Chapter 189-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation
At the Papal Palace, Ye Zheng finished her morning prayers and received a great noble who had a land dispute with the Sei Curia. After initially negotiating a solution and seeing the other party off, she bent over her desk again and began handling other affairs.
As a newly appointed Pope, just the handover work alone kept her extremely busy. Fortunately, she had always been conscious of observing the activities of various departments within the Sei Curia and was familiar with its power operation mechanisms, so she got up to speed quickly. This allowed her to immediately begin the cleanup work.
The corruption within the Sei Curia was shocking—buying and selling clerical positions, imposing heavy taxes, squandering public funds, selling fake holy relics, and more.
The Empire was familiar with Saintess Ye Zheng. In everyone's eyes, the Saintess was a selfless, universally loving chosen one. But what was Pope Ye Zheng like? Many people were looking up and watching.
Especially certain people in the upper district. The Pope's power could leverage too many interests, and they were lurking in the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Ye Zheng lowered her eyes. The document in her hand was precisely the investigation results regarding a certain bishop's dereliction of duty in the upper district. The investigators were applying to convene the Sei Curia court.
She held the seal and stamped the papal mark on the document, approving the request to convene immediately.
The Saintess's mercy did not belong to parasites. Ye Zheng would tell them that the new Pope would bring a storm with thunderous methods!
Cleaning out these parasites would make people's lives easier, would gather more fervent popular support to her side, and moreover, once they were gone, Ye Zheng would have room to promote her own people.
Ye Zheng had never forgotten what she said when she formed the Holy Journey Knights Order—
"I cannot definitively tell you that you will definitely have treatment completely equal to the Knights Templar."
"The only thing I can be certain of is that wherever I can reach in the future, I will bring you to that position. I will be the ceiling you can touch, and even surpass."
Now she could definitively tell them that they would soon have treatment equal to, or even surpassing, the Knights Templar, and more and more friends would climb upward together with them.
Ye Zheng held the bright red seal, her flickering eyes even more fiery red and intense than the seal itself. This was power—something she once had to carefully scheme for, now only required a stamp.
She could appoint bishops according to her wishes, manage dioceses, control the convening and resolutions of Sei Curia meetings, and even mobilize the Sei Curia's military forces.
Perhaps because there were too many things she could do as Pope, Ye Zheng temporarily couldn't find the most distinct goal or the most accurate implementation path.
Her short-term goal was to kill Sykes and break the death ending. Her long-term goal was to destroy the Dragon Bone and prevent the apocalypse.
Her ultimate goal was to establish a relatively fair and stable society—without the invasion of Demonic Domains, without severe oppression, without unreasonable "settings," where talented girls like her mother could fully display their abilities.
Deep down, Ye Zheng vaguely understood that with her personal power alone, she could only achieve the first two goals. The ultimate goal was not something she could accomplish with her own strength alone.
But she only needed to move forward on the path toward light, and people would continuously follow behind her. Someone would definitely continue the road she couldn't finish walking.
A faint sigh suddenly echoed in her mind.
"Marcy?"
"Yes, it's me."
"I remember you said that to conserve energy, you usually sleep in my consciousness. Why did you suddenly wake up today?"
"I thought you might need help, whether it's familiarizing yourself with [Mother of All Things] or familiarizing yourself with the Pope's work."
Ye Zheng smiled. "I can manage the Pope's work for now."
"You've seen from my memories how I won over and controlled those people, haven't you? This method has undoubtedly been used by every Pope after me, so they will inevitably support the Pope who inherits [Mother of All Things]."
Ye Zheng's expression became serious. She certainly knew what method Marcy was referring to—the healing ability of [Mother of All Things] was too powerful, even able to snatch people from the Grim Reaper. Even those who were satisfied with wealth and power inevitably feared death.
Five hundred years ago, Marcy relied on this ability to unite various forces, establish the Hope Curia, and become Pope.
So even though old Colonna knew she had killed Riley and Wen Jian, he had to support her becoming Pope, because she had already obtained preliminary inheritance. Only by becoming Pope could she truly inherit [Mother of All Things].
In a few days, old Colonna would probably take the initiative to request an audience. She had heard years ago that he suffered from some terminal illness, but when she last saw him, he looked vigorous and spirited—he must have received quite a bit of benefit from [Mother of All Things].
"But I really dislike them and don't want [Mother of All Things] to benefit them."
Ye Zheng spoke willful words in a flat tone.
She heard Marcy chuckle, as if seeing a student throwing a tantrum, and her tone became slower and more patient.
"Temporary compromise and false civility can take us further. Today you have no choice but to use your ability to help them and appease them, so that tomorrow you can raise your hand and send them to the gallows."
"You're only a double S-rank ability user. Your era has built even more solid barriers against women, yet you've become the youngest Pope in history. I think you understand this principle better than I do."
Ye Zheng propped her chin with one hand, thoughtfully saying:
"I understand this principle. For long-term interests, temporarily uniting with enemies is indeed a useful method."
She had indeed done this before. At certain moments, she had also cooperated with Wen Jian, Sykes, and others.
But now she was no longer their subordinate. She hadn't worked so hard to become Pope just to be pleasant to people she detested. Moreover, Marcy had died at the hands of enemies within the Sei Curia, which showed that Pope Marcy's methods back then had significant flaws.
A sly smile suddenly flashed in Ye Zheng's eyes.
"Marcy, have you ever tried using [Mother of All Things] to—control them, threaten them?"
"As far as I know, [Mother of All Things] can not only heal but also create various strange creatures. Is it possible that it can also induce certain diseases, or even create something that forces them to obey..."
