HTLCCBFT Chapter 223

Has The Lord’s Career Chart Been Filled Today? – Chapter 223

For most people living in the southern part of the kingdom, the passage of time in the coming year seemed unusually swift.

If you were to ask the young faces studying in the divine temple, they might eagerly anticipate the interesting stories the Priest would tell that day while simultaneously dreading the inevitable memorization and dictation exercises. Failing to achieve good grades in exams would bring increasing pressure from their watchful parents, enough to cause them considerable distress.

However, for diligent children who happened to possess some talent, the exams held every two seasons were actually their most anticipated events: those ranking in the top ten would not only receive certificates personally awarded by high-ranking Priests but also receive incentive bonuses of up to five silver coins!

For skilled adults participating in this grand construction project destined to last for years, five silver coins might represent just a few days’ wages. But for children, five silver coins were undoubtedly a dream fortune they longed for.

Most importantly, as living conditions improved and family savings grew, parents became increasingly generous. Most were willing to enhance their living environments and certainly wouldn’t be so stingy as to confiscate their children’s scholarship money. Instead, they would often add a few extra silver coins to reward their precious child who had “received the wisdom bestowed by the cat god,” allowing them to joyfully take to the streets and freely choose the snacks they had been craving for so long.

After substantially introducing talent from other cities, along with some outsiders who courageously flocked to Gregor city upon hearing the news, the lord’s originally planned four-year construction project was significantly shortened. It reached three-quarters completion in just a year and a half.

Havest Street, already considered the most prosperous thoroughfare in the south, now truly deserved to be called spacious and expansive—both its width and length had been greatly extended, reaching three to four times their previous dimensions. The central portion of the road was designated for carriages, oxcarts, and handcarts, divided into two directional lanes. Vehicles no longer moved haphazardly in random directions but were required to follow the arrows painted on the road for orderly passage. Under constant guard supervision and with high penalties for accidents, initially reluctant drivers gradually accepted these traffic rules.

The outer edges featured flower bed dividers constructed from leftover bricks from building projects, planted with seasonal flowers that bloomed in rotation and young trees already sprouting light green shoots. Outside the flower beds lay predetermined drainage systems covered with grid-patterned lids.

Beyond these were pedestrian walkways, with enough space on both sides for three people to walk abreast. These were also monitored by guards who prohibited unauthorized street stalls. The outermost areas were designated for vendors and shops, with much lower density than before. The deliberately planned spacing helped eliminate fire hazards and improved air circulation.

In certain intervals, numerous large wheeled trash bins were placed—daily moved by workers to suburban composting sites—along with free rest areas for public use.

The stone benches were always occupied by weary travelers who had bought freshly baked, fragrant snacks from street vendors, chatting and enjoying their food as they rested.

As for the newly constructed wooden houses with stone foundations, while they appeared highly similar in overall structure due to adhering to uniform standards and designs, homeowners were permitted to customize details like roof tile colors. Compared to the expensive stone-built old mansions belonging to the wealthy—grand and magnificent in appearance—the bursts of vibrant colors interspersed among seemingly uniform neat houses often brought knowing smiles to people’s faces.

With lives growing increasingly prosperous, the benevolent lord and generous God who had bestowed these blessings were steadily advancing their plans during leisurely moments.

Just as Spire had predicted, the lords of the three mining cities hesitated only briefly before accepting the exceedingly favorable terms promised by the Duke, thoroughly joining the “Angel Duchy” led by this increasingly powerful Grand Duke.

This clearly meant that these three mineral resources of paramount importance to the kingdom had fallen completely into Oliver’s hands.

When autumn arrived, the tax collectors and ore escorts dispatched from the royal capital, after their long journey to the Iron territory, were destined to be firmly turned away.

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Royal Capital.

On the bustling yet disorderly streets, vendors urgently peddling their goods had just distantly heard the “clip-clop” of hoofbeats when they frantically gathered their stall items, skillfully dodging backward amid others’ complaints.

Sure enough, before long, through billowing dust, tall, stern-faced knights rode magnificent horses of evident worth, encircling the most important and ornate carriage in the procession as they hurried toward the city center.

After all, this was the royal capital—minor nobles were common enough for residents to grow accustomed to them.

But such pomp was absolutely reserved for major nobles of viscount rank or higher… and even for them, it wasn’t a frequent sight.

People instinctively stared at the carriage’s rear adorned with lavish gold ornaments until someone soon recognized the intricate coat of arms: “It’s the Count Pride family’s!”

“Oh, is that Count Pride’s carriage?”

“But if I recall correctly, didn’t he depart yesterday to accompany His Majesty to the hunting grounds?”

“He couldn’t have returned so soon.”

“You must have mis-seen it.”

“Fool, how could that be!”

