Anna leaned against a railing while slowly sipping the honey lemon tea in her hand while admiring the scenery of the Straton confluence.
The theme of Straton was particularly well known for its lemon productions since the days were sunny while the night was cold, the lemon had a sweet taste that was very difficult to find elsewhere in the continent.
It was very popular to drink alcohol while watching plays, yet Ovid had forbidden Anna from consuming alcoholic beverages, forcing the girl to experiment and create a drink strangely similar to the lemon tea commonly found in the supermarkets back in Ovid’s world.
Anna enjoyed the sights of the Threatre of Straton, considered to be the best in the empire. Outside the building, sails fluttered and trees cast shadows of themselves, and there was even a floating platform gently swaying on the lake. Inside the building were marble furniture, servants in silk clothing, and famous actors performing. Everything was made to be enjoyed. Unfortunately, since Ovid had brought and consequently freed all the slaves, there was a shortage of labour, the ships weren’t sailing, and the trees were half tended to. The actors still reformed, yet many of the stage props were missing
Anna sat at a table near the rails and peep through the linen curtain designed to block the sun at the surface of the rails. She felt slightly disheartened. Since Ovid had purchased and freed all the slaves, many had simply returned to their previous occupations, the courtesans sold their body, though the money no longer flowed to their masters. Worse then, was the fact that their labour now costs money, and many had starved to death after using what small wealth they had.
Ovid certainly had good intentions, but his thinking had been too simple and too naive. Anna lifted the Lycurgus Cup that shined brilliantly in the sun and finished the remaining lemon tea in one gulp.
Of course, the issues were not in the freeing of slaves, but that the farms and business establishments were still the property of others. The one at fault the most would probably be Martha, who had encouraged Ovid to free all the slaves but have not lifted a finger to reintegrate the freedman into life afterwards.
This naturally stemmed from Martha’s apathy towards human life. As far as she was concerned, she had managed to avoid Julia’s attempt to weaken her power even more, and now that she was on the last days as the Strategos of Straton, it was no longer her responsibility to tidy up issues that may arise in the future.
For now, Ovid was still ignorant of the current situation, for he was still recovering in the minor realm. Anna had only come out and enjoyed the play in celebration of her advancement to a deacon.
She silently made a mental note to solve this issue once she returned to the capital, and, suddenly, earth-shattering applause came from the other side of the theatre. The hot wind spread the cheers and drew Anna’s attention toward the railings. She soon placed down her glass cup and joined in unison with the applause, placing the matter elsewhere in her mind. In a moment, there was a lively mix of roars and clapping.
The actors had been forming far half a day, and even the most professional could not last so long under the intense weather of the south. The stage was soon tired up, and a sizeable group of women wearing pure white stepped onto the flat plains.
The people from the clergy were a rare sight, and it was quite clear that the only reason why they would amuse the people sitting on the theatre was due to the figure that was on the floating platform.
The day after tomorrow would be the day Martha returns to the capital and officially relinquish her position of Strategos. As such, she had personally invited talents from the clergy to make an appearance.
Of course, the true big shots such as bishops did not make an appearance, having so many powerful individuals gather at one place would be truly troublesome. Furthermore, many of them viewed fighting for other’s amusement was quite vulgar.
Anna had heard tales that in the northern kingdoms, talented people as powerful as those raised by the clergy were as common as weeds, each of them with a separate backing. In comparison, the Julian empire had all collected them under the clergy.
At this moment, one of Martha’s vassals left the platform on the lake and appeared on the plain. She raised her hand to greet the clergywomen and said warmly, “Seeing such a gathering of young genius today, I could not help but feel deeply moved. The empire truly is experiencing a second raising, with prodigy appearing more and more often. I hope you shall continue to train in order to help the empire expand once more after ten thousand years of peace.”
Anna thought the vassal sounded very fake but watched on as the vassal laughed and said, “On that day, I shall be fighting alongside you. Perhaps I am a little old, but I am confident you fledglings will teach me a few tricks today.”
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The people from the clergy were more used to meditating in a silent room and found it hard to understand the vassal’s courteous speech. Although they could only understand half of it, they still felt quite good listening to the praises and made an attempt to smile as the vassal spoke.
The clergy had always been an integral branch of the Julian empire, and this naturally included the aspect of war. Though an army hasn’t been raised in many, many years, attention was always made to ensure talents wouldn’t be wasted. Even if the clergywomen didn’t like politics, there was bound to be a war to fight in the future.
The vassal on the plain muttered to herself for a while, then suddenly smiled and said, “It is said that the pope is on his deathbed and the king of Vetti who had been nominally under the pope’s influence has plans to surmount his authority. Has everyone heard about that?”
She tossed out an unverified rumour to the crowd. Saying a few more praises and
encouragements to the clergywomen, she soon returned to the platform on the lake.
