Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

Tipalotura also looked at Ryūsha; this kid's sudden outburst must mean he'd grasped something. She watched as Ryūsha vehemently denounced the Inquisition's excessive actions against the nobles of various regions before 'Luminova,' accusing them of completely distorting the goddess's teachings and tarnishing the Papacy's reputation with their vile behavior. Of course, this wasn't to say the Papacy lacked the right to judge heretics, but rather that Carmela's leadership was incompetent. The secular nobles of Otus and the Papacy should have a harmonious relationship of co-governance, not adversarial one.

"Of course! Your Excellency, my words may be somewhat disrespectful to the Holy See, but I must express my true thoughts. I do not know what you intend for us to do here, but if you, like those assassins of the Inquisition, only wish to keep worldly people like me in the dark..."

Ryuka's words grew increasingly impassioned, and with a bang, she knocked the pot lid to the ground, filling the entire kitchen with a delicious aroma. This left 'Luminowa' in front of her speechless.

"Then please forgive me, but I cannot follow your advice! Besides, you are using Luminova's body and freedom as a bargaining chip, which is a complete insult to my dignity!"

Ryuka's resounding words, coupled with her hand gestures, scooped the delicious rabbit meat, now reduced in sauce, into a plate, and as if suppressing her anger, pushed it towards 'Luminova,' followed by a chorus of comments:

"Sir, please leave after you finish your meal! This is my final courtesy in respect for your prolonged silence!"

'Gulp'... 'Luminowa' swallowed, whether from the aroma of the food on the plate or from being startled by Ryūka's impassioned speech, she blinked, blankly took the plate, and said somewhat awkwardly:

"Don't be angry, handsome young man. I meant... Your Excellency the Governor."

It seems she succeeded. Tipalotura sensed the change in the uninvited guest's attitude and stepped in to smooth things over. She led 'Luminova' back to the previous table, and despite the priest's continued hostility towards her, the princess and witch, she smiled and said:

"Alright, Lord Liuxia, I believe this clergyman must have some unspeakable difficulties. After all, the relationship between Otus and the Holy See is what it is, but in any case, we all hope to resolve this issue with restraint and dignity, don't we?"

The two figures, one in red and one in white, caused 'Luminova' to frown in annoyance, her large breasts jiggling slightly.

"Okay, okay, I can say, but not all of it."

As if she had made a difficult decision, she took a bite of rabbit meat, a blush of happiness spreading across her face, and then said seriously to Ryūsha and Tipalotura:

"You don't need to mention the princess of Otus, young man. You should also know about the 'body' project. Borrowing the power of a witch is not something a follower of a goddess should do. Carmela's actions over the years are enough to put her on the gallows! You should know that!"

"So, you're against this court?"

Faced with Ryūka's question, 'Luminova' mysteriously shook her head:

"The rest is none of your business. I just want to say that Princess Linor must never be allowed to return to the Bauhinia and fall into their hands. And the Tears of the Bauhinia should also be given to us. Without Linor, it's just an ordinary stone, but it's enough to serve as evidence of Carmela's wicked deeds! As long as it's given to His Holiness the Pope..."

*Crunch!* 'Luminova' bit off a piece of rabbit rib meat, chewing and swallowing even the tiny rib bones, her eyes fixed on Ryukyu:

"You should know what I'm talking about, right? Your Excellency the Governor of Sochi Province..."

"You mean, the Demon Sword?"

Ryuga frowned as she thought of the secret about the Bauhinia Tears that Linor had told her.

"The Demon Sword?" Now it was Tipalotura's turn to be confused. She frowned and looked at Ryusha, as if to say, 'You actually kept this from me.'

“That’s right, *gulp*” 'Luminova' licked her lips. “It’s not just witches; the Inquisition has been searching for all sorts of things containing heretical power for over a decade. But His Holiness the Pope and we have never been able to find the key evidence to make public. Even this body was intercepted by us halfway through, so we couldn’t send it to the Holy City to meet His Holiness the Pope…”

"This time, they're after Linor's royal blood and the Demon Sword. Logically, such a major heretical incident as the Demon Sword should have been reported, but Carmela suppressed the matter, denying that the Tears of the Bauhinia was the Demon Sword. She claimed that everything that happened in the Bauhinia Kingdom was an internal royal dispute, and that the Inquisition Knights were merely assisting in investigating the former king's obsession with heretical research..."

"So, you want to obtain the Bauhinia Tears, but you also want to prevent Linor from falling into the hands of the Inquisition?"

