The Heretical Cult

Yexi moved with a focused, meticulous grace, her slender fingers cleaning and tending to Ard’s wound under the warm glow of an oil lamp. Ard, in turn, watched her, his chin resting on his hand. He quietly admired the scene, not with any impure desire, but with a genuine, almost reverent appreciation for the tableau she created: a deadly creature performing an act of healing, her silver hair catching the light like a halo, her expression one of intense concentration. It was a beautiful, dangerous paradox.

“Done.”

Yexi had no intention of letting him admire her for too long. After deftly tying off the bandage, she stood up, her movements crisp and efficient.

“Now then, my dear perverted guest,” she began, her voice cold and sharp, “can you retract your gaze, which is so full of beastly desire? It would be troublesome if you were to devolve into your base instincts now. My master is still waiting to see you.”

Her tone was as sharp as the dagger she so favored. Ard shrugged, a wry smile playing on his lips. “Alright. But is my gaze really so rude? I thought it was just one of appreciation for beauty.”

“I am not a landscape to be gawked at,” she retorted, her golden eyes flashing. “Staring at someone like that for so long would make anyone uncomfortable. Perhaps Mr. Guest has not yet matured to the stage where he can understand this simple courtesy. Please, don’t mind me.”

“I mind very much. Alright, it was my mistake again,” Ard surrendered, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. He knew a losing battle when he saw one.

“That’s enough idle chatter. Mr. Guest, we should go.”

Yexi led Ard silently down the long, shadowed corridors of the estate. The boisterous energy of the banquet had completely died down, replaced by a quiet hum of activity. A group of maids and stewards were busy cleaning up the aftermath, their movements deft and practiced. Ard could clearly see some of them using subtle streams of magic to whisk away stains and others channeling Ki into their limbs to lift heavy tables with ease. They were a portrait of quiet competence.

Ard couldn’t help but ask, his voice low in the echoing hallway, “It’s impressive how well-trained everyone is. Who trained you?”

“The Head Maid, Aunt Cecia,” Yexi replied without turning back. “She has been in charge of teaching us since we were young.”

Ard heard the unfamiliar name. “Why don’t I recall her from my time here?”

Yexi’s voice remained calm, betraying nothing. “Aunt Cecia is away on business for the Lord. She is not in the city at the moment.”

“I see.”

Yexi stopped before a heavy oak door, stood to one side, and knocked three times—a sharp, precise rhythm. She opened the door a crack, her body shielding the interior from view. “My Lord, the guest has arrived.”

“Oh, let him in.” The Marquis’s voice, warm and resonant, came from within.

Yexi gently pushed the door open and gestured for Ard to enter. “Mr. Guest, please.”

Ard strode in. Yexi did not follow, instead closing the door from the outside with a soft click. Before the door shut, Ard tried to read her expression, but her disappearing gaze revealed nothing. It seemed to have been the same since he met her—placid, calm, a tranquil sea with unfathomable depths, without a trace of any superfluous emotion.

“Haha, it seems you care quite a bit about Xi-chan.”

The Marquis’s hearty voice pulled Ard back from his thoughts. He realized he had been staring at the closed door, a breach of etiquette.

Ard bowed to the Marquis, who was sitting at his large, paper-strewn desk. “My apologies, Your Excellency. I was just…”

“No need for such formalities. We’re both men, I understand completely.” The Marquis waved it off, a nostalgic, faraway look in his eyes. “I remember when I first met my wife, I was also… utterly captivated by her beautiful appearance. I pursued her relentlessly, and then…”

“Ahem, Marquis.” Seeing the Marquis was about to launch into a long, romantic tale, Ard felt his scalp tingle and quickly interrupted, “Um…”

“Oh, right, my apologies. An old man tends to get lost in his memories. Let’s not waste any more time and get straight to the point.” In the space of a breath, the Marquis’s demeanor completely shifted. The worldly-wise, reminiscent middle-aged man vanished, replaced by a stern, self-disciplined lord, his eyes sharp and penetrating. The sudden change left Ard dumbfounded. “Adventurer, what is your true purpose for coming here?”

Ard hesitated, his gaze sweeping around the room with its simple, spartan furnishings of a few bookshelves, cabinets, and a coffee table. “This room…”

The Marquis said confidently, “Don’t be fooled by the simple layout; the soundproofing is woven with runes of silence. And let me tell you, not just this room, but this entire estate, even this city, has very few suspicious people under my watch. The most suspicious one is you, a stranger who suddenly appeared. But since you are still standing here talking to me, it proves that, at least for now, you harbor no threatening or ill intentions.”

“It seems you have some very reliable people,” Ard said, subconsciously glancing at the closed door with a faint smile. His expression then turned grave. “I came here to tell you something. The heretical cult that once occupied this land, the Krass Order… is about to return.”

……

Yexi had been standing outside the door for nearly two hours. The conversation between her master and that man seemed to be far from over. It would be easy to eavesdrop—the Marquis had no intention of guarding against her—but Yexi had no desire to know.

