In the Name of the Queen

Roland: "This is a brilliant victory. I broke the myth of Sophia's invincibility and defeated her with one ring!"

Angelina: "Humph, some people are already dead, but they have not been buried for the time being."

Lisa: "Oh, oh, oh, Roland, just be okay. I'm really scared."

Christine: "I knew you were going to win."

In short, this duel with twists and turns is over.

Roland wins, Angelina loses.

As a winner, he must have the demeanor of a winner. He tactfully explained to Angelina that he was just scaring her and that he would never freeze a lady into a naked ice sculpture for exhibition.

"Am I like that kind of person?"

Roland's eyes were firm as if he wanted to join the party.

Angelina answered Roland in one word.

"Pooh!"

Now that she had decided to give up resistance, she did not play any tricks and took the initiative to hand over the military flag and various trophies as agreed and complete the handover of the station.

Seventeen thousand soldiers were led by deputies and retained only a small amount of self-defense weapons. They borrowed a road back from the friendly country of the Kingdom of Tyrol.

She accepted the arrangement calmly and allowed Roland to seal the power and escort her back to Hanseatic City for resettlement.

This war has nothing to do with her. From now on, she just needs to quietly watch how Roland dies.

To be fair, Roland was quite graceful. He arranged a manor for her and even bought a few servants who knew Rurik to take care of (monitor) her life.

Of course, to be polite, you still have to be careful about what you should be careful about.

Roland asked Norton to install special shackles for her, which would not affect her walking, but would call the police whenever she left the manor.

In addition, she also has several magic marks on her body. Anyone who dares to run away will definitely be caught.

Angelina calmly accepted the arrangement and never resisted.

She seems to be more concerned about whether the food in Hanseatic City meets the taste.

Roland left the task of settling Angelina to the rear and didn't pay too much attention.

In a head-on confrontation between countries, one Angelina's appearance does not affect the overall situation at all.

It's good for her to stay calm, but it doesn't matter if she runs away.

The Shadow Temple, whose inner defenses have been broken, will be a hidden danger when returning.

Facing Roland again on the battlefield, her mentality would be completely unbalanced.

Roland even vaguely hoped that she could really run away.

There is no hatred between him and Angelina. She is a simple girl with a simple mind and simple ideas, and the difficulty of defeating her is also simple.

The key to the war is not her, but Sophia.

No one knew what Sophia was doing or where she was.

She must show up as soon as possible, Roland thought silently.

Detaining Angelina is a serious provocation, but it is far from sufficient.

Being captured in a knight's duel is just an ordinary insult, or even just an ordinary victory or defeat, not an insult.

It was indeed an insult to expel Vladimir's imperial army and seize the military flag, but the government left behind by Sophia dealt with it.

This is far from enough!

Roland thought about it and could not think of a way to force Sophia to appear, so he simply carried out the original plan.

The city-state of Vaal was restored.

When Mr. Tony once again stood in Friendship Square in the city-state of Vaal, watching the flag that had been lowered for less than three years fly again, his voice choked up.

His hoarse voice once again sang the famous song "Waal Lake".

This is a song that represents civilization and friendship, and was also written to celebrate the entry into force of the Continental Treaty.

To be fair, Mr. Tony's singing skills are very poor. If it were not for Roland, he would basically be at the bottom of the political spectrum.

In addition, he was very emotional and his singing was even more difficult to listen to.

But his singing struck a chord.

More and more people from the city-state of Vaal walked out of their houses and took to the streets, looking up at the flag of the city-state that had been lowered for two years and then raised again.

The tricolor flag symbolizing peace, friendship and freedom once again flies over the city-state of Vaal.

Some people think of the young officers who died for their country when the city-state of Vaal was disbanded, and some think of the compatriots who were bullied to death by foreign troops in the past two years, and they couldn't help but shed tears.

Roland watched silently and did not participate in the ceremony.

After all, the Sussex Empire where he belonged was also one of the culprits in carving up the Vaal city-state.

No matter what you say at this time, it will easily arouse resentment, so it is better not to say anything.

He glanced back and saw only Lisa, not Christine.

"Miss Saint went to the Temple of Light. Do we want to go and have a look?" Lisa's eyes flashed with curiosity and excitement.

"Let's go, there's nothing going on anyway."

