"Loren, I''m sorry. I didn''t expect this to happen. I..."


    "Don''t explain, Webb - I know everything I should know."


    Byrne Cathedral, looking at the empty and too "simple" furnishings around, Lauren, sitting in the only two chairs in the room, holding scriptures, pale and flustered little priest Weber said.


    Uh... Or should it be called the bishop?


    Looking at the little priest who lost a lot of weight in front of him and even had wrinkles on his forehead, he called Shun Lauren a little awkward and blocked his mouth with his hand.


    Head lifting lines, purple eye bags, slightly arched back, slightly swollen fingers are full of calluses... Compared with a few months ago, his appearance is at least "mature" ten years old.


    There was no book on his desk except three volumes of scriptures; Some are just messy copywriting scrolls; There are also those that have been instructed and those that have not been instructed.


    In addition to two chairs and a tea table, no decent "furnishings" can be seen in the room.


    The walls of oil paintings hung by former bishops have been filled with dense scriptures. It seems that the handwriting was written by the little priest himself; In the corner where bonsai, statues and knight armor are placed, nothing can be seen except a few clean and new floors.


    Maybe... It''s all three meals a day in the orphanage when I came outside the door?


    Obviously, the prices have been deliberately tossed and raised by the United Chamber of Commerce, and the orphanage can afford malt porridge and eggs... In the current red blood castle, these two are equivalent to the newly brewed wine.


    As for the little clergyman himself, although the clean and tidy clergyman''s clothes are of high quality, they can still see the traces of white washing; The wear of the knee and elbow under the clothing material is particularly serious, with obvious marks.


    "The main responsibility for this is little Joad, and it is basically because of him." gently closing the Scripture, Loren sighed: "of course, I don''t mean you have no responsibility, but we agreed... I promised to support you, and the new reform is imperative!"


    "In any case, a clean, exemplary church that advocates justice and fraternity cannot be harmful to the principality, can it?"


    Shrugged, the dark haired wizard explained lightly.


    But the little priest obviously misunderstood his ideas and regarded these words as an excuse for Loren.


    "Such a church can''t be harmful to the principality... But I must have been in a hurry." Weber was so flustered that he couldn''t sit down and stand still: "I... I''m really afraid! No... I really want to prove myself that I can change the church and make her a real spiritual guide, rather than a secular place mixed with politics and money!"


    "Maybe you''ll laugh at me, maybe you think it''s ridiculous; but I''ve always had this fear, Loren... You, or the adults of the Byrne principality behind you, and the Byrne Church in the imperial capital, will withdraw their support for me at any time."


    "It is this inexplicable fear that urges me to realize my ideal as soon as possible and turn everything into an irreparable fait accompli." the decadent little priest sat down in his chair with a tired face:


    "Maybe... I should go to the countess Charlotte to apologize - after all, if I hadn''t won her over to my new reform at the beginning, little Joad''s resistance would not be so strong and the consequences wouldn''t be so serious."


    "If I were you, I wouldn''t do that." remembering Charlotte''s eyes at little Yod, Loren sighed:


    "She''s in a very bad mood now. If she doesn''t want to be unlucky, she''d better wait."


    "Because of me?"


    "No, it''s because of some fool who wants to die and doesn''t know it."


    The dark haired wizard chuckled and raised the corners of his mouth.


    "Anyway, congratulations on your success in this mission." the little priest, who was stunned and then reacted, smiled dumbly, raised his head and looked at Lauren calmly:


    "The rulers of the South and the Dragon King family of the heavenly palace trust each other and cooperate with each other so closely... Hehe, the last time such a thing happened, it can be traced back to the tenth generation."


    Close and cooperative?


    The corners of Lauren''s mouth evoked a trace of sarcasm.


    If you send someone to monitor and secretly order Archduke lottel to assemble troops to guard against the invasion of ancient wood forest, it can be regarded as "close", and it is "full cooperation" to insert nails in your knights


    Then it''s better for his majesty Eckhart II of the heavenly palace to guard against himself like a thief.


    "Weber, you''re not the same as before." the smiling black haired wizard looked up:


    "The little priest who confronted me at the pre Royal trial of Golovin did not consider whether his actions would cause trouble to others."


    "He will try his best to realize his dream, and he will feel pain to hurt others... But he will continue to do it, and will never stand in front of others in fear like this."


    The little priest was stunned, and a bitter smile appeared on his tired and pale face.


    "This... Is probably the change of identity? When you are alone, you can be unrestrained and allow yourself to realize your ideas; but when you carry something, everything changes."


    "Just like Loren yourself, isn''t it the same?" he raised his head and looked calmly at the black haired wizard. "In the past, although you would lower your posture, you were always independent and only for yourself; now you are carrying the rise and fall of a country and even the survival of the Empire; when you get power, you can''t be as free as in the past."


    Lauren looked at him with a smile, his expression unchanged.


    "So now the two of us who used to be free but are now bound by ourselves sit here and understand each other''s difficulties." the black haired wizard took a deep breath: "we all know how difficult it is to realize our dreams, but now that we have started, there is no turning back."


    The little priest did not speak, but his eyes were full of approval.


    Once you take the first step, there is no turning back.


    Reforming the church and completely separating the believers of the Holy Cross from imperial politics will be a drastic shock to the Byrne church and the Holy Cross itself!


    Because this means that the church returns to faith and that the church can no longer interfere in politics; The "monasteries" that occupied land and imperial wealth will be abolished, and a large number of priests will return to the life of ascetic monks in the Old Kingdom.


