In Olympia City.

The Empress Zoe from the Sirius Peninsula had already arrived in Olympia City, and the City Lord Apilius personally came to greet her.

The reason for not agreeing to the southwest route Crusaders' request earlier was also because his eldest granddaughter was about to arrive in Olympia City, causing Apilius to be unable to manage everything at once.

"My dear Majesty, you seem much more mature compared to last time." Apilius helped Zoe out of the carriage.

"My dear grandfather, you haven't changed since last time; the lifespan of a Demigod truly makes us mere mortals envious." Zoe smiled as she placed her hand in her grandfather's arm.

At this moment, Zoe was already a noblewoman approaching thirty. Time seemed to have left few traces on her face, merely erasing the youthful innocence she once had and replacing it with a woman's unique allure.

Seeing Zoe's noble and graceful attire, Grandfather Apilius couldn't help but let his thoughts once again wander to his other granddaughter, Theodora.

Zoe was about six years older than Theodora. Now Zoe was 28, while Theodora was 21. Indeed, both of his granddaughters had grown up, hadn't they?

Next, Apilius saw Zoe's husband, a fat banker gentleman from Athens, stepping out of the carriage with a smile, nodding to greet his Demigod elder.

Apilius felt slightly displeased and responded with a reserved nod.

In fact, whether it was Zoe, Theodora, or Apilius, this family was a typical group of visual creatures who preferred the looks of handsome and beautiful young people, having little interest in those of unremarkable appearance.

As for Zoe's marriage to this banker, it was entirely a political alliance: the other party had considerable connections and financial resources in Athens, helping Zoe to quickly consolidate her ruling base in Sirius.

Privately, the two barely spent nights together, each having their own pursuits—Zoe secretly kept several beautiful Sirius youths, while her banker husband naturally had his own secret lovers, in line with the noble customs of the time.

Not to mention, like Theodora's clean living and consistently following her beloved around was the oddity among nobles, wasn't it?

Thinking this, Apilius led the Zoe couple towards the palace in Olympia City.

"How goes the Crusaders' battle now?" After entering the palace and dismissing the attendants, Zoe asked casually.

This tone, like questioning a subordinate, made her banker husband uneasy. However, Apilius was not offended by his granddaughter's impudence; he simply said calmly:

"It's said that the mercenaries have progressed smoothly and have advanced to the Thrace Plain."

The entire Thrace Province had mountains in the west and plains in the east. Since they had reached the plains, it meant the fortresses in the mountainous areas had been removed, allowing the Crusaders to pass freely.

As for the Thrace Plain, there were no fortresses difficult to defend or attack, and passing through this area would lead to the giant Theodosian Walls of Constantinople.

"It seems I need to prepare jewelry and attire to return to Constantinople," Zoe said with a charming smile.

Apilius: .........

In truth, if the restoration of the empire succeeded, he hadn't yet decided who should be the new emperor of the Solomon Empire.

Nonetheless, he leaned towards Theodora—not because he liked Theodora more, but because the team around Theodora had far exceeded Zoe's in both strength and connections.

If Zoe were made Empress, Theodora would certainly not let it go, and if the conflict between the sisters reignited, even if Apilius fully sided with Zoe, they wouldn't likely be a match for Theodora's side.

Just the union of the Church Court and the Divine Luo Empire would be enough to make any nation on the continent tremble. Apilius surely couldn't gamble Olympia as a chip to allow the possibility of his granddaughters killing each other.

Seeing it this way, today's situation was startlingly similar to that of Constantinople before, where Zoe, having gained the upper hand, deliberately publicized her conflict with her sister Theodora, forcing the Orthodox Church to choose sides—unless the Orthodox Church lost its senses, it wouldn't favor the younger over the elder.

However, now the situation had completely reversed.

Just as Apilius began contemplating how to reveal the truth to Zoe, Aske and Thira managed to find the Orthodox Church group that had entered Olympia City with the Empress.

The High Patriarch Alexei was performing mass in the chapel and was scheduled to inspect the City Library and meet with the leaders of the believers in Olympia City. Today's schedule was already filled.

Yet his schedule was destined to be interrupted, as two unexpected guests had already found the small chapel where he was.

"Please wait a moment, Empress Theodora, we have already notified the Patriarch…" Several Iron-armored Holy Knights pursued Thira and others, their voices urgent in trying to persuade. Their faces were full of an expression of "wanting to block yet not daring to."

That's because the Empress Theodora, who returned four years later, had unbelievably already reached the rank of Demigod. Who would dare stop her?

"You all wait outside; the Empress is going to speak with your Patriarch." Aske stopped the leading Holy Knight Captain, not letting them continue following Thira, and suddenly said with wonder, "Hey, aren't you the one… the Holy Knight Captain who forgot to take out the trash, and then your wife didn't cook for you?"

"Who are you, sir?" The Iron- armored Holy Knight Captain raised his eyebrows suspiciously, "Have we met before?"

"I am Aske Lepeios Achilles, the noble who once had a house full of vampires."

Holy Knight Captain: ???

It seemed there was such a person back then; his whole family had been infiltrated and corrupted by vampires, but at least they were smart enough to report it to the church.

"Hey, you're still alive," he realized.

So they started chatting. This Iron-armored Holy Knight Captain named Erwin Gullins told Aske that after the fall of Constantinople, his entire family followed the Orthodox Church to Corinth, where they rented an apartment in a high-rise.

As for the house in Constantinople, they hadn't yet finished paying the mortgage, and it was all gone.

Therefore, his entire monthly salary was mostly devoted to current rent, forcing him to work more shifts to earn bonuses, dragging his weary body home each day, where he had to fulfill his marital duties. When his body couldn't bear it anymore, his wife wouldn't care and would actually use force to push him down…

Aske empathized, agreeing that such issues, once tolerated, knew no bounds and couldn't be accepted.

Erwin, taking a seasoned tone, said that young people didn't understand; such matters related to marital harmony and couldn't be shirked.

Though they had monogamy, nearby a certain noble couldn't satisfy his wife because he kept mistresses outside, leading his wife to secretly cheat with a young tutor—allegedly the family's philosophy tutor—and one night absconded with all the family assets.

Compared to such a situation of losing both love and wealth, simply being dominated was a relatively better outcome.

While the two chatted idly outside, inside, Theodora had already met with High Patriarch Alexei.

"Empress Theodora… long time no see," Patriarch Alexei said slowly.

"Unexpectedly, you're still willing to call me Empress." Thira sneered.

"Of course, you were the designated heir by the previous emperor," Alexei's expression remained unchanged, "and also…"

"…You've already become a Demigod, haven't you?"

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