Chapter 468 - 196: Evil Mage and the Kind...

After all, just yesterday, this woman had stood before those Judgment Knights and emerged completely unharmed.

"What?" Pavla’s face tensed. She watched Wei’en’s expression shift unpredictably, completely unable to guess what he was planning.

"It’s nothing," Wei’en said coldly as he holstered his Revolver. "Miss Pavla, I’ve kept you alive. I hope you don’t force me to kill you."

Pavla stared at Wei’en, forcing herself to stay calm as she asked, "You... you’re going to kill me? Why didn’t you do it before?"

She had been unconscious before. If he had really wanted to kill her then, she would have been completely defenseless.

’Why go out of his way to keep me alive, then? It couldn’t be...’

Her mind flashed back to a picture book she had once stumbled upon in her hometown church. She remembered its story: after the Evil Mage Green captured the kind Dawn Believer Hilia, he did many unspeakable things to her...

’Could he be like that, too?!’

Pavla’s eyes widened as she looked at Wei’en in his black, red-patterned robe, focusing on his crimson irises that held a hidden chill. Three words unconsciously escaped her lips: "You must not..."

"???"

Wei’en stared at Pavla, baffled. "What must I not?"

"I... I will never submit to you!"

"Never submit?"

Wei’en looked Pavla up and down. He had a feeling her imagination was running wild.

’If it wasn’t for Clelia wanting to bring her, my original plan was to leave her behind... no, bring her along!’

’Damn it, this Authority’s influence is truly inescapable!’

Wei’en’s patience vanished in an instant. With a cold expression, he said, "If you disobey me, or if you harm anyone else here, I will kill one hundred Dawn Believers right in front of you!"

"You?!"

The color drained from Pavla’s face, and deep fear filled her eyes. She knew this villain had the power to do it, and she knew full well he was ruthless enough to kill his own comrades.

’But... this... this is exactly how the Evil Mage in the book controlled the kind Hilia... ’

"One slip-up, one hundred dead!"

Little did Wei’en know that in just a few seconds, this heir to the Authority of Kindness had already imagined a hundred-episode drama of unspeakable acts. If he had known, he would have been tempted to show her what "unspeakable" truly meant!

"You... you... Please, don’t... don’t do this..."

Pavla bit her lip as the faint golden glow around her quietly dissipated. She looked at Wei’en pleadingly. "I... I’ll do as you say..."

’So, the stories in the book were all true...’

’Any kind, devout Dawn Believer, when faced with such a choice, would choose to sacrifice themselves to protect others...’

’Great Dawn, please forgive me, and please grant me strength!’

"Hm?"

Wei’en looked at Pavla, a strange glint in his eyes. ’That easy?’

’She actually believed an enemy’s words so easily... Is this woman an idiot?’

"Ahem. In that case, you can start by cleaning this place up."

"Mm."

Pavla gave a wooden nod. Remembering how she had hurt Shawa, she didn’t dare use her Power of Faith again and instead looked around.

Unable to find any cleaning tools, she obediently squatted down and began clearing the wood splinters from the floor with her bare hands.

’So this is how it begins...’

’This is how it started for the kind Hilia. First, she was a servant, then a personal Maid, and finally... *sob*...’

"Hmm."

Wei’en rubbed his chin, watching the teary-eyed but obedient Candidacy Saintess cleaning the stage floor. ’She really is this submissive,’ he thought.

"There are some spare planks over there. Fix the hole."

"Mm."

Pavla carried the wood splinters offstage in her cupped hands, found a few planks in a corner, and grabbed a nearby toolbox. CLANG, BANG. She began to repair the hole.

Wei’en remained at the studio entrance, arms crossed, silently watching her work. Even though her patch job was crooked and clumsy, he didn’t say a word, his mind occupied with how to handle this seemingly obedient Candidacy Saintess.

"You seem to be doing something... very interesting."

"Hm?"

Hearing the voice, Pavla turned to look at Clelia. Upon seeing her, a hint of pity crossed her delicate face.

’Of course,’ she thought. ’The Evil Mage has more than one "kind Hilia."’

Wei’en turned his head and saw that Clelia had, at some point, taken a seat in the audience. She was staring at him with a mischievous expression.

"As you can see, the Guard you wanted is awake."

Clelia glanced at Pavla, who was busy on the floor, and snorted. "Not my Guard. She’s yours now!"

With that, she stood up and pushed open the door to the training area.

