continues to attack.

"What's the point of hiding it? If you wanted to announce something so badly before, then just say it already!"

"Unless, what you have is something shameful?!"

"Then you must speak even more, otherwise you will be showing contempt for me, the saintess who carries out the precepts."

Ophelia was clearly doing it on purpose; every question she posed was like a resounding slap in the face to Bishop Simon, and also to the faces of all the archbishops present who supported him.

The archbishops and the charismatic saints have never gotten along well, and this is now being made concrete.

Bishop Simon felt his knees buckle and almost collapsed to the ground.

He thought that once he won over the archbishops, everything would fall into place and he could become the next archbishop, but now he regrets it.

“I don’t, I dare not underestimate the Acting Saintesses, I just… I just…” Bishop Simon stammered, still struggling internally.

If I were to mention my new tax, I would definitely be targeted by the acting saintesses.

It is absolutely unacceptable to provoke the Acting Saintess before even becoming an archbishop.

But seeing that Bishop Simon was still stalling, Archbishop Grove of the South, who had originally been his supporter, coughed.

“Bishop Simon, now that you have submitted your proposal to the Holy Council, according to procedure, you should at least present the contents of your proposal for the Holy Council to consider. Whether it is valuable or not, and whether it should be revised, is up to the Holy Council to decide.”

His words seemed to offer Simon a way out, but in reality, they were a pawn sacrifice to save the king.

He no longer expected Simon's tax law to pass; he only hoped that Simon could finish his explanation and that the Holy Council would handle it under the pretext of "not passing" or "sending it back for revision," thus minimizing the negative impact.

Simon's personal future and reputation are no longer of concern.

“Archbishop Grove, I…I understand.” Bishop Simon felt a chill in his heart.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone at the royal banquet and the members of the 'Holy Council' within the magical light screen, he began to read aloud in a trembling, dry, hoarse, and intermittent voice.

"I...I suggest we add a 'Healing Magic Contribution'..."

With each statement read by Bishop Simon, the atmosphere in the banquet hall grew more somber, and the faces of many nobles became increasingly grim.

When I first heard about the new systems implemented by the Prayer Acting Saint Isabelle, they seemed familiar. But now, hearing about Bishop Simon's new taxes, the contrast is all the more striking.

One method involves finding ways to extract money from believers, especially wealthy believers, under the guise of "offering" and "maintenance." The money ultimately flows to the treasuries of high-ranking church officials and archbishops in various regions, as well as to the knightly orders of the archbishops.

One was to find ways to ensure that even the most basic believers could enjoy basic religious benefits, while also regulating the internal system and even planning to use the money saved to train commoner clergy and form a new, lower-barrier knightly order.

The difference between superior and inferior is immediately apparent, and the distinction between good and evil is clear.

Bishop Simon's voice grew softer and softer, increasingly lacking confidence.

When he finally finished reading the last clause about "adding a requirement for voluntary donations to all believers entering the church," Bishop Simon's magnificent bishop's robe was soaked with sweat.

The banquet hall was deathly silent, save for the heavy breathing.

Everyone looked at the light screen, awaiting the Holy Council's decision, or rather, its judgment.

After a brief silence, Ophelia, the Discipline Agent, spoke again in a cold voice, this time with undisguised sarcasm:

"How dare they steal from our Acting Saintess? Has the Inquisition come looking for work?"

Chapter 91 Bishop Simon's Dream Shattered

Saint Isabelle, the prayer agent whose new system was being 'copied,' had not yet spoken.

At this moment, Ophelia, the acting saint of discipline who was even more troubled than Isabelle, spoke up and expressed her dissatisfaction quite directly.

The banquet hall erupted in chaos; everyone could see that Bishop Simon had completely stood against the acting saints.

After all, whether it's "plagiarism" or "disrespecting the acting saintess," such words coming from the mouth of the acting saintess of discipline are quite troublesome.

Although the archbishops' power was no less than that of the acting saints, the acting saints' reputation and status were still slightly higher than those of the archbishops, so the archbishops would take a step back in terms of face.

In other words, even if Archbishop Grove of the South had a very good relationship with Bishop Simon, he would not stand up for him at this point.

"No! No! I didn't plagiarize!" Bishop Simon offered a weak and feeble explanation, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"If that's the case, then why are there so many coincidences?" Isabelle's voice rang out at the right moment, her expression remaining calm.

"Too many coincidences cease to be coincidences. Bishop Simon, how do you know about these new taxes?"

"Why is your new tax the same as mine? Or do you think I copied your new tax?"