Chapter 257 (1): Teeth Gritted, It’s Not Impossible

The dark domain opened, and Wayne and Senna emerged. Veronica, who had been waiting for some time, hurried up to Wayne, blocking Senna under the pretense of getting closer to him. She also took the chance to sniff him discreetly.

She wondered what conversation could have taken them so long.

Such was the way people acted for their first love. Their emotions fluctuated wildly, and they couldn’t help but imagine all the possible scenarios when the person they loved got close to someone of the opposite sex.

All negative scenarios.

Veronica didn’t bother hiding her hostility. Noticing it, Senna sneered inwardly. What was the point of being wary of her? She should be wary of the Holy Maiden candidates—all fourteen of them. Even if Wayne rotated through them every day, it would take a fortnight for him to go through everyone.

Dragonbloods were getting worse and worse. Senna realized that Veronica was even inferior to Silvia. At least Auston didn’t—oh, right, Auston couldn’t!

“Hmph!” Veronica glanced at Senna from the corner of her eye before taking Wayne’s arm and whispering to him. There was no room for Senna here. The third wheel should take the hint and be gone.

“Veronica, have you finished your assignments?”

“I have.”

“I’ll assign you more.”

“...”

Five minutes later, Veronica went to the study in a huff. When she turned around and saw Wayne and Senna leaving the mansion together, her anxious mind conjured more worrisome images, throwing her emotions into chaos again.

The belief that dating interfered with studying wasn’t just a belief.

***

On a path leading through the forest, Wayne held the incomplete Philosopher’s Stone, attempting to bring the fourteen beautiful ladies out. That triggered the tethered spirits’ traits—he could bring them out, but it would consume his mana. Even Ottilia and Regina, whose bodies were alive, were no exception.

Wayne frowned and explained the situation to Senna, asking for her thoughts.

He had formed a contract with the fourteen vengeful spirits purely out of the kindness of his heart. He hadn’t put much thought into it in the beginning, but since Ottilia was one of them, he found it necessary to reconsider their placement.

Leaving the fourteen vengeful spirits in the Misty Forest would make them nothing but decorations, utterly useless outside of the fact that they were unused.

“Holding this stone, you’ll be able to reach the heart of the Misty Forest, where a legendary mage’s lifetime of insights is gathered...”

According to Senna, the Misty Forest could be destroyed; what was constructed could, of course, be torn down. However, he would have to destroy the Misty Forest’s core, which was the Darkness and Death that permeated the entire forest.

That wouldn’t be much of a problem for him since he was both the Darkness Knight and the Death Knight. Senna estimated that he could do it in three to five days.

Three to five days? Are you looking down on me, or on the Book of Greed? A legendary mage’s lifetime of learning is even less than what the book can swallow in one gulp. It’ll take three to five seconds, no more.

After the explanation, Senna opened her mouth to ask about the contracted spirits. She had never seen anything like the contracts for vengeful spirits. It wasn’t part of a chosen knight’s repertoire of skills, and she wondered what secret Wayne was hiding.

Knowing that he wouldn’t answer the question even if she asked, though, she repeated the question in her mind, hoping that he would hear her.

“Don’t you have an active imagination? Keep guessing!” Wayne didn’t explain, letting Senna think whatever she wanted. He wouldn’t give her an answer.

The

Book of Greed

was his greatest secret. His knight disguises could be exposed, but not the book. Even the vengeful spirits Wayne had signed contracts with, including Do, his first follower, had no idea about the

Book of Greed

’s existence.

His dog was simple-minded and did whatever he told her to do, so she was happy.

Senna was far from simple-minded. As a legendary mage with extensive knowledge, she was particularly curious when she encountered a magic she didn’t understand. It bothered her like a cat clawing at her heart.

There was nothing she could do when Wayne didn’t want to tell her the truth. She changed the subject, “Those were the Pope’s subordinates, ordered to take care of the unqualified Holy Maiden candidates. Since the Pope has leverage against them, he trusts them deeply...”

“If those people go missing so soon after you acquired the Misty Forest, the Pope will suspect you.” Senna frowned. “Since you’ve passed the trial for the chosen knight and earned Sir Moula’s support, the Pope won’t dare to do anything to you directly even after finding out, but he will pull underhanded tricks secretly.”

She gave several examples: since the Pope couldn’t go after Wayne, he would target those around Wayne—in the name of the church rather than himself. Silvia would be one of them.

Anyone who had been part of a power struggle would have skeletons in their closets; it was only a matter of how many there were. Silvia was the High Reverend of the Windsor District. To secure her position and reclaim power, she had surely schemed and made compromises.

If the Pope managed to find evidence, he would have legitimate grounds to dispose of her through the proper channels. Not even Sir Moula could intervene.

Even if Silvia was completely innocent, like a lotus emerging unsullied from the mud, the Pope could still transfer her, demoting her under the guise of promoting her.

Wayne frowned. That would indeed be troublesome. If the Pope transferred Silvia from Windsor to Franc, the Lando family would be separate again after finally reuniting. However...

