"An acting representative?"
At those words, Gerhard's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, he blurted out,
"Then I'll appoint Tonio to handle the Church's affairs in Heim. I still have some unfinished business back in Mandrake City."
"Wait."
Before Hel could even respond, Tonio panicked immediately. What kind of joke was this? With assassins lurking in Heim, leaving him here alone was basically sending him to die.
"Lord Gerhard…"
Tonio tried to protest, but Gerhard gave him one look—and he went completely silent. Hidden spies might kill him, but defying Gerhard's orders could get him beaten to death on the spot.
"Then it's settled. Count Hel, I'll leave the Church in Heim under your watch for now."
"Of course."
Hel nodded politely, exchanged a few courteous words with Gerhard, and left the church.
Gerhard, fearing that it wasn't safe to travel at night, decided to spend one more night in Heim and depart early the next morning.
One night shouldn't be too dangerous, he thought—but just to be safe, he shamelessly begged Hel to lend him a squad of knights to guard the church area.
Hel agreed.
That night, inside the Heim lord's council chamber, Hel met Vivian as usual.
"My lord."
Vivian knocked and entered, bowing respectfully.
"Gerhard's sudden return was quite unexpected," Hel said, sitting opposite her with a faint frown as she studied two documents. They were Vivian's reports on Gerhard and his companion.
"Still, things aren't as bad as they could be. Gerhard may have backing, but he's cowardly to the core.
I merely told him there were beastman spies hiding in Heim, and that alone scared him enough to want to run away."
"But my lady," Vivian asked anxiously, "a priest who abandons his post would face severe punishment. Would Father Gerhard really do that?"
As a Church insider, Vivian clearly understood its strict hierarchy better than Hel.
"He will."
Hel's voice was firm. "Gerhard is greedy and timid. If two people pretend to be assassins tonight and scare him a little, he'll definitely flee.
Besides, I already gave him a solution—he can appoint an acting representative for the Church in Heim and then make up any excuse to return to Mandrake City."
"But that still isn't proper…"
"Perhaps not before—but now…"
Hel slid another file across the table to Vivian.
"This is the latest intelligence Witt brought me from Mandrake City. The Church there isn't doing well. The old archbishop expelled a number of priests, partly to weaken Father Conrad's faction.
He used the guise of righteousness to scatter Conrad's followers.
If Gerhard goes back now, he'll ruin the old archbishop's plan.
Conrad will definitely find ways to keep Gerhard in Mandrake City—because doing so gives him the excuse to call his own men back into the city."
"You mean… they'll turn on each other?"
Vivian gasped softly, covering her mouth.
Having been raised within the Church's sheltered protection, she could hardly believe that holy men would resort to fighting over power.
"Not open warfare," Hel replied calmly, "but there will be assassinations, ambushes, and poisonings for sure.
Both sides will do whatever they can to strengthen their influence.
Until one of them clearly wins, we won't have to worry about Gerhard returning to Heim.
And even if he does, the Church here will already be out of his control—if he's even still alive by then."
Hel smiled faintly. "I've already sent evidence of Gerhard's embezzlement to the royal court.
If things go smoothly, in a month or two, the verdict will arrive.
When that happens, be ready to take over as Heim's new priest."
Hel stretched and yawned. Staying up late was never her strength—once night came, sleepiness always followed.
"But the Sisters of the Maiden Order never participate in local power struggles," Vivian said hesitantly.
"Mother Superior Theresa would never approve of this."
"She will," Hel replied with a slight smirk.
"The Maiden Order doesn't seek power—but if power is handed to them, they won't push it away.
Now, Vivian, go and prepare to take charge of the Church in Heim."
"…Very well, my lord. Then I won't disturb you further."
Vivian stood, bowed once more, and left quietly.
The next morning, Hel woke early and refreshed.
She had slept soundly—but Gerhard hadn't been so lucky.
The elven maids disguised as beastman assassins had loosed several arrows toward the church during the night, keeping Gerhard and Tonio awake in terror.
As expected, at dawn, Gerhard gathered his people and prepared to leave Heim immediately.
But when Hel arrived at the church gates, her face darkened.
A group of knights was escorting several bound nuns into a carriage—and Vivian was among them.
"Father Gerhard," Hel called coldly, "I believe I deserve an explanation. What exactly have these nuns done?"
"Ah, Count Hel, up early, I see! Thank you again for your knights' protection last night," Gerhard said awkwardly with a forced smile. "But to avoid troubling you further, I'll be departing soon."
He tried to wave it off and continue on, but Hel didn't move aside.
"Father Gerhard," she said sharply, "I need an explanation."
She waved her hand, and her knights immediately surrounded Gerhard's group.
Gerhard froze for a moment but quickly composed himself. His clerical rank was his shield; surely Hel wouldn't turn against a priest over something so small.
"Oh, this must be a misunderstanding," he said quickly, gesturing toward the bound nuns.
"They were embezzling Church funds while I was away. I was simply preparing to send them to Mandrake City for trial."