Chapter 180: Malice

Vilyric had finally figured it out.

Alwen wasn’t wrong at all; these people… were definitely looking for trouble.

Who was behind this was still unclear—could be personal vendettas or such—but there was no doubt their true target wasn’t some Miss White Fox at all; it was aimed squarely at Edwina.

This guy probably knew her well, perhaps even very well, but was just putting on an act.

Thinking about it, Vilyric recalled the Judging Saintess she encountered back in the Kingdom of Azure, Fleidetrika Cecelia, and certain things she mentioned naturally surfaced in her mind.

Jealousy… or maybe fear of the Holy Knight being too outstanding, her reputation and status swelling to an uncontrollable level for some? Perhaps they were deliberately trying to suppress her…

Upon reflection, Yulrin’s worries were not unfounded.

Edwina had returned to the academy to indulge in leisure right during a crucial time for the holy war preparations, and to top it off, she had drawn her sword against students in public. Each of these actions could easily become a massive blemish on her religious career with just a little push and manipulation.

Thus, the earlier brutish attitude of those adjudicators was likely a deliberate ploy; an escalation of conflict at this moment would undoubtedly play into the hands of certain hidden figures seeking to ferment the situation.

Even to create more opportunities to attack the second lady of the Cecelia Family, perhaps spark further discussion regarding the head of the Judgment Scale.

And it was precisely because she grasped this that Alwen had stepped up, trying to pull the conflict onto herself as much as possible, while that adjudicator captain was essentially warning the Bamboo House proprietress to stay out of this… or something like that.

Such deep play… one after another.

However, though it was merely the excuse for their aggression, the root of it all still lay with some Miss White Fox.

If she hadn’t insisted on coming to the Holy Academy, Edwina would not have had to come personally due to the rule restrictions, and though the tour guide role was thrust upon by the Holy Knight, as a friend, Vilyric couldn’t just pretend it wasn’t happening at this point.

“Alright, alright, so you want to play it this way, huh? I’ll see about that…”

Just as Alwen’s brows knit in anger, seemingly about to do something in response to their provocation and warning, Edwina also frowned, preparing to speak again, when suddenly a girl’s light and airy self-talk broke the atmosphere.

“Even divine punishment has to come with a reason… You come right in saying I’m a spy sent by an opposing faction. What evidence do you lawful representatives of the goddess and justice have? Or is it just unfounded slander?”

Seeing Miss White Fox finally speak up, the adjudicator captain, who had hesitated a bit due to Alwen’s aggressive stance, perked up and deliberately ignored the proprietress and the Holy Knight, shifting the focus back to Vilyric.

“Just this strange outfit alone is enough to prove your case, isn’t it? You need to understand, in this situation, it’s you who must prove you’re not a spy or instigator, not us finding evidence against you, got it?”

“As for that, we’ve already submitted it…”

Miss White Fox raised her hand, interrupting Edwina, who was about to blurt out an explanation, and beneath the mask, a tone of mockery tinged her voice as she laughed lightly.

Her delicate, white hands clapped in the air, creating a bright echo.

“Wow, what a criminal proving her innocence here! You adjudicators really have more confidence than even the goddess herself. So tell me, if I prove my innocence, will you pay the price for that slander?”

“Well, you’ll need to come with us first…”

Before the words were fully out, Miss White Fox had already conjured an object in her hand.

It was a badge made of some unknown metal, shimmering with brilliant light.

On the front of the badge was a girl clad in holy robes, bathed in radiance, and when Miss White Fox flipped it skillfully, a ring-like imprint that resembled a supreme piece of art emerged, the two sides reflecting one another, seemingly conveying some ancient name to everything around.

“The Redeeming Saintess…?!”

As soon as he instinctively mumbled that title, the adjudicator captain’s expression changed, his brows knitting slightly.

“Impossible! The Redeeming Saintess is on her way to the Holy Capital right now. How could she possibly be here? You… wait, you are…”

It seemed that at this moment, he had finally shifted his focus from Edwina to Miss White Fox, scanning her up and down, his expression changing again.

“The fox mask, the strange dance skirt… and this badge… you must be that Miss Xī next to the Saint of Bright Light?”

“Hah…”

Seeing him genuinely startled, Vilyric could only let out a speechless sigh.

“From the start, Edwina had mentioned my name, didn’t she? Were you so focused on making trouble for her that you completely ignored this detail?”

“Tsk…”

The captain exchanged glances with a previously silent individual who seemed to be the vice-captain, their dark expressions lingering for a moment, and ultimately, he waved his sleeve.

“We’re leaving!”

They came quickly and left quickly too; it couldn’t be denied that the adjudicators operated with striking efficiency; within just seconds, they capably exited the Bamboo House under the captain’s lead, their footsteps fading into silence before Vilyric’s ears.

“Hmph… they left quite smoothly. A bunch of bullies afraid of hard work, and we just let them slip away like that?”

Turning to glance at the still somewhat disgruntled green-haired proprietress, Miss White Fox simply shrugged, adopting a nonchalant stance.

“What else? Were you really going to take these people on? After all, they’re just pawns, and given their roles as enforcers in this academy, causing actual conflict here wouldn’t benefit either you or Edwina, right? Of course, I don’t really care either way~”

“Tch…”

Though Alwen pouted slightly in annoyance, her lack of further objection indicated she somewhat agreed with Vilyric; she likely didn’t wish to confront the adjudicators as much as she had let on.

“My apologies, Miss Xī; it was my recklessness that gave them a chance to act this way…”

The fox girl smiled lightly, waving her hand.

“Oh, come on, what’s the point of apologies back and forth? Let’s just skip the formalities. But Edwina, those people… they shouldn’t belong to any of the three divine offspring, right? Can you recognize or guess where they’re from?”

It was a straightforward point.

That badge representing the Redeeming Saintess’s identity was clearly given to Xī by the higher-ups of the Lambert Family, intended to make the first step towards building a rapport, so to speak.

In other words, at least the Lambert Family didn’t want to offend this mysterious powerhouse just yet.

If these were representatives of a divine offspring family, the managers of the Holy Capital wouldn’t be ignorant of Xī’s presence and would have never made such a blunder.

So, the only possibility left was that certain individuals within the Holy Academy had acted on their own accord.

   

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