Once Carlisle was out of sight, Sherry’s stiff expression relaxed.

“Tch! You got off easy. You’ll pay me back with interest someday!” She rubbed her chest, fuming.

She’d been a Saintess with countless admirers for years, and no one had ever gotten that close to her before! Let alone groped her!

She might’ve made use of her admirers, but she’d always kept her body well away from them. No—in her eyes, her admirers were happy to do things for her. That hardly counted as taking advantage of them.

She’d only had to say a few things offhand, and they were willing to go through fire and water for her. How could that be taking advantage of them? She’d never forced them to do it.

Besides, the Church required its Saintesses to remain pure, claiming that only maidens untouched by men could earn the favor of the ancient gods. Sherry thought it was complete nonsense, but that didn’t stop her from using it as an excuse to turn away her admirers.

After all, some of her admirers were people of the highest standing, like princes from the Santas Empire. Sometimes, only the Church’s rules could put a stop to their advances.

Carlisle was the first man to touch her body.

She gave a soft snort and opened her hands. Cottony purple Mist unfurled across her palms, and a clear crystal ball appeared before her, reflecting Sherry’s face.

A Witch’s crystal ball, a tool she used for divination or curses.

The purple Mist passed through the crystal and mingled with the clear sphere. A familiar scene slowly unfolded inside.

It was Saintess Liya being bullied by Carlisle.

As the scene inside the crystal ball neared its end, small Recording Orbs rolled out of the purple Mist one after another. She tucked them into her Gladys Ring.

She’d tampered with the footage a little.

For instance, right after Carlisle groped her, the scene cut to Liya hiding her face and crying. That was enough to make viewers think that something unspeakable had happened between the Saintess and that man during the missing moments.

Of course, she had no intention of making the footage public. The Saintess Liya’s image of purity had to be maintained—not a speck of tarnish allowed!

This was just leverage to use against Carlisle.

Even if she got caught, she could threaten him with the Recording Orbs. The Saintess had so many admirers, after all. If the footage ever got out, Carlisle would have to deal with enough trouble to regret it for the rest of his life.

“If you dare hurt me, these Recording Orbs will get out! Just wait until Saintess Liya’s many devoted admirers come after you!”

“You know you were wrong? Good. I, Sherry, am a broad-minded woman. As punishment, I’ll only take a few valuables from you.”

She’d already thought up both lines. With the Recording Orbs as leverage, surely even a Knight of the Round Table wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her.

Hiss… A possibility suddenly occurred to her.

Since she had the Recording Orbs, couldn’t she just use them to threaten Carlisle directly?

She gave the idea serious thought, then ultimately decided against it. In this world, danger lurked everywhere. She couldn’t afford to make mistakes.

As she watched her own superb performance in the footage over and over, it suddenly struck her what a shame it was that this world had no awards for theatrical performances.

Even she was captivated by Saintess Liya’s delicate, helpless air.

Castrating Carlisle had been a wise decision.

After putting away all the Recording Orbs, she walked out through the church doors.

The church stood upon the claws of a giant eagle. Sherry gazed into the distance, taking in half of Ayideen.

The sun had just risen in the east, cresting the lush green mountains and bathing Ayideen in the promise of a new day. Golden dawn spread through every street and alley. Busy people hurried between light and shadow, while the Church’s banners fluttered in the wind. Below them, soldiers yawned, their tired eyes barely open.

The city-state seemed young, brimming with life and energy.

Before she knew it, she’d lived here for more than a decade. Her footsteps could be found all over Ayideen—even the bell tower behind the church bore traces of her.

Over the years, she’d learned far more about the Candlelight Church and its spells than most people ever did.

The Eyeless Giant Eagle was the symbol of the Candlelight Church, while Gladys was the ancient god it worshiped. The people of the past had studied the power of the ancient god Gladys, and from that research, they created the Gladys Spell and the ring. The Candlelight Church was born from that work.

Later, a plague known as White Mist Disease swept through the world. Through studying the heart of the ancient god Gerald, the Candlelight Church discovered that humans who practiced the Gerald Spell were immune to the disease. So the Gladys Spell was gradually abandoned, and the Gerald Spell became the world’s standard magic.

The purple spells Sherry and Carlisle used were Gerald Spells.

That had left the Church’s faith in the ancient gods somewhat muddled, but it wasn’t something Sherry needed to worry about. After all, as the Church’s Saintess, she didn’t believe in any ancient god at all.

She believed only in herself.

Belief in the ancient gods didn’t bring them any real benefits. Mostly, it was a source of comfort. If you were strong enough inside, why rely on something so intangible?

Ayideen had several academies that taught magic, but the most famous by far was Saint Perode Academy.

Saintess Liya was a magic prodigy who’d graduated from Saint Perode early. That extraordinary honor gave her a reason to “happen” to pass by Saint Perode now and then, where she could enjoy the admiring gazes of all the magic failures.

As for the magic prodigy getting subdued by a Knight of the Round Table in one move…

Well, Carlisle was a Knight of the Round Table, after all.

Unfortunately, even as the holy city of the Candlelight Church, Ayideen couldn’t exactly boast the best public safety.

“I’m really not a pervert! Someone robbed me earlier! They even stole my clothes!”

“He’s the one who made that crack in the wall! I punched it until my fist bled, and the paint didn’t even chip! You can’t make me pay for it!”

“Believe me! It’s true! All of it really happened! I’m not some perverted exhibitionist!”

“Enough with the excuses! You can shout all you want at the Inquisition.”

Wearing nothing but a pair of shorts, a blond young man screamed hysterically as Ayideen’s guards held his arms tightly behind his back and pushed him toward the Inquisition.

Sherry had naturally seen the whole thing. Putting it together with what had happened earlier, she quickly figured out where Carlisle had gotten his clothes.

Robbing an innocent young man—how shameless!

Saintess Liya drew attention wherever she went. As she watched the blond young man, he seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look at her.

The blond young man’s heart turned to ash. In an instant, all the will to live vanished from his eyes.

Sherry covered her mouth and sucked in a sharp breath. As someone who’d once been a man herself, she suddenly understood what he was thinking.

She was probably his unrequited crush.

Getting caught naked and acting like a pervert in front of your crush could make any young man feel like his future had gone pitch-black. Sherry understood that all too well.

She knew the blond young man had been framed. The guards shouldn’t be dragging him to the Inquisition.

Carlisle was the one who should be arrested. An unrelated blond young man shouldn’t have to suffer for something he hadn’t done.

That blond young man had it so rough.

All she had to do was approach the guards and tell them the truth. In the name of Saintess Liya, the blond young man would be released at once and cleared of suspicion of being a naked pervert.

But if she stayed silent, this would become a miscarriage of justice. Every time one happened, she felt a suffocating pain in her heart. If she didn’t help him, the pain would only grow worse.

Liya was a Saintess who spread justice and kindness. She couldn’t stand by and watch this happen.

Even in her previous life, she couldn’t bear to see something like this happen.

So she lifted her foot—and vanished from the spot.

She’d just pretend she’d never been there. If she couldn’t see the blond young man, the pain in her heart might ease a little.