Within the magnificent cathedral, dominated by a golden color palette, a Cardinal whom Lulumia had never seen before stood beneath the divine statue, reciting the achievements of the Holy Sons of past generations.
Since this was all content she had already read about in the history of the continent, Lulumia, standing in the crowd, didn’t have much interest in listening. In comparison, she was more curious about the titles of the people present.
Take the Cardinal at the very front, for instance. The flames burning on him were towering red pillars, a step above the orange-yellow flames on Sander. Among his titles, besides “Cardinal,” there were things like “One Who Has Reached the Heroic Realm,” “Cunning Fox,” and “Executor of the Holy Flame.”
Lulumia had read about the meaning of “One Who Has Reached the Heroic Realm” in books. It signified that the Cardinal’s mana had reached the Sixth Circle—once mana reached the Sixth Circle, one could utilize Forbidden Spells capable of destroying a large city in a single strike. Therefore, the Sixth Circle was considered the watershed of magical ability.
Thinking about it this way, keeping her Mindfulness Value between 1 and 30 seemed to be the best outcome. It saved her the trouble of getting to know the other party and let her know immediately if there was any need to become acquainted with them.
With the Cardinal’s solemn prayers echoing in her ears, Lulumia mused to herself.
However, it wasn’t necessarily a absolute… Some people might have terrible titles but could be good people deep down. Titles reflected things very superficially. For example, herself—although she had negative titles like “Silver-Tongued” and “Deceiver,” she was a good person.
Lulumia was deeply convinced of this. Just as she was thinking, she suddenly felt someone gently touch her hand. She turned her head and found it was the lively pink-haired doll known as “Fifi” among the Magic Dolls under the Holy Son of Radiance.
Fifi gave Lulumia a playful wink and took a step forward, squeezing out another Magic Doll standing beside Lulumia—the Holy Son candidates were at the very front of the procession, with Magic Dolls like Lulumia in the second tier, followed by the nobles.
“What is it?” Lulumia asked in a lowered voice.
“Everyone is watching you, don’t daze off.” Fifi chuckled. “Mia, you have no idea how famous you are among the Magic Dolls. Everyone is watching your every move.”
“So what? Being famous won’t help me put on a few pounds of meat.”
“If you actually gained weight, everyone would be even more envious. How can a normal Magic Doll grow flesh? And Mia, there’s a lovely scent on you. This must be a natural body fragrance; the smell of perfume isn’t this natural.”
“Are you a pervert…?”
Looking at Fifi, who leaned in to sniff her shoulder, Lulumia showed a face of disgust.
Fifi didn’t mind at all. A hint of seriousness, like an elder educating a junior, appeared in her playful expression. “The more ‘perverted’ a Magic Doll is, the more their master likes them. Everyone is just serious on the surface, but a demon lives in their hearts. Don’t look at how serious these Magic Dolls are now; who knows how depraved they are at night. You’re the same, right, Mia? So fragrant and soft, no one would believe nothing has happened. No need to be embarrassed, everyone understands.”
As she spoke, Fifi even cast a knowing, half-smiling glance.
Lulumia could only sigh deeply in her heart. How was it that as a modern person, her thoughts were more conservative than these medieval people?
“Oh, back to the point. I wanted to say that among these Magic Dolls, there are good people without malice like us, and then there are those jealous types who hate you, thinking you’re just all show and have no right to be called a Complete Doll. You have to be careful, Mia. However, generally speaking, as long as their master and yours aren’t on bad terms, a Magic Doll servant won’t show any unnecessary personal feelings.”
Seeing Lulumia’s strange expression, Fifi turned her head away petulantly.
“I didn’t come to tell you this just because I’m bored. Master Lant told me to. Master Lant said that Lord Ino doesn’t seem to want to involve you in the Holy Son competition, but since you’ve already become Lord Ino’s Magic Doll, it’s impossible not to be dragged in. Someone has to explain the tricks of the trade to you to avoid embarrassment later.”
I see…
Lant believed Ino had the potential to become the Holy Son, so he wanted to do her a favor and get closer to her. That way, if he encountered difficulties in the future, he could seek her out.
The world of adults is truly filthy.
Fifi pursed her lips and signaled for Lulumia to look ahead through the gaps in the crowd.
