Pandora stopped the carriage next to the church.
They got out of the car and stood together at the entrance of the magnificent church.
The church's ground floor is several meters high. Through the cracks in the tightly closed double doors, one can vaguely see the faint light from the stained-glass windows inside the church.
Looking up again, you can see the bell tower above the church and the spire that pierces straight into the dome.
Since there is a church, there must be a church here.
Ai Cao asked the system, "I forgot to ask before, if there are vampire hunters and vampires in this world, what is the use of the church?"
The system was silent for a moment before replying: "To serve as a stepping stone for the female lead. The pope who leads the church... will die at the hands of the female lead who has become a vampire."
The mugwort responded.
Pandora had already parked the carriage. She tucked the whip back to her waist, walked to the door, and knocked on the gate.
“It’s me, Pandora,” she said.
As she gave her name, the still silent door slowly opened behind her.
Pandora turned her head and gave a stiff smile: "I'm friends with the bishop here."
Ai Cao hummed in agreement and followed her into the church.
Artemisia took a few steps, then turned around and saw Lillian still standing in the same spot.
Artemisia frowned and waved her hand in front of Lillian: "Lillian?"
Lillian took a step back. Her eyes regained focus—and with a hint of barely perceptible fear.
Artemisia asked, "What's wrong?"
Lillian glanced at Pandora and whispered, "I don't dare go in here."
Artemisia frowned, glanced at Pandora, and asked, "Is there any danger?"
Lillian hesitated and shook her head.
Ai Cao asked again, "Shall we go in?"
She still didn't know how to describe what she had just witnessed. If she told her everything, but Artemisia didn't believe her... Lillian reached up and clutched the pendant on her chest.
She said, "I'll go in with you. I trust you."
Ai Cao chuckled. She patted Lillian's head with a smile and said, "Pandora is here too. If anything really happens, I'll just throw her over there and we'll run away."
Pandora twitched the corner of her mouth upon hearing her unvarnished words.
Pandora said, "Whatever." She turned around. "If you don't go in now, the door will close."
Lillian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After walking through a short corridor, they arrived at the church hall.
Unlike the vampire's castle, the passageways here were divided into straight lines by round pillars. Ai Cao mentally checked the map sent by the system and asked Pandora, "Where are we going?"
Pandora casually sat down on the bench. She glanced at Artemisia with a hint of confusion.
Pandora retorted, "Didn't you see the bishop?"
Accompanying her voice was another ethereal and soft voice.
"Maybe I was too small, so she didn't see me."
A girl about the same age as Lillian emerged from behind the tall podium.
The girl's golden hair was like a gift from heaven, her azure eyes seemed never to have been obscured by mist, and her gentle smile could warm the winter frost.
She was wearing a pure white long dress.
The girl smiled and said, "I am a bishop." She lowered her head, her expression devout, "I am the messenger of the Lord."
The mugwort blinked.
"Sorry, I didn't see you just now," Ai Cao apologized.
The bishop smiled and accepted her apology. She walked lightly toward Pandora and asked, "My friend, how have you been lately?"
“It’s very bad, my bishop,” Pandora sighed softly, then said, “but I came here for her.”
She pointed to the mugwort and said, "Her hand was scratched by flowers in the vampire garden. Bishop, may I ask if you can cleanse her wound here?"
“Of course, my friend,” the bishop said softly.
She walked slowly to Artemisia, bowed slightly, and looked at her hand. Artemisia obediently raised her hand slightly, earning the bishop an even gentler smile.
“I see the wound,” the bishop said, straightening up. She looked at Pandora and asked, “My friend, could you please help me fetch some holy water?”
Pandora agreed.
Following the bishop's instructions, she left the church hall.
Now only the three of them remain in the hall.
The bishop still smiled at the silent Lillian and said softly, "Hello, descendant of the witch, my girl."
Lillian hurriedly looked at Artemisia. Artemisia gave her a blank yet confident smile, which actually made her less nervous.
The bishop paused. She looked at the mugwort and asked, "Was my statement too abrupt?"
Lillian forced a smile: "...No."
The bishop maintained a gentle smile.
Lillian asked in a low voice, "Why... do you call me a descendant of a witch?"
Ai Cao sat down beside them, watching them chat with a smile.
The bishop smiled and reached out to pat Lillian's head. They were of similar build, but this gesture, which would normally seem somewhat abrupt, appeared to her as if God were showing compassion to her child.
Pandora hurriedly returned carrying a small basin full of water.
The bishop smiled gently and reassuringly at Lillian, then turned to ask Artemisia, "It might hurt a little."
Artemisia smiled and agreed. Her numb hand was gently held by the bishop and dipped into the small basin.
Ai Cao's smile froze.
The system screamed in her mind: "Activate pain-blocking mode right now! My code, where did I put it...?"
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