Chapter 206 Tia in Danger - Stop Hypnotizing Me, Villainous Princess!

Despite having finally managed to recover from the events of the previous night, the good atmosphere was ruined by bringing up unrelated topics. It was truly baffling. Walking down the street, Tia kept a cold demeanor, her mind replaying the recent little incident. As she walked briskly, she subconsciously kicked stones with the tip of her boot. She wasn't sure why, but that person suddenly brought up matters related to the Lunar Light Rite during breakfast. This instinctively made her think of her brother Sia. Tia, naturally, had some understanding of the Silent Church's ancient ceremony. She only knew that it was one of the responsibilities she had to fulfill as a saint. The church's most grand ceremony was held every three years, and this was Tia's first time participating as the Silent Saintess. On this day, followers of the Silent Church would gather at the ceremony site, devotedly calling upon the moon goddess. And the deity would respond to them by displaying miracle signs at just the right moment. Actually, similar ceremonies exist in every church, but the Silent Church seemed to hold theirs more frequently, which likely had to do with the domain wielded by the moon goddess. Strictly speaking, Tia didn't know much about the Lunar Light Rite. She only knew that during the ceremony, as the saint, she must act as the "vessel" for the moon goddess's descent, displaying miracles to win hearts. This was how it had been for past saintesses, and it would be no different for her. Yet, whenever Tia asked the nuns about the deeper reasons behind this, they always seemed evasive. One night, she inadvertently overheard the words "selection" and "perfect vessel" while a bishop was plotting something. Although she didn't understand, recalling the Lunar Light Rite always put her in a bad mood. Despite confessing for it countless times, Tia believed her faith in the goddess was pure and noble. Still, when she thought about her body being used as some sort of object, a subtle resistance rose from the depths of her soul. It always felt like doing so would make her lose herself. Of course, that wasn't the main reason Tia felt upset about the topic. As mentioned before, whenever the Lunar Light Rite was brought up, her first thought was of her brother Sia. This was because they had made a promise to each other. Due to the blessing upon her, although Tia and Sia had loved each other for so long, they had never had any intimate contact, stopping even short of holding hands. Though Sia often said it was okay, Tia always harbored a certain indescribable guilt in her heart. Not to mention, she had secretly learned from a forbidden book that Louise had brought her, that men have a presence known as "desire." Helping one's lover fulfill their desires is quite a common thing. But with the blessing, Tia couldn't do anything of the sort. Therefore, long ago, on the demon battlefield at the border, Tia promised that after the Lunar Light Rite and once the blessing was lifted, she would give her all to Sia. This was their unspoken agreement. Additionally, because the moon goddess also held dominion over beauty and ugliness, Tia harbored some desires to present herself perfectly to her beloved. Little did she know, however, that the future would diverge into such an inexplicable direction. Just last night, she had helped a boy she hadn't known for long in a very intimate way, even using her own saliva as a lubricant. And let's not even mention the previous kiss. So when Lynn brought up the Lunar Light Rite, Tia immediately thought of the promise she had made. Which was the main reason for her bad mood. Even she hadn't realized that when spending time with that person, thoughts of Sia were becoming rare. Whether it was guilt preventing her from thinking of him, or some internal change within her, the fact remained that the unknown future this change pointed towards was becoming increasingly unfathomable. As she gazed at the setting sun and ensured she wasn't being followed, Tia temporarily pushed aside her chaotic thoughts. No matter what, she had invested so much into this, even gambling the reputation of the Silent Saintess. The claim she made to Lynn that "the church wouldn't punish me" was actually a lie. Since their saintess had run off with an unknown criminal, the entire church was in chaos, with the bishop nearly having a stroke from rage, fearing the impact on the smooth execution of the Lunar Light Rite. Moreover, the other two major churches wouldn't miss the chance to kick them while they were down, often taking the opportunity to defame them. This was undoubtedly a heavy blow to the public's perception of the church. And although they might refer to her as the Silent Saintess on the surface, in harsher terms, she was just a vessel, destined to serve the goddess for life, without the freedom to marry. Under such circumstances, what Tia had done couldn't even be described as rebellious. The Silent Church would be considered merciful not to imprison her for life, let alone abstain from punishing her. Faced with such immense sunk costs, Tia, Yuhestie, could be said to be staking everything she had, with her sole goal being to ensure that her savior and the nuns survive. Otherwise, it would become her lifelong demon. Coming back to her senses, Tia realized she had arrived at the street where the Black Street Market was located. Despite being called the Black Street Market, what unfolded before her eyes was a slum-like rundown neighborhood, filled with old houses and buildings reduced to rubble as if a great battle had occurred. Throughout the area, gang members and various wild extraordinaries hiding their identities roamed, seeking help. Rather than a market, it seemed more like a bandit's lair. Due to the clear division between the lower and upper towns, the nobles residing in the upper town couldn't be bothered. Over time, the entire northern lower town became synonymous with chaos and filth, evolving into a lawless zone. Here, one could buy any forbidden items banned on the market, and all sorts of extraordinary goods, including traces of lunar liquid. If you had money, you could even hire an assassin to eliminate any enemy—provided you could afford the price. In comparison, sneaking out of the city during martial law was an incredibly simple task for the merchants and ruffians who mingled in this realm of shady dealings. This