How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

“Of course I do. Isn’t this tree palace built around the sacred tree at its core?” Vanessa said. The moment Vera brought up that subject, she already had a few guesses.

“Yes. The elf sacred tree is the root of our entire race. But in truth, something went wrong with it a very long time ago. My true self—the real Selivlin Queen—has almost fused herself into the sacred tree in order to keep supplying it with nourishment.”

“I don’t understand, Miss Vera. What does that have to do with what you did before?” Vanessa frowned.

“The elf sacred tree contains a power far beyond the ordinary. It can glimpse the broad outline of the world... and deduce the rough direction of a worldline,” Vera explained.

“A worldline direction that didn’t come to pass?” Vanessa thought of something at once.

“Little Sister Vinny, if I told you that in one of the worldline projections I happened to glimpse, you were a wicked person who committed every evil imaginable... would you believe me?”

Vanessa suddenly fell silent.

She understood.

The elf sacred tree was a blessing from the Mother of Earth, the goddess of life. Of course it would contain unimaginably miraculous power.

What Vera meant by worldline projection was most likely that the sacred tree could glimpse certain worldlines that did not exist, or that never came to pass.

She had already guessed which worldline Vera had seen.

Most likely, it was that villainous Vinny from the game in her previous life.

Which meant Vera had once vaguely seen fragments and images from that original game worldline.

“So you doubted my identity. And my motives?”

“Yes,” Vera admitted. “The elf sacred tree has only one chance to do that, and it can only designate a single person. In that worldline, you...”

Vera paused.

“...were not a very good person.”

If she were to say it bluntly, Vanessa had been the chief culprit who brought disaster down upon the Tyrelis Continent.

“But I know I cannot judge everything by that alone. The worldline we are walking now has already strayed from the course I glimpsed, and your actions have already diverged from it in some respects. But even so, I still could not be certain, because I did not know you well enough. I did not know enough about what happened between you and Milian before this.” Vera rested one hand over her chest.

“I could not be sure what kind of person you really are, Vinny. Nor did I know whether you were truly different from that Vinny of the previous life. I could not tell whether this so-called deviation in the worldline was only the butterfly effect caused by some minor error in the projection, while in truth you were no different from the Vinny I saw.”

“Then may I ask you, Miss Vera...” Vanessa said meaningfully, “have you now decided what kind of person I am?”

“I could feel your resolve just now.”

“If you do not cast us aside, then the elf lands are willing to become your support once again.”

“...”

Vanessa looked at Vera, then at Toreka beside her.

“You’ve all talked for quite a while, and I understand what you mean now. But I’m afraid you’ve overlooked one rather important point,” Vanessa said calmly.

“What point?”

“Did any of you ever ask for my opinion?” Vanessa looked at the people before her. Her voice was quiet, but it seemed to carry a vortex beneath it.

“Lord Toreka, I understand what you mean. But I’m sorry—I cannot accept your pledge of loyalty.” Vanessa fixed her gaze on him. “To use your own words, what you mean is this, isn’t it? ‘If the Saintess never appears, then you’ll just keep lying low.’”

“So I may understand you as a reed in the wind? That whichever way the wind blows, that’s the way you lean?”

Toreka only let out a heavy sigh. “Your Holiness, reality is cruel.”

“I know that reality is cruel. Which is exactly why, in a reality this cruel, you’d be better off not getting involved.” Vanessa looked straight at Toreka and enunciated each word. “As you yourself said, this is not a game of make-believe. To put it bluntly, we are trying to destroy the Church as it now stands. Since this is something so dangerous, I advise you not to do it.”

“People like you do have one great strength: you know how to seek advantage and avoid harm. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m praising you too. It’s human instinct, and a rare virtue.” Vanessa’s tone turned meaningful. “So I suggest you keep making full use of it.”

“But a virtue is still just a virtue. I don’t think that sort of virtue is suited to following me.”

“After all, no one knows when you might decide to put that ‘virtue’ on display again.”

The meaning beneath her words could not have been clearer.

A weathercock like that? She would never take him in. Who knew what day he might turn around and sell her out?

She did not like opportunists.

“And all of you—since earlier, you’ve just been talking among yourselves. Did any of you ever ask what I think?” Vanessa tilted her head. “Making decisions for someone else without asking a lady’s opinion is extremely rude, you know?”

“No. More than rude—it’s offensive.”

Her tone never changed. It remained as elegant and proper as ever. And precisely because her voice stayed so composed, the contrast between that refined tone and those razor-sharp words made them all the more intimidating.

In an instant, everyone present lowered their heads.

“Miss Vera, you once glimpsed me in another worldline. In that worldline, had I awakened the Facilis bloodline?”

