Dorothy’s Forbidden Grimoire

Listening to Ivy's report, a hint of satisfaction appeared on Amanda's face. Being able to use divination to further confirm that Vania had no connection to heresy was a good outcome. It allowed Amanda to set aside her concerns about Vania and trust her more deeply in the future—no longer needing to worry whether Vania might be a hidden landmine.

"I originally sent you there to protect Sister Vania, to delay the Inquisition's investigation and give General Shadi more time to consolidate the situation back home… I didn't expect such a dramatic reversal in the end. Life really is full of surprises."

Walking along the edge of the sacred pool, Amanda sighed softly. Beside her, Ivy replied.

"This time, the credit largely goes to Shadi's subordinates. They were the ones who obtained key evidence capable of turning the tide—evidence that left neither Clifton nor Robert with anything to say. Their capabilities exceeded my expectations. To be honest… when I asked them to find evidence, I didn't actually believe they could pull it off."

Ivy spoke calmly, and Amanda frowned slightly before responding.

"Competent subordinates, huh? Shadi—just a White Ash-rank rebel leader—has such capable people under him? It's almost hard to believe. With assets like those, why didn't he keep them at home to help resolve his crisis? Why send them to protect Sister Vania? Isn't that a waste of talent? …Or rather, have I underestimated the depth of this treasure-hunting general?"

Amanda said frankly. Judging from the situation, Shadi's priority should have been handling domestic issues and completing integration. Yet at this critical juncture, he sent such powerful assets abroad—something Amanda found noteworthy.

"Those people under Shadi are indeed suspicious. I tried to investigate them more thoroughly, but when my real body flew above Kankdal over the clouds, they refused to show themselves. So I still don't know what background they have," Ivy said.

Amanda paused thoughtfully at that, then responded again.

"You mean they may not be under Shadi's command at all? That they belong to some other force?"

"Heh… I'm not saying there's no connection. They probably are aligned with Shadi. Otherwise, they wouldn't have helped Vania. What I mean is: although they share Shadi's goals, they might not be linear to him. If Shadi had command over them, he wouldn't have dispatched such a strong force abroad at a time like this."

Chuckling, Amanda explained her line of thought. Hearing that, Ivy understood immediately.

"You mean… these people are likely from the Heaven's Arbiter Sect, the mysterious cabal backing Shadi?"

"Exactly—that's what I think. They're likely core members of the Heaven's Arbiter Sect. Claiming to be Shadi's subordinates is merely a convenient cover. They're aligned with him but not under his control. After all, that secretive sect doesn't take orders from Shadi," Amanda confirmed with a nod.

"That being the case… should we try to make contact with them?" Ivy asked.

"If they're willing to speak with us, of course. It'd be good to confirm whether they are indeed a group planning to bring the faith of the Heaven's Arbiter into public view," Amanda said, then paused briefly before asking.

"By the way, are you already on your way back?"

"Not yet, Your Excellency. I'll be setting sail from Qiansha Island tomorrow," Ivy replied.

"Good. Before you go, leave a contact method with Sister Vania. Let those people know that if they're interested in speaking with us, they can use it to reach you directly.

"And also—have Sister Vania remain on standby in Kankdal for now. Let her rest. Her new role and mission will be arranged soon," Amanda instructed.

"I understand," Ivy said respectfully. She gave Amanda a small bow, and then her form faded into a blur and vanished.

Left alone by the sacred pool, Amanda turned and gazed silently at the towering statue of the Holy Mother, holding up the ever-flowing springwater.

…

Southern Shore of the Conquest Sea, Kankdal.

In the afternoon, inside the White Dove Hotel located in Kankdal's foreign quarter, Vania stood in the living room of her suite. Before her stood the illusory projection of a nun—none other than Ivy, bidding her farewell.

"Ah… Sister Ivy, are you leaving already?"

"Yes, the matter in Kankdal has concluded. It's time for me to return," Ivy replied in her usual calm manner.

