The central church of Winter City is located on the south side of Lion's Roar Castle, and it is also the building closest to the top of the mountain.
The main body of the church is made of solid limestone, and the walls are covered with a layer of white sand, shimmering under the sunlight, which can be described as a perfect combination of grandeur and delicacy.
The interior of the church is tall and spacious, and the spire of the bell tower points directly to the sky, as if it is a bridge that can communicate with the Lord of Radiance.
Because it is located in the aristocratic area, this central church looks a bit deserted, because it is dedicated to the nobles, and ordinary people cannot enter here.
The bright sunshine in the afternoon casts beams of light in the prayer hall through the glazed dome, making the atmosphere in the hall even more sacred and solemn.
In the silent and empty prayer hall, only a petite figure was kneeling in front of the Holy Light Altar, praying silently to the statue of the Lord of Radiance.
She is wearing a red pleated skirt, which looks simple and simple at first glance, but in fact every detail hides deliberately restrained luxury. The curvy waist highlights her graceful figure, and her slender neck hangs down slightly like a deep sleep white swan.
Light footsteps sounded outside the prayer hall, startling the praying girl.
She stood up slowly, and the pearl fire pattern hair ornament on the golden bun swayed slightly, instantly making the whole prayer hall seem to be animated by it.
"Your Excellency, Duke of Saint Hilde, did I disturb your prayer?" An old but powerful voice echoed in the prayer hall.
Vera turned her head and looked at the entrance of the hall with a little doubt.
The first thing that caught the eye was a figure in a red priest's robe.
Of course Vera knew that this was the cardinal's exclusive attire. When the man got closer, she finally recognized the man's identity. She quickly smiled and said:
"Your Excellency Tournans, I didn't expect you to come to Winter City!"
Turnans walked towards the center of the hall and said with a smile, "Your Excellency, it's my fault for not informing you of my visit in advance."
Vera smiled gently, and said: "It's okay, Winter City will always open its doors to you, and on behalf of the Saint Hilde family, I welcome your visit at any time."
Turnans slowly walked up to Vera, looked at the dignified and glamorous duchess exuding a holy aura, with a look of satisfaction on her face, and said:
"Praise the Lord! Under His radiant guidance, the world has lost a coquettish mage and gained a pious knight!"
Wei Laxiu frowned slightly, but quickly let go, nodded and said:
"Praise my Lord! I also want to praise His Majesty the Pope. Ever since I accepted the baptism given by him personally, I suddenly realized the beauty of the Holy Light, as if this is the most indispensable part of my life."
Turnans smiled and drew the holy mark on his chest, and said: "The omnipotent Supreme Lord will not let any of his lambs go astray. Your Excellency, you have finally been found by my Lord." !"
A little shame appeared on Vera's pretty face, and said: "It's a pity that I woke up too late, and now I can't go far on the way of knights..."
"You don't have to worry about it." Turnans shook his head slowly, persuading, "My Lord has His arrangements for everyone, and fighting on the battlefield is not the only way to serve My Lord."
"I understand, thank you, Your Excellency Cardinal." Vera curtseyed to Tournans respectfully, and then asked, "By the way, what is the matter for you to come to Winter City this time? If you need any help, please ask."
Turnans looked deeply, and said, "Your Excellency, I really need your help."
"Please tell me."
Turnans paused, as if he was thinking about how to speak, but then he did not directly express his request, but said with emotion:
"Your Excellency, I have discovered a lot of novel things when I came to the northern border this time."
A proud and slightly shy smile appeared on Vera's face, and said:
"Your Excellency Cardinal, I guess you are talking about the new policies implemented by my husband, right? I have to say that before these new policies came out, many nobles in the northern border, including myself, had some doubts about Colin. However, after being verified by practice, it was found that these new policies are indeed effective.
It is thanks to these new policies that the North was able to recover from the previous chaos so quickly. "
Turnans smiled slightly and said, "Count Angelet's wisdom is amazing!"
After a word of admiration, Tournance changed the topic again and said, "However, he is too young after all and doesn't have enough experience in governance, so it is inevitable that there will be omissions."
"Omission?" Vera Xiumei frowned slightly, and said, "Your Excellency, Cardinal, please give me your advice."
Turnans carefully observed Vera's expression, and saw that she was indeed asking for advice sincerely, and that the piety in her eyes had not diminished in the slightest, so she asked bluntly:
"Your Excellency, you should know about the welfare lottery promoted by Earl Angelet, right?"
"Of course. In fact, I secretly bought a few of them myself, but unfortunately I didn't win the lottery." Vera stuck out her little tongue playfully.
Turnans didn't smile, but looked at Vera seriously, and asked in a deep voice:
"Your Excellency, do you think this welfare lottery is good or bad?"
"Of course it's a good thing." Vera quickly explained, "You may not know that the proceeds from these lottery tickets did not flow into the pockets of the Angelet family, but were used to establish orphanages, and these orphanages will help out for free. Those stranded, helpless civilians.
I believe that such a good deed will surely please my lord. "
"No." Turnans shook his head slowly.
Vera's face was suffocated, she paused for a while, and then asked in confusion: "Your Excellency, Cardinal, why do you say that?"
Turnans stared at Vera with deep and compassionate eyes, and said:
"Because this kind of welfare lottery evokes the greatest evil in the hearts of the people—greed!"
"greedy?"
"Yes! As the Duke of the North, you can't help but buy a few lottery tickets, not to mention how attractive this kind of thing is to commoners.
If things go on like this, civilians will not care about working and only want to buy lottery tickets to win big prizes. Some people even want to buy lottery tickets even if they don't even have money for food and clothing!
So, this is not a way of pleasing our Lord at all, but spreading the temptation of the devil! "
The smile on Vera's face also subsided, she frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Your Excellency Cardinal, I think you may be overly worried. Although the welfare lottery has certain temptations for commoners, at least for now, I still don't care about it." I haven’t seen anyone lose their family because of it.”
Tournance's face darkened, and he said, "Your Excellency, have you ignored my lord's warning?"
"My lord's warning?"
"Yes." Turnans suddenly raised his hand and pointed directly behind Vera.
Vera turned her head in doubt, and saw that the statue of the Lord of Radiance on the Holy Light Altar was shedding two lines of blood and tears.
(end of this chapter)