The air fell into a deathly silence.

Silence roared in her ears as Yanis squinted, scrutinizing Baron of Minhausen, Roland Galaxia—oh, his title now was Viscount Galaxia.

Standing at the castle entrance, Yanis had thought of various possibilities: Roland holding out defiantly, Roland fleeing in panic, Roland fighting like a cornered beast, or Roland begging on knees—she had thought of every possibility.

Surrendering to the divine authority of the Court of God seemed very reasonable. What was unreasonable was Roland's posture in surrender.

In any country, surrendering was not a matter of pride. Surrenderers either had ashen faces, clenched their teeth in rage, or were covered in blood. None would appear in full noble regalia, wearing noble crests as if attending a grand feast to surrender.

Yanis's heart burned with rage. Who gave you the courage to look more confident in surrendering than those accepting your surrender? She frowned lightly, chiding, "I see no sincerity in your surrender. Kneel!"

"I will not kneel."

"You dare defy me?"

Yanis gripped her staff, ready to strike him on the head at any moment.

"Priestess Yanis, mind your words and status. I am a noble; you are a commoner. According to the common standards set by the gods, even if I surrender to you, as a commoner, you should kneel to accept it."

Yanis was speechless, and Egilina, standing behind Roland, almost fell to the ground in shock. Roland was right; according to the standards set by the gods, nobles only kneel on one knee to their lords, and even when praying to the gods, they only need to bow.

Perhaps Yanis was furious, or maybe she had spent too much time in the Divine Court of Light, or she had encountered too many sheepish commoners, which made her forget the chasm between nobles and commoners. She had grown accustomed to seeing herself as a servant of the Goddess, even deluding herself into thinking she was the Goddess's representative on Tiamat. Too many had knelt before her; she was genuinely taken aback faced with one who refused to kneel.

Kneeling was definitely out of the question, even if Roland surrendered. She was there to assert the authority of the Divine Court of Light. If she knelt to accept the surrender, wouldn't it be a farce?

As her mind crashed, even forgetting to suppress Roland in the name of the Divine Court of Light, Roland smiled benevolently:

"I am very forgiving and can overlook your refusal to kneel."

Yanis was infuriated by his words. She stared at Roland with a cold tone as chilling as the wilderness wind, "Are you saying I should be grateful to your mercy?"

"That's unnecessary. As I said, I am a forgiving person. I do not demand anything in return for my goodwill."

Seeing that Roland refused to be at a disadvantage in their verbal exchange, Egilina, fearing that the two might come to blows, quickly intervened as a peacemaker.

"Yanis, you've come a long way. Since Roland is willing to surrender, why not come into the castle for a cup of tea, and we can discuss terms slowly?"

"Duchess Egilina, this has nothing to do with you at the moment. Step back."

Yanis did not accept Egilina's kindness. Roland's unconventional surrender disrupted her plans, but she was experienced and had seen all kinds of scenes. Even though she had never encountered such a brazen surrenderer, she at least did not forget her mission.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

She raised her voice, acting as a broadcaster to the entire barony. "Roland, you have no right to negotiate. I am here to announce the verdict on behalf of the Archbishop."

"First, the Barony of Minhausen must unconditionally acknowledge defeat."

"Second, starting today, the Barony of Minhausen must convert to the Goddess of Light."

"Third, the Divine Court of Light will construct a temple in the Barony of Minhausen to spread the doctrine."

After stating her three demands, she cast a challenging glance at Roland, waiting to see him embarrass himself.

Playing smart, huh?

She wanted to see what Roland Galaxia could come up with. As she confidently awaited Roland's setback or even resistance, Roland once again sidestepped her expectations.

Roland did not have the power to broadcast his voice across the entire domain, but he knew sorcery. With a slight lift of his hand, he cast a sound amplification spell. With the spell's enhancement, his voice was even louder than Yanis's.

While it's true that being right isn't about being loud, most don't understand this. This was the effect Roland sought. His voice, excited to the point of trembling, roared to the entire domain:

"My people, rejoice!"

"Our devotion has been observed by the Goddess, who has descended her glory upon us today!"

"I declare, from this day forth, all citizens of the Barony of Minhausen may voluntarily take the Goddess of Light as your religious belief."

"May god bless Priestess Yanis for bringing the Goddess's glory to this land! Rejoice!"

Not only was Yanis baffled, but Egilina was also stunned. Having spent decades in the StarGazers and traveled across various countries, she had seen a wide range of scenarios, but never a surrender speech that sounded like a victory address.

With Roland going this far, Yanis was at a loss. She could smash his head with her staff if she insisted. But the consequences were unimaginable. Killing a noble had severe repercussions, and as a white-robed priestess, she couldn't bear them.

The Court's authority and secular power were both cooperative and antagonistic. Viscount Galaxia was a vassal of the Risenburg Empire, not directly under the emperor, but still a member of the empire. Killing an empire's viscount for no reason would inevitably lead to intense conflict between the Court and the empire. A simple strike could have severe consequences. If a war broke out, how many would die because of her anger?

Yanis looked down at the Court's emblem on her left chest, depicting the Goddess blessing humanity with open arms. Wearing this priestly robe, she couldn't act as she wanted.

As much as she found it unpleasant, Roland's determined attitude left her with no reason to blame. Staring intently at Roland, Yanis silently activated the unique mental control skill of a battle priestess. If she succeeded, she could make Roland bow to her. She just couldn’t bear his attitude. After Roland had irritated her for so long, she would make him embarrass himself thoroughly to vent her spleen.

"Roland, since you wish to surrender, come here."

Glancing at the tense Egilina, Yanis chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't harm him. I know clearly what I should not do."

Egilina was slightly reassured. Although Yanis was cruel and bloody to enemies, she never crossed the line. Under Yanis's gentle call, Roland's eyes gradually lost their luster. He walked towards her like a zombie.

Egilina, following behind Roland, did not notice his abnormality. Seeing Roland under her control, the fury in Yanis's heart finally cooled a bit. Alright, she wouldn't torment him anymore. Letting him kiss her boot as a sign of submission would suffice.

"Roland, come before me, in the posture of a loser, and submit to the servant of the Goddess!"

Yanis extended her right hand while protruding the tip of her right foot from her robe, revealing the back of her boot. She silently commanded Roland to kiss her boot.

She deliberately did this for Egilina to see. Look, I'm offering him my hand and boot. It's his choice to kiss the boot, not my fault.

Even if Egilina found out later, she could pretend nothing had happened. Roland was sure to suffer this loss. In front of the Court, no surrenderer could be so arrogant.

As Roland slowly bent down, Yanis couldn't hide her smile. Seeing Roland bow, Egilina was astonished, then relieved, but felt a small loss. Roland, are you really going to bow? It's hard to accept. But it's okay; bowing temporarily for a broader survival space isn't a loss. Let this humiliation of kissing the boot be the price of growth then.

Egilina turned her face away. She refused to witness this scene.

Yanis felt relieved, her frustration from being repeatedly provoked vanished. She was so happy she didn't notice that Roland's eyes were clear when he bent down.

Yes, he was pretending, waiting for this moment. Yanis moved first; he was just retaliating. Swiftly grabbing Yanis's insincerely extended delicate hand, he hesitated not a moment before kissing it.

Roland fiercely kissed the back of Yanis's hand, his tongue darting out like lightning.

In other words, Roland licked Yanis’s hand with his tongue. That was his small revenge for Yanis, who tried to mind-control him.

Yanis's expression froze instantly, her fair face completely blushed.