Was that a promise?
Lovene chuckled softly and said, “I'll remember that.”
“Alright, see you next time.”
Ivy turned her head, nodded, then grabbed Lailan's wrist and, blushing, quickly ran towards the basement entrance, almost as if fleeing in disarray.
By then, the cold energy on Lovene had completely dissipated. After healing herself with Holy Light, she stood up and also walked towards the basement entrance.
However, compared to Ivy, her steps were more graceful.
Mia followed beside her and whispered:
“The Saintess of Winter… she seems a bit contradictory?”
Anyone could tell that after Ivy heard Lovene call her a kind person, she started acting strangely.
She wanted to deny it, but her denials only made it more obvious.
“Indeed, an interesting Saintess.”
Lovene replied with a smile, lowering her gaze.
After interacting for a while, she could confirm that Ivy had a tsundere personality. Building a good relationship with such a Saintess would be entirely beneficial for her.
At this stage, expanding her network was crucial. After all, she would betray the Church later, and these connections might be able to help her then, but…
She felt truly wicked. Expanding her network wasn't about making genuine friends, but about seeing what benefits others could bring her.
She was too selfish and calculating!
When did Lovene become the person she used to despise?
But it wasn't her fault; it was the world's fault!
The world forced her into it!
After blaming all responsibility on the world, Lovene returned to the Church of the Morning Light's cathedral with a clear conscience. She found the bishop and informed him about the monster Sandy, asking for his help in the investigation.
As a Saintess of the Church, was she fighting for the holy relic for herself alone?
No, she was fighting for the entire Church of the Morning Light!
Therefore, it was perfectly normal for her to use the Church of the Morning Light's influence to investigate the monster Sandy. Otherwise, investigating alone, she wouldn't know how long it would take.
Just as she was investigating the monster Sandy, deep within the Church, Knight Captain Morris finally received his knight.
“Speak, what information have you gathered?”
Morris stood by the window, his back to the door. Behind him, a knight in standard Church light armor knelt on one knee, head bowed, recounting everything he had investigated.
“Reporting, Captain. My investigation shows that both Viscount Oswell Marcus and the common folk I interviewed insist that Seth and Croy went to the seaside to investigate the source of the territory's anomaly and have not returned since.”
Morris snorted upon hearing this:
“Nonsense! There's no way those two went to investigate the contamination!”
He turned around:
“Besides that, did you find nothing else?”
The knight lowered his head and continued:
“Yes, the Oswell territory felt very bizarre to me.”
He hesitated, seemingly recalling something. “When I went to investigate, I found that their territory not only had statues of the Lord of the Morning Light but also statues of the Saintess, with an unusually high number of the latter.”
“Furthermore, whenever I asked about Seth, the previously amiable common folk seemed to change, looking at me with a hint of scrutiny.”
These were his personal experiences.
The Oswell territory felt bizarre to him, especially the moment he saw more statues of the Saintess than of the Lord of the Morning Light.
If not for the presence of Lord of the Morning Light statues in the territory, he would have thought the Saintess was the true object of faith for the Church of the Morning Light.
Not only that, he noticed that whenever he inquired about anything related to the Saintess, the common folk would clam up, scrutinize him carefully, and speak with a touch of hostility.
He always had a strange feeling that if he had made his intentions clear within the territory, he might not have been able to leave at all, and would have become the third Church Knight to die there.
Morris, understanding the meaning of his words, sneered:
“You mean that entire territory has become Saintess Lovene's domain?”
The knight remained silent, head bowed.
Morris scoffed:
“That's truly absurd. How long has Saintess Lovene been in that territory for it to become her domain? Are you underestimating our Church of the Morning Light?”
Saying this, he sighed:
“Our Church has developed for countless years, with innumerable believers, yet even in the Holy City, many people don't fully believe in us. What ability does Lovene possess to make an entire territory submit to her?”
“You didn't find anything, did you? Are you deliberately trying to fob me off with this?”
The Oswell territory would believe in Saintess Lovene? He wouldn't believe it even if he died.
He knew how complex human hearts were; after all, even he, a Knight Captain of the Church, didn't truly believe in the Lord of the Morning Light. So, Saintess Lovene went to the Oswell territory for half a month and conquered everyone?
Heh heh, do succubi from hell even have that ability?
The knight naturally knew his speculation was absurd, so he remained silent for a moment before revealing the true results of his investigation.
“No, Captain, besides that, I also investigated that Captain Seth and the Saintess had a conflict because of Croy, and it was because of this that Captain Seth tormented the Saintess during the Blood-Bestowal Ceremony.”
Morris's eyes lit up slightly:
“Oh? Tell me the details.”
The knight recounted the conflict between Croy, Seth, and the Saintess in the Oswell territory. After listening, Morris asked no more questions. He pondered for a moment and murmured,
“That's right, it must have been Saintess Lovene who killed my brother.”
The Saintess's motive for killing Seth was their conflict. Lovene must be a petty person; she absolutely couldn't tolerate being humiliated in front of the common folk.
Therefore, she harbored murderous intent towards him.
And the method was simple: she sent people to kill Seth and Croy, destroyed their bodies, and then blamed everything on the territory's contamination. With no evidence, she would be completely safe!
Yes, that's exactly right!
Everything makes sense now!
Morris punched the wall, his murderous intent towards Lovene soaring to its peak.
The knight's voice came from behind him: “Then, Captain, what will you do?”
“Whoever killed my brother will pay a blood price.”
Morris's eyes flashed.
“Do you remember the Eye of Truth in the Church? Under its gaze, no one can lie. If I can persuade them to use it against the Saintess, the truth will be revealed.”
“Arbitrarily killing a Knight Captain who was performing the Blood-Bestowal Ceremony, even a Saintess, will undoubtedly be punished by the Church. While she won't be sentenced to death, the physical and mental torment will be considerable.”
“However, this aligns perfectly with my intentions. If she were to die easily, it wouldn't be satisfying. Only by tormenting her mercilessly can I avenge the pain of losing my loved one!”
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