Imperial Crown

Raven froze on the spot, not believing his ears: "What did you say?"

"Promise to Montreal and marry his daughter." Crouch spoke more clearly this time and his tone was heavier.

"Why?" Raven frowned: "You still don't believe my feelings for Lux?"

A hint of helplessness appeared on Crouch's face: "It is precisely because of your belief that you have to separate."

He pointed to the table in front of him: "Sit down, I will tell you the reason slowly."

Raven sat at the table and stared into Crouch's eyes.

The old magician sighed: "It all started when I received the letter last year."

Last year, Lux wrote a letter to Crouch, describing her admiration, appreciation and love for Raven, as well as her inner confusion.

That's why Crouch came to the Eagles.

This is not only to examine Raven's character and ability, but more importantly, he wants to protect his students.

"But you are already a seventh-level great magician." Raven said in confusion: "Who can threaten Lux in front of you?"

Crouch shook his head slightly and asked, "Have you heard of the Inquisition?"

The Inquisition, the Holy See's unique law enforcement agency, is responsible for detecting corruption and disloyalty within the Holy See, and also hunting down cults hiding in the dark.

In countries where the Holy See of Light is powerful, they will even replace the lord's law enforcement power.

This is supposed to be a pure institution, but like the entire Holy See, it has become increasingly corrupt over time. It has turned a blind eye to the corruption within the Holy See, and has even been complicit in it, becoming a thug for the Holy See to amass gray wealth.

Of course Raven also knew this: "If it's them, I still have some gold coins in my hand, which should be able to shut their mouths."

"It's useless." Crouch said: "Because the core of this does not lie with Lux, nor with you."

"Who does that depend on?"

"I!"

Crouch can't stand the absurd behavior of the current Vatican.

Almost all priests are greedy. They exploit believers on the basis of tithes and satisfy their own selfish desires. They don't care about the life and death of believers!

Nobles have everything they need, including foreign wives, mistresses, and children. Moreover, their extravagant and corrupt lives are even worse than those of many nobles!

It was precisely after seeing too much of this kind of ugliness that Crouch chose to retire and become an ascetic.

No one expected that he would retire at the age of 47, but it only took him 16 years to grow from a fifth-level seven-star to a seventh-level one-star at the age of 63, becoming one of the only five seventh-level experts.

Among these strong men, he was the only one who chose to give up glory and wealth and focus on hard work.

Although the Holy See is corrupt now, there are still a group of people who uphold the idea of ​​hardship and simplicity. They can't stand the current behavior of the Holy See, so they naturally use Crouch as their spiritual leader.

Now, Crouch, who has grown to the seventh level and the fifth level, is only 71 years old and has become a strong contender to be the next pope.

Although the current Pope Saint Urban has seven-level and eight-star strength, he is already 97 years old and has reached an age where he will return to the Kingdom of the Lord of Light at any time.

Saint Urban did not want to see Crouch succeed, because according to the philosophy upheld by Crouch and his followers, after taking office, his various actions would be liquidated.

By then, his illegitimate children, his mistresses, and the property he left to future generations will all be wiped out.

So Saint-Urbain was always monitoring Crouch through the Inquisition and scrutinizing every one of his communications.

Crouch did not reveal any of these dirty secrets to Lux, which led to Lux sending the letter without any precautions.

Lux is Crouch's only disciple and his only weakness. For Saint Urbain, this is an excellent opportunity.

If Lux can be caught and she and Lei Wenming canonized, it will be a huge blow to Crouch's reputation. It can also take the opportunity to punish Crouch and make him lose the qualification to compete for the next pope.

Lei Wen said: "But I don't think you are a person who is greedy for power."

"The Pope rules the Papal States, and you are also a lord." Crouch looked at Raven: "Does it matter whether I have ambitions or not?"

Raven was silent.

Indeed, Crouch's very existence was a threat to the Pope.

"During this period, I have stopped four groups of people from the Tribunal." Crouch said expressionlessly.

"But I can stop it for a while, but not for a lifetime."

"So, the only way now is to marry you to the Fox family. In this way, the relationship between you and Lux ​​will naturally be innocent."

