Chapter 234 (1): My Trump Card Is You

White light shot toward the sky, reversing the blood rain and washing away the filth with sacred intent. It was the power of Holy Light, wielded by a legendary mage who practiced the faith.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

From the vantage point, Mona watched in surprise as a mysterious figure suddenly appeared. The Church of Heavenly Father and the Windsor royal family had signed a peace agreement: the former wouldn’t employ any legendary mage to Windsor, and the latter wouldn’t divide the church by establishing a new denomination.

Where did this powerhouse come from? Was it a free mage from the Ministry of Magic?

The blazing white light struck the inverted pentagram circle. Unable to break through with a single blow, it split into sixteen white chains that attached themselves to the dark curtains surrounding the castle’s perimeter, sealing the barrier that had isolated the area.

Darkness and holy light clashed and collided. Electric currents crackled around the castle, the resulting heat distorting the air. Even the cold moon hanging high in the night sky gained a hint of warmth.

A white-robed figure slowly emerged. Mona stared at him intently. The man appeared to be in his fifties with a neatly trimmed beard and hair. The sacred intent glinting in his golden eyes proved how steadfast and devout his faith was.

Could that really be a free mage? Mona hesitated, thinking of another possibility.

Londan had seen multiple demon incursions recently. Archbishop Gunther had relayed the information to the Papal State, and while appearing to be honoring the agreement, the Papal State might have secretly dispatched people to Londan to investigate, seeking evidence of the Windsor royal family’s dealings with demons.

It wasn’t a secret that the Windsor royal family had maintained contact with hell to expel the Church of Heavenly Father’s influence from Windsor. The Papal State knew, and the royal family knew that the Papal State knew. Both sides had been making under-the-table moves in this constant battle of wits.

Overall, the royal family was at a disadvantage since they didn’t have the moral high ground. It had long been decided which faiths were righteous; heaven was justice, while hell was evil.

With heaven backing them, the Church of Heavenly Father was the face of justice in the Chosen Land, while the Windsor royal family’s entanglement with demons marked them as absolute villains.

There was no point in mentioning power struggles or claiming that power itself was neither good nor evil. Ordinary people wouldn’t understand. The Papal State could stand on the moral high ground and make accusations against the royal family as long as they obtained evidence, claiming they were fighting for the greater good.

Under Wayne’s influence, Mona had come to care less and less about the Papal State. She had devoted herself entirely to her angel master, dedicating everything to her faith.

Unlike Archbishop Gunther, who hung on the Pope’s every word, Mona saw the Papal State simply as the faith’s representative in the human world. Since she was able to bypass the representative and face faith directly, she no longer held the Papal State in the same regard.

Simply put, Mona, a low-ranking employee in a subsidiary department, had gained an opportunity to meet with the top leadership of the parent company and become a senior executive’s assistant and secretary. Although she still received her salary from the subsidiary department, she no longer worked for them.

She had refrained from resigning only because the subsidiary department and the parent company’s top leadership shared the same goal: to combat the rival company’s ambitions for market expansion.

There were many followers like Mona, who respected the Pope only because he held the ultimate authority to interpret the faith in the human world. Once faith itself descended directly, the Pope immediately lost his appeal.

It was better to cut out the middleman!

Anyhow, Mona guessed that the mysterious legendary mage came from the Papal State due to his perfect timing. He appeared at the birthday banquet Prince Edward had thrown to obtain evidence on the royal family’s collusion with demons.

Boom!

Amid the guests’ screaming, Juno hurled her sacred spear and fiercely fought with the elemental fiend Chante had turned into. To Mona’s surprise, Juno was a Gold-ranked mage. She launched her vitality barrier to shield the guests from the corruption of Darkness. Moreover, Juno was quite proficient in Holy Light magic, so much so that she didn’t seem like a free mage at all.

It was absurd!

The mighty elemental fiend transformed its black umbrella into a greatsword, making powerful strikes at the vitality barrier continuously until it teetered on the brink of collapse.

“Mona, a hand!” Juno urgently called out for aid, her composure breaking.

Only then did Mona relax. While Juno was talented, her disloyal faith resulted in her lacking power despite her rank and vast thoughts. She was bottom-tier among Gold-ranked mages. That made much more sense. If anyone could master holy light, faith would be worthless.

