Chương 332: She Has a Heart of Gold

"Talking... talking about Miss Roland?"

Sofia's tone was somewhat strained.

Serandil nodded immediately.

"That's right. Tell me your opinion on Roland Kane. I heard she's Seraf's most favored nun. Many people have seen Seraf's guards running around the streets every day."

"Why do you think Seraf values Roland Kahn so much?"

"I'm sorry, I know almost nothing about these things. Serafie never lets us participate in any operations she leads."

Sofia was not lying; Serafie had always been very mysterious to them.

Perhaps only Miss Roland knows some of the secrets about Seraphim.

Thranduil wouldn't let the mature female bishop in front of him off so easily.

She opened her eyes slightly and leaned forward.

"It's okay if you don't know any information. You can share your guesses, which will also be of reference value to me."

This is using negotiation techniques taught by royal mentors to put pressure on the opponent.

But Sophia was a shameless imperial noblewoman, and had been a lazy archbishop for so many years, her expression never changing.

"Okay, I'll guess."

Sofia simply blurted out all the gossip she had heard in the neighborhood and in Pink Harbor.

"I guess it's because Roland is pretty and cute, which is exactly what Seraf wants. He wants to take Roland's body, but because of the reserved culture of the Central Continent, he doesn't dare to express his feelings directly."

"I can only try to contact Roland openly or secretly, hoping to take advantage of Miss Roland."

"Cough cough cough..."

Thranduil coughed repeatedly at Sophia's words, almost losing his elegant demeanor.

After a few seconds of hesitation, he looked helplessly at the mature female bishop in front of him.

"It's impossible for Seraf to show such favoritism to an ordinary high nun for such a superficial reason, or even send his own guard to protect her."

"Hard to say."

Sofia's gossipy nature began to ignite, and she couldn't help but wink and make faces.

"Your Highness Thranduil, Miss Roland is incredibly beautiful, rich, and gentle. She's also blessed with the blood of the Golden Fox royal family. Who wouldn't want to be close to her?"

"Seraphim, as a holy maiden of the Central Continent, has come to our open-minded empire. Perhaps she's just here to indulge in her romantic feelings."

Thranduil was almost amused and pointed to his own face.

"So, according to you, I'm also a saintess from the Central Continent, meaning I've come here to lust after Roland's body too?"

Sophia paused for a moment, then looked Thranduil up and down before finally nodding.

"Hard to say."

Serandil's breathing quickened several degrees.

Fortunately, her years of royal education allowed her to quickly control her volatile temper and regain her composure.

After communicating for a while longer, even using lie detector magic, they still couldn't get any useful information out of him.

Overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness, Thranduil could only wave his hand, tossing out a token inlaid with a pale gold transparent crystal, as he spoke.

"Bishop Sophia, thank you for your cooperation. This is your reward as a token of your continued devotion."

Sophia looked at the token in her palm, her gaze fixed on the pale gold crystal, and asked curiously.

"Your Highness, what is this?"

"This is a new specialty product from headquarters: sublimation crystal. You can keep it by your side while cultivating, as it can slightly accelerate the speed of magic cultivation."

"This is still an experimental new product, so don't tell anyone yet, understand?"

Serandil's words startled Bishop Sophia, who immediately gripped the token in her hand, bowed, and left the office with the maid.

Half an hour later, the maid "Moon" returned to the office.

When Thranduil saw his maid and tutor return, he immediately straightened his back and changed from a lazy and relaxed sitting posture to a standard sitting posture.

The maid "Moon" glanced at Thranduil briefly, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to reprimand him.

Your Highness has been overwhelmed by studies and schoolwork since childhood, bearing pressure that is not appropriate for your age.

Since we've finally managed to get away for a long trip, let's let it relax a little.

The elven maid's thoughts raced, and she turned to talk about what had just happened.

"Your Highness, that Bishop Sophia is not honest."

"She was indeed unaware of Serafie's situation, but she also withheld a lot of information regarding Roland Kane."

"I know."

Thranduil waved his hand.

"Nobles like to speak in half-truths to cover up their dirty secrets. We can continue to gather information from other bishops."

"Who's next to be questioned?"

Upon hearing this, Yue raised her hand, flipped through the document board in her hand, and replied.

"He is Bishop Marcus of the Land Walk, who also oversees the Third Church and is responsible for the Church's financial operations."

"Hmm, this guy has a lot of dealings with Roland, he's a good starting point."

Thranduil's eyes lit up, and he immediately gave the order.

"Quickly, call him in."

……

However, Thranduil was destined to be disappointed.

Marcus, as Roland's number one lackey, knew all too well that a man "can have a rotten ass but can't complain about being poor," and his mouth was even tighter than Sophia's.

When asked about Roland, his expression turned serious, and his voice became loud and clear.

"Miss Roland is a good nun, a good noblewoman, a good merchant in the old port, and a good teacher to children."

"She has a heart of gold. When the old port area was hit by a great famine caused by the Church of Vulcan, she still reached out to the victims despite the pressure, protecting the devout believers for the sake of the great God of Light."

"Your Highness Thranduil, Miss Roland is the most outstanding High Nun in the Imperial Church branch."

"She greatly improved the lives of my brothers and sisters, enabling us to afford steak, wine, and Imperial cigars... If she had accumulated more experience over time, I would even have been willing to hand over the position of treasurer to him."

Marcus lauded Roland's virtues before bowing and scraping as he left the office.

Then, one bishop after another entered the room and left.

The comments left behind were all praise and admiration for Roland.

This bizarre situation left Thranduil and his maid "Moon" exchanging bewildered glances.

"So, is Roland really that good? That pure and kind?"

"impossible."

The maid, "Yue," directly denied it.

"Your Highness, no one is perfect. There is no absolutely perfect person in the world, including that Roland Kane."

"There must be more shady dealings between her and the branch bishop to make everyone's opinions unanimously support her."

Even so, Yue was deeply shocked.

Although the bishops of these branches were far less accomplished than those of the central continent, they were still considered upper-class figures within the empire.

The fact that Kroland managed to win over most of the bishops in just one year is truly astonishing.

Even though she was Thranduil's mentor, she couldn't help but feel admiration for Roland.

Thranduil was somewhat displeased.

She was a bit older than Roland and immediately felt a sense of defeat.

It's as if her twenty years of hard work couldn't compare to the little bit of effort a country nun put in, so she couldn't help but feel resentful.

She looked at her maid teacher.

"Moon, who was the last bishop to be questioned? Can we still get any useful information?"

Yue came to her senses, looked at her prince, and nodded.

"The next bishop to be questioned is Biyander Gahu, the former district bishop of the Old Port, who was transferred from the Old Port Cathedral for making defamatory remarks about Roland."

"He must have a different opinion about Roland."