The Villain Saint is my secondary account

As soon as he finished speaking, Reggie's pale face widened in disbelief.

Faced with this saintess known as a "tyrant" who would behead people at the drop of a hat, he believed that the things he had done were enough to warrant his execution according to the law.

As a family that once protected sacred artifacts, they failed to protect the core casket, which was stolen by a dark cult. Their middle and upper echelons were also involved in corruption and bribery, forming cliques and indirectly harming countless ordinary people in the Holy Temple, bringing shame upon their faith.

When he was brought to the main hall today, he was prepared to be sentenced to death. After all, he had seen members of the Rossia family, who were his fellow prisoners, being dragged out and beheaded every day for the past month. He felt that he would have such a day sooner or later, but he did not expect to be given a way out.

Although everything he once owned with his family was now gone, he was fortunate enough to be reunited with his family, instead of being burned at the stake, and was merely sent to labor.

And although, according to the saint, this was not the final verdict, Legri believed that the saint would be able to find out what was happening to her daughter.

"Thank you, Holy Maiden!"

His eyes were slightly moist, and he replied with a trembling throat.

"Wait... wait a minute!"

Just then, the head of the Lazirus family, who was sitting on the throne, raised his head slightly. "Your Holiness, I surrendered faster than him back then, and I had no involvement with the Dark Cult. Why is he allowed to work as a laborer, while I have to be stuck here..."

Ella's face instantly turned icy cold, her disgusted gaze looking down at her as if she were an ant.

"What, you're not satisfied?"

Meeting those sinister, crimson eyes, the head of the Razirus family immediately swallowed hard, shrinking back to the ground. "Satisfied! Satisfied!! To be able to serve as a stepping stone for the Holy Maiden is the greatest honor of my life, Razirus!!!"

His voice was trembling with emotion, as if he was moved by the glorious mission he had been given.

"Hmph, trash."

Ella ignored the pitiful head of the Lazirus family and turned her attention back to the Boromeo family.

"Alright, you can all leave now."

……

After hearing the saint's pronouncement on her family, Theresa returned to the domed prison located next to the White Tower.

Although it's called a prison, this place is like a completely different world from the dark and gloomy underground prison under the White Pagoda.

This high-class domed prison was used to hold criminals with special circumstances or to imprison certain noble captives who were to be observed and interrogated further, so the environment was actually quite comfortable.

Not only is it located on the ground floor, but the room also has well-lit windows, clean beds and bedding, and even books to keep you entertained, as well as a small private bathroom.

Servants would regularly come to clean the room to keep it tidy. If it weren't for the iron bars on the windows to prevent escape, it would look no different from the bedroom of an ordinary wealthy family.

In this environment, Theresa could sit on the edge of the bed and quietly think about what had happened to her.

"dong dong dong"

However, before she could think for long, there was a knock on the door, and then it was gently pushed open with the sound of the lock turning.

Theresa looked in the direction of the voice and saw a handsome young man with a short blonde ponytail walk in.

"...Decali?"

She immediately recognized him as the vice-commander of the knight order she had previously promoted.

Theresa couldn't help but lament the capriciousness of fate. Just a month ago, the other party was her subordinate, but a month later, she had become a prisoner at his mercy.

"Hey, Miss."

Dekari chuckled and greeted him.

Most of the officers who had previously participated in the Allied Forces were purged by the Holy Maiden, but he was not only spared but was also promoted. At that point, it was obvious who the mole was.

"There's no need to use that title anymore,"

Theresa sighed softly, "Right now, I'm nothing more than a criminal."

Dekari scratched his head awkwardly. Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit cold, he spoke again, "It's not that bad, Miss Theresa. I used to work for you, and I trust that you wouldn't collude with the Dark Cult."

"However, um, I really have to apologize for keeping this from you all this time..."

“You do not need to apologize, Lord Decari.”

Theresa gently shook her head. "Your choice is right. The three major families are a long-standing cancer to the Holy City. I was once blinded by my identity and couldn't see reality clearly, but no matter how hard I try with my eyes closed, if the direction is wrong, it is still wrong."

The address "My Lord" evoked a sense of emotion in Dekali.

He probably never imagined that when he received the flyer that Ye Xiao furtively handed him in that dark and damp cave in the Seven Seas City, things would one day turn out this way.

Chapter Twelve: Following the Clues

“That is true, Miss Theresa. I believe that the mutiny and civil war were not your intention.”

