Chapter 48: Extraction

Chapter 48: Extraction

Walter came to the third floor, bent his finger, and knocked on the master bedroom door.

“Who is it?” Dawn Dantes’s somewhat weak and hoarse voice came from within.

Walter turned the handle and pushed the door open a crack.

“Sir, Bishop Elektra has come to visit you.

“Would you like to see him in the parlor or sitting room, or invite him directly to the bedroom?”

Normally, visitors were not permitted to enter the host’s bedroom. It was an extremely improper act. However, visits to the sick were an exception.

After a brief silence, Dawn Dantes answered, “Invite him to the bedroom.”

“Very well, sir.” Walter gestured for Richardson to hurry the maid into preparing tea, then walked to the lower floor and led Bishop Elektra of the Evernight Church upstairs.

Before long, Elektra entered the bedroom and saw Dawn Dantes reclining against the bed, looking somewhat haggard.

“Richardson, bring the bishop a chair.” Dawn Dantes smiled, his face slightly pale.

Richardson had already prepared and immediately moved a high-backed chair to a spot not far from the bed.

Elektra took a few steps forward, observed the new tycoon’s face, and asked with concern, “Dawn, how are you feeling? Have you had an internist come by?”

His spiritual intuition had not been stirred, so he made no other attempts. This was merely a normal sick visit to a devout believer.

Dawn Dantes coughed softly twice and revealed a smile.

“I’m actually almost recovered. I think tomorrow, or the day after, I’ll be able to continue going to the cathedral and listening to your sermons.”

“That is good. I was wondering whether I should help pray to the Goddess for protection on your behalf.” Elektra laughed, took a step back, and sat in the chair Richardson had moved over.

At that moment, Dawn Dantes glanced at the bishop and chuckled.

“I have actually always had a question. Are priests and clergy of the Church of the Goddess allowed to marry?”

Elektra, still two years shy of forty, sighed and smiled.

“This question actually troubled us for a very long time.

“During many ancient theological councils, the archbishops argued fiercely over it.

“One side believed that servants who attended the Goddess must maintain purity, regardless of gender. Otherwise, it would be blasphemy against God. The other side found the Goddess’s words within The Revelation of Evernight and other scriptures, believing that the Goddess encouraged marriage and encouraged equal, normal relations between men and women. They believed clergy should serve as examples rather than counterexamples, and that this was the greatest respect toward the Goddess.

“In modern times, this issue has basically been set aside. The Church neither forbids nor encourages it. The only requirement is that married clergy cannot have their family members live inside the cathedral.”

Dawn Dantes listened and slowly nodded. The corner of his mouth lifted.

“Bishop, do you have a wife?”

Bishop Elektra, whose face was thin and whose looks were not striking, yet somehow pleasing to the eye, sighed. His smile was difficult to hide.

“Two years ago, under the Goddess’s witness, I entered the hall of marriage. This year, we happened to have a child.

“I had originally intended to remain single and serve the Goddess all my life, but…”

As he spoke, he gave a self-mocking smile and shook his head.

Before Dawn Dantes could press further on the topic, Bishop Elektra asked in return, “You also seem to be single. Are you considering marriage?”

He seemed to take the answer to that question for granted and directly treated it as confirmed. Then he asked, “What sort of lady do you like? Perhaps I can introduce you to someone suitable.”

Dawn Dantes coughed softly again and smiled.

“In the past, in order to accumulate wealth, I was always choosing adventure. That is why I was unwilling to marry. I feared I would drag someone else into danger. Heh. As for the type of woman I like, there are many. I am not…