A Miraculous Deception

Daphne estimated she had traveled approximately thirty kilometers before dawn.

Her newly acquired skill, ‘Shadow Sprint,’ consumed no magical energy. Wherever shadows lay, she could merge into them, traversing at an astonishing speed.

With shadows providing a continuous, almost infinite path, it proved an excellent skill for travel.

This ability was a significant boon to Daphne in her current state. Her delicate and sensitive body could not endure such high-intensity, long-distance treks, nor could it reach her desired destination quickly.

However, she had not anticipated the severe physical toll this skill would exact. Upon emerging from the shadows, an intense hunger threatened to overwhelm her sanity.

This, then, was why Daphne sat atop a grave, devouring offerings before the eyes of the bewildered villagers.

Hard black bread and murky, sour ale comprised the feast. A frontier village could scarcely afford fine provisions for the deceased, and the food laid beside the small burial mound was far from appealing.

But Daphne was on the verge of fainting from hunger. ‘She couldn’t care less about such trivialities.’

Naturally, she wasn’t presenting herself in her half-vampire guise. Otherwise, the villagers’ expressions would have been terror and revulsion, not mere astonishment and bewilderment.

Her long hair cascaded like a brilliant galaxy, while her eyes gleamed with the vibrant green of emeralds.

The Grand Exorcist Ellenore Perkin, from the Holy Mary Diocese, typically veiled her face, yet her true appearance was exquisitely beautiful. She possessed a delicate grace, subtly hinting at keen intelligence. Gazing into her verdant eyes, one’s heart would inexplicably find tranquility.

Even her surreptitious consumption of the offerings was performed with an air of elegant composure.

‘Honestly, weren’t these offerings meant for the dead? Surely, there was no rule forbidding the deceased from crawling out of their graves to partake?’

The true Ellenore Perkin was, indeed, deceased.

Daphne had slipped into the grave through a crack in the soil, changed into Ellenore’s clothes, and then used ‘Blood Disguise’ to mimic Ellenore’s features. As a bonus, she had also inherited and learned Ellenore’s profession.

Then, before the startled gaze of numerous villagers, she had burst from the earth and sat by the grave, nonchalantly eating the offerings.

The villagers, believing a miracle had descended, dared not approach. They formed a circle, observing from a distance, and some elders even knelt, loudly proclaiming, “Long live Vatitaya!” It was truly an exaggerated spectacle.

The attack on Ellenore’s party by Beastmen was a crucial, predestined event. It was explicitly documented in the game’s official website chronicles, directly impacting the future power struggles within the Holy Mary Diocese.

Bertram was originally meant to personally rescue Ellenore after acquiring the ‘Developer’s Items’.

However, subsequent events had left Daphne, now a half-vampire maiden, struggling even to protect herself. Rescuing others had become a mere pipe dream.

She didn’t regret arranging for help in advance to prevent unforeseen circumstances. ‘After all, Daphne could now leverage this very incident—by transforming into Ellenore and posing as a survivor of the attack, wouldn’t she resolve both her identity and profession issues?’

Yet, the plan had encountered a slight deviation.

By the time Daphne arrived at the scene, the bodies had already been collected and simply interred by the villagers of Oliver Village.

This appeared to be a custom in the northern towns of Northmarch: when someone died, they were first lightly buried in a barrow for a day of mourning, then cremated entirely on the second morning.

Given its proximity to Klogotia, this custom was likely intended to prevent bodies from being reanimated into undead by necromantic magic.

However, the youth of this era had never witnessed a corpse rise again. The origins of the custom and the reasons for its continued practice had largely been forgotten.

Fortunately, Daphne was adaptable. ‘In such a magical world, there was no rule against the dead returning to life; any strange occurrence could simply be attributed to a miracle.’

‘After all, Ellenore’s standing within the Blazing Sun Church was not insignificant. It wouldn’t be impossible for Lady Vatitaya to grant her special favor.’

‘So, that was the situation.’

Daphne demurely consumed all the offerings the villagers had laid out. Then, closing her eyes, she sat gracefully upright, assuming the posture of a holy statue, and accepted the villagers’ worship.

