Chapter 797

Chapter 45: Victoria’s Actions (Part 1)

Back in late April last year, shortly after your so-called funeral ceremony, the power struggles within the Church had already settled. Cardinal Saint George was found guilty by the Church’s court on charges of embezzlement, rebellion, war crimes, and even child abuse. All possible crimes were committed by that old man.

During that time, most of the major dioceses in West Continent were in chaos, with street fights between clergy members. Some said that on the day they captured Cardinal Saint George, a never-before-seen civil war erupted in the Holy City, with the Pope personally participating and engaging in a legendary battle with Saint George in the square of the Cathedral Church.

Of course, these were just rumors; I didn’t witness them myself, nor did I have any reliable sources. It wasn’t until May, almost June, that the internal chaos within the Church began to subside, one month after Cardinal Saint George’s capture.

I heard that the old man was imprisoned in the underground dungeon of the Holy City, and from then on, there was no further news. The Church removed not only him but also his confidants and the Williams family’s intricate influence in the bank. This struggle seemed to come to an end, and soon afterward, a world-renowned execution by fire was expected to take place in the Holy City. However, instead of waiting for the execution, something completely unexpected happened on the eve of May Day.

Do you remember the Raberil Great Canyon north of the capital city? That was where the abyssal mud first appeared. After the abyss infiltrated the city and the disaster was quelled, the Church sealed off the area where the abyssal mud spread using divine miracles. We thought nothing more would happen, but last May, as the internal chaos within the Church slowly subsided, a severe landslide suddenly occurred in the canyon, causing large-scale subsidence in the valley.

Interestingly, in the region where the mountain collapsed, amidst the rising dust, several people unexpectedly ran out. It was absolutely impossible for anyone to live inside the canyon. Both I and others were certain about this.

Although it was a beautiful place, the terrain was perilous, and the rocky land was unsuitable for farming. There were many fierce beasts and venomous snakes and insects, and even the apprentice pharmacists from the capital city dared not venture too far. After the appearance of the abyss, the Church had searched all nearby areas, dispersed the residents, and we participated in the entire process. The nearest village was over ten kilometers outside the canyon, and there were no people inside.

However, after the mountain collapse, people appeared.

They were ordinary people, even ordinary to the point of having no order power. But according to what I later learned, those few people seemed to have stayed in the valley for a long time and came out wearing what looked like prisoner’s clothes, somewhat disoriented, answering questions unclearly. Yet, they emerged near the area where the abyssal mud had spread.

When I say this, can you guess where they might have escaped from and what they were doing so close to the abyssal mud? Now, I have some clues, but at that time, I was completely unaware.

Those people were quickly controlled by the Church, along with those who had contact with them. Many were taken away, their destination unknown. Among them were even a few royal guards who had rushed to the scene upon hearing the news. According to the Church’s statement at the time, this was a necessary measure to handle the problem of the abyssal mud leakage. At that time, I was busy with other tasks and didn’t pay much attention, but Queen Victoria seemed particularly concerned about this matter for some reason.

[Importance]

[She called me back to the royal city and ordered me to secretly investigate everything suspicious about the valley collapse incident. The most suspicious were those people and the church’s handling of the situation. The few royal guards who were taken away, I later questioned them, but guess what happened?

After they returned, they couldn’t remember most of the things that happened in the valley.]

[It’s terrifying. I don’t know how the church did this. Those who escaped from the valley and then were taken away, when they came back, it was as if some force had erased parts of their memories. They didn’t even remember going there, let alone remembering anyone coming out of the valley or talking to them. Everything was completely forgotten.]

[It’s like suddenly, a short blank period appeared in their lives. In the days before and after, they didn’t know where they went, whom they met, or what happened. It was completely blank.]

[It’s too eerie.]

[I was completely baffled by this. The more I investigated, the more I felt goosebumps. Even though I couldn’t find anything, it felt like I was sinking deeper into quicksand. Eventually, I found all the leads cut off, and instead, more doubts arose. I couldn’t continue investigating, so I reported everything truthfully to Her Majesty the Queen.]

[I thought I would be punished for not performing my duties well, but unexpectedly, the Queen didn’t blame me. I remember clearly that her reaction was strange. I clearly remember the look in her eyes at that moment—full of doubt, shock, and anger, followed by more silence and an almost frightening calmness. It seemed as if all emotions burst forth from her eyes in that instant, only to be extinguished in the next, buried even deeper.]

[Queen Her Majesty seemed to have confirmed something at that moment.]

[Later on, the matter was left unresolved. The Queen didn’t ask me to continue investigating, but soon after, she sent me to deliver two letters to Lagoms City, a mountain city far from the royal city.]

[Queen Her Majesty didn’t say directly who I should deliver the letters to; instead, she gave me an address. The address was to a remote tavern in Lagoms City, but when I arrived, I found out that the tavern had closed down its business before the church’s internal purge started two years ago. They only accepted visitors with recommendation letters, and one of the two letters given to me by the Queen was such a recommendation letter.]

[The innkeeper seemed like an ordinary person, but as soon as I entered, she knew I was there to deliver a letter from the royal city. This showed that Queen Her Majesty wasn’t contacting them for the first time. I eventually handed over the letter to her, though I didn’t understand its significance at the time, nor did I know the true recipient—a long-lost cardinal named Saint George.]

[When I returned to the royal city to report to Queen Her Majesty, she revealed some information about the church behind the scenes.]

[By then, it was August. That night, the Queen had a drink. After finishing the day’s work, she suddenly said she wanted to return to the mansion on Londor Street. The mansion had been completed early in the year, but since seeing that news in the newspaper last year, the Queen hadn’t gone back there. She suddenly decided to go, and insisted that I and Sharman accompany her. We found it odd but didn’t dare to ask too much.]

[Upon arriving at the mansion, she silently drank alone for a long time. We stood beside her, sensing that she was in a terrible mood and dared not make a sound. By the time it was late at night and she had finished two bottles of red wine, showing signs of intoxication, she finally spoke to us.]

[Her Majesty’s first words were: “I did something, whether right or wrong, but from my personal perspective, it was something I had to do.”]