44: Chapter 44 The Holy Radiance Church! The Protestant Church of Light? A Question Raised!

After Aria made her decision, she did not hesitate any longer.

The two walked out of the prayer room one after the other, crossing the quiet cloister of the church, and headed toward the exit.

Just as they were about to exit the church, a voice filled with surprise and eagerness rang out from the side:

"Priestess Aliyah! What a coincidence, to run into you here!"

A gorgeously dressed young noble walked over quickly.

It was one of Count Farrell's sons, Ravenna Farrell, who was known in Gino City for his status as a Second-circle Mage.

His gaze toward Aria carried a faint sense of admiration and possessiveness.

However, when he saw that Aria was not alone, but accompanied by a handsome, unfamiliar young noble,

the smile on his face instantly froze, and his eyes were filled with surprise and disbelief.

Everyone knew that the newly arrived Chief Priestess of the Church of Dawn, Aria, was a famous ice beauty who gave no quarter to any suitor, let alone agreeing to private invitations!

It looked like the two of them were going out together? And who was that annoying-looking guy next to her?

"Mr. Ravenna." Aria stopped and nodded, her attitude as distant as ever. "Is there something? I have some matters to discuss with Baron Rowan."

"Baron... Rowan?" Ravenna quickly searched his memory. There were many barons in Gino County, but such a young and handsome one... how had he never seen him before?

Could he be a small-town noble from the countryside?

A trace of imperceptible disdain flashed in his eyes, but it was overshadowed by an inexplicable sense of annoyance and jealousy.

He forced a smile: "So it is Baron Rowan, I have heard much about you. I wonder where the two of you are going to discuss matters?"

"Why don't I play host and take you to the best Golden Finch Pavilion in the city? The environment there is elegant and most suitable for..."

"That won't be necessary, Mr. Ravenna." Aria interrupted him directly. Although her tone remained calm, it carried an unmistakable refusal: "We already have plans. Excuse us."

After speaking, she gave a slight signal to Rowan and walked straight ahead without glancing at him again.

Rowan gave a polite nod to Ravenna, then followed Aria's steps and walked out of the church gate.

Ravenna stood in place, watching the two receding figures, especially the obviously different attitude Aria showed toward that Baron Rowan, and an inexplicable rage suddenly surged in his heart.

"Baron... Rowan?" He muttered the name, a look of resentment flashing in his eyes.

"Someone come!" He barked in a low voice.

An Official Knight appeared silently by his side.

"Go investigate! Find out everything about that Baron Rowan! Immediately! Right now!"

"Yes, young master."

Gino City, Golden Crown Long Street. Inside a carriage heading to Snow Velvet Manor.

Aria's voice rang out. She looked at the calm-faced Rowan sitting opposite her and subconsciously explained:

"That person just now was Ravenna Farrell, Count Farrell's son. He is a Second-circle Mage and quite ostentatious, so you don't need to pay him any mind."

"Thank you for the reminder." Rowan smiled slightly. "It seems he is quite enamored with you, Priestess."

Aria gave a barely audible hum, did not take up the topic, and instead said:

"You need to be careful of this person. He is not broad-minded and has some influence in Gino City. If he causes you trouble because of this, you can... inform me."

When she said the last few words, she paused slightly, seeming unaccustomed to saying such things, but her tone was serious.

Rowan turned to look at her, a sincere smile rippling in his eyes: "With those words from you, Priestess, I feel at ease."

"However, I believe that in Gino City, under the shining light of the Goddess, there is always law and order."

During their conversation, the carriage had left the church district and entered the Still Lake district.

Inside the carriage, Rowan's [Charm] skill was like a gentle spring breeze, silently lingering between the two, creating an atmosphere that made it easy to open up.

He could feel that after leaving the church, the tension that belonged to a church priestess on Aria was quietly loosening.

Her ice-blue eyes also had a little less of their usual sharpness and a little more comfortable peace.

