During the time Lin Ling was in the experimental field—
Leticia stared at the lunch in front of her.
A piece of soft bread and a glass of plain water.
That was it.
The bread sat on a clean white porcelain plate, its crust baked to a light golden brown, emitting a faint aroma of wheat.
The water was in a glass, so clear that the bottom was visible.
In the Demon King's Castle, this was already considered a quite decent lunch.
At least for the demons, a piece of truly soft bread that could be easily pulled apart was something they would cherish for a long time.
But to Leticia, this felt like an utter insult.
She sat at the table, not moving a finger.
Her silver-white hair draped over her shoulders, and her holy, beautiful face was clouded with cold fury.
She slowly raised her eyes and looked at Niya, who was standing by the door.
“What is this?”
Niya held her hands in front of her and answered softly:
“Lunch.”
Leticia looked as if she had heard something completely absurd.
“Lunch?”
She looked down at the soft bread, then back at the water.
A mocking curve appeared on the corners of her lips.
“You dare to bring such a thing before me?”
Niya was slightly taken aback.
“This bread was freshly baked today.”
Leticia let out a cold laugh.
“And?”
“Do you really think a piece of crude bread and a glass of water that hasn't been purified by any holy incense are worthy of being placed before a Saintess?”
Niya fell silent for a moment.
She had originally intended to just follow Phelan's instructions and deliver the lunch to the door.
Do not enter.
Do not argue with her.
Do not provoke Leticia.
She remembered it all.
So even though Leticia's tone was unpleasant, Niya still spoke softly:
“The situation is special right now.”
“Miss Leticia, please eat a little first.”
“Who gave you permission to call me that?”
Leticia's voice suddenly turned frigid.
Niya looked up.
Leticia sat there, her gaze so arrogant it was as if she were looking down at something unclean.
“I am the Saintess of the Holy See.”
“The only child in the mortal world favored by God.”
“The object of prayer and worship for countless believers in the Camillaya Empire.”
“What right does a lowly demon like you have to address me by name?”
Niya's fingers tightened slightly.
Leticia, however, seemed completely unaware of the change in her.
Or rather, she simply didn't care.
At this moment, her heart was filled only with the anger of being neglected, offended, and humiliated.
She was locked in this dilapidated room filled with the scent of demons.
She couldn't use Cleanse.
She couldn't summon the Holy Light.
There were no maids to tidy her dress.
Not a single person knelt before her to beg for her forgiveness.
And now, even her lunch consisted only of a piece of coarse bread and a glass of water.
How ridiculous.
How disrespectful.
How unforgivable.
Leticia raised her hand and violently swept the plate off the table.
Crash!
The porcelain plate shattered on the floor with a crisp sound.
The soft bread rolled to Niya's feet, picking up a bit of dust.
The water splashed everywhere, forming a wet stain on the floor.
Niya looked down at the bread.
She didn't say a word.
Leticia tilted her chin up, her voice becoming even more shrill.
“Are you mocking me?”
“Using such a thing to humiliate a noble Saintess?”
“Or is the demon race so destitute that they can't even produce decent food?”
She gave a cold smile.
“As expected of a barbaric and filthy race.”
“You don't even understand the etiquette of serving a Saintess.”
“If this were the White Tower, things like you wouldn't even have the right to approach my room.”
Niya still kept her head down.
She stared at the soft bread by her feet.
The bread had been slightly deformed from the fall.
The crust was stained with dust.
The originally soft and warm aroma was suppressed by the coldness of the floor.
She suddenly thought of Lin Ling's situation.
Back then, the Demon King's Castle didn't have experimental fields.
There was no new grain.
There was no soft bread.
What the kitchen could provide most of the time was hard, heavy black bread.
Ivelia would give the better food to others.
Baroque would frown while swallowing things that were hard to stomach.
Aliviel would smile and say it was fine.
Phelan would record the food consumption.
Cecil would use jokes to cover up the heaviness.
And she herself would carefully deliver the meals to the door of Lin Ling's room.
At that time, she had even felt dissatisfied because Lin Ling could eat three meals a day.
But later, she found out.
Lin Ling would try again and again in the experimental fields just so everyone in the Demon King's Castle could eat their fill.
