When Hilna’s mother saw her daughter, her excitement was unmistakable. “Hilna, this Holy Knight has decided not to hold today’s incident against us. He even wishes to send you to the City of Glory—to receive the finest magical and theological education in all the West at that holy seat of the Eternal Church! Then you can truly become a Saintess!”

“Huh? The City of Glory…?”

Hilna knew it was the HolySee’s headquarters. She also knew the journey from Ipoli would take years.

Prince Noren looked troubled. “It’s simply too far. Hilna is still young. If she doesn’t want to go, that’s fine… Besides, who would take care of her there?”

“We have money! If you won’t pay, I will. We’ll hire servants to protect her and handle daily needs,” Hilna’s mother insisted eagerly. “And Sir Perry himself said Hilna is a genius among geniuses—she’ll become a Saintess the moment she enters the HolySee…”

Perry chimed in, “Madam, trust the HolySee’s judgment. We cherish gifted children like Hilna. She’ll receive the best care, even personal mentorship from Cardinal Bishops…”

“That’s just one-sided optimism, madam,” Charles cautioned. “The distance alone… Hilna will miss home. The trip to the City of Glory takes at least a year. She’s fifteen. Her friends, family—all in Ipoli. Leaving her alone with a few servants? Unacceptable.”

Hilna’s mother disliked Charles, but she knew his teaching had shaped her daughter’s talent. She pressed on, “Mr. Charles, you value Hilna too. She’s no ordinary child—she could become a future Cardinal Bishop! For her future, you should support this…”

The adults argued, oblivious.

“Wait, wait!” Hilna finally snapped. “I have to leave Ipoli? For someplace like the City of Glory—a place I’d never reach in my whole life?”

“Not your whole life. Five or six months by land. Faster by sea,” Charles added quietly. “But you’d stay there a long time. Possibly decades before returning home.”

He watched Hilna’s stunned face. He knew what leaving home meant for a child.

If he could choose, he’d want her to live happily in Ipoli, using her magic to help the town. Only then should she consider becoming queen.

Entering the Eternal Church’s glittering, cutthroat headquarters would chain her to holy duties for life.

For ordinary nobles, sending a child to the continent’s greatest city for divine blessings was an honor to make ancestors rejoice in the afterlife.

But Hilna was different.

A decade of care had woven her into nearly a third of Charles’s life. She was part of him now.

He wanted her to be a beloved queen—but he didn’t crave the System’s prophecy of tyrants and demons.

A simple, happy life suited her better.

Hilna’s mother trusted the HolySee through blind faith. Yet the City of Glory—seat of supreme religious power, overflowing with resources—could never be pure. Could never be untainted.

Even with her talent and Charles’s lessons in rulership, how could she match veteran schemers in politics?

Thrust into the HolySee’s rigid hierarchy—a place crawling with dogma-blinded zealots, pompous bureaucrats, and rotting nobles—would her future truly be safe?

Her gift might not lift her up. It might make her a pawn for ambitious men.

This Holy Knight Perry spun tales: Hilna would be prized immediately, top her class at the Divine Academy, become a Cardinal Bishop after a decade… It sounded like a con.

Hilna clearly thought so too.

“I won’t leave Ipoli!” she declared. “I’m not going! I don’t trust these two!”

“Hilna, be quiet! They’re Holy Knights—” Her mother flushed.

“I don’t care if he’s a Holy Knight!” Hilna shot back. “First they harassed Teacher Charles, got my portrait removed from the church, then attacked Sister Lofna—and now they want to drag me to some distant HolySee? I refuse! He’s a fraud!

“Doesn’t scripture say: *Wherever the faithful dwell, there lies the Holy Land*? Am I not devout enough? Must I abandon Ipoli to worship the Eternal Lord?”

Her mother fell silent.

“Enough, Hilna. I’ll respect your choice. Rest now,” Charles soothed after her outburst. “Your decision is final. Go play with Lofna.”

Hilna finally nodded.

Perry observed Prince Noren’s indecision, the tension between mother and daughter—and how Hilna obeyed Charles above all.

*He’s the key*, Perry realized. *Break him, and the girl follows.*

…

Two days later, Perry—recovering in Ipoli’s church—could finally walk. His companion Talia remained bedridden, forcing him to wait.

As the troublemaker, Charles had to visit the injured Holy Knights.

Perry seized his chance.

“Mr. Charles,” he murmured mysteriously. “Where did you learn your swordsmanship?”

“Self-taught. Why?”

“And your magic? Also self-learned on the road? I heard from the priest you’re fluent in multiple languages—even Classical High Tongue.”

“Yes. Your point?” Charles grew impatient. Those language packs were just System gifts from his early days here. Useless except for show.

“So you must have noble blood and a proper aristocratic education?”

“I’m common-born,” Charles repeated firmly. “Pure commoner. No noble blood whatsoever.”

“Ah, no matter. The HolySee welcomes nobles who hide their names for… personal reasons.”

“What do you *want*?”

“I simply wonder: Why would a man of your talents—a man who’s won Ipoli’s hearts in just a few years—hide in this backwater? You’re barely twenty. Why not seek your destiny where your gifts truly matter?”

“Oh…” Charles saw through him. “You want me to go to the City of Glory?”

“Exactly! Join the Holy Knights. Or the Papal Guard. At worst, work as a Classical High Tongue clerk, or a city watchman… In the City of Glory, you’ll lack nothing. Fine food, comfort—far better than Ipoli. As the saying goes: *‘Better to beg in the Holy City than rule a backwater kingdom.’*”

Perry painted vivid scenes: gleaming boulevards, ancient monuments, solemn cathedrals, exotic goods from distant lands. Noble knights, efficient officials, compassionate bishops…

His words made the City of Glory shine brighter than heaven itself.

Had Charles not seen modern cities in his past life, he might have been swayed—might have felt that small-town yearning for grandeur.

But Perry’s eloquence washed over him like rain on stone.

Desperate, the Holy Knight finally asked, “After all that… no reaction?”

“What reaction? Should I sigh over its beauty and beg to leave immediately? Climb the ranks and seize power?” Charles almost laughed. “Sir Perry, your vision is lovely. But is it true? Is the City of Glory truly perfect? Does the HolySee really cherish talent?

“If Hilna goes, will she truly be nurtured—or used by schemers? Will her path be smooth? And your… *enthusiasm* for sending her there—is it truly selfless love for talent? Do *you* even believe that?”