Beast Gacha System: All Mine-Chapter 195: Seer

"Do you know what ’Cecilia’ means?"

"It means ’blind’."

"Wouldn’t it be... heresy? To have a girl named ’blind’ crowned as a foreseeing Saintess?"

These whispers had followed her for years, drifting through crowds whenever she appeared in public. She had heard it in temple corridors and market squares, in the hushed gatherings of nobles and the bold murmurs of commoners who thought themselves too far away to be heard.

Cecilia had heard those words so many times they had worn grooves in her memory.

When she was still the Saintess, the false Saintess, though no one knew it, she had trained herself to smile through them, to glide past them with the serene grace expected of one touched by the divine.

She could never admit the truth. Could never confess that the visions she reported came not from gods but from books, from observation, from the relentless grinding of a mind that refused to stop connecting dots.

At first, it was for survival. Pure, simple fear of discovery, of the stake, of the flames that awaited those who deceived the faithful.

But over the years, she was no longer afraid of burning.

She was afraid that if they discovered her secret, her voice would no longer carry. Afraid that the credibility she had fought so hard to build, brick by brick, prediction by accurate prediction, would crumble to ash, and with it, her ability to help.

What if they found out, and she failed to save one more village from a landslide because they no longer trusted her warnings?

What if they found out, and they rejected her proposal to fund earthquake-resistant building research, research that would save thousands of lives over decades?

What if they found out, and everything she had built, every plan, every project, every carefully constructed web of influence and information, simply... stopped?

Dozens upon dozens of plans. Tens of plans. Hundreds of years of potential better futures...

So when Ruby Vaiva, the real Saintess, the one with actual divine vision, had emerged, Cecilia had felt something unexpected. Not fear. Not jealousy. Something closer to relief.

Finally. Finally, someone with legitimate power. Someone who could see truly, who could save people more accurately, more completely.

Someone else could carry the weight. Someone else could stand in the light while Cecilia faded into the background where she belonged. Perhaps, if people allowed, she would even help. Just like she had always been.

She had been so naive.

That bitch—

"...Lady Sees!"

The announcer’s voice crashed through her memories like a wave against stone. Cecilia blinked, once, twice, and then she emerged.

The doors framed her like a painting. She stood in the threshold for one heartbeat, two, allowing the gathered power of the continent to see her.

And beside her, a handspan away, was Arkai Dawnoro. The Black Wolf King escorted her into the room, her right hand resting lightly on his.

He guided her forward, and she let him.

The room gasped.

Not loudly. Not obviously. But Cecilia felt it. The sharp intake of breath from a hundred lungs, the subtle shift of weight as bodies adjusted. These were the most powerful beings on the continent, and they were struggling to maintain their composure.

They couldn’t react too obviously. They must mind their faces. Out of respect, and out of fear. Because Arkai Dawnoro was watching. And he was standing beside this woman.

Sees. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

That was what they called her now.

Cecilia remembered scoffing, years ago, at Angela’s nickname for her. ’Cece’, which sounded like Seesee, which was almost funny given that her name meant ’blind’.

But now, to hide her true self from the world, to craft a new identity that people could believe in, she had embraced it.

She was Lady Sees.

To see.

Even if she was, and always would be, blind.

"Now that everyone sees you," Arkai whispered, "ask anyone and they’ll tell you how beautiful you are."

He did not hide his words. Anyone standing close enough, and there were many, straining to catch even a fragment of conversation from the Wolf King and his mysterious companion, would hear. That was the point. The words were for them as much as for her.

Cecilia knew she would be a sight tonight.

Not because of her visage, of course, though the visage was, she had been told repeatedly, quite something. No, the sight was the totality.

The construction. The deliberate, meticulous crafting of an image that would sear itself into the memory of every person in this room and leave them with one unshakable conclusion.

This woman is important. This woman is powerful. This woman is not to be forgotten.

They still needed to hide her real identity. That was non-negotiable. Cecilia Araceli, the false Saintess, the woman Ruby Vaiva had returned to replace, that name could not be spoken here. That face could not be recognized.

