At this moment, not only was Edrick confused, but the five monks were also full of disbelief. This Luminous Sigil was a unique identification system of the Luminous Pontificate. Like human fingerprints and irises, each Luminous Sigil was unique and absolutely impossible to forge.
The Flower Maiden appeared at the right moment to remind Edrick, "Luminous Sigils are the exclusive mark of the clergy of the Luminous Pontificate. They are the reflection of their souls in the material world. It is absolutely impossible for there to be two identical Luminous Sigils in the world, absolutely impossible."
Guide to Survival for Heretics, 3. Luminous Sigils are unique proof of identity.
Edrick silently added this rule to his list.
But if the suspicious woman in front of him was Bishop Lacus, then who was the woman who had been posing as Bishop Lacus for the past three years?
Under the light of the Luminous Sigil, Edrick saw the woman's dirty face, which did look a little like Bishop Lacus.
"I am the real Bishop Lacus," said the witch calmly.
The scene before them left the five monks both frightened and confused. The Luminous Sigil of the woman before them was sacred and solid, containing not only the soul characteristics of Bishop Lacus, but also multiple halos symbolizing the high priest of the Luminous Pontificate and the patriarch of the Stellaxis diocese, which had been personally bestowed by the archbishop.
"Give me your holy robe," Bishop Lacus said coldly, pointing at the highest-ranking priest.
The latter hesitated repeatedly, but finally took off his holy robe and handed it to Bishop Lacus. The Luminous Sigil was absolute, and he dared not disobey. Moreover, his intuition told him that there must be a shocking secret behind this. No matter who this woman was, her appearance must mean that something big was about to happen in the Stellaxis Diocese.
Bishop Lacus took the robe and draped it over her arm, then turned and left without another word. The five monks followed her without looking back. Edrick noticed that her steps were slightly faster than before.
The lead monk, bare-chested in the cold wind, watched the departing figures. The four lower-ranked monks looked at their superior, unsure of what to say.
But soon, a tremor from underground startled them, and the bare-chested monk's expression froze: "The seal underground is important. Let's deal with those damn wraiths first. Everything else... can wait."
As the witch walked, she put on the monk's holy robe. The robe clearly had magical properties, as it automatically cleansed the dirt from her body. In the moonlight, her appearance was transformed, glowing brightly under the moonlight and the robe's radiance.
Her skin, once covered in dust, became as white and flawless as the brightest star in the night sky. Her jet-black hair flowed smoothly, faintly shimmering with a silver glow.
"Bishop Lacus?" Edrick couldn't help but ask.
"After we leave here, if you're willing to listen, I'll tell you everything in detail." Lacus's eyes were clear and serene, reflecting the starlight and the night sky, exuding a mysterious calm. The glow of the sacred robe surrounded her, making her appear holy and untouchable.
Edrick dared not ask anymore. He suddenly felt that even if the witch wanted to speak, he wasn't very eager to hear it.
The more he knew, the more trouble he'd get into, and the trouble she faced in her position was far beyond what a lowly laborer like him, who couldn't even afford three meals a day, could handle.
Lacus, clad in her holy robe, exuded an aura of sacredness that deterred strangers. Moreover, the robe belonged to a high-ranking monk, and in the strictly hierarchical church, ordinary monks dared not obstruct them. They left the cathedral smoothly.
In the courtyard, they encountered two reckless gang leaders who seemed to have just finished their business, shivering as they emerged from the restroom. Lacus dismissed them with a wave of her hand, casting a spell that knocked them to the ground, their fate unknown.
After leaving the bishop's cathedral, Lacus had no idea where to go next. Fortunately, Edrick had already made preparations. With such a large group of people in the wealthy district where the cathedral was located, hiding would be impossible. It was best to head to the slum where Edrick currently lived. The area was densely populated and had high foot traffic; even if two hundred more people were to stay there, it wouldn't raise any suspicion.
Under Edrick's guidance, the group arrived at a steam-filled attic in a laundry room in the Rust District. This was where Hannah and Miryam had once worked. The three-story brick-and-wood structure had a steam pipe attic on the second floor, 1.2 meters high, large enough to accommodate over twenty people sitting cross-legged.
Although the temperature in the chamber remained above 38 degrees Celsius, it was a very safe temporary hideout. They would need to discuss with Lacus how to settle these people before making any further decisions.
"Frigus Sanctum Exaudi." Lacus recited a spell, and cold air slowly emanated from her body, lowering the temperature of the entire space by several degrees.
