Chapter 28: The Iron-Blooded Pope
Forced by the situation, since the princesses had been sent here, they naturally couldn’t just leave whenever they wanted. After all, the current Pope’s title of “Iron-Blooded Pope” wasn’t just for show.
After taking a sip of tea, Eirya naturally continued her explanation. “They have their own interests. I’ve been studying why the Pope herself would do this, what mystery lies within.”
“It wasn’t until meeting you today, Teacher, that I finally unraveled the Pope’s true reason for bringing us here.”
“Since we can be discarded as pawns, it proves that our power and influence in our respective countries are far from sufficient. But among us, a single spark is all it takes to start a prairie fire. We are all of direct lineage. By controlling us, cultivating our ambitions, and helping us return to our kingdoms to rebuild our power and become queens, she will naturally control several of the most powerful kingdoms on the continent.”
This was the final veil, lifted to reveal the truth.
After she had laid it all out, the three of them now understood the true nature of Class 2-1’s existence.
It was just like with the previous old Pope. He claimed he was getting old and wanted to retire, but the truth was that if he hadn’t abdicated, he likely wouldn’t have lived to see another day. And it was precisely because the old Pope feared Asier’s military might that Asier was able to inherit the papal throne without mobilizing a single soldier, as if it were the natural order of things.
After all, before becoming the Pope of the Holy Light Kingdom, Asier was the woman who had led her own private army to destroy the iron cavalry of the Yeling Empire and personally slayed its sovereign. How could the old Pope not fear her?
As for the common people, they were unaware of this new Pope’s history. In their eyes, as long as someone was chosen by the god they worshiped, they were a good pope. And the previous Pope, as the mortal agent of the Goddess of Light, had made the proclamation himself in a massive square filled with hundreds of thousands of people, which naturally made the faithful believe it without question.
Even if the populace now knew that Asier Aili Shengguang had once been the student of the Yeling Empire’s sovereign, Yueshen Guang, before becoming Pope, these ignorant masses would probably clap their hands and cheer, saying it was a gift from the Goddess to Her Majesty the Pope. Because Yueshen Ji—the woman who now sat on the papal throne, the woman who went by the alias Asier Aili Shengguang—though human by blood, had fought and grown up in the Yeling Empire since she was a child.
“I imagine Teacher also knows what the Pope’s former identity was. After all, a matter like this can’t be hidden. To the upper echelons of the other kingdoms, this Pope’s former name is practically common knowledge.”
“Ah… I couldn’t be more clear about it…”
At that moment, Yier Meng couldn’t help but take a sip of the now-cool tea. The slightly bitter taste, mixed with the faint fragrance of the tea leaves, gradually spread across her tongue. Hearing Eirya’s question, a storm churned in her heart. When it came to Asier’s former identity, no one knew it better than her.
“But for you to say all this here… aren’t you afraid I’ll report you, Ice Dragon Princess of the Dragon Kingdom, Eirya Imris Yongdong?” Wendymia said softly at that moment.
This made the other three start in surprise.
But Eirya immediately smiled. Her response was to freeze the cup in her hand into a solid block of ice, as if she were the one who cared the least.
