2-75 - How Could the Villainous Young Master Be a Saintess?

Volume 2, Chapter 75: Closing the Net "Of course, my esteemed lady, everything you desire will come to fruition," Varkas said respectfully, bowing to the red-haired woman. "Let's hope so," the red-haired woman glanced at Varkas with disdain, fully aware of the ease with which this human had succumbed to her allure and embraced depravity. Though she was a succubus who thrived on the energy of males, she wasn't one to consume just any unworthy offering. Such indiscriminate consumption was beneath her, only fitting for lesser succubi who lacked refinement. She considered herself a high-class succubus with noble lineage, her ancestors linking back to illustrious demon nobility. Were it not for her grand plans and the desire for her queen's commendation, she would never have bothered with this unsophisticated, base individual. Just like in human societies where dining etiquette varies between nobility and commoners, similar distinctions apply within demon societies, particularly among succubi. Most lesser succubi were indeed as insatiable as depicted in human legends, barely discerning in their hunger. Were it not for the restraint imposed by higher echelons to avoid outright war with humans, they might have indiscriminately invaded human territories for sustenance. To upper-class succubi, the less refined were mere tasteless commoners, indifferent to the quality of their sustenance, consuming whatever they could. In contrast, upper-class succubi sought more than mere satisfaction of hunger; they craved intellectual and emotional gratification. Seducing targets of weak conviction and unsound character offered no challenge or pleasure, leaving them utterly uninterested. It was the individuals with strong ideals and resolute spirits who enticed them, offering a rare delicacy—a veritable feast to be savored. Naturally, such prey required persistent effort to seduce, but this only heightened their interest, making eventual conquest all the more delectable. Unlike the man before her. The red-haired woman glanced at the groveling middle-aged man. To an uninformed observer, his benevolent appearance might suggest kindness, a façade concealing his true nature. In truth, he was a lecherous old rogue, readily captivated and consumed by her allure, facilitating her infiltration plans on human borders with alarming ease. The red-haired woman had initially hoped he'd be a rare delicacy; instead, he turned out to be worthless refuse, fit only for the uncouth consumption of lower-grade succubi. With minimal effort, this man betrayed his faith to Dawnfire's goddess, the divine order, and joined forces with sworn racial enemies to harm his compatriots. Even as a succubus, she held such humans in contempt. If not for his remaining utility, she would have disposed of him long ago, severing the distraction from her presence. However, despite her disdain, she needed to endure him a while longer. Once her plans succeeded, she'd dispose of this bothersome pest with ease. With control of a vast portion of the empire's borders assured, Her Majesty the Queen would surely reward her richly. The prospect of imminent success brought a sugary smile to her lips, making Varkas's heart flutter with infatuation. "Alright, as for those two little ones, leave them be. Focus on finalizing this operation. By tomorrow night, I want this village to become a haven for our kind." "As you command, my esteemed lady. I'll notify those of your ilk already situated within the village and inform them that they can proceed as planned," said Varkas, pulling open a drawer to reach for a hidden compartment, only to find it empty. Strange—he was certain he had placed it there. His brow furrowed. Could it be that age had muddled his memory, and he had misplaced the scroll meant to communicate with the succubi infiltrated village? Unlikely. Such a crucial item would have been stored with utmost care, not just anywhere. "What are you doing? Don't tell me you lost the scroll," the red-haired woman demanded, a scowl on her face. "My apologies, please wait a moment while I search. It should be right here; I haven't tampered with it," Varkas replied, sweat beading on his forehead. "Looking for this, priest?" A playful, melodious voice interrupted, carrying the youthful charm and mischievousness of a silver-belled stream. "Ah, yes, that's... what?!" Varkas turned instinctively, spotting the scroll in the hands of a silver-haired girl, eyes initially lighting up with recognition before widening in shock upon registering her identity. "You...?" Varkas stammered, pointing at Aesphyra, who stood with a gentle smile. "Weren't you supposed to have left?" "I was, but halfway there, I remembered that I had inadvertently borrowed something from you, Priest," Aesphyra grinned at the shell-shocked Varkas, raising the scroll in her hand. "It's not right to hold onto someone else's property, so I made it a point to return it." "No, that's not... How did you discover...?” Varkas muttered, still grappling with where he had slipped and how Aesphyra had taken the scroll. He was certain he had been vigilant, keeping guard over the temple at all times. How had she swiped something from his private quarters without his notice? And how had she known where the scroll was hidden, in the secret drawer compartment, no less? He was utterly perplexed. "Idiot, does it matter now?" The red-haired woman rose, eyeing Aesphyra warily. "You fool, claiming they were naïve students. Now look—outwitted by