BANG!

Hearing the exceptionally loud slam of the door, Wei’en raised an eyebrow. ’Did she take the wrong Magic Potion today or something?’

"I... I’ve fixed it."

Pavla stood in front of the wooden floorboards, her head slightly bowed. She glanced uncertainly toward the audience seats. ’Was I wrong? That woman isn’t a Maid?’

Wei’en glanced at her and waved a hand dismissively. "Tear it out and do it again. I want it seamless, with no trace of the damage."

With that, he walked toward the training area.

"Oh."

Pavla secretly lifted her head and glared at Wei’en’s back. ’I hope a great Angel descends to punish this evil villain with divine wrath!’

’Great Dawn, please grant me this wish!’

Thinking these thoughts made her feel a little better.

Until she could witness the villain’s punishment with her own eyes, she had to survive—for Lord Huberto and for everyone else.

Then she turned to look at the spot she had patched with a few planks, and her expression soured. ’Fixing floors is so hard...’

Meanwhile, Wei’en pushed open the door to the training area.

A peculiar property of the theater was its spatial isolation. The rooms were interconnected, but sound could not pass between them. If you wanted to find someone, you had to physically open the door and enter.

"Hm?"

The moment Wei’en entered the training area and swept his gaze over the occupants, he froze.

In the vast training area, the forty-odd Guards were kneeling on the ground in neat attire.

Their eyes were shut tight, their faces solemn. Encircled by the fluorescent, crackling lines of a Rune Array on the floor, a faint gray mist was rising from each of their bodies.

The entire scene looked like a sacrificial ritual.

"Is this... training?"

"What are you doing following me in here?" Clelia noticed him and leaned against the wall, giving him a reproachful look. "Aren’t you going to stay outside and play with your little Maid?"

"Maid?"

Wei’en froze, then said with exasperation, "Are you referring to Pavla? The Candidacy Saintess of the Dawn Church?"

"Am I wrong? She’s so obedient, so submissive..."

Clelia turned her head away, acting as though she didn’t want to see him. "So why did you come looking for me?"

"..."

It was only then that Wei’en understood why she had been acting that way. She was jeal— Huh?

’That can’t be right.’

He didn’t think his relationship with Clelia had reached the point where jealousy would be a factor.

’Besides, in a world this dangerous, romance is just... wishful thinking!’

With that thought, Wei’en said calmly, "If it wasn’t for your request, I would have put her on a small boat, set her adrift at sea, and left her to her fate."

"Oh? So you’re saying..." Clelia said without turning her head. "You were treating her like that for my sake?"

"Er, isn’t she your Guard?"

"I knew it!"

Clelia flashed to Wei’en’s side, wrapped her arms around his neck, and giggled. "I knew you wouldn’t be interested in such a scrawny woman."

"..."

Wei’en pried her hands off, his face deadpan. "Apologies, but I’m not that interested in women who *aren’t* scrawny, either."

Clelia pouted. She didn’t believe him for a second, but she dropped the subject of Pavla. "You didn’t come here just to explain that, did you?" she asked.

"No."

Wei’en relaxed inwardly. "There was something I wanted to remind you about."

"I’m listening."

"A moment ago, I contacted the academy..."

After he finished speaking, Clelia turned to look at Vian, who was sitting at the front of the group. "So you’re saying," she said with interest, "her family has deep ties with the Phantoms, and there might even be a legendary-level Wizard or higher among them?"

"It’s just a guess," Wei’en said, his gaze also falling on the kind-hearted girl. "But I trust Director Amidich wouldn’t use something like this to test me."

"The Soyel Clan..."

Clelia mulled it over for a few seconds, then nodded. "Understood. I’ll have someone investigate her background later. If it’s really as you say, then it seems my guard unit has acquired quite the impressive noble lady!"

"Yes, that would be for the best."

Wei’en knew he still had to rely on the Phantoms for the time being. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to cause a conflict with the academy over a single person.

"What are they doing? Improving their strength?"

"Yes. It’s an Eternal Life Association method for rapidly boosting their strength."

Clelia gave a bewitching smile and looked at Wei’en. "Want to give it a try? Speaking of which, you’re also a member of the Eternal Life Association, yet you know so little about it... Hm?"

Seeing her trail off, Wei’en asked, "What is it?"

"Something interesting is happening... outside."

P.S. Just this one Chapter for today. There will be an extra Chapter tomorrow night... I promise!