"There’s no need for all the fuss, I can just stay at your place."
Hefei frowned as she thought about bringing the Old Witch back home. It was a good plan, as there was no need for a contrived encounter in alleyways - she would bump into Dark Knights and Death Knights as soon as she stepped out the door.
But then Saina suddenly wanted to stay at her place...
Sorry, we’re just teacher and student. We’re not that close.
Hefei suspected that Saina had ulterior motives and, given the complex relationships at home, she declined the request, assuring Saina that she would arrange a place for her to stay.
"Does your mission have something to do with my family?"
Hefei’s expression turned cold, "Who is it, Veronica... or me?"
Sensing Hefei’s wariness, Saina felt helpless. Times had changed; students now had noble statuses, and she had to coax them. She decided to reveal her mission’s objective.
"I came to Lundan for two reasons; the first is to ease the tension between us..."
Hefei couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, seeing Saina’s face turn livid, she quickly waved her hands, "Sorry, teacher, I didn’t expect you to be so gentle, that’s not your style. You’re not planning to trick me, are you?"
Want to, but don’t dare.
Saina closed her eyes as she adjusted her mentality to her current relationship with Hefei, saying slowly, "Hefei, I’m not who I was before. After Veronica withdrew from the Holy Maiden selection, I didn’t make things difficult for her, did I?"
"That’s because of Wayne. You knew he was a Naturalist Knight, so you didn’t dare target Veronica."
Hefei mocked coldly, then suddenly changed her expression, "I get it, you’re here for Wayne."
"Hefei, you’ve gotten smarter!" Saina exclaimed in surprise.
What’s there to be surprised about? Who do you think you’re looking down on?
Hefei was pissed off, and the more she looked at Saina, the more she disliked her. She replied irritably, "What do you want with Wayne? He’s a Naturalist Knight; you have no right to order him around."
Yeah, usually it’s him ordering me around!
Saina’s face turned glum as she worried about the changes in herself.
Before leaving the Naturalism Church Headquarters, Mr. Mula, the Naturalist Knight, instructed Wayne to find a suitable mount. Should there be any anomalies in the Icebound Continent, he hoped Wayne would assist. Then Saina became that mount, with Wayne riding her in a variety of ways for many days.
After Wayne left, Saina occasionally remembered his figure, and one night, she even had a blush-inducing nightmare that scared her from sleeping.
What she feared came true; anomalies did occur in the Icebound Continent. Mula contacted Vice Commander Gavin, requesting that Wayne arrive at the Icebound Continent as soon as possible.
Gavin planned to go to Lundan himself, to explain the situation to the Pope during a meeting and mentioned that he would be away from headquarters for a while. Somehow, Saina ended up taking over the task of delivering the message to Lundan.
Heaven help us, this was a critical time for power struggles. Except for the lackluster Gavin, none of the Divine Oracle High Priests wanted to leave headquarters.
The old Saina wouldn’t have offered, but she did.
Besides, the closer she got to Lundan, the more anxious she became, filled with anticipation of a reunion yet panicked at the thought that things might have changed.
Wayne had left the Church headquarters at the beginning of June, and it was now mid-July. A month and a half had passed - where did the long separation come from? Saina seriously questioned whether her body was broken.
Not just her body, but her mind too, was expressing a longing for faith.
Seeing Saina sitting there in silence, gloomy as can be, Hefei’s expression also darkened, "Saina, Wayne is a Naturalist Knight. I advise you not to try any tricks with him."
It’s clearly him doing big dramatic things to me!
Saina was at a loss, and with a frosty face, she said, "Call me teacher."
Saina was furious, ready to deal with her rebellious student, but pain shot through her heart, and she nearly couldn’t maintain her human form. She glared fiercely at Hefei, "Don’t worry, I don’t dare do anything to him. I’ll be thankful if he doesn’t bully me!"
Old thing, that’s a bit of an odd thing to say!
Hefei didn’t think much of it, assuming Saina didn’t have the guts to target a Naturalist Knight. But then she remembered, even if her son wasn’t a Naturalist Knight, the Old Witch would’ve been powerless anyway.
Do you know what a Death Knight is?
Hefei indulged in the pleasure of having a Death Knight for a son, the joy of doing whatever she wanted. But looking at Saina again, aside from a busty and leggy beauty, she saw nothing else noteworthy.
Hefei stood with hands on her hips, not yet gloating when she realized there was a serious problem with her attitude.
Her faith was no longer devout.
As the High Priest of the Naturalism Church Windsor District, a devotee of nature, she could take pride in her son, but she shouldn’t be proud of his status as a Death Knight.
She had been corrupted by the Dark Knight, fallen from grace.
Damn troublemaker, I’ll kill you when I get back!