“That’s right.” 'Luminova' nodded. “Although I have little sympathy for witches, if Linor falls into the hands of the Inquisition and is turned into her puppet by Carmela, then no matter what we say, she can use Linor to deny it. And it’s very likely that the power of the Demon Sword will be activated…”

Ryuga understood her meaning: "But if Linor stays in Sochi under the protection of my people, and only takes the Bauhinia Tear with her, even if it is unfortunately taken by the Inquisition, it will just be an ordinary stone, and Carmela will not be able to use the power of the Demon Sword. Is that what you think?"

“That’s right.” In front of Tipalotura, 'Luminova' once again expressed her disdain for witches. “Unlike witches who are everywhere in the world, true magic swords are much rarer, and they absolutely cannot fall into Carmela’s hands. In fact, she almost succeeded once more than ten years ago, and that failure made her furious…”

Luminova laughed with satisfaction, and Ryusha understood her meaning. She was referring to the time Atina's father found Idunir, but unlike the Idunir Atina obtained, the Bauhinia Tear was sealed. Therefore, Carmela was determined to obtain both it and Linor…

Ryūka couldn't help but shake his head, regardless of whether what 'Luminova' said was true or not. If the Pope and the Congregation for the Faith had been keeping an eye on Carmela for a long time but hadn't been able to gather enough evidence in over a decade, this made Ryūka highly doubt their capabilities.

"To be honest, your plan sounds naive..." Ryuka said bluntly, "And what if you're lying to me? For example..."

He looked into the eyes of 'Luminowa', trying to communicate with the soul residing within.

"If you are Carmela's person, and you just want to trick us into taking the Bauhinia Tears away, while also tricking me into leaving Linor here, so that you can take advantage of the situation and do both at once?"

Chapter 18 Carmela's Shadow

"What? How is this possible!"

Luminova looked unconvinced, but upon closer examination, from Ryūka's perspective, such concerns were indeed valid.

"Okay, what will it take for you to believe me?"

Ryuka had already thought about this issue.

"'The original body'... You took control of Luminova's body and said you would hand her over to me. Then you must know something about how Carmela controls and brainwashes witches..." Ryuga smiled and shrugged. This was a core aspect of the Holy See's Inquisition. "Since the Faith Department also opposes this plan, believing it violates the faith, you shouldn't mind revealing the key to us, right?"

Regardless of the internal strife within the Vatican, Ryuka was more concerned with the witches themselves. Both the Vatican and Ottus controlled the witches' power, so he had no reason not to learn more about it.

For Kania's sake, and for his own... after all, he still had a female bishop who never yielded.

"That sounds reasonable."

Tipalotura laughed as well. The Inquisition had methods to deal with witches, which wasn't a good thing for her either. If Ryūka could extract the Church's secrets from 'Luminova,' she would certainly be happy to see it happen.

Seeing their smiles, 'Luminova' felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, the discord between the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Inquisition was an internal matter of the Vatican. But as Ryūsha had said, they wouldn't cooperate with her unless she offered sufficient leverage.

"Alright, I don't have any good feelings towards witches anyway. No matter how many bodies you take from the Inquisition, it's a good thing for us to get rid of these heretics who don't deserve the goddess's blessings..."

Luminova pondered for a moment, finally deciding to compromise. However, she didn't seem as foolish as Ryūka thought. Luminova glanced at the engrossed Tipalottura; Ottus was the Papacy's long-time adversary. After discovering Tipalottura was a witch, she had fallen into the same trap Ryūka had previously suspected: Tipalottura was actually a fake princess. After all, the Ottus royal family only kept witches, not married them.

This is also why she has absolutely no respect for Tipalotura, because she doesn't treat her as a member of the royal family, but rather as a puppet of the royal family.

and so……

"I can tell you, but she can't."

Seeing Tipalotura frown, Luminova's face revealed a smug, mischievous grin. She could clearly see that although Ryūsha and Tipalotura seemed to be on the same side, they weren't exactly on good terms. And the Linor and the Tears of the Bauhinia that she cared about were both in Ryūsha's hands. If they were in the hands of the Autus royal family, she probably wouldn't have come at all.

Faced with this attempt to sow discord, Tipalottura glanced at Ryukyu, who actually raised an eyebrow at her smugly. No problem… Tipalottura's composure prevented her from reacting, but 'Luminova' was still adding fuel to the fire.

"Is everything alright, young man? Our feud with Ottus has been going on for a while now, you should understand. If this filthy witch doesn't leave, I won't say a word."

Tipalotura's face turned icy. She stood up, coldly snorting as she walked out. She wasn't the type of woman to fuss over such things; after all, both she and Ryūsha wanted to achieve this cooperation. Finding an inside agent within the Bauhinia Church's influence would be of immense benefit to their operation.

But by some strange twist of fate, Luminova's smug and provocative gaze ignited Tipalotura's competitive spirit.

