Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

What should I do? All the missions have failed.

If Shining had tried her best in these missions and was forced to fail only because of Victoria's tight control, she wouldn't be so confused now. But ironically, in this series of missions, she did nothing, and Victoria did nothing, yet they failed so naturally and flawlessly.

Oh, I did it... I spent a whole day with Princess Theresa on the flying vehicle, walked the main streets with Princess Theresa for several hours, and handed Princess Theresa a gift box.

I am a pardoner with a heavy responsibility, not a maid who serves tea and water!

Silently flipping through the Absolutioner Training Manual, "How to Become a Qualified Absolutioner in One Month," Shining reviewed her duties. She then placed the notebook and manual together into the inner pouch of her black robe and stood up.

—No, I have to do something! There must be something I can do!

The leader of the Order sent her to Princess Theresa's side to make her a valuable asset, impress her, and ultimately become her right-hand woman, a crucial pawn in the Order's strategy to keep the Kazdel kings close. But if she continues with her current routine of serving tea and water, this ultimate mission will fail.

What kind of punishment will I face if I fail to complete a single task and waste the opportunities that the Order has fought for? It is still unknown!

We can't just sit here and wait to die!

Since opportunity hasn't come to her, Shining will take the initiative and seek it out. Her immediate priority is to get to Theresa's side!

"Let me see His Highness's schedule for today... Should he be in the study in the palace right now?"

She skillfully entered the kitchen first. Before Victoria, she had never used such a method, but now she skillfully and pitifully brewed two cups of Darjeeling. She took off her ugly black robe, revealing the handsome waiter's outfit she had been forced to wear. Shining carried the plate with one hand, without spilling a drop, and walked steadily out of the kitchen.

Then, they bumped into Mostima, who had just stepped through the gate.

..........

Victoria, Lentinium, May 14, 1092, sunny.

Since obtaining the Black Key and White Key, Mostima's sensitivity to time has become increasingly confused. Sometimes, she feels that a long time has passed, but in reality, only a few minutes have passed. Other times, she thinks that only a few minutes have passed, but a day or two have actually passed.

The power of time, which can only be controlled by noble bloodlines among the oldest living beings of the Sarkaz, was allowed to be mastered by a Sarkaz person like Mostima through the secret art of the Fallen Angels, but the side effects were also obvious—her gradual fading of her concept of time made her somewhat indifferent, and what degenerated was not only her superficial joys and sorrows, but also her deeper emotions.

She had to use a diary to constantly remind herself that she was living on this land and what year it was.

May 14th, an ordinary day.

Mostima got up early, dressed neatly, and unusually even adorned herself a little. She lit incense for the shrine to the gods in front of the cross wall of the inn, humorously expressing her sentiments—as long as the intention was there, that was enough. Although she was an envoy of the Lateran Catholic Church, she deeply appreciated Broca's approach of not being bound by religious rituals and complicated ceremonies. After all, most believers didn't have the luxury of completing such a long series of preparations most of the time.

After finishing everything, she sat quietly at her desk, pen in hand, waiting for the intercom on her desk to ring, so that His Highness Wayne Bruce would come to her room on time to report on the past month.

However, no matter how long they waited, Prince Wayne, who would come to the inn every two or three days even when he had nothing to do, still did not arrive.

As time slowly passed, even Mostima sensed something was amiss. Although her sense of time was gradually deteriorating, she was especially clear-headed on the day she met Wayne each month to write her report!

Something's wrong, something's very wrong. Wayne hasn't arrived yet. Has something happened to him?

A sense of foreboding washed over him. If the Queen found out about Wayne's secret meeting with the Lateran Church's envoy, the Church would surely suffer another blow. More importantly, they might lose a crucial and loyal friend!

After watching the clock for another hour, and still not hearing Wayne's familiar voice on the intercom, Mostima began to get restless.

She uncapped her pen and wrote on a piece of white paper, "The situation has changed. I am on my way to investigate. I cannot rule out the possibility of implementing Plan B." She then dialed the front desk of the Saint's Inn and told the Lateran owner that if she did not return before sunset, he should deliver the letters in her room to His Holiness the Pope.

After doing all this, she took out the black key and white key, representing the hour and minute hands of the clock on earth, from the hidden compartment behind the cross, wrapped them up, carried them on her back, and left the inn.

.....

