As Lathel finished speaking, the hall fell silent.
But a few seconds later, applause broke out—praise for him grew louder and louder.
"Long live the Prince!"
"The Prince is right, we must take care of our people first."
"The people are the foundation for any kingdom's development. What the Prince is doing is absolutely right."
"I'll support the Prince as well."
"Me too! I'll contribute 100,000 gold coins and a ton of grain."
"I want to support the Prince too."
The crowd responded one after another, their eyes full of admiration for Lathel.
Selvia was the same; she hadn't expected Lathel to make such a decision.
'This is my man—so kind, so strong.' Selvia thought to herself, her love for him, already firm, now even stronger.
Viviane was only brought back to her senses by the clamor of the crowd.
She gritted her teeth. "Lathel, are you crazy? Do you want to become an enemy of the Church?"
Seeing Viviane's expression, Lathel sneered inwardly, but outwardly remained perfectly calm.
He even feigned surprise before frowning and saying, "Saintess Viviane, what are you talking about? Why would I want to be an enemy of the Church?"
"Don't play dumb!" Viviane shouted in anger. "You're obviously using this excuse to cut off funding to the Church—which is the same as going against us!"
Lathel sighed. "Saintess Viviane, you seem to have misunderstood."
"I have no wish to go against the Church—I just want to care for the people of this kingdom."
"Besides, the Church's teachings are all about spreading compassion and love for everyone. Right now, the people of this kingdom are suffering. The Church should be the first to help, if you really believe the teachings you so often preach, right?"
"I haven't even asked you or the Church for help, yet you immediately say my actions are antagonizing the Church."
"Viviane, if the Pope knew what you just said, I'm sure he'd be very disappointed."
Cheng!
The wine glass in Viviane's hand slipped, shattering—glass and wine splattering everywhere.
"You… you…" Viviane ignored the glass, only pointing a trembling finger at Lathel, stammering, "What the hell are you saying? I…"
"The Prince is absolutely right." At that moment, one of the attending nobles spoke up. "The Church is always preaching about love and tolerance for all."
"So where is the Church when people are in trouble?"
Everyone began to raise their voices.
"The Church receives huge subsidies from the Prince, and now that the people are suffering, when the Prince wants to temporarily suspend them, you immediately show a bad attitude. Is this the true nature of the Church?"
"Hahaha… So the Church really isn't full of good people. All you want is to use your empty sermons to deceive the foolish masses."
"Saintess, I think you and your Church should just get out of here—or else, I'll go and smash your cathedral myself!"
Seeing this, Lathel inwardly smiled in satisfaction.
In reality, even though the Church had a branch in the Kingdom of Terith, most people—especially the nobles and the royal family—disliked the Church.
Or more accurately, they utterly despised it.
The only reason the Church could establish a branch here was because it was simply too powerful.
The Radian Church was like a giant beast, its influence spanning nearly half the entire continent.
To go against the Church was tantamount to suicide, which was why Catherine and others, though deeply uncomfortable, still had to open their doors and let the Church into the kingdom.
But now, with an opportunity in hand, everyone was naturally eager to direct their hostility at the Church—especially its representative in Terith, Viviane.
Hearing the crowd's words, Viviane grew even more furious inside. But she couldn't lose her temper; she had to find some way to break this deadlock.
But there was no solution.
'Damn it!' Viviane cursed inwardly, her hands clenched so tightly they turned white, her teeth grinding so hard they made a harsh, grating sound.
'Why is this bastard suddenly so clever today? He's pushed me into a dead end—I can't find a way out.'
Indeed, everything Lathel had done had forced Viviane into a corner.
If she left, it would mean she accepted Lathel's words as true, destroying the Church's reputation.
If she announced the Church would support the people, it would already be too late.
Everyone would just say it was only because Lathel suggested it.
Even if she truly wanted to help, all the credit and benefits would go to Lathel.
No matter what she did, Viviane and the Church would gain nothing.
On the contrary, all the advantage went to Lathel, and all that remained for her and the Church was criticism.
Viviane's anger was so great her body trembled, her face burning as if it might catch fire.
"Lathel… you… you did well." Viviane gritted her teeth. "I never thought you could be so ruthless."
Lathel sighed and shook his head. "It seems you misunderstand—I only want to help the people."
"Besides, with natural disasters and crop failures, the royal family can't collect too many taxes, so I can't allocate much of the kingdom's resources to the Church."
"Our people must come first. I'm sorry, Saintess."
"Lathel is right." Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.
Catherine was now wearing a flaming red dress and queen's cloak.
Combined with her red hair, she looked like an immortal flame, exuding such majestic power that Viviane instinctively stepped back.
"Mother." Lathel and Selvia bowed to Catherine.
"Your Majesty!" The rest of the crowd also bowed with the utmost formality.
Catherine nodded slightly, then turned to Viviane: "Saintess, the kingdom is facing many difficulties right now. I hope you can understand."
Viviane, seeing Catherine, felt a wave of unease rise within her—her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Although she and Catherine had equal status, in terms of strength, she was nothing but a tiny ant before Catherine.
Viviane took a deep breath, slowly unclenching her hands, then said, "I understand. In that case, I won't trouble you any further."
With that, Viviane left in anger—her high heels echoing sharply on the marble floor for all to hear.
Once Viviane had completely left, the guests began to murmur again; of course, the topic had now shifted from Selvia and Lathel to Viviane and the Church.
Lathel bowed his head to Catherine, hand over his chest, and said earnestly, "I'm sorry, Mother. I made this decision on my own without consulting you."
"It's fine," Catherine replied coolly. "We can't support the Church forever. It's time they understood… we are not cowards."
Lathel nodded. "Mother, don't worry. I can handle this."
"Oh?" Catherine was a bit surprised, her eyes taking on a new look as she gazed at Lathel.
She smiled and said, "Do you want me to help with anything?"
Lathel smiled back. "No need, Mother. I don't believe the Church would dare try anything strange within our kingdom."
Catherine nodded, "Don't be overconfident. Be careful."
Of course, Lathel had his own plans. He refused Catherine's help because he was afraid of exposing his darker nature. He still needed to maintain his gentle and kind-hearted façade.
"Good! Then I won't disturb you any further—wishing you and Selvia happiness. I have some matters to attend to, so I'll be going now." With that, Catherine turned and left.
Lathel watched her go, a flash of greed flickering in his eyes before vanishing quickly. He smiled, took Selvia's hand, and said, "You were very brave just now."
Selvia blushed, biting her lip and smiling. "I… I wasn't thinking much at the time. I just didn't want her to insult you, so I… I…"
Lathel lifted her soft hand and kissed the back of it.
"I know…" Lathel said. "Don't worry, from now on, I will protect you."
Selvia obediently nodded, a happy smile lighting her face. "Uhm!"
The banquet quickly ended, and Lathel and Selvia retired to their chamber.
Tonight, Selvia was beautiful—she had always been beautiful, with a System-rated beauty score of 86.
But after meticulous makeup, she was even more radiant.
Lathel caressed her face, and Selvia didn't resist.
Tonight, she would become his woman. That thought made her both nervous and excited, her heart pounding so hard it felt like it would leap from her chest.
Lathel smiled and said, "Selvia, you're truly beautiful."
"Uhm, Lathel… I… I'll try to be a good wife," Selvia stammered shyly.
After that… what happened next was enough to make even the moon above shyly hide behind the clouds.
🔔 [Ding! Selvia's Loyalty has risen to 'Loyal' – 90%.]