Chapter 323

"The news came too suddenly, so the tea and snacks are still being prepared!"

"Your Excellencies, please take your seats first; I'll go arrange and urge them right away!"

Inviting the guests into the parlor, Gervas bowed slightly in apology.

Naturally, no one said anything about it.

Mil, seeing this, suddenly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, please sit for a moment—I need to use the latrine!"

Soon, Gervas and Mil met at the corner at the end of the corridor.

"Mil, you just gave me a signal—what were you trying to say?"

"Gervas, you don't know why Marshal and Brother Branden have come, do you?"

Gervas blinked. "No, Mil, I truly don't. But do you know why they've come to Stormhold?"

"Of course I know, Gervas—that's exactly why I and Ian came to Stormhold!"

Saying this, Mil sighed. "Alas, Gervas, the Civil Administrator Michel has brought the King's decree: permitting the Church of Light to select five plots of land in the southern region to build five temples."

"The Church may freely choose these lands—as long as they haven't been used by local lords, they can serve as temple sites!"

"And this time, Brother Branden has come to Stormhold specifically to select possible locations for the temples!"

"Select land to build temples? On my territory? This… is this real?" Gervas stared, eyes wide in shock.

"Of course it's real, Lord Gervas. Marshal Michel and Brother Branden have already inspected our lands!"

"But our lands are too small—the Church wasn't satisfied, so they came all the way here to Stormhold!"

"By the way, when we passed through Wheatfield Town, I noticed several priests nodding and whispering—so Gervas, you'd better make arrangements soon!"

"For example, hide some of your serfs quickly to create the illusion of a sparse population, then bribe Marshal Michel to speak well of you and persuade the Church to go elsewhere!"

"Hide serfs? Bribe Marshal Michel? Send them elsewhere? Why?" Gervas blinked, taken aback.

"Of course to prevent the temple from being built on your land!" Mil couldn't believe Gervas didn't understand.

But what surprised Mil even more was Gervas's next words: "Why shouldn't the temple be built on my land? Isn't building a temple here a good thing?"

Holy crap! Mil blurted out, "Holy crap!"

He even wondered if he'd misheard.

Could there really be a noble who thought building a temple on his own land was a good thing?

"Mil, my servant's coming—thank you for the warning, I must return to the parlor!" At that moment, a servant carrying a tray of tea and snacks approached from the other end of the corridor; Gervas, seeing this, thanked Mil and hurried toward the parlor door.

"Gervas, you—" Mil wanted to say more, but Gervas had already reached the parlor entrance.

"Could Gervas have never heard of the Church of Light?"

Mil's expression darkened and brightened uncertainly.

…

Once the tea and snacks were served, Gervas got straight to the point.

"Marshal Michel, Brother Branden, you've traveled far to Stormhold—is there something you wish to discuss?"

Marshal glanced at Brother Branden, but the latter showed no intention to speak.

He pulled out the King's decree, already prepared, handed it to Gervas, and said: "Lord Gervas, eight days ago, His Majesty issued a decree."

"He has specially authorized the Church of Light to select five locations in the southern region to build temples. As for the reason, I believe Lord Gervas already knows—the attacks by dark creatures are growing worse."

"Only by building temples of Light can we curb the growth and spread of dark creatures!"

"That's why I've accompanied Brother Branden here to Stormhold—to handle this matter."

"Oh? So you plan to select land in Stormhold to build a temple?"

Shocked, incredulous… hmm, but was there also a hint of quiet delight?

Had he misread the expression?

Observing Gervas's expression again, Marshal felt a small flicker of doubt.

But it didn't matter.

"Yes, Lord Gervas. We've come to Stormhold for precisely this reason! And this is a direct order from His Majesty—no noble lord may oppose it. I trust you understand."

He paused, fearing Gervas might still resist, and added:

"Lord Gervas, to be frank, the attacks on Lord Parker's fortress and the Japass caravan both occurred near Stormhold. For Stormhold, building a temple of Light is actually a blessing!"

"And there's something you may not know: those two attacks by dark creatures were actually foreseen by the Church of Light…"

Then Marshal recounted the specific prophecy in detail.

Few had known of this before.

But thanks to the Church's deliberate promotion, more and more people had learned of it.

Marshal himself had heard it from a royal messenger in the capital.

"Again, they predicted it in advance—and it came true!"

Though Mil and the others had no love for the Church of Light, their eyes widened in shock upon hearing this.

They had long heard rumors that the Church of Light could prophesy.

And now that it had happened right nearby, their astonishment was even greater.

As for whether it might be false, none of them doubted it.

Marshal clearly sought to curry favor with Brother Branden.

But if he dared to fabricate such a lie—especially one involving the Royal Civil Bureau—he wouldn't dare, not even with a hundred lives.

Gervas, though his face showed disbelief, internally cried, "Holy crap!"

Were those two attacks really foreseen by the Church?

But the truth was, he'd lured them there and eliminated them himself!

And could that so-called Holy Maiden really predict the exact number of dark creatures?

Gervas felt something was off.

Especially since earlier intelligence had stated these dark creatures had arrived due to human manipulation.

And now, the ones who benefited most seemed to be the Church of Light.

Of course, the more suspicious it was, the more Gervas kept his expression calm.

"Well, Lord Gervas, do you agree with me? Is building a temple a good thing for the southern region—for your Stormhold?" Seeing Gervas remain silent, Marshal couldn't help pressing.

"Yes! Marshal Michel, you're absolutely right! This temple is the greatest stroke of luck for the southern region—and for my Stormhold!" Gervas snapped back to reality, slapped the armrest of the sofa, and leapt up in excitement.

"Uh…"

Everyone had imagined Gervas's worries—but no one had expected him to jump up and cheer!

"Cough! Lord Gervas, you truly believe this is a good thing?" Marshal nearly doubted he was dreaming.

Though some nobles had forced smiles and pretended approval, none had ever reacted like Lord Gervas.