"Sister Vania, you are to remain here in Kankdal for now. Your new assignment will arrive from Holy Mount shortly."

Hearing this, Vania nodded with gratitude.

"Understood. I'll await orders here. Thank you very much for your assistance, Sister Ivy. Without you, I doubt I would've been able to clear my name."

"I was merely doing what I must. Under the Holy Mother's guidance, the innocent will always be granted justice," Ivy replied coolly.

At that moment, Vania retrieved a small mechanical orb from her person.

"And what about this…"

"Keep it with you. While this relay device can no longer project my image or act as a sensory conduit from this distance, it still retains the function to initiate contact with me remotely. If you—or anyone else from Addus—has an urgent matter, you can use it to reach me."

Ivy's voice was calm as she looked meaningfully around the room. Her words left Vania slightly bewildered, confused by the implications. But by then, Ivy's form was already beginning to fade.

"Well then, it's time for me to depart. Until we meet again, Sister Vania."

With that, Ivy vanished. The room before Vania was now once more just a quiet, empty space.

"'Anyone else from Addus'… Sister Ivy, have you sensed something… or misunderstood something?"

Vania pondered silently as she turned her gaze to the window. But soon she let out a soft breath and spoke inwardly again.

"Whew… Whatever else, at least the situation in Kankdal is finally over. I thought it would be a triumphant return—but instead, I walked right into all this. Thankfully, thanks to Miss Dorothea and Sister Ivy, everything was resolved safely."

To Vania, the Kankdal incident had been completely unexpected. After enduring the events in Adis and being hunted by heretics, she had believed the Church's territory would be safe. But unexpectedly, even here there were people trying to harm her—not only believers of the Radiance Church, but even colleagues from within the clergy.

"We're all members of the Church… yet the Kankdal government, representing one of the mainland's great powers, sought to harm me for profit. And the Inquisition's judge, charged with upholding justice, also wished to condemn me for power's sake…

"The Church is too large. As a whole, it is far from the sanctity I once believed. Not everyone truly adheres to the Trinity Teachings—not even the leadership atop Holy Mount.

"Only Aka… continues to guide the faithful, upholding purity and righteousness…"

Standing by the window, gazing at the blue sky outside, Vania sighed inwardly.

…

Elsewhere, at another hotel in Kankdal's foreign quarter, Dorothy was sipping afternoon tea on a balcony while recalling what had just transpired in Vania's room. With an intrigued look, she mused.

"That Ivy… she deliberately left behind a means of contact before leaving. Are they trying to establish a private line to Shadi? But if it were about Shadi, once he openly declares his allegiance, there would be plenty of ways to reach him. So… does that mean she sensed I might not actually be one of Shadi's people and wants to establish contact with me directly? Her senses are sharp…"

Though slightly wary of Ivy's gesture, Dorothy wasn't overly concerned. From Ivy's tone and actions, it didn't seem like they bore any hostile intentions.

Still, until she could figure out exactly what kind of church faction was backing Vania, Dorothy had no intention of reaching out first. Safety came first—and she didn't have any pressing need to contact them anyway.

"Judging by what Ivy said… it sounds like they plan to give Vania a new position, and they're having her wait here in Kankdal. I wonder what kind of assignment she'll get."

Muttering to herself, Dorothy took another sip of tea, then glanced at the newspaper beside her on the table, which listed Kankdal's two biggest headlines of the day.

"According to preliminary investigation, the diplomatic envoy to Yadith is not connected to the heretics."

"Mayor Robert is suspected of having long accepted bribes from the exiled Baruch royal family for illegal gains. He has now been removed from office and recalled to Falano for investigation."

Dorothy read the two headlines that had shaken all of Kankdal that day and were hotly debated everywhere. After skimming through a few more hindsight analysis articles, she set the newspaper aside, opened her Literary Sea Logbook, and flipped to the communication page for Beverly. After pondering for a moment, she began writing.

"Hey, you there? I have a quick question—if I want to rent one of your divine artifacts, can I use assets as collateral instead of paying in cash?"