After all, Roland is an honorary knight with the title of Light. He is here, and it is reasonable to go to his temple to inspect the work.

Just because the goddess of light doesn't like him doesn't mean that the servants of the gods know this.

Roland and Lisa walked casually on the streets of Vaal City-State, looking at the bustling crowds and their heartfelt joy, and there was a little smile on their lips.

Smiling is indeed contagious.

Lisa noticed Roland's expression and asked curiously: "You support their restoration of the country, will Miss Sif have any objections? You have to discuss such a big matter with her more."

She looked down at the shiny crocodile leather toes and murmured softly: "Roland, although Miss Sif trusts you, she is the queen after all. Sometimes you have to be more careful."

Roland was stunned for a moment, looking at Lisa who looked worried, and almost couldn't hold back his laughter, but he still followed her words.

"Okay, I took note of it."

Sif had absolute trust in him, so she just knew it, and there was no need to show off in front of her sister.

Show affection and die quickly. It can be used anywhere.

Perhaps because she felt that the previous conversation was a bit heavy, Lisa quickly changed the subject, "By the way, where is the ring you seized? Can I see it?"

"Here."

Roland casually took the ring from the middle finger of his left hand and placed it in Lisa's warm palm.

Lisa stroked the ring, felt the coldness in the ring, lowered her head slightly, and said faintly:

"At that time, I wanted to come down to save you, but the Saint Lady didn't allow it. She said that you could get out of the predicament by yourself, and that my use of fire to dissolve the ice barrier would cause thermal expansion"

"She is right, it is thermal expansion and contraction. The drastic temperature change will cause the ice to crack, and maybe I will crack with it."

A trace of surprise flashed in Roland's eyes. It was difficult for him to connect the two things of the Saint of the Divine Court and proficiency in physics.

These words were very reasonable when Norton said them, but they were somewhat inconsistent when they came from the Saint Lady's mouth.

But he was soon relieved.

There are indeed gods in this world, so believing in gods is also a kind of materialism. It is also normal for the Saint Lady, who is the face of the Divine Court, to study physics.

He still doesn't know enough about this world.

Lisa played with the ring for a while and returned it to Roland.

She certainly didn't have to worry about Roland suspecting that she didn't help him, but she just had some things to say.

She felt better after she finished speaking.

After returning the ring to Roland, Lisa saw him wearing the ring on his middle finger again from the corner of her eye, and vaguely felt that something was wrong.

This ring came from Queen Sophia, and it always looked strange when Roland wore it.

After a little hesitation, she changed the question, "Roland, how long do you plan to keep Angelina locked up?"

"Until Sophia is furious and comes out of her hiding place."

Lisa suddenly realized that this was the case.

That's right, Roland would never do such a boring thing.

It seems that wearing Sophia's ring on the middle finger is also a provocation.

Perhaps for Sophia, this behavior is more insulting than detaining Angelina.

Thinking that the ring was of ice attribute, she felt lost and sighed softly, "It's a pity that I don't know ice magic, so I can't replenish the energy of the ring. Teacher Anthony and Sura are not good at ice magic either."

Roland smiled and shook his head, "It's okay, someone will help replenish the energy."

"Who?" Lisa's curiosity was aroused.

"Angelina."

Roland smiled with a sly smile at the corner of his lips, and teased softly, "I don't keep idle people here, and prisoners of war also have to rely on labor to exchange for daily necessities and food."

Lisa: "."

She smiled with relief.

This is Roland's style of doing things. Helping the Val city-state to restore the country is not like Roland's style at all.

Looking at Lisa's hesitant look, Roland knew that she still couldn't figure out the reason for supporting the restoration of the Val city-state.

The reason to the outside world is of course "fully respecting the independent and autonomous rights of the Val people", but everyone knows that this is bullshit.

If you really respect it so much, why did you annex it back then?

If you really respect it so much, why do you station troops now?

Some things cannot be investigated too deeply, because if you do, there will be problems.

Although the Val city-state has been restored, it has no autonomy in military and diplomatic power, and the most important White Mountain magic crystal vein has also been taken away by Roland.

Rather than being a country, it is better to say that it is a semi-colony disguised as a country.

This is the limit of the Sussex people's concessions.

Tony is a shrewd politician, and he knows this very well.

