Beside him, Annora was a stood in barely contained fury, her jaw clenched as she watched the attention Adeline garnered.
First Dimitri, then Cassian and Benedict, and now Edward too?! She hated this. She hated all of them! She took a deep breath to calm down. She remembered her past.
How lucky would that villainess be? A Saintess like her couldn’t escape torture and death, she doubted Adeline could.
Her intense stare caught the attention of Adeline again. She narrowed her eyes and completely ignored her.
This aggravated Annora more.
’Laugh and ignore me, Adeline... I know how your life will end. I will be there to watch and laugh!’
"It seems I found the perfect vessel..."
What- What did Edward just say?
If it was who she thinks it is... She would be overjoyed. This would be the first time she felt happiness since her rebirth.
"W- Who is it?" She carefully pressed. Who knows if he would answer her or not?
Since Edward was in a happy mood, he was willing to answer.
"Adeline Kendrick..."
"Haha! Adeline?" She was giddy with happiness. Everything she experienced would be transferred to her. She didn’t care if she sounded bitter, she was filled with hatred and wished to drag others down.
Edward cut her off sharply, his gaze hardening. "Adeline possesses holy powers, something I didn’t see until now. Priests can sense divine power. Are you so consumed by your emotions that you missed something so obvious or are your powers fully gone making you useless?"
"You-"
Annora’s fists clenched at her sides, fury boiling inside her.
Adeline has holy powers... Since when? How was this possible?!
What was the Goddess’ plan? Why bring her back only to have her humiliated? She took pride in her holy powers but it was gone and now Adeline has them? Not only that, she had such strong powers that she could be considered a Saintess!
Annora said in a self-deprecating tone, "So, what? Are you going to tell the elders you found the new Saintess? Or should I break the news?"
What was hers was now gone...
Edward raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "And what will that accomplish? Do you think they will welcome you with open arms, Annora? You’re not their beloved Saintess anymore."
No, she wasn’t. She wasn’t the Saintess anymore. She wasn’t the saviour of the world anymore...
"Hah. You will strip her of her powers just like you did to me... When that happens, won’t I be the Saintess again?"
Edward didn’t bother explaining anything to her, he didn’t have the energy to ruin her delusions of grandeur. Her Holy power was so weak she couldn’t sense the power in Adeline. She wasn’t worth anything.
"We will have to wait and watch."
"Wouldn’t it be easier to drain her when she is young? She is weak. It would be so... Easy."
He caught a glimpse of the craze in her eyes. So, she harbours resentment for Adeline as well. Having her killed wasn’t enough for her was it?
The Sun Goddess must have been blind when she made her the Saintess.
Adeline... Was the perfect Saintess. So far he could see that she was different. Could it be...
Edward leaned closer, his voice low and dangerous. "With Cassian, Benedict, and Dimitri all hovering around her like moths to a flame, you think you can touch her? Don’t forget, she is the daughter of the Marquess."
"S- So?" It was just so convenient, wasn’t it... Adeline had everything. But she had to claw her way to the top.
His voice was full of threats when he said, "So... If you dare to act against me or Adeline, you’ll find I won’t hesitate to remind you of the consequences. I did it once, I can do it again."
Flashbacks of her past life filled her mind. She collapsed on the ground. N- No- She couldn’t go through that again!
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"So, Adeline. Will you come over? I want to show you to my parents. They don’t believe me when I told them I made a new friend."
’Victoria...’ Adeline shook her head. Still, it was nice to have a female friend, a girl bestie as they would call it in the modern world.
"Of course!"
"You promised that you would come to the palace first." Cassian smiled. It was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. Was she so casual? Did she make plans with everybody? Does that mean he held no importance to her?
"But she told me she wanted to visit the Northern Duchy first..." Benedict lowered his head. He felt guilty since he wasn’t able to fulfil her wish. He had to ask her father to let her visit their home. She was his friend! He couldn’t say no to her like this!
Cassian stared intensely at her for an answer, Benedict had sorrowful eyes. While Victoria looked like she did not care at all... She looked at her with blank eyes.
"Well, what if I do all that at once?"
"What do you mean?" They asked.
"We could all go over to someone’s house."
Cassian was dissatisfied with this arrangement but he couldn’t show it. He was the perfect Crown Prince, and as the Crown Prince, he loved all of his citizens. He looked at Adeline who talked with enthusiasm... Maybe he loved some more than the others.
The hairs on Benedict’s body stood up. The Duchy had been on a lockdown. No one could enter or leave. He couldn’t bring anyone home much less leave by himself.
His father told him he was meeting someone important today at the banquet. Like Anna said, he doesn’t want to disturb him... But he had been experiencing an overwhelming feeling.
He felt like he was growing more and more distant from his father...
"Benedict? Don’t be afraid. I am here." Adeline smiled.
He just needed to get her into his house somehow and leave the rest to her. She will heal his mother and deal with that b*tch! ’Ah, how I missed cursing...’