Chapter 009: The Pope’s Invitation

The moonlight flowed like water, casting a gentle glow on the ground, but Du Fan, up in the attic, was drenched in cold sweat…
It took some time before Du Fan, gritting his teeth, spoke slowly, word by word, “You’re a Saint-class being? Who exactly are you? What bring you here?”
“What brings me here? Perhaps to kill you, or perhaps to help you…” The woman smiled calmly. Finally, she reached out to tidy her long hair and said indifferently, “My name is Margaret, a Holy Knight and Saint of the Sacred Church… You must have heard of my name, right?”
Du Fan’s heart trembled. Though he had never heard of this name, given her demeanor, there was no need for her to deceive him about such things. If she were indeed a legendary Holy Knight… It was said that there were only eight Holy Knights in the Sacred Church these days, all of them experts at the Saint-class or above, and she happened to be one of them…
Thinking of this, Du Fan gave a bitter smile and said, “So it’s someone from the Holy City… But why did you come to me in the middle of the night? If there’s something, you could have come early in the morning. It’s deep at night, and we’re alone here—if anyone sees us… I might not mind, but you, Lady Margaret… it would be highly inappropriate!”
Margaret raised her eyebrows slightly and stared at Du Fan coldly, “If you keep spouting nonsense, aren’t you afraid I’ll cut off your tongue?”
Du Fan shook his head slightly, only offering a faint smile as he said calmly, “Go ahead and try.”
A murderous intent flashed across Margaret’s face, but after a moment, she calmed down and said coldly, “You’re quite perceptive. You guessed I wouldn’t kill you just now, so naturally, I won’t harm you now either… As for me personally, a slick-tongued brat like you would be better off dead… But I didn’t come here for that today.”
Du Fan smiled. He had regained some strength and slowly stood up, leaning on the railing. “A Holy Knight from the Holy City comes to see me—what could possibly be the reason? Could it be that His Holiness the Pope wants to summon me?”
Margaret was momentarily stunned, but then she smiled slightly and said, “You’re quite clever after all. I’ve come with an order from His Holiness the Pope. He said he greatly admires you and hopes to speak with you in person.”
Du Fan hadn’t expected his casual guess to be correct. He frowned slightly and asked, “What does that mean?”

Margaret smiled faintly and whispered, “Can’t you figure this out? His Holiness the Pope is very satisfied with your actions in the Gavin Diocese and intends to promote you… It is said you don’t have a godfather yet, and His Holiness wants to take you as his second godson. This is an incredible opportunity. Given your nature, I’m sure you won’t refuse, right?”
Du Fan’s eyes twitched slightly. He couldn’t tell whether what she said was true or not. Logically, even if he had achieved something, it was limited. How could the greatest figure on the continent regard him so highly and even take him as a godson?
If Anthony had said this to him, he would have believed it instantly. But from this mysterious Margaret… it was really hard to believe such words out of nowhere!
Seeing Du Fan’s expression, Margaret seemed to understand his thoughts. She simply smiled and said, “Well, I’ve completed my first task here. Whether you believe it or not is your decision… Besides, this isn’t the time to discuss these matters, Lord Du Fan… We still have a lot to do!”
With that, Margaret looked straight into Du Fan’s eyes, wearing a half-smiling expression.
Du Fan frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”
Margaret replied calmly, “Just come with me!”
Then, as quickly as lightning, Margaret dashed outside the attic and in the blink of an eye was on the roof of another building, still wearing that half-smiling expression as she turned back to look at Du Fan.
Du Fan knew well that following such a mysterious person was likely to lead to nothing good. Yet, driven by some unknown force, he took a deep breath, sorted out the chaotic combat energy and magic within him, and floated toward Margaret like a ghost.
At the same time, he felt frustrated. In his current state, running wasn’t a problem, but if a fight broke out, he doubt he could even land a single strike. He had considered calling a few people from the Divine Might Prison to follow, but thinking of Margaret’s skills, he gave up the idea.
It was a dark and stormy night… the perfect time for murder and arson…
This strange thought suddenly crossed Du Fan’s mind, and he couldn’t help but wear a peculiar smile. Then, he glanced at Margaret ahead…

In the middle of the night in Odinburg, Margaret, clad in silver armor, raced across the rooftops. Her slender figure appeared even more enchanting against the darkness. Du Fan, dressed in fine attire, followed behind, maintaining a distance of about ten meters between them—a distance carefully chosen so that neither could easily launch a surprise attack.

Du Fan tried several times to speed up, but Margaret seemed to have eyes at her back; she matched his pace whether he quickened or slowed down. Eventually, realizing she was doing this on purpose, Du Fan stopped trying further.

Both of them moved at incredible speeds, and it took less than a few minutes to traverse the entire large city of Odinburg.

Yet Margaret seemed thoroughly familiar with the city. She led Du Fan from south to north, then from north to east, circling the city before heading toward its central area. Along the way, they didn’t encounter a single patrol soldier. If it weren’t for Du Fan hearing distant footsteps, he might have thought they were walking through an uninhabited city.

Finally, they reached the center of Odinburg, near the lord’s mansion. The mansion was still brightly lit, but strangely, Leopold’s blood-armored cavalry was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was Garfield’s black-armored troops who stood quietly in the shadows. Clad in black armor, they stood hidden in the darkness, and if not for the faint sound of their breathing, their presence would have gone unnoticed.

Upon arriving, Margaret stopped beneath an attic across from the mansion and swiftly slipped inside through an open window. Alert, Du Fan sent out his mental senses and confirmed that there was only Margaret inside before floating in lightly.

Inside, he found Margaret standing by another window, gazing at the mansion with an expressionless face, like a lifeless statue. Du Fan walked over slowly, smiled gently, and said in a low voice, “Miss Margaret, I’m curious—why did you bring me here?”

Margaret’s expression remained unchanged. After glancing at Du Fan, she replied calmly, “Garfield has many skilled warriors. If we provoke them, even I can’t guarantee we’ll escape unharmed… So it’s better to be cautious.”

With that, Margaret casually threw something at Du Fan. Du Fan caught it—it was a black nightgown. Margaret said coldly, “I’m going to change now. If you dare to peek, I guarantee that the famous Duke Du Fan will become blind tonight.” Du Fan smiled bitterly inwardly and gave up the idea of peeking. He understood that with her methods, if she wanted to gouge out his eyes, he would likely not be able to escape… This woman’s changing clothes might be interesting, but his eyes were more important… Besides, what’s so special about it? I’ve seen it before! Thinking this, Du Fan reluctantly put on the nightgown. With their backs to each other, neither could see the other. After a moment, both of them were dressed. Du Fan turned to look at Margaret and saw that the form-fitting nightgown perfectly highlighted her slender yet graceful figure. He silently praised her in his heart but kept a calm expression on the surface. Margaret, clearly used to such gazes, paid no attention. She hummed softly and said, “If you reveal yourself and ruin my plans for tonight, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” With that, Margaret vanished in a flash, heading toward the city lord’s mansion. Du Fan felt frustrated—what did his business have to do with hers? Why did I bother following her here? If I had known this, I wouldn’t have come at all! Yet, once he started something, Du Fan had no intention of giving up halfway. He took a breath, didn’t bother casting any magic, simply lifted himself slightly, and slipped away, disappearing instantly into the night sky…