Since the man wearing a long white robe sat on his velvet chair at the table, the silence inside the huge room had turned suffocating. Chill seemed to run inside everyone's blood as they waited for the man to utter a word. They lower their heads Sitting in his armchair, the man sighed and looked at the eleven people on the circular table.
"Tell me everything." His low bass voice that could make any tremble echoed inside the room, it reverberated inside them like a bell. A constant reminder of the man's authority.
"Head Bishop," the bishop who answered, was none other than Bishop Atlas. He stood and crossed his hands on his chest before he bowed. "Let me tell you what happened during that day." He was talking about the day that the people overpowered the guards. The day that Princess Rhea showed her ability to heal people. After she created a talisman capable of healing many people at once, she fainted.
Again chaos ensued.
"So you are saying that she could heal a lot of people at once?" The head Bishop frowned. "How is that possible?"
"Head Bishop, it should not be possible. However, I saw it with my own eyes. The guards saw it too. She healed all the minor cuts, without leaving any scars. She even created a talisman using her clothes. I couldn't understand how she did it." Just the thought of those golden symbols glittering on the clothes caused goosebumps all over his body.
It was something that he would never forget until his death.
"How is she now?"
"She is already awake. But she refused to say anything. She just keeps on reading the history books."
"And the news outside?"
"Everyone is kneeling outside of our gates for days now. They wanted to see her."
The head bishop clicked his tongue in irritation. "What about the rumors?"
"Rumor has it that she is… a reincarnation of a god. People are now calling her a Goddess. They have brought gifts as they knelled outside, hoping to get a glimpse of the goddess."
The head bishop's face turned even uglier as his brows knitted, his forehead creased. His hand made its way into his temple, massaging it as he thought of ways to stop this madness. "I want you to guard her! She may not go out of her quarters! Tell everyone she is sick! She is to stay inside these walls until the people forget about her!"
"But head bishop… what about the people who had been asking her to create a talisman for them? Those villages are giving us gold and silver as well as food every month so we could ensure their protection. If we declare her as sick then the talismans…"
"Head Bishop, when it comes to this matter, I believe it would be good to be more cautious. The opinions of the people about the church cannot change. Right now, they believe she is a goddess. Isn't it good to let her do what she wanted while we investigate this matter?"
"Head Bishop, he is right. The people wanted her help. We can use this opportunity to preach and attract more supporters. The pagans who never believed in our gods are not kneeling outside of our gates, crying and calling her name. Isn't it good to take advantage of this?"
The Head Bishop turned silent. "She is dangerous."
"What can she do? She is but a woman. She cannot defend herself. She knew how to heal people and create protection spells. But let's not forget, those spells would only work against dark ones and rogues. She cannot use it against us. Moreover, the poison…"
"Had she been drinking the poison?"
"Yes, bishop. I always send my head knight, Grand Knight Holmes, to make sure that she drinks the medicine." Bishop Cetus assured everyone. "I trust the Grand Knight with all my life."
"Good. I believe the right course of action is to keep her weak. I agree with everyone. We should take advantage of this to gain more followers. This is indeed an opportunity. Bishop Cetus would handle this while I go to the Capital to talk to the Pope about this matter. If we wanted to use her, we needed to plan accordingly. I want you to treat her well. Lower the dosage of the poison. She needed to regain her health to create more talismans. See if she could create more of those Talismans for the church. It would be good if she could create more talisman for the pope's castle in the capital."
Seeing everyone nod, he continued, "The unrest in the north and south is getting stronger. It was the Rogues. They have been attacking villages. We needed to regain the trust of those villages. It would be good if we let her create more protection talisman and have someone send this to those villages. This would only help the church gain more believers."
"The head bishop is indeed wise."
The head bishop only snorted. "The gods are with us! We should all witness the rise of the Church again!"
With that, the meeting ended with everyone smiling. At least now, they already have a plan on how to deal with someone like the cunning Priestess.
On the other hand, Rhea had been spending her time reading without saying anything. She knew that if those bishops are smart enough, they would soon give her the opportunity to create more talismans for the people. This would allow her to find allies and establish a solid footing among the citizen of this City.
Slowly but surely. Rhea looked out of the window that was now locked from the outside. Then her eyes widened at the man standing outside, waving at her like they actually knew each other. She frowned as she stood from her seat. "What are you doing here?" she asked the white-haired man.
She considered his face for a long time. His white hair was unique, definitely not something common in this world. There is no way that the previous Rhea would forget someone with his ruggedly handsome face. But she didn't find any traces of this man in Rhea's memories.
She had never met this man before.
