Stop Hypnotizing Me, Antagonist Princess!

To truly weaken the faith of the people in Orn City towards the Lord of Billion Stars, Lynn felt that he needed to add more fuel to the fire.

So that very evening, he set fire to the Heavenly Principle Church.

...

Time rewinds to this morning, at the City Square.

Due to the fundraising turmoil that had stirred up Orn City over the past few days, nearly every church in the city had been involved.

Thus, it had now evolved into a competition between religious beliefs.

Most of the faithful had become fanatical.

Not only that, but it had become a daily pastime for the city's people to pass by the City Square at least once a day to check on the varying amounts in the donation boxes.

Under the onslaught of large sums of money, their spirits gradually numbed.

After all, it was wealth they could never possess in their lifetimes.

They actually had to thank Duke Tierus for letting these poor people have a glimpse of the world.

It seemed that things would continue to be vigorous like this.

However, unexpectedly,

this morning at the City Square, something had changed once again.

The banner was still the same.

But there was a change in the donation boxes below it.

Memory served, just yesterday, of the twelve donation boxes lined up, eleven were filled with copious amounts of Gold Coins, leaving only the box representing the Heavenly Principle Church empty.

But today, those eleven boxes that had contained the Gold Coins had vanished without a trace.

There was just one lone empty box left under the banner.

"Let us see, which faith is the kindest and most generous."

The empty glass box.

Heavenly Principle Church.

It was starkly conspicuous and blinding.

This scene led one to think of certain peculiar things.

This act was like blatantly writing "I'm specifically targeting you, Heavenly Principle Church" on their faces!

For a moment, many of the other faiths' followers present couldn't help but show a hint of a stifled smirk on their faces.

"Snort—"

Somebody finally couldn't hold back and let out a laugh.

This laugh acted as a fuse, setting off a continuous burst of laughter from the people at the City Square.

The laughter was deafening, audible even from a block away.

These laughs seemed to turn into invisible blades, deeply stabbing into the hearts of many Heavenly Principle Church followers present.

Already overwhelmed with shame, they could no longer endure and fled the place like bereaved dogs, muttering "May the Lord bless us" under their breath.

Actually, it wasn't fair to blame the other faiths' followers for adding insult to injury.

People had been suffering from the Heavenly Principle Church for a long time.

If there was a hierarchy of disdain among religious faiths within Orn City, then the Heavenly Principle Church would undoubtedly stand at the very top.

They scorned other faiths with their absolute advantages of having the largest number of followers, the most Sealed Objects, and the strongest Extraordinary Powers.

This scorn was reflected in various intangible aspects of daily life, giving an impression of superiority.

However now, just with a banner and an empty glass box, their arrogance had been thoroughly shattered.

The invisible hands behind this fundraiser had, with such a simple method, twisted the other eleven faiths together.

Even the followers subtly united, reaching a consensus to trample the once lofty Heavenly Principle Church underfoot.

The Heavenly Church followers, who usually sat at the top of the hierarchy, had now become the lowest.

Meanwhile, the Slan Sect had taken advantage of being the first to donate, substantially increasing their number of followers.

...

Deep night, Heavenly Principle Church.

Moselle paced back and forth in his room, his expression grave.

His face alternated between sullen, smooth, angry, and desperate.

The news of what happened today at the City Square had once again reached his ears.

For Moselle, who was already irritable and restless, this was doubtlessly another heavy blow.

During tonight's evening prayer session, followers who had come for the ceremony had, after it ended, unanimously chosen to stay inside the church.

Though they didn't utter any words of accusation, their silent and disappointed looks communicated a mute protest.

Clearly, the recent series of events had impacted these originally devout followers.

They hadn't expected that the Heavenly Principle Church, supposedly the wealthiest, would remain silent in this city-wide fundraiser.

As if to say, yes, this is exactly what we are, neither kind nor generous.

Damn it!

Thinking this, Moselle couldn't help but approach the dining table, poured himself a strong drink, and downed it in one gulp.

Should he compromise?

No.

Compromise was an act of maximizing losses.

Being the last church to donate without showing any sincerity was tantamount to bowing down to Duke Tierus.

The powerful nobles behind him and the Heavenly Principle Church headquarters far in the Imperial Capital wouldn't allow it.

But if he were to persist stubbornly, the 150,000 sources of faith the Lord had in Orn City would be somewhat shaken.

Whichever choice he made, it was already a case of trying to mend the fold after the sheep have scattered for him, a dilemma either way.

The most crucial issue was that there were only three days left until the arrival of the Second Prince in Orn City.

If he couldn't handle this matter properly within these three days, dying would be difficult, let alone living.

Thinking so, a bead of sweat trickled down Moselle's forehead.

He didn't know if it was from nerves or the heat from the alcohol... No, that's not right!

In a daze, he vaguely smelled a burning scent.

At the same time, his room's door was violently knocked.

"Bishop! It's terrible! The church is on fire!!!"