After writing that, she waited. Within seconds, neat handwriting appeared on the page.

"Huh? Asset collateral? That's a bit troublesome for us—there's valuation, risk assessment, all sorts of stuff. Cash is a lot simpler. If you really want to use assets, you'll have to pay us a fee for the evaluation…"

"Oh come on… it's us we're talking about, no need to be so formal. I'm a longtime customer, you know…"

Dorothy responded quickly, pen scratching away. After some back and forth haggling, Beverly finally agreed to let Dorothy use part of the deposit as asset collateral, but required that the rental fee still be paid in cash. She also agreed to assess all of Mazarr's assets for a friendly discount of just 300 pounds.

Originally, Dorothy thought even that 300 was a bit steep—but one thing Beverly said during the negotiation changed her mind.

"You think 300 is too much? That's the lowest rate already, can't go any cheaper. Don't forget, that Mazarr prince's inheritance was heavily contested. There were multiple parties fighting for it. If I hadn't crafted you a watertight will process, there's no way that estate would've ended up in your hands. Even with a perfect will, no way you'd get priority in such a messy dispute. I personally gave you greenlight treatment during review, and now you're nickel-and-diming me? That's just stingy."

Beverly wrote that with dry amusement. Reading it, Dorothy paused for a moment and then wrote.

"Multiple parties in the dispute… you mean other Baruch royals also filed inheritance claims with the Guild?"

"Of course. Based on reports from the Kankdal branch, the inheritance battle started the moment Mazarr died. A bunch of relatives claimed the right to inherit and stormed our place. Before you came along, the most likely heir was someone both closely related to Mazarr and publicly backed by the Kankdal government. They said Mazarr gave a verbal will during treatment granting everything to him. That endorsement was announced to all contenders, and it scared off quite a few."

"But as you know, things changed. Robert went down, and his government lost all credibility. The rest of the relatives started making noise again, but now you've submitted an unassailable will. There's nothing they can do now."

Beverly's explanation made Dorothy suddenly think of something else.

"The heir endorsed by Robert's Kankdal government… the one they said received a deathbed verbal will… that must've been Ma'ad! Which means Ma'ad and Robert were both trying to get their hands on Mazarr's estate—and were very eager to do so. Eager enough that Robert was willing to use the Kankdal government's name to forge a will in Ma'ad's favor…"

"Could Mazarr's inheritance really be so valuable to them? Both Robert and Ma'ad should already have fortunes far exceeding Mazarr's. Would Robert really go this far for just mundane assets?"

Dorothy frowned in thought. It was normal for Ma'ad to want Mazarr's property, but Robert going so far as to fabricate a government-endorsed verbal will on Ma'ad's behalf was highly suspicious. To Dorothy, this implied that something within Mazarr's inheritance was extremely important to both men.

Then she remembered what Sadroya had said before: that she and Yakaru, the two members of Nether Coffin Order, were willing to help Robert and Ma'ad because the latter had promised to give Nether Coffin Order a certain important item as payment. One that would take some time before it could be delivered to them.

Could that item be part of Mazarr's inheritance?

And among Mazarr's belongings, the only thing valuable enough to draw Nether Coffin Order's interest was the National Treasure Casket—which contained the Baruch Royal Sacrificial Book, recording the method to open Rachman's Royal Mausoleum.

That was the tomb of a Crimson-rank Beyonder—anything inside would certainly pique Nether Coffin Order's interest. The Goblet of Nether Guidance inside, for instance, could be confirmed as a Silence divine artifact.

"Looks like… I'm not the only one eyeing Rachman's tomb anymore…"

Dorothy's brow furrowed as she stared at the page. Now that she had confirmed there were competitors, she knew she couldn't afford to take her time with her tomb-raiding plans.

"Plans never keep up with change. I can't wait any longer—I need to depart for Rachman's tomb immediately. At the very least, I need to confirm whether Nether Coffin Order has already seized control of it!"