Getting spoiled in a woman dominating world-Chapter 123: Addressing the people

Sitting on the couch in his room, Brandon looked at Valiene, who was sitting beside him and writing on a note.

Brandon leaned in to peek over her shoulder, his cheek just a few inches from hers as he looked at the script.

Now she is writing the script for him to speak in the declaration tomorrow.

He glanced at her face as she worked carefully, writing her words.

With him, she has removed her blindfold. Seems like she loves seeing him with her blind eye.

Brandon watched her hand move, his eyes tracing the curve of her wrist, the faint scar near her thumb, and the way her hair fell loosely now that she had removed her veil.

Looking at the note, he muttered "But the Goddess chose me..."

Valiene’s gaze flickered to his face, which was inches away from him.

Glancing at his face through her blind eye, her gaze trembled for a moment before she continued writing again.

"You have to memorize these by tonight, so you can address the people tomorrow."

With a smile, he nodded his head "Yeah, don’t worry..."

"And do you want something to eat?"

She looked up at him and nodded her head with a small smile "Mhm."

---

The sun had barely crested the horizon when the bells of the Church began to toll across the spires of the capital.

The people of Rhéanne gathered in the capital’s grand square, a grand multi-tiered plaza that faced the towering facade of the Sanctum Aureum, the main cathedral of the Church.

A holy site that had never once been used for a public address by a Herald... simply because there had never been one before.

The square was filled with people: clergy in white-and-gold vestments, common folk in their best robes, students from the Rheanne Academy, city officials, merchants, and even tourists.

All were drawn by the impossible rumors.

’A man had become the Herald of the Church of Rhéanne.’

High above the crowd, on the central balcony of the cathedral, a sacred platform once reserved only for the Supreme Pontiff... Brandon Kael stepped forward.

The ornate doors behind him opened and behind him stood a number of high-ranking Church officials, including Supreme Pontiff Eleonore Himelle, Valiene, Callista, and two of the Sacred Triarchs.

The murmurs quieted as they all looked at the handsome young man.

Brandon was dressed in a regal robe of deep black lined with silver, custom-made for him the night prior.

He stepped forward slowly as his hands rested against the railing.

For a moment, he simply looked out over the sea of faces... people who stared up at him with fear, curiosity, hostility, and hope.

The sun behind him cast a warm halo along the back of his head, making his silhouette glow faintly.

And then, his voice rang out, amplified by the subtle etheric arrays woven into the cathedral itself.

"The rumors you are hearing are real... And when I learned about the protests, I decided that I needed to address this situation myself."

A faint hush fell over the crowd and Brandon let out a soft sigh, looking at then ’This is kinda cringy to say, but I got no other way...’

Looking at the crowd, he spoke "I was born an ordinary man."

"A man with no title. No great lineage. Just another student trying to live in a world where men have no place in power."

He paused, letting the silence speak as much as his words.

"I did not ask to be chosen and I did not come to mock your faith or your belief in the divine order."

"But the Goddess chose me."

A murmur rippled through the crowd. A few clergy shook their heads while some nodded.

"I stood in the Baptism Chamber, surrounded by the most sacred conduits of the Church. I was watched by the most pious women of our generation."

"And in that place, before their very eyes... I was baptized."

"I know many of you are afraid,"

"Afraid that I am a sign of collapse. Or that my presence desecrates your faith."

He leaned slightly forward, his voice softening.

"But faith is not so fragile. The will of the Goddess does not break when challenged... it reveals itself more clearly."

"Ask yourself: if Goddess Rhéanne did not wish it, could I have stood here before you, carrying her will?"

Again, silence. Even those who wanted to argue found their throats dry.

"I am not here to rule the Church. I am not here to change your beliefs overnight. But I am the Herald."

He turned his gaze toward a cluster of robed dissenters gathered near the south side of the square.

He could see their glares and the defiance in their eyes.

"You may hate me and reject me."

"But I will not retaliate with violence. I will not stain this faith with bloodshed."

He looked at the people below with a soft smile on his face "Those of you who fear change, I understand you. Those of you who believe this is the Goddess’s will, I ask you to walk beside me."

He stepped back from the balcony.

And then, in a motion that had not been seen in centuries, Supreme Pontiff Eleonore stepped forward and knelt behind him, bowing her head deeply.

The Sacred Triarchs followed. So did Callista, Valiene, and every Church official present.

From the crowd, someone gasped loudly.

Then a student fell to her knees. Then a priest. Then a row of merchants.

And then, slowly... one by one... the capital bowed before the first male Herald.

The people who didn’t like Brandon also had to bow because if they refused to, they would stand out in the crowd and it would cause a lot of problems.

For a moment, there was nothing but the rustling of wind and the distant calls of birds wheeling over the great cathedral.

As Brandon turned his gaze, a long blue projectile shot toward him from the sky, piercing through the air like a lance forged from compressed lightning.

He barely had time to react before it appeared directly in front of him.

*woosh* However, in the corner of his eye, he saw a flutter of blonde hair and in the next second, Callista was in front of him.

Her cloak of snowy white, embroidered with the golden sigils of the Empyrean rank, billowed as she planted herself in front of him

But before the projectile could reach him, the defensive mechanism in the altar, which was dormant for years, triggered and a large transparent shield appeared, blocking the projectile.

*THOOM* The projectile hit the barrier, creating a small explosion and the people who were kneeling were dumbfounded.

Shards of etheric force crackled off the barrier’s surface, raining down like stardust

Some people screamed and those who had been kneeling dropped flat in panic.

Others recoiled in terror, staring at the glowing barrier and the remnants of the blast.

Brandon’s gaze narrowed as he kinda expected an attack but he was still surprised that someone actually dared to.

"Callista."

"I am on it, Ly Lord."

*woosh* Callista’s body flickered and in the next instant, she dashed through the air.---

A figure, cloaked in flowing blue robes, stood atop a hovering disk of condensed ether.

Her body was encased in lightweight armor and she raised her arm again as ether crackled around her body, creating a spear from ether energy.

Her face is also hidden behind a black mask.

But before she could raise her hand, *sleesh*

A deep cut ripped her arm and blood flooded out of her arm.

But the woman didn’t scream or cry in pain and turned her head to Callista.

A cold glint passed through Callista’s eyes "How dare you try to hurt my Lord."

But then her eyes narrowed as she looked at the cloaked woman floating in the disc ’What wrong with her body and ether core?’

---

The people below began to panic as the mothers clutched their children and screamed, and students scattered from their kneeling positions.

But before the mass could erupt into a full stampede, a body fell from the sky and rolled down in front of them.

A gust of wind spiraled down from above as a halo of golden ether shimmered into view, and Callista von Aubrecht descended, looking at the terrified people.

"Someone tried to kill our Herald, the man chosen by the Goddess herself."

"It is blasphemy to act against the divine will."

She looked at the people in front of her "And you all are doing the same by protesting and rejecting the existence of our Lord Herald."

"You call yourselves faithful. Yet when Her will defies your expectations, you would rise against it like rebels... no... heretics."

"When the Goddess chooses to act outside our understanding, it is not for us to question. It is for us to accept. To believe. To bow."

She turned slightly, addressing the entire plaza now "He is the Herald. The one who walks the earth as proof of Her divine will. The first man in history to wield ether."

Her gaze flickered to the dead body below "Those who defy him will have the same fate under my hands."

"Let this woman be a warning... and mercy."

And with that, she stepped aside, turning once more to Brandon, who began descending the steps.