Upon hearing this, Eileen lay on the ground, momentarily too afraid to move, and cautiously said, "I...I was wrong."
"Wrong?"
The man chuckled again, squatted down, and grabbed her hair: "Do you know whose hard work you're ruining by acting so recklessly? It's the hard work of both of us, don't you understand?!"
"Don't forget how you climbed up the ladder after you became a saint. Do you think you're like Dolores, born a chosen one, high above everyone else? You're crazy."
Eileen was in excruciating pain, tears streaming down her face, but all she could say was, "I'm not as good as Dolores, is that enough...?"
Seeing that Eileen was crying louder and louder, the man finally let go of her, patted her head reassuringly, hugged her in his arms, and whispered, "Don't blame me, Eileen. I'm doing this for your own good. Your life now, what part of it didn't we fight for?"
"Don't make any mistakes, Eileen. Any mistake would betray all the planning and hard work we've put into this. Most importantly—"
The man paused: "Are you really willing to go back to the hard life you had before, Eileen? I actually can't bear to part with you, which is why I'm so strict with you. Can you understand me, Eileen?"
Although separated by the black mist, Eileen could imagine what he looked like. She knew it was to deceive others, so she didn't blame him.
Eileen calmed down and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was reckless today. I didn't know Dolores would do something like this and talk back to me."
"...Has something happened to her?"
"I don't know, but it seems like she doesn't care much about me as a friend anymore. She used to never care about these things, just like she would protect the Lancaster family. She was very protective of me."
As Eileen spoke, the person shrouded in black mist also said, "I understand, but it shouldn't be a big problem. Let's observe it for a while longer."
"Um……"
Eileen thought about it and felt a little more at ease: "After all, we designed it perfectly back then, she couldn't possibly abandon me."
After finishing talking about Dolores, Eileen remembered what had happened at the slave market that day and quickly asked, "Will the slave market incident today cause any trouble?"
At this point, the man's tone changed again, and he sounded somewhat angry: "What did you go to see Dolores for?"
"It's to rekindle your relationship with her and to leverage the Lancaster family's connections again, but you've gone and directly stood against Dolores. What are you thinking?"
"Because other nobles have already extended olive branches to me, and since I can control Dolores, naturally I can—"
*Smack!*
Before Eileen could finish speaking, she was slapped hard across the face!
The man said coldly, "You think you can win over a few more nobles? What a joke! Who gave you the right to act on your own!"
Eileen knew she had done something wrong, and just lowered her head and cried, not daring to say another word. Then she heard the man say—
“The nobles are very perceptive. Until you and Dolores return to your previous way of getting along, there’s no hope of getting through to them. You’ll have to choose the second path, Eileen.”
"You still have a long way to go if you want to become the Pope of the Church of Light. Your magical talent was originally inferior to Dolores's, and you were only mediocre. It would be difficult for you to stand out in the church based on your strength. That's why I asked you to start with your reputation, and pursue both noble and commoner status."
Eileen nodded: "I know. If I can influence the entire Lycas Empire, I will have absolute say in the branch church and the capital to stand out among the contenders for the papacy."
But the man shook his head: "It won't work now, because in the original plan, the nobles were the most important, because they held real power and helped you secure your position in the branch church. Only when you have both divine and royal power in your hands will you have a chance of winning."
"But now that the nobles are questioning your worth, you have no choice but to take the second path—you must attend the magicians' exchange meeting of the Lycas Empire in ten days, understand?"
Eileen asked, puzzled, "Why?"
"The reason why no one dares to mess with Dolores is because of her strength as a mage, do you understand?"
At this point, the person shrouded in black mist leaned close to Eileen's ear and said, word by word, "I will send you an invitation. Don't you want Dolores' talent and strength?"
"Wh-what?!"
Eileen was startled, and her pupils involuntarily contracted sharply.
...
Three days later, Lancaster Manor.
This was a torrential rain that swept through the capital of the Lycas Empire, as if a huge hole had been torn in the sky, and the endless downpour wove together to form vast curtains of rain that enveloped the entire world.
Raindrops the size of beans, accompanied by a strong wind, lashed against the round windows of the library, making a 'pitter-patter' sound.
Ruan Qing'an leaned against the spiral staircase, closed the book in his hand, and looked up at the window: "It's raining so hard..."
'Knock knock knock—'
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Lucas's voice rang out: "Miss, the royal family has sent an invitation to the magicians' exchange meeting, and they would like you to attend."
Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingan raised an eyebrow slightly.
037 couldn't help but remark: "This plot is really deviating more and more from the original story; the deviation is too great."
"...Because there are mission takers, right?"
Ruan Qing'an chuckled lightly, not too surprised. When she learned that she was to find the hidden mission taker, she could have predicted that the plot would run wild, after all, this was their specialty.
She casually said, "Come in, what's going on?"
Only after receiving permission did Lucas enter respectfully: "Miss, this is an exchange meeting that was recently discussed by the royal family and the branch church. It is to promote the development and growth of the magician community and allow magicians to exchange ideas and learn from each other."
"That's really something."
Even Ruan Qing'an had to admit that this was probably something the mission takers came up with, but she still accepted the invitation: "I'll accept."
Since the task force has already set up the stage.
Then she naturally had to go and see.
After saying that, Ruan Qing'an strode away from the library, with Lucas following closely behind. But as she passed the window, amidst the torrential rain, something seemed to attract her attention, and she stopped in her tracks.
She paused slightly, then said, "That's..."
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