Dekari carefully considered his words before continuing, "This involves crucial clues about the Dark Cult. To prevent others from being harmed in the future, we hope you can cooperate as much as possible."

"No problem, I will answer all questions without reservation."

Theresa nodded solemnly.

If she was truly affected by the Dark Cult's machinations, she certainly wouldn't allow her family to bear the blame for it.

……

As evening fell, on the seventh floor of the White Tower, in the study of the presiding judge of the court.

Ye Xiao took the interrogation record about Theresa from Decari and read it through from beginning to end.

"So, can you see any clues, Brother Ye?"

Decari put his feet on the desk, his buttocks pressing down on the chair with only the two wooden legs on the ground, swaying back and forth. "I still feel a little sorry for the young lady in her current state. If I can prove her innocence, I'll feel a little better."

"Um……"

Ye Xiao flipped through the documents, his gaze calm, then glanced at Dekari out of the corner of his eye and couldn't help but twitch his lips. "I'm not saying this to be mean, but your posture is way too casual. You're supposed to be the Chief Justice, which is equivalent to a minister in the Empire. What minister sits on a chair in his study like you, swinging on a swing?"

"Hey, it's just the two of us, what's wrong with being a little unrestrained in private?"

Dekali smiled and waved his hand, "As long as I don't hang around in front of the Saintess like this, it'll be fine."

"..."

Ye Xiao was speechless.

"So, can you figure anything out?"

"Here, Theresa made a void link when she was fighting the orcs in the Seven Seas City."

Ye Xiao pointed to the passage on the paper, "At that time, those orcs in the Seven Seas City were all servants bewitched by the god behind the Dark Shepherd. I suspect that when she used the Void Link to eliminate the corrupted in her own knightly order, she was targeted by the other party."

"I had my doubts when I first heard that part,"

Decali nodded in agreement, “But when it comes to gods and the void, I, a mere mortal, know very little about it.”

“I’ve seen similar methods in the Seven Seas City, somewhat similar to those of Prince Aslan. He must have left a wisp of his soul in Theresa’s soul to transmit his will and forcibly control Theresa’s mind.”

Ye Xiao stroked his chin. "But during Theresa's coma, Ella used her divine power to examine her body and soul and found nothing wrong, which means that her inner soul should no longer be there."

"Has it dissipated?"

"The soul isn't so easily dispersed. Even a small part is intricately connected to the main body. Losing a piece for no apparent reason will affect the main body."

Ye Xiao shook his head, "At that time, the other party tried every means to persuade me not to kill that prince, one of their purposes was to preserve their own soul."

Dekari listened, initially a little confused, but quickly realized, "So that means..."

"That's right, it's more likely that the divine soul was taken away."

Ye Xiao nodded, "And, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it was done by that missing Elaine."

"If we can find the other party, since the soul can guide the will of the main body, it can naturally be used to locate the main body in reverse."

"But even if we know their location, they're most likely in their own base. With our current military strength, it's impossible for us to attack them directly."

Dekari shrugged. "Of course, I'm not questioning the Holy Maiden's strength. I'm confident that she can defeat that evil god in a one-on-one fight. But I'm afraid that our men won't be able to handle those filthy minions under him, and that would be a hindrance to the Holy Maiden."

"Positioning is one thing, how to attack it is another."

Ye Xiao waved his hand, "As long as we can find it, we can hand the soul over to Ella, and she will naturally have a way to deal with it."

"That's true, but how exactly do we find them? The Dark Shepherds are skilled in spatial magic, so they might have moved long ago."

"Decali pondered."

"It's not that simple. I obtained some information from the friendly interrogation of the merfolk I captured during the 'Black Carnival' incident. On the one hand, activating their spatial magic array also consumes a lot of resources and time. Apart from the few high-level miracle mages I've seen who can cast spells on the spot, it's not something that other believers can deploy casually."

Ye Xiao pointed at the map with his finger, "On the other hand, this merman, as a squad leader among the members of the attack, was assigned to a secret cult stronghold in the southern part of Saint Ara by the higher-ups who issued the operation orders. According to the images in his memory, there appeared a person whose appearance was similar to our target 'Elean' there."

"...scenes from my memory?"

Decali noticed the somewhat odd word.

"His faith in that evil god was too unwavering, and he was also quite tight-lipped, so I used some methods to get a little information out of him."

Ye Xiao casually gestured to his temple with his finger, "This way it's more direct, but the downside is that you can't get all the information."

