In the Hall of Honor of the Temple of Beauty under the setting sun, Faloro's Governor Sansone was calmly chatting with Adele, discussing various secrets of Faloro from his mouth. The expression on Adele's face became increasingly solemn.
"According to you, Xia Er might have died from an assassination by the Church organization, and Robert's tyranny also stemmed from his own nature, not a frame-up by the Church?" Adele asked Sansone with a serious expression. Sansone, who had finished smoking his cigar, threw the butt into the ashtray and continued.
"I didn't definitively say that Xia Er's death was caused by the Church; I just believe it's related to them. As for the Greed King... according to the information I have, he was indeed very greedy and oppressive during his reign, with an arrogant and eccentric personality like Xia Er, but without Xia Er's ability. Such a radical personality, if not accompanied by excellent ability and talent, will only breed a tyrant. Robert is a typical tyrant.
"Faloro under Robert was indeed in chaos. The Church didn't seem to exert much effort to instigate forces against Robert to bring him down. The outbreak of the Cold Moon Revolution was more of the Church going with the flow. The main cause of the revolution was Robert himself. Most of his actions during his reign were true. The Church and the current Faloro government have deliberately demonized Robert in their propaganda, but not to a great extent.
"Robert's end was his own doing, but it's a shame he ruined Faloro's future. His father, Xia Er, was much stronger than him, but it's a pity he didn't understand the principle of enduring, ruining a good situation..."
Sansone surveyed the various trophies of the Gilded King in the Hall of Honor, and Sansone slowly continued to respond, his tone seemingly carrying a hint of sigh. After hearing his words, Adele's eyes narrowed slightly, and then she spoke again, asking Sansone.
"You just said that the one who wants to harm you is your political enemy in Faloro's political arena, another Governor. The mutual impeachment between you Governors can offset each other's abilities, but the procedure must be executed in a formal setting unless approved by the Faralo Grand Archbishop...
"And given the circumstances today, your impeachment implies that your political enemy has already gained the support of the Faralo Grand Archbishop. Aren't you usually against the Bourbons? You are against the Bourbons, and the Church is also against the Bourbons. Aren't your stances the same?"
Adele asked Sansone with a rather serious expression, and the other party chuckled softly.
"Heh, you might have misunderstood something, Miss Adele. I'm against the Bourbons not to express my stance before the Church, but because the Bourbon remnants are truly harmful to this country. They have attracted a large number of cult activities to Faloro and caused countless malicious extraordinary events.
"Bourbon relics and ruins are often coveted by cults led by the Placenta. They are active throughout Faloro, using various means to seize Bourbon remnants. Recently, nearly 10% of the malicious extraordinary events caused by various factors in Faloro throughout the year were due to Bourbon remnants, and in the past one or two years, this figure has surged to 30% to 40%.
"Due to unknown factors, the Taiyi Three Teachings have been frequently active in Faloro recently, bringing about a large number of malicious extraordinary events, with very negative impacts. Their main goal is Bourbon remnants, so I started to seal and confiscate a series of Bourbon artifacts nationwide, and arrest the royalists who are closely connected to secret societies. This group of people who are always thinking about restoring the monarchy are the easiest to be exploited by cults. In many domestic incidents, they have been deceived by cults and used as pawns, causing serious harm."
In a calm and unhurried manner, Sansone spoke frankly to Adele. After hearing his words, Adele nodded thoughtfully and then asked again.
"So, your actions against the Bourbons... are essentially to suppress domestic malicious extraordinary events... But why would this kind of action incur the dissatisfaction of the Church? Have you done anything else to offend the Church? To the extent that the Church would tolerate your opponent cooperating with the Placenta to plot an assassination against you?"
Hearing Adele's words, Sansone paused slightly. Then, after looking at Adele and being silent for a while, he spoke again.
"This relates to some deeper internal issues within Faloro, which I cannot explain too clearly to you. However, I would like to point out that there are naturally reasons why I have incurred the dissatisfaction of the Church, but the factors leading to today's assassination attempt may not only be with me, Miss Adele. Perhaps you can look for some reasons within yourself?"
Pointing at Adele before him, Sansone said steadily. Hearing Sansone's words, Adele was quite surprised.
