How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

Everyone sat down. Vinny swept his gaze around the room. All three women present were people he could trust.

He was no longer facing hardship alone. He had trustworthy companions he could entrust things to. That feeling really was different.

Vinny confirmed to Luna and the others that his destination this time had indeed been Eternity Forest.

“Huh??” Fennia was drinking the tea Amisha had brewed, her face full of astonishment. “It really was Eternity Forest? Lady Saintess, you got in without trouble? But if I’m remembering right, elves are supposed to be an extremely exclusionary race, aren’t they? And the details of what happened with Milian aren’t clear yet. The elves would inevitably see you as an enemy, Lady Saintess.”

“Yes. Miss Fennia actually hit the point for once.” Luna agreed as well, her smile fading. “Lady Saintess, out of concern for your personal safety, what you did was rather risky. Even if you truly had to go, you should have informed a few trustworthy people or Academy mentors beforehand, to prevent unnecessary trouble.”

“Heh-heh~” Fennia put her hands on her hips, wearing the perfectly satisfied expression of someone who had just been praised. Only a moment later did her brows furrow.

Wait.

Something felt wrong.

Lady Luna did not seem to be praising her??

“And after that?” Luna set down her tea tray with practiced grace and looked at Vinny seriously. “Lady Saintess, did this trip go smoothly?”

Vinny knew that for Luna to say that meant she had already vaguely guessed that he had run into some trouble.

“That is what I’m about to tell you next. How should I put it? This time was pretty unlucky, but if you ask whether it was truly disastrous, it didn’t quite reach that point.” Vinny let out a long sigh and organized his thoughts. Across from him, after hearing him say that, all three women looked curious and startled as they waited for him to continue.

Vinny then told them everything he had experienced, seen, and heard in Eternity Forest.

When they heard that his trip to Eternity Forest had been arranged by a cardinal of the Church of the Dawn and an elf priestess suspected of acting as the elf queen’s spokesperson, the three of them showed varying degrees of shock and concern.

Had the Church of the Dawn finally made a move against Vinny? Had the matter of the Saintess Family’s bloodline awakening been impossible to conceal after all?

That was not even the worst possibility. All three of them knew what they were currently doing, and how the Church would define such behavior internally. The worst case would be that their actions with Vinny had been fully discovered by the Church, and that the Church of the Dawn understood their behavior and thoughts perfectly. Rather, it might even have been through them that the Church inferred the high probability that Vinny’s bloodline had already awakened.

If that were the case, everything would be over.

However, after Luna’s dark brows drew together slightly, they soon eased again.

The fact that Vinny had successfully returned here proved that the situation was not yet that terrible. Otherwise—

With a cardinal present, Luna truly did not know how Vinny could possibly have gotten away in one piece.

As one of the Church of the Dawn’s high-level personnel, Luna understood far too well how terrifying the cardinals’ strength truly was.

“T-then what happened after that??” Fennia grew anxious as she listened. “Did they do anything to you, Lady Saintess? Do they already know your identity??”

“Little Fennia, calm down. The fact that Lady Saintess is still here means things aren’t that bad.” Amisha could not help speaking from the side. But although she said that, she was just as shaken, and even more curious about how Vinny had escaped danger.

“They already know my bloodline isn’t dead.” Vinny spoke in a calm tone, but his words sent ripples through all their hearts.

“Could it be that the Goddess manifested??” Fennia asked in disbelief.

So far, that was the only explanation that seemed to make sense.

“How could that be possible?” Vinny shook his head. “If she really could manifest, where would our current predicament have come from?”

“Then what exactly happened?”

Vinny told them the purpose of that cardinal.

“So, Lady Saintess, what you mean is that this cardinal is not a loyal adherent of the Pope? He has a tendency to turn toward you?” Luna’s dark brows lifted slightly.

“Yes. That’s exactly it. Or rather, that was why they came to find me.” Vinny answered. “As for whether he’ll tell the Pope’s faction about my awakened bloodline, I don’t know.”

