Watching Lette leave with the other guy, arm in arm, Emily looked bewildered. She whispered to the disciplinary black knight beside her.
"Excuse me, who was that brawny Holy Knight just now?"
"Miss Emily, watch your words. That was the Apprentice Saint, His Highness Saint Taylor! Since Lord Lette left, he's been almost the leader of the younger generation in the Holy Knight Order."
"So why does he call Lette his brother-in-law..."
The disciplinary black knight hesitated a bit before lowering his voice.
"That's because His Highness Saint Taylor's sister is the renowned Apprentice Saintess, Her Highness Saint Joanna. For many years, Her Highness Joanna has been infatuated with Lord Lette, and everyone thinks they're a perfect match..."
At this moment, Lette pulled Taylor into a secluded corner, and Taylor gave him a big bear hug.
"Boss, you're finally back."
"Alright, alright... let me ask you, did your sister really die from assassination?"
Taylor slapped his chest and said resolutely, "Dead! Absolutely! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"Hiss... judging by your expression, you don't look like you saw it with your own eyes, but more like you did it yourself!"
Lette kept rubbing his earlobe. "Are you sure she's completely dead?"
"Well..."
Taylor suddenly hesitated, and Lette's face instantly turned cold.
"Just say it!"
"No, bro! Listen to me, this matter is rather strange. Indeed, my sister was assassinated and died back then!
But you know, my sister was not only the Apprentice Saintess but also dearly cherished by Lady Goddess. How could she not have protection?
After she died, the divine curse cast on her by the Goddess immediately took effect.
Originally, she was supposed to be blessed by the gods, resurrected under the baptism of Holy Light.
But somehow something went wrong. Although she regained vitality, she fell into a deep sleep and hasn't awakened."
Lette was stunned for a moment, "What, she became a vegetable?"
"Huh? What's that?"
"Never mind, just continue."
"The Church Court has tried many methods to wake her up. Divine Arts, magic, alchemy, witchcraft, medicine... but unfortunately, none succeeded.
The Pope even prayed personally and asked Lady Goddess to intervene, but she couldn't be awakened."
Lette frowned deeply. "Even the Goddess is helpless?"
Though he had his differences with the Holy Light Goddess, he knew she was at least a divine being. If even god-level means were ineffective, it was a big problem.
"But now that you're back, there's hope for my sister!"
Lette sighed, patting Taylor on the shoulder. "Don't get your hopes too high. But since we're brothers, for your sake, I'll definitely do my utmost to wake Joanna."
"No need for all that! Boss, if you just kiss my sister, she might wake up!"
"...She's pretending, isn't she?"
"No, no!"
Taylor waved his hands repeatedly, "I just heard it from someone! They say that a sleeping princess needs a kiss from her beloved to wake up.
Lately, this notion has been circulating in the Holy City!
Even the Pope and those in the Holy Temple recalled you on a trial basis.
Perhaps, a kiss, and she'd awaken!
Just like a fairy tale!
Sigh, boss, why did your face suddenly become so gloomy?"
Lette stared at him intensely, "Taylor, I seriously ask you, does your sister have a strange scent on her recently?"
Taylor widened his eyes. "Boss, how did you know? Not just recently, it's been over a year! It started faint and gradually became stronger.
I even asked her what perfume she was using, and it smelled quite nice.
She insisted she hadn't used any and didn't know how it happened."
"Did more men pursue her after this unusual fragrance appeared?"
Taylor immediately shook his head, "No! Boss, you weren't here, so I had to watch her closely! Besides, except for you, she won't even look at anyone else."
Lette said nothing, but his mind was racing.
It seemed now that Joanna might indeed be a witch.
If this were true, the rumors of Sleeping Beauty in the Holy City—are they being pushed by someone with intention, or is it just a simple coincidence?
Lette dared not act recklessly now; he also wanted to save Joanna, but what if this was part of an enemy's plan? What if the kiss was part of the Witch's Feast?
The Blood Witch knew all the witches' conditions for starting the feast, and the one who attacked the Pope Palace was precisely an ancestor-level Blood Clan!
Connecting the two can't help but raise suspicions.
"We need to investigate this matter thoroughly. We can't be led by the enemy. In the meantime, Joanna can only wait..."
Lette patted Taylor's shoulder, apologizing, "Brother, can you understand?"
"Boss, your words are like an outsider. I'm not that sharp, but I know you've never wronged me as a brother!
Just like before!
You decide, I'll handle the action!"
Lette was moved and playfully punched him on the shoulder.
"Stop with the sweet talk; there's indeed something you can assist with: find me a place to stay."
"Why look? Boss, your old courtyard is still there. My sister even cleans it sometimes; you can just move back in."
"Great! Then let's go!"
The two of them returned arm in arm to the carriage, just in time to see the Holy Knight squad leader talking miserably with Kaelster.
"Boss! You're finally here!"
"Alright! Brothers, this is my boss! Say hello to the boss!"
The Holy Knights quickly lined up, "Hello, boss!"
Lette's mouth twitched, "Is this the current atmosphere in the Holy Knight Order? Does the teacher not care?"
Taylor laughed awkwardly, "No, no... oh, Johnson, why the sad face?"
"Boss, leader. We were just talking, with the Holy Sword gone, will we lose a significant part of our income?
What are we going to explain to the Military Department when we get back?"
Taylor scoffed, "With my boss back, isn't that better than any income? Do you guys even know how to calculate?"
Lette held Taylor back by the arm, "No, we still need to earn that money!"
Taylor's eyes lit up, "Boss, do you have an idea again?"
"If it really is gone, why not place a good imitation next to it? Add some Holy Light aptitude testing arrays and make it harder to pull out.
At most, just charge less!
Then have some replicas of the same appearance made and sell them as souvenirs!
Remember! There should be different levels!
The regular ones only need to mimic the shape!
The premium ones need to be well-crafted and baptized in Holy Water.
The collector's edition should be nearly identical, and the box must be high-end and elite! Remember to get a clergy member to add a blessing, the higher the position, the better, but not too high!!
Finally, make a hundred limited editions! The quality is the same as the collector's edition, but the packaging needs to be more luxurious, blessed personally by at least an archbishop-level official, and each one uniquely numbered! Limited release!
Oh, right! Also, make a version for children, small and cute! Explore the children's market!
With my method, I guarantee the income could increase tenfold at least!"
The Holy Knights couldn't help but utter words of admiration, looking at Lette with reverence!
"What if even the imitation is pulled out?"
"Wouldn't that be even better? The sword gets reinserted, and the person is directly recruited into the Holy Knight Order!"
"Understood, boss!"
Lette looked up at the sun, "It's getting late; I'll take people back first. Taylor, come over for dinner tonight at home."
"Alright, boss!"
After saying goodbye to everyone, Lette boarded the carriage with Emily. Under the protection of the Black Knight Guard, they slowly entered the Holy City through the East Gate, which he hadn't seen in three years.
On the way, he pulled out a scroll marked with a Demon insignia from his bosom and gently tore it apart. The remnants of the scroll turned into a purple flame and instantly vanished without a trace.
Emily stared at him curiously, "What are you doing?"
"Sending a signal to Lilith, to ask her to meet up. Hopefully, she's found some useful information."