The Church

“Awake…?”

A faint warmth came from the icy hand,

like a warm water pouch,

very comfortable,

very comfortable…

Are you awake…

Are you awake…

That sentence echoed repeatedly in her mind,

over and over again,

shaking her head until it felt dizzy…

Eyes open…

An extremely bright light source,

so dazzling that it made her eyes ache…

Gradually,

her eyes adapted to the brightness,

and reflected before her were not strangers…

Charlotte, Cariana, and Aelix.

“Buzz—”

In an instant, Ailen felt something was terribly wrong…

This feeling…

The three looked at her with expressions that were hard to describe…

As if they were looking at…

a monster…

“Explain it…”

Cariana loosened the warm jade-like hand that had been holding her small hand.

“I… I don’t know…”

Ailen said softly, timidly.

Indeed, she truly didn’t know why…

“You know your behavior is more like that of a… monster, right…?”

Cariana said in a low voice,

deliberately pausing when she mentioned the word “monster.”

When Ailen heard the word monster,

she couldn’t help but tremble.

The trembling was obvious,

and everyone noticed this subtle reaction.

“Don’t be nervous, Lian.

Trust us…”

Charlotte moved closer to the bed and comforted her softly…

He firmly believed that his little sister was not a monster…

Even if she were,

hadn’t she saved their family…

The Leonardo family would always be her shelter.

As long as she wished,

the Leonardo family would always be her home…

He thought silently.

It’s just that…

walls have ears…

They had to be more serious…

“Hmph…”

Aelix said nothing,

crossed his arms,

took a few steps back,

pulled over a wooden chair beside him,

and slowly sat down.

Although she had deceived him about many things,

at the very least,

she had saved his family.

The family would not treat her unfairly.

This adopted little sister might have problems,

but there was no denying that she had saved his life.

He couldn’t make sense of the idea of a monster at all.

Yet the Church wanted to arrest her…

Right now, they had to find a way to protect her first.

That kind of situation definitely couldn’t have been caused by such a small child.

“I don’t know…

I fell asleep,

and when I woke up, it was like this…

Really…”

Ailen said softly.

Her voice wasn’t loud,

but every word was clear.

They heard her perfectly.

“Mm-hmm…”

Aelix coughed uncomfortably.

As he did so,

he inadvertently revealed the Church’s Lionheart emblem carved into the back of the chair.

“What are you doing…?”

Ailen asked, puzzled.

The two of them faced her with a strange expression.

Their faces were turned toward her,

but their eyes were looking in Aelix’s direction…

“I don’t know…

I really don’t know…

I really didn’t hurt them…”

Ailen was still dazed,

still not reacting.

That wasn’t what they were trying to say at all.

Why was she so stupid…

Sigh…

They shook their heads subtly,

with great restraint,

and glanced toward the chair…

“Ahem…

Think carefully yourself…

Just answer truthfully…”

Aelix finally spoke.

He was afraid she hadn’t seen the emblem on the chair,

so he deliberately turned the chair’s back toward Ailen.

He stared at her and said sternly.

He deliberately emphasized the word “truthfully.”

His meaning was already very clear.

Their family’s situation was probably known only to Mana, Charlotte, and Aelix.

And when the Church came to carry them away in the end,

only Ailen was completely uninjured,

yet her entire body was covered in strange blood…

She was soaked in blood from head to toe…

The corpses on the ground had bizarre bite marks,

and their deaths were horrific.

They had all been dismembered.

Naturally, suspicion fell upon her,

so they decided to investigate…

They wanted to extract words from her,

so they arranged for the three of them to question her.

Of course, none of them wanted her to be locked up as a monster…

After all,

recently the madmen of the Black Church had been growing increasingly insane.

They gathered large numbers of innocent people,

labeled them as demons and monsters…

Then dragged them to the streets,

where they were executed by burning.

Countless innocent people dared not speak out in anger.

They hated these hypocrites of religion,

yet feared becoming the next “monster” themselves…

All of this was to consolidate the Church’s existence…

If the Black Order remained useless for too long,

it would eventually be squeezed of resources by other churches…

Until, in the end,

it became dispensable.

With a single command from the Pope…

the Black Order would cease to exist.

The purple thistle crest on the Order’s emblem

would also be erased.

Because she was the Duke’s adopted daughter,

they hadn’t subjected Ailen to torture or “interrogation.”

That was why she hadn’t been privately “judged” and disposed of…

They were nothing more than beasts

wearing a holy robe named religion…

For since ancient times,

the Order had been plagued with pedophilia…

Let alone a child like Ailen…

They had already spent enormous sums of money

to buy Ailen’s life back.

So answering questions was merely a formality.

The observers hiding within the concealment barrier

would always turn a blind eye.

After all,

who would go against gold coins…?

They were probably already asleep…

But to be safe,

the judgment couldn’t be sloppy.

At the very least,

the ritual and procedures had to be carried out.

