Chapter 260 (1): Don’t Look Back, Wayne. It’s Senior

Wayne’s residence.

Outside the window, dappled light filtered through the swaying canopies. As the wind passed and shook the branches, birds hopped about cheerfully, offering their blessings to the beautiful morning.

Sunlight streamed through the half-drawn curtains, splashing patches of gold across the bed like an artist’s soft strokes, painting a warm picture on the white sheet. The warm tones gave the room a lazy, tranquil atmosphere.

Kristen opened her eyes. The blanket slid down slowly as she gazed at the sunlight outside, tucking a lock of platinum blonde hair behind her ear.

The door opened, and Wayne came to the bedside with a tray. Seeing Kristen reach out to him with both arms, he set the tray on the nightstand and leaned down to embrace her.

Kristen nestled against his chest and breathed in his scent, eyes narrowed in contentment. She wished that time would stop forever so that they could stay like this.

“Time to get up, or the butler and the maids will find out.” Wayne stroked her back gently.

Kristen huffed and had him carry her to the bathroom to wash up.

Senior Kristen didn’t have a single tsundere bone. Thinking of last night’s intimacy, she was shy but felt mostly happiness. Even while washing up, she kept her fingers intertwined with her sweetheart’s.

A simple breakfast dragged on until lunchtime due to their overly sweet interactions.

“Wayne, I want to put my clothes in your closet.”

“Absolutely not!” Wayne put on an icy expression like he was going to abandon her after putting his pants on.

It didn’t work.

When Kristen seemed unfazed by the empty threat, he said, “Let’s move your vanity here, too. I’ll have Veryl arrange it. This will be your room, too.”

Kristen smiled sweetly. She knew the jerk was scaring her on purpose.

“Oh, I brought you lots of gifts from this trip...” Wayne brought the gifts he had prepared into the room, taking out the form-fitting outfit woven from drake scales and introducing it like a seasoned salesperson. “It keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer. It’s excellently elastic, heat-resistant, abrasion-resistant, puncture-proof... Not only does it have impressive defense, but it can also be transformed into ordinary clothes by thoughts.”

Mona had a similar piece of magical equipment, provided by the Papal State. When not in use, it could disguise itself as a cross pendant, making it even more practical.

The clergywoman’s battle suit came with comprehensive buffs to the wearer’s combat capabilities. Its ability to change form at will was also much superior to the drake scale suit. The latter only responded to the wearer’s thoughts, while the former...

His Horniness truly understood human nature. No wonder he could be the head of the number one faction in the Chosen Land.

Wayne brought many gifts for Kristen, having fleeced Senna to make his girlfriend happy. Products from a legendary mage couldn’t be anything but high quality. Kristen loved every gift, especially because it was Wayne giving them to her. Through love’s tinted glasses, each gift became significant to her.

“Hmm, why are you so quiet today? Are you still uncomfortable?” Wayne sat on the bedside, wrapping an arm around Kristen’s shoulder and whispering in her ear. “My bad. I was too rough last night.”

Blushing furiously, she gave him a reproachful glance. “No, you were skilled and gentle.”

“As long as you’re satisfied.”

...That’s not a compliment. Don’t you want to explain something?

When Wayne played dumb, Kristen raised her hand to pinch his weakness and gave it a light twist. “Why are you so good at it?”

“Veronica trained me.”

“Not Vera?”

“Huh, why would it be Vera?”

“...”

They stared at each other. Kristen made a gesture and said, “Maybe you’ve returned to Londan a few days early and told the butler to keep it from me, secretly visiting Vera. Then... you became skilled at it.”

Wayne’s mouth fell open. He said regretfully, “Damn, why didn’t I think of that? Teacher, you’re so clever. Next time, I’ll do it that way.”

Kristen clicked her tongue and said doubtfully, “It really wasn’t Vera?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Vera’s a good girl. She seems bold but is actually quite shy.”

How do you know that?

Kristen rolled her eyes at him and said, “If it wasn’t Vera, it had to be Miss Mona. Perhaps you’ve been spending the days at the detective agency with her.”

Why don’t you bring up your High Reverend?

Eyerolling was contagious. Wayne did it to her. “It really was Veronica. She and I were together day and night in Ostarrichi, and in a moment of passion... You know.”