someone you dismissed as inexperienced?" "You wicked demon, what nonsense are you spouting?! Student, you should retreat—this person is extremely dangerous!" With a facade of epiphany, Varkas bellowed fiercely, clutching a cross from his pocket, prepared to face off against the red-haired woman. Evidently, within this fleeting moment, he had realized the gravity of the situation. Becoming the church's priest had been a hard-won achievement he was loath to lose. Moreover, being exposed for his collaboration with demons to harm comrades would incur the church's wrath—fire would be a simpler end than the execution that awaited. "Hah!" The red-haired woman sneered at Varkas's reaction. "I should have never relied on an unreliable fool like you! Isn't it obvious that this silver-haired woman saw through your disguise from the start?" "Now you feign piousness, but for what? Haven't you considered how long she might've been observing us here, completely undetected?" "With her deep insight and shrewdness, she probably recorded everything you said with a recording stone from the very beginning. Think you're going to talk your way out of this? You've lost! Should she succeed this night, expect your fate to be the church's execution, you fool!" the red-haired succubus mocked. "Oh my~?" A screech of irony pierced Aesphyra's violet gem-like eyes as she feigned exaggerated surprise. "Acting so carelessly while trusting an incompetent partner, I assumed the mastermind behind this plot lacked a brain. Turns out you do have one after all." "A correct deduction," Aesphyra confirmed, retrieving an active recording stone from her pocket and fixing her smiling gaze on Varkas, whose complexion became increasingly pale. "Betraying your kin, I assume you've already forsaken your humanity, old man?" "Don't flatter yourself, white-haired girl. Do you really think you've won by doing this?" the red-haired woman scoffed. "When did you start suspecting me?" Varkas inquired, lips trembling. "Hasn't anyone ever told you that your gaze is utterly revolting?" Aesphyra tilted her head, maintaining a smile that now lacked its previous warmth. From their very first meeting, Aesphyra had noticed the way Varkas looked at her. His gaze was subtle, so subtle that it would go unnoticed by inexperienced young women, or be dismissed as a figment of their imagination even if they sensed it at all. But Aesphyra was different. She was well-acquainted with that sort of nauseating and repulsive stare, so much so that any disguise in front of her was meaningless. She was particularly sensitive and hostile towards those who wore a facade of righteousness and propriety, yet harbored sordid intentions beneath it all. Such individuals paled in comparison to Wenny's transparent naiveté—a gaze so clear and devoid of ulterior motives that it was almost endearingly foolish. Under Aesphyra's deliberate guidance, even when Wenny's eyes betrayed his admiration for her attire, his intentions were openly displayed for all to see, which she found more innocent and less offensive—particularly when he clumsily defended himself after she playfully pointed it out. It was from this moment that Aesphyra began suspecting there might be an issue with the priest, though this was not enough to directly link him to any dealings with demons. Aesphyra discovered in the serpentine lair that the serpent responsible for their attack was not the same as those previously vanquished during a roundup. This serpent was evidently reared by demons, responding to their command, unlike the wild ones encountered earlier. This indicated that the serpents responsible for subsequent kidnappings were indeed demon-bred, not the untamed ones previously wreaking havoc in the village. It was apparent the village had caught the eye of a demon who seized the opportunity created by the chaos of snake eradication to replace wild serpents with their own, camouflaging the true intent of seizing control of the village under the guise of a simple snake infestation. Such a ploy would be difficult to execute without insider knowledge of the human operations, knowledge of imperial soldier movements, and future actions. Thus, Aesphyra considered the possibility of an insider from the outset. Upon their arrival at the village, they interacted with two individuals: the old village chief and the priest, Varkas. After their conversations, they visited the serpent lair where they detected signs of scroll usage through an alchemical reagent, suggesting that someone had indeed used a scroll about ten minutes prior. Their travel time from the village to the lair coincided with this discovery. It seemed no coincidence that immediately after their interrogation, someone within the serpent lair destroyed a scroll. Could it be possible that the scroll functioned as a signaling device? When one was incinerated, it also activated another scroll within a certain range, alerting someone to flee at once. Perhaps the escape was too hurried, or the person realized they had unfinished business and refrained from returning personally, dispatching a serpent instead to complete a task within the lair. With serpents belonging to demons, the presence of one in its lair was perfectly normal. Neither Varkas nor the other assumed a first-year student like Aesphyra would be equipped with powerful detection reagents of her own crafting, effortlessly revealing traces of magic scrolls and discerning between different batches of serpents. Furthermore, when she entered the village, Aesphyra detected the scent