After I died, my personal maid rebelled.

Startled awake from another nightmare, Lucas opened his eyes abruptly and stared at the mural of a goddess holding a child on the ceiling. Quickly regaining his senses, Lucas sighed slowly and turned to look at his empty arms.

"Isolde..."

He didn't want to dwell on the pain of the past, but Lucas still couldn't forget her.

Once an ordinary boy, he met someone who would amaze him for the rest of his life. It seemed that only by appearing in the girl's eyes could he escape that emptiness and loneliness.

After getting up and washing up, Lucas's life has been very simple lately. He spends three hours a day teaching Monet swordsmanship, and then he eats, sleeps, daydreams, or tries to find out about Nicole.

As the daughter of a count, Monet does possess some talent in swordsmanship. As for Monet's father... Lucas never imagined that one day he would describe the noble count as utterly unremarkable.

It seems that the so-called theory of bloodline is just a carefully packaged lie by the nobility.

"Teacher, are you awake?" There was a knock on the door, and Monet's voice came from outside.

"They're here."

Lucas gave a brief reply, saying that if he could, he was more used to Monet's unruly demeanor. However, the little girl's growing admiration for him after a period of training was something he wasn't quite used to.

"Several thousand more civilians have come to our territory, and our strength has increased once again."

On the way to the training ground, Monet smiled happily, but her optimism couldn't be contagious to Lucas. The more civilians fled, the more pessimistic Lucas became.

The northern army is coming; another city is about to fall.

The northern lance cavalry ravaged the southern lands of the central region. Ten lance cavalrymen could conquer a village, a hundred could slaughter a local noble, and when a thousand lance cavalrymen launched an attack, not to mention a few thousand civilians, even a few thousand imperial guards would not be able to withstand their might.

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the central district, tens of thousands of lance cavalry are lying in wait. Once they launch a military operation, it will be a thunderous force, and the city beneath their feet will be reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

"More than anything, Miss Monet, you should also prepare to flee. Don't mistakenly believe that you can withstand the northern army."

Lucas once again advised Monet that, to put it bluntly, even if he smoothed out all the wrinkles in his brain, he would never dream of defeating the Northern Army.

"Don't worry, teacher, I understand the principle of avoiding direct confrontation and making a tactical retreat."

Luna patted her chest playfully, her serious expression making Lucas shake his head. No, you don't understand, you understand nothing…

After finishing his daily training, Lucas ignored Monet, who was lying on the ground panting heavily, turned and left the Earl's mansion to go out into the streets to gather the latest information.

Just as Monet had predicted, the streets were bustling with people; the roadside was filled with weary refugees.

Upon arriving at the tavern, Lucas sat down in his usual spot. The adventurers next to him nodded to him and then continued exchanging information.

"Kate, commander of the 2nd Division of the Northern Army, has arrived in the capital, accompanied by cavalry. He is probably planning something big."

"They've already made their move. The soldiers of the 4th Division stationed in the Western Territory have been advancing towards the Central District, dividing into companies and occupying villages in various places, bringing their families with them. They're not here with good intentions..."

Taking a plate of buttered bread and a beer mug from the bartender, Lucas took out cigarettes and handed them to the adventurers, then lit one for himself and took a slow puff.

Like Nicole, he now uses cigarettes and alcohol to suppress his emotions.

The smoke was a bit pungent, but after smoking it, I could indeed let go of my emotions and gradually feel more relaxed.

"Actually, going to the north isn't so bad. It's better than the southern duchy. Besides, the southern duchy doesn't dare to provoke the northern territory. With just one letter from Duke Oswald, they'd be running off to curry favor with him."

"Foolish! The Savior Saintess said that supporting the Northern Territory is betraying the Goddess. Just wait, one day, Oswald will be struck dead by divine lightning."

Lucas, who was taking a sip of wine and a bite of bread, stopped what he was doing, interrupting the conversation and asking curiously.

"Salvator Saintess? When did another saint appear? Wasn't there only Saintess Janet?"

"Saintess Janet is a good person, but she was bewitched by Duke Oswald!" The one-eyed adventurer lowered his voice and hurriedly explained, "The Archbishop had already declared Saintess Janet's betrayal, so after the Archbishop's unfortunate death, it has been the Savior Saintess who has been leading the Holy See."

Upon hearing this, Lucas nodded. Speaking of which, on the day Duke Oswald stormed the royal city, the "Archbishop" was preparing to crown Isolde as the new saint.

If we're talking about legitimate saintesses, besides Janis, there's Isolde. This suddenly appearing savior saintess is probably part of the Great Sage's recent scheme.

Perhaps Nicole is with them too?

Lucas took out a stack of gold coins and gently placed them on the table. "I want to see that savior saint. Do you have any connections?"

The adventurers, who had just been displaying greedy expressions, looked at each other in bewilderment upon hearing this, and then burst into laughter.

"Sir, I think I need to remind you that the Holy Maiden is not someone you can see whenever you want. She is like starlight in the sky, while people like us are nothing more than a clump of dirty dust on the ground."

"yes……"

Lucas downed his drink in one gulp, then collected the gold coins one by one. "If you have any new information, or can help me find the Vatican headquarters, the price will remain the same."

After leaving the tavern, Lucas went to several other places to gather intelligence, but the results were all pretty much the same: rumors that Commander Kate of the Northern Territory had marched south and that soldiers of the Fourth Division had entered the villages.

The autumn nights came early, and the town was still in chaos. With a large influx of refugees, the town was now a mixed bag, and it was unclear from what Monet had come up with the conclusion that the territory was more powerful.

As Lucas walked into a dark alley, intending to take a shortcut back to the Earl's mansion, he keenly noticed several furtive figures behind him.

As expected, wealth should not be flaunted. If I'm not mistaken, the people following him must be the adventurers from the daytime.

Gripping his sword hilt tightly, Lucas continued walking deeper into the alley, slowly attracting adventurers to follow him. Then, he darted around a corner and swiftly drew his longsword from his waist.

The footsteps behind him suddenly quickened. Lucas, who was calmly leaning against the wall and ready to kill, suddenly felt a terrifying aura.

Bang bang bang!

A series of kicks elicited cries of agony from the adventurer. Catherine, who had suddenly appeared in the center of the alley, beckoned with her finger, and the special forces members who had been with her immediately stepped forward and helped the fallen adventurer to his feet.

"You guys are really shameful now, robbing people... Ha, you lowlifes."

"Miss Catherine?"

The adventurers stared wide-eyed as the person standing before them was none other than Catherine, the former S-rank adventurer, now dressed in a magnificent military uniform.

And...the brothers next to me, also wearing military uniforms, haven't we met somewhere before?

Catherine coldly swept her gaze across him. "Alright, stop your babbling and tell me everything you know about the Savior Saintess. Otherwise, you all know what I'm capable of."