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“Lady Vivienne, I have returned from Brokilon. Lady Henn-na sends her regards. It has been a while since our last meeting, but your beauty has only grown since then.” Roy bowed to her. He looked at Vivienne and wondered how he should feel about her. What do I think of her anyway? My liege? I don’t feel fear or anything like that. Friends? But she’s too passionate and alluring. I can’t get too close to her. Lover? No way. No matter how big my head gets, I won’t ever believe a passionate lady like her would fall for me.

There was a connection between them, however, and he could not deny that. His virtue was the thing that connected them, and they both stood to gain something from this relationship. Vivienne blessed him with a weapon and granted him a lot of convenience in life, while he would keep her safe in return.

Just like what I’m about to do.

“It has been two hundred years since I saw Henn-na.” Vivenne reminisced in silence for a moment. “I’ve received her regards. Might this warrior beside you be Letho of the Viper School?”

“Yes. He is my mentor.”

“No need to be so tense.” Vivenne smiled at Letho, and the night sky lit up a little, as if the stars were twinkling brighter. “I still haven’t thanked you for your help during the battle with Dagon. How is the ring working for you?”

“It works well. Thank you for your generous gift, Lady of the Lake.” Letho held his hand before his chest and bowed, but he still seemed calm.

“What brings you here today, Roy? I don’t think you’re here just to send Henn-na’s regards to me.”

“I have disappointed you, milady. Even though I have accepted your blade, I failed to spread your gospel to the people. Princess Adda has done a much better job than I could ever do.”

Vivenne chuckled. “You’re selling yourself short. Adda is a great priestess, but she only bowed to me because you gave her that suggestion.”

“I thought you wouldn’t agree to it.” Roy asked the question that had been haunting him a little all this time. “If you really wanted to form a religion around you, you could have gotten the fishermen and vodyanoi to build the church.”

“I was a sweet, innocent nymph, until Dagon attacked. I lived a peaceful life for a long time thanks to the magic the lake has given me.” Vivienne’s voice echoed in the hall. “But Dagon’s attack opened my eyes to how weak and foolish I was. I had so much power in me, but I couldn’t even drive a little extradimensional pest away. If I’d had the faith of all residents in Lake Vizima, I could have vanquished Dagon alone. You might not even have had to help. But I have to thank that pest for reminding me to stay vigilant.” Vivienne pursed her lips, and the air around her seemed to turn a bit colder. Ripples spread out on the lake’s surface, and gusts of wind blew in the air. “It’s time for some changes around here. I will not allow another intruder to set foot in this lake.”

Roy said nothing to that. He knew Dagon’s invasion would change how Vivienne saw things, but it was a good change for Roy. He was on Vivienne’s side. The stronger her church was, the easier it would be for Roy to rebuild the Viper School and perhaps gain even more from it.

“So, what do you think, my brave knight? I am sure you have noticed how quickly my church is expanding. Will you take up a position among the ministers? The great priestess is my sword who will conquer new lands for me, while you will be the shield who protects the church.”

Roy said nothing. He already had his plans laid out, but the church was not a part of it. He changed the topic. “Milady, it’s great that the church is growing, but it’s gaining unwanted attention. I’m really sorry for disturbing you at this hour, but I bring news of a conspiracy against you.”

“A conspiracy?”

“Someone is trying to come up with a plan to topple you,” Roy said grimly.

“So you’re not here to catch up with me?” Vivienne stopped smiling, and she stared down at the ground. “I knew someone like you wouldn’t land on my humble home for nothing, Roy.” She sighed.

Roy could see the sadness in her eyes. It was like a blooming lotus that was forced to stay down because of the rain. Anyone else would have felt sympathetic, but not Roy. Roy was no longer the innocent young man he used to be, and he was not swayed at all. “Milady, you have to listen to me. Adda is involved in this. To be precise, someone close to her is.” Roy told her about what he found out in Azar’s laboratory, and Letho handed her a part of the journal’s copy.

Vivienne skimmed through it and sat up straight, her tail moved to the ground. “My knight, I trust that you will not lie to me, but I know Adda very well. I know all her secrets. She is the church’s high priestess. She will not betray me,” Vivienne said, her voice soft but firm.

