The Holy Maiden had only one word in her mind to describe the scheming Cardinal in red: Shameless! There is a general consensus about age: "A woman is like a flower at thirty, while a man turns into tofu paste at forty." Needless to say, the Cardinal, who has reached the age to be called "tofu paste," has targeted the young Empress who is not even twenty yet this time.
"I'm curious. Even if you qualify to be the emperor's husband, how would you handle all your current and future wives?" The index finger of his right hand pointed at the sleeve of his left hand, as if trying to pull out the raised yarn. From this action, one could determine that the Holy Maiden's "curiosity" was a lie. One who is truly interested in something wouldn't purposefully touch their sleeves while listening. Even if he had asked, it would be treated as a pastime. It's just that people within the same circle would think less of those outside the circle.
"As for my current and future wives, things will remain the same. I have no plans for divorce."
"Oh!" Holy Maiden's lips widened slightly in surprise because she had accidentally pulled on the intact yarn too hard, causing it to come undone. The Cardinal mistakenly interpreted this exclamation as astonishment and explained the truth with a righteous tone:
"I am a charming and energetic handsome man. I am fully capable of giving all my wives equal love. I would never abandon any of them for a new love. They will all belong to me alone for the rest of their lives."
The implication was that he intended to have a harem and include the female Emperor of a country in his harem. Holy Maiden had heard enough. If she continued to linger, she worried that her eardrums would be contaminated. She was not against men having harems. She was just dissatisfied with the person she hated and everything he did.
"If I haven't miscalculated, you plan to mobilize the local Crusaders for the purpose of making the Empress one of your wives, is that right?"
"You guessed right, please-"
"I won't help you. I don't want to help you."
A single sentence was enough to reject him on the spot, without the need for any artistic language in between. The Cardinal never expected that after wasting so many words, he would ultimately receive a straightforward rejection without any attempt at being polite.
"Holy Maiden...are you joking with me?"
"Am I such a boring person? I don't want to repeat myself."
She turned her hand, wrapped in a nun's dress, and reached for the cup on the table behind her. However, Freya was one step ahead and handed her the cup to drink. The goddess drank all the refreshing liquid, making her lips dry from the snacks she had just eaten. There was no water to drink temporarily.
The Holy Maiden, with visibly dry lips, lost her patience to say anything more due to the dryness in her mouth. She quickly issued an eviction order:
"Archbishop, take as many people as you have with you and leave. You can stay wherever you want, but remember, never disturb me again!"
"Who...who gave you the authority?"
Finally, a hint of genuine panic appeared in the Cardinal's vocal cords. Since becoming a prominent figure in the Papal Kingdom, he must not have been rejected by anyone for many years.
Now, it is today that I have recovered the memories of being a nobody in the past.
From being in a lower position to becoming a superior, it was all in order to no longer be rejected, to live freely in one's own little world;
All the grandeur, prestige, and harem are nothing but displays related to the venting of emotions and extravagance;
The bishop truly doesn't understand why there are still people opposing him?
Could it be that the Holy Maiden has taken a liking to him and expressed her dissatisfaction with his behavior of fooling around outside with his "beloved"?
"Sigh, being popular is not an easy thing..."
"I'll count to three! If you're still here by the time I finish counting down, I'll have to call upon the standby Crusaders and have these big guys with brotherly tendencies 'fork' you out!"
The bishop's opportunity has finally come, welcoming a chance to expand his personal harem.
Unfortunately, he is not interested in any of the male harem members and rejects certain unpleasant scenarios from a physiological standpoint, which then becomes reality in the next moment;
After all, being promiscuous doesn't mean he's open to both men and women!
"Don't be impulsive! We're all on the same side, why take it so seriously... I'll leave, I'll take my subordinates and leave right away, is that not enough?"
In terms of team strength, the bishop's guards are not even enough for a few rounds of hand-to-hand combat against the Crusaders;
In terms of clashes between the big shots, excluding the Pope, there is no one in the Holy Maiden's country who dares to claim to be superior to her;
In the face of situations where group battles and one-on-one duels are not feasible, as well as the crisis encountered at the "back door," the bishop's reflexes are clearly faster than the countdown that starts inside the door.
The patter of footsteps masked the sound of the countdown;
The open space outside the church immediately fell silent, erasing all the noise in a very short time, returning to its initial tranquility.
"Well, this is how it should be, this is right."
The jade-colored index finger flicked, the nail grazing the edge of the earlobe.
