I am Mowan, the priestess of the Azure Crystal Party.
I am about to undergo the Church’s honorary baptism and officially become an Honorary Knight of the nation.
Looking at herself in the mirror with her long purple hair flowing down, Mowan took a deep breath.
This purple hair represented the royal bloodline within the Demon Race.
And she, Mowan, despite being a princess of the Demon Race, had now become a member of a hero party, helping humans fight against the Demon Race.
But this was a move born of desperation.
She was only doing it to survive.
Three years ago.
Within the Demon Empire, she had pushed through a series of reform policies she thought were advanced despite opposition.
However, they stepped on the toes of too many Demon Elders, leading the reforms to end in failure.
To appease the public’s anger, the Demon King—her father—exiled her to a barren land abroad, forbidding her from ever stepping foot into the Demon Empire again.
After wandering from place to place, she joined the Azure Crystal Party to scrape by and survive in this world.
At that time, she was only fifteen years old.
As for why she dared to propose reform policies at such a young age, it was partly because she was young and fearless, and partly because she was a transmigrator.
Before transmigrating, she was a male university student on Earth.
Yet even with the memories of two lifetimes combined, she was still just a child in front of those Demon Elders who had lived for hundreds of years.
She had been too naive, too self-righteous.
Taking off her weathered combat trench coat, Mowan changed into the white priestess robes Rosa had bought for her.
“Knock, knock, knock! Mowan, are you ready yet? We need to hurry. We can’t be late for such an important occasion!”
Her best friend’s voice called out from outside the door.
“Coming, coming!”
Mowan quickly tidied her messy purple hair.
Taking one last deep breath, she opened the door.
Outside, Rosa had already changed into a beautiful dress, with sparkling jewelry adorning her deep blue hair.
Mowan, on the other hand, had simply tied her purple hair into a single ponytail.
Aside from a hair ribbon, there were no other decorations; her appearance looked very simple and plain.
As the party’s priestess, her wages were low, and she didn’t have any extra money to buy jewelry like Rosa did.
In truth, it wasn’t that she lacked combat ability.
As a princess of the Demon Race who could succeed the throne of the Demon King, it was impossible for her not to know combat magic.
It was just that she was unwilling to personally harm her own kin.
Her role in the party was healing and treating wounds; she never participated in actual fighting.
Although this approach was somewhat self-deceiving, she had to do it to balance her survival with her feelings for her homeland.
She didn’t know if she should be considered lucky or unlucky.
The Azure Crystal Party that Mowan belonged to had achieved many military merits and gained the King’s appreciation.
Along with other hero parties that had performed distinguished service, they were to receive an Honorary Decoration Ceremony at the Church in the Holy City to officially become Honorary Knights of the kingdom.
Mowan’s feelings were complicated.
Despite being a princess of the Demon Race and humanity’s greatest enemy, she was now fighting for the glory of a human kingdom.
“What’s wrong? Mowan, you look a bit pale. Are you too nervous?”
The blue-haired girl beside her stared at Mowan’s face and asked with concern.
Mowan clutched her chest and nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“Oh, don’t worry! I heard that this year’s decoration ceremony will be presided over by Saintess Iserin! Do you know Saintess Iserin? Once you see her, all the anxiety and trouble in your heart will vanish. You’ll feel like your soul has been baptized and redeemed.”
“Saintess Iserin…”
“Right. Even if you haven’t seen her, you must have heard of her, right?”
Mowan nodded.
She hadn’t seen her. She had been exiled from her own country before she had a chance to witness humanity’s Saintess.
As a princess of the Demon Race and a candidate for the next Demon King, she naturally understood the position of the human Saintess.
The Saintess was also a formidable enemy of the Demon Race.
She was the greatest threat to the Demon Race’s development and even its survival.
The Saintess existed to eliminate the Demon Race.
In the Saintess’s eyes, there was no such thing as peaceful coexistence between humans and the Demon Race.
“So, even if you forget your manners because of nervousness, the kind Saintess will surely forgive your rudeness. Just relax.”
“Okay.”
Mowan forced a smile.
She tried hard to adjust her expression so her best friend wouldn’t worry needlessly over her mysterious moods.
Soon, the Azure Crystal Party gathered.
There were six people in the party—two women and four men.
Once the group of six finished preparing, they set out together toward the Church in the Holy City.
They arrived at the Church hall.
Mowan and the others stood in line in the middle of the hall, patiently waiting for the decoration ceremony to begin.
In the Kingdom of Visa, every kingdom knight receiving an honorary decoration must undergo the Church’s baptism.
Their absolute loyalty to the Church must be guaranteed before they can receive the kingdom’s knight medal.
Finally, the Saintess ascended the podium.
Mowan raised her head and looked toward the stage.
In name, the Saintess was the High Nun, but her attire was completely different from that of ordinary nuns.
The nuns standing guard in the cathedral were all dressed in uniform black-and-white habits with veils over their heads.
Mowan didn’t think these clothes looked particularly beautiful or sacred; she only thought they looked formal and serious, much like the school uniforms girls wore back when she was studying on Earth in her past life.
But the Saintess was completely different.
Compared to the nuns, the Saintess was dressed more like a princess.
She wore a pure white dress with intricate lace patterns forming layers of pleats on the skirt.
A long trail spread out from behind her, while the front of the skirt reached just above her knees.
White stockings fit snugly against the Saintess’s long, slender legs, with not a single wrinkle visible even as she climbed the steps.
The only thing symbolizing her status with the Church was the shawl on her upper body, printed with the Church’s sun emblem.
Mowan gazed at the Saintess’s face.
The Saintess remained expressionless.
Her silver hair reflected the light pouring down from the skylight, making the sunlight seem to condense into a faint halo above her head.
She looked aloof and cold, yet she brought an extraordinary sense of peace to one’s mind.
Mowan found it hard to describe the feeling in her heart at this moment.
The moment she saw Saintess Iserin, she felt that the woman possessed a unique kind of gentleness.
It wasn’t the kind of gentleness where one greets others with a smile, but rather a sense that no matter what sins were confessed before her, the Saintess would calmly forgive them.
The Saintess spoke softly, praising the achievements of each hero party present one by one.
Finally, the Saintess required everyone to recite an oath of allegiance to the Kingdom of Visa.
Mowan shifted her eyes toward Rosa. Beside her, Rosa was excitedly reciting the Church oath along with the others.
Mowan opened her mouth. Suddenly, she felt a lump in her throat, unable to speak a single word.
Clearly, the Demon Race had already abandoned her.
Even if she swore loyalty to humans, no one would blame her.
Even in her past life, she had been a human, so swearing loyalty to humans shouldn’t prick her conscience.
Yet she simply couldn’t read the oath aloud like everyone else.
She went through the motions numbly, opening and closing her mouth to mimic the words without making a sound.
Then, she noticed the Saintess’s gaze.
The woman in white standing atop the high platform was glancing in her direction.
Mowan could only bet that the other party was merely sweeping her eyes over the crowd and happened to look her way.
One second passed… two seconds passed… three seconds passed…
The Saintess still hadn’t looked away.
Those deep red eyes remained fixed squarely on Mowan.
Cold sweat broke out across Mowan’s back.
She felt like she was doomed.