The Villain Saint is my secondary account

Skadi waved her hand.

"Ahem...he's more..."

Ella pondered how to justify her actions, "...Upright?"

"Indeed, he was looking for me openly and honestly, and there was nothing I could do about it."

Ella's words only fueled Skadi's anger, making her grit her teeth in frustration. "I don't know how you can be so carefree. That guy's audacity must be partly due to your indulgence."

"Oh dear, how can you blame me?"

Ella gently rubbed Skadi's soft palm. "If I were that strict, how would I have had the chance to become family with Skadi?"

"This is so strange, I have a feeling I've fallen for a trap."

Skadi watched Ella approach with a grin, feeling inexplicably annoyed.

"I have no problem with pursuing love openly and honestly,"

Detective Ford, who was standing nearby, smiled and said, "However, madam, if you have any related business needs in the future, I would be happy to offer my humble assistance."

Ella's lips twitched, and she rolled her eyes at Ford.

"I must say, even when a beautiful lady is glaring at someone, she can still be a delight to behold."

Ford shrugged, then his gaze fell on a well-dressed couple walking out of the hotel. He immediately raised the metal box in his hand and snapped a few photos.

This device, similar to the Blue Star camera, still uses photographic crystal, but it has been modified using the Warren process to make it easier to operate and concealed.

"Thanks to the two beautiful ladies, my mission is accomplished."

After Ford finished taking the photos, he stood up, took off his hat, and bowed to Ella and Skadi. "I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave now, but I must say that the stunning beauty and extraordinary conversation of the two ladies have added so much brilliance to this otherwise ordinary afternoon. I hope to have the honor of meeting you again in the future."

"Thank you for your compliment. See you later, Mr. Ford."

Ella and Skadi responded in response.

Watching Mr. Ford's departing figure on the quaint cobblestone street, Ella initially thought it was just a simple encounter like many other passersby on her journey.

Little did they know that, amidst the fog, the gears of fate were turning at that very moment.

……

evening.

Sherlin Ford, a private detective who is now only slightly known in a small circle, is walking down the street to a video gallery near the hotel where he is temporarily resting.

After bidding farewell to the two noble ladies in the afternoon, he went to the photo studio and handed over the contents of the photographic crystal to the owner of the photo shop to be developed onto metal cards used for storing images.

This process takes some time, mainly because of the queue, so Ford didn't return to the film studio until evening to retrieve the content he had given to the owner for development.

Although the shopfront, built of gray stone bricks, had a historical feel, and the surrounding area was empty and deserted with hardly anyone around, Ford remained skeptical about whether the store actually had that many customers queuing up.

He pushed open the door, the wind chimes made a slight sound, and his thick leather boots stepped onto the shiny wooden floor. What came into view were three burly men wearing trench coats.

Ford was slightly taken aback, and the three burly men turned around at the same time, meeting his gaze.

Almost instantly, Ford sensed something was wrong in the eyes of the three men, and without any hesitation, he turned and rushed out the door.

"Halt! Royal Inspector!!!"

The three men moved very quickly, immediately following Ford as he ran out of the video hall.

As dusk fell on the riverbank streets and alleys, four figures chased each other for two or three hundred meters before one of the detectives finally drew his revolver from his waist and pulled the trigger into the sky.

The crisp yet deafening sound forced Ford to stop. Even though he was quite confident in his agility, he didn't want to gamble on the accuracy of a professional sheriff, who was directly under the royal family, in this narrow alley.

He raised his hands and slowly turned around as three burly men caught up from behind.

"Let me state upfront that I am a citizen with a legitimate profession. If you do not have a search warrant, I have the right to refuse to cooperate under duress..."

Before he could finish speaking, three burly men rushed up and pinned him to the cold ground.

"Sheringford, you have been charged as the prime suspect in the murder of Viscountess Tekkadi, and are hereby arrested in the name of Royal Detective Valen!"

……

At the same time, Ella and Skadi had just finished their afternoon stroll.

Two Templar Knights held parasols for them as they walked and chatted, bathed in the glow of the setting sun.

After being pestered by Ella for a day, Skadi slowly began to get used to being with this little devil.