world is never short of methods. As long as there's demand and someone willing to pay the price, even assassinating the Emperor of Saint Laurent would have someone willing to take the risk. This was Tia's last resort. Logically speaking, the high and mighty Silent Saintess should have nothing to do with such a place. Yet, at this moment, heavily disguised, Tia appeared to be nothing more than a nondescript, gloomy girl. As she stepped into the Black Street Market, only a few lookouts nearby glanced at her discreetly before quickly looking away. Seeing this, Tia expressionlessly quickened her pace, heading towards the prearranged meeting point with her contact. Her trip out that morning wasn't solely to buy breakfast for Lynn; it was primarily to connect with this person. The person in question was Julie, a Black Street girl whom Tia had inadvertently saved during a mission with the Silent Church. Julie, having wandered the northern district for years, knew the area like the back of her hand. That's why Tia sought her out when trouble arose. Before long, Tia followed the route on the map to a place called "The Hound" tavern. "Julie?" From afar, Tia spotted her. She was a short-haired girl with heavy makeup, baring her slender waist and long legs. No matter how many times Tia saw it, she always found it rather scandalous. At that moment, Julie was leaning against the tavern wall, looking around. When she heard the familiar call, Julie's body paused for a moment before showing a somewhat forced smile. "Over here!" In that instant, Tia detected a hint of nervousness in her eyes. This instantly put Tia on high alert. What happened? With unprecedented vigilance, Tia approached her slowly. Meanwhile, Tia sensed something was amiss in her surroundings. She initially thought it was just the typical atmosphere of the Black Street Market. But now, it seemed unusually quiet, too quiet. Even under martial law, it shouldn’t be this deserted—wild extraordinaires would still be risking it for the sealing materials and extraordinary resources they needed. Yet reality didn’t afford her much time to ponder. Before she knew it, she had reached the entrance of the tavern. “Tia, sis, you finally made it!” The streetwise girl took her hand with a happy expression. “It’s been so long since you saved me from that gang fight.” “I’ve been wondering how to repay you, but given our different statuses, I didn’t dare visit the church to find you.” “So I’m really glad you reached out to me this time.” The girl, Julie, chattered on. However, to Tia, the behavior of the girl in front of her seemed extremely unusual. Julie’s palms were sweaty, and there was a slight tremble. Not to mention, bruises in the shape of handprints could clearly be seen on her neck beneath the scarf. But these weren't the main reasons Tia was suspicious. The most critical point was that she didn’t save Julie from a gang fight at all. Could it be a mistaken memory? Not possible. She was supposed to meet with Frank, the leader of the Black Street Market, next. There was no need for small talk or reminiscing, making this topic meaningless at the moment. All these odd signs indicated that there might be a trap waiting for her in the Black Street Market. Tia took a deep breath. At this moment, fleeing seemed like the best option. As a fourth-tier extraordinaries, even if they set an ambush, it would be hard to catch her. But that was not what she wanted. If she left, what about him? Staying another day in Glosteen only increased the chances of being discovered by official extraordinaries. Not to mention, though he never complained, his injuries were still severe and had not passed the danger period. He urgently needed proper medical attention. So, despite appearing to have many choices, in reality, there was only one path before her. That was to leave the city via the Black Street Market. Thus, even knowing there might be a trap, she had no choice but to take the risk. “Julie... don't be afraid. Take me to him.” Tia gently squeezed Julie’s hand for reassurance. She knew it wasn’t the girl who had betrayed her. Seeing that Julie understood, the girl showed an expression more pained than crying, a trace of despair flashing in her eyes. “Tia, sis, I’m sorry, I—” Before she could finish her sentence, a round of applause suddenly erupted from inside the tavern. At the same time, Julie’s face turned a ghastly shade of purple, her features contorted in extreme agony, as if the oxygen had been sucked from her body. In an instant, she crumbled to the ground with a thud. Blood oozed from her facial features, and her eyes were bloodshot, showing she had died a painful death. The incident struck so abruptly. So abruptly that Tia still wore a look of shock as she instinctively reached to pull her back, unable to prevent the life from slipping away. “Should I call you brave or arrogant?” The applause-giver stepped out of the tavern with a mocking gaze directed at Tia. "You've been wanted throughout the city and are gravely injured, yet you naively seek me out." "Knowing that fleeing is your only option, who wouldn't guess that your next and only goal is to leave town?" "There are only a few ways out of the city...did you really think all the smart people in Glosteen had vanished, overlooking the Black Street Market channel?" Immersed in Julie's tragic death, Tia slowly raised her head. Before her stood a scar-faced, bald, burly man, whose sharp eyes gleamed with cunning intelligence. His gaze was laced with an unusual greed, as if appraising her as some priced commodity. It was obvious. The man before her was Frank, the kingpin of the Black Street Market in the northern district. He was also the one she was supposed to meet today. "Who instructed you?" Tia’s voice was cold and aloof, her verdant green eyes glinting with a hint of murderous intent. Simultaneously, an ethereal lunar power began to manifest around her. Frank, unfazed, merely chuckled indifferently. At that moment, numerous figures emerged from all directions, releasing the potent aura unique to high-tier extraordinaries. Despite her being a formidable fourth-tier, he had laid a perfect trap in this place, ensuring her capture was inevitable. Thus, the corners of his mouth curled upward. "Do you remember Councilor Black, who was crippled for life by Lynn Butlerion?" Frank’s teasing smile widened. “The Cortes family sends their regards. Although strictly speaking, this debt isn't truly yours to bear.”