of alchemical potions in the air, a clear indicator that something was amiss with the villagers. Although the scent was deliberately masked, it was insufficient to fool Aesphyra, whose talents in alchemy bordered on the legendary. These suspicious villagers had previously been captured by serpents and were subsequently rescued. Given the demon-driven serpents and alchemical evidence detected upon entering the village, the answer was clear. The villagers were likely subject to alchemical experimentation within the serpent lair. Despite meticulously erasing traces in the lair to a degree that even Aesphyra couldn't detect any alchemical residue, oversights remained. Consequently, Aesphyra focused her suspicions on the village chief and Varkas, deliberately mentioning alchemical traces in the lair and proposing to investigate further the next day due to the lateness of the hour. If either were an insider, they would likely hasten to the serpent lair to eliminate evidence, or at the very least, take a look themselves. Moreover, her status as a student proved advantageous. The term typically signified inexperience, a lack of worldly wisdom, straightforwardness, and unguarded simplicity. Aesphyra exploited this perception, flawlessly performing the role of a typical student so convincingly that Varkas was led to believe she was a cocooned aristocrat wholly unaware of the world's sinister realities. Upon learning of the incomplete erasure of alchemical evidence and the scheduled investigation the next day, Varkas panicked, promptly using a scroll to alert the demons, instructing them to further eradicate the alchemical traces. Their subsequent activity was quickly highlighted by the alchemical reagents Aesphyra left behind on her initial visit to the lair. Aesphyra compared the two suspects' reactions: telling the village chief yielded no unusual activity the following day, whereas informing Varkas resulted in a significant flurry of movement within the lair. The identity of the traitor became undeniable. The village chief evidently sensed something amiss in the village and knew certain truths. Still, under the watchful eyes of the demon presence, he maintained a facade of ignorance to protect himself and his grandson, avoiding uttering anything that might endanger them. His caution was not unfounded; from their first night, Varkas and Aesphyra were covertly observed, proving that the demons were fully aware of the village's status quo. Should the village chief speak out of turn or reveal his awareness, he and his grandson would surely suffer. Perhaps the village chief's ensuring that Aesphyra and Wenny stayed with them was a gesture of goodwill, hoping to shield the young travelers in a dangerous village, and pinning hope on them to rescue his grandson from impending peril. As for how Aesphyra discreetly rechecked the visibility of the alchemical reagents over two consecutive days, and refreshed them without arousing suspicion, well, only those in the know would understand. Having confirmed Varkas as highly suspect, she discreetly infiltrated his home to verify her suspicions. Ultimately, the magical scrolls hidden within secret compartments validated her accusations. As for discerning the location of Varkas's stashed items? Joking aside, in terms of concealment, Varkas was a mere neophyte compared to Aesphyra. She knew exactly where such items should be hidden. In truth, Varkas's hiding spots were unimaginative; it took little effort for Aesphyra to uncover all his secrets. Afterward, feigning discovery of nothing and preparing to depart, Varkas was lulled into a false sense of security, wholly trusting the persona Aesphyra portrayed. Then, it was only a matter of time before securing irrefutable evidence by catching him red-handed while liaising with the demons. Such were the events leading up to this confrontation. Despite everything, Varkas remained bewildered as to how he had inadvertently exposed himself, prompting Aesphyra's scrutiny, or how she had uncovered his incriminating evidence—believing everything had been flawlessly conducted. Little did he know, this veteran scoundrel was hopelessly outmatched and defeated by a girl decades his junior. Fortune was, alas, not in Varkas's favor; encountering Aesphyra ensured that any other student from the Academy's top performers might have left empty-handed, their strongest outcome limited to mere suspicions without concrete proof. In a worse scenario, they might not have safeguarded their lives. "You incompetent fool, allowing yourself to be trifled with by a mere girl," the red-haired woman sneered at the disillusioned Varkas. "Don't just stand there—silence her, cross this off, or do you still hope to continue skirting through human territory?" Varkas suddenly snapped back to reality, jolted by her words. That's right, what's the use in dwelling on these things?? The event had already occurred, and now he needed to find a solution. If he couldn't address the issue itself, then surely he could deal with the people involved?? The succubus was, for the moment, aligned with his own interests; his ability to remain hidden within the church was crucial for their plans. If he could just capture this unnaturally beautiful silver-haired girl and prevent her and her companion from spreading the news, he could maintain his façade as a respectable church priest! As for the subsequent investigations by the academy, that was a problem for another day! Having reached this conclusion, Varkas’s gaze towards Aesphyra began to change.