Lanterns were hung, and banners fluttered. As the Capital City of the Havoc Empire was rapidly adorned in vibrant reds, the Victory Anniversary was fast approaching.
Day one: The celebration, the royal family’s formulaic chanting, and the Saintess announcing the “good news.”
Day two: The military parade of the Demon King Subjugation Team.
And after that?
Holidays! Holidays! Holidays!
Naturally, the students in the Clock Tower, who lived in a state of high-intensity competition, were all looking forward to this time of relaxation.
However, on the eve of the Victory Anniversary, just as everyone intended to rest early to snag a good spot for the first day’s festivities…
On the third floor of the Clock Tower, within the Knight Order, a squad of apprentice knights who had just finished their daily training late into the night was told to stay behind by their captain — Ain, the Knight Princess and a member of the Subjugation Team.
Every one of them was an elite within the Knight Order.
They had already been scouted by various knight orders across the Empire; once they graduated from the Clock Tower, they would step directly onto the illustrious path of knighthood.
Because they were quite familiar with Ain, everyone spoke bluntly.
“Captain, is there more training? Shouldn’t we disband and go to rest? We’re actually looking forward to tomorrow’s festival.”
“You just want to see if the Saintess Candidate is the one you guessed, don’t you?”
The Knight Princess, Ain, completely ignored her team’s quiet bickering, her gaze fixed on the night sky outside the window.
Though she said “tomorrow,” it was technically already “today.”
It was time to carry out the Great Sage’s orders.
The Knight Princess turned around and cleared her throat.
“Stop the nonsense. Next, we are going to do something big! Go wash up and change immediately, put on your combat gear, and gather back here.”
“Once the deed is done, there will be credits personally approved by the Great Sage — this mission is by the Great Sage’s direct command.”
To a bunch of overachievers in the Clock Tower, choosing between credits or a holiday wasn’t even a question.
At most, everyone was just a bit stunned. “Captain… what kind of ‘big thing’ are we doing?”
A sudden order at such a specific time was enough to make everyone in the squad scent something unusual in the air.
In response, Ain simply held out her hand and raised two fingers. “Perfect. While you’re showering, burn these two things into your brains.”
“First: You are not allowed to ask where we are going.”
“Second: You are not allowed to ask what we are doing.”
Sensing the seriousness and importance of the mission, the squad members turned much more solemn.
“Then, Captain, what level of weaponry should we bring? Blue grade? Or…”
“Standard sets, Red grade. Fill them up with Red Magic Stones as well.”
After indifferently dropping those words, Ain opened a nearby window.
The slightly chilled night air poured in. The young girl let out a long breath of white mist and muttered, “Of course, it’s best if we don’t have to use them.”
Then, she whispered to herself, ‘After all, I don’t want to turn my blade against a teammate’s followers.’
‘Blame yourself for trying to hide and monopolize Mother, Anqi.’
……
Dawn.
The pale light emerging at the edge of the skyline slowly illuminated the newly decorated Imperial Capital.
While the public’s eyes were already fixed on the day’s festivities, a convoy consisting of over a dozen Church Knights on white horses escorting a carriage quietly departed from the Hidden Sea Church headquarters.
The carriage, of course, carried Saintess Anqi and her Saintess Candidate, Valo.
To prevent the two “heavyweights” inside from being Jostled or fatigued, the convoy moved very slowly.
Consequently, the cradle-like swaying and occasional slight bumps made Valo, who was already sleep-deprived from waking up so early, let out an involuntary yawn.
‘Staying in bed ruins the morning, but waking up early ruins the whole day.’
“Mm… Meow… Anqi, why do we have to set out as soon as the sun comes up?”
Anqi, who was pressed close to her side, immediately used her soft chest to catch Valo’s nodding head.
Her hand then slid around Valo’s waist, gently patting her bottom as if soothing a pet.
“I’m sorry, Mother. This was necessary — the journey is long, and since we cannot spend the night within the Capital City, we had to leave at dawn.”
“If you feel tired, just lean on me and take a nap. I’ll wake you up when we get close to the Capital.”
As the girl spoke, she lowered her face and took a deep, blissful breath of the scent in Valo’s hair.
“After all, we can’t have today’s Saintess Candidate appearing with dark circles under her eyes, can we?”
Valo gave a cold laugh in her heart. ‘What a fuss.’
Wasn’t Anqi just afraid that the Saint Candidate Plan would run into trouble? That was why she insisted on hiding at the Church headquarters.
Setting out so early and quietly today was just her trying to blitz the Capital and present everyone with a fait accompli.
Did she think Valo didn’t know what her Saintess daughter was thinking?
Valo simply saw through it without calling her out.
Of course, the Saintess’s breast-pillow was top-tier for a nap — a premium latex pillow without the actual latex. Lying on it felt truly authentic.
However, before she could drift into dreamland amidst the sweetness and softness, she felt Anqi’s breath drawing closer to her ear. The girl’s whisper sounded like ASMR.
“Mother, on this occasion, may I make a few extra requests of you?”