Mona transformed to put on her combat attire, conjuring a sacred spear and hurling it to drive away the elemental fiend along with Juno. All the while, she contacted Wayne to ask if she could use the Sacred Lance of Heaven.

“No rush. Let’s observe first...”

Wayne crouched with his head lowered, watching the legendary mage who had suddenly appeared in bewilderment. The newly emerged third party didn’t seem to be a hired muscle the Princess had called in. Things were getting messier and messier.

With electric gaze, the white-robed legendary mage expanded his vitality field with a push of both hands, dragging Juliette into his world. The two of them vanished into thin air, leaving Edward and Carol standing in place, stupefied.

The engaged couple’s eyes were vacant as they continued to stare at the sky. They looked ridiculous in that state.

That was what Wayne had initially assumed. He remembered the Prince as a brainless idiot with a pretty face and a lout who followed his lower head more than his upper one. Carol, a spoiled, domineering young lady with a terrible temper, was a match made in heaven with him—or perhaps a match made in hell.

However...

While remaining dazed as if trapped in an illusion, the engaged couple moved away from the battlefield slowly, approaching the edge of the castle wall. Neither’s expression changed as they carried out a quiet conversation.

“Edward, why is Celeste here?” Carol asked with minimal movement to her mouth. “Is this your plan?”

“Yes, Elizabeth is targeting me. I tried to control the demon, but failed. I had to seek out Celeste from the Ministry of Magic. He is exceptionally accomplished in holy light magic, and with him being a legendary mage, he’s most adept at dealing with demons.”

“Doesn’t he rarely make a move?”

“Mother’s order.”

(는皿는)

Wayne made a face.

What’s going on? These two had been putting on the dumb look? They were acting?

No way. The prince actually has a decent brain?!

Just when Wayne was marveling at the extraordinary royal bloodline and wondering if the Prince might be Auston’s biological son, the engaged couple suddenly turned on each other.

“Bastard, when you said you were controlling the demon, you mean sleeping with her?”

“You misunderstand, babe. You saw it yourself just now. Chante isn’t the demon. Mayor Angelo is!”

“Don’t take me for an idiot. The demon is Angelo today, but not before. The demon was Chante, which is why you had been messing around with her for nearly a month.”

“I didn’t want to. I only pretended to be seduced by her to control her. Actually, every time I touched her, I was thinking of you.”

“Hah.”

“Trust me, babe. Sleeping with her is only a means to an end. I had no other choice.”

“Fine, fine. That’s how we’re playing this? I’m going to seek out a demon—no, a group of demons—and reluctantly sleep with all of them then.”

Stop, Sister-in-law. I’m still a child!

Wayne listened to their conversation, inferring the general story from the different plot points:

First, Edward wasn’t useless. Being inferior to Elizabeth in every aspect, he chose to act like a worthless pervert to lower Elizabeth’s guard.

Second, his perverted persona wasn’t an act. It was part of him.

The moment he saw Chante, Edward was captivated. He followed his persona and successfully got Chante into his bed. It was meant to be a fun fling, but over time, he realized to his shock that the beauty he had been sleeping with wasn’t human, but Juliette, the demon familiar the Ministry of Magic had been looking for.

Juliette’s goal was clear: approach the Prince, sleep with him, and enslave him. Due to the magical defenses applied to members of the royal family, she had been unsuccessful.

With outside forces to rely on, Edward attempted to control Juliette in various ways, but all of his attempts failed. Put in a dilemma, he could only seek help from his mother, the Queen. That was where Celeste came in.

As for Princess Elizabeth... Wayne didn’t quite understand her. Were he in her shoes, he would’ve refrained from making a move unless necessary when the head of the family had made a decision. Not only wouldn’t he make a move, but he would even enthusiastically offer support to show how magnanimous he was.

Elizabeth’s impatience made sense, though. Anyone seeing their opponent as worthless all their life would’ve panicked and tried to kill their opponent after realizing their hidden shrewdness.

A worthless trash should stay that way. I’ll break your leg if you dare to stand up!

The attack ended in mutual failure. The Prince failed to control the demon and thus didn’t manage to improve the Queen’s impression of him, while the Princess had exposed her pettiness, making her score drop slightly.

Overall, the Princess’s score was still higher than the Prince’s.