    The church itself will become a simple place for people to find faith and psychological comfort; In the vision of little priest Weber, even "social assistance" such as orphanages should be handed over to local lords for implementation.


    "Yes, I know how difficult it is to realize my dream." the little priest who had been meditating for a long time whispered, "then... Lauren, what about you?"


    "What is your dream?"


    A soft voice sounded in the silent church.


    Soft as a breeze, light as a cicada.


    The dark haired wizard raised his eyebrows. He was a little surprised. He would ask this.


    "Maybe you''ll be surprised. No... you must have noticed it long ago. I''ve been watching you." the little priest looked sincere: "I''ve always wanted to know what you''ve been trying to do?"


    "At the beginning, I always thought you were firmly in eboden''s position; but later, it seems that this is not the case; you will cooperate with the wizard class because you can bring their power into the camp of his highness Brandon;"


    "Later, I think you have been working hard for his highness Brandon to defeat crown prince Connor, but this should be only one of your purposes; because if you are really loyal, you won''t take Byrne from him."


    "Later, I think you may want to create a world driven by money and interests; but in the contradiction between me and the United Chamber of Commerce, the round table parliament took a clear stand on my side, making his Excellency little yode the target of the principality."


    "So I''m really confused, confused... Lauren, what do you want, your dream Byrne, what is the dream world like?" the little priest raised his eyes and asked like a temptation:


    "Where is your goal?"


    Loren put his hands on his stomach and didn''t answer him immediately.


    The words of master Halin van ashmai are still in my ears.


    "... your fear comes from too powerful enemies; your busyness is because all this is far beyond your ability, so you have to strengthen your strength; you are in prison and under Siege..."


    "... anyone who wants to save the world on his own will eventually find himself trusted by himself and betrayed by all his beliefs to the point of confrontation with the world..."


    "... your subjects and your friends are eager to help you, but they can''t understand what you''re doing..."


    Incomprehensible confusion


    Loren saw this emotion in the eyes of a young priest.


    Should I tell him?


    Weber''s belief in the Holy Cross is absolutely beyond doubt; He believed that spiritual guidance could save the world and that the Holy Cross was the future of the Empire, and he could do it at all costs.


    What would he think if he knew the "so-called truth" and that the Holy Cross was actually a "weapon" made by the Wizards of the Dragon kingdom to control people''s hearts and balance evil gods, a useful tool in the hands of a ruler?


    It is like "Logan with a hat" who completely abandons faith and is committed to turning the power of emptiness into a weapon of mankind against the rule of the Holy Cross; Or like the bishop of fascism, he completely collapsed and became the running dog of evil gods?


    Whatever it is, the collapse of faith brings about the collapse of the spiritual world... The most important thing is that although it is cold to say so, the little priest is not a member of his "core circle". Even if he is a friend, Loren can''t trust him as much as he did with Lucian.


    They can still work together now, but maybe one day... They will become enemies again.


    But on the other hand, if you can instigate the little priest and make him a supporter in the church system


    Uh... Is it a little unrealistic?


    "What I want... Is a free principality of Byrne."


    After a moment of hesitation, Loren decided to be safe and let him continue to cooperate with himself for the time being.


    But the little priest obviously misunderstood him.


    "Freedom?" Weber was stunned and looked stunned. "Like... Eboden?"


    "Eboden... No, no, of course not; eboden was completely controlled by the free nobles and chambers of Commerce who had a lot of wealth before the wizard tower and the sky palace were rectified."


    Waving his index finger, Lauren laughed: "to a certain extent... I knew that little Joad would strongly oppose and still support you just because I didn''t want Byrne to end like that."


    Weber nodded, but his expression was still "ignorant".


    "What I mean by freedom is the freedom of choice - what I want to create is a freedom that follows the order and allows the subjects of the principality to have more choices without being affected by family, descent and origin." Loren''s expression gradually became dignified:


    "An ordinary Knight''s house. The eldest son inherits his father''s armor and sword; the second son can join the church and pursue faith; the third son makes a living for the family and becomes an apprentice of the wizard college or the United Chamber of Commerce to prove himself with knowledge or wealth."


    "The three children can go their own way, parallel and equal, and there will be no difference in status due to choice; the eldest son''s military salary can support his elderly father, and the second son often does good deeds, which has won a good reputation for the family; the younger son sends letters from afar to tell his father and brothers where he is traveling and everything is safe, so that they can rest assured;"


    "When the youngest sister of the family finally wants to get married, the three brothers can take out a rich dowry to let her sister marry out in style and without her parents saving money;"


    "The eldest son who has been with the army for many years may be admired by an aristocratic girl in a castle; the youngest son who has a wide range of knowledge may fall in love with an elf or other alien at first sight; the second son who has joined the church will send blessings to both brothers at the same time, rather than treat each other differently."


    "Their wealth and status will be different, but all choices are free for them and there is no difference."


    The dark haired wizard paused a little, and his voice was steady: "this is my dream, this is what the world looks like in my dream - and in order to realize this dream, I need power, and it''s a lot of power."


    "If a person wants to realize his dream and make a real difference, he must have more supporters, more wealth, power and people''s hearts; only with these can he be qualified to talk about ''changing the world''!"


    "That''s why... You support Brandon." the little priest pondered and his voice trembled. "Because only when he becomes the 13th generation... Loren, can you have a chance to realize your dream, right?"


    "Power, wealth and people''s heart... Are indispensable." Loren nodded without hesitation:


    "So... Weber, my bishop; I will do everything I can to help you complete the church''s reform plan."


    "What about you? Are you willing to help me realize my dream?"