They truly believed Lady Vatitaya had manifested. After all, her pulse and breathing had been confirmed before burial; they wouldn’t have buried a survivor alive.

So…

‘How should she bring this to an end?’

Daphne, seated atop the grave amidst the crowd, began to ponder this crucial question.

Ellenore’s party had originally been en route to Kohl Town. With the Blazing Sun Holy Knights, also affiliated with the Blazing Sun Church, garrisoned there, her destination could only be Kohl Town.

However, the roads between settlements were currently unsafe. Beastmen might be ambushing travelers within the deep forests on either side, making solo travel clearly impractical.

Moreover, she would inevitably encounter Gwynevere.

A shiver of dread ran through Daphne at the thought of Her Highness, the Saintess.

‘The sensation of being gripped there was truly unpleasant. Her entire body had gone limp and weak, her vision filled with swirling snowflakes and glittering stars, her mind utterly blank, as if a single hand could completely control her every movement…’

‘How could that wretched girl have thought to make her captive strip naked, then reach out and forcefully squeeze there? Had she awakened some strange new fetish? Hers was the biggest, wasn’t it? Couldn’t she just squeeze her own?’

‘It felt dangerous; keeping her distance was definitely preferable.’

Though she disparaged Gwynevere both aloud and in her thoughts, Gwynevere was, after all, someone she had raised.

Daphne knew Gwynevere’s intentions weren’t malicious, and it was highly probable she had been influenced by the R18 MOD. Theoretically, Gwynevere shouldn’t be blamed for such an offense.

Furthermore, now that Daphne had become Ellenore, she presumably wouldn’t lose her human rights as a half-vampire again.

As for Edith…

Edith was a kind-hearted, gentle, considerate, and understanding young woman. Her vampiric sensory talent was still immature, so there was no need to worry about being instantly exposed in front of her.

Even just sitting and chatting with Edith was incredibly therapeutic. Even His Holiness the Pope was willing to spare some free time to listen to her share experiences of helping commoners resolve difficulties in the countryside.

‘If I return to Kohl Town, I’ll be able to see Edith again, won’t I?’

Her wounded heart desperately needed the healing touch of her little angel, Edith; she couldn’t wait.

Most importantly, Daphne had left her Shadow Path faith on a ring as a temporary belief. Her true self remained faithless, meaning she could acquire an additional faith.

Ellenore’s identity was highly useful; she could return to the Holy Knights and freeload some extra resources and benefits.

This was her greatest calculation.

‘Continue masquerading as Ellenore indefinitely?’

‘Impossible!’

‘The moment she returned to the Holy Mary Diocese, wouldn’t her deception be exposed?’

The place was teeming with Ellenore’s acquaintances; it would only be a matter of days before they discovered their Grand Exorcist had been replaced. Once her half-vampire identity was revealed, it would again be a dead end.

‘Therefore, when scamming, one shouldn’t be too greedy. The true wisdom lay in grabbing the wool and making a timely exit.’

As Daphne weighed her thoughts, a commotion seemed to ripple through the villagers. The ground trembled faintly, accompanied by the rapid thud of hooves.

“The Templar Knights are here!” someone shouted.

A clamor.

Murmurs spread.

Daphne, however, felt no surprise.

With the Grand Exorcist’s party attacked, the villagers would undoubtedly have reported the news immediately to the Holy Knights garrisoned in Kohl Town. It was only natural for someone to come and investigate.

‘But who would it be?’

Daphne brushed off the mud and dust clinging to her white exorcist’s robe, then slowly rose with dignified grace. As she stepped forward, the villagers instinctively retreated half a step, clearing a path for her.

A group of people approached from the opposite direction, with villagers also parting to make way for them.

‘Captain Arvis? Or Exorcist Edith?’

It wasn’t until the crowd blocking her view dispersed to either side that a pure white robe, edged in snow-gold, and luxurious platinum-blonde hair came into sight. Daphne saw that familiar slender figure striding rapidly towards her.

Her heart seized.

‘Why her, of all people!?’