She followed her orders, did her daily work, and then had nothing to do. The people of this family were good to her, so she was willing to protect them. She clung to that purpose. It was just like when the Sister was still alive. She would clean up those who got in the way to protect her, and then… there was no “and then.”

It seemed her life’s purpose was just that simple, that hollow. After the Sister’s death, Yexi had lost her goal and direction, wandering the world simply following the Sister’s last wish to live on, like a lonely ghost adrift on a black sea. Yexi had tried to fill the emptiness in her heart, with many, many things. As a peerless assassin, she could have satisfied any desire. But those things—wealth, pleasure, power—only gave her a fleeting sense of novelty before becoming tasteless ash in her mouth. In the end, she had just taken missions as she pleased, killing people she didn’t know but didn’t like the look of, or eliminating targets for a high bounty without reason, simply to feel the familiar rhythm of the hunt.

She thought the rest of her life would be like that, but unexpectedly, she came to this world. She continued to live for the sake of living, upholding the Sister’s last wish, but she received a warmth from this other world that she had never known. Though it was just like going back to the past, protecting someone, it wasn’t bad. At least she had a goal again, people she wanted to protect.

Beyond that, Yexi didn’t know what else she wanted. Without desire, curiosity had no place to sprout.

Ard, this adventurer who had suddenly appeared, was… interesting. That was Yexi’s current thought. And she could sense in him a fire, a sense of self she had never possessed. He was doing what he wanted according to his own will, and not just for others, but for himself.

Although Yexi was powerful, her reason for living was tethered to others. Without their guidance, she lost her way. Ard, though weak, had a burning desire and ambition in his eyes that Yexi, in a secret, hidden part of her soul, envied.

But that was all. He had no power, and was destined to struggle in this world. If he were to do anything crazy that would endanger this family, Yexi would dispose of him without a moment’s hesitation. The fact that he was merely “interesting” was not nearly enough to make her stay her hand.

“Yexi, come in for a moment.”

The closed door opened, and Ard stuck his head out. “Your master wants you to come in.”

“?” Yexi tilted her head in confusion, a gesture that Ard found so incredibly cute it made his heart skip a beat. She then pushed the door open and went inside.

The Lord was standing with his back to them, looking out the window at the moonlit grounds.

“Yexi, I have a task for you.”

“As you command, my Lord.”

“Tomorrow, accompany our guest to the Grand Cathedral in the capital, and give this letter to Father Reiss.”

Yexi paused for a moment as she took the sealed letter. Pekoin City did not have an official church of the Grand Holy Church, only a small chapel built and funded by local believers for daily worship. This was due to historical reasons. Although the Grand Holy Church was a worldwide religion, its operating funds came mostly from donations and tithes. To save money and maintain a standard of excellence, there was only one official, grand cathedral in each region. The Church acknowledged the legitimacy of locally funded chapels but did not assign its own specialized personnel to them. The selection process for their paladins, priests, and inquisitors was extremely strict. After accounting for their armed forces, sending personnel to garrison posts all over the continent stretched their resources thin.

However, because of this selective process, the prestige of the Grand Holy Church was immense. Any problems that arose were usually caused by personnel from the privately built chapels. As long as it was reported, the Grand Holy Church would send inquisitors to deal with those who used their name to swindle others. The methods of dealing with them were not made public, but it was generally understood that the rest of their lives would not be pleasant. This was not considered extrajudicial punishment but was a right recognized by all nations. In some ways, the influence of the Grand Holy Church was immense, though they generally did not interfere in the internal affairs of nations. Their armed forces were mainly for cross-border strikes against heretical organizations, large-scale demonic summonings, and other major inhumane acts on an international scale.

Yexi looked at the letter in her hand, feeling its weight. To need to notify the Grand Holy Church directly, this must be serious.

She carefully put the letter away in an inner pocket of her uniform and said respectfully, “Yes, my Lord.”

The Marquis turned and clapped Ard on the shoulder warmly, his earlier severity gone. “Well then, adventurer, I’m leaving Xi-chan in your care. If you dare to bully our maid, you’ll have me to answer to.”

Ard smiled, a genuine warmth in his eyes. “Of course, Marquis. It is my greatest honor to be of service to such a beautiful lady.”

Ard looked at Yexi and saw that the beautiful lady was not impressed in the slightest. She was still looking at him with that familiar, cold disdain, having completely and irrevocably branded him a rogue.

“Alright, you two should go rest. Get an early start tomorrow, and be careful on the road.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Goodnight, Marquis.”

Watching them leave, the Marquis’s relaxed expression hardened into one of grim resolve. He walked to a nearby bookshelf and took down a heavy, leather-bound tome. This book recorded the life of his ancestor, the first Marquis Trefle. Although he knew the contents by heart, after hearing that the heretical cult was making a comeback, he couldn’t help but want to read it again, perhaps just for some psychological comfort.

As he turned the brittle, yellowed pages, long-buried events from history were uncovered once more. The story of the Krass Order, the cult reviled and cursed by the world for its large-scale human sacrifices and for instigating wars that bled nations dry, flashed through his mind again, a chilling premonition of the darkness to come.