They are all characters I control.

[Lia: My God of Guidance, Count Orlando is asking you, why don't you take control of my body?]

[Claire: Are you out of your mind? Do you want someone to control your body? Aren't you afraid I'll take my clothes off now?]

[Lia: Taking off...taking off my clothes is not allowed! I just thought it would be easier for the Guiding God to talk to the Earl that way.]

Claire: You don't need to worry about that. You know what I mean.

[Lia: Actually, I'm curious too. Is the God of Guidance perhaps a member of the Goddess's Church? Otherwise, how could she...?]

[Claire: Who are you calling the Church of Goddess? How many good people are there in the Church of Goddess? Even if there are good people, they're all women.]

[Lia: How come the new system of the Guiding God is so similar to that of the Acting Saintess? Wasn't the new tax written by the Guiding God when he controlled my body?]

Claire: No comment.

Lia secretly cursed him as a "stingy man," but she also understood Earl Orlando's feelings.

Their own 'guiding god' never says anything, and never mentions anything related to him.

Meanwhile, Count Orlando, seeing Lia's expression, naturally knew the other "Lia's" answer—the other person's pouting gesture and expression were exactly the same as Lia's.

"Is your 'guiding god' keeping it a secret again? What a boring fellow."

"But Simon is completely finished now. He probably won't have time to mess with us for a while, and neither will Karl."

"If we use Isabelle's banner well, we can walk sideways in the capital for a while."

Hearing this, Lia nodded vigorously.

After all, she was also wary of the existence of Knight Commander Karl. Knight Commander Karl appeared to be very gentle, but his eyes were somewhat frightening.

Even though Karl was very kind to her today, helping her when she almost fell, he seemed to be constantly observing her. Lia was also working very hard to prevent the fact that there was a 'Guiding God' inside her from being exposed.

"Put these things aside for now. You have to promise me, the other 'Lia,' that you'll stay with me from now on, okay?" Count Orlando suddenly said.

Lia was a little surprised, but her first reaction was happiness.

The count is her mother's sister, which makes her her aunt, so Lia naturally wants to live with Count Orlando.

At least it's easier at the Earl of Orlando's house than at the Rost house.

But then she was also very puzzled. At this moment, Earl Orlando's expression was very serious, which did not seem to be just to get closer to her.

"W-what's wrong, Your Excellency? Will I be in trouble next?" Lia asked anxiously.

Claire: Because the Rothschild family is doomed.

Leah was startled and subconsciously repeated, "God of Guidance, you said... the Rost family is doomed?"

Earl Orlando gave Leah a deep look, clearly understanding that this was "that person's" meaning. She added, "Pretty much. Your father betrayed you without hesitation tonight in front of everyone to protect himself, which has completely ruined his reputation and that of the Rost family."

“The aristocratic circle values ​​face and family honor the most. His behavior is tantamount to cutting himself off from this circle.”

"Of course, more importantly, Bishop Simon has lost face this time and must hate the Rost family to the core. Although he may not dare to touch you for the time being, it is inevitable that he will trip up your father and that family and use dirty tricks."

“If you stay there, you will only be implicated, used as a punching bag, or even used as a bargaining chip to salvage the last bit of ‘value’ of the Rost family.”

Listening to Earl Orlando's words, and the 'God of Guidance's' attitude of neither objection nor questioning.

Lia immediately tensed up.

"A deal? What kind of deal?" she asked softly, twisting her fingers together.

“For example, your engagement to Prince Alvin; you are still Prince Alvin’s fiancée,” Earl Orlando reminded him.

[Claire: For example, using your engagement to Prince Alvin to bind His Majesty the Emperor, attempting to prolong your existence by leveraging the power of the royal family.]

Hearing the same answer from both of them, Lia's face turned pale.

Marrying Prince Alvin? Just thinking about being with that arrogant, narcissistic prince who only had eyes for Elena made her feel suffocated.

Not to mention using marriage as a bargaining chip, being exploited by family and royalty.

"I...I don't want to!" she said softly but firmly.

“That’s the right thing to do,” Earl Orlando interjected, his tone approving. “So, you can’t go back anymore. From now on, you’ll live with me.”

My niece has no ambition; she's as innocent as a little white rabbit.

But at least she has good taste in men and won't fall for idiots.

"This is the best option right now. Anyway, my reputation is what it is, so I don't need to care about what others think."

"Secondly, it will be more convenient if Isabelle contacts you in the future. If you are staying at the Rost family's house, you will definitely be overwhelmed when dealing with that acting saintess. It will be much more convenient if I am by your side, won't it?"

She paused, a sly look on her face: "In the end, I can keep an eye on you so you won't be fooled by some ill-intentioned guys, or led astray by the one 'inside'."

The last sentence was clearly addressed to Claire.

"I... I think the God of Guidance is much better than Prince Alvin."

Lia, unusually, refuted Earl Orlando, and said in a low voice, blushing slightly.

Upon seeing this, Earl Orlando put his hand to his forehead and said, "Ah, aren't you worried that he's an old man? Maybe he's already eighty or ninety years old? Just by looking at the way he does things, you can tell he's definitely not a young man!"

“Who knows? We haven’t even met the guiding god yet,” Lia insisted.

“Indeed, we haven’t seen that guy yet, so why don’t you ask him when he’s going to show up?”

Earl Orlando nudged Leah's shoulder encouragingly.

"Never mind."

Lia lowered her head; she was too embarrassed to ask.

After all, the "God of Guidance" could hear their conversation but hadn't responded. However, Lia knew very well that although the "God of Guidance" could be infuriating and cold at times, he was omniscient and could always solve problems.

He was her guiding light in the darkness and her only support, so Lia's words just now were sincere.

Chapter 96 Isabelle's Dilemma

The office of the Adjudicator of Prayer in the holy city of Spera.