“Master Silvia is your student. You can object to the Pope’s transfer order. The argument doesn’t hold up.” Wayne glanced at Senna, a smile playing at his lips. “Tell me, what are you actually thinking?”

“Tell the Pope that you want those people, that as long as he hands you the culprits, you’ll forgive and forget,” Senna said. “Rather than moving in secret and getting found out by the Pope, it’s better to make the demand directly and ease the tension between you. Then, with his guilty conscience, he wouldn’t make up more schemes.”

“Selling out his subordinates... If word gets out, who else is going to work for him? Is the Pope going to agree to the condition?”

“The Pope doesn’t know the true nature of our relationship. In his eyes, now that you’ve become the chosen knight’s successor, you’ll support me in becoming the Pope in the future. He doesn’t want to antagonize the future chosen knight, so he’s already preparing to step down.”

Senna explained mockingly. Compared to being forced to step down, it was more dignified to retire voluntarily. The Pope knew what he should choose.

“If you take the initiative to ease your relationship and display your hubris, he’ll underestimate you and lower his guard, which will make it easier to strike him down in the future...”

Noticing Wayne’s strange smile, she frowned and said defiantly, “This is for your benefit, not mine. You can read my thoughts, so you should know that I haven’t lied.”

“I know. You also provoked them on purpose for my benefit, which is what I find strange...” Wayne smirked. “Although you deny it, your body is honest. It hasn’t taken long for you to learn to move on your own.”

Senna looked away. She simply had no choice. If there were any other option, she would’ve pursued her own interests.

Furthermore, she wasn’t purely thinking of Wayne. When she persuaded those fourteen decorations to give up, it had been partly out of selfish reasons: she couldn’t stand seeing newcomers surpass her and lead a more comfortable life.

She knew that Wayne could hear her thoughts, so she let out all the feelings she had been bottling up.

Why, I didn’t expect you to be such a tsundere. Is this an inherent debuff to a Dragonblood? Wake up. Honesty is the trend now. Tsundere is no longer fashionable.

You know Veronica, right? She’s hearing sweet words that others have already heard.

Wayne smiled wordlessly. He was a skilled dragon tamer and understood tsunderes all too well. Exposing Senna now would be embarrassing to her, though. Since he had promised to let her keep her dignity, he would honor his word.

“So, what’s your plan? Assassination, or easing the tension between you and the Pope?”

“The latter. I don’t want him to run away suddenly and leave me not knowing which road to ambush him on. Besides...” Wayne licked his lips, smiling wickedly. “Isn’t it more fun to make these people taste betrayal before they die?”

Senna nodded. “Do you need me to contact the Pope for you?”

“No, you’ll negotiate with him on my behalf. Just bring his subordinates over.” Wayne shook his head. “Tell him that now that I’ve become the successor to the chosen knight, I have no desire to escalate my conflict with him. We’re adults. We can resolve our conflicts without throwing punches... Make up the rest yourself and be quick. I’ll wait here.”

He handed over the incomplete Philosopher’s Stone and entered it in a flash. Revenge was best served hot. The moment the thought came up, action should follow. Dragging it to the next day would only make him lose sleep.

***

Misty Forest.

Four people entered the forest with Senna. The two men and two women were all Gold-ranked mages.

The two women were both impressively beautiful, Flora being one of them. Unlike the three others, she had only recently learned to behave and was thus promoted to one of Pope’s black gloves, responsible for his dirty work.

“Oracle High Reverend Senna, why did His Holiness order us to come here?”

The four were doubtful, unsure when the Pope and Senna had reconciled and why he had ordered them to take on her mission here. Thinking it over, they believed it was most likely about the soon-to-be Holy Maiden.

It was another compromise for power!

Flora’s expression was the darkest among them, not because she had guessed the truth, but because she had recently buried her student in the Misty Forest. Being here again dredged up unwanted emotions she would rather not face.

“It’s nothing major...”

Senna calmly unleashed the vitality field of a legendary mage and engulfed all four of them with her world.

Gold-ranked mages were only one rank lower than legendary mages, but that was a vast gulf to bridge. Senna had woven her vitality field into the appearance of the Misty Forest and taken over the four Gold-ranked mages’ perception, yet they hadn’t noticed anything.

Fear seized them. Their vision blurred as they were suddenly transported to the east, west, north, and south of the forest. The sudden turn of events caught them completely off guard.

At the same time, a projection appeared before each of them, showing them the conversation between Pope Ludwig and Oracle High Reverend Senna. There were both visual and sound, answering their most pressing question.

“Impossible! I’ve been utterly loyal to His Holiness and done so much for him. He couldn’t possibly betray me!”

“Senna, if you dare to kill me, His Holiness won’t let you off the hook.”

“Let me out! I want to see the Pope. I’ve bled for the church. He can’t do this to me...”

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Betrayal was a bitter pill to swallow. The Pope’s four subordinates cursed Senna out for the lies while laying into the Pope for his ruthlessness, their expressions twisted.

The thick fog of Death and Darkness spread, slowly covering all four parts of the forest like a giant hand covering the sky. The fourteen vengeful spirits hid within, each finding their killers.