Chapter 302: The Broken Doll

“How could… something like this happen…?”

Philomina now felt like her head was about to explode from the overload of information.

However, what Yuna described was almost flawless from any perspective, even making one want to exclaim, “So that’s how it is!” in realization.

After all, as the Redeeming Saintess and heir to the Lambert Family, she wasn’t completely ignorant of certain matters.

Including Yuna Summerfield, there have been eight generations of the Saint of Bright Light, and among them, only the first, Rokka Summerfield, and the seventh, Betty Summerfield, failed to transcend to the next level.

The latter was particularly ineffective during the upheaval of the Holy Kingdom and the third demon war, earning her the title of the most mediocre Saint of Bright Light in history. In fact, for quite some time after Betty’s death from exhaustion, the position of the Saint of Bright Light remained vacant.

While the official statement was that there were no suitable successors to receive the Crown of the Uncrowned, after learning the secret Yuna shared, Philomina finally understood…

Despite having been passed down for eight generations, there were actually only… three Saints of Bright Light?

No wonder this Princess Yuna, who had never been on the battlefield, was well-versed in military formations, tactical commands, and the geography of the Holy Kingdom, appearing calm and collected at all times…

No, wait.

Philomina suddenly realized a problem.

Even though it sounded like a light matter now, this information was likely top secret, even within the Summerfield Family, and very few had the right to know.

She instinctively glanced at the powerful figures still murmuring in the distance about the ominous blood-red sky, not yet close to this side.

“Princess Yuna… Is it really okay to tell me such a secret? You… you’re not planning to silence me after this, are you…?”

“…?”

The seriousness on Philomina’s face became momentarily stiff, and the Blonde Saintess shook her head wryly.

“What are you thinking, Princess Philomina? You’re a direct descendant of the three divine bloodlines, the current Redeeming Saintess, and destined to become the head of the Lambert Family!”

“Though my identity is indeed secret, it’s not completely unknown. Even if you don’t know now, once you inherit the position of head, Auguste will definitely tell you.”

“Eh?! Grandpa also knows about this? Then about the situation in our Church of the Goddess, could he…?”

“Ah…”

Still just a little girl.

Yuna shook her head noncommittally and reached out a hand towards the pink-haired girl.

“Princess Philomina, I have disclosed my biggest secret to you. Whether you believe it or not, I now need an answer.”

“We don’t have much time left. We must unite the powers of the three Saintesses and the three Holy Artifacts to face our true God. Only His presence can dispel the Blade of Killing and return the Holy Kingdom to the right path.”

“What will your answer be?”

“The true God of the Holy Kingdom…? I…”

Philomina hesitated.

Though she was one of the most devout followers of the Goddess Church as a Saintess, Yuna’s long-standing reliability, coupled with her sincere attitude just moments ago, genuinely made her doubt her own faith.

The crux was that there was only one path left to counter the impending God of Killing.

So, although still appearing somewhat confused, Philomina instinctively reached out toward Yuna.

But at that moment.

“Princess Philomina, you cannot agree to her.”

Another hand, seemingly soft yet particularly strong, blocked the two.

“…Huh?”

“…”

Startled by the suddenly raised voice, the pink-haired girl gawked at the speaker. Yuna merely squinted her eyes, a smirk forming at the corners of her mouth.

“Couldn’t hold back any longer, huh?”

Although increasingly puzzled, Philomina clearly trusted the one who had interrupted her. Not only was she not angry, but it felt as though she had found a lifeline as she hastily sought help.

“Little Seven, what’s wrong? Why can’t I agree to Princess Yuna?”

Suddenly appearing from the void, the expressionless Maid calmly interjected between the two girls.

“Princess Philomina, I judge that you are being misled and incited, without truly realizing the severity of this matter.”

“The arrival of the Ruler of Killing is merely Yuna Summerfield’s claim. Just because she hasn’t lied in the past doesn’t mean she won’t now.”

The Doll’s empty gaze was directed into the distance.

“Look at that portal. She clearly possesses the ability to quickly arrive in the Sanos Province but has never told anyone or used it in the war…”

“In this war, there exist multiple irregularities that contradict the normal flow of events. According to my calculations, this could only have been achieved if the upper echelons of the Goddess Church colluded with the demons to secretly assist them… that is, there is a traitor lurking by your side.”

“The Judging Saintess and the Arbitrary Sword have gone missing, and aside from the Saint of Bright Light, only your Savior’s Ring is firmly in the Church’s hands. Yuna Summerfield has been acting strangely continuously and is trying to gain your trust; based on my calculations up to now, the probability that she is the traitor has reached 78.9%.”

“Princess Philomina, her actions are too dangerous now. I advise you…”

*Crack!*

A fair hand suddenly pierced through the Doll’s chest, crushing a gem-like metallic core inside, scattering it into countless fragments on the ground.

“Advise you… advise you… advise you… build build build build build… error, error, error, error, error error error error…”

The Maid’s last coherent words were instantly overtaken by the surge of electricity and fluid erupting from her chest, turning into hollow noises and errors, along with Philomina’s shocked scream intertwining with fear and anger.

“Little Seven!!!! What are you doing?!!!”

The Redeeming Saintess’s mind was buzzing, and in the face of such a sudden turn of events, the thread of sanity she had desperately held onto finally snapped completely.

Just as she prepared to recklessly strike down the bastard named “Wing,” who had snuck up and attacked Little Seven to save her most important friend, the latter merely retreated with even greater speed and stood behind Yuna, remaining composed.

“Little… Little Seven! Hang in there! I’m going to heal you now!!”

Philomina rushed forward, catching the fallen Maid and casting healing magic desperately at the one who had completely lost consciousness and collapsed after a string of error messages. But the broken Doll showed no response, only the glaring breach in the Maid’s uniform where electricity was still crackling.

Clearly, Holy Light magic could not repair broken machinery.

“…How dare you!!!”

Facing the Redeeming Saintess with red eyes looking up, Yuna calmly pointed at the front.

“Princess Philomina, please calm down. Your Maid… that creation won’t break down so easily.”

“Are you trying to deceive…?!”

Though she said as much, the accumulated trust caused the pink-haired girl to instinctively turn back, but what met her eyes made her anger and doubt falter into a freezing shock.

Just a few meters behind her, there stood a girl identical to Little Seven, wearing the same Maid outfit, as if she had been copied…

A perfect, expressionless girl.

   

---