Kristen sighed, speaking from the perspective of both his fiancée and the lady of the house. “I’ll forgive what happened in the past. The depravity of high society is beyond my control, even if I wanted to control it. And she gave up on competing to be the Holy Maiden for you. But from today on, you two siblings can’t continue like this.”

Is the sibling joke never going to die?

Wayne grumbled internally, gripping Kristen’s shoulders seriously. “Consider this—really consider this: Veronica and I aren’t siblings. Don’t bring up Auston. I know we look alike, but there really isn’t any biological connection between us.”

Kristen looked skeptical. She thought of another possibility and exclaimed in surprise, “Did Auntie Silvia and Mr. Lando disown you so that you can be with your sister?”

Good grief, you sure have a clever little mind. Open your skull up and let me see how it works.

Wayne was speechless. Kristen had been infected with a sibling virus, which had reached her bones and made her firmly believe that he and Veronica were siblings.

Half an hour later, after putting in tremendous effort in presenting facts and examples, Wayne finally made Kristen believe that... Veronica was adopted.

He had done his best!

He wasn’t eloquent enough to correct the rumor. To prove that he and Veronica weren’t siblings, he had no choice but to sacrifice Veronica’s image.

Kristen’s eyes reddened after she learned about Veronica’s tragic backstory. “No wonder she has few friends, and only Vera was able to make her open up. That’s why. All this time, I thought it was because Auntie Silvia was rarely home that she developed such a cold, aloof personality.”

Wake up. That’s called a tsundere.

And you weren’t wrong. She does have a perpetual scowl on her face because her parents were separated for a long time.

“So, Veronica is the fiancée Auntie Silvia and Mr. Lando found for you, and you’ve been engaged since childhood?” Kristen asked with her head tilted.

“We aren’t engaged.”

“Then I’m fine with it.” Kristen huffed, holding Wayne tightly. If it were anything else, she could let go of it without contest, but not love. She was never going to give up halfway no matter what.

She was here first!

“Kristen, don’t you want to know what happened on this trip?”

“No.”

Kristen didn’t want the story, asking only a few questions about Vera. Learning that Vera and Wayne were only friends at the moment, she adjusted her strategy and viewed Veronica as her number one rival.

It would be a difficult battle. Veronica had even given up on being the Holy Maiden to steal Kristen’s beloved from her. Her friend was clearly no less determined than she was. The outcome would probably take longer to decide.

“I learned a great magic recently. Wanna see?”

Wayne raised an eyebrow. Before Kristen could answer, he drew mana from the five magic stones in his chest and transformed into a perfect elf with all five faiths.

The elf had perfect facial features and a graceful gait. His ability to communicate with nature gave him a unique charm, maxing out his charisma.

Perhaps it was because of the five faiths being goddesses or because of elves’ gentle and feminine nature, Wayne’s elven state looked delicate, pure, noble, refined, and elegant. His face alone resembled a female, without a trace of masculinity.

His figure also lacked distinct male traits. Without removing his pants, he looked like a flat-chested female who worked out regularly.

Smells so good!

Kristen quietly gulped, her breathing quickening. She sensed the beauty of nature in Wayne and was utterly captivated. This was another reason she had to defeat Veronica!

“Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it’s beautiful.”

“Do you want to learn?”

Wayne had Kristen transform into a Moonlight elf first to check her development. Then he taught her the formula with a hands-on approach and passed on the corresponding faith magic.

He didn’t teach her the formulas for Darkness and Death yet, which would be biting off more than she could chew. Kristen was only a Silver-ranked mage. It wouldn’t be too late for her to deepen her transformation once she reached Gold rank.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Without the

Book of Greed

, Kristen couldn’t learn things at a glance like Wayne, but she had divine blood, which Dorrin and Obed had awakened. She already exceeded the regular mages, with an extraordinary talent that allowed her to learn everything quickly.

Kristen barely mastered the elf formulas for the three faiths, frowning. “This feels familiar. I’ve seen it somewhere... Oh, it’s similar to what Master Filomina taught me.”

“The Life Alliance only has three faiths after all. Similarities are inevitable.” Wayne breathed out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness he had told Senna to revise the formulas, or his connection to Filomina would be exposed.

Speaking of which, Filomina was certainly bold for teaching Kristen without holding back. What was she planning? Training Kristen to participate in the Church of Moonlight’s Holy Maiden selection?

Too bad, she was no longer pure.