“I... don’t believe so.”

“No.” Vanessa nodded calmly. “Then you probably don’t know what I went through when I was little, do you?”

“Not just you. You don’t know either, Bishop.” Vanessa turned her gaze toward Toreka as well.

Only Marshall could not help lifting his head.

“I’ve realized something very strange about all of you. You’re all so fond of putting titles on people. Labels, too.” Vanessa swept her gaze across them. “Once, you hated me because of the name Facilis. You slandered me because of it. And now, because of that same name, you’ve all gathered around me.”

“So I can’t help wondering—what is it you truly value? Facilis? Or me?”

“Your Holiness, there is no difference.”

“No. There is a difference. A very great one.” Vanessa paused. “Forgive me for being blunt, but the thing I hate most is being labeled.”

“And what I hate even more... is a fate someone else has already decided for me.”

“In your minds, it seems I’m simply supposed to do certain things, just because I’m a Facilis. What you value is only the name Facilis.”

“So let me make this perfectly clear right now. The reason I’ve made up my mind now has everything to do with my experiences and my understanding. It has nothing to do with my surname. And it has even less to do with any of you.” Vanessa emphasized every word. “I am not walking this road for your sake, nor am I walking it to follow the route you planned out for me in your own minds.”

“I’ve had enough of a fate others arranged for me. And I was never some wooden fool who only knew how to suffer in silence.” Vanessa spoke softly. “From childhood to now, I’ve never followed the rules of noble society—not because I wanted to be different, but simply because I never liked being arranged by others.”

“No one in this world gets to arrange my life. Not you. Not the Pope.”

“You say you were testing me. Fine. Now your testing is over. And I believe every kind of relationship goes both ways—testing included. You tested me, then loftily informed me of the result. So now, I’ll tell you the result of my test of you.”

“Unacceptable.”

Vanessa said the three words lightly. Then she rose to her feet and lifted the hem of her skirt in a formal bow.

“My apologies, everyone, but to speak frankly, none of what you’ve said interests me. What I do next, I will carry out according to my own will. I won’t trouble you to concern yourselves with it.”

“I truly have no wish, and no reason, to work with any of you.”

Everyone’s expression changed.

“Your Holiness, I admit my behavior earlier was indeed presumptuous. But even if you intend to punish me or strip me of my post, shouldn’t that wait until after you formally become the Dawn Saintess?” Toreka frowned. “Right now, you hold no official status at all. You don’t even have a real power base or forces of your own. What exactly are you going to use to stand against the Pope as he is now?”

“Before embracing ideals, shouldn’t a person consider practical realities first?”

“That needn’t concern you,” Vanessa said. Then her tone shifted.

“Miss Vera, may I ask how Milian is doing?” Vanessa looked at Vera expressionlessly.

“Milian will be all right. The life of the Golden Elves comes from the branches and leaves of the sacred tree itself.” Vera looked at Vanessa with a complicated expression. “The other half of her soul was sealed within the Demon God Abyss. What we must do now is use the power of the sacred tree’s origin to call her back. But it will take a period of careful nurturing.”

“I understand.” Vanessa nodded. “Milian saved my life. I will always be grateful to her. If there is ever anything connected to helping Milian that requires my assistance, just say the word.”

“That is all, then. The reason I came here was for this matter alone. Since it seems neither side has any other business with the other, I’ll take my leave first.”

With that, Vanessa turned decisively and headed toward the stairs.

“Your Holiness, are you truly certain you do not need our loyalty?”

“If that is your choice, then the road ahead will surely be filled with hardship.”

“Lord Toreka, I remember you asking what I would do without a foundation of my own.” Vanessa did not even turn her head. “That was mistaken. It isn’t true that I have no one of my own and no one willing to support me.”

“Take care of yourselves.”

“......”

Toreka froze.

The others could only watch as Vanessa walked toward the great doors of the Sanctum of the Sacred Tree like a white swan, ignoring them entirely.

“...Looks like we were rejected.” Toreka shook his head.

Marshall said nothing at first. He only looked at Toreka in silence before finally speaking. “The people of Facilis have always had convictions of their own.”

“But what did the Saintess mean,” Toreka asked in confusion, “when she said she already had a foundation of her own?”

After walking out of the Sanctum of the Sacred Tree, Vanessa spread her wings and flew up into the sky.

From this point on, she was completely safe.

No one could stop her now.

To avoid making too much of a disturbance, she flew out of the elf lands and stayed in Mistmoon Forest for a day. Once she was able to change back, she crossed the broken bridge.

He became Vinny again.

After all, his identity still could not be brought into the light just yet.