"Fire broke out from the Discipline Institute and the Monastery, and it's almost out of control now. Please hurry and leave the church and seek refuge outside!!!"

How is this possible?!

Why do such unlucky incidents keep happening to him one after another?!

At this moment, Moselle felt like he was about to explode.

Although, as a Fourth Rank Transcendent, he didn't have to worry about being burned to death, he still decided to follow his subordinate's advice and go out to take charge of the situation.

Just a second before leaving, Moselle seemed to think of something, paused, and his gaze subconsciously glanced towards a particular spot on the bookshelf.

Those boxes contained mechanisms and were protected by thick walls; surely they wouldn't be reached by the fire?

Moselle hesitated.

Recently, Duke Tierus's army was just outside the city. He couldn't blatantly transport this batch of money to the Imperial Capital; it had to remain temporarily in his room.

Apart from him, no one knew about the existence of this money.

Moselle planned to personally present the money to the Second Prince when he arrived at Orn City, as funds for the King's election.

Meanwhile, his subordinate's urging voice came from outside again.

"I'm coming."

He replied impatiently, then pressed down the hesitation in his heart, and left his room.

What Moselle didn't know was,

at that moment, his every move was being watched by a figure outside the window.

...

When Moselle arrived at the church entrance, he discovered that somehow, the space had filled with a dense crowd.

These people were devout followers of the Heavenly Principle Church.

Living in the nearby blocks, they had rushed over as soon as they heard about the fire.

Their eyes, filled with worry, looked at the church engulfed in flames; some even knelt on the ground to pray unconsciously.

Although Moselle was impatient, he put on a friendly face: "Everyone, don't worry. It's just a minor accident. The fire will be under control soon. The Lord will protect us."

At the same time, a hint of doubt arose in his heart.

With the church's security level and construction materials, was it really so easy to cause such a large-scale fire?

But before he could delve deeper, a cheer erupted in front of him.

Upon hearing the situation, joyful expressions appeared on the faces of the devout followers.

"May the Lord protect us."

"Moselle is truly reliable."

"We hope it doesn't affect the upcoming Samuel Festival."

"Does the church need our help with the repairs? Whether it's donations or manpower, we're ready to contribute!"

"Right, Mister Moselle!"

Hearing the buzzing discussions of the public, Moselle's mind became somewhat disturbed.

It was better to disperse the crowd first.

Thinking this, Moselle prepared to give a quick response, suggesting the followers head home to rest, aiming to minimize the impact of the incident.

But just then, a commotion suddenly erupted behind him.

He instinctively looked back.

He saw about a dozen clergy in church robes, now walking towards him in pairs, carrying eight large wooden boxes.

Moselle paused for a moment.

As the bishop of Orn City parish, he remembered the faces of all his subordinates.

But he had no recollection of these people in front of him.

Could they be newly recruited staff?

Impossible.

The Heavenly Principle Church's vetting was very strict; personnel were absorbed one by one—it made no sense for a dozen new faces to appear suddenly.

Not only that, Moselle still felt something was off.

Moments later, he realized what was wrong.

The wooden boxes the clergy were carrying, from the style and patterns, felt very familiar.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Were they... the ones hidden in the secret room behind his bookshelf?!

Under his dumbfounded gaze, the unfamiliar clergy quickly moved, and in just a few seconds, brought the boxes up to him.

Seeing this, the followers who were initially ready to leave seemed to smell something unusual about to happen, and they stopped in unison, watching intently.

Moselle suddenly grew panicky: "Stop right there!!!"

His body radiated faint purple Extraordinary Power, and he instinctively manipulated the gravity, ready to suppress these strangers in church robes on the spot.

But it was all too late.

Whether it was an accidental slip or their clear intent,

during the transfer, the leader of the clergy suddenly stumbled and fell forwards, causing the box he was holding to dip.

Then, it uncontrollably rolled to the ground.

In an instant, the lid flipped open with a "clang.",

"Clink clank—"

Accompanied by the familiar metallic crashing sound, countless Saint Laurent Gold Coins spilled all over the ground under the dim firelight, rolling everywhere!

"Bishop Moselle! The one million Gold Coins from the eight boxes in your room are all accounted for here; they haven't been damaged by the fire. Please advise on the next steps!"

The clergy who had fallen seemed to be quick-witted.

After scrambling up from the ground, he stood up straight, performed a military salute, and spoke loudly.

Seeing the mass of Gold Coins rolling on the floor, the onlooking followers were silent for a few seconds, then suddenly exploded into uproar!

"How, how could there be so much money?!"

"Didn't the priests say the church has been struggling with finances lately?!"

"Bishop Moselle, please explain the source of this money and why you refused to participate in the fundraising event at the City Square!"

"Why was this money moved out of your room?!"

"We need to know the truth!!!"

Seeing the raging crowd of followers, Moselle's mind "buzzed" and exploded.

Someone is setting me up!!!