“I think he most likely won’t. After you clearly refused him, he did not mean to obstruct your departure and simply let you pass. If he wanted to use you to claim credit from the Pope, he definitely would not have done that. I think anyone who isn’t mentally split would not behave that way.” Luna analyzed. “But that still isn’t certain. People are complicated and fickle, after all.”

“Ahhh! Who does that guy think he is? He actually tested you, Lady Saintess??” Fennia said, extremely displeased. “Since he claimed he wanted to abandon the dark and come over to the light, why did he put himself in such a high position? Is that really the attitude of someone offering allegiance? Ugh, how annoying. It feels like he was deliberately raising his own value so he could seize more benefits from defecting.”

Amisha, who had been listening seriously to Vinny without speaking, playing the role of an obedient, quiet little listener, opened her eyes wide and looked at Fennia.

“What is it, Amisha? Why are you looking at me like that?” Fennia did not understand. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No.” Amisha shook her head and continued hugging her staff, staying a listener.

However, having grown up with Amisha, Fennia could read what that expression meant.

It was clearly surprise that Fennia had actually thought that far, which meant she really had made progress lately.

“Ahhh, little Amisha, you really are too much!” Fennia pouted, dissatisfied.

“Those old veterans in the Church still look down on people the same way as ever.” Luna did not seem surprised by this. After all, the Saintess Family had not held power for three generations. A hundred years was enough time for the Facilis Family’s prestige to fade almost completely.

In a certain sense, the Church had indeed achieved its goal.

“As you can see, the current Church of the Dawn needs a change in both its atmosphere and its people’s hearts, even if the price of that change is severe.” Luna let out a long sigh.

“No, rather, for the Church in its current terminal condition, it will never recover without a fierce remedy,” Luna added, looking at Vinny seriously.

And precisely because of that, a new Dawn Saintess was needed now more than ever.

“Then, aside from that, what do you think?” Luna asked.

“Me? Honestly, it’s very hard for me to trust opportunists like that.”

“Also, while this matter was pretty unlucky, I think everything has two sides. This also let me see that the current Church of the Dawn is not a solid block internally. They’re very divided.” Vinny analyzed the situation and gave his opinion. “Under those circumstances, once a powerful enough external force intervenes, they’ll collapse in on themselves and fight separately.”

“Lady Saintess, your insight is extraordinary. Your heart is as clear as a mirror, allowing you to see the essence of things with ease,” Luna praised devoutly.

“You don’t need to praise me that much. I’m just an ordinary person too. I have my own temper.” Vinny waved a hand. “Speaking of which, Luna, as the eldest daughter of the Haukekai Family, you should know how many divided factions exist inside the Church, right?”

“That, Lady Saintess, I do not know either.” Luna shook her head. “I know there are certainly voices within the Church that do not support the Pope, but perhaps they hide themselves too well, or perhaps every force and family I’ve come into contact with supports the Pope. I have never encountered any person or family that openly expressed opposition to the Pope’s decisions.”

Thinking of the Church of the Dawn’s current situation, Vinny felt that was quite normal.

Who would dare? The Radiant Cross Knights would probably show up at that person’s door that very night for a candlelit little conversation.

“This is also what I want to tell you now. I do not know that bishop named Toreka, but I believe there are currently many clergy inside the Church similar to him. They concurrently hold important posts, large or small. They all understand that the Church’s current state cannot last long and that things cannot continue like this, yet they lack the courage to step forward and take the lead themselves. They are all waiting for someone else to stand up first while they watch from behind,” Luna continued.

“People like that cannot possibly become the Pope’s support. Of course, they are not very likely to directly help us either. Whoever wins, they will help that side.”

“Isn’t that just a bunch of fence-sitters??” Fennia said bluntly, pouting.

That was Fennia’s distinguishing trait. She was straightforward, and everything she said was extremely direct.

“Amisha also thinks they aren’t very trustworthy,” Amisha said softly, as if she were worried that speaking too loudly would interfere with Vinny’s judgment.