Intricate prayers are engraved on the pure white marble walls, and soft, constant holy light shines down from the magical crystals in the dome.

The entire room was spotless, yet it exuded an aura of coldness and sanctity that was not to be profaned.

The air was filled with a faint, calming scent of laurel and sandalwood.

The nuns in white robes were helping Isabelle change out of her formal holy robes, which were meant to convey majesty. Isabelle was now only wearing a simple, plain white dress.

After changing her clothes, she sat behind a large desk piled high with files and writing tools.

Looking at the draft documents about the new system on her desk, Isabelle's expression turned serious. The most important moment was about to begin.

Although the new system has already been announced and passed at the 'Holy Council'.

The archbishops were certainly aware of what they were about to do, and they were naturally eager to stop them, but Bishop Simon became cannon fodder as a warning to others.

Even Isabelle herself did not expect that Bishop Simon would propose a new tax that was almost identical to her own.

However, if one only looks at Bishop Simon's new taxes and his new system, it is probably impossible to see any specific problems.

However, when the new tax is placed alongside its own new system, the true nature of both is laid bare.

Bishop Simon's new tax was designed specifically for the archbishops, providing them with a convenient excuse to amass wealth in their own territories.

His new system, however, was entirely for the benefit of the poor and did not help with anything related to accumulating wealth.

Isabelle now looks back on it with gratitude.

If I hadn't decided to issue the new system today, the archbishops might have forced me to approve the new tax bill.

At that time, the Church of the Goddess will undergo earth-shattering changes.

Previously, archbishops needed to wage war to expand and exercise their power, but now they can easily expand and enrich their power in seemingly reasonable ways without even having to fight.

As for those who suffer, it is only the ordinary believers.

What would the world be like if common believers were taxed not only by nobles and the state, but also by the church? Isabelle couldn't imagine.

This didn't surprise her that much.

Wasn't this the same reason the archbishops blocked Claire more than a hundred years ago? The archbishops didn't want any reforms, and therefore their own interests were harmed.

The Church of Goddess, which previously dared not openly embezzle funds, now dares to create such a new tax system to blatantly collect money.

The current archbishops are not even as good as the archbishops of more than a hundred years ago; it seems that each generation is worse than the last.

Thinking of this, Isabelle couldn't help but become a little agitated.

How could she face Claire? Claire seemed to be a victim of persecution by the archbishops? What had he done wrong? He was just trying to manage his empire.

However, it was attacked and sealed away because it hindered the archbishops.

If we were to say that his only crime was killing an archbishop, it would be that the archbishop could kill him and he couldn't retaliate.

Claire's action was tantamount to opening Pandora's box.

Killing the archbishop and bathing in his blood would grant her immortality—that was Claire's only sin.

Even though the Church of Goddess issued a very strict gag order on this matter, and anyone who discussed it would be thrown into the Inquisition, it was at that time that the Inquisition of the Adjudicating Saints of the Commandments grew and developed.

Even so, people still manage to learn this secret through various channels.

The archbishops suddenly seemed to become prey in everyone's eyes. Everyone wanted to kill one of the archbishops and see if they could survive. Wouldn't that be a huge profit?

Such thoughts are like a virus, corrupting and degrading everyone who doesn't want to die.

Even within the church, it is not very likely that people will enjoy the goddess's blessing; currently, the only one to receive the goddess's blessing is the saint.

Killing the archbishop grants immortality, a possibility everyone has the opportunity to achieve.

There are still four archbishops left, and if they die, there will be successors. Killing an archbishop to gain immortality is naturally much simpler and more convenient than becoming a saintess.

If only the archbishops are targeted, the surrogate saints are too.

If killing an archbishop grants immortality, what would happen if one killed the acting saintesses, who held even higher positions than the archbishop? Claire was not without a desire for revenge against the Church of the Goddess.

He killed an archbishop and gained immortality, which was the best revenge against the Church of Goddess.

From then on, no one in the Goddess Church dared to be careless about the people around them; everyone would doubt their comrades who prayed and fought together.

Fearing betrayal, church knights and priests frequently disappeared or went missing in the early years, which is why the evil god emperor Claire was secretly hidden away.

To the outside world, the fact that Claire was still alive was absolutely denied.

“But what ultimately led to all of this was the archbishops’ greed.” Isabelle rubbed her temples and sighed.

The archbishops chose to amass wealth to protect themselves, while Isabelle chose to appease every believer and commoner with redemption.

Therefore, among her new systems, Isabelle's primary focus was not on healing magic benefits, but on burial.

After death, one can achieve the easiest and most effortless form of immortality.

If believers understand this, then fewer people will want to harm members of the Goddess Church.

"Oh dear, is our prayer agent saint still busy?"

At that moment, the door was pushed open with brute force.

Without knocking or announcing, the white-robed nuns guarding the door followed the newcomer with expressions of helplessness and unease.

There's no other reason than that it was someone else who came.

Just look at that tall, slender figure, dressed in a neatly tailored dark gray uniform of a disciplinary officer, and the way he slipped in like a ghost.

Isabelle had already guessed the other party's identity.

"Ophelia, what do you need me for?"

Without any hesitation, she pushed aside the documents on the desk and sat down in front of Isabelle, who was also an acting saint, the Discipline Agent, Ophelia.

The acting saintess who oversees the Inquisition is now looking down at Isabelle with a mocking and condescending gaze.

She playfully pinched Isabelle's chin, but didn't seem to mind when her hand was slapped away.

"Of course there's something going on. Today's 'Holy Council' was quite interesting, wasn't it?"

Looking at Isabelle's calm face, Ophelia licked her lips with even greater interest.

She likes dealing with people like that.

Tearing away the layers of the other person's disguise brings her immense pleasure.