At the upper portions of the theatre, Anna abruptly slapped the railings and tightly grasped it with some strength. It seemed that she had suddenly grown agitated for no clear reason. She gaze was directed at a girl carrying a basket and selling apples to the audience. Given the warm weather of the north, it was strange to see apples sold.
The girl stood with her back to the plains the whole time, and the lower portions of her face were covered by a cloth. Just as the vassal spoke of the pope’s impending death, she turned around and glanced over.
Anna was excellent at recognising faces, and with a sudden turn, a pair of thick eyebrows came into her view.
Isn’t this person Catherine? Why did she travel from the north all the way south to Straton? Stranger yet, Catherine’s identity as a bishop was higher than anyone of the girl’s standing on the plain, yet she had been humble enough to start selling apples to ordinary people that she felt so repulsed by? (Okay, this was actually added in the edits of the older chapters, feel free to read them in like, two weeks when I finish re-writing the Phalaris arc, for now, continue reading on!)
Anna was shocked by her sudden appearance, but her mood soon cooled down. She had heard that Catherine had disappeared not a week after they had let the city of Phalaris, following an unknown figure. Since Catherine was here, the unknown figure too was undoubtedly present at well.
The only reason for a saint to have come to the city at this time, when Martha had announced her retirement would be to end Martha. Why? Because a loose saint was the most dangerous force in the world, they could kill off the entire governing body of a kingdom without any real repercussions.
If two saints met and fought, then the impact would be terrible. Half the city would be in ruins, and the clouds would have parted from their impact.
If that’s the case, Anna thought, she must be decisive and ask Irene to make an appearance to prevent a clash. She searched the built for any odd figure.
No saint would be foolish enough to fight against two other saints simultaneously. Even Julia could not easily fend off against two of her vassal without serious losses.
The girl selling the apples returned the change for the apple she sold and kicked the stone platform beneath her. Immediately, she arrived on the plain.
With a calm expression, she stood naturally before the floating platform and said to the vassal, “It is harmful to spread rumours. I suggest you retract what you said immediately.”
The vassal under Martha narrowed her eyes at this strange figure, yet she did not speak anything, as if the apple selling girl had silenced her spirit.
At this moment, a warm breeze blew from the surface of the lake into the plains. It rustled the thin clothing the girl was wearing, but also had removed the cloth which obscured her face. It almost appeared as if a missing girl had returned to her family with a mysterious man and carrying a child.
When one of the girls from clergy sawed her appearance, she grew hesitant. A moment later, her eyes dimmed and she exclaimed in a meek voice while falling on her knees, “Bishop Catherine, how are you here?”
The people crowded around the theatre were utterly shocked. The gaze at the girl on the field became curious yet fearful.
Catherine? The youngest bishop Catherine?
The Catherine who suddenly disappeared a month ago? The only person to reach bishophood by the age of fifty in a hundred years? The person said most likely to inherit the mysterious position of a matriarch?
While Catherine who had disappeared for over a month became the centre of attention, Anna had scanned her gaze all across the sea of people below her. After a moment, she noticed an adolescent boy feeding a piece of barley bread to his puppy, sitting on a black stool among the crowd.
Anna placed her hands on the railing and stared without blinking her bright eyes. He discovered that the puppy in the boy’s hand was completely silent. It was as if the dog saw the whole scene and purposefully made itself less visible.
Anna saw this strange action. She stretched out her hand and retrieved the Lycurgus Cup from the railing.
Without a moment of hesitation, Anna had thrown the cup onto the ground with immense force.
---
At that moment, all was quiet in the theatre due to Catherine’s sudden appearance. Thus, the sound of smashed glass was the only thing resounding across the theatre.
Some people looked up at the private room, wondering if it was a person previously oppressed by Catherine that had dropped the cup she was holding out of fear. They were unable to see through the linen curtain, and understand that was certainly not the case.
Most people watched the field anxiously, wondering what Catherine will do next.
Only the adolescent boy and his dog could peer through the thin linen curtain. He could clearly tell that the glass had been purposely smashed, not dropped. He was somewhat confused and tilted his head while gazing sideways.
He saw that Anna was coldly gazing back, focused intently on him.
Anna’s gaze was always very warm, so this rather cold gaze was somewhat strange and seemed almost humorous.
The pope was disguised as an ordinary spectator, he was even wearing a woman’s clothing. Seeing Anna, he could not help but become excited for the first time in a long while.
Julia’s heir, you are also here!
The pope lowered his puppy, his calm gaze that was directed toward Anna like two bright beams of light.
Few a few hundred meters between them, the woman in the private room and the man sitting on the black stool seemed to have forgotten about everyone sitting or standing in the theatre, The pope looked at Anna with a naked coldness that did not leave her body.
While there is no grudge between the two, killing Julia’s successor was a step in the direction of ending Julia herself.
Even if Julia declares war on the papacy after the accident, it would be better to fight her now, when he stilled have some vitality left in his body.
A wounded lion is more dangerous, and the rumour spread by the vassal was indeed correct. He, the pope was nearing the end of his life.