Chapter 161: A Bit of Mercy

At first, Miss Vilyric indeed planned to meet Edwina Cecelia under the guise of Xī.

After all, while the latter knew that she and Xī were the same person, she was the only one; the others around the Holy Knight, including this Chromans of the Throne of Immortality before her, remained unaware of the secret.

Unless necessary, the Priestess didn’t plan to make Vilyric publicly appear in the Holy City to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

Because, in the end, she didn’t trust this Chromans character.

Previously, in the Holy City of Bright Light, Vilyric had sent Leila and Renée twice to search for the elusive cult, the Throne of Immortality, and their hideouts. The sisters didn’t disappoint the Priestess, ultimately finding and thoroughly exterminating those rats hiding underground.

Although due to the interference of the Faceless Ones, Leila and the others couldn’t completely wipe out all the Undead in the hideout and let some remnants escape, their leader, the Ninth Seat of the Throne of Immortality, known as the Chameleon Phantom, was caught red-handed.

When dragged before a certain Miss White Fox, although the latter begged for her life, Vilyric saw right away that she was even more opportunistic than Plakaka, initially intending to extract some information from her, and if that failed, simply eliminate her.

After all, she didn’t plan to keep members of the Throne of Immortality by her side. Vilyric’s relationship with the Saint of Bright Light was not as close as that of some Queen, so tossing a troublesome character like her to someone else wouldn’t be beneficial in any way.

However, unexpectedly, this rat, upon hearing the news, offered her a rather sensible suggestion or perhaps interceded for this Chromans character.

Plakaka’s meaning was likely that this Chameleon Phantom was quite adept at disguise and imitation, possessing nearly legendary powers. Instead of wasting her life, it would be better to have her take on the role of a substitute for some important figure, possibly putting her talents to use.

The idea of a substitute indeed reminded Vilyric.

She recalled that during the coup in the United Kingdom, this Chromans had once disguised herself as Liliya’s personal shadow guard attempting an assassination. Luckily, the magical artifact given by the Priestess, the Ascension Box, activated passively, saving Miss Queen from danger.

Although this was also one of the main reasons why Vilyric didn’t intend to let Chromans off the hook, on second thought, such exquisite mimicry could indeed yield excellent results if applied correctly.

Separated from the United Kingdom by mountains and rivers, and given that Chromans had previously clashed with Liliya, she was not suited to work for Miss Queen like Plakaka. However, within the Holy Empire, there were indeed significant figures that Vilyric was familiar with and acquainted with…

And indeed, there was, and they were at a critical moment requiring help.

Thus, she found herself beside Edwina Cecelia today.

Watching Chromans break into a cold sweat and seem to want to argue something, only to be at a loss for words in her panic, the Priestess knowingly maintained a seemingly angry smile that served to intimidate the other party.

Sure enough, as she had initially assessed, this character wasn’t particularly honest… If this continued, it would likely lead to problems even if she held Chromans’s life in her hands.

Naturally, Vilyric couldn’t casually send someone from the Throne of Immortality to Edwina’s side.

First, she needed to eliminate the stench of necromancy from her and put her in chains.

Just right, with connections in the United Kingdom, Chromans was familiar with how the Priestess looked. Vilyric pretended to kill her under the guise of Xī, and at another opportunity, “coincidentally” reappeared as her genuine self, displaying a miracle of resurrection like Plakaka before, and imposed constraints.

After realizing that the Miss White Fox was not joking, Chromans, grateful for Vilyric’s life-saving grace, naturally wouldn’t dare to play tricks like before.

With a mix of kindness and authority, the Priestess subdued this vital member of the Throne of Immortality, switching back to Xī’s identity, using “since Vilyric has indicated so” as a reason for Mr. Mouse, who had planned to conduct further investigations in the Holy City, to take this colleague along with him to seek out Edwina earlier.

[Vilyric herself is not in the Holy Kingdom, merely using some means to occasionally reach out or communicate from a distance,] was the situation the Priestess initially intended to create. However, upon following Edwina’s information to this forest and entering, she witnessed the scene from just before.

Edwina Cecelia was not Liliya Meikailande, and Chromans was also different from Plakaka.

The four figures differed greatly in personality, means, and in various aspects, so it was unreasonable to expect that being a Priestess, kind-hearted and emphasizing equality, the Holy Knight could exert the same thunderous means as some Majesty to control every disobedient subordinate.

Evidently, Chromans was lazier and fond of taking shortcuts compared to Plakaka; she was merely half-heartedly submitting due to the circumstances.

At such times, a stronger stance was necessary to help further intimidate this shrewd woman full of clever tricks.

What the Priestess wanted was to use this sudden appearance to give Chromans a sense that “Vilyric’s influence was vast and nearly everywhere,” making her think twice before acting on her whims.

Some words could only be said by Vilyric, the one who resurrected her, to have more deterrent power and authenticity.

“V-Vilyric-sama, I’m being wronged! You see, ever since I turned over a new leaf and followed your orders to come here, I’ve been cooperating with Lady Edwina as much as possible to quickly adapt to this substitute identity… but you know my abilities, just doing a superficial imitation is fine, but asking me to fight like a true legendary Holy Knight is clearly beyond my capability!”

Seeming to sense some unfavorable conditions, Chromans’s eyes darted around before she quickly exclaimed her grievances.

“And I’ve repeated this issue to Lady Edwina several times! Things that can’t be done just can’t be done; you can’t expect a horse without wings to fly, right…”

“Uh, Miss Vilyric, this matter is indeed something I considered…”

“Don’t speak yet.”

Raising a hand, the black-haired girl nonchalantly interrupted the Holy Knight who was about to play peacemaker and relieve the tense atmosphere, then glanced at the current Substitute Miss, whose face was full of pitiful innocence.

“I’ll say it again, and this is definitely the last time.”

“Chromans, I need to emphasize one point: our relationship isn’t as close as you imagine; although I resurrected you, that doesn’t mean I’m your guardian.”

“You nearly killed Liliya, which I consider an almost unforgivable offense. Even so, I gave you the opportunity to regain true life from a cold corpse… This isn’t because you’re so precious or irreplaceable in my eyes, nor is it because of your looks; this is simply a basic mercy I offer to every life, or you could say, an opportunity for atonement.”

“The precious significance of resurrection magic, no need to say, you should understand; such miracles I can bestow, and naturally, I can take them back. Your abilities and means are not bargaining chips to negotiate with me; they mean nothing to me… Don’t try to be clever.”

Seeing the increasingly awkward expression of the Substitute Miss, Vilyric remained composed.

“Now, let’s return to the original topic.”

   

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