“I still feel like that guess is a little unreliable.”

Liya stuffed the last piece of cake into her cherry-like little mouth. Sweet, rich cream made her lips gleam, and she licked her fingers as she said,

“Making that kind of judgment based only on a few surface phenomena is very unfair to both the Archbishop and Fubeka. Besides, that kind of guess is meaningless. Don’t forget where I am right now. Everything here is fake.”

“I know. But the more perfect a false image is, the more it has to rely on reality. Young Master knows that as well, which is why he hasn’t given up searching for intelligence and flaws inside this false city.”

An picked up a silver dining fork from the table and studied it closely.

As tableware specially prepared for Her Holiness the Saintess, the fork was naturally exquisitely made. The polished outer layer was bright enough to reflect An’s beautiful eyes. It was also carved with patterns, every detail worthy of admiration.

“But in my experience, there seems to be some kind of strange aura coming from this matter.”

“Experience?”

Liya put on a stern little face. “Do you have a lot of experience?”

“At least more than you,” An said with a smile that was not quite a smile.

“Hmph!”

Liya was puffed up with anger... but she had no way to refute it.

Because it was true.

Who told her to arrive one step late?

“Just wait and see. One day, I’ll catch up. Whether it’s experience in this regard or experience in that regard,” Liya muttered to herself.

There was nothing impressive about using her identity as a maid to get the first advantage.

Ariel’s books had said that the final victor was often the one who descended from the heavens!

“I don’t temporarily know where the abnormality lies, but it absolutely exists. I think Young Master has also vaguely sensed it.”

An did not care about the storm currently raging through Liya’s mind. She withdrew her gaze, and with a slight movement of her consciousness, the silver fork before her instantly twisted into a lump, then reconstructed itself back into a silver fork. Only the exquisite patterns on it were gone.

“Then could it have something to do with the rats in the shadows around us?”

Liya suddenly tilted her little head, her words pointed.

“Rats? Possibly. But personally, I’m not inclined to think so.”

An spoke word by word, but her voice gradually grew cold.

“Because for a massive false image, its most dangerous part is not the false image itself, but that we cannot clearly know exactly what... real things have been mixed into this false image.”

“Especially when we have already found the largest real thing within it. That was naturally only to be expected. How could that be called strange?”

“...Yes.”

After a brief silence, Liya sighed. “This was something we anticipated long ago.”

Buzz—

Holy light suddenly bloomed, instantly dispersing all the darkness inside this VIP reception room.

The person originally hidden in the darkness looked stunned, staring blankly at the flickering candlelight in front of Liya.

Holy Light had already spread out, but he had not sensed it at all.

Only when it erupted suddenly at this moment did he realize that he had already been exposed.

So strong.

So this was... the rumored Pure Saintess?

“Don’t worry.”

Liya had already recovered the dignified holiness she showed outsiders. She looked at that person and smiled.

“As the Saintess of the Church, I would absolutely never use any cruel methods on you.”

“...”

The figure let out a breath of relief.

“But...”

Before Liya’s words had even finished, the figure immediately felt a sharp pain that nearly tore his nerves apart.

Blood dripped down.

He lowered his head with difficulty and discovered that his limbs had already been pierced through by steel thorns that had grown out at some unknown point.

“If it’s a certain violent maid, then there’s nothing I can do.”

Liya pressed her lips together and smiled apologetically.

“Who told her she never listens to me?”

“...”

The figure said nothing, but blazing light had already bloomed.

Liya’s eyes narrowed slightly, because she recognized it. That was... Holy Light.

“Too much nonsense.”

The silver fork in An’s hand had already vanished. With a light point of her finger, the weak Holy Light was easily shattered by steel. More steel thorns continued climbing up the man’s legs, gradually moving higher, bit by bit sinking their fine barbs into his flesh.

“Answer me. Who are you, and why did you attack us?” An asked coldly.

“Cough... Cough, cough...”

The intense pain and his injuries made the man cough up blood. But he did not answer An’s question. Instead, he looked at Liya and asked,

“Why... why didn’t those poisons take effect?”

“Poisons?”

Liya said in surprise, “You mean the special seasonings placed in that food?”

“Sea... seasonings?” The man’s eyes widened.

“Yes. To me, they were only at the level of seasoning. Of course, even their taste was far inferior to the one beside me.”

Liya pursed her lips and gave a disdainful little hum. “Trying to murder a Saintess with poison? Aren’t you people too stupid?”

“As expected of Her Holiness the Saintess... But Your Holiness is overthinking it.”

The man shook his head.

“We never intended to murder Your Holiness. Poisoning was only one of our methods. Originally, we only wanted you to sleep properly for a while. I did not expect Your Holiness’s resistance to poison to far exceed my prediction. A poison capable of leaving even magical beasts unconscious is actually only seasoning to you.”

“Not murder. You really dare to say that.”

Unlike Liya, An did not have such kindness or patience. The steel thorns continued drilling into flesh as she sneered.

“Then tell me, if you mixed this much ‘insecticide’ into the food, could it be that you only wanted to help the Saintess kill some bugs?”

“Hey... I feel like you’re implying something...” Liya’s gaze slanted.

“No... of course not...”

As the pain intensified, the man’s breathing began to grow difficult. But at this moment, he suddenly grinned, revealing two rows of teeth dyed red.

“We never wanted to do anything to Your Holiness. We never thought that. We only...”

“Wanted to protect Her Holiness the Saintess.”

The door was pushed open.

Another gentle voice sounded.

Liya and An both turned back in silence, looking as more than a dozen clergymen poured into the room.

They all wore standard Church divine robes, only with slight differences in style because of their differing status.

At their head was a bishop, plump and smiling very kindly. The Holy Light cross pendant on his chest swayed, decorated with a little flower.

Yet Liya had not the slightest impression of this bishop, even though before coming here, she had already looked through the entire personnel roster of Saint Blancfazesiya in advance.

“Protect?”

Liya tilted her head in confusion. “Am I in great danger right now?”

“Yes.”

The plump bishop smiled.

“Your Holiness will be in great danger next.”

“Why?”

“Because someone will soon want to harm you.”

“But I haven’t been harmed by anyone. On the contrary, you look like you came with ill intentions.”

“I said soon, not now.”

The plump bishop shook his head, his words incomparably sincere.

“As for us... please believe us, Your Holiness. We truly are protecting you.”

“...What about the people who came with me?”

“They will also receive protection.”

“Is that so...”

Liya’s little face turned solemn, and incomparably pure holy radiance bloomed again.

However...

One dazzling halo after another was released from the clergymen before her. Each of these halos was far less brilliant than Liya’s Holy Light, but layered together, they actually gradually suppressed Liya’s Holy Light.

Among these clergymen... there were at least ten bishops.

And...

Liya’s expression grew increasingly grave, because at this moment, in the plump bishop’s hand, a little white flower was shining incomparably brightly... and in level, it was already not much weaker than hers.

As for quantity, it had made up for the gap in level to a very great extent.

“How can just anyone use Holy Light? Is this something everyone can just casually pick up and use?” Liya complained bitterly.

“I’m not sure about Holy Light, but...”

An tightened her grip on the scythe in her hand, coldness surging.

“There is no doubt that that ‘Archbishop’ is our enemy.”