If Lacus wished, she could turn the place into a refrigerator, but to avoid disrupting the laundry room's normal operations and arousing suspicion, she only lowered the temperature slightly. After all, adults could endure it, but these young girls would be in danger if they stayed in the high-temperature space for too long.
"Ask your questions first," the witch said. She knew that the young man before her must also harbor many mysteries, otherwise he would never have found that dungeon. But she was in no hurry.
"Who are you?" Edrick asked the most important question. This question was of great importance, and he was afraid that just knowing the answer would put him in danger.
But after much thought, Edrick decided to ask anyway. On the one hand, it was because of his damn curiosity, and on the other hand, it was because he realized that he had already been involved in this conflict, either intentionally or unintentionally. After all, it had to do with the Transmigrators themselves, so the more information he had, the better he would be able to deal with any future changes.
"I am Bishop Lacus, my religious name is Sancta Lucina Lacus, and I was imprisoned by an impostor three years ago." Lacus said, "What I am about to tell you may be the biggest scandal in the Stellaxis Church in the last ten years, and the church will stop at nothing to destroy everyone who knows about it."
"I'm ready," Edrick nodded.
As for the other girls, they had already been deemed witches and were certain to be burned at the stake by the Church, whether they knew these secrets or not.
"My secular name is Elara Seren Stellae."
Edrick furrowed his brow. The surname sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it immediately due to its low frequency in his fragmented memories.
Seeing Edrick's expression, Lacus added, "The eldest princess of the Stellae royal family of the Zodiac Kingdom."
Edrick looked into Lacus's clear eyes, and the two remained silent for a long time. Finally, Edrick couldn't help but rub his temples. He truly regretted his decision now.
"So she's a princess, no wonder she's so beautiful✧*.٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧*" The Wealth-Scattering Lad was very excited, "But what does that have to do with her being imprisoned?"
"There is a fierce struggle between the royal family and the church, and no one is allowed to be neutral. Everyone must choose a side," said the Flower Maiden, looking at her low-IQ sidekick with great helplessness.
The Wealth-Scattering Lad was very confused. He couldn't understand how a princess could be imprisoned: "What's going on? Why does the conflict between the kingdom and the church involve the princess? She's such a good bridge between the two sides."
The Flower Maiden decided to ignore the Wealth-Scattering Lad and turned to Edrick: "You're in big trouble, kid."
Edric was speechless. His original goal was just to deal with the Soot Street Scamps, a gang of street kids, but how did he suddenly get involved in a conspiracy at the national level?
Although as a transmigrator, he felt that he would reach the pinnacle of success sooner or later, it had only been a few days, and he couldn't even afford to eat his fill. Suddenly, he was given this side quest. The difficulty curve was completely unreasonable!
"Your ears?" Edrick racked his brain for a moment, unsure how to continue the conversation, and could only ask another question.
Lacus continued to explain patiently, like a teacher: "I am a half-elf, half-human. Ordinary people may not know this, but the children of humans and elves can only be elves or humans."
Ah, so that's how it is. As a scholar, Edrick had always been a bit confused. If the offspring of humans and elves are half-elves, then after several generations, there shouldn't be any difference between elves and humans anymore, since modern humans are essentially a mix of various races, and the original pure-blooded races have long since disappeared into the annals of history.
"This is a form of… reproductive isolation, I suppose," Edrick murmured under his breath.
"What did you say?" Lacus had excellent hearing but didn't catch Edrick's words. The latter quickly changed the subject: "Never mind. So you became a pawn in the struggle between the monarchy and the church?"
Lacus didn't expect this thief to be so perceptive, deducing the essence of the matter from just a few words.
"That's right. My mother was a high-ranking member of the church. You could even say that the entire Ordo Solis Eclipse was established for me." Lacus didn't feel proud when he talked about his background. Instead, he felt a sense of sadness at being unable to control his own destiny. "I was taken to the church to be raised after I was born. I'm not bragging, but I was very talented in sacred magic and quickly rose to a high position in the church. Because of my parents' connections, I was transferred to Stellaxis to serve as bishop."
Damn privileged brats.
Edrick looked down on them with disdain. These people who were born with everything were truly despicable.
"Wait, you're saying that the Ordo Solis Eclipse was established for you?" Edrick was a little confused. He wasn't familiar with the history of Stellaxis, but he knew that the Zodiac Kingdom had converted to the Luminous Pontificate about fifty years ago, and that the Ordo Solis Eclipse was established a little later due to many conflicts of interest and struggles, probably about forty years ago. "How old are you?"
"28." Lacus understood Edrick's doubts. "My father is an elf, and my mother is human. Elves with longer lifespans need to remain in their mother's body for over two years after conception, and high elves require even longer. I was gestated for ten years."
