A Forbidden Book and Festival Plans

“Oh my, it seems you’ve eaten quite a lot.” Raphael pushed open the door and entered the room, finding Ziyao sitting quietly, letting her meal settle.

“Of course, Miss Ailin’s creations are truly delicious.” Ziyao, however, couldn’t be bothered to engage with Raphael.

Raphael, undeterred, pressed herself against Ziyao’s back. Her hand, rather impudently, settled on Ziyao’s slightly bulging stomach.

“Shall I give you a little massage?”

A shiver ran down Ziyao’s spine. She always felt that Raphael harbored mischievous intentions.

Swatting Raphael’s hand away, Ziyao suggested with utmost seriousness, “Why don’t you go help Aiya digest her meal instead?”

“I can’t win against Ailin,” Raphael replied, sounding perfectly justified.

Hmm? A vein throbbed on Ziyao’s forehead. Was Raphael implying she wasn’t strong enough?

“Raphael, do you think I’m easy to bully?” A rapidly spinning ball of water materialized in Ziyao’s hand.

It was clear that if Raphael’s answer didn’t satisfy Ziyao, that water ball would be plastered across Raphael’s face in the next instant.

“Of course not… It’s just that, you do look rather soft and cuddly.”

Splash—

Without hesitation, Ziyao pressed the water ball onto Raphael’s face. “Are you a pervert?” she bit out, gritting her teeth.

“No, I just enjoy being close to young girls.”

She really is a pervert, isn’t she?

Fortunately, Raphael quickly composed herself. She pointed at the book Ziyao had temporarily left on the dining table, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. “May I look through this?”

“Isn’t this compiled by your church?” Ziyao was a little puzzled, yet she agreed to Raphael’s request.

“That’s what I thought…” As soon as Raphael opened the book’s cover, her eyebrows knitted together. With each page she turned, Raphael’s expression grew increasingly grim.

“Who gave you this book?”

“Is there a problem?” Ziyao didn’t answer directly. Judging by Raphael’s face, there seemed to be something amiss with the book. Naturally, Ziyao wouldn’t expose Sophia. Though they had only known each other for half a day, Ziyao trusted Sophia more than Raphael.

The Holy City, after all, wasn’t as righteous as it appeared on the surface.

“This book should not be found outside the Holy City.” Raphael closed the book. “It seems this is an old oversight.”

“Oh? It sounds like this book has quite a story to tell.” Ziyao pulled the book closer to herself. Now, it was her book. “Is it because the events within are false?”

“Not at all.” Sitting down beside Ziyao, Raphael began to explain.

This wasn’t some unspeakable secret. Moreover, Ziyao was a Seven-Star (Seven Luminaries) expert; she was perfectly capable of knowing such things.

“This book was compiled by a Pope several centuries ago. During that time, the God of Wisdom bestowed an oracle, recounting ancient tales to the Pope.”

“That sounds rather good, doesn’t it?” Ziyao looked at the book’s spine, where the Pope’s name was indeed printed.

“However, these stories were simply too incredible. The Church dared not let the secrets within this book spread, so after only a few copies were transcribed, they were locked away in a secret chamber. Even now, only we, the high-ranking members of the Church, are permitted to enter that chamber and read these divine histories.”

“Yet, a forbidden book that should have been locked away in a secret chamber has somehow appeared in your hands.”

“A forbidden book… Do you intend to take it away?” Ziyao clutched the book tightly, protecting it. She hadn’t even finished reading the stories inside. Furthermore, according to Raphael, the events recorded within should all be true. How could tales of the gods not pique one’s curiosity?

“Take it away? It won’t come to that.” Raphael shook her head. “I only hope you won’t widely publicize the stories within.”

“I thought your methods would be a little more drastic.”

“If it were centuries ago, we might have acted differently. But now, the power of the secular world is beyond what we can resist.” Raphael sighed. Were it not for this reason, why would she have traveled all the way from the distant Holy City to the Roland Empire just to treat a young girl?

Currently, the Holy City’s power could only contend with a medium-sized nation. Faced with the steadily growing Roland Empire, they had to make a choice.

“Don’t worry, I won’t speak carelessly. Besides, even if I did, others wouldn’t believe me.” Ziyao lightly tapped the wooden tabletop with her finger. “Who would believe such melodramatic events could occur among the gods?”

“That’s true…”

After saying this, Raphael fell silent. Ziyao, for her part, wasn’t adept at initiating conversations. Moreover, they had only met yesterday, leaving them with no common topics. Consequently, an awkward silence settled between them.

Finally, Raphael couldn’t help but break the quiet. “So, what about Aiya’s blood sample?”

Due to yesterday’s unexpected events, the blood sample that should have been collected still hadn’t been. Yet, to specifically formulate a potion for one person, blood was an indispensable component. They couldn’t possibly make Aiya drink a half-finished concoction, could they?

“I don’t dare approach Aiya right now, and Elena is completely unreliable.” Ziyao’s finger traced circles on the table. “I’ll tell Miss Ailin about it later. If it’s her, she should be able to collect it.”

Miss Ailin was practically the embodiment of omnipotence. Ziyao truly wondered how she had learned so many things.

“I can’t do it?”

“If you can persuade His Majesty, then of course you can.”

The Emperor’s trust in the Church was almost nonexistent. When Roland was first founded, it had faced no small amount of difficulties from the Church. Now, the roles were reversed.

“Forget it, let’s not talk about such things.” Raphael scratched her head in frustration. “The Festival of Blooming Flowers is in a month. Do you have any plans?”

“The Festival of Blooming Flowers?” Ziyao had a vague recollection of the term.

“No way, you haven’t celebrated this country’s most important festival?” Raphael looked at Ziyao with a hint of pity. “Not even once?”

Huh? Is this festival really that important?

“No, I’ve mostly stayed in the potion workshop, concocting potions.” Though without much success.

However, with Raphael’s words, Ziyao did recall what the Festival of Blooming Flowers was. It was the Roland Empire’s National Day, the very day when Duke Roland had overthrown the tyrannical monarch and established Roland.

To commemorate this great feat, the people of Roland would hold grand celebrations on this day. Among them, the most famous was the Blooming Flower Song Festival held in the Imperial Capital. Singers from all corners of the land would gather in the city on this day, competing with their voices. The final victor would receive a large prize money and the title of “Blooming Flower Singer.”

Such a grand event only occurred once a year, so in Raphael’s eyes, Ziyao, who had never experienced the Festival of Blooming Flowers, was undoubtedly very pitiable.

Ziyao, however, felt no regret. Her artistic sensibilities were practically nonexistent. Even if she attended the song festival, her impressions would likely only be, ‘Ah, that was really nice to listen to,’ and ‘Not bad, actually.’

She would rather stay in the potion workshop, attempting to create a potion that could restore her to her original form.