The situation had grown ridiculously complicated.@@novelbin@@

The mere fact that I knew about the Holy Nation’s secret base carried enough weight to spark a diplomatic incident. While Lutetia was a direct territory under the Belvur royal family, limiting the intervention of other nobles, the problem lay in the location of the base—beneath St. Latina Cathedral.

Belvur’s monarchy was relatively strong, but it wasn’t invincible like the Empire, where nobles could be crushed outright under imperial authority. Moreover, although the royal family maintained a neutral stance on religion, many nobles were devout followers of the Goddess’ faith.

Naturally, if the royal forces attacked one of the faith’s holy sites like St. Latina Cathedral, massive backlash would ensue. Some nobles might even evoke memories of the long-past persecution of the Goddess’ Church on this land.

Ironically, this was the exact reason only Charlotte and Sophia from the kingdom were directly involved in this operation. The situation needed to be contained, with as little information spreading as possible. The forces encircling the cathedral in secrecy comprised only royal troops and loyalist knights, ensuring no undue attention.

But then…

A gryphon had emerged from beneath the cathedral.

As a result, the Holy Nation's forces stationed in the cathedral suffered catastrophic losses.

Although the gryphon was an imperial symbol, the Empire had never done anything significant with it. Gryphons were untamable, making their use in warfare impossible. Even if Lutetia’s citizens associated the gryphon’s emergence with the Empire, the latter could easily dismiss it with a “We have no knowledge of this” excuse.

The real problem was the chain of events that followed.

While it was clear something catastrophic had occurred at the cathedral, strange incidents also erupted within the Holy Nation.

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