Using the Locks of Time to imprison the patrolling sentries for a fleeting moment, Mostima seized the opportunity to slip through the gates of the Iron Palace. She was prepared; if Wayne and Laterano's affair were exposed, she would activate all the powers of the Black Key and White Key, risking her life to rescue him from Victoria, send him to Laterano, preserve this claimant of the throne, and execute Plan B, allowing Laterano to use his name to prepare a "Restoration Crusade" against Victoria.

But before she could close the heavy doors of the Iron Palace, an extremely dangerous aura had already locked onto her!

Mostima turned her head and met Shining's gaze.

"Fluorescent light tube!"

"Demons!"

The two of them simultaneously revealed a knowing expression!

Shining: The Lateran people dared to infiltrate Victoria's palace and haven't been discovered yet? This is a crucial bargaining chip for Victoria, and also the opportunity she's been waiting for—to leave a deep impression on Princess Theresa! If she can capture this assassin and have this leverage, Victoria, who owes her a favor, will have no choice but to concede. At that point, the marriage between Princess Theresa and Prince Wayne will practically be a done deal! Perhaps Princess Theresa will even be able to take the initiative!

Thinking this, her eyes gradually sharpened, and she leaned down slightly, her right hand gripping the hilt of the sword at her waist!

Mostima: So that's why the demons are in the forbidden area of ​​Victoria's palace. So you conspired with that wicked Queen Victoria to detain Prince Wayne, right? Whatever you were planning, your plans have been ruined by my presence today! I will rescue Prince Wayne and expose Victoria's conspiracy with Kazdel in front of all Terra!

Thinking this, her eyes turned cold, and she reached behind her to grasp the black key and white spoon on her back!

Chapter Twelve: The Substitute: The World!

January 14, 1092 (Terra calendar), Lentinium, Victoria.

A tense standoff has broken out inside the Iron Palace!

The two opposing sides are the Pope's special envoy, the fallen angel Mostima, who wants to rescue Prince Wayne from his "deep suffering" and protect Lateran's loyal friends.

On the other side is Shining, the Kazdel Exorcist, who wants to protect Prince Wayne from Laterano's conspiracy and safeguard the future King of Kazdel and Victoria.

So why did they fight when they had the same goal?

When Wayne found out about this later, he couldn't explain it either. It was probably what they called "my brother thinks I'm ugly, I think my brother is ugly, we fight every time we meet, we have all sorts of grudges"?

What? Sarkaz and Sarkaz look completely different? Wayne thought, not to mention Mostima has horns, the crocodile and Mr. Qin the dog look completely different too.

The analogy is quite apt. His Highness Wayne is incapable of making mistakes. You must overcome yourself and love His Highness Wayne! Otherwise, we'll have no choice but to ask you to make a trip to the Department of Benevolence.

In short, regardless of what happens next, at this moment, Shining and Mostima are indeed focusing all their attention on each other.

Shining struck first, her hand gripping tightly the metallic sword at her waist, which gleamed like a withered branch of a giant tree, her gaze fixed on Mostima's outstretched hand.

Even among the pardoners, her swordsmanship was exceptional. She was confident that she could sever the strange Sarkaz's arm the moment Mostima tried to pull out the weapon wrapped in cloth behind him.

But the immediate priority isn't killing Sakorta, but rather figuring out her motives. Otherwise, similar infiltrations will keep happening, and what's the point of constantly guarding against thieves?

So she began to speak:

"Latlanders, haven't you suffered enough in Victoria? How dare you brazenly infiltrate the royal forbidden area?"

Mostima could feel the gaze locked on her arm, and the constant alarming sense of danger reminded her that the seemingly young Sarkaz was definitely not as harmless as she appeared.

Sarkaz is really willing to spend money, actually sending out a powerhouse of this caliber?

They were careless. If His Highness Wayne could secretly cooperate with Laterano, how could the Queen, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, not have supporters behind her?

The Sarkaz, too, turned their gaze to Victoria, eyeing her with predatory intent, eager to tear a piece of flesh from the lion of Victoria. Prince Wayne, now, is likely in grave danger!

A strange pain shot through Mostima's heart, and besides a heavy feeling, a sense of sadness and anger inexplicably rose within her. She glared at Shining's gaze and retorted:

"Heh, do demons even have the right to utter such righteous words? Why don't you tell us how you infiltrated Victoria's palace?"

