Facing Perfikot's curiosity, Shabelle calmly said, "Although you may kill recklessly and are indeed influenced by the emotions brought on by killing, it is not your true intention, and you have not indulged in it.

The focus of heretical faith lies in the belief itself, not in the actions taken, for the heretical actions involved are, after all, some common behaviors in everyday life, and only when they are radicalized can they be regarded as heretical actions.

Some of your actions, although from an ordinary person's perspective, may already qualify as heretical, but you are a favored child under the protection of the All-Father, and His blessings are upon you; a few actions that cross boundaries are not a problem."

Clearly, this Judge of the Heretical Judicial Court must have been briefed by someone before coming to Perfikot, or perhaps she had conducted an investigation on Perfikot beforehand.

Otherwise, this Judge of the Heretical Judicial Court wouldn't be so tolerant in the face of possible heretical actions.

At this time, the cardinal beside her hurriedly added, "Because of your acts of salvation, Count, proposed by His Holiness the Patriarch and discussed and approved by the cardinals, you have been recognized by the Church as a saint. Your acts of salvation have been deemed sacred by the Church. Although all this has not been publicly announced, to some concerned parties, it is already known that you are favored by the All-Father."

"Saint? I remember the Church rarely bestows the title of saint on living people apart from the original Apostles of the Holy Spirit, right? Even if there is a certain disparity between a saint and a holy figure, giving me, a young girl, the title of saint—is this really appropriate?" Perfikot had calmed down by this time, free from impulsive anger, allowing her thoughts to become clearer. Naturally, she realized the astonishing implications beneath the cardinal's words.

A so-called saint is a title granted by the Church to those who have performed sacred deeds or made significant contributions to the Church.

Compared to holy figures, saints hold slightly less weight and cannot prefix their names with the honorific "Holy."

Even so, it is still a very honorable title, just like a holy figure, and is rarely bestowed upon the living. Typically, only those who performed exceptional sacred deeds in life and made significant contributions to the Church might be honored posthumously as saints by the Church.

The chances of a living person becoming a saint are not nonexistent, but generally speaking, the Church is unlikely to risk great defiance of the world and the opposition of various factions within the Church to bestow sainthood upon a living person.

After all, when a believer is made a saint during their lifetime, there is a high likelihood that they might become a new holy figure upon death.

The canonization of a holy figure is no small matter for the Church, as each additional holy figure has historically had a profound impact on the Church.

For example, the nun worshiped in Westma Cathedral in Langton's outer city; after being canonized as a holy figure, the Church's cathedrals unanimously added the task of sheltering orphaned and widowed children, and caring for the sick, disabled, and weak.

This might seem trivial at first glance, but for the Church, it is a matter that affects the entire institution. It requires additional work, potentially significant changes within the Church, and perhaps even revisions to the doctrines. Such is the influence possible from the canonization of a holy figure.

Hence, one can see the profound significance of bestowing sainthood upon a living individual.

In a sense, the Church has really invested heavily this time.

However, compared to these, what Perfikot cares more about is how her emotions were influenced.

She considers herself not a believer of heretical doctrines, but this influence has nonetheless sounded an alarm for her, making her very vigilant about this matter.

"Since I am a saint canonized by the Church, and I consider my faith to be fairly devout, and you said I am a child favored by the All-Father, then why did I just now lose reason to the point of being influenced?" Perfikot questioned Shabelle about her greatest concern.

Shabelle glanced at the cardinal, who nodded, and then turned to ask Perfikot, "Count, may I conduct an examination on you? There are certain things I need to verify before I can be sure."

Perfikot nodded in response, allowing Shabelle to come over and examine her.

Shabelle's examination was meticulous but also peculiar, resembling both a medical check-up and involving some religious rituals.

Among other things, this included placing a dish of salt in front of Perfikot, having her hold a crystal pendant over the salt dish; having Perfikot drink Holy Water and then pray to the All-Father...

All in all, after a series of such activities, before the two leaders of the intelligence department could even finish sending the information about heretical beliefs, Shabelle had not yet completed her entire process.

Perfikot could only have someone read the contents of the reports succinctly while she continued undergoing Shabelle's examination.

Compared to the information provided by the Church, the Empire's data tended to focus more on how these heretical sects operated.

Among all heretical sects, the Pleasure Cult was the most rapidly spreading and influential one within the Empire.

The reason is simple: these nobles craved indulgence.

Typically, a heretic of the Pleasure Cult would hide their identity, disguise themselves as foreign nobility—often genuinely so—and host lavish banquets to entertain other nobles.

These banquets are often fraught with hedonistic and luxurious pleasures, serving as a great temptation for anyone lacking firm will.

If a noble exhibits a pursuit of pleasure at such a banquet, these heretics would begin to approach them, enticing them to continue attending such luxurious banquets, gradually making the content of the banquets more depraved while stimulating the senses of these participants, escalating their pursuit of pleasure until it becomes extreme, pushing their thresholds higher and higher, until they are utterly trapped.

Subsequently, these nobles would become new adherents of the Pleasure Cult, restarting the cycle with new banquets.

With such repetition, it is not difficult to understand the growth and spread of the Pleasure Cult.

As Perfikot finished listening to the report, Shabelle also completed her examination and responded to Perfikot, "Count, you might need to be cautious in the future. Your prior slaughter of those heretical believers has allowed the power of the War Heresy to affect your intellect, making you irritable and more passionate about killing.

I do not know where this influence originates, but there must be heretical War Sect members around you exerting an influence, or you wouldn't so easily become irritable and angry."

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