"When dealing with enemies, compared to bestowing favors, I prefer threats and control."
Marcy was silent for a moment, then sighed. "Let me help you familiarize yourself with it first."
"[Mother of All Things] is a miraculous ability. What kind of power it can exert depends on the holder's imagination and desires."
Ye Zheng was somewhat surprised. Could [Mother of All Things] exert different effects in different people's hands?
"Let me guess—in your hands, it might even become a weapon of mass destruction."
Marcy's tone carried a hint of good-natured teasing.
*
A crow circling in the air swept past the majestic palace gates and exquisite sculptured fountains, landing on the spire of the magnificent castle. Its sharp, shrill cries irritated those inside the castle.
The golden-haired Crown Prince almost crushed the documents in his hand into pieces. He suddenly released them, and the papers scattered all over the floor, a photo of a boy torn in half.
"Your Highness, please don't be angry. Actually, we can't confirm yet that this Roy is His Majesty's illegitimate—"
"Get out!"
The golden-haired princess shrank her shoulders timidly, hurriedly curtsied before her furious brother, and retreated from the room.
Sykes punched the wall beside him—
From very early on, he had begun to suspect that he was not the Emperor's intended heir.
The Emperor was almost obedient to him, assigning someone like Yu Tianming, the heir of a great noble family, to accompany and assist him, and sparing no effort to build a savior-like reputation for him among the people.
But Sykes could clearly feel that the Emperor's gaze toward him had almost no warmth.
Ever since Ye Zheng accidentally made him recall certain things, he became increasingly certain that his imperial father Havel was using him, using the monster son he had created with his own hands.
If he hadn't accidentally discovered that Heath was investigating the Emperor's illegitimate children outside on behalf of her jealous mother, and followed this lead to investigate, he really did find something interesting.
That guy Roy from the Cloud-Soaring Squad was the Emperor's illegitimate son.
But this wasn't enough to shock him. What truly shocked him was that the Emperor had been monitoring Percy through that illegitimate son all along.
Could Percy also be the Emperor's child? Sykes almost wanted to laugh at this thought, but his expression instantly became even more gloomy.
Percy and he were both products of the Hope Project, but Percy didn't seem to be a Dragon Bone creation. He was special.
This specialness might be the reason the Emperor was monitoring and protecting him.
The newly appointed Pope Ye Zheng had issued a warrant for Percy's arrest, but the Emperor was secretly protecting them. Judging from the fact that Percy was still at large, the Royal Family was superior.
Sykes clenched his fists. It seemed this time he would have to help Ye Zheng.
He absolutely could not accept that his eighteen years of life had been paving the way for someone else!
Heath carefully closed the door, as if afraid the sound would displease the person inside. She hadn't walked far down the corridor when she ran into a young man wearing glasses.
"Princess Heath."
Yu Tianming stopped and politely greeted her.
Heath put away her timid demeanor from earlier and smiled in response to Yu Tianming.
Yu Tianming suddenly pushed up his glasses. "Your Highness, this direction... did you just visit your brother?"
"Yes." Heath frowned with a hint of bitterness. "My brother seems to have discovered Roy's existence and somehow traced it back to me, so he questioned me."
Yu Tianming's expression changed slightly. After thinking for a moment, he looked around at the deserted surroundings and relaxed, comforting her.
Before Sykes went to the West District, the second prince Lemon had been thrown into prison for harming Crown Prince Sykes. Yu Tianming was hesitating whether to try to reconcile with Sykes when he accidentally discovered that the Emperor had an important child outside.
The Emperor had even sent his only princess to visit and care for that brother living outside.
To get more clues, he quickly connected with Heath. Her maternal brother Lemon had been ruined for harming Sykes, and he himself had just been rejected by Sykes. Both hoped for an heir other than Sykes to appear.
Unexpectedly, the Emperor really did have other intentions.
"It's fine. The Emperor's attitude is what matters most. The Crown Prince wouldn't go so far as to make things difficult for his gentle sister—he shouldn't be so ungracious, right?"
Yu Tianming recalled the past, his tone becoming uncertain.
Heath smiled again. The two exchanged pleasantries, and hearing footsteps, they hurriedly went their separate ways.
Returning to her bedroom, Heath closed the door tightly. Her exhausted body leaned against the door, her smile disappeared, revealing a somewhat nervous and flustered expression.
She ran to the table, poured herself a glass of water, and gulped it down. Her heart rate gradually calmed.
Roy and Percy's information had successfully reached her brother's eyes. With his temper, he would make a move soon.
And his target wasn't just Roy and the others. Obviously, he had already come to hate their father. The situation would only become more chaotic, and only then would she have a chance to rise in the chaos.
Yu Tianming was becoming more and more bound to her. As long as she didn't let him discover any flaws, by the time he realized it, he would no longer be able to leave her camp.
And then there was Ye Zheng... For her own goals, Ye Zheng would inevitably help her when the time came.
"Calm down, Heath."
The golden-haired princess covered her pounding heart, telling herself there was nothing to be nervous about.
When she instigated and lured Lemon to move against Sykes, she had almost ruined things because she couldn't control her nervousness.
Fortunately, Lemon was an idiot.
Fortunately, Ye Zheng was a step too late and didn't discover the setup in the hunting grounds in advance.
Although Ye Zheng was her friend, they both had excessively lofty ambitions and couldn't possibly share everything like close friends—only occasional tacit understanding.
Ye Zheng had already gone so far. She would understand her.
Author's Note:
Heath is the type who does big things while stammering nervously.
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