So her three husbands had suggested.

Clink—clink—clink—

Eastiel rapidly fired, "Wear desert attire! But because it’s Brother Arkai’s banquet to host, wear black! Oh, and for me, a lot of gold! Gold body chain! Gold bangles! Gold anklets, gold thigh chains, waist chains, hair chains, arm bangles, nail guards—oh, did I say hair chains already—"

"Hmmm." Oathran mused. "Just golds on her would be plain. Let me enchant dragon magic all over your skin. Everywhe—"

"You’re just stacking protection magic all over her body, huh—"

"It’s just ancient dragon magic. I’ve been inspired by my recent—"

"Rings!" Eastiel again, undeterred. "Earrings! D-do you want to try septum pier—"

"Let’s call someone to paint your nails and style your ha—"

"Wait. We won’t need septum piercing because you’re wearing a veil. Alright. Just more chains to secure your veil—"

"Deep red lips," Arkai had added, his dark eyes meeting hers. "Let the veil cover your face, but not too long, just past your nose."

"But how do we secure the veil?" Eastiel had asked. "So no one could definitely see under it?"

"I can enchant it." Oathran’s voice, warm with the pleasure of being useful. "So it would always obscure her face, even when it sways."

"You’re the best, Elder Brother."

"Can we enchant it," Eastiel’s voice dropped to a mischievous murmur, "so whenever it sways it would reveal something but never enough?"

"Tease."

"She’s pretty. This is why I want to show off... a bit."

"You’re not even going to be here."

"I’LL BE HERE IN SPIRIT, OKA—"

Heh.

The desert dress was revealing. There was no other word for it.

The fabric was black, rich, shot through with threads of gold that caught the light with every movement, covered enough of her breasts to maintain dignity, but her torso was bare to the low waist of her skirt.

The skirt itself was made of panels of transparent black silk, layered just enough to tantalize but not enough to conceal, showing off the long, elegant lines of her bare legs with every step.

And over it all, draped across every exposed inch of skin, the chains.

Eastiel had been thorough. gold body chains crisscrossed her torso, following the curves of her ribs and waist. Gold bangles stacked on her wrists, and bangles snug on both arms. Gold anklets circled her ankles, connected by delicate chains that whispered against her skin with each step.

Gold thigh chains, two on each leg, drew the eye upward, following the line of her legs to where they disappeared beneath the transparent skirt. A gold waist chain sat low on her hips, catching the light and the attention.

Gold hair chains wove through the gold of her styled hair, tiny links glinting like captured stars. Gold nail guards on her fingers, gold everywhere.

And beneath the gold, more.

Oathran’s dragon magic traced dark red lines across her skin. Intricate, beautiful, alive with power. The tattoos covered her belly, where the contraception spell nestled. They spiraled across her chest, up her neck, along her arms and legs and back.

Ancient symbols, protective enchantments, the mark of a dragon’s claiming made visible for all the world to see.

The veil covered just enough. Black silk, shot through with gold threads, enchanted to obscure even as it revealed. It covered her face, falling just past her nose, leaving only her lips visible.

And those lips were painted a deep, rich red, the exact shade Arkai had requested. Like her nails. Like the marks and tattoos.

She walked.

Her hips swayed. She had spent hours learning to move differently. The gait was new, unfamiliar, just different enough that no one watching would connect it to the steps of the former Saintess Cecilia Araceli. It was slower. More sinuous. More... sensual.

The Belly Dancing skill downloaded into her brain, that absurd reward from the System, now proved its use once again.

[See, Cecilia? It’s a useful ski—]

Fine. It is useful, System.

And on top of everything was a final, invisible layer. Mana, thin and perfectly controlled, coated her entire body like a second skin. It masked her scent, every trace of Cecilia Araceli that might leak through and betray her.

No one. No one in this room would be able to tell who she really was.

And yet everyone must see her. Must remember her. Must carry away from this night the conviction that Lady Sees... would be a new watchful eye they had no choice but to acknowledge.