"Only in this way can we clear away the suspicion on Lux and get her out of danger."

"Whether it's you or her, it's the best choice."

Silence, a long silence.

Crouch knew this was unfair to Raven, but the world was never fair.

If she told Lux ​​the detailed reason, the burden would crush her, and given her temperament, she would rather die than be separated from Raven.

Of course Raven knew this too.

Crouch had no need to lie to him, but he was really unwilling to do so: "Is there really no other way?"

Crouch raised a question: "The Feton city-states have been sandwiched between the Insa Empire and your Keynes Empire for hundreds of years. Why have they not been annexed?"

There was a hint of surprise in Raven's eyes.

Yes, both the Insa Empire and the Keynes Empire have the desire to expand their territory. The reason why there are constant small frictions but they have never invaded the Fitun City-States is because the Fitun City-States are strong enough.

The cost of destroying them far exceeds the benefits gained after conquering them.

Therefore, if Raven wants to get together with Lux, he must be strong enough, so strong that the Church of Light will break his teeth if he bites him!

But when will it be considered strong?

Earl, Marquis, or Duke?

Level 5, Level 6, Level 7! ?

How many years will it take, how much time will be wasted! ?

"I have said everything I should say, you can think about it slowly." Crouch stood up and walked to the door: "Just remember, the longer you delay, the more dangerous your situation with Lux will be."

Raven sat there, silent and motionless, like a stone sculpture.

Time passed slowly, from dusk to night, and from night to dawn.

When the first ray of morning light lit up Raven's fingers, he finally moved, swallowing a mouthful of saliva with his throat moving, and only felt bitter in his mouth.

Leaving the room, ignoring Petty's question, Raven went all the way to the Eagle Town Church.

It was time for prayer.

Raven walked into the church from the side door, and saw believers prostrating themselves on the ground, praising the Lord of Light.

And Lux ​​stood under the statue of Apollo, holding the Holy Scripture in her hands, leading the believers.

The sunlight shone through the holes in the wall, just enveloping Lux in the light, making her the only focus in the church.

She was wearing a light brown priest robe that completely covered her figure, holding the heavy Holy Scripture in her white hands, with a serious and solemn expression.

Her hair was combed softly and neatly, gently draped over her shoulders, letting the sunlight scatter into a golden halo.

As if integrated with the church.

This reminded Raven of the first time they met.

She was as charming as she was then, and had never changed.

Lux's eyes glanced at Raven, and her sapphire-like eyes moved and fell on Raven, instantly bursting with surprise, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved up, and her tone was a little more cheerful.

"Praise our Lord, He gives us happiness."

"Praise our Lord, He gives us peace."

"Praise our Lord, He gives us everything."

Looking at Lux's face with a gentle smile, Raven could no longer hear any sound in his ears. He only hoped that time could stop at this moment and let this picture last forever.

But time must flow after all.

The believers gradually dispersed. Lux ran to Raven in small steps, with her hands behind her back and her head down, looking happy and shy: "Why are you here?"

Raven suppressed the twitching of his mouth: "... I think you should have heard recently that the Fox family intends to marry me."

Lux smiled: "Yes, I heard it, but I have already told the teacher, he promised to help you solve it, don't worry..."

Raven couldn't bear to listen any more, and said in a hoarse voice: "I have promised."

Lux slowly raised her head, and Raven could clearly see that her eyes changed from joy to confusion, and then from confusion to surprise.

"What...?" Lux asked.

"I said." Raven took a deep breath: "I have promised Montreal to marry Nancy."

Lacus' pupils began to tremble, and a trace of unconcealable pain spread: "You... are lying to me, right?"

Raven used all his willpower to keep his eyes from shifting: "I am a nobleman. Marrying Nancy can allow me to hold the thigh of the Fox family."

"The Griffith family may also become an earl family."

Lacus looked at Raven as if she had met him for the first time.

Suddenly, she turned around and didn't let Raven see her face, but her voice had become distorted: "I understand, I'm leaving now, and everything in the past will never happen."

