More than enough...
Faced with such an exaggerated statement, it should have provoked laughter or earnest persuasion, but in the face of the other party's extremely confident expression, Qiao was momentarily speechless.
However, the more incredible was yet to come.
He was required to fully cooperate with this operation, making sure to know everything and say everything – this did not exceed Qiao's expectations. Since the King of Greycastle had agreed to rescue Farina, he would inevitably need to understand the situation on Great Duke Island in detail. Having been lurking on the island for half a year, they were naturally among the most familiar.
Of course, the other party might also interrogate him about other things, which Qiao also intended to reveal all, such as Church secrets or divine scriptures. None of them were as important as Farina's life. As long as he knew it, he was willing to confess.
But after walking into the cabin, Qiao realized that he knew nothing about Roland Wimbledon's thoughts – the old adversary who had fought with the Church for many years and ultimately destroyed the Holy City of Hermes single-handedly.
It was neither an intelligence interrogation nor a battle conference.
Sitting at one end of the long table was Cakin Feiss, the master of drama from Greycastle.
"Just answer whatever he asks." Sean said this and left the cabin, leaving Qiao staring blankly at the other party.
He had watched Cakin's troupe perform during their tour when he was still in New Holy City.
Although nearly a decade had passed, his memory told him that the old man in front of him was indeed Cakin himself.
What exactly was the King of Greycastle thinking?
It wasn't an army that had traveled far with the ship, but a famous theater troupe... Was this team really here to rescue someone?
"Sit down, child." Cakin nodded at him. "Tea or a little wine?"
"Tea... good."
A beautiful woman quickly brought a cup of hot tea to him.
"This is my disciple, Ms. Lunqin."
"Ah... thank you." Qiao returned the greeting somewhat blankly. If it weren't for the shackles on his wrists and ankles, he would have almost thought this was a dream. "Why are you here?"
"Because of an agreement with His Majesty." Cakin smiled. "Originally, we should have talked in a more comfortable environment, but they refused to remove your shackles."
"No, this is fine..." he murmured. "What... what do you want to ask me?"
"The story about Farina, and your story."
Qiao looked at the other party in disbelief. "You mean, me... and her?"
"That's right. When did you join the Church, how did you meet, why did she fall into Lorenzo's hands? I want to know everything," Cakin replied slowly.
"Farina... Farina, she..." The mention of this name caused a sharp pain to surge forth. He had been trying hard not to think about her, but memories were like a tide, once they started, it was hard to stop them. As soon as he opened his mouth, his words choked in his throat, and his eyes blurred.
Farina was just an ordinary commoner when she first joined the Church.
A wide and coarse robe, a patch so dirty that it was hard to see its original color, hands and feet swollen from the cold, frozen like radishes.
Even on the way to the Hermes Highlands, if it weren't for the carriage he hired, she would probably have died on the road.
And he was a nobleman whose family had declined, possessing nothing but his surname. He went to the Church simply to try his luck.
The Holy City did not care about birth or origin, and would not reject any converts.
Because he was literate, he was assigned to the clerical branch and became a scribe.
Farina became a trainee warrior.
This made Qiao quite unhappy.
Clerics and warriors were the two equal major institutions in the Holy City. That is, a common woman became someone with a status not inferior to his, especially since she was someone he had casually rescued. In his eyes, Farina should have been a kitchen maid or a laundress.
What annoyed him even more was that after resting for a while, she actually turned out to be quite good-looking.
Then the reason for being selected as a warrior was very suspicious.
And this should have been enjoyed by him.
Taking advantage of his position, he often made things difficult for Farina, even humiliating her in person. Farina had never retorted, which further fueled his arrogance.
But in the following years, this young woman gradually showed her talent, like a gem being gradually carved into shape.
Farina quickly rose from trainee warrior to probationary Judgment Army, then to official Judgment Army, and finally to Judgment Army captain.
During the Evil Moon, Qiao could always see her figure on the fortress walls.
And he had only been promoted from scribe to cleric assistant.
She had already surpassed him.
He had been closely watching Farina's every move, fearing that she would retaliate against him. But the latter had never taken action, which turned his attention into a habit.
Qiao slowly discovered that she was not as ordinary as he thought.
Then the Fourth Prince of Greycastle came.
The Pope died, the Army of Divine Retribution was annihilated, the Cathedral collapsed, and the vast Hermes Church seemed to disintegrate overnight.
Countless believers fled the Holy City overnight. Farina was ordered to take on the responsibility of supporting the crumbling Judgment Army. She pulled him out of the renliu during the civil strife... If it weren't for that hand, he would probably have been trampled into mincemeat by the fleeing people.
At that moment, he seemed to understand something.
After the defeat at Coldwind Ridge, Farina was not the person with the highest status in the Church. The Holy City still had high priests, chief judges, and high-ranking legion commanders. The reason why the responsibility of defending the Holy City was handed over to her was not so much because of importance, but rather because of shirking and abandonment. Tuck Tool being chosen as acting pope was also the same. Everyone knew that the Holy City could not be defended at all, but no one wanted to bear the responsibility themselves. At the same time, they needed someone to temporarily stabilize the situation in the Holy City to buy time for their escape.
So a woman in her twenties became the highest commander of the Judgment Army, which was a scene that appeared in Hermes. Ironically, she tried her best to gradually restore stability to the order of the old and new Holy Cities, but the high-level officials who stayed behind became fewer and fewer, and the phenomenon of one person leaving the building empty was common. Until the day the Evil Moon ended, there were only more than five hundred Judgment Warriors left in the Holy City.
She was abandoned by those people to Roland Wimbledon – as a sacrifice to delay time.
Was Farina unaware of this?
No, she knew the meaning of this responsibility from the beginning.
But she still stood up without hesitation and did her best.
Just because the Church had accepted her and nurtured her to this point.
Just like she had never retaliated against him, not even a single scolding.
Just because he gave her a ride.
Seeing Farina running back and forth with sweat, shouting loudly on the city wall, Qiao felt something touched in his heart. Her small figure swaying under the sky full of white snow was so conspicuous; the sweat sliding down the tip of her nose was even more dazzling than gems.
For Qiao, the Church was just a place for speculation, and he should have withdrawn long ago, but he chose to stay.
It had nothing to do with gods.
He made a vow to Farina in his heart, swearing allegiance.
Not the allegiance of a believer obeying the Judgment Army commander.
But the allegiance of a knight following and guarding someone.
He loved her.