She would work until her face turned pale with exhaustion.
She would get so excited that her eyes sparkled over the first truly soft piece of bread.
She would be happier than anyone else when she heard that “everyone can finally eat.”
And now.
This person, whom humans worshipped as a Saintess, had actually thrown such a piece of bread onto the floor.
Niya's expression darkened bit by bit.
Leticia was still talking.
“Listen well.”
“I am not an ordinary person you can just imprison as you please.”
“I am the Saintess.”
“As soon as the Holy See discovers I am missing, they will surely send troops to trample this place.”
“When that time comes, you will kneel before me and beg for my forgiveness.”
“And I will consider whether to grant you filthy demons a chance to be purified.”
Niya slowly raised her head.
The look in her eyes had changed.
Normally, Niya was always gentle.
She would get shy.
She would panic because she was worried about Lin Ling.
She would also apologize guiltily for accidentally messing things up.
But at this moment, there was no smile in her gentle eyes.
There was only a fury suppressed to its absolute limit.
Leticia finally sensed something was off.
She frowned.
“What is that look in your eyes?”
Niya looked at her, her voice very soft.
“Saintess?”
Leticia said coldly:
“That's right.”
Niya took a step forward.
“Noble Miss Saintess.”
Her tone was still very soft.
But the air in the room seemed to suddenly grow heavy.
“Right now, you are in the hands of us demons.”
Leticia's expression shifted.
Niya took another step forward.
The magic suppression stones in the four corners of the room were still glowing with pale white runes.
They suppressed holy magic, and they suppressed most magic flow.
But at the moment Niya stepped forward, an incredibly heavy aura slowly seeped out from her small body.
The constitution Niya's parents had transferred to her using a forbidden technique.
It was the result of two people's life foundations being stacked onto one child.
It was a strength sufficient to allow her to casually crush the walls and stone pillars used for defense in the Demon King's Castle when she lost control of her emotions.
Leticia's originally arrogant expression slowly froze.
Even though her magic was sealed, she could still feel it.
That aura had actually forcibly pierced through the magic suppression in the room.
It relied on a terrifyingly pure physical pressure.
Like a magical beast hidden beneath a soft exterior finally baring its fangs.
Niya looked at her.
“Since we could take you out of the White Tower.”
“Shouldn't you also think about something?”
“Do we have the ability to kill you right here?”
Leticia's pupils shrank slightly.
The arrogance that had just been on her face finally showed a crack.
She opened her mouth.
“You...”
Niya continued forward.
“You say you are a Saintess.”
“You say you are noble.”
“You say we are lowly.”
“But have you ever thought about it?”
“Right now, you have no Holy Light.”
“You have no maids by your side.”
“You have no Holy See.”
“Even your magic is sealed.”
She paused.
Her voice grew even lower.
“If I really wanted to kill you right now, what could you possibly do?”
Leticia's face completely changed.
She finally realized one thing.
This wasn't the White Tower.
This wasn't the Holy White Cathedral.
This wasn't even the capital of the Camillaya Empire.
No one here would kneel just because she frowned.
No one would drag a sinner away just because she said the word “unclean.”
And certainly, no one would show her endless patience because of her so-called identity as a Saintess.
She was just a kidnapped captive.
A captive who couldn't cast spells, couldn't run, and couldn't call for help.
Countless images from the past suddenly flashed through Leticia's mind.
The commoners kneeling before her.
Weeping with gratitude as she granted them purification.
The sick looking up at her, their eyes full of plea.
The poor believers offering their last bit of money to the church just to receive a distant blessing from her.
She had once stood on a high platform, watching them bow their heads.
She felt those people were fragile, humble, and insignificant.
As long as she wished, a single ray of Holy Light could determine whether they were called a Blessed One or a Filthy One.
Back then, she thought she would always stand above them.
But now, the positions were reversed.
Niya stood before her.
And she had become the one who could be crushed at any moment.
“No...”
Leticia subconsciously backed away.
Her leg hit the edge of the bed, her body tilted, and she fell clumsily onto the floor.
Ignoring the pain, she scrambled backward in a panic.
“No!”
“Don't come over here!”