"But you're human." Edrick recalled the earlier mention of reproductive isolation between different races.
"I chose to be human," Lacus said. "This is a privilege of the higher elves, which is why I grew up in the Holy See instead of the royal family. My parents' marriage was a political marriage. They needed to establish a new order in Stellaxis to balance the influence of the royal family and the Holy See in Stellaxis, and that is how the Ordo Solis Eclipse was established."
"So you were born to be the bishop of Stellaxis..."
Damn privileged class.
Edrick once again expressed his contempt for this. These guys who were born superior to others were really annoying.
"But the good times didn't last long. The conflict between the kingdom and the church became more and more acute, and the Ordo Solis Eclipse's ability to balance the rights of both sides became increasingly limited. I tried to mediate, but I didn't expect..." Lacus's eyes dimmed as he spoke.
But Edrick spoke more diplomatically: "You wanted to appease both sides and reconcile their differences, but ended up offending both of them, didn't you?"
Edrick thought to himself: "This foolish second-generation official has never seen the cruelty of society. She thought she could win over both sides with sincerity, but ended up making things worse and causing both sides to distrust her."
"If I were as sharp as you, I wouldn't have ended up like this," Lacus said with a pained expression. "I didn't realize that the conflict between the two sides had reached such a critical point, but I was young and impetuous at the time and refused to back down on the issue of the Pureblood Order, which seemed to anger the Patriarch..."
The Pureblood Order again? Edrick immediately asked, "What's going on? What's wrong with the Pureblood Order?"
"About three and a half years ago, the Pureblood Order of the Duchy of Charolais revised its doctrine. They proposed that people are born with pure souls but impure bodies, while the Holy See insisted that people are born sinful, both in soul and body.I think the new doctrine is very much in line with the needs of the times and is good for the country and the people, but the bishop and Mother believe that the Pureblood Order has been contaminated by heretical beliefs from the East and has fallen into corruption..."
Edric couldn't help but shake his head. It seemed like a small change, but in fact, it greatly weakened the power of the church. Not to mention anything else, if the soul was innocent, then there would be no need to buy indulgences. After all, the physical body would naturally perish after death, and an innocent soul did not need salvation.
"At least for now, the Pureblood Order and the Holy See have not yet completely broken out into conflict." Edric didn't know how to comfort the eldest princess, so he could only continue with the previous topic.
"Because I refused to back down, the Church sent this impostor to arrest me. They don't dare to make such a big scandal public, so they are still acting in my name."
"How did they make that Luminous Sigil?" Edrick remembered the Flower Maiden saying that the Luminous Sigil was impossible to forge. "You need to use the Luminous Sigil to handle official documents, right?"
"When they need to show the Luminous Sigil, they'll let me show it. That's one of the reasons they didn't kill me. They're threatening the lives of these children, so I have no choice but to obey their orders." Lacus looked at the girls behind her, "I know they've captured many people. Even if I save these people, there will still be other sacrifices..."
This was also why Lacus, as the legitimate bishop, had to escape as soon as possible. The lower and middle ranks of the Church did not know she had been secretly replaced, but once the higher-ups discovered she had escaped from prison, they would certainly capture her again. With the Church's power, any truth that spread on a small scale would be immediately suppressed.
Escaping the Church's control and secretly spreading the truth throughout the process was the only way to expose the scandal completely.
By this point, Edrick had a basic understanding of Lacus's feud with the Church. Though he sensed she was holding back some details, trust could only be built gradually—there was no rush.
Moreover, the timeline she mentioned—three and a half years ago—caught Edrick's attention. That was when the Church began using these young girls to threaten Lacus, and the Croft family adopted Miryam around the same time. Was that a coincidence?
"Why sacrifice something like that?" Edrick recalled the mechanical demon sealed behind the bronze door. If that terrifying thing were fully unleashed, it would have the power to destroy the entire cathedral. Even if the monks managed to defeat it, who knows how many civilians would have died in the process.
"Well, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but it involves a very complex academic issue, and I'm not sure you'd understand."Lacus looked troubled.
Seeing her expression, Edrick immediately realized that the academic issue he was referring to must be related to the extraordinary powers of this world. In this regard, Edrick knew nothing, so he was a little confused, but he quickly said firmly, "Just give me a simple summary of what this thing does."
Lacus lowered her head and pondered for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts. After more than ten seconds, she slowly said, "Wraiths are currency. Do you understand?"
Edrick seriously considered that he needed to learn all the esoteric knowledge of this place from scratch.