“There are nine Holy Son candidates in Ounheim this term. Among them, five are just here to build their resumes, like Master Lant. The remaining ones with competitive intentions are the Holy Son of Flawless, the Holy Son of Black Stone, the Holy Son of Frost, and the Holy Son of Dragon Heart. You can pay less attention to the Holy Son of Frost; he’s silent, lacks presence, and his family is very upright. He won’t use underhanded tactics. You need to watch out for the other two.”
“Although the Church strictly prohibits unfair competition between Holy Son candidates, it’s an established rule that people will secretly cause trouble during every Holy Son promotion. Using family influence to squeeze someone out is one thing, but some go as far as using curses or assassination. The more clever ones will set traps to ruin the other party’s reputation.”
“The strongest candidate in this term, besides your master, is the Holy Son of Dragon Heart. He comes from the Duke of Kangran’s family. It’s said he’s almost reached the pseudo-Fourth Circle. He’s Lord Ino’s strongest rival. The remaining Holy Son of Black Stone is very likely to play dirty behind the scenes, so you must be especially careful.”
“The Holy Son of Dragon Heart is that red-haired man standing in front of Sister Ino?” Lulumia asked softly.
“Mhm, that’s him.”
“Let me see…”
This guy looks way too much like a protagonist from a classic novel, Lulumia couldn’t help but complain internally upon seeing the profile of the Holy Son of Dragon Heart. He had medium-length red hair, a sturdy but not barbaric build, and carried a greatsword on his back. The lines of his face were as sharp as if carved by a chisel, and his upturned eyes were full of resilient willpower, revealing a sense of restrained and calm power.
Lulumia opened her panel and found that the visible titles for this man included “Holy Son of Dragon Heart,” “Third Son of the Duke of Kangran,” “Sincere Heart,” “Dragon Bloodline,” and the words “Handsome Man.”
Wait, I can understand the others, but what the hell is “Handsome Man”? Then shouldn’t I have a “Beautiful Girl” title?
“We are Magic Dolls, so it’s fine for us to look at him, but you must watch out for Lord Ino, Mia. The Holy Son of Dragon Heart has the dragon bloodline and was born with eyes that can naturally charm the opposite sex, making women fall for him. If she stares into his eyes for too long, her soul will be hooked. If Lord Ino falls for it, it will be impossible for her to win the Holy Son promotion.”
“I definitely need to watch out for that then.”
Lulumia instantly perked up. A woman as good as Ino absolutely cannot be married off to someone else randomly—who knows if this world has magic to turn women into men? What if she had a chance?
If she waited until she became a world-renowned Great Mage, even Cinderella would have to defer to her. At that time, she would play with Cinderella’s feelings properly, then kick her aside and let her watch jealously as she and Ino were all lovey-dovey, before revealing her true identity.
So satisfying!
“May the glory of Lady Estel protect us!”
“May the glory of Lady Estel protect us!”
Suddenly, everyone in the temple sang out loudly under the Cardinal’s lead. Lulumia and Fifi immediately bowed their heads and joined in.
A few seconds later, a humming sound that seemed to originate from the depths of the heart resonated throughout the hall. Water-like ripples spread out, and everything around them seemed to become a reflection in a mirror, beginning to warp and spin without warning.
A strong sense of vertigo enveloped Lulumia’s entire body, and her stomach churned violently. She heard the cries of many people around her and wanted to make a sound as well, but the voice seemed stuck in her throat, only allowing a blurred exhale to escape.
The discomfort enveloping her body seemed to last for an entire century. When Lulumia held her temples, trying to alleviate the full-body malaise, the distorted space abruptly returned to normal. The churning sensation vanished as if nothing had ever happened.
She opened her eyes and found everyone else was like her, looking around in confusion. Clearly, they had all experienced that eerie dizziness.
Is this… magic? Was that a spatial distortion just now?
Before Lulumia could ask, the line began to move forward in an orderly fashion. Lulumia couldn’t help but stand on her tiptoes to look ahead. She saw a white crack, large enough for a carriage to pass through, torn open beneath the divine statue. The Holy Sons were stepping into it one by one.
So this is spatial magic…
Although she had seen magic before, compared to magic as profound and unfathomable as this, the gap between the two was far too obvious. At this moment, just looking at that crack caused an unprovoked tremor to rise from the bottom of Lulumia’s heart. It felt as though once she stepped inside, she would never be able to return. She even had the urge to turn around and leave.
“Mia, it’s our turn. Let’s go in.”