Decali's lips twitched. "You should be the presiding judge. I've always felt that this imaginative position isn't quite right for me."

"You're a judge, why would you need to do this kind of work? I only help out occasionally when your judges are really struggling to handle a situation."

Ye Xiao smiled, as if helping out here was just casually helping a neighbor weed.

He didn't say that it was Ella who actually interrogated the merman, since only Ella's tentacles truly had the ability to touch the soul.

But Decari was already terrified of the Saintess enough. If he knew about this, he would probably have to take a detour whenever he saw Ella in the future.

"Ok."

Decali, feeling helpless, steered the conversation back to the main topic, "So, should we get the Kingdom of Saint Ara to assist in the encirclement and suppression next?"

"After this attack, they should no longer stay in the territory of Saint Ara, but a month has passed and Elaine has not left directly, which means that the other party probably still wants to use this 'handle' left behind to continue to cause trouble."

Ye Xiao tapped the map on his desk with his fingertip. "Therefore, based on my speculation, they will likely retreat temporarily from the south to here, but they won't go far, so that they can still use it as a foothold to continue planning their actions against Saint Ara."

"Riften City is a neutral city-state that is pro-Tedeh. Further southwest lies the territory of Tedeh's vassal states."

Dekari frowned. "It's not really appropriate for us to make a move here openly."

Although the Duchy of Tedeh is currently on an expedition to Loren, it is impossible for it not to be wary of the Kingdom of Saint Ara, which is located in its northeast corner and is now dominated by the influence of Aila. Therefore, the location of Riften City is quite sensitive, and war could easily break out if any members of the Holy Church go there.

However, Ella has just taken over the Holy City and needs some time to develop, strengthen its control over the Holy Ara Kingdom, recruit soldiers, and expand its military strength. It is not advisable to start a war so soon.

Similarly, the Duchy of Tedeh is also on an expedition to Loren, and opening another front with the Kingdom of Saint Ararat would be troublesome for it.

Therefore, Riften, a neutral city-state located on the north-south border, is surprisingly quiet in the current situation, yet it is like a powder keg buried beneath a calm surface, ready to explode at any moment.

"We don't need to take action. We just need to find Elaine secretly and bring her back."

Ye Xiao withdrew her hand, a slight smile playing on her lips. "My old friends have rested for so long, it's time for them to get some exercise."

Chapter Thirteen: Capturing the Snake in the Rift Valley

Three days later, late at night.

Riften.

The city is located in a densely forested hilly area, built against the mountainside.

Therefore, when Ye Xiao, wearing a coat, stood on the clock tower in the north of the city, all he could see when he looked up was the mountain range outside the city, which looked like black waves rolling in and out.

Below the tower, streets crisscross, and a four-story luxury mansion is still brightly lit.

"According to the intelligence gathered by the brothers over the past two days, Viscount Brodinan, the owner of this mansion, has close ties with some nobles in the southern part of Saint Ara and is one of the main investors in the upstream merchant guild to which the troupe using the pseudonym 'Dark Shepherd' belonged during the Concordia attack."

“Carriages from outside the city frequently come and go through the side gate of the mansion. There are a few guards on the outside, but there are many hidden sentries inside. The defense is much tighter than that of a typical viscount’s residence.”

"Although on the surface this is just Viscount Brodinan's private garden in Riften, it is certain that this is the stronghold of the Dark Shepherds we are looking for in this city."

A figure stepped out from behind and stood shoulder to shoulder with Ye Xiao. "How was it, Brother Ye? You did a pretty good job, right?"

"Very efficient, Li Cheng."

Ye Xiao patted Li Cheng on the shoulder, turned around, and looked at the dozen or so Seven Stars Guild players behind him who were fully prepared for battle.

These were veteran members of the guild selected by Li Cheng, who also served as agile class members. They ranged from assassins to rangers, lined up in a row, each wearing a light gray robe with inner armor and a hood.

"Everyone's task is simple: enter the mansion from above, search for the traces of the Dark Shepherds layer by layer, confirm the location of the target 'Eleanor,' and send a message to Brother Ye to catch her."

Li Cheng also stepped forward and continued his explanation.

"Next to the mansion is the airship landing pad. Many nobles from other regions are leaving the border through there to escape the war. They are not all staunch advocates of war in the duchy. They are potential candidates to be won over in the future. So, when evacuating, do not frighten them or harm the civilians in the mansion and on the streets."

"Finally, just in case, please adjust the translation module in your system's character panel so that it doesn't speak Loren."