But the day his identity was fully exposed to the world was not far off.

Vinny had that feeling. Ever since he started making a name for himself, the Church’s efforts to investigate him had intensified. There was no way his identity could stay hidden much longer. This time had already proven that much.

Still, he had no intention of continuing to hide forever anyway. So no matter whether those opportunists he had just refused would go back and report to the Pope, he did not care. It was going to happen sooner or later.

As long as he stayed inside Carillian Academy and did not leave, even the Pope could not simply march into the Academy at the head of the Radiant Cross Knights and come after him.

No matter what, Carillian Academy still had top-tier powerhouses. For example, there was that elusive principal who never showed his face. And Carillian Academy was also one of the remnants of the Tyrelis Ancient Empire. It had definitely preserved plenty of magical technology left behind from the Tyrelis Empire’s era.

“What goddamn rotten luck. I run into a whole pack of lunatics.”

Vinny had wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. The only problem was that when it had been time to really curse people out, he had still been Vanessa, so he could not go too far with it.

Still, at least they had not panicked and come chasing after him.

And Milian was going to be fine.

No matter what, the Golden Elves would never let anything happen to her.

That was the best news from this entire trip.

Vinny walked fast, as though slowing down even a little would let pursuers from the elf lands catch up to him.

But in truth, the moment he stepped out of the elf lands, he was already safe.

Because elves did not leave the elf lands.

Now that Milian’s Soul-Heart had been returned, the only thing in his mind was getting back to Carillian Academy. Maybe he was homesick. Or maybe he missed the people there. Or maybe it was both.

He arrived at some nameless little border town where the elf lands met the Tyrel Empire.

“Ahem, sir... would you like to buy some matches?”

“?”

A black-robed figure with an oddly strange voice suddenly addressed him, and Vinny froze. His first instinct was to wonder whether this person had been sent by someone.

“...Matches?”

Vinny stood there in silence for a long time, genuinely unable to figure out what the person was trying to say.

“Cough, cough-cough!”

When the other party saw that Vinny still was not catching on, the black-robed figure started coughing violently.

“?”

Vinny’s guard rose even higher.

“Um... it’s me.”

Seeing that Vinny still had not recognized her, the black-robed figure could only lift the brim of the hood a little higher so he could make out the outline of her face.

“You’re...?”

The instant he caught sight of that strand of red hair beneath the hood, Vinny hesitated for half a beat, then immediately realized who she was.

“Fine. I’ll take one box.”

He played along, though he was still looking at the black-robed figure with a strange expression, as if asking, Why are you here?

“Right. Ah, sorry, I’m out of stock. I’ll go get some more. Please come with me.”

With that, the black-robed figure pointed in a direction.

Vinny followed her. The two of them made their way to a small two-story villa. After glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, the black-robed figure opened the door.

“How are you here?” Vinny asked in astonishment after stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.

“Hehe~! Your Holiness, did I scare you? Ah, ahhh! My hood’s choking my neck! Your Holiness, help me out here!”

“......”

Looking at the red-haired girl in front of him with tears in her eyes, her hood half off and hopelessly stuck, Vinny let out a sigh.

“Cough, cough-cough! I’m saved! ...Um, Your Holiness, are you okay??” Fennia looked at Vinny with open concern.

“...How are you here?” Vinny asked again, still sounding strange.

“It’s not just me.” The moment Fennia said that, footsteps sounded from deeper inside the house.

Vinny looked up and saw two familiar figures.

Luna and Amisha, both wearing elegant dresses.

“Luna, Amisha?” Vinny was genuinely shocked to see the three of them here. “You...?”

“Your Holiness, it’s good that you’re safe.” Only after seeing that Vinny truly was unharmed did Luna finally let out a breath of relief.

Good. So this time, her worry had been unnecessary. The Saintess had probably not run into any real danger.

“So why are you here?”

“Lady Luna organized all of this,” Amisha said. “Church matters delayed us for a while. After we got back, Lady Luna heard that something had happened to you during your practical assessment, and then that you had gone in the direction of the elf lands. So she had us disguise ourselves and come here to meet you.”

“Your Holiness... did you go to the elf lands earlier? You were gone for a long time. Did... something happen?” Amisha asked, then stopped herself halfway through.

“As long as you’re fine, that’s what matters.” Luna let out a quiet breath. “Your Holiness, if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t. When the time comes that you do want someone to talk to, you can share it with us.”

“......”

Vinny looked at Luna, and something in him stirred.

Sure enough, the people truly willing to think for him—people who would not force him—were always in the minority.

“This is what happened.”

Vinny had no intention of hiding it from them.