Actually, it wasn't as bad as I imagined. Apart from always teasing her and making her blush, he seemed to be a pretty good person at heart.

Well... after all, she's someone Ye Xiao likes.

That guy's taste in women is probably somewhat reliable, right?

Skadi glanced at Ella, who was holding her arm, and thought shamelessly.

If Skadi hadn't seen how this guy was full of mischief and as cunning as a fox, she might have really thought how pure the cheerful smile on that small face was.

But then again, how exactly did Ye Xiao get together with this woman?

Skadi suddenly became curious. After all, given Ella's occasional displays of arrogance and cunning, she didn't seem like the type to actively pursue men, and Ye Xiao, being such a blockhead, was never proactive either. How did these two end up together?

Unfortunately, before Skadi could ask, her attention was drawn to the commotion nearby.

They looked up and saw that the detective, Mr. Ford, whom they had met that afternoon, was being forced into a dark carriage by several burly men in black.

Chapter 100 Intervention

This detective, whom Ella had only met once, was not exactly a friend to her.

Upon seeing a familiar face being forced into a suspicious carriage by a group of unidentified men, Ella had no reason not to lend a helping hand.

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment."

Ella called out softly, politely and gracefully.

Hearing the call, the royal detectives of Valen turned around and saw a foreign noblewoman. Not wanting to cause any trouble, they paid her no further attention, got into the driver's seat, and flicked the reins to drive away.

The horses pulling the carriage reared up, and Orfindo, who had been silently following beside Ella, suddenly sharpened his eyes and appeared in front of the carriage in a flash.

He placed his large, fan-like hand on the horse's head and pressed it down hard, abruptly stopping the horse's momentum as it raised its front hooves. The front half of the horse's body knelt on the ground, and the raised rear half of its rump, along with the carriage behind it, shook violently.

"My lady told you to stop. Are you deaf?"

Orphindo said with a gloomy expression.

The people in the carriage were jolted and disoriented. The leader, a royal detective, pushed open the carriage door and leaned out, shouting angrily, "What are you doing?! Do you know who we are?!"

"Who you are has nothing to do with me,"

Orfino withdrew his hand from the dock, cracked his wrist, and his eyes beneath his neat blond hair exuded an invisible pressure. "But if you dare to ignore the young lady's words again, I won't hesitate to remove those useless ears of yours."

"Hey, gentlemen, there's no need to be so nervous."

Ella, who was running up while lifting her skirt, awkwardly interrupted their conversation.

How come I didn't notice before that Orfindo's voice had such a strong villainous lackey vibe? Is this still a Templar Knight? She sounds like one of those arrogant and domineering heiresses.

Ella was speechless.

However, it must be said that Orfindo's intimidation was indeed very effective; a single slap could make the horse pulling the carriage kneel down, demonstrating that his strength was clearly much greater than that of an ordinary noble guard.

This made the burly men in the carriage think twice, and they had no choice but to look at Ella, this uninvited guest, and explain their identities.

"We are royal detectives directly under the Valencian royal family, on a plainclothes mission to apprehend suspects. If you are not involved in this matter, please do not interfere."

"Eh?"

Ella stood on tiptoe, raised a hand to her eyebrows, and looked at the tall, thin man bound in the car. "Mr. Ford, were you a criminal before?"

“I’m sorry that our second meeting took place in such an unpoetic setting, but I swear on my integrity that it was absolutely a misunderstanding.”

Mr. Ford, sitting in the back seat, nodded to Ella and gave a very reluctant bow. “I have no idea why these gentlemen arrested me, but I must admit that I am indeed familiar with the woman they are talking about.”

"The victimized woman?"

Ella tilted her head.

"Sheringford, you'd better keep quiet. Let me remind you, everything you say since your arrest will be used against you in court."

The detective, who appeared to be the leader among them, reprimanded them.

“That lady is the employer of the extramarital affair case I investigated this afternoon.”

Ford shrugged helplessly. "Actually, I think my logic proves that I know nothing about her murder. After all, if I were the murderer, it would be illogical for me to come to Coral Harbor and not rush to escape by ship but instead leisurely carry out the investigation task entrusted to me."

