“Highness, how could I possibly go back to the Restoration Army?”
Lance was uncertain, his doubts growing by the day.
Back then, to save Noren, he had caused a bloodbath at the Restoration Army headquarters.
Not to mention the 100 or even 1,000 people who had died as a result of that incident.
Among them were the children and nephews of many experts in the Elemental Tier.
Those old geezers likely hated him more than anything else in the world.
Returning to the Restoration Army now would be like being ground into dust.
That was definitely out of the question!
Lance’s expression shifted drastically as he immediately formed a united front with his sister.
He would never accept such a suicidal mission.
Seeing the siblings’ reaction, Cecilia suddenly felt like she was some sort of villain.
‘Am I really the kind of cold-blooded boss who sends her subordinates on suicide missions?’
‘Uh… it seems I might be…’
But even if she were to send someone to their death, it wouldn’t be Lance!
What kind of person did these siblings take her for?
Cecilia grew annoyed at the thought.
She looked at them coldly and asked, “How do you plan to solve Noren’s physical condition?”
“Huh?”
At the mention of this, Lance seemed to understand Cecilia’s intention.
Noren was currently in a state of semi-bloodification and had already developed the trait of absorbing energy from living blood.
Those crimson eyes were the outward manifestation of her abnormal body.
Lance’s own eyes were currently a deep scarlet, a mutation caused by the Ghoul racial characteristics.
However, the bloodline passed down through the Faros family should have resulted in black hair and blue eyes.
“If you don’t go to the Restoration Army to get the experimental data, how do you plan to reverse Noren’s bloodification? And if you don’t reverse it, how can you send her to school? Do you want her to join the Evernight Church’s forces?”
Cecilia sneered, her tone growing increasingly sharp. She fired off a string of questions at Lance like a barrage of cannon fire.
She was very dissatisfied with Lance’s reaction!
After all, she had been forced to temporarily leave the Restoration Army and seek refuge in the Church because of the trouble Lance had caused.
Thinking back on how those old geezers in the Restoration Army had pressured her…
She had suffered so much, yet these two siblings were treating her like an enemy?
Just as Cecilia’s thoughts turned toward self-pity, Noren stood her ground and offered her own solution.
“Then I just won’t go to school!”
This naturally shifted Cecilia’s gaze from Lance to Noren.
Heh.
‘I forgot about this little ungrateful wolf!’
‘Who do you think I came to Siofra for? You actually dare to talk back to me! I’ve really been too lax with your discipline lately!’
With that thought, Cecilia reached out and pulled Noren, who was shielding Lance, into her arms. Without mercy, she began kneading Noren’s soft cheeks.
“Ow… mwah… Sister Cecilia… I… Brother!”
With her face being ruthlessly toyed with, Noren’s momentum instantly vanished as she tried to beg for mercy.
But Cecilia gave her no chance. Every time Noren managed to utter a syllable, Cecilia would suddenly cover her mouth.
Cecilia still wore a smile, but it was a sinister one!
Seeing this, Lance immediately took two steps back. The united front between the siblings shattered instantly.
‘Why did she suddenly get angry?’
‘At a time like this, I can only sacrifice my sister to appease Her Highness…’
“Brother… mmph!”
Looking at her brother who had retreated, Noren’s eyes, once full of a plea for help, were slowly filled with despair.
……
Slap!
Cecilia slammed an opened envelope onto the table. The desk shook once before quickly returning to silence.
Squatting to the side and clutching her reddened cheeks, Noren trembled and shuffled two steps away.
Lance’s heart skipped a beat as well.
He hurriedly stole a glance at his superior’s expression.
Hiss… ‘As expected of a top talent who has stood out in royal etiquette training since childhood!’
Cecilia’s eyes were narrowed into slits, and a warm smile played on her lips. She sat quietly in her seat, watching Lance.
If the table hadn’t just let out a scream of agony, anyone would have thought the Saintess was in a good mood.
