As she spoke, Li Aili broke off a tree branch from the side and scratched it on the ground.

"First of all, if you want to be a princess in the true sense, your mother must be the queen."

"However, the official faith of the kingdom now belongs to the Holy Light Church."

"Even a king cannot divorce his wife and find a new one."

"So, if you want your mother to take over, the best thing to do is to change the kingdom's faith. She has to be able to get a divorce and withstand the Holy Light Court's retaliation."

"Let me think... Hey~ The Dark Church is pretty good! Free marriage, whether you're polygamous or polyandrous, whether your spouse is human or not, as long as you believe in the Dark God, He's very easy to talk to."

Marina: "..."

The Marquis was completely bewildered.

She was just feeling suicidal after being hit by a mudslide in her life.

But in the blink of an eye, her mother was about to become queen. She was the kingdom's first princess, in a situation where the king could not produce a son.

She is the sole legal heir.

This...this...?!

What kind of man do they need now?

Li Aili clearly shared the same thought as her and continued to imagine:

"Hey, you're a candidate for the Holy Maiden of Light. Regardless of whether you can actually become one in the future, if you were to switch allegiance to the God of Darkness with your status, the people in the Dark Church would welcome you with open arms."

"Just think about it, what a great gimmick this is!"

"Although you are a reserve officer, in the Dark Church, you are practically a Holy Maiden of Light."

That was the betrayal of the Holy Maiden of Light, no, it was the Holy Maiden of Light who 'abandoned darkness for light,' uh, 'abandoned light for darkness.'

In short, the Holy See has been thoroughly humiliated.

"Look, people are naturally inclined to seek advantage and avoid harm. In the Holy Light Court, you are a pitiful little thing that nobody cares about."

"But if you were to suddenly transform yourself, wouldn't you be hailed as the Dark High Priest in no time?"

The Dark Church would love to parade your sign through the streets 24/7.

"But don't worry, there's nothing to fear about retaliation. The God of Darkness will risk his own life to ensure you live a long and healthy life, otherwise who would dare to pledge allegiance to Him in the future?"

Marina let out a small hiccup, her expression somewhat dazed. "Hiccup~"

"Believe it or not, instead of seeking revenge on you, the Holy Light Court would rather 'seduce' two high priests of the Dark Church and make them the next 'Holy Maidens of Light'."

Li Aili imagined the scene herself, "Tsk, double the slap in the face, double the joy."

Marina was numb.

Li Aili concluded, "So you see, if you put it this way, your life can be much more wonderful. Why get so hung up on whether a man loves you or not?"

Marina: "..."

Marina: "!!!"

I saw the light of 'awakening' in the woman's eyes.

Li Aili's slight guilt finally dissipated.

Okay, now she's no longer responsible.

It was definitely not the side effects of her alchemical potions that drove the young girl to commit suicide at such a young age.

Li Aili had assumed that after Marquis Marina rallied, she would continue to linger in Constantinople, and then engage in a melodramatic chase with the Duke.

Who knew?

Marquise Marina hastily packed her bags that very day and set off back to the capital.

Of course, she left a note for the Duchess before she left.

Joanna handed the note to Ellie.

After reading it, Li Aili fell silent for a long time, then asked uncertainly, "Doesn't Marquis Marina recognize me?"

Joanna said uncertainly, "I don't know much about the affairs of the capital, but when you married the Duke, she had only just entered the social scene."

“Perhaps, maybe, we don’t know each other. What’s wrong, madam?” Joanna asked.

Speechless, Li Aili forwarded Marina's message to Joanna.

The line of words flying above seemed to have broken free of the writer's emotions.

[To my former love rival whom I've never met:]

I have forgiven your schemes and tricks. Because I see you as a frog in a well, confined to your own little world, with only one man in your life—how pitiful, how pathetic!

I am a divine bird about to take flight, while you can only spend your entire life trying to please one man, crying for him, laughing for him.

Goodbye, pathetic woman; goodbye, frogs of Constantinople.

[I can't believe that such a narrow-minded place could have such a uniquely beautiful, kind-hearted, generous, wise, gentle, and warm young lady, like the sun.]

Oh, my mentor in life, when I reach the pinnacle of my life, I will surely return to take her away!

Li Aili: "..." She hoped that the lady she was referring to at the end wasn't herself.

She had a feeling that she had made a huge mistake.

...

The Duke and his entourage did not return until evening.

The twelve warriors who had the honor of taking the giantification potion and fighting the Cyclops naked returned to Constantinople.

Furthermore, these twelve warriors refused to see anyone.

Upon returning, they all locked themselves in their rooms in the castle.

Servants would place the food at the door for meals.

Once the servants have left, a hand will reach out from the room and quickly drag the food inside.

The Duke, after hearing the report, waved his hand dismissively, looking exasperated.

Even though she had committed a terrible sin, Li Aili wasn't exactly docile. She squatted to the side, waiting for the Duke to finish dealing with the mess before finally asking hesitantly:

"Um, what if, I mean what if I get into trouble?"

What would you do?

The Duke was writing a document with a quill pen when he heard this, and the pen paused.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!