Ella briefly recalled her first meeting with Mr. Ford that afternoon; he certainly didn't seem like a thug who had just committed murder and was on the run.

But this is just an impression; Ella won't rely on such emotional perceptions to make judgments.

"I'm sick and tired of hearing your dry and boring sophistry."

And clearly, the Royal Inspector wasn't buying it. "That's just one of your targets in your serial crimes. Until you're arrested, you'll just keep looking for the next target like a ferocious hyena."

"I think the misunderstanding has deepened."

Mr. Ford sighed, but then looked at Ella again. “Thank you for your help, lovely lady, but I pride myself on my innocence and have no fear of going back to the Fog City with these detectives to prove myself.”

"And I have a little bit of connections in Scotland Yard that might be able to help me solve this problem. You two must have your own things to do, so there's no need to bother helping me out and causing unnecessary trouble."

"Well……"

Ella, wearing a pure white silk glove, lightly touched her lips through the thin veil with her index finger. "That's true, but I'm actually quite interested in the serial murder case that the detective just mentioned."

"...Your Excellency, I do not know your specific identity,"

The detective was somewhat speechless. "But this is an important case overseen by our royal family, and it is really inconvenient to involve outsiders."

"So these young rich girls are a real nuisance. If you want to play house, don't mess around with serious cases like this." The detective said this with restraint, but inwardly he was thinking the same thing.

Ella pondered for a moment, then beckoned to Ophelia, a tall female knight with long legs and a ponytail, who took out a letter with sealing wax from inside her trench coat and handed it to the detective.

The detective took the letter, opened it, paused for a moment, then immediately stuffed the paper back into the envelope, looked up at Ella, swallowed, and his tone instantly changed 180 degrees.

"Sir, this... could you allow me to report this to my superiors? Also... it's not that I'm worried about falsification; I believe no one would dare to falsify this. It's just that due to procedural necessity... we also need to verify this with the Fog City Sanctuary."

"It doesn't matter."

Ella smiled. "But I'd appreciate it if you could make some room for me and my servant to follow, Inspector."

Since Ella and Skadi had to sit together, the other two detectives in the four-person carriage had to get off and share another carriage with the two Templars.

Orfino and Ophelia remained as solemn and silent as statues when there was nothing to do, making the other two detectives riding with them feel extremely uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, in the carriage, Skadi curiously squeezed Ella's small hand, which was pressed against her side, and asked in a low voice, "What did you show him?"

“I told him I was Her Majesty the Empress of the Loren Empire’s lover, and he wouldn’t let me come with him, so I complained to the Loren Embassy that he had caused a diplomatic incident.”

Ella laughed jokingly.

"Get lost! You're never serious!"

Skadi blushed slightly. It's true what they say, birds of a feather flock together. This little fox is always so glib-tongued, just like Ye Xiao.

"hey-hey,"

Ella tickled Skadi's soft waist. "Actually, that's a certificate issued by the Loren Sanctuary."

To be precise, it was a personal endorsement of Ella's status as a member of the sanctuary written by Archbishop Holmes.

Ella had considered that if she ran into the Valen authorities while investigating the case, it would be difficult to find a suitable reason to intervene if she had to conceal her identity.

After all, from the perspective of Loren royal officials or nobles, it would be difficult to find a suitable reason to interfere in foreign cases.

At this point, the only option is to claim that the investigation into heresy is being carried out in the name of the Holy Temple, since the name of the Holy Temple can be used in every human nation.

However, the letter only stated that Ella was in a high-ranking position in the Loren Sanctuary, investigating a heretical cult that had caused chaos in Loren, without mentioning her specific identity as a saintess.

Of course, Ella's unique appearance, which was simply concealed by a veil, would certainly arouse some speculation, but it didn't matter to Ella. After all, her disguise was just a formality, mainly to avoid some cumbersome procedures such as receiving the king.

Chapter 101 Detectives and Police

A carriage departing from Coral Harbour in the evening can reach the Fog City before midnight at the earliest.

The Valencian royal family clearly took this case very seriously, and the royal detectives escorted Mr. Ford to the Fog City without a moment's delay.

"Shall I take you home first?"

Before getting into the carriage, Ella asked Skadi, "Looks like it's going to be quite late."