After Troy returned, Luo Wei delegated most of the mulberry garden affairs to him and resud her leisurely lifestyle.
She only involved herself in one matter - selecting the supervisor.
"Let's go with this one," Luo Wei circled a na on the application form Bella had submitted. "Nick - sounds like an honest fellow from his na. He lives nearby and has no family ties - no parents, wife, or children. Such people tend to integrate better into our family."
Bella looked puzzled - could one really judge soone's character just by their na?
"Master, perhaps we should consider the other candidates?" she suggested carefully. "There are more qualified applicants after Nick. Though he ets the basic requirents, his background is sowhat... concerning."
"Concerning how?" Luo Wei frowned. "Explain."
"According to his fellow villagers, he's beco rather peculiar since losing his wife and child. He's reclusive, often talks to himself, and rarely leaves ho except to tend his fields. He's even refused all attempts by neighbors to arrange a new marriage."
After listing these oddities, Bella added delicately, "His wife was executed for worshipping dark gods. He might be... similarly inclined."
"There's nothing wrong with that," Luo Wei retorted firmly. "The man was devastated after losing his family - what's strange about wanting solitude? He loved his wife deeply and doesn't wish to remarry - how is that problematic?"
"How can we condemn him for his wife's mistakes? That's prejudice - you're breaking an honest man's heart!"
Is... is that really the case?
Bella bowed her head contritely: "Master, I see my error. I'll send soone to notify him about the position right away."
"Now you're learning," Luo Wei nodded approvingly. "Off you go."
"Yes, Master."
Bella turned and hurried out.
Everyone at Star Luo Residence was occupied - Troy supervised workers plowing the mulberry garden, maids helped Bella calculate recent expenses for farming tools and construction materials, while male servants prepared and delivered als to the workers.
Rosie and Roman attended classes during the day and taught the holess children in the backyard at night. Tom had taken on the daunting task of feeding the two horses and one griffin - reportedly delivering the fat sheep to the griffin with his eyes tightly shut each day.
Luo Wei wandered about, only to find that no one at Star Luo Residence seed to have ti to chat anymore. Feeling dejected, she retreated upstairs to rest.
Seven or eight days later, shocking news arrived from the southern countries.
When Luo Wei returned to the academy that evening, she heard students engaged in heated discussions all along the way. Even in Rose Castle's corridors, groups of girls whispered excitedly.
"Did you hear about the leaves that rained from the sky at Black Reef Coast?"
"Yes! I was just about to tell you!"
"Listen - the leaves were covered in holes. I bet they were made by venomous insects sent by devils."
"Never mind that - what about the writing on them? Southern rchants say the leaves tell of a tragic romance between the Love Goddess and the Life Goddess. Wonder if it's true?"
"No, no - the God of the Dead was involved too - it was a love triangle! Both the Love Goddess and the God of the Dead were deeply in love with the Life Goddess. But the God of the Dead stole her divine authority. The Love Goddess grew so jealous her eyes burned red, and she swore to slay the God of the Dead to reclaim her beloved's legacy!"
"What?! But both the Love Goddess and Life Goddess are female deities - can goddesses love each other that way?"
"It must have been unrequited love from the Love Goddess. She wept bitterly when the Life Goddess fell. Oh, what heartbreak!"
"What nonsense! Didn't the divine oracle clearly state that the Thief God stole the Life Goddess's authority, causing her fall and the Love Goddess's tears?"
"We're not talking nonsense! Perhaps the Thief God in the oracle was actually the God of the Dead. The church probably just didn't want us knowing the dark god's true identity."
"Then why speak of such dangerous things?!"
"If you don't tell and I don't tell, who will know?"
"Exactly!"
The discussions continued until dawn.
The excited students burst from their dormitories first thing in the morning, eager to share their night's worth of theorizing.
"I pondered this all night - if the God of the Dead took the Life Goddess's authority from the Love Goddess, why did the Love Goddess have it in the first place?"
"Right? The oracle says the Thief God stole it - so who's really the thief?"
"Quiet! Do you have a death wish, speaking such things?!"
"What's the problem? I don't worship the Love Goddess. We northerners fear nothing!"
"Indeed - can't we even speculate anymore? We're just discussing possibilities."
"Maybe the Life Goddess entrusted her authority to the Love Goddess before falling, but then the God of the Dead stole it?"
"Haven't you studied divine history? Gods fall and dissipate when they lose their authority!"
"Exactly! Like those gods who fell in the Great Wasteland War - their authority was either scattered or inherited by other deities."
Luo Wei followed the crowd toward the classroom, silently listening to their theories.
Gods fall when they lose their authority, so how did the Life Goddess only just... no, she actually fell a thousand years ago.
It was only because the God of the Dead preserved her divine core, preventing her divine throne's collapse, that the Life Goddess appeared to have "endured" until now.
If divine authority was like operational software, the divine core would be its key - without it, none could gain recognition or access its functions.
The Love Goddess could use the Life Goddess's authority because she employed a "cracker," but such compromised power was limited, accessing only partial functions.
So when she destroyed the divine core, it triggered a signal to the authority, and its anti-theft asures caused it to self-destruct.
Luo Wei sighed inwardly - the security asures weren't thorough enough. Why hadn't they destroyed the Love Goddess and the Sun and Moon Gods too!
As they neared the classroom, the students' passionate debates showed no sign of abating.
Indeed, love triangles and forbidden romances captivated people across all ages.
She wondered how many would believe her fabricated tale, and among those, how many would grasp its hidden aning.
The orthodox gods weren't as righteous as people imagined - just as these words revealed, the Love Goddess was the true thief who stole the Life Goddess's authority.
Shattering the perfect image of orthodox gods and making people question their faith - that was her aim.
Of course, having the God of the Dead help draw the angels' attention was also part of her plan.
The great God of the Dead would likely agree - after all, He claid to be her mother.
Luo Wei entered the classroom, withdrew her wand from her sleeve, placed it on the desk, adjusted her skirts, and sat down.
Today was magic spells class. To beco a mage sooner, she needed to focus on the lesson.
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