"It's okay, I believe Liu Xiaqing will share it with me later..."

After uttering those words with a cold laugh, Tipalotura turned and left, avoiding the area with Felicity. The air was thick with tension, like a battlefield...

Her words didn't provoke Luminova's displeasure; on the contrary, they made her even more smug. She stuck her tongue out at Tipalotura's retreating figure, then gave Ruka a wicked grin:

"I believe you'll tell her later~ Of course, there won't be no price to pay, right? After all, what worldly man wouldn't want a witch?"

This made Liu Xia chuckle. Was this person doing her a favor? Was this flippant priest who kept calling her "handsome young man" really a member of the Holy See?

"She's quite different."

Ryūka shook her head; Tipalotura was no ordinary witch. However, if the details of the 'Physical Body Project' were also important to her, then getting a little 'sweetness' wouldn't be a problem.

'Luminova' didn't care about any of that. Like an enthusiastic salesperson, she created an opportunity for Ryukyu to include Tipalotura as a bonus gift, asking Ryukyu, "In any case, doesn't this show that I'm really sincere?"

Judging from the Vatican figures that Ryūka had met, the one in front of him was indeed 'reasonable and understanding'. Not only was he not rigid at all, but he even seemed like a frivolous monk, uh, a frivolous priest?

Seeing the eager expression on 'Luminova's' face, Ryuka gently tapped the table, entering her favorite negotiation mode: "Speak, the value of a magic sword is immeasurable. I hope the information and conditions you provide are enough to pique my interest..."

-----------------

"it's over?"

About twenty minutes later, Tipalotura watched as Ryūka walked out with a serious expression, without Luminova behind her. Ryūka looked very confused, wondering what the two of them had talked about inside.

"Ah."

Ryūka nodded, seemingly unwilling to elaborate on the details, while Tipalotura curiously looked behind him:

"And the other one?"

"Ah, that's the problem..."

Ryuka frowned and looked behind her. Luminova had just stepped out. She looked nervous, like a frightened little rabbit, and timidly looked at the group of people in front of her with a confused gaze.

"Mr. Ryu-Ryu-Xia..." After seeing Tipalotura's unfriendly gaze, Luminova fearfully hid behind Ryu-Xia and asked repeatedly to confirm:

Am I really a student here?

What's going on? Tipalotura looked at Ryusha in surprise, her eyes filled with confusion.

"'She' is gone, and this Luminova now has no memory..."

Ryūsha's tone was somewhat heavy. He ignored Tipalotura and directly summoned Melanie, who was waiting nearby, through his consciousness, instructing her:

"Change the academic records, put her in there for now, and have a few bodyguards keep an eye on her... Also, don't let Lindsay know about this yet..."

Melanie understood immediately. Like an older sister, she coaxed Luminova away, leaving Tipalotura and Felicity looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Could you explain, Liu Xiaqing?"

Ryūka sighed. Although he wanted to get some benefits from Tipalotura by offering a part of the 'Physical Body Project', he first needed to explain the current situation clearly...

"As you can see, if it's not acting, the current Luminova is neither the one I used to know, nor the mysterious person from the Faith Department who just spoke to us through her body... She is now a blank 'body,' with only common sense and knowledge, but no personal memories... an 'empty shell.'"

Tipalotura frowned and asked, "You mean, a completely blank doll? What about her past personality...?"

"She might come back, or she might not, and there's no guarantee she won't be controlled by the Ministry of Faith and Carmela again. But that mysterious person from the Ministry of Faith did give me some solutions and preventative measures to try."

Ryūka recalled the sacred arts that 'Luminova' had just taught her. This was all the information the Faith Department had obtained from the Inquisition regarding the 'Plain Body' so far. These sacred arts weren't complex; if the Plain Body were considered a meticulously designed robot, these sacred arts would be the commands to control it. However, the Faith Department had only deciphered a portion of how Carmela had turned the witch into this doll. The Plain Body's body and soul had been modified by complex spells, the contents of which were far too intricate. It wasn't just sacred arts; it also included complex and mysterious magic, heretical spells, and the essence of the witch—a complexity that even Ryūka had never seen before.

But there's at least some good news: with the holy arts 'Luminova' taught her and the parts that their Faith Department has analyzed so far, Ryukyu should be able to break the seal on Hinatil, forcibly erase her loyalty to Carmela, and completely turn her into a witch loyal to herself...

But if that happened, Hinatil would most likely become like Luminova now—a blank slate…

It wasn't that Ryūka felt any pity for them; after all, it was no different from killing the souls within their bodies. Ryūka didn't have a good impression of 'Sinatiel,' but if he could avoid this, he could learn more about Carmela from her. The information this mysterious cardinal gathered from outside the Vatican was mostly superficial and useless, and the 'Physical Project' alone was enough to make Ryūka deeply worried!