“…Okay.”
Nothing happened to the others who went in, so why worry so much?
Comforting herself this way, Lulumia took a deep breath, tensed her entire body, and stepped into the crack of white light.
***
There was a sensation of passing through something.
Lulumia opened her eyes. What met her vision was a lake surrounded by a forest. The environment was filled with moisture and the fragrance of soil. She instinctively twitched her nose; the refreshing air, which seeped into her heart, invigorated her spirit, awakening every cell in her body.
She observed her surroundings, and her gaze was quickly drawn to something directly above the center of the lake. It was a large, lustrous throne, seemingly made of ivory. No one sat upon the throne; instead, a palm-sized, jet-black circular badge floated there.
Slowly flowing scarlet patterns were coiled upon the badge. Even though Lulumia, standing on the lakeshore, was over a hundred meters away from the badge, she could clearly see its delicate textures.
In the next second, her heartbeat accelerated for no reason. A strong palpitation caused her to instinctively clutch her chest, even causing her breathing to stop. An ominous coldness, like a maggot on the bone, pressed against her skin, giving her goosebumps. A faint fear spread, and her body involuntarily moved backward.
This is the Seal of Wrath.
The answer had already surfaced in her mind.
Where are the others who came in together?
Lulumia turned to check. In the sunlit forest, there were the cries of birds and beasts and the sound of the wind, but there were no other people. The air was frighteningly quiet.
Is this an illusion? Lulumia couldn’t help but think of settings from many novels. But a faint unease still welled up in her heart. She didn’t know the way to break an illusion; no one had ever told her—
Wait, what if she used the panel to look at the Seal of Sin?
At this thought, Lulumia opened her panel.
In the next moment, her breath suddenly halted. Her azure-green vertical pupils constricted sharply due to extreme shock.
“Are you serious…”
The moment she opened the panel, the entire world turned black. This wasn’t because she had triggered some mechanism, but because the jet-black flames burning on the Seal of Sin were so massive that they filled the entire world. Simultaneously, her Mindfulness Value began to fluctuate wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
[Mindfulness Value: 19 (Decreased by 2)]
[Mindfulness Value: 16 (Decreased by 3)]
[Mindfulness Value: 12 (Decreased by 4)]
She immediately closed the panel, and the world instantly returned to its original color. But as if something had been triggered, a terrifying cracking sound began to echo throughout the world.
*Crack, crack, crack…*
Countless fissures appeared across the lake-heart world like a shattered car windshield. After a series of cracks, there was a final, loud “Bang!” and the world shattered completely.
The forest and lake vanished, replaced by a weightless space as black and boundless as the universe. The world seemed to have lost the concept of gravity, making Lulumia unable to distinguish up from down, left from right. The only constant was that Seal of Sin floating above the ivory throne.
“Oh, an interesting person has arrived.”
Who?
The voice, so sharp that it was impossible to distinguish whether it was male or female, made Lulumia feel as if she were facing a great enemy. Her hair stood on end instantly, and her gaze immediately focused on the Seal of Sin. The Seal of Sin gave Lulumia a response; the scarlet patterns wrapped around it accelerated their flow. In the blink of an eye, the Seal of Sin, carrying an ominous atmosphere, left the throne and moved toward Lulumia.
Lulumia tried to move away, but the flying speed of the Seal of Sin was faster than hers. In just a blink, it had stopped right in front of her.
“Don’t be afraid. I have no physical body and cannot use magic. I’ve just been here too long and wanted to find someone to talk to. If you are decent, I might even give you a small reward.”
As if I’d believe that.
Sister Ino! Cardinal! Someone come save me!
Lulumia, her body stiff, screamed in her heart. Although the Seal of Wrath had no human form and its words carried no anger, it brought Lulumia a sense of pressure like that of a giant beast, as if she would be devoured in a single bite if she were not careful. Cold sweat broke out uncontrollably.
[Gained Title: “Athena’s Attention”]
The text flashing in the bottom left of her vision briefly caught Lulumia’s attention. During that time, the sharp voice, indistinguishable between male and female, continued while circling around Lulumia.
“Let me see, hmmm… Born with the ability to glimpse Mindfulness, and you didn’t lose your mind after seeing mine. Such a young appearance, yet such a mature soul… A dragon? No… Human? Huh? I can’t see? Even I can’t see through you… Interesting, truly interesting. Just what are you?”