"Me?"
"Yes... you helped me review the assassination plot that just happened. Among them, you and many Bourbon remnants were planted in the Temple of Beauty to facilitate framing, but have you ever thought that if the sole purpose was to frame the already defunct Bourbon royalists, then those other Bourbon remnants would have been enough. Why go across borders to invite you over? The Placenta knows your ability is not easy to deal with. Why bother adding you, an unstable factor, to the plan?"
Sansone asked Adele frankly. His words made Adele slightly stunned, and it took her a while to continue answering.
"The reason those Placenta guys are seeking Bourbon relics is to find materials that can supply their research on The Path of Depravity, and I am a living Chalk Depravity material, which is very precious to them. They tricked me into this trap to finally capture me..."
Adele answered seriously. Sansone shook his head slightly after hearing this reply and then continued to speak.
"Based on the previous situation, the Placenta has mastered a considerable part of The Path of Depravity's techniques, and even creating Chalk is not a problem. You are useful to them, but perhaps not very much. I don't think your importance to them is so great that they would take the risk of forcibly inserting you into this operation."
"Then what other reasons are there?" Hearing Sansone's words, Adele frowned slightly and asked, while Sansone continued to prompt.
"I once saw in your information... that you requested the Church's protection in Prit?"
Hearing Sansone's words, Adele's expression froze, and then she suddenly spoke as if she had remembered something.
"The Church... Yes... the Church... Is this related to the Church again? Could it be... that there are political problems within the Church?"
Adele said in a sudden realization. After hearing her words, Sansone also nodded and spoke.
"I can tell you seriously that this is likely a problem caused by the increasingly fierce political struggle within the Church recently. You can think about what kind of people were the Church personnel who provided you with protection back then?"
Sansone said this to Adele, and Adele began to recall and speak after hearing it.
"Those who provided me with protection... were the Redemption Faction of the Church. After the great hunt by the Placenta, the Redemption Faction of the Church has been gathering the remaining non-Placenta 'cup' societies that were swept away by the Placenta, providing protection and taking them for their own use. After surviving the great hunt, I was still a Black Earth at the time, completely unable to resist the Placenta, so I found the Redemption Faction and participated in their protection plan.
"I used most of the information on The Path of Depravity's Black Earth Stage as a bargaining chip in exchange for preferential treatment in the Redemption Faction's protection plan. I was arranged to live in a very safe diocese led by the Knight Faction and was allowed to build my own forces. All I had to do was occasionally follow the instructions of the local Church to deal with the Placenta forces infiltrating the urban area and help them with regular divination. My safe residence in Tivian seems to be the result of cooperation between the Knight Faction and the Redemption Faction within the Church."
Adele said with a serious expression. After hearing her statement, Sansone waved his hand and replied.
"Rather than cooperation, it's more like a compromise. Since you said you have some connection with both the Redemption Faction and the Knight Faction, then things make sense. The Judgment Faction within the Church has recently had deep contradictions with the Redemption and Knight Factions, and in the disputes over certain events some time ago, the Judgment Faction was at a disadvantage in front of the Knights and Redemption. This made the entire Judgment Faction extremely angry, and they have been planning to counterattack from other places. And unfortunately, our Faloro diocese is led by the Judgment Faction, and the Faralo Grand Archbishop is a member of the Judgment Faction."
Sansone said this, and hearing his words, Adele immediately understood and spoke.
"According to you... what the Judgment Faction wants is for me to be drawn into today's assassination attempt which was originally aimed at you. After your death, I would be confirmed to have publicly assassinated the Faloro Governor leading the Bourbon remnants. Since I have certain connections with the Redemption Faction and even the Knight Faction, once this serious crime is confirmed, the Judgment Faction can use this as an opportunity to attack the other two factions and regain their previous disadvantage!"
Adele analyzed this, and hearing her words, Sansone nodded slightly, while Dorothy outside the room thoughtfully stroked her chin.
Dorothy knew exactly what Sansone was referring to when he mentioned the event some time ago that put the Judgment Faction at a disadvantage in the internal struggle of the Church. If she wasn't mistaken, it was probably the Saint Chant Church attack incident.