“Exactly, Lady Saintess. How could we fix the Church together with a bunch of fence-sitters??”

“Mm. So those people definitely can’t occupy important positions.” Vinny nodded. “Fennia, not bad. You’ve made real progress lately.”

“Awoo! I got praised, right? Lady Saintess praised me, right??” Fennia’s eyes suddenly sparkled with little stars, and she brightened up. “See, see? I told you my special training this month had results!”

“Little Fennia, don’t be like that.” Amisha helplessly tapped the head of the overexcited Fennia with the tip of her staff.

“It seems Lady Saintess already has thoughts of your own.” Seeing Vinny’s expression, Luna’s lips curved faintly.

“Mm.” Vinny looked around at the three women present. “If we really can succeed, I think the Church will not need people who change with the wind. It will need people who stood firmly on the side of righteousness from the very beginning, fought against an unbeatable evil, and held unshakable convictions.”

“To serve the new-generation Saintess destined to expel the false Church is my honor. Even nine deaths would not make me regret it.” Luna curled her lips and gave a slight bow from where she sat on the sofa.

“Mm. Lady Saintess, we will always be your support,” Amisha said seriously.

“Awoo, me too!” Fennia still had not figured out what exactly was going on, but naturally, she would not be left behind.

“Thank you all for your support. I have never doubted that.” Looking at the three of them before him, Vinny nodded.

Their attitude toward him had already been made very clear during the incident with Caron.

That time, the three of them had protected Vanessa with their lives. Fennia and Amisha had stood in front of her even though they were no match for Caron, and Luna had protected her even at the risk that her family might be purged by the Church.

Vinny had not had many friends since childhood, so he valued those who treated him sincerely all the more.

He remembered all of those things.

“Based on the sequence of events you described, I believe that cardinal named Toreka likely will not turn toward the Pope unless he has lost his mind and wants to gamble with the head on his neck. After all, the Pope is no fool either. The moment Toreka reports to the Pope, many traces will be impossible to hide. Once investigated, the suspicion that he contacted you in secret will be discovered, and for him to contact you at such a sensitive time—so long as the Pope isn’t an idiot, he will understand what happened.”

“After all, your current identity is already very sensitive in the Pope’s eyes.” Luna analyzed everything clearly and logically. “However, we cannot assume people are too stupid, but we also cannot assume people are too smart. Facts prove that sometimes, many things simply do not follow logic. Therefore, I reserve judgment. I believe we cannot rule out the possibility that he really will inform the Pope.”

“Then what should we do now?” Fennia asked.

“There is no time to waste. We should return to the Academy as soon as we can,” Luna said. “The longer we stay here, the more danger there is. It is safer inside Carillian Academy. At the very least, the Church of the Dawn would not dare directly send armed forces into Carillian Academy.”

“Speaking of which, what is this place?” Vinny looked around the residence.

“This house is an ancestral asset of my family,” Luna said.

“However, in order to avoid drawing attention, I cannot use my family’s forces to pick us up. At a time like this, it would definitely attract the Church of the Dawn’s notice. This time, we can only take a carriage back ourselves.”

“The carriage leaving this little town departs tomorrow morning. We will leave this border town first. Tonight, we [N O V E L I G H T] can only stay here for one night.”

“Ah, so that means people from the Church might find us tonight??” Fennia immediately sensed that something was wrong.

“That possibility is very small, but it cannot be ruled out. After all, no possibility is ever zero. Even the odds of us being hit by a brick the moment we step outside are not zero. But Miss Fennia, you need not worry so much. I have already made thorough preparations. Our movements were very discreet. No one knows we came to this little town. Taking ten thousand steps back, even if people from the Church really do come, they will still need time to search.”

“I have already made ample preparations,” Luna said confidently. She had long since anticipated this possibility.

“Besides, the relationship between the Church of the Dawn and the Tyrel Empire is already rather tense. Unless it is an essential, major matter, the Church would never take this risk and send troops charging straight into territory under imperial jurisdiction. That would definitely cause many conflicts.”