He did not serve as the governor of the new Val city-state, but continued to serve in the cabinet of the Sussex Empire.

He planned to use himself as a buffer and a link, so that the motherland can take a breather in the struggle between the great powers and maintain as much dignity as possible.

This requires a high level of political wisdom and skills, and no one except him can do it.

Just as Mr. Tony was giving an impassioned speech in the square, Roland and Lisa had already arrived at the Temple of Light.

The holy spring that had been dry for a thousand years was flowing, and the priests and nuns were carefully cleaning and collecting holy water.

Holy water is very different from river water. Although it is also colorless and transparent, it tastes sweet and refreshing. One sip can make people feel refreshed and tearful.

According to Roland's observation, the real composition of holy water is high-quality mineral water that dissolves the power of light.

Although it does not cure all diseases as the clergy boast, it is indeed good for the human body.

In this era where quacks are everywhere and butchers can work as surgeons, the healing ability of clergy is already better than that of doctors, and the blessing of holy water is even more powerful.

Roland and Lisa stopped to watch for a while and saw several citizens who were blessed by holy water excitedly thanked the goddess statue devoutly.

Some people even expressed their willingness to convert on the spot.

They have enough sincerity, but the Temple of Light does not accept everyone. Everyone has the right to believe in the goddess, but there are also differences between beliefs.

Large religious organizations have a strict hierarchy.

This is true for clergy and believers.

The treatment of believers in the city-state of Val is even more different.

Ordinary believers who want to obtain holy water quotas need to pray for three days and draw lots. Only the lucky ones can get a small amount of holy water.

High-level believers show their piety with generous donations, so they don’t have to queue up for the lottery. As long as they have a need, they can apply for holy water quotas.

Standing by and watching for a while, Roland couldn’t see faith, but only business.

Just as he stopped and observed calmly, a high-level priest in a white robe finally noticed his presence and hurriedly came up to him.

“Your Highness, you came without telling me, and there was no time to arrange a welcoming ceremony.” The priest saluted Roland respectfully.

Roland, the Knight of Light, has a very high status, comparable to the powerful cardinal and the official saint, second only to the Pope. Christine, who has not become an official saint, has a higher status than him.

In addition, he has extremely high secular power, so how dare the white-robed priest neglect him.

Roland's status is only slightly lower than that of the Pope/Emperor, and much higher than that of ordinary kings/princes.

The white-robed priest even thinks that the honorific title of "Your Highness" is not enough.

Above "Your Highness" but not "Emperor", how should he be addressed? This worries the white-robed priest.

Fortunately, Roland does not care about the false reputation. He smiles and nods in return, which is considered a greeting.

Roland has a good impression of this well-mannered white-robed priest and takes the initiative to ask his name.

The white-robed priest stood up straight with a trembling voice, "Your Highness, my name is Martin, and I am a priest who came to Val City on business with the Saint Lady."

"Do a good job, I am very good at judging people, you have the potential to be an archbishop at least."

Roland smiled and encouraged Martin a few words, asked Christine's position and left.

After saying goodbye to Martin, Lisa looked back at the white-robed priest who was trembling with excitement, and couldn't help but lower her voice and asked:

"Roland, this Martin doesn't look like a priest, but a businessman. Are you sure he can be an archbishop? He is in charge of a provincial diocese, second only to the cardinal."

Roland raised the corners of his lips, couldn't help but patted Lisa on the shoulder, and smiled and teased:

"I can't even understand my own future, how can I understand others? I'm not Alina."

"Then you."

Lisa swallowed her words halfway through.

She stuck out her tongue in embarrassment. She had been stuck in the magic training room underground for a month or two, and she had almost forgotten all the ways of the world.

Just like praising other people's children for being smart, it was all polite words.

Lisa quickened her pace to keep up with Roland's pace. Suddenly she thought of him patting her shoulder just now, and suddenly she felt unhappy.

"Roland, don't pat my shoulder in the future."

Eh? Patting the shoulder doesn't seem to be an exaggerated action, right?

Roland was a little puzzled. He remembered very clearly that Lisa had kissed him secretly when he was drunk, which was much more intense than patting his shoulder.

Shrugging his shoulders, Roland spread his hands and chose to surrender.

He had never guessed the girl's mind correctly, so he didn't guess it and just did it.