After this incident, Amanda of the Redemption Faction immediately took the opportunity to exert pressure, allowing Vanya to be promoted to Scarlet ahead of schedule based on her merit. The Knight Faction also successfully sent their people to take over the Prit diocese, stabilizing their base. The Judgment Faction, which initially stirred up trouble, not only gained nothing in the end but was also likely suppressed to a certain extent in the subsequent political game. They probably acquiesced to this assassination plan in order to turn the situation around.
Three parties participated in this assassination plan. If it succeeded in the end, the Placenta could get rid of Adele and gain more Bourbon heritage. Sansone's political enemy who is also Governor could get rid of Sansone. The Church could use this to suppress the Redemption Faction and the Knight Faction... It can be said that all three parties could profit, which is why the Church in Faloro could tolerate the Placenta.
"I didn't expect... that the people of the Judgment Faction would be willing to turn a blind eye to the cults they usually detest so much for political struggle... Has the internal conflict within the Church escalated to such an extent? Why did it become like this?"
Similarly contemplating the current situation, Adele murmured in disbelief, and Sansone continued to speak.
"The escalation of internal conflicts within the Holy Mountain began last year, and it has not shown any signs of easing, but has instead intensified. In the political circles of various countries and within the Church, more and more people have heard about the disharmony among the Cardinals. As for why the situation has become like this, there are various opinions, none of which are credible."
"I really didn't expect... that the power struggle among the high-ranking officials of the Church would escalate to such an extent... This feeling... it's very strange. As saints closest to the Light God, shouldn't they all be exemplary devout and abstinent believers? Why is their desire for power so strong, acting not like clergy, but rather like politicians?"
Adele exclaimed with disbelief in her tone, while Sansone, who was sitting next to her, paused slightly, thought for a moment, and then slowly replied.
"Based on our Governors' years of experience dealing with the Holy Mountain, the situation in the Cardinal Council is indeed like this. Several saints are more like politicians than believers. After long contact, it's really hard to believe that those people have much faith. Perhaps many Archbishops below them are more devout."
"Ah? You mean... the Cardinal Council, the highest authority in the Church, is not devout?" Hearing Sansone's words, Adele said with a very surprised expression, and the other party immediately replied.
"At least most of them don't seem to reach a very high level of devoutness. It feels like when the Holy See appointed them, they considered factors other than devoutness. In short, you just need to know that the Cardinal Council of the Church is the same as the political arenas of many other secular countries, filled with the vulgarity of vying for power and profit..." Sansone said this to Adele, and then, as if he had remembered something, he continued to speak.
"Speaking of which, if I remember correctly, the Redemption Faction has always been a relatively weak force within the Church. It has been suppressed for hundreds of years. I didn't expect them to be able to make a comeback recently and force the Judgment Faction. Has there been a secret replacement of a Cardinal Bishop recently without anyone knowing?"
Sansone spoke thoughtfully, and Adele's expression froze after hearing his words. Following Dorothy's intention in her mind, she immediately asked.
"You mean... that before this recent period, the Redemption Faction was always the relatively weaker side? The Holy Mother's faith clearly has the most followers?"
"I don't know the specific power evolution within their Church, but I have heard that before this recent resurgence, the Redemption Faction's influence within the Church was indeed quite significant, but that was at least four or five hundred years ago. I don't know what problem the Redemption Faction suddenly encountered, which led to a sudden decrease in the entire faction's influence, and they were suppressed by the Judgment Faction for hundreds of years, until today when a little Sister named Vanya emerged from their side."
Sansone continued to answer Adele's words. After hearing his words, Adele thought and nodded, then responded to Sansone with a slightly serious tone.
"Thank you for your answer, the Honorable Governor. Your information should be very useful to us."
"Oh... Hearing you say that, you've finished asking your questions? As a thank you for saving my life, you only want a few answers from me?" Hearing Adele's words, Sansone replied with a light tone, and Adele immediately shook her head after hearing it.
"No, no, no, a thank you is naturally not just a few questions. What we truly need is for the Honorable Governor to help us with two small favors."
"Two favors?"
"Yes, one is about this Temple of Beauty, and the other is about some collections you 'procured' from North Wu to Faloro..."