The wooden cabin fell silent for a moment. The middle-aged man sighed, his voice weary, as if he were trying to reason with a stubborn child.
“The contamination will only turn us into monsters that are neither human nor ghost, Harvey. I know the village chief was your grandmother, but... you're being crazy.”
Harvey stared at him, a slow grin spreading across his face.
“It seems we'll never see eye to eye after all.”
With that, he turned and walked out of the cabin.
The other men in the room stood up in unison, their chairs scraping harshly against the floor.
“Harvey, what are you going to do?” the middle-aged man's voice tightened.
“Keep the stone heart in our village. It was our treasure to begin with.”
As he reached the threshold, he paused and sneered.
“Besides that, I'm going to tear off that Saintess's mask. Her so-called kindness is nothing but a facade to steal our village's treasure.”
The door was pushed open, letting in a gust of cold wind that made the candle flame flicker violently. The men exchanged glances, but in the end, they all chose to remain silent.
...
The next day, Lovene knelt before the altar, holding out her wrist and letting her blood drip onto the stone heart.
Mia stood by her side, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword as she warily scanned their surroundings.
The corpses around the altar had already been taken away and buried by the villagers. A few villagers remained behind to look after Lovene out of gratitude.
A lame old man approached, carrying a bowl of water, and offered it to Lovene.
“Lady Saintess, please have some water. You've already lost so much blood...”
Lovene took the bowl, took a small sip, and handed it back with a smile.
“Thank you, I'm fine.”
Her voice was even weaker than it had been the day before, leaving the nearby villagers feeling a pang of guilt and sorrow.
Just then, a chaotic clatter of footsteps echoed from the entrance of the cellar.
A young man wearing a coarse cloth robe walked down, followed by five or six thuggish-looking villagers. This young man was none other than Harvey.
“Oh, aren't you diligent, Lady Saintess?” he said sarcastically. “Hiding down here all by yourself—are you trying to pocket our village's property all for yourself?”
Mia's hand instantly tightened around her sword hilt. Lovene pressed her hand down, shaking her head.
“Mr. Harvey, I am purifying the stone heart. If we don't do this, it will continue to contaminate many more people...”
“Purifying?”
Harvey interrupted her, stepping up to the altar and tapping his finger against the surface of the stone heart.
“Do you even know what this is? This is a treasure left behind by a god! Before she passed, my grandmother said this heart can grant immortality and divine power! Yet here you are, trying to turn it into a useless piece of rock?”
The villagers behind him chimed in.
“Yeah, exactly!”
“Even a Saintess can't just go around destroying our things!”
Lovene looked at him calmly.
“Mr. Harvey, this heart is killing the people of your village. Your grandmother... became a monster because of it.”
Harvey's face twitched.
“You're lying! My grandmother was killed by that crazy knight of yours! I saw her head get chopped off with my own eyes!” He pointed at Mia. “Murderer! Your church is full of executioners!”
Mia narrowed her eyes, her grip on her sword hilt tightening slightly.
Just then, Lovene stood up and stepped in front of her.
“Mr. Harvey, please do not remain lost in your delusions. The power of an outer god will only bring disaster. This altar already proves everything.”
“Delusions?” Harvey sneered. “You're the one who's deluded!”
“Just because you saved a few people, you think you can destroy the hope of our entire village? Let me tell you, this heart belongs to our village! You have no right to decide its fate!”
He turned and shouted to the villagers behind him:
“Fellow villagers! This Saintess wants to destroy our treasure! All this talk of 'purification' is just a cover—she wants to take the stone heart back to the church to claim credit! Once they leave, we'll be left to suffer!”
A few villagers began to stir, and someone muttered in a low voice,
“Is that true? But wouldn't it be better for us if this evil thing was taken away?”
“Better? Didn't you hear what Harvey said? This stone heart can grant us the power of immortality! This altar, those dead people—maybe they were just a necessary price to pay!”
“Exactly! The church has been so cruel to us. How can you still harbor any hope for them at this point?”
Gradually, stirred up by the villagers backing Harvey, public opinion turned heavily against Lovene. Even many who disagreed with Harvey dared not speak up due to his influence.
Among them was the hunter.
Standing at the very back, he glared intently at Harvey without saying a word, though his hand gripped his bow with exceptional force.
In the end, the villagers, unable to distinguish right from wrong, mostly sided with Harvey. They drove Lovene—who was still letting her own blood—and Mia out of the cellar.
Mia usually had a cold temperament, but facing such treatment, she couldn't help but want to draw her sword and teach these villagers and Harvey a lesson.
But Lovene simply held onto her wrist, leading her out of the cellar.
Following behind her, Mia let out a sigh.
She knew her Highness was preparing to swallow her anger once again.
After all, who could blame her when she was so kind-hearted?
No matter how ignorant or foolish people were, she was always willing to give them a chance.
However, walking ahead where Mia couldn't see, Lovene pursed her lips, nearly bursting into laughter.
Harvey hadn't been part of her original plan, but his actions had actually done her a massive favor.
...
Over the next two days, Harvey began spreading rumors throughout the village.
“It takes three days for the Saintess to purify the stone heart? Ha! She's just dragging her feet on purpose! Once the church's people arrive, she'll hand it over to claim the credit!”
“Think about it. When has the church ever treated us well? The priest who came last time made off with half a year's worth of our grain! Do you really think this Saintess is any kinder? Impossible!”
“The stone heart was left behind by our ancestors. Why should we let outsiders decide what to do with it?”
Some of the villagers who had initially been grateful to Lovene began to waver. They didn't dare to support her openly because of Harvey's high standing in the village; if they helped the Saintess, they might not receive their share of the next food distribution.
Not only that, but Harvey also arranged for men to guard the cellar, attempting to block Lovene from entering. While this couldn't stop Mia, it was enough to thoroughly irk her.
Mia snorted, her murderous intent surging.
“Your Highness, let me teach that Harvey a lesson. It'll only take one slash.”
Lovene shook her head.
“If you kill him, the villagers will only hate us more. They will think the church really does nothing but murder, and that we only came here to steal what they call their treasure.”
“Then what should we do? He's inciting the villagers every single day, and now no one dares to help us. Our time was already tight to begin with—can you really purify the stone heart in these remaining two days?”
Lovene looked down at the bandage on her wrist. Very little blood was seeping from the wound now, and she felt dizzy with every step she took.
“Let's give it a try...”
Mia grit her teeth and said no more.
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