When Veronica heard her ask if she wanted to meet that Saintess Highness, Luo Xiya immediately raised her eyebrows.
“Of course I want to go, why wouldn’t I?” she asked back in confusion.
Veronica looked at Luo Xiya’s confident face and frowned, reminding her, “Have you really thought it through? Are you prepared for the consequences of winning or losing?”
“I’ve definitely thought it through.”
Luo Xiya then laid out all her thoughts to Veronica: “At the end of the day, I’m just an outstanding talent among the noble families, while she is a once-in-a-century top-tier Sacred Seal awakener, the Saintess beloved by Goddess Fara.”
“The one who truly can’t afford to lose isn’t me, but her.”
“If I lose, it just proves that even my genius has its limits. But if the Saintess Highness loses…”
Luo Xiya paused here, finally revealing her ambition.
“Then she will become the greatest stepping stone I’ve ever had. Rising to the top by stepping over the strongest Saintess of the Holy Light Church—don’t you think that’s interesting?”
Veronica stepped forward and tapped Luo Xiya’s forehead, wanting her to calm down first.
Only sufficient benefits can drive people to act, and the reason Veronica brought this up to Luo Xiya was because of the immense potential value behind it.
First of all, if she could win the championship at this exchange event, she would be able to choose any Saint Domain Relic from the Cathedral at will. Just this material benefit alone was enough to make countless people flock to it.
You have to know, many small countries don’t even have a single artifact above the Saint Domain level, and even Veronica’s Duke of Kelden family, which is among the top echelons of the Aingloran Empire, only has a handful.
Besides the material gain, what Veronica looked forward to even more was the potential prestige that could be gained from this exchange event.
For upper-class nobles or clergy, once their wealth and power reach a certain level, what they need most is to accumulate prestige.
Take Lady Catherine, Grand Duke Veronica, or even the distant Pope as examples.
The reason for their current status and fame, apart from their family backgrounds and extraordinary talent, is that they have all accomplished sufficiently ‘great’ deeds and accumulated enough renown.
Lady Catherine has taught countless famous geniuses, some of whom have even become Archbishops of the Cathedral, and she has vanquished countless high-ranking monsters.
Grand Duke Veronica is worthy of her title because she personally repelled a Demon Tide that invaded the Aingloran Empire, helping the empire reduce countless civilian casualties and annihilating the monsters beyond the borders.
As for Her Holiness Pope Sylvia, what she has done is even more astonishing.
Once, there was a recorded incident of Dark World monsters directly invading the interior of the Yanglight Continent.
Before the many small countries could even react, they suffered catastrophic destruction.
In the end, only when the knights and mages of the Holy Light Church fully mobilized was the chaos finally quelled.
No one knows how the monsters managed to bypass all defenses and appear in the heart of the Yanglight Continent; it was as unbelievable as the mythical descent of divine troops.
It was Her Holiness Sylvia who saw through the clues.
She crossed the mountains separating the Yanglight Continent and the Shadowed Continent alone, arriving by herself in the capital of the Black Rose Empire.
There, she instantly slew all the Mirror Demons on the spot, completely wiping out this bloodline of monsters, and then departed gracefully in front of the Black Rose Emperor and many high-ranking monsters.
To this day, no one knows what the Pope’s Sacred Seal truly is, because all records and everyone who has fought her have been reduced to ashes, leaving nothing behind.
This is the foundation upon which the Holy Light Church has built its supreme prestige.
If the Pope could kill Mirror Demons in front of the Black Rose Emperor, naturally, she could also kill a king or even an emperor in front of the whole nation.
To call her a humanoid nuclear weapon is to underestimate the authority of the Holy See.
The prestige of Sylvia comes from this.
As for Luo Xiya, though she had already become famous on the Continent early on, she had yet to establish truly overwhelming prestige—what she lacked was an opportunity.
And now, such an opportunity had appeared, one without much danger.
Competing with the Saintess was certainly safer than slaying high-ranking monsters, but the prestige it could bring was far greater.
Even if Veronica wasn’t entirely satisfied with her own daughter, she still had great confidence in her strength.
Even when facing the so-called top-tier Sacred Seal Saintess of the Cathedral, she felt that Luo Xiya had a good chance of winning.
After repeatedly locking eyes and confirming Luo Xiya’s determination, Grand Duke Veronica finally nodded and agreed to the trip.
Lady Catherine had no objections either, but when she looked at Roman, who was still being tightly held by Luo Xiya, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is Roman going with you as well?”
Grand Duke Veronica immediately frowned and fell silent again, clearly not in favor of this.
Luo Xiya grew anxious at once and was about to say something when she suddenly remembered what Milis had told her.
If Roman really was the person the Pope was looking for, wouldn’t bringing him to the Holy City be like walking right into a trap?
Thinking of the awe-inspiring Pope, she couldn’t help but feel a bit afraid.
Even if she prepared Roman perfectly, she instinctively felt that nothing could be hidden from that person.
If Roman’s identity was exposed in the Holy City, there would be no room for maneuver.
She would definitely lose Roman, and what kind of future Roman would face—she didn’t even dare to imagine.
So Luo Xiya made up her mind after all, deciding not to bring Roman this time and to leave him at the Estate.
“Aunt, Roman doesn’t need to come along. The journey is long, and I’m afraid he won’t be able to handle it,” Luo Xiya said with a smile, wrapping her arm around Roman’s shoulder.
Roman couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her.
He knew she meant well, but he wasn’t about to accept such an excuse—did she think he was that delicate?
Lady Catherine nodded, but then became troubled again: “But leaving Roman alone at the Estate, I don’t feel it’s very safe.”
Luo Xiya was already prepared: “Elise isn’t coming with me either. With her protecting Roman, I’m very much at ease.”
Lady Catherine hesitated for a moment before saying, “I’ll stay at the Estate as well. Anyway, there’s no point in me going to the Holy City again.”
She had originally intended to go to the Holy City for one last attempt, but now it seemed unnecessary.
After all, her ‘antidote’ was right by her side—why look far for what’s close at hand?
Veronica and Luo Xiya naturally understood her reasoning and did not object.
This time, only Luo Xiya would go to the Holy City with the Grand Duke, while Elise, Roman, and Lady Catherine all stayed at Lily Manor.
After the discussion, Grand Duke Veronica pulled Lady Catherine aside to an empty room, wanting to talk about something in private, while Luo Xiya dragged Roman away, saying she wanted to show him something.
As for what it was, no matter how Roman asked, Luo Xiya refused to say.