“Highness, what is this?”
“See for yourself!”
Cecilia turned her chair away in annoyance, looking out the large floor-to-ceiling window at the night view of Siofra’s West City.
‘She’s still angry…’
With a light sigh, Lance walked to the desk, picked up the letter, and began to read.
His brow twitched at the very first line.
‘A “letter of apology” from the third prince, Molka?’
‘This guy hasn’t been dealt with by those old geezers in the Restoration Army yet?’
Muttering to himself, Lance continued reading. His frown deepened, only smoothing out as he reached the end.
The letter rambled about many things, almost none of which were good news. It was filled with chaotic apologies, but the essence could be summarized in one sentence:
‘It’s really not my fault that my royal sister left! I was just bewitched by those guys! Please, Royal Sister, you must forgive me!’
The pile of issues mentioned could also be summarized in one sentence:
‘The situation is critical! As long as my royal sister returns, I will definitely return all political power to her!’
Lance clicked his tongue and put the letter down. He looked at the back of the Saintess and asked, “What is Your Highness’s intention?”
“Naturally, I have to go back… those are the troops left behind by my mother…”
“I have no reason to give up on them.”
“So, Your Highness is choosing to have me go back now to take over the Restoration Army?”
Lance felt a headache coming on.
As a frontline position for the confrontation between the Church of Holy Light and the Evernight Church, Midgar was an old kingdom. Its previous strength had not been weak.
Therefore, even after experiencing a royal civil war, a Blood Race invasion, and the destruction of the kingdom, there were still members who nominally followed the Midgar royal family.
That was the current Midgar Restoration Army.
From the content of the letter, it seemed the four remaining Elemental Tier experts in the Restoration Army were truly prepared to return power to the royal family.
After all, Cecilia had now become the only Radiant Saintess of the Church of Holy Light and was an extremely young Elemental Tier expert. Her future was boundless.
If those old geezers still clung to power, they would be the ones failing to see the situation! That would be the abnormal thing!
‘But… I’m only a Mid-stage High Rank, and a High Rank who has a grudge with those old farts…’
Even if he returned forcefully as the Saintess’s confidant, there would likely be a lot of trouble!
“Highness, sending me there…”
“I know, it’s not a wise move.”
Cecilia, knowing this well, cut Lance off and turned her chair back around. The smile on her face had vanished, replaced by an exceptionally serious expression.
Cecilia stared at Lance and said somewhat desolately, “But… I have no one else I can trust…”
Lance froze. In his memory, the girl had only looked this desolate when the Queen passed away.
Memories surfaced, and Lance suddenly remembered the Queen’s final request:
‘Lance, after you become an Oathbound Knight, you must protect Cecilia well~’
With a sigh, Lance felt a wave of guilt for failing the Queen’s trust.
‘Sigh… the Queen’s kindness can never be fully repaid!’
With no other choice, Lance was forced to tell a blatant lie.
“Your Highness has misunderstood!”
“What I meant to say was, if you send me there, I will definitely not betray your trust!”
“This is my duty as an Oathbound Knight!”
Hearing this declaration of loyalty, the gloom on Cecilia’s face vanished instantly. She looked at her “capable subordinate” with a face as bright as a peach blossom.
Just as she was about to offer some praise, the little maid squatting behind the sofa poked her head out in protest.
“Brother! What about me!”
Cecilia’s brow furrowed immediately.
With a slight movement of her finger, she condensed a large hand of Holy Power. Like picking up a chick, she plucked the little maid from behind the sofa into the air.
Noren cried out and struggled, but she was powerless.
With a thud, Noren was tossed into Cecilia’s embrace by the Holy Power hand.
The Saintess began kneading Noren’s cheeks again, looking at her with narrowed, warm eyes as she spoke slowly.
“Isn’t it good for Noren to live with me from now on?”
“When I return, I can even find a private magic tutor for you~ Your brother can’t provide that for you, can he?”