“The princess knows nothing about this, I’m sure.” Roy nodded. Vivienne could see his past thanks to the trial of virtue, and he knew she could see through all of Adda’s actions. “My guess is that the royal consultant and the leader of the Order of the White Rose is hiding this from the princess. Rudolf managed to get a strand of your hair through the princess and handed it to Azar. Azar used it to analyze your weakness, but that’s all I know. They could have gone further than that.”

“It’s great enough that you managed to bring me this.” Vivienne gave him a warm, gentle smile, but then she frowned. “The royal consultant and the knight order’s leader are betraying Adda. They’re two of the most powerful men in Vizima. The only one who can convince them to do this is the king, Foltest.”

Roy nodded. “We think so too, but we have some questions about this whole matter. Foltest loves Adda a lot. There’s no reason for him to do this.”

Vivienne answered, “Vizima is the capital of Temeria and the heart of the empire. Adda is spreading a new religion on his territory. There’s a lot of things that get affected by this. The king will never allow an uncontrollable entity to appear on his land. The church, my

church, unfortunately, is that kind of entity. Of course he’ll suppress it. I expected this. I thought that the church could grow if I had Adda at the helm. Seems like that didn’t work out. Foltest is unhappy with this.”

“The king of Temeria?” Roy seemed cautious about Foltest. “Why is he cracking down on your church? If he doesn’t like religion because he can’t control it, shouldn’t he crack down on Lebioda, Eternal Fire, and Melitele? Why’d he only go for you?”

“Simple.” Vivienne had a look of resignation on her face. “We might live at the bottom of the lake, but it’s not like we’re secluded from the rest of the world. We can gain knowledge about the outside world through the vodyanoi and fishermen. The religions you mentioned are at least a few centuries old, and Melitele’s temples have been around for millennia. It has existed since the darkest times of this land. Melitele has believers and temples spread all over the land. Her faith is deeply rooted in this land. It won’t be easy for any king or kingdom to attack her. They might cause a rebellion if they do. On the other hand, my church was only created two months ago. Yes, we’re expanding fast, but we aren’t as influential as the other religions are. It won’t be hard for Foltest to crack down on us.”

Roy shook his head. “You spread virtue. You’re different from evil gods like the lionheaded spider. You won’t affect his rule. Why didn’t he try to talk with you? His own daughter is the church’s great priestess.”

“Hey, kid,” Letho said. “You don’t have to ask her that. I can tell you why.” He looked at Vivienne, and she looked back at him. Apparently, she wanted to hear his answer as well. “There are barely any gods left in this land. If someone tells you that a drop-dead gorgeous goddess exists and is alive, what would you do?”

“I…would probably pay her a visit. I’d want to witness some miracles,” Roy answered without hesitation.

“And that’s why you’re the regular guy.” Letho scoffed. “Rulers possess far greater greed and desire than their subjects. They would want more than just a visit. Get what I mean?”

Roy was figuring out what Letho was saying, and Vivienne nodded at him.

“What your mentor says is the truth. We are the daughters of the lake. We control the lakes of the world. Vodyanoi and intelligent creatures that live in these waters are easily attracted to us. They would become our believers, but that’s not the case with humans. Most humans cannot stay true to their principles. They’re complex creatures, and most of them are ruled by greed. That is one thing they can never change. They only believe in me because I gave them something in return. If my gift fails to meet their desires, they will not hesitate to rain down disaster on me. A disaster is fast approaching now, and I need your help.”

Roy held up Aerondight and knelt on one knee. Vivienne swayed her gigantic tail and came to the young witcher. He could taste the scent of seaweed coming off her.

“Here, take this bloodstone. Travel to the temple area and embed it into my statue. You know what I’m going to do, don’t you?”

She’s going to absorb the faith energy stored in the statue, huh? Roy looked up at her beautiful hair that tumbled down her chest, her angular jawline, her rosy lips, and finally, her clear eyes. He saw desire burning in them.

“Seek out Adda once you fill this bloodstone up.” Scales gleamed on her arm. “Give the bloodstone to her, and she’ll handle the rest.” She then pressed down on Roy’s shoulder. “Once I get through this crisis, I shall reward you, my knight.”

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