Silence…

Aelix didn’t understand.

He had hinted very clearly, very obviously.

With just a bit of thought,

she should have understood his meaning.

Yet her prolonged silence made them uneasy…

“There seems to be something strange inside my body…

I can’t control them…

That day, they devoured my soul…

They invaded my body…

I lost control, like a demon…”

Ailen lowered her head and spoke slowly…

This is bad…

Something terrible is about to happen…

The three of them thought at the same time…

They were completely stunned.

Ailen…

was just too…

stupid…

Cariana completely lost control

and covered Ailen’s mouth with her hand.

They were frantic,

only hoping that the observer behind the scenes was asleep…

They never imagined that Ailen would admit it so directly…

“I’m sorry, you three…

I’m afraid we can’t return her to you anymore~

There is an evil soul within her.

We’ll help you purge it.

Once the evil soul is gone,

I’ll let her return~

She may be the Duke’s child,

but this is a theocratic nation.

The Pope is far more esteemed than the King~”

A black-robed cleric appeared out of nowhere…

He spoke with righteous conviction,

as if he were truly a savior of the people…

Yet everyone knew

how much commoners’ blood and corpses

were piled behind that exquisite black clerical robe…

The Church devours people without even spitting out bones…

And this priest was the best proof of that…

All the previous effort and precise planning

had come to nothing…

“Guards, see them out.

Take this girl to the religious prison!”

“!?”

Only then did Ailen snap awake,

as if from a dream.

She saw squads of Church soldiers in red armor

storm into the small room.

Two by two,

they dragged the three of them out.

The three looked back at her with strange expressions,

somewhat dejected,

as they were pulled out of the room…

“Witch…

Accept judgment!”

Ailen broke out in cold sweat,

her face deathly pale…

“Take her to the lower prison.

She is a witch!”

He shouted at the guards.

Every word was crystal clear to Ailen.

She understood each word individually,

yet when combined together,

she couldn’t understand them at all…

I am…

a witch…?

“I’m not!!”

Ailen shouted loudly.

She stood up and forcefully pushed the two red-armored guards restraining her.

However,

she was too weak.

She couldn’t move them at all…

“Ahh!”

With no other choice,

Ailen used her teeth and bit down,

forcing them to loosen their grip.

“You little b****,

how dare you bite me!”

The red-armored soldier raised his hand

and slapped Ailen’s small face hard…

In an instant,

her fierce resistance vanished.

In its place was silence,

and blood at the corner of her mouth.

She was knocked unconscious by the slap.

“Bastard!

Don’t beat her to death!”

The cleric roared at the red-armored soldier,

and even slapped him in return.

“Yes!

Yes, it was my fault!”

He hurriedly admitted his mistake and apologized…

Yet in his heart,

he cursed the cleric endlessly.

The human heart is the hardest thing to read…

The pitch-black dungeon was opened.

The once-warm chamber

instantly turned into an icy prison.

Such a contrast

was truly terrifying…

Ailen’s scent…

After four months of arduous travel,

she finally arrived at the principality closest to the Imperial Capital—

the Principality of Bordeaux.

However,

she caught a whiff of a familiar scent…

That gentle fragrance that evoked tenderness

was right here…

“Boss, I want to exchange money!”

Beneath the cloak,

crimson hair slightly spilled out,

carrying a unique charm.

It made people want to lift the cloak

and glimpse the beauty hidden beneath…

“A top-quality third-tier magic crystal.

Complete and transparent…

Miss…

This is fine stuff indeed…”

The shopkeeper said with the look of someone who had found treasure…

“Then, how much can it sell for.

I urgently need money…”

Luna asked.

“One thousand gold coins!

At the very least!”

The shopkeeper replied with a smile.

This was a big deal.

Most first-tier magic crystals

were used for magic lamps.

Second-tier ones

could be used in high-precision magitech products.

As for third-tier crystals,

they were extremely rare.

They could be used to create

terrifying things.

They might become auxiliary accessories,

or large-scale weapons of destruction…

With just a bit of processing,

profits could multiply many times over.

However,

processing third-tier crystals was dangerous.

A single mistake,

and even a master craftsman could perish by their hand…

They were highly unstable

and prone to explosion…

“I took it from an Ice Crystal Beast.

It took a lot of effort,”

Luna explained.

That battle had nearly cost her life.

But in the end,

Luna discovered the Ice Crystal Beast’s fatal weakness—

or rather, its death gate.

With a single heavy punch,

it shattered like snowflakes,

leaving behind a complete third-tier magic crystal.

“Don’t worry.

This ice magic crystal is simply too perfect.

I can raise the price by another five hundred gold coins…”

He explained leisurely.

In truth,

because this ice crystal was so perfect,

it was in an extremely stable state,

making it far less likely to explode

than ordinary third-tier crystals…

So…

this was an enormous profit…

At least several thousand gold coins.

“Deal!~”