As the words fell, she even gave the tip of Valo’s pointed ear a gentle nip! It caused the sensitive Valo to shudder, her sleepiness momentarily vanishing.
‘Speak properly and stop gnawing on my ear!?’
But she immediately understood Anqi’s intent… or rather, her scheme. One doesn’t visit a temple for no reason, and one doesn’t nibble a mother’s ear for nothing.
“Once you become the Saintess Candidate, you will be the role model for our Hidden Sea Church. While I know your purity, there will always be some old fogeys in the Church who will make an issue out of your status as the ‘mother’ to Finney and Kaika.”
Anqi spread her wings, her gentle embrace laced with a trap disguised in sweet words.
“So, I hope that in the future, you can… reduce the frequency of your interactions with those two. This is just to prevent those old fogeys from using the word ‘purity’ as a pretext to start trouble, alright?”
As she spoke, the girl blinked, not forgetting to add a patch. “Of course, it’s perfectly fine to openly show your status as a mother to me — after all, everyone knows we aren’t related by blood.”
She spoke as if she were helping Valo be a better Saintess Candidate, but Valo only smiled inwardly, seeing through the act instantly.
In the game’s Virtuous Corruption Ending route, there were indeed similar scenes — as the protagonist gradually sank into Anqi’s tenderness, the Saintess daughter’s possessiveness would grow, and her desire for control would become stronger.
At first, she only wanted Mother to be obedient.
Slowly, she would want to control and master every word, action, and even the way Mother thought.
In the end… she would even control Mother’s interpersonal relationships, turning the protagonist into the daughter’s puppet.
If the protagonist failed to wake up and resist in time, entering the Virtuous Corruption Ending was only a matter of time.
But…
So what?
The Virtuous Corruption Ending was exactly her goal. As for Anqi’s burgeoning possessiveness, Valo felt that her daughter was still too naive.
What did she mean by ‘gradually reducing the frequency of interactions with Kaika and Finney?’
Reduce?
Try severing!
Anqi’s request was exactly what Valo wanted. Wasn’t her Saintess daughter pushing her luck? Then Valo would simply go with the flow.
‘Don’t be in such a hurry, Anqi. Today, Mother is going to give you a massive surprise!’
Thus, Valo feigned the appearance of being easily persuaded. She nodded gently and promised, “No problem, Anqi. Mother will make a decision that satisfies you.”
“Mother! I knew you wouldn’t refuse me!”
The girl gave a cry of surprise! Her bright golden eyes seemed to shine even more brilliantly.
She squeezed Valo tightly, wanting to give her an affectionate cuddle, but she forced her hands to stop with a look of immense regret.
“Ah, no, no. I can’t mess up your outfit, Mother.”
As she spoke, she took several deep breaths, as if trying to suppress some wicked thought or impulse in her heart.
Then, the girl readjusted the soft “latex pillow” for Valo. “I’m sorry, Mother. I’ve disturbed your rest. Just lean on me and sleep for a while. I promise I won’t bother you again.”
Valo didn’t hold back. She rested her head, closed her eyes, and slept openly.
The timing to sever her status as the mother to Finney and Kaika was perfect — Anqi had even accidentally given her a way out.
On the Nurturing Panel, Anqi’s Justice Value was still maxed out, proving that the Saint Candidate Plan had no flaws.
The convoy was already rushing toward the Imperial Capital.
So, when the morning mist dissipated and the carriage rolled into the city…
That would be the moment she entered the Virtuous Corruption Ending, escaped danger, found peace, and achieved her ultimate goal!
Oooooh!
However, the carriage suddenly jerked!
The jolt was definitely not from a bump in the road. Valo snapped awake. Her mysterious “intuition” was starting to point in a very bad direction.
Outside the carriage, the Sister Superior’s voice soon rang out.
“Why have we stopped up ahead?”
“Sister Superior, there are students from the Clock Tower lined up in front. They say they’re doing morning drills and need us to yield the road.”
Inside the carriage, Valo let out a sigh of relief. ‘Oh, it’s just students from the Knight Order.’
Even though it was the first day of the Victory Anniversary, they were doing morning drills?
Impressive. Things would surely keep getting better at this rate.
However, before she could close her eyes again…
The carriage screeched to a halt again! The Sister Superior’s cries of alarm were mixed with the noise and chaos erupting outside!
“Wait… What are you doing?!”
And this time… it wasn’t an illusion!
Valo felt a shiver crawl up her spine. Without waiting for Anqi to speak, she threw the carriage door open!
Outside.
Dawn and the first light of day shifted.
The bright colors overlapped with the rising sun.
The students of the Knight Order were crashing into the escort personnel like football players, pulling them aside and engaging them in scuffles!
The center of the road was blocked by two figures she knew all too well.
A black-haired Elf held a dark purple rose in her hand, fel energy slowly flowing from the flower.
A red-haired girl opened the black “Zither Case” behind her, her cloak burning like wings of flame in the morning light.
Kaika and Finney.
Why were they here?
How did they know about this?
What exactly were they planning to do?