"I wish you a bright future."

"Raven... Baron..."

Lacus ignored Raven's actions. She hired a carriage, but didn't need anyone to help. She just moved things from the church one by one.

Her books, her clothes, her pets.

The dark clouds covered the sky at some point, thunder roared, and the streets were soon empty.

When the last box of things was moved, Lux got into the carriage: "Let's go."

The driver hesitated and said: "But Priest Lux, this weather..."

A gold coin flew out and landed on the carriage. The driver picked it up, bit it lightly, and then whipped the horse.

Lux sat in the carriage with Xiaolan in her arms, as if she had lost her soul.

The vehicle began to bump, which meant that the carriage had driven out of the Eagle Territory.

Suddenly, with a clang, something fell to the ground.

Looking in the direction of the sound, Lux found a small crystal bottle.

It was the bottle of Angel's Kiss.

Now there is still more than half of the solution in the bottle. After all, she was willing to use a little only when she met Raven.

Lux didn't know how it came into her bag, and she picked it up and was about to throw it out of the window.

But at the moment of holding the bottle, she smelled the faint scent of jasmine, and all the things in the past that had been suppressed for a long time came to Lux's heart.

From the first time they met, to every conversation between them, to every time they whispered to each other, Raven's face, Raven's smile, and Raven's words couldn't help but appear in her ears and in front of her eyes.

The more she recalled these things, the more she was reminded of the cold reality.

Tears fell quietly.

Lux huddled in a corner of the carriage, her hands wrapped around her knees, and her knuckles holding the Angel's Kiss began to turn white.

She cried, and at first it was just a slight sob, but when the curtains were shaken and opened, and the cold wind blew on her white feet, the sobs finally turned into howling.

Rumble--

Amid the thunder, the rain fell heavily, covering up the helpless sobbing.

Lightning illuminated the carriage in the heavy rain, and also illuminated old Gordon in Eagle Castle.

Not only him, Fiona, Volaf, Margaret, and even Eric stood outside the door of Raven's office, and everyone had a worried look on their faces.

After the Baron came back, he had locked himself in the room for a whole day.

With a creak, the door opened and Petty walked out.

Everyone gathered around: "What's going on!?"

Petit raised the plate in her hand: "... Only the wine is left, and the lunch is not touched yet."

Another thunder flashed, reflecting the nervous faces.

"Why not go find Priest Lacus?" Eric suggested: "She will definitely calm the Baron down."

"Priest Lacus has left Eagle Town." Volaf said with a bitter face: "The Baron asked not to stop her."

Just then, Margaret's face suddenly turned pale, feeling Raven's uncontrollable surging emotions, clutching her heart, and cold sweat ran down.

Raven's laughter rang out in the room.

Hollow, dry, like a broken phonograph.

The room was dark, Raven leaned over the chair, holding the cup with three fingers, shaking unconsciously.

With the crackling sound, raindrops smashed against the window, gathered together and flowed down in streams, and whenever lightning lit up, purple light also flowed through it.

Raven stared at the window, his eyes bright enough to be scary.

Another flash of lightning flashed by, outlining the outline of the black cat on the table. Raven raised his hand and took a sip of wine: "Where were we talking about... Oh, yes, it was on her birthday last year."

Raven had a faint smile on his face: "You hadn't come yet, so you couldn't see the brilliance in the sky - it was really beautiful."

"I held her in my arms and smelled her hair..."

Raven's voice choked, and he poured himself a glass of wine, played with it in his hands for a while, and drank it all.

He took a deep breath, exhaled again, leaned back on the chair, stared at the ceiling, smiled at the corners of his mouth, his voice was hoarse, and his tone was surprisingly calm: "I used to think that the so-called heartache was a lie."

"Now I know that the heart really hurts!

It's like a needle, piercing it for no reason,

stirring and interweaving inside!

Then throw the whole heart into the bottomless abyss."

Boom

The lightning flashed, illuminating everything.

Sikoret slowly wagged his tail and licked his paws, with a glimmer of sober cruelty in his eyes:

"Love is fleeting"

"Raven"

...