The thought of Lance possibly wanting to change sides sent Cecilia’s sharp mind into a tailspin, her imagination running wild.
‘No wonder he tried to break the Knight of the Vow Contract… No wonder he struck down those middle and high-ranking members of the Knight Order affiliated with the Church of Holy Light…’
‘It was all calculated!’
‘If that’s true, then the only thing still tying Lance here is Noren!’
‘He hasn’t left yet probably because Noren is still in my hands!’
Anger and panic surged within her, and Cecilia’s eyes slowly filled with tears.
‘What should I do if Lance insists on following that Elf Princess?’
‘I can’t actually stop him…’
Snap!
In her distraction, Cecilia’s mental focus slipped, and the Magic Long Chain binding Lance loosened.
Lance lunged forward, grabbing Cecilia’s wrists to stop her “assault.”
“Cecilia! What on earth are you talking about?!”
“Where would I even go?!”
Lance was at his wit’s end. He had been burned by Holy Light for no reason, then bound and beaten.
After hearing Cecilia’s words, he finally understood why he was suffering this ordeal.
‘The Saintess must have misunderstood something, and it likely involves Astrid!’
Cecilia’s struggling stopped at his shout, but her eyes only grew wetter. Tears were on the verge of spilling down her cheeks.
Lance had no choice but to release her wrists and use his rough hands to gently cup her face, wiping away the tears before they could fall.
Her misty vision went dark for a moment, and when she opened her eyes again, the world was clear. Cecilia sniffed, making a cute little sound.
Seeing her like this, Lance finally felt a sense of familiarity. The mature demeanor of a Saintess was somewhat foreign to him… but this tearful state was the Cecilia he knew.
Lance looked up at Cecilia, who was dressed in pure white robes, while the Saintess sat on his abdomen, looking down at him.
They stared at each other for a long time, neither saying a word.
Through his transformed, crimson eyes, Cecilia once again felt the familiarity that was uniquely Lance’s.
‘She seems to have calmed down…’
Seeing Cecilia settle, her blushing face bowed lower and lower as if she were trying to hide.
‘But you can’t exactly hide in this position!’ Lance’s mind screamed. He was unable to remain calm.
Despite the layer of fabric between them, he could feel her warmth radiating through.
He could also feel the soft, firm touch of the girl’s thighs.
If he were not in a Ghoul’s body—where physical reactions were incredibly sluggish—he might have provided Cecilia with some “extra support” from below.
“Cough! Your Highness, anyway, you should get off me first.”
Seeing her lack of response, Lance gave the seemingly frozen Saintess some direction.
“Oh…”
Cecilia let out a long, drawn-out sound. Perhaps because she had just cried, her voice sounded a bit strained.
For some reason, she sounded almost… reluctant?
As the warmth left his waist and abdomen and she stood to the side, Lance was finally able to sit up.
‘She is an Elemental Tier powerhouse after all. Suppressing a High Rank like me is child’s play for her.’
Lance cleared his throat again and asked seriously, “Your Highness, what exactly happened?”
Faced with the core question, Cecilia took a step back, her head turned slightly away as she looked down.
Her face was flushed bright red. Looking through Lance’s eyes, even without a formal explanation, Cecilia realized she must have misunderstood.
Recalling her recent loss of composure, her face burned. She wanted to dive under the covers and hide from the current “interrogation.”
“It’s… it’s nothing…”
“Is it really nothing?”
Lance narrowed his eyes suspiciously, standing up and closing the distance between them.
“Ugh—”
Cecilia opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat. She let out a cute little grunt and took another step back.
Seeing her looking so weak-willed, Lance found it amusing and wanted to press her further.
For a moment, an ambiguous atmosphere swirled between them, making Cecilia’s heart pound. But just as Lance was about to move, he stiffened. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something strange.
He whipped his head around!
Lance saw his little maid, Noren, who was supposed to be sleeping soundly on the bed.
Her large eyes were wide and sparkling as she stared intensely at them.
A silly, doting smile was plastered on her face, as if she were lost in some delightful fantasy.
She did not even notice her older brother’s glare. It was not until Cecilia also turned to look that Noren snapped out of it.
Startled, her body jerked, and she quickly leaned back, pretending to be asleep. She even took a risky peek with one eye to gauge their reactions.
The atmosphere vanished instantly.
Cecilia suppressed the urge to facepalm and waved her fair hand.
The Sound-proofing Barrier surrounding the four-poster bed was dismissed.
Seeing this, Noren hurriedly sat up and waved her hands, trying to clarify.
“I didn’t see anything! I didn’t see Sister Cecilia sitting on Brother! And I didn’t—”
Before she could finish, the mortified Cecilia turned beet-red.
Not giving Noren a chance to continue, she invoked her Power of Factors, condensing a giant hand of Holy Power.
She plucked Noren off the bed and tossed her out of the room.
“Ahhh—!”
Noren cried out as her world spun. In the blink of an eye, she was dumped onto the cold stone floor outside the bedroom door.
Bang!
The door slammed shut!
Noren rubbed her aching bottom and muttered, “Didn’t I say I didn’t see anything…”
“Sigh… Whatever. Such is the life of a younger sister, always taking the heat…”
After some grumbling, Noren did not take what just happened to heart.
After all, it was no secret that Sister Cecilia liked her brother; only Cecilia herself thought she was hiding it well.
‘Looks like those two finally made some progress. All my campaigning back in the Restoration Army wasn’t in vain.’
Glancing back at the closed door, a mischievous smile played on Noren’s lips as she teased the two inside in her mind.
Her mood suddenly improved. Noren decided to find some food to comfort her “misery” at being exiled.
She stood up slowly, smoothed out her wrinkled maid stockings, and hummed a cheerful tune as she skipped toward the meeting room downstairs.
“Dessert… dessert… I’ll use a fake order to get some dessert…”
As the personal maid handpicked by the Saintess, Noren held an incredibly high status within the Holy Light Church Station.
After all, she was the only one allowed into the Saintess’s top-floor bedroom!
Usually, meals and desserts were delivered to the meeting room by servants, and she would be the one to bring them up.
But… as an Elemental Tier powerhouse, how much food did Cecilia actually need?
The little maid, who had already enjoyed many perks, decided to use her privilege again to satisfy her appetite.
Clatter, clatter, clatter—
She hurried down the stairs and ran straight for the Saintess’s private meeting room.
No one should have been in there, but there was a communication device inside.
As long as she gave the command, a servant would soon bring up whatever she wanted.
Thud!
Noren pushed the double doors open, a wide smile on her face.
But her movements froze under the confused gaze of an Elf Girl with long, deep-golden hair.