With Lisa, who was still a little angry, Roland found the Saint.

What surprised him was that there was more than one Saint in the temple.

Irene?

Because of Christine, Roland didn't have much good feelings for this Saint candidate.

He wanted to support Christine to become a formal saint, so he would naturally become an enemy of Irene.

Seeing Roland, Irene's face changed slightly, but she still took the initiative to come up and say hello.

"Your Highness, long time no see."

Roland responded calmly and asked in a deep voice: "Miss Irene has come from afar, what's the matter?"

"Your Highness, have you heard about the invasion of the Wende Empire by the Vladimir Empire?"

"No, is it a recent thing?"

Irene nodded and said helplessly: "The Vladimir Empire claimed to use the passage to recover the occupied area of ​​the Val City-State, but was rejected by the Wende Empire. A small-scale conflict has broken out between the two countries, and both sides have suffered nearly a thousand casualties."

"Oh." Roland simply responded to show his understanding, and said nothing more.

Irene frowned slightly, trying to adjust her breathing and control her emotions, so that the inquiry did not sound like an interrogation.

"His Highness Guangming, if my inference is correct, you are the source of all this, right?"

"Miss Irene, don't talk nonsense."

Although Roland was indeed the source, he refused to admit it, and even refuted it righteously:

"Our Sussex Empire is a peace-loving country. In recent years, the people of the Val city-state have been eager to restore their country. We heard their voices and helped them realize their wishes. On the other hand, the Vladimir Empire is militaristic and took the lead in dividing the Val city-state, ignoring their national feelings. They must be responsible for all the bloodshed."

Irene: "."

She opened her eyes wide and couldn't believe that Roland could be so thick-skinned.

This is standard diplomatic rhetoric. This kind of meaningless nonsense, she who has received elite education since childhood, can talk for three hours without repeating herself.

Is this a good attitude to talk?

Seeing that Irene's face was not very good, Christine coughed lightly and interrupted.

"Erin, this is a fight between secular regimes. We shouldn't get involved."

"Christine, why didn't you think about this when you were fighting for His Highness?" Unexpectedly, Christine would take sides. Erin's anger instantly rose.

"Stop!"

Roland saw Christine's eyes narrowed, knowing that she was angry, and hurried to persuade them to stop fighting.

"Erin, you are a guest, you speak first."

Although he let Erin speak first, Roland emphasized that she was a guest in a heavy tone. Christine had no objection to hearing this, and her expression gradually eased.

Erin cleared her throat and explained briefly.

The Court of Light is not a monolithic entity. The Court of Light of the Vladimir Empire is a faction of its own, and is a mortal enemy of the Court of Light throughout Central Rodinia.

If it is a fight between other secular regimes, they can ignore it, but as long as someone fights with the Vladimir Empire, they will definitely help.

The Wende Empire is the only empire that adheres to the belief in light, and it is very important to the Court of Light.

The Temple of Light would certainly not sit idly by and watch the fall of the Wend Empire, so it sent Irene to the Val City Temple to seek help.

Holy water, temples, temple warriors, funds, and even Christine herself, she wants them all.

But Christine didn't want to give any.

This is the team she worked hard to build, which she earned by working hard for Roland, and it is the basis for her fight for the Pope. It is all hers!

After understanding the contradiction between the two parties, Roland only took one second to complete the case.

"Miss Eileen, I know your request, you can go back."

"Wait, do you agree or disagree?" Erin was a little anxious. Roland's attitude was colder than expected, and of course she was anxious.

"Miss Eileen, in terms of status, I am higher than you. In terms of authority, Christine and I are responsible for all affairs in the Governorate of Northern Rodinia in the city-state of Val. You have no right to mobilize any resources."

After a slight pause, Roland put on a bright smile.

"Of course, we are all guardians of light after all. Bathing in the glory of the goddess, you also contributed a lot to the resurrection of the holy spring, so you can take some holy water with you."

After finishing speaking, Roland looked at Christine pretendingly and asked with a smile:

"Christine, what do you think?"

"Yes!" Christine gave Roland a gesture of appreciation from an angle that Irene couldn't see, but her voice was serious.

She reminded Eileen in a business-like manner that not even the cardinal had the authority to order Roland.

This was the condition made when wooing Roland back then, and no one could violate it.