Inside the silent church, a man dressed in ragged cloth garments slowly knelt before Grace.
The man bowed deeply. When he spoke, his voice held nothing but humility and awe.
“Lady Saintess, I come to the church every day to pray, donate money, and light holy candles. I swear to the Goddess that I have never done anything against my conscience. Why has the Goddess never protected me?”
The man grew emotional, tears welling in his eyes.
“My three cargo ships have sunk in a storm, those merchants are maliciously driving down my warehouse prices, and my business lately has been utterly dismal...”
“Why? Why...?”
Grace spread her hands, a soft glow of holy light appearing between them. Her voice remained gentle.
“The Goddess never measures a believer's piety in gold and silver. You may have donated money, but did you remain honest in every single transaction?”
“What the Goddess bestows is what you deserve, not what you desire.”
The merchant grew anxious, a trace of resentment in his voice.
“I have spent half my life serving the Goddess! How could I not even deserve a single good thing!”
“But you did not perish in that shipwreck, did you? The Goddess has always protected you. Wealth is not the sole purpose of life. Perhaps she is waiting for you to let go of your material obsessions and learn to find something far more precious in your loss.”
Staring at the holy light in Grace's hands, the merchant's emotions gradually calmed. After a long silence, he finally let out a sigh.
“You are right, Lady Saintess.”
“Thank you for your guidance. Thank the Goddess for her protection.”
Having said his peace, the merchant left the church, seemingly at ease.
Moments later, another noble lady entered the church. Just like the man before her, she knelt at Grace's feet, sobbing softly.
“Lady Saintess! Lady Saintess...”
“I have strayed from the holy path of the Goddess. I am tormented day and night by fear and agony... I beg for your mercy, Lady Saintess, to forgive my unforgivable sin!”
Grace's gaze was warm as she softly said, “Speak.”
“I... I have betrayed my husband...”
“A young poet often comes to our home to recite poetry. His words always remind me of the dreams of my youth...”
“My husband is always busy with politics and rarely comes home more than a few times a year, so I... I...”
“But... but, Lady Saintess! It's not that I don't love my husband! I really do love him! I truly do!”
Grace's voice grew even gentler, carrying a maternal tolerance.
“Loneliness is a wilderness where it is easy to lose oneself. The Goddess understands your weakness, but she does not condone your choice. That poet, when he wrote for you, was he praising your soul, or was he merely feeding his own vanity?”
“And did you love him, or did you simply love the feeling of being loved?”
The noble lady froze. It took her a long time to find her voice.
“I... I don't know...”
“You do not need another person's love to prove you are worthy of being loved. You made a mistake, and you must bear the consequences. Are you willing to swear to the Goddess that you will end this relationship and devote all your energy to those less fortunate than you?”
“You can volunteer at the church hospital, using your hands to soothe those who are in real pain.”
“I am willing... Lady Saintess! I am willing! Thank you for your guidance! Thank the Goddess for her comfort!”
The noble lady smiled through her tears, stood up excitedly, and rushed out of the church.
As the noble lady's footsteps faded into the distance, the curve of Grace's lips slowly flattened.
In the blink of an eye, all warmth drained from her face, leaving behind only a chilling indifference and coldness.
Grace unhurriedly tucked a strand of blue hair behind her ear and straightened the hem of her nun's habit.
She had just turned to walk deeper into the church when a voice echoed from the entrance without warning, cutting her off in her tracks.
“Not many visitors today?”
Grace instantly put her gentle smile back on, spun around, and bowed respectfully to Noctis. “Lord Archbishop.”
With his hands clasped behind his back, Noctis walked up to her with a broad smile and asked, “Are you satisfied with your work today?”
“I am not sure what you mean...”
“In your opinion, how was that merchant?”
“...”
Grace took a deep breath, the warmth on her face fading slightly.
“His cargo ships sank in the storm only because he didn't pay his crew enough, which made them too lazy to reinforce the cargo hold before the storm hit.”
“The Goddess wouldn't care about his couple of wretched ships, Lord Archbishop. At least I sent him home to reflect on himself.”
“And what about that noble lady?”
Grace said softly, “Her husband isn't busy with politics. He keeps a woman even younger than her at the harbor. As for that poet, he wrote a letter to that same young woman just last week.”
“None of the three deserve the Goddess's guidance.”
