The villagers' lives were no longer bound to the stone heart; they had once again become independent individuals.
Lovene's body collapsed forward, but Mia caught her.
“Your Highness! Your Highness, you succeeded!”
With her eyes closed, the corners of Lovene's mouth curled up slightly.
“That is good...”
Behind them, Harvey was the first to fall to his knees, weeping silently. Seeing this, the other villagers knelt down as well, their faces filled with gratitude.
The next day, Clement returned to the cellar.
He inspected the stone heart and confirmed that it had completely lost its corruptive nature.
“Lady Saintess, you won.” There was a trace of hard-to-detect admiration in his voice. “I will report the situation to the Pope, stating that you have completed the mission flawlessly.”
Leaning against the altar, Lovene offered a weak smile.
“Thank you, Lord Clement.”
After picking up the magic box to contain the stone heart, Clement turned and walked out of the cellar. Just before he left, he paused to leave a few words.
“Rest well for the next two days. Once you recover, we will leave this place and head to the Oswell territory. The favor I need from you is there.”
The Oswell territory?
Lovene searched her memories for a moment, but ultimately shook her head.
She had never heard of this territory, so it was likely just a small fief. As for what Clement wanted her to do, she wasn't worried at all.
While she had verbally agreed to Clement's request, she had no intention of doing anything she couldn't manage. More importantly, her only reason for agreeing to his terms was to harvest the villagers' emotions.
With a contamination level like the stone heart's, if she had taken it seriously, she could have purified it with Holy Light in a mere moment. Furthermore, her Holy Knight, Mia, possessed Rank Four strength, which was superior to Clement's Rank Three.
Even if he wanted to force her, he lacked the power to do so.
Thus, Clement had never been a threat to her from the very beginning.
Instead of worrying about him, she might as well focus on her harvest.
At this thought, Lovene, who had returned to her cottage in the village, couldn't help but let her lips curl upward.
She had played the role of the benevolent Saintess in the village for three days, earning boundless pity and sympathy. The final wave, in particular, had completely won over even the villagers who had opposed her, like Harvey, leaving them bowing before her kindness.
Nourished by these emotions, her magic power began to surge toward Rank Two.
A familiar, warm sensation welled up from the depths of her soul.
Magic power.
Thick, scalding magic power was erupting from the Heart of the Saintess.
Lovene's consciousness sank into the depths of her soul. There, the heart woven from specks of light was beating violently.
With every beat, new specks of light were born from the void, adhering to the surface of the heart before being squeezed and compressed, forging into something harder and purer.
Her magic power was growing.
Compared to the trickling stream of Rank One, Rank Two was like a raging flood.
She could almost hear the vibration of her magic power, sounding like thunder rolling across the sky. Beneath this rumbling, something that had been sealed away for a long time finally found an outlet.
Late-stage Rank One, peak Rank One...
Then—
Crack.
Like the sound of cracking ice, or perhaps a breaking chain, Lovene's soul shuddered violently. The church brand that had sealed her for over a decade cracked open once more, revealing a tiny fissure.
Though the fissure was small, it was enough to let even more magic power flood in, extending her perception much further. A new power surged into her body like an incoming tide.
Rank Two.
She had stepped into Rank Two.
Lovene silently sensed the changes that came with this rank.
If Rank One was just transcending the mundane, then Rank Two was taking another step forward on that foundation. Her physical capabilities now far surpassed those of ordinary mortals.
Ordinary blades and weapons could hardly harm her now. Even if her body were pierced by a sharp weapon, as long as it didn't hit a vital organ, she could still maintain her full combat capability.
In addition, her magic attacks were far more powerful. If she wished, she could destroy this entire village in an instant.
After clearly feeling the advancement of her strength, Lovene nodded in satisfaction and turned her attention to the Heart of the Saintess deep within her soul.
Above the Heart of the Saintess hovered a massive purple rune—the church's seal. However, at the corner of the rune, the once-clear patterns had now become somewhat blurry.
Due to the increase in her magic power, the strength of the seal had weakened once more, allowing the new power of the Heart of the Saintess to seep out. Lovene could feel the change in the Holy Light within her.
At first, the Holy Light had been nothing more than a useless decoration to display her status as the Saintess. Later, when she reached Rank One, it gained the powerful ability to purify the corruption of outer gods.
And this time, it had gained the ability to heal others.
With a wave of her hand, she sliced a wound onto her left wrist. Placing her right hand over it, she summoned the Holy Light. In the blink of an eye, the wound on her left wrist vanished completely.
It was as if nothing had ever happened; the skin on her wrist remained as smooth as new.
Seeing this, Lovene took a deep breath, unable to contain her excitement.
Holy Light healing... Its restorative power far surpassed that of ordinary healing magic. As long as a person had a single breath left, she could bring them back to life. Reattaching severed limbs was child's play.
Even if someone suffered from a bizarre illness, as long as it didn't involve corruption, she could cure it.
This ability was terrifyingly powerful. In such a chaotic world, almost everyone suffered from some form of injury or illness. Her existence essentially offered these people a beacon of hope for the future!
At the same time, this meant that in her future endeavors as the Saintess, she could stage even more “sacrifices” and “rescues” to harvest a greater abundance of emotions.
At this thought, the corners of her mouth curled up wildly, beyond her control.
Even so, she deliberately wrapped both of her hands in bandages afterward, pretending that her injuries had not yet healed.
After all, the more fragile she appeared, the more they would ache for her.
And so, Lovene rested in the village for two days.
As the savior of the villagers, and at Harvey's suggestion, almost every resident brought gifts over those two days. Flowers, food, and other items quickly piled up, filling her entire room.
Furthermore, the abandoned little chapel left behind by the church in the village was rebuilt after this incident. A blurry divine statue was erected inside.
Quite a few villagers began to worship the Church of the Morning Light once again. However, whether they were truly praying to the Lord of the Morning Light or someone else entirely, Lovene did not know.
Two days later, a carriage stopped at the front of the village.
The morning mist had mostly dispersed. A long-awaited sunlight pierced through the thin layer of clouds, spilling onto the muddy village path. The carriage curtain was lifted slightly by the wind, revealing Clement's somewhat troubled face.
He was already seated inside the carriage, resting with his eyes closed as he waited for Lovene and her party.
It was time to leave.
Lovene stepped out of the wooden cabin, dressed in her white Saintess robes.
Her silver hair, smooth as moonlight, paired with her holy golden eyes, gave her an air of pure, flawless elegance that captured everyone's gaze, even without any jewelry to adorn her.
In terms of appearance, she would undoubtedly be the most beautiful even within the Holy City of the church.
Mia followed closely behind her, her form-fitting armor polished to a silver sheen. With her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, her eyes habitually swept over their surroundings.
Just as they reached the carriage, a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded from behind them.
“Lady Saintess! Please wait!”
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