"Tipallotura, can you fully control the power of order inherited from your ancestors, or the power of witches? I'm not talking about simply using abilities, but about altering their innermost... essence."

Although she didn't understand why Ryūka asked this, his solemn expression made Tipalottura realize that this matter was probably not simple. Answering this question was almost tantamount to asking her to reveal her secrets to Ryūka, after all, this was her most core power. Tipalottura thought for a moment, then solemnly shook her head:

"No, it's impossible. I can control the power of order, and use that to influence the witch power within myself and my sisters. But rewriting it, I'm afraid no one can do that..."

"I can do it," Ryuga said with absolute certainty. He had indeed altered some of the uses and rules of witch abilities, leaving Chloe in awe. And now…

"Obviously, Carmela can too!"

"what?"

Tipalotura couldn't believe it, whether it was Ryuka saying he could do it, or Carmela saying he could. As Ryuka explained the magical transformations the witch underwent, Tipalotura's expression grew increasingly solemn.

Witches possess the ability to control living beings, turning them into familiars or dolls. But Carmela can transform such a witch into a mere shell; there's only one possibility!

Tipalotura looked at Ryūsha and asked cautiously:

"The power of order? But the fragments of the Papacy are in the Pope's hands..."

The Papacy's power succession wouldn't suffer any mishaps due to a blood curse like that of Tipalottura and her father. Rather than the farcical notion that Carmela was the Pope's illegitimate daughter, she believed in another possibility:

“Unless Carmela, like me, obtained fragments of order from outside the Papacy and Ottus from the very beginning,” Ryūsha stated Tipalotura’s conjecture, and offered an even bolder deduction:

"Not only that, is it possible that Carmela... is a witch herself?"

Boom! Tipalotura was momentarily stunned by this conjecture. A witch who had obtained a fragment of order, infiltrated the Holy See, and attained a position second only to the Pope himself? It sounded almost unbelievable…

But Ryūka's conjecture isn't without merit. Unless one has a deep understanding of the nature of witch power, it's impossible to transform other witches into their original forms. Moreover, in Ryūka's view, this transformation technique is identical to the mind control abilities of witches…

"However, for a witch to awaken her power, she must lose her virginity, and Carmela's resume shows that she rose from a pure saint in the Holy See to a cardinal. Even if she tasted the forbidden fruit, she is at least forty years old. It's impossible for a witch to live that long!"

Faced with Tipalotura's doubts, Ryusha said calmly, "Believe me, it's possible."

That's right, at least Ryūka knew of one method, a method recorded in heretical ancient texts, which was recognized by the former king of the Bauhinia Kingdom and almost experimented with...

The Demon Sword!!!

Of the seven legendary demonic swords that were supposed to have been lost overseas with the heretical race, two have now been discovered in the Central Continent, haven't they?

Carmela is indeed pursuing the Demon Sword. If her goal in becoming Pope is to obtain the fragments of order passed down through generations of popes, and if she is also collecting and controlling witches...

The abilities she possesses are probably beyond Ryuka's comprehension!

"It seems our trip to the Bauhinia Kingdom is going to be very interesting..."

Thinking of this, Ryusha couldn't help but smile bitterly. He looked at Tipalotura and said, "I have already told my people about the sacred arts and spells related to the original body. They will test them on Hinatil. I hope Your Highness can go and help, and see how the power of King Kranar that you have mastered can be used on Hinatil, who is a witch. It would be best if you could break through the spell of the original body while Hinatil retains her original memories."

"What does this mean? And you, where are you going?"

Tipalotura watched as Ryūka left quickly, showing no intention of accompanying her, and couldn't help but chase after her to ask.

"The original body won't realize it's the original body; they won't even doubt it. Even if you tell them, the spell will make their consciousness ignore what they hear. No wonder Shinatiel has such a stubborn and unpleasant personality!"

Ryusha explained quickly, he was very anxious, he had someone more important to see than to personally verify Hinatil!

Witch, demon sword, fragments of order... Can these powers coexist in one person? If so, what would happen? Ryuka felt that only one person, no, not just one being, could know.

That was Chloe, the god!

Chapter 19 Damn Side Effects

In the mountain range bordering Sochi and Raven Ridge, although the Kuroel sect has not yet spread openly, the temple deep in the mountains has begun to flourish, with cloaked believers silently making pilgrimages. Most of them are representatives of slaves and the poor from various places, who have come on foot from Raven Ridge and other places through word of mouth to pray for the protection of this god.