Niya approached step by step.
The pressure emanating from her grew heavier and heavier.
The arrogance on Leticia's face shattered completely.
She shook her head in terror, her voice becoming shrill.
“I am the Saintess!”
“I am favored by God!”
“You can't kill me!”
“You can't kill me!”
“You demons aren't allowed to touch me!”
“If I die, the Holy See won't let you off!”
“God won't forgive you either!”
She shouted incoherently.
There was no longer the slightest bit of the dignity a Saintess should have.
No nobility, no elegance.
No holy shell praised by countless believers.
At this moment, she was just a person afraid of death.
Niya stopped in front of her.
She looked down at the pale-faced Leticia sitting on the floor.
After a moment, she said softly:
“Do you know?”
Leticia looked at her, trembling.
Niya crouched down.
She reached out and pinched Leticia's cheek.
The movement wasn't heavy.
But it carried a force that Leticia couldn't break free from.
Niya looked into her eyes and said word by word:
“Looking at you like this, where exactly do you look like a Saintess?”
Leticia's pupils trembled.
Niya's voice was very soft, yet it was more piercing than any roar.
“The real Miss Saintess almost gave her life just so everyone could eat bread.”
“She gets scared.”
“She cries.”
“She gets lost.”
“She gets happy for a long time over a single piece of soft bread.”
“She'll say the black bread tastes bad, but she'll still choose to finish it.”
“She never looks down on the food someone else brings out.”
“Because she knows that some people have worked very, very hard for that bread.”
Niya let go of Leticia's face.
She stood up and looked down at the pathetic Saintess of the Holy See.
“You don't look like a Saintess at all.”
Leticia's face was deathly pale.
She wanted to argue.
But her throat felt as if it were blocked by something, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Niya's hand hanging by her side slowly clenched into a fist.
“You threw the bread on the floor.”
“You insulted everyone in the Demon King's Castle.”
“You even looked down on the results of Miss Lin Ling's hard work.”
Her fist slowly rose.
“I cannot forgive you.”
Leticia's eyes widened in horror.
“No—”
Just as Niya's fist was about to fall, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and firmly caught her wrist.
“That's enough, Niya.”
A voice that carried a hint of a smile, yet was uncharacteristically serious, rang out.
“We can't treat our guest like this.”
Niya whipped her head around.
Cecil had appeared in the room at some point.
His figure seemed to have emerged from the shadows, his tail hanging gently behind him, and the smile on his face was faint.
But his hand was very steady.
He firmly held Niya back.
Hearing Cecil's voice, Niya's eyes turned a bit red.
“But she—”
“I know.”
Cecil interrupted her.
He glanced at the bread on the floor, then at Leticia sitting on the ground.
His gaze was slightly cold.
“I heard everything.”
Niya tried to pull her hand back.
“Then why are you stopping me?”
Cecil sighed.
“Because if you land this punch, things will become very troublesome.”
Niya bit her lip.
“But she went too far.”
“Yes.”
Cecil nodded.
“She certainly did.”
“That's exactly why we can't let you turn yourself into the source of a problem over something like this.”
Niya froze.
Cecil softened his voice.
“Niya.”
“Didn't you say that after delivering lunch, you were going to take care of Lin Ling?”
Niya blinked.
Lin Ling.
That name seemed to instantly pull her back from her rage.
Only then did she remember that Miss Saintess had gone out just now, and she had gone out alone.
Even though Aliviel's familiar was following her.
But Miss Saintess was someone who would get lost in the Demon King's Castle, be lured away by kitchen signs, and was always doing dangerous things.
How could she be outside alone?
“No.”
Niya's expression changed immediately.
“Miss Saintess can't be outside alone.”
Cecil let go of her wrist.
“So leave this to me.”
Niya looked down at the thrown piece of soft bread on the floor.
She bent down and carefully picked it up.
The bread was stained with dust.
It could no longer be eaten.
But she still held it in her hands.
As if she were holding something precious that had been ruined.
Leticia sat on the floor, her face pale, not daring to speak for a moment.
Niya didn't look at her again.
She simply turned around and ran quickly toward the door.
“I'm going to find Miss Lin Ling!”
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