“You will learn in due time. In fact…”

He called over what looked like the maid of the palace and she quickly ran over.

“Call over Venus, please. Tell her it is urgent.”

The woman nodded and bowed to the Bishop before leaving.

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Several minutes passed and the woman he had seen earlier soon arrived.

She walked up to the pair and got behind them. Was she going to examine him? In that case, he better stay still and not do anything to catch her ire. From the way they spoke to each other earlier, when Blasius fully convinced Ash, she seemed to be his superior or at the very least, someone more respected.

“Ow!” He shouted. That superior of the Bishop just slapped his ass. And it wasn't light either, he was left on the floor after that hit.

Blasius seemed more well-prepared and blocked it with his knee.

“You've arrived. Now do tell, where is our King?”

She tried to grab somewhere more precious this time but he used the force of her arm to throw himself over her body, landing like a cat.

“Come on, I just wanna feel. I'll even let you feel me back.”

Blasius sighed and Ash looked on in disbelief. Just what was this religion?

“You let me grab you all the time a few years ago.” Venus continued.

“Please don't give our new member any wrong ideas, Venus. Now tell me where our King is.” He answered.

“For fucks sake, just call him the Pope. I know it kills your whole knight fantasy not to serve a king but tough shit.” She answered more casually than angry.

He simply stared at her. She sighed and looked at Ash, still on the floor.

“Fine, let's go. Get your blindfolds ready.”

“Blindfolds?” Ash asked.

“As much as it pains me to say this, only those of the Archbishop and Cardinal rank may know where our lord's body resides. So he's still there?”

“Correct. He's still there praying. This current session has lasted about two days, so he's not leaving for a while.” Venus answered.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Blasius pulled a cloth out of his pocket and Venus pulled one out of hers. Blasius glared at her and she sighed before walking towards Ash and wrapping it around his eyes before lifting him up.

“I got it all musky for you as well…” Venus commented.

(“!?”)

“It would do you good if you kept your mouth shut sometimes!” Blasius angrily commented. It was the first time Ash sensed any emotion in his voice.

“If you didn't react like that, I would have stopped doing it.” She responded using a high-pitched voice.

Ash felt a prick on his hand. “You bastard, what is she-” Ash's body fell limp on her shoulder.

“Now then, bring us to the carriage,” Blasius asked.

“You sure you don't want some too? It'll take about a day to get there and I'll tell ya, my ass gets redder than a cherry with how bumpy the path is.”

“I know better than to trust you while I sleep.”

She shrugged her shoulders and led him outside.

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Ash found himself awake. There was no ceiling above his head but a dense coverage of leaves and branches, barely allowing any sunlight to touch his face.

He looked down to see Venus closing his pants.

“Not bad, you must have been quite the lady slayer back in the day, gramps.”

He tried to punch her but she blocked it without so much as a twitch on her part. He quickly drew his fist back and flicked it with a grimace. It felt like he tried to punch a block of steel.

“Don't mind her, she's a bit impulsive,” Blasius stated, several feet away. “If a thought comes to mind and you're within grabbing distance, she'll do her best to satiate it. For example, I can imagine her thinking something along the lines of ‘Hmm, I wonder how big it is?’ and within seconds she'll try to take your pants off to find it out.” He sounded annoyed which made it seem like he was talking from experience.

“What a rotten woman!” Ash shouted. “Have you no shame working for a woman like that!? She's no better than a beast if she thinks like that!”

“I serve the king, not these fools.” He stated. “And Venus, don't you dare kill him simply because he bad-mouthed you! I won't take killing my protégé lightly.” He said in a low and commanding tone.

He didn't even notice she had her hand on his neck until Blasius’s words.

“Ugh, fine, just tell him to watch his mouth.” She tapped his neck and walked past him with Ash only now realising how close his life was to ending.

(“Bastards! I knew she was a handful but that Bishop made me believe this group was somewhat respectable. I knew this was a group of lunatics, I should have gone down swinging when that blonde little shit first entered my building! From now on, I'll have to keep my mouth sealed.”)

They walked for another minute or so until coming upon a cave with two guards at the entrance.

They both wore armour similar to the Bishop's, but unlike his, their’s seemed to be bare metal rather than a deep and glossy black, with various other small differences. They seemed to be rolling dice and gambling with each other, with one having a stack of coins larger than the other.

“Huh? Oh, it's just the knight with you, go ahead with him.” One stated before rolling his dice.

“Did another priest ask to see the Lord?” The other asked. “You should learn how to tell them no. Someone like Father Daniel was one thing but most priests aren't worth the effort.”

Blasius and Venus ignored the pair, heading straight to the cave with Ash running along after them.