Noctis's arm whipped forward with a sharp gust of wind, and a resounding slap struck Grace hard across the face.
“I don't need to know what they did! And neither do you!”
“Who asked you to speak the truth? You only need to fake the Goddess's guidance. Make up whatever you want! Can't you even handle something so simple?”
“The disgust on your face earlier was almost completely exposed! Did you really think I wouldn't notice?!”
“'A purpose more precious than life'? 'Soothe the unfortunate'?”
Noctis chuckled.
“Who cares about that! Do you think a merchant who has tasted wealth would willingly live out the rest of his days in mediocrity? Do you think that noble lady would actually lower herself to touch those filthy commoners?”
Noctis slapped the Saintess once more.
“And don't you dare use your disgusting magic to spy on me!”
Grace silently endured it all. Her head hung low, her expression tranquil, showing not a shred of emotion.
“Don't forget what you are at your core. Don't get too swept up in your acting and actually believe you are some exalted Saintess.”
Noctis's gaze was ice-cold.
“Retrieve the holy spear, and then die.”
“Do you understand?”
“I shall obey your arrangements, Lord Archbishop.”
Seeing this, Noctis said no more. He turned and walked toward the church doors, gesturing for the guards at the entrance to follow him.
The two of them left the church.
“Any clues yet?”
“Not yet, Lord Archbishop.”
Noctis's face remained dark as he muttered, “I know your magic is unique. The moment you find anyone with divine radiance on them, apprehend them immediately.”
“Understood.”
Noctis suddenly stopped, looking up at the piercing sunlight.
“Sending your messenger only now... isn't it a bit too late?”
Noctis sneered disdainfully, but in the next second, he let out a soft grunt of confusion.
“Hmm?”
A figure wearing a Typhon Chain uniform ran swiftly past him. For a brief moment, as their paths crossed, their eyes met.
“Lord Archbishop...”
“No need.”
Noctis waved his hand.
“Your nerves are wound too tight. Excessive paranoia will only cloud your judgment. Don't blindly assume every student you see is the Goddess's Blessed.”
Noctis patted the attendant's shoulder.
“Let's go. Don't cause too much of a scene.”
Ain ignored the Archbishop and the attendant, sprinting toward the church while clutching the document. Even though his physical strength was severely depleted, he did not stop.
Right now, he had something far more important to verify.
...
Grace raised a hand to her cheek, feeling the stinging heat as a trace of bitterness flickered in her eyes.
The young girl dragged her heavy steps to the Goddess's statue. The moment her knees touched the floor, she slowly closed her eyes, letting fatigue and confusion wash over her.
“Lord Archbishop...”
“I won't let you have your way.”
“As for my life and death, they do not matter at all...”
Grace slowly raised her head, gazing up at the statue of the Goddess that represented light.
“O supreme Goddess, have mercy on your believer. Allow me to offer this broken body and soul entirely to the one you have blessed.”
“For him, I am willing to sacrifice everything I possess.”
“For you, I am willing to spend the rest of my life ensuring your guidance becomes an eternal starlight in this world...”
“For both of you, I am willing to bear the sin of slaughter and personally erase the existence of that witch.”
Hearing a frantic, hurried rush of footsteps behind her, Grace lowered her eyes, a helpless, bitter smile rising in her heart.
Without even looking, she knew it was another soul tormented by guilt, unable to sleep, coming to pour out their unspeakable sins to her.
Ain out of breath, rushed to the church entrance. When he clearly saw the girl kneeling before the statue, his eyes filled with shock.
The cards didn't matter at all!
When he went to the cafeteria this morning, Emil had mentioned that people from the Church had arrived at the academy.
He had thought it was just routine business at the time, never expecting it to involve something so monumental.
Ain recalled the settings from the original game.
Players could not find Grace in the church outside the academy during the early game.
Only when Act Three arrived would Grace appear in the church as an NPC.
He was right...
Act Three had indeed been brought forward.
Ain slowly pulled out the document, opened it, and let the portrait on the page align with the young girl in the distance.
The surname of the person on the document was indeed Knight.
But the first name was not Lillian.
“No wonder she mentioned Lillian's birthday banquet...”
“No wonder Grace's surname was never revealed in the game...”
As Ain muttered, his gaze locked onto the name written on the document.
Grace Knight.
“She's actually Lillian's...”
“Older sister?”
Rate on N.U.
