Chapter 53 : The Rapidly Developing Plot

“Heh…”
Sheryl took a deep breath, looking at the training dummy in front of her.

The sword was in its sheath. The swirling white ice crystals were a reflection of her current mood.

She closed her eyes, casting aside all distracting thoughts. The scent of the trees, the beating of her heart, the chirping of birds in the distance—all sounds disappeared.

All her anger transformed into a calm killing intent.

As if, in front of her, was a certain pink-haired, cheating cat.

A flash—

When she opened her eyes again, the wind blew through the dummy, blowing its upper body to the ground.

For a swordsman, the most important thing is the state of mind. Sheryl looked at the slightly flawed cut and couldn’t help but click her tongue:

“The mind… huh?”

If the mind is calm, it will succeed; if the mind is in chaos, it will fail. The belief that one can cut through anything can move mountains.

She felt her sword had become a bit dull. The sword that used to emit a pure white glow was now shrouded in a hint of shadow.

This sword was a gift from her father, and she had always treasured it.

“It’s all that woman’s fault…”

In the past, she was attached to no one, just brandishing her sword for herself. But now, she couldn’t even imagine how her past self had managed to live.

Loneliness was indeed a kind of strength. However, once a deep connection was established with someone else, the sweet feeling made her… unable to break free.

Even the strength of the past was lost, but she didn’t feel sad. Because from Schiller, she had received so much more, enough to fill her chest, every part of her body with warmth.

“It’s just, been disturbed by some people!”

She stomped her foot in frustration, stepping on the upper body of the dummy, and as if still not satisfied, she cut off its lower body as well.

And the messenger from the ducal manor was very likely her accomplice!

“The evidence is the rose drawn in the book.” Roses were Sheryl’s favorite flower, and she preferred the silver roses that were close to her hair color.

When she was young, her mother would always pin a silver rose on her head. At that time, she didn’t understand anything, just thought it looked pretty. She remembered running through the flower-filled garden, while her mother chased after her, laughing and panting.

“Lil, don’t run so fast!”

“Be careful not to fall!”

She looked at her mother and smiled:

“Mom, do I look pretty?”

She abruptly awoke from her memories, finding her hand unconsciously clenching tighter.

She always had a bad premonition, always felt that Schiller was now… fooling around with some woman!

“That’s right, Schiller was kidnapped by them, that maid!”

Although there was no evidence, countless thoughts connected in her mind.

‘Schiller escapes—encounters thieves—is captured by Aileen—becomes the chief’s wife (male).’

It must be so, otherwise that maid would have returned long ago.

The face of that pink-haired cheating cat who had tried to drug her flashed in her mind…

‘I really want to tear her face apart!’

Her plan was seen through last time, but this time she was careless.

“How infuriating!”

She raised her eyebrows and decided to continue with today’s training.

Currently, she was no match for that maid, but she felt that since her “exercise” with Schiller, the flow of magic in a certain part of her body had become much smoother.

As if… she had absorbed some essence.

The quality of her magic, and the quality of her magic use, had both improved.

Her original magic was a silver-white magic flow, but now it had a hint of transparency.

Recalling the feeling of those days of exercise, she couldn’t help but lick her lips unconsciously, followed by a feeling of emptiness from beside her.

“I really… want to see you.”

However, if she acted rashly, she would only be defeated by Aileen. Knowing the difference in strength between them, she would not act rashly.

“If I go to save him now, I’m afraid I’ll fall right into her trap!”

“No, I must improve my strength as soon as possible.”

She shook her head, clearing her mind of the jumbled thoughts, and gathered magic in her hands, starting today’s practice.

“You mean, the Viscount and the Saintess’s faction have formed an alliance?!” Duke Dylan Hohenzollern sat in his study, listening to the messenger’s report, and began to ponder.

None of the plans he had laid out had been implemented, and the reason was Schiller’s absence.

Even Sheryl was just a tool he had sent out as an excuse (a claim). He had no intention of letting a child from another family inherit his title.

He had raised that girl—that rebellious girl—to this day, just for the day he would seize the viscount’s seat.

Although the Eisenhardt family was merely a viscount, he nominally controlled the army of the northern duke. If the old duke died, the emperor might really order a “transfer of enfeoffment.”

“How could it be!”

He was so surprised that he adjusted his glasses. It was said that the Saintess was usually known for her shrewdness and sophistication, but the one who truly gave her power in the church was not anyone else, but herself.

When she had just become a Saintess, she often looked at everything with a cynical expression.

With her outstanding talent and abilities, she had been able to make relatively correct decisions in all the major events so far, which had allowed her to quickly gain a firm foothold in the church.

From a country girl from nowhere, she became a household name in the empire.

And such an Ophelia, she would actually form an alliance with someone?

Dylan stood up and looked out the window.

“Is it credible?”

So far, there had never been any rumors of the Saintess’s faction forming an alliance with others. If it was true…

“It’s credible. According to the investigation, the Saintess has indeed met with Schiller in a shop in the underground street many times, and they were secret talks.”

“The underground street… that kind of place is indeed suitable for secret talks.”

“That’s right, she must have been passing information to Schiller there.”

“In that case, we can’t remain silent any longer.”

Dylan immediately picked up a pen, preparing to write a letter to the Cardinal himself.

In the church, there were roughly two major factions: the Saintess Ophelia’s Saintess faction, and the Cardinal’s traditional faction. The two were at odds with each other and not subordinate to each other.

And once the Saintess’s faction joined forces with others, the traditional faction would probably be alarmed. In that case, he would join forces with them.

Dylan quickly wrote down the course of events, stamped it with the ducal seal, and handed it to the messenger.

“Deliver this letter to the Cardinal. No one else is allowed to open it!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Wait!” Dylan stopped the messenger who was about to turn around. “I heard the Cardinal has a hobby…”

“You mean… cross-dressers?!” The messenger looked up thoughtfully. “Absolutely not, my lord, you must not go and buy hooks!”

Dylan rolled his eyes at him.

“Get lost! I meant for you to find a top-quality cross-dresser and present him to him, as a token of my sincerity!”

The messenger nodded sheepishly, then closed the door and left the study.

Dylan looked out the window in silence. He never expected his plan to be cracked so easily.

Instead, he was the one at a disadvantage.

“Ophelia, you, just what are you…”

Rumor had it that the Saintess could see the future. He had always dismissed it as a joke.

“How could it be…” He decided to put away his absurd imagination and start working on a new plan.