Even... with a hint of faint anticipation and excitement?

After passing through several tidy streets, the surrounding buildings gradually became sparse, and the environment became increasingly secluded.

When the elegant gray-white walls and exquisite iron gate of Snow Velvet Manor appeared in their line of sight, Rowan signaled the gatekeeper to open the door and turned to the somewhat curious Aria: "This is it, my new manor."

The carriage drove in. The scenery inside the manor slowly unfolded. The meticulously trimmed lawn was lush and green.

In the distance, Still Lake was like a mirror, reflecting the high, distant blue sky of autumn and the grove of snow maples hung with crystalline rime. A breeze blew, and the maple leaves and rime made a faint rustling sound. The air was fresh and refreshing.

"A very beautiful manor." Aria looked around, a flash of appreciation crossing her eyes.

"It is the manor's honor to receive the Priestess's praise."

The two got out of the carriage and walked toward the main villa.

On the top floor of Snow Velvet Manor, in the master bedroom. The afternoon sun shone in obliquely, casting bright spots of light on the floor and outlining the silhouette of the luxurious and huge night sandalwood four-poster bed in the center of the room even more clearly.

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Rowan had already ordered a small, exquisite round table and two comfortable high-backed chairs to be set up. On the table were simple white porcelain tea sets, and a pot of clear tea was emitting curling tea fragrance. At the edge, there was also a thick tome.

On the cover of the tome was a simple yet powerful pattern. A morning sun about to leap above the horizon, radiating light. Below it was an ancient, ornate title: "records of the dawns break"

The moment Aria's gaze touched this tome, her eyes suddenly narrowed, and a flash of complex expression crossed them.

She certainly recognized what this was. It was not the common "codex of morning light" or "book of morning light", but a foundational document that recorded the initial doctrinal divergence between the Church of Dawn and the Church of Radiance, and expounded the core doctrines of the "Church of Dawn", which was known as the "Protestantism of Light".

"records of the dawns break..." She whispered the name.

She raised her eyes to look at Rowan, who had already pulled out a chair for her, her eyes filled with inquiry: "Baron Rowan, your interest in this tome... seems much deeper than that of an ordinary believer."

"Please sit, Priestess." Rowan smiled slightly, signaling her to be seated, while he sat down opposite her: "Perhaps it is precisely because I am in the northern borderlands, far from the center of doctrinal disputes, that I am better able to examine some fundamental questions from the perspective of an outsider. And certain records in the "records of the dawns break" are the starting point of all these questions."

He personally poured her a cup of clear tea, the fragrance elegant. Then, he turned the "records of the dawns break" to a certain page, his finger pointing toward a passage of text that had been subtly marked.

"The source of my confusion today is precisely this." His voice was steady and serious, his gaze shifting from the page to Aria: "Regarding one of the core divergences when our Lord, the Goddess of Dawn, left the Church of Radiance to establish the new church: the reinterpretation of the [celibacy commandment] for the clergy."

The air in the room seemed to become subtly heavy due to this topic. The rime-covered maple grove outside the window rustled in the wind. The sunlight danced on the lake surface.

Rowan began to narrate, his tone like that of a rigorous scholar: "As everyone knows, the Church of Radiance insists on the centralization of theocracy, with the Pope as the sole spokesperson for the Lord of Light in the world."

"In order to maintain the [purity] and [transcendence] of the clergy, they established strict regulations."

"The clergy must remain chaste and single, so as to [isolate worldly desires], and only then can they be closer to divinity."

"They emphasize complex rituals, specific sacred relics, and the intermediary role of the Holy See, believing that believers must go through the church's layered system to obtain divine grace."

He paused, his eyes fixed on Aria, as if observing her reaction. At the same time, the invisible aura of [Charm] quietly deepened the focus and resonance of the conversation.

