The woman was extremely tall. Her face was veiled in black gauze, and she wore a simple nun’s habit without any decoration.
Yet with just a single glance, everyone could sense that something about her was abnormal.
Gaia and Erwin barely managed to control their expressions. Zoe directly sucked in a sharp breath, shock spreading across her face.
The wind lifted a corner of the veil, revealing beneath it a densely packed structure of gears, tiny connecting rods, and various pipelines.
The woman’s eyeballs suddenly trembled and locked onto Zoe. It was as if a mechanical lens rotated—her pupils adjusted slightly, rapidly enlarging and shrinking, carrying an indescribable inhuman quality.
She looked human, yet not entirely so. Her appearance seemed suspended on a dividing line—below it was cold machinery; above it was a human shell.
It was as if a precise machine had been carelessly covered with a layer of skin. Rather than reassuring, it instead stirred a kind of primal fear deep within the body.
The wind gradually weakened. The black gauze fell back down, hiding that gear-filled face behind the curtain once more. Only then did the group shudder and come back to their senses.
“Welcome to Rhine. I am the Arch-Mechanism Chancellor of the Mechanical Sanctum. You may call me Hela.”
Gears turned. Air flowed through mechanical filters, vibrating reeds in her throat. Yet the voice that emerged was a gentle female voice, without the slightest trace of machinery.
The surrounding soldiers simultaneously struck their long halberds against the ground. Refined stone slabs collided with fine steel, producing crisp sounds that lent the introduction a hint of gunpowder tension.
Erwin’s throat bobbed, but he did not speak. Instead, he shifted slightly to the side, allowing the two behind him to step forward.
He was a military officer; in theory, he was merely accompanying them and should not be the one to speak at such a moment.
“Greetings. I am Gaia, Technical Priest of Imperial Truth. She is Zoe, Chief Clerk of Blood Harbor.” After finishing her introduction, Gaia subconsciously extended her hand, only then realizing that this was not Castel.
The custom of shaking hands had been brought over by Huse. On one hand, he despised the tedious etiquette of the nobility; on the other, physical contact allowed him to trigger 【Detection】.
Neither the Empire nor the Church had such a ritual.
Just as Gaia showed an embarrassed expression and was about to withdraw her hand, a trace of complexity flashed across Hela’s gear-filled face. She stepped forward, gently took Gaia’s hand, and gave it a light shake.
Warm and dry.
The soft touch withdrew almost instantly. By the time Gaia came back to her senses, Hela was already shaking hands with Zoe.
Strange. How did she know about handshaking? Did this custom exist anywhere outside Castel?
The airship’s hatch slowly closed. With the roar of the steam engine, the entire airship gradually ascended into the sky.
Hela glanced at the airship above but said nothing. Instead, she turned around. “Please follow me, guests.”
After speaking, she walked forward from the plaza. The path ahead had long been laid with soft carpets, and soldiers and priests stood solemnly on both sides.
Gaia and the others hurried to follow. Once they had gone some distance, the soldiers behind them turned and followed as well, walking through this resplendent Rhine City.
“His Holiness Joanne has been in poor health recently and has not received guests for many days. Your meeting with her may be postponed.”
The gentle voice came from beneath the black veil. Gaia and Zoe exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised.
No matter what, Beatrice was a Transcendent.
It was normal for Transcendents to be injured; falling ill, however, was rare. It was likely just a pretext.
But their diplomatic mission to Rhine had never truly been about that. As long as they could exchange technology with the Mechanical Sanctum, it would suffice. An audience with the Pope was, in truth, not that important.
Castel and the Church of Candlelight had fundamental conflicts. Cooperation held no meaning; maintaining temporary peace was already good enough.
“Please convey my blessings to His Holiness Joanne and wish her a swift recovery.” Gaia responded in an official tone. “Count Huse also asked us to send his regards. He has been quite concerned since His Holiness Joanne left Castel.”
At those words, Hela suddenly stopped in her tracks.
The group was instantly alarmed. This was, after all, the territory of the Church of Candlelight. If they had inadvertently violated some taboo, it would be best to avoid conflict.
But Hela merely paused.
After a moment, she resumed walking. Without turning back, her tone remained calm. “His Holiness Joanne has mentioned Count Huse several times as well. He has long guarded the Empire’s frontiers and shared His Majesty’s burdens—such loyalty deserves commendation.”
Gaia was momentarily stunned. The Lord… loyal? Loyal in what way?
But now Beatrice was not only the Pope, but also the Empress of the Empire. If she said Huse was loyal, then the Imperial Cabinet would naturally find evidence of his loyalty.
Gaia could only offer a vague expression of thanks. Beside her, however, Erwin’s eyes flickered, sensing something amiss.
This Hela was clearly from the Mechanical Sanctum—she had introduced herself as the Arch-Mechanism Chancellor. Yet now she spoke on behalf of the Empire, saying that Huse would be rewarded.
It seemed that the Empire had truly fallen entirely into the hands of the Church. Church personnel no longer even bothered to avoid suspicion—they had begun directly managing state affairs.
They passed through the long corridor that ran across Rhine City. From the airship earlier, it had not seemed so remarkable. Only now, standing upon it, could they truly feel the grandeur of the structure.
The road paved with stone bricks was carved with intricate patterns and inlaid with gold leaf.
Upon closer inspection, the gold leaf was embedded only within the inner contours of the patterns. Viewed as a whole, it did not overwhelm the design or appear overly ostentatious, yet it rendered the entire corridor magnificent.
Sunlight spilled across it, reflecting countless golden glimmers like tens of thousands of candle flames, stretching endlessly forward. Even they, as people of Castel, felt an overwhelming sense of sanctity.
No wonder the Silent Sanctum had said their cathedral was simple. Just this single corridor was filled with ingenious design.
However—
The group exchanged glances and then looked down beneath the corridor.
Below the stone-built passage stood square stone pillars rising straight upward. At their tops were pointed arches carved with complex patterns, extending downward into Rhine.
Perhaps due to the height, they could not see the ground below—only countless towering church spires and connecting corridors. Priests of the Church of Candlelight and the Mechanical Sanctum moved in and out, while performers chanted hymns.
Sunlight gilded the entire city in gold.
Sacred, peaceful, orderly, perfect—yet—
This was Rhine, the Industrial City?
Where was the industry? Where were the factories? The roaring steam engines? The chimneys spewing black smoke?
Gaia opened her mouth but ultimately did not voice the question.
One could easily imagine that such a topic was sensitive.
They had come only to exchange technology. It was better to avoid stirring trouble.
“Ahead lies the Gear Sanctuary of the Sanctum. Please wait for me here a moment.” Hela walked forward alone.
The group came to a stop and looked up at the building before them.
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