From next to Mommy Elizabeth’s side, I quietly complained, “That execution method is far too cruel, is it not? I wouldn’t mind a simple pierce, but why the burning and leg snapping? It’s too cruel, isn’t it?”

Mom turned to the side to look at me with a slightly surprised look . The way she looked at me made me feel somewhat uncomfortable .

“Does Mom see me someone cruel, or does she not consider that to be cruel?” I wondered .

Mom lingered for a moment then turned back to look at the scene . With a quiet laughed, she replied, “No, Son, the execution can be overlooked . The biggest problem is the pope’s speech . He went too far with what he said . Such a provoking speech is likely to trigger the fanatical people into taking action . That’s what I’m worried about . As for the execution method, it doesn’t matter to me . I’d actually say that a little cruel would be for the better . The cruelness will remind people what the consequences of offending my dignity are . Isn’t that convenient?”

“If the new church and old church’s conflict intensifies as a result of this execution, what do we do?”

“The conflict between the two churches will undoubtedly intensify . All that they need is a spark, and this just happens to be the one that they needed . Owing to your presence, however, Mommy must suppress this matter . Mommy will resolve this matter afterwards . My current goal is to contain their rage . After you leave, Mommy will completely resolve the matter . ”

“I see… But I still don’t hope that blood will be spilt . It’s not worth it to spill blood over religious matters . ”

“Son, do you think you’ve seen just a small amount of blood spilt?” asked Mom, after giggling . “I thought you were no longer naïve . Son, if you want power and eternity, blood must be spilt . You should say that merely spilling blood is already a big win . The two religions wish to pa.s.s on their teachings for eternity; therefore, spilling some blood is totally worth it to them . Violence is always the simplest method to resolving things . You should be aware of that already, right?”

“I don’t like violence, though . ”

“Including in the North?”

“Of course . ” My frustration was hinted in my voice .

Mom then stood up: “It’s already over, so I don’t want to stay here and bathe in the sun anymore . Son, let’s head back . Look at Nier . She no longer can resist her desire to return to her daughter . ”

Nier went red in the face . I nodded then stood up, as well . Mom gave Valkyries some sort of order, presumably to have them deal with the corpse in the plaza . A corpse that was pierced from below, all the way up through his mouth and had his legs snapped was horrific . Lots of vultures would flock to the plaza if his corpse was left there .

I turned to look at Nier . She looked nonchalant, so I presumed that such a scene wasn’t anything unacceptable to her . Nevertheless, Nier was concerned . She quietly queried, “Your Majesty, you look down . Do you feel hot?”

“No, I just can’t accept the scene… I feel that it’s too cruel . His last groan was really heart-wrenching for me . ”

“Really…?”

I could see that Nier couldn’t comprehend my feelings . I didn’t want to explain anything, either . Seeing the corpse was disgusting, nonetheless . I wanted to leave long ago . Nevertheless, a strange man then walked up to our side . After he saluted us, he hastily went over to Mom and whispered something in her ear . I turned around . I felt that the man watched me the entire time . Mom nodded then looked at me, too, but there was no expression on his face to speak of .

I was bemused . After the man finished speaking, he bowed and then hurriedoff . I went up to Mom . Puzzled, I asked, “What’s the matter, Mom? Who is he? What did he say? I feel that it’s related to me . ”

Mom caressed my face with a smile: “It’s not appropriate to talk about it outside, Son . I’ll tell you when we get back to the Royal Palace . It does indeed have to do with you and Troy City . Let’s go; let’s go home now . ”

I nodded: “Uhm . ”

Since Mom said that it wasn’t appropriate to talk about outside, I didn’t ask . I was anxious to know what it was about . It was a time when the new church and old church were most likely to fight . At the same time, something happened at Troy City . Whether by coincidence or not, that was where the new church’s headquarter was located . Logically, then, the situation was urgent .

When we reached the horse carriage, somebody standing on the side of the street yelled out my name . I turned my head around to see the new church’s pope . A Valkyrie glanced at him then asked me, “Your Majesty, do you have an appointment with him? If you do not, please allow me to drive him off . This is Her Majesty’s personal carriage . ”

“Mm… No, I don’t . I don’t know what he’s calling out to me for, either . With that said, since Her Majesty has something to say to me, I shall return to the Royal Palace first . You don’t need to drive him off, though . I’ll just get into the carriage . ”

I didn’t intend to meet in private with the new church’s people while investigations were pending . The first thing Castell told me still applied . Lots of people in the Royal Palace had keen senses . If I didn’t want to be involved, I couldn’t interact with those related to the matter . The old church’s people were around at the moment; hence, if I interacted with the new church’s pope, the old church would have justified reasons to conjure up ideas .

I entered the carriage and ignored the new church’s pope, but he didn’t seem to be in any rush, a presumption that I made, as he stood on the side of the road and sent me off with a bow . I sat down and pinched my chin feeling confused . I didn’t understand what exactly the new church’s pope was looking for me for . He should’ve been aware that I couldn’t interact with him .

Meanwhile, in Elizabeth’s carriage…

“Your Majesty, the report is definitely accurate . I am sure the Shadow Squad would never fabricate such a rumour . They stand to gain nothing from saying this . Rather, n.o.body would dare to fabricate things about His Majesty . ”

“I know; it’s just that guns delivered from Troy City may not be my son’s command . ”

“As the royal family’s seal was on it, it must be His Majesty’s order, right…? After all, there are no extra seals in this world . Nevertheless, the biggest question is what His Majesty is planning to do . You see, the new church’s pope even went looking for His Majesty just now . I suspect…”

“Shut up, Castell! This isn’t something you can make wild guesses about! He’s my son . How could he possibly hurt me? I will ask my son about it . You, stop with your wild guesses!”

“Yes, Your Majesty . ”