"But the "records of the dawns break" records that our Lord, the Goddess of Dawn, and the initial chosen one of the dawn, Sister Seraphina, raised fundamental questions about this." Rowan's finger gently traced the impassioned words on the page:

"Sister Seraphina believed that the Church of Radiance viewed classics like the 'True Words of Radiance' as secret texts that only high-ranking bishops could interpret, allowing ordinary believers to only passively accept the Holy See's interpretation, which in essence monopolized the path to divine light."

"She advocated that [The light of God is like the dawn, readable by all, understandable by all], questioning the authority of the Holy See and demanding that the true meaning of the doctrine be popularized to every believer."

Aria listened quietly, her eyes lowered, looking at the words on the page that she was already familiar with, yet every time she re-read them, she could feel the surging power and subversiveness within them.

These were the foundations of the Church of Dawn and one of the cores of her faith. But at this moment, spoken by Rowan with such focus and even a tone of resonance, it felt exceptionally different.

"And regarding the celibacy commandment," Rowan's voice lowered, carrying a solemnity like discussing a secret: "Sister Seraphina realized that this commandment, which might have originally intended to prevent the clergy from eroding theocracy with family private interests, had gradually deteriorated over the long passage of time."

"It became a tool for the Holy See to control the clergy and consolidate its own power, and furthermore, under the superficial strict rules, it bred countless hypocrisy and corruption."

"A large number of clergy ostensibly observed the rules, but privately indulged their desires; the commandment was in name only, and instead tarnished the purity of faith."

Rowan raised his eyes to look at the thoughtful Aria and said softly: "Therefore, Sister Seraphina proposed that earth-shattering proposition."

"Divinity is manifested in piety, not in asceticism."

"Marriage is a sacred bond bestowed upon humanity by the Creator God, a gift of life, and not an obstacle to faith."

"Even the Lord of Light should follow the original will of the Creator Father God."

"This proposition," Rowan concluded, leaning forward slightly, narrowing the distance between the two, "pointed directly at the sore spot of the Church of Radiance at that time, and gained the heartfelt support of a large number of low-level clergy and ordinary believers."

"The conflict of ideas eventually could not be reconciled, and the Goddess of Dawn, who supported this innovative concept, as the eldest daughter of the Lord of Light, resolutely led her followers to leave and established the Church of Dawn that we believe in today."

Rowan leaned back against the chair and continued: "Priestess Aliyah, you see, if I were in the Oterier Empire, which is still dominated by the Church of Radiance, let alone discussing such core doctrinal divergences in private with a Chief Priestess like you, I probably wouldn't even have the qualification to publicly question the celibacy commandment, and might even be denounced as a heretic."

"It was the dawn light of the Goddess of Dawn, it was these words in the "records of the dawns break", that gave clergy like you the right to choose a partner without having to abandon your faith."

"And it also gave ordinary believers like me the possibility to discuss the true meaning of faith with you on equal footing."

"So, do you think that when Sister Seraphina proposed [Marriage is a sacred bond and not an obstacle to faith], she was also striving for a more complete way of existence for people like you who both shoulder the priesthood and possess a body of flesh and blood?"

"In your view, after the Goddess of Dawn opened this door for the clergy... can those priests who choose to enter marriage really find a balance between love and faith as expected by the doctrine?"

"I often think, if the purity of faith does not rely on isolation but on integration, then if a priest can love someone, would they instead be better able to experience the warm care of the light for human life?"

"As a Priestess of the Church of Dawn, how do you view this permitted choice? Does it make the clergy feel a more complex struggle than strict rules when facing worldly emotions?"

Rowan's words up to this point seemed to be just recounting history and doctrine, and then raising some questions. But the purpose of his choosing the "records of the dawns break" and choosing the topic of [celibacy commandment]... Aria had already quietly understood.

Sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling window. On the dark blue cover of the tome, the pattern of the breaking morning sun reflected a soft halo. The room became quiet and focused, with only the sound of the two's light breathing. Rowan waited; next, it would be up to this intelligent priestess to see how she would respond to the confusion of this devout believer of his.