Mostima smiled at Shining:

"Did you sneak in wearing a waiter's uniform?"

Shining's face darkened.

Do you think I like wearing this outfit?

Wasn't this something His Highness Wayne forced me to wear?

It's said that drinking tea dressed like this will make it taste a third better, like the mysterious effect of good handwriting on a written exam, but Shining has never felt that way. All she knows is that the manual tells her to obey Princess Theresa and Princess Wayne, so even though she's incredibly shy, she obediently changed her clothes.

You actually used this to attack me, Laterano! You've got a bad taste in your mouth!

A surge of anger rose within her again, and Shanling said:

“We have come to Londinium at the formal invitation of the Victorian royal family to discuss the marriage between the Prince of Wales and Her Highness the Princess! State your purpose, or don’t blame me for being impolite.”

A marriage alliance?

Mostima's expression was unfriendly. Wasn't this a forced marriage? Knowing that Princess Wayne's presence in Victoria would threaten her throne, and not wanting to bear the infamy of exterminating her clan, she simply married Princess Wayne off to the vicious Kazdel, thus eliminating the threat to her throne and appeasing Kazdel's allies.

That's killing two birds with one stone, Your Majesty!

If you don't cherish the Prince of Wales, you might as well hand him over to me, to Lateran.

"Further discussion is pointless."

Mostima said coldly,

"I'm taking Wayne away today, and I'd like to see who can stop me!"

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly pulled out the black key and white key from behind her and pointed them in Shining's direction. At the same time, Shining, who had been locking onto Mostima's movements, stepped forward. Her blade was already unsheathed at some point. Accompanied by the intense light emitted by Originium Arts, she appeared in front of Mostima as if she had truly transformed into a beam of light and slashed straight at Mostima's shoulder!

The Originium Arts on Terra are diverse and bizarre. Some special Originium Arts even have the ability to avoid or withstand a fatal blow with 100% certainty. Therefore, when fighting against a powerful caster operator, the priority is not to kill her in one blow, but to immediately disarm her of the tool she uses to activate the Originium Arts, which could be a weapon or the arm holding the weapon.

Clearly, Shining has chosen the safer option: the arm!

"bingo!"

A premonition flashed through her mind, and Shining slashed her blade diagonally down from the upper left of Mostima. However, the next second, a strange sense of unease suddenly flashed through her mind, and Shining snapped back to reality, but Mostima had already disappeared from her sight.

"Don't blink, Sarkaz!"

Having appeared behind Shining without anyone noticing, Mostima's white staff blazed with blue light, unleashing a sweeping, pale blue shockwave that engulfed the entire Iron Palace entrance hall.

Shining frowned, sheathed his blade again, activated an Originium Arts technique, and slammed it into the ground. A pale golden energy barrier instantly appeared in front of Shining.

The dogmatic stance, a defensive Originium Arts technique of Shining, once activated, can even withstand a hit from a city-defense cannon.

However, something unexpected happened. The pale blue shockwave completely ignored the barrier in front of Shining and crashed into Shining's body without slowing down at all.

"Well!"

Although it wasn't very painful as expected, Shining could clearly feel that his limbs were as if they were sinking into an invisible swamp, and every movement became slow.

what happened?

First, there was the "speed" that was so fast that she couldn't even perceive it, then there was the Originium spell with such a wide range that it was impossible to avoid, and then there was this incomprehensible, bizarre nature that completely ignored the [Doctrine Stance]!

Just who is this Sakorta guy?

Shining took a deep breath and shook her arm. Fortunately, the strange sluggishness didn't last long, and Mostima on the other side obviously didn't immediately unleash the ability to launch a second attack. The pale blue energy was still accumulating on the white staff.

We can no longer underestimate her.

Shining's expression was more serious than ever before, and facing Mostima, she suddenly made an incomprehensible movement.

She held the sword across her chest, then closed her eyes and began to chant!

[Severing the connection between dawn and dusk]

Although she was at a disadvantage in this round, she gained a basic understanding of Mostima's attack methods—relying on a bizarre "speed" that even Shining could hardly comprehend to dodge attacks, and charging up to unleash spells with a huge range but relatively low power.

In other words, she didn't have a targeted spell to interrupt Shining's chanting and deliver a fatal blow!

The unknown is the greatest enemy; the known can be defeated!