While people held both concern and indifference toward major nobles’ movements—regardless, their own business and immediate livelihoods remained paramount.

The hurried procession was like a small stone tossed into a lake’s center, stirring brief ripples before calm quickly resumed.

What commoners couldn’t know was that the person alighting from the most luxurious carriage was Miss Pride of the Count Pride family, who had left the royal capital over a year ago and should have been in the midst of her newlywed honeymoon.

With a composed expression, she descended from the carriage, her steps brisk and decisive—a stark contrast to the elaborate, heavy skirts she wore. As she removed her silk gloves, she inquired of the butler who had hurried to meet her: “Is my father in?”

“I regret to inform you, esteemed Miss,” the butler said hesitantly, “the master has received the honor of accompanying His Majesty on the hunting expedition and departed yesterday.”

“I see.”

To his surprise, the Count’s daughter, returning after a year’s absence, showed no trace of what could be called “surprise” or “dissatisfaction.” Nor did she appear ready to confront her father about her disastrous marriage, which had become the laughingstock among nobles of equal or even slightly lower status.

She nodded calmly instead. “Make the necessary preparations. I shall first go to the divine temple for prayers.”

“……Yes.”

Though inwardly puzzled, the butler bowed respectfully and responded in a low voice.

No one had even thought to inquire about the whereabouts of… her husband, who hadn’t accompanied her back to the capital.

After all, it was widely believed among most nobles in the capital that Miss Pride was a devout follower of the god of light.

Perhaps to mitigate the impact from the divine temple and minimize other troubles brought by his usurpation, even though the new King Cameron had originally worshipped the god of knowledge Wisdom [mfn]维斯顿(Wéi sī dùn)[/mfn], after seizing the throne, he unblinkingly switched his allegiance to the god of light Sunn—under the pretext of “continuing” his father’s will.

Although everyone knew perfectly well that the old King being “continued” had been personally killed by this “devout” new believer, they readily accepted this change, satisfied with the sincerity shown by the new King.

The gentle evening glow bathed the bustling capital. Having washed away the dust of her journey, the Count’s daughter regained her radiant appearance and boarded her carriage again, heading toward the Main Temple serving the god of light at the very center of the capital.

Her arrival undoubtedly startled the lower-ranking Divine Servants who hadn’t completely forgotten this noble lady known for her generous donations, quickly followed by delight—especially when, while walking straight into the temple without glancing aside, she had her maid distribute coins sufficient for them to enjoy several cups of fine wine. This made them even more welcoming of her return.

As a high-ranking noble, despite having just entered a farcical marriage, she unquestionably possessed the privilege to proceed directly to the inner prayer chambers of the temple.

“I have witnessed events and stories that need to be shared with the great messenger of the god of light.”

As usual, after uttering these words indifferently, she was led by understanding Divine Servants into what could be described as a narrow prayer chamber.

This specially constructed chamber had three walls of immense thickness with excellent soundproofing qualities. Even the door was specially made from premium wood as thick as a finger’s width, ensuring that not a word spoken by devotees to God could be heard from the corridor just outside.

The only one permitted to hear was the presence behind the single thin wall drilled with countless tiny holes, in another similarly constructed chamber—the Grand High Priest Abino[mfn]爱彼诺(Ài bǐ nuò) – ‘albino'[/mfn] of this Main Temple, whose status was second only to the Grand High Priest and widely recognized as the next successor.

This child with peculiarly distinctive features, bearing bloodline mixed with what was called the “secret” poison yet undeniably noble, had been sent to the temple since childhood. Stripped of all emotions and joys, he seemed destined to dedicate his body, mind, and soul to God.

The reward he possessed was the supreme position in this divine temple in the future, along with the King’s trust, which was rarely granted to others.

The Grand High Priest, with white hair, crimson eyes, and pale, almost sickly skin, sat quietly on the other side. His lips were pressed into a straight line, his eyes closed, listening to the girl’s—or perhaps the woman’s—confession.

“I regret that I was unable to see him this time.”

The young woman, who was both the daughter of a powerful Count’s family and the wife of a newly impoverished Count, spoke unhurriedly:

“My husband harbors exceptional hatred and fear toward him. As for the cunning old lord he relies on, he has no interest in further provoking him through the foolish act of using my marriage, even if it is an unreasonable demand from His Majesty… that narrow-minded thief.”

“The only gain this time was obtaining the new book, I suppose.”

As she spoke, she deftly used her pinky finger to open the narrow, privately carved gap, slipped the book previously hidden inside her petticoat through it, and pushed it firmly across.

The Grand High Priest, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke: “Thank you very much, Miss Pride.”

Calmly, he picked up the book, now creased from